San Francisco, California, Proposition A, Embarcadero Seawall Improvement Bonds (November 2018)
| Proposition A: San Francisco Embarcadero Seawall Improvement Bonds |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 6, 2018 |
| Status: |
 ApprovedMajority required: 66.67% |
| Topic: |
| City bonds |
| Related articles |
| City bonds on the ballot November 6, 2018 ballot measures in California San Francisco County, California ballot measures County bonds on the ballot |
| See also |
| San Francisco, California |
A bond issue to fund upgrades to the Embarcadero Seawall and related infrastructure was on the ballot for San Francisco voters in San Francisco County, California, on November 6, 2018. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of authorizing the city and county of San Francisco to issue up to $425 million in bonds at an estimated tax rate of $0.013 per $100 of assessed value to fund repairs and improvements to the Embarcadero Seawall and Embarcadero infrastructure and utilities for earthquake and flood safety. |
| A no vote was a vote against authorizing $425 million in bonds at an estimated tax rate of $0.013 per $100 of assessed value to fund repairs and improvements to the Embarcadero Seawall and Embarcadero infrastructure and utilities. |
Proposition A was designed to fund the first of three repair and construction phases for the Embarcadero Seawall, which spans the northern shoreline of San Francisco from Fisherman’s Wharf to China Basin.[1] City and county officials estimated that the bonds would generate up to $40 million annually to fund repairs and construction.[2]
A two-thirds (66.67%) vote was required for the approval of Proposition A.
Election results
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San Francisco, California, Proposition A, Embarcadero Seawall Improvement Bonds (November 2018) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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288,146 | 82.70% | ||
| No | 60,276 | 17.30% | ||
-
- Results are officially certified.
- Source
Text of measure
Ballot question
The ballot question was as follows:[2]
| “ |
To protect the waterfront, BART and Muni, buildings, historic piers, and roads from earthquakes, flooding and rising seas by: repairing the 100 year old Embarcadero Seawall; strengthening the Embarcadero; and fortifying transit infrastructure and utilities serving residents and businesses; shall the city issue $425,000,000 in bonds, with a duration up to 30 years from the time of issuance, an estimated tax rate of $0.013/$100 of assessed property value, and estimated annual revenues of up to $40,000,000, with citizen oversight and regular audits?[3] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the San Francisco Controller:
| “ |
Should the proposed $425 million in bonds be authorized and sold under current assumptions, the approximate costs will be as follows:
These estimates are based on projections only, which are not binding upon the City. Projections and estimates may vary due to the timing of bond sales, the amount of bonds sold at each sale, and actual assessed valuation over the term of repayment of the bonds. Hence, the actual tax rate and the years in which such rates are applicable may vary from those estimated above. The City's current debt management policy is to issue new general obligation bonds only as old ones are retired, keeping the property tax impact from general obligation bonds approximately the same over time.[3] |
” |
| —San Francisco Controller[4] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Campaigns and endorsements
Strengthen Our Seawall for Earthquakes and Disasters, Yes on Prop. A led the campaign in support of Proposition A. The committee reported $1,329,221 in contributions and $1,287,397 in expenditures as of October 29, 2018.[5] The following were listed as sources of major committee funding:[6]
- Forest City Realty Trust
- Kilroy Realty L.P.
- Boston Properties
A list of groups and individuals that endorsed Proposition A can be accessed here.
Proponents
The following individuals signed the official argument in support of Proposition A:[7]
- Mayor London Breed
- Tim Hester
Arguments
The following official argument was submitted in support of Proposition A:[7]
| “ |
A Stronger Seawall for a Safer San Francisco. Please Vote YES on A. San Francisco's 100-year-old Seawall is the foundation of our waterfront. Constructed before engineers built infrastructure to survive earthquakes, it stretches three miles under the Embarcadero from Fisherman's Wharf to AT&T Park. Over the years, it has settled, cracked and eroded. Today, the Seawall is at-risk to earthquakes, disasters and increased flooding due to sea level rise. Proposition A is the first step to strengthen the Seawall:
The City carefully manages its bond program so that Proposition A will NOT increase property tax rates. There will be independent citizen oversight of spending and regular financial audits. To keep San Francisco safe, please join us. and Vote YES on A. Mayor London Breed *For identification purposes only [3] |
” |
| —Official Support Argument | ||
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals signed the official argument in opposition to Proposition A:[7]
- Starchild, Libertarian Party of San Francisco outreach director
Arguments
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to Proposition A:[7]
| “ |
Proposition A attempts to make San Francisco property owners and renters pay for the Port Commission's failure to maintain bayshore infrastructure. "Seawall" is misleading it's actually a wall along the bay. The ballot description falsely implies that this waterfront promenade and the rocks and earth underlying it somehow protect the entire city from high tides and flooding. That is nonsense. Only properties along that section of the waterfront would be affected, not the whole downtown area let alone all of San Francisco. If businesses leasing waterfront property from the Port Commission want those properties to be better protected against baywater spillover, they can pay for it themselves. Perhaps officials like the Port Director, who received over $340,000 in salary and benefits in 2015, could contribute some of their compensation. But politicians prefer to soak taxpayers (a few hundred million dollars now, lest we reject a higher demand) for a project they say will ultimately cost up to $5 billion — a number which probably lowballs what they really want to spend, as a former mayor admitted in a July 2013 Chronicle column: "News that the Transbay Terminal is something like $300 million over budget should not come as a shock to anyone. We always knew the initial estimate was way under the real cost. Just like we never had a real cost for the Central Subway or the Bay Bridge... In the world of civic projects, the first budget is really just a down payment. If people knew the real cost from the start, nothing would ever be approved. The idea is to get going. Start digging a hole and make it so big, there's no alternative to coming up with the money to fill it in." Don't reward deception and waste. Vote No on Proposition A. Libertarian Party of San Francisco www.LPSF.org[3] |
” |
| —Official Opposition Argument | ||
Background
Seawall overview
Construction of the Embarcadero Seawall began in 1878 and was completed in 1915. According to the National Register of Historic Places, the seawall's functions have been to retain landfill, to act as an abutment for building piers and wharves, to maintain a fixed shoreline, and to protect buildings and property value along the shoreline.[8]
The following is a description of the seawall from the National Register of Historic Places:[8]
| “ |
The seawall is a linear embankment of stone, concrete, and wood, which defines San Francisco’s waterfront for over four miles along a curving line from the foot of Jones Street on the north to the mouth of China Basin on the east, and for an additional 500 feet south of China Basin.[3] |
” |
| —National Register of Historic Places | ||
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a unanimous vote of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on June 12, 2018.[9]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "With S.F. seawall crumbling, $425 million bond for repairs likely to make ballot," April 16, 2018
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 San Francisco Elections, "Measures," accessed August 14, 2018
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ San Francisco Elections, "Controller's Analysis," August 13, 2018
- ↑ San Francisco Ethics, "Campaign Finance Dashboards," accessed October 29, 2018
- ↑ StrongerSeawall.com, "Home," accessed September 20, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Jessica Martini, "Email correspondence with Matthew Selby, San Francisco Department of Elections," September 12, 2018 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Email" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 8.0 8.1 National Park Service, "Port of San Francisco Embarcadero Historic District," January 2006
- ↑ SFGate, "San Francisco supervisors OK $425 million ballot measure for Embarcadero seawall repairs," June 12, 2018
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