SF supervisors green-light $1.4B Potrero bus yard (+ cut housing plan)

San Francisco
Board of Supervisors Meeting
March 24, 2026

TL;DR

• Supervisors approved a $1.4B, 30-year contract to rebuild the 111-year-old Potrero bus yard, with the previously promised podium for up to 365 affordable housing units cut from the design.
• The Police Department's electronic location tracking policy passed 9-1, with Supervisor Walton voting no over privacy and immigrant-community concerns.
• $34,366,405 was moved from SFPD permanent salaries to overtime for the rest of FY2025-26.
• A height limit at 1270 Mission Street rose from 120-X to 200-X under the new Mission and 9th Street Special Use District.
• The Sidewalk Flower Stand Permit program was overhauled, with new operating-hour rules and limits on transferring permits.

What happened

1. $1.4B Potrero Yard rebuild approved; housing component scaled back
   1. The Board approved a 30-year, $1,396,433,595 infrastructure agreement with PRG-Potrero Properties LLC to design, build, and finance a new Muni bus storage and maintenance facility at 2500 Mariposa Street. The contract includes $315M in milestone payments during construction and roughly $33M in annual availability payments once the yard opens, projected for 2030. The Board also approved up to $900M in tax-exempt bonds through the California Municipal Finance Authority. Supervisor Chan added amendments urging the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development to find funding for infrastructure that could enable future housing on the site. The amendments also push SFMTA to identify other sites to deliver the 465 affordable units originally entitled. The amendments passed 9-1, with Mandelman voting no. The full resolution passed 10-0.
   2. What this means for you: The yard, which handles buses serving about a fifth of Muni's ridership, was found to be seismically unsafe. SFMTA Chief of Staff Judson True told the Board the project came in roughly 30% over its $560M cost estimate, and removing the structural "podium" that would have allowed housing above the yard saved about $70M. A separate 100-unit affordable project on the Bryant Street frontage is still in the pipeline. The 365 housing units originally envisioned on top of the yard are not.
2. Police location tracking policy passes 9-1
   1. Supervisors approved the Police Department's surveillance technology policy for electronic location tracking devices, including StarChase, the system used to tag fleeing vehicles. The vote was 9-1, with Supervisor Walton voting no.
   2. What this means for you: The policy limits use to warrants or warrant exceptions like exigent circumstances. Supervisor Chan, who had asked for the earlier continuance, said the department's written response addressed her concerns about Fourth Amendment compliance and about an alleged misuse of Flock automated license plate reader equipment by an officer, which Internal Affairs investigated. Walton said other cities have paused similar technology over privacy and immigration concerns and that he could not support it. Wong said the policy's safeguards, including bars on use to enforce gender-affirming or reproductive care restrictions, satisfied him.
3. $34.36M moved into SFPD overtime
   1. The Board passed on first reading an ordinance de-appropriating $34,366,405 from permanent, premium, and comp-time salaries in the Police Department and re-appropriating the same amount to overtime for the current fiscal year.
   2. What this means for you: This is a within-department shuffle to cover projected overtime through June, required under Administrative Code Section 3.17. No new money is being added.
4. Height limit raised at 1270 Mission Street
   1. The Board finally passed the Mission and 9th Street Special Use District, which re-adopts former Planning Code and Zoning Map provisions at 1270 Mission Street and raises the height limit on two lots from 120-X to 200-X for projects that meet the SUD's requirements.
   2. What this means for you: A taller building, up to roughly 200 feet, is now allowed at this mid-Market site for qualifying projects.
5. Flower stand permit rules overhauled
   1. The Board passed an ordinance reworking the city's sidewalk flower stand permit program. Permittees must operate at least 35 hours a week, be physically present for at least half of those hours, and dedicate at least 75% of the stand to eligible flowers and plants. The ordinance bars leasing, subleasing, sale, assignment, inheritance, or transfer of permits, and authorizes Public Works to impose administrative penalties.
   2. What this means for you: If you stop by a sidewalk flower vendor, expect the same operator to be there. The rules are aimed at keeping permits with active small operators rather than letting them be passed along like property.

What residents brought up

• A speaker raised concerns about the fentanyl crisis in San Francisco, saying a two-year-old recently died of a fentanyl overdose. The speaker said open drug activity remains visible near schools, playgrounds, and major corridors and faulted city leadership for not addressing it more aggressively.
• A speaker read through March headlines and pressed the Board to take concrete steps, including urging the District Attorney to drop charges against a homeless man involved in a recent street incident, calling for the return of a six-year-old deaf boy deported to Colombia, and condemning ICE violence. The speaker said San Francisco's sanctuary policies should be a "red line."
• A co-founder of the group HV Safe said the effort to permanently close Hayes Street, originally a COVID-era pilot, has been driven from Supervisor Mahmood's office rather than through a neutral transportation process. He said Octavia-area transportation funds are being redirected toward a permanent closure without a clear public mandate and urged the Board to revisit the process.

Also happened

• Final passage of an ordinance requiring people who notarize or assist with immigration documents to offer a city-prepared list of free and low-cost immigration legal services and consulates, and authorizing the Human Rights Commission to help with state complaints against notaries or immigration consultants.
• Final passage of the 2245 Post Street Special Use District.
• Final passage of the Twin Peaks Promenade street vacation, which re-designates the eastern alignment of Twin Peaks Boulevard from roadway right-of-way to recreation and park right-of-way and transfers it from Public Works to Recreation and Park.
• Final passage of modifications to five Downtown Activation Locations: Jessie Alleys, Minna Alley, Natoma, Second Street, and Yerba Buena Lane.
• First reading of an ordinance updating compact mobile food operation definitions and fees to match the California Retail Food Code, and waiving license and permit fees for compact mobile food operations.
• First reading of an ordinance requiring Public Works to evaluate and report periodically on mechanical street sweeping performance.
• Adoption of two lease amendments with KLW Investments for Human Services Agency offices: 11,085 square feet at 3119, 3125, and 3127 Mission Street at $410,145 annual base rent, and 39,251 square feet at 3120 Mission Street at $1,237,642 annual base rent. Both run through September 30, 2030, with a five-year renewal option.
• A $5,210,685 increase and two-year extension to the Lutheran Social Services money management grant through the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, bringing the total to $15,210,535 through June 30, 2028.
• Initiation of 18 Article 10 landmark designations including the Century Club of California, the First Church of Christ Scientist, Mel's Drive-In, The Vogue, the Presidio Theatre, and the Bridge Theatre.
• Appointments of Gale Renee Rosboro and Carla Cuevas to the Sheriff's Department Oversight Board.

For any updates or corrections, please email steven@polisdesk.com