Committee of the Whole
Supervisors Mandelman, Peskin, and Stefani were excused from the meeting.
Supervisors Rafael Mandelman, Aaron Peskin, and Catherine Stefani informed the Board of Supervisors, via Alisa Somera (Legislative Deputy Director), that they would be absent from today's special session meeting, and requested to be excused. Supervisor Fewer, seconded by Supervisor Walton, moved to excuse them, and the motion passed with an 8-0 vote (Brown, Fewer, Haney, Mar, Ronen, Safai, Walton, and Yee voting in favor, and Mandelman, Peskin, and Stefani being excused).
Legislation Introduced
The Board approved a motion to put an initiative ordinance on the March 3, 2020 ballot regarding a tax on vacant commercial properties.
The Board discussed and approved Motion No. M19-172, an initiative ordinance sponsored by Supervisors Peskin, Ronen, Walton, and Haney. This ordinance proposes amending the Business and Tax Regulations Code and Administrative Code to impose an excise tax on individuals or businesses keeping ground-floor commercial spaces vacant in designated neighborhood commercial and transit districts. The funds generated from this tax would be used to support small businesses. The motion includes increasing the City’s appropriations limit for four years starting March 3, 2020, by the amount collected from the tax. The Planning Department affirmed its determination under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The motion passed with an 8-0 vote (Brown, Fewer, Haney, Mar, Ronen, Safai, Walton, and Yee voting in favor, and Mandelman, Peskin, and Stefani being excused). The ordinance will be placed on the ballot for the election to be held on March 3, 2020.
Public Testimony
There were no public comments.
The Board opened the floor for public comment, however, nobody came forward to speak on any of the topics or agendas set before them.