Capital Planning Fund

The Capital Planning Fund supports critical project development and pre-bond planning outside the regular General Fund budget. This investment in planning helps increase public confidence and the likelihood that these projects will be delivered on time and on budget. The advance work helps improve cost estimation reliability and refine project delivery methods.

Historically, the General Fund supported pre-bond critical project development on the condition that once bonds for that project were issued, the General Fund would be reimbursed. This Plan assumes that bond reimbursements will flow into the Capital Planning Fund and be used for future project development. The Capital Planning Fund may be used for planning projects that are funded through sources other than bonds, but those funds are not reimbursable.

Capital Planning Funds support the next planned bond programs and will be appropriated through the annual budget process.

The Capital Planning Fund supports critical project development and pre-bond planning outside the regular General Fund budget. This investment in planning helps increase public confidence and the likelihood that these projects will be delivered on time and on budget. The advance work helps improve cost estimation reliability and refine project delivery methods.

Historically, the General Fund supported pre-bond critical project development on the condition that once bonds for that project were issued, the General Fund would be reimbursed. This Plan assumes that bond reimbursements will flow into the Capital Planning Fund and be used for future project development. The Capital Planning Fund may be used for planning projects that are funded through sources other than bonds, but those funds are not reimbursable.

The Office of Resilience and Capital Planning anticipates approximately $8 million available in FY2020 to support project planning through the Capital Planning Fund. That amount includes the funds that will come back to the Capital Planning Fund following the first sale of bonds from the recently approved Seawall Program. Capital Planning Funds support the next planned bond programs and will be appropriated through the annual budget process.

The Capital Planning Fund supports critical project development or pre-bond planning outside the regular General Fund budget. Historically, the General Fund supported pre-bond critical project development on the condition that once bonds for that project were issued, the General Fund would be reimbursed. This Plan assumes that bond reimbursements will flow into the Capital Planning Fund and be used for future project development and pre-bond planning. 

The Capital Planning Fund may be used for planning of building projects that are funded through sources other than bonds, but those funds are not reimbursable. This investment in planning helps increase public confidence and the likelihood that these projects will be delivered on time and on budget by improving cost estimation reliability and refining project delivery methods. 

This Plan has identified $3.8 million in FY2018 projects to be funded through the Capital Planning Fund: Seawall fortification and the relocation of DPH staff out of 101 Grove Street. There are additional projects in the Plan well-suited to Capital Planning Fund allocations, such as public safety improvements expected to be funded through Earthquake Safety & Emergency Response G.O. Bonds and continued planning for the Justice Facilities Improvement Program to close the Hall of Justice.

Pay-As-You-Go Program

Over the 10-year timeframe of this Capital Plan, the primary source of revenue to fund our ongoing annual needs, or Pay-As-You-Go Program (Pay-Go), is the San Francisco General Fund. The General Fund is comprised of various taxes collected by the City, which include property, sales, business, and hotel taxes. It serves as the primary funding stream for on-going programs and services for the entire city. As infrastructure underpins these programs and services, it is appropriate for the General Fund set-aside funds to insure buildings, streets, parks, and related infrastructure are in a state of good repair throughout their useful life. It is also worth noting that all San Francisco residents, businesses, and visitors benefit from investments in local infrastructure.

Improvements paid through the Pay-Go Program tend to be smaller in scale than programs that require debt financing over a multi-year period. By using the Pay-Go Program for short-term improvements, the City is less reliant on debt financing and ultimately spends less to deliver those projects.

San Francisco has long sought a permanent source to support Street Repaving, the largest line item in the Pay-Go Program. A 2016 sales tax measure that would have accomplished this goal failed at the ballot. Soon thereafter, the State of California passed Senate Bill 1 (SB1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, discussed further in the Recent Ballot Measures section below. Street Repaving is one of the eligible uses for SB1 funds.

Over the 10-year timeframe of this Capital Plan, the City will fund many of our ongoing annual needs with funds from the San Francisco General Fund, the primary source of the Pay-As-You-Go Program (“Pay-Go”). The General Fund is comprised of various taxes collected by the City, which include property, sales, business, and hotel taxes, and is the primary funding stream for many City programs and services. The General Fund is an appropriate funding mechanism for capital because San Francisco residents, businesses, and visitors alike benefit from investments in local infrastructure.

Improvements paid through the Pay-Go Program tend to be smaller in scale than programs that require debt financing over a multi-year period. By using the Pay-Go Program for short-term improvements, the City is less reliant on debt financing and ultimately spends less to deliver those projects.

San Francisco has long sought a permanent source to support Street Repaving, the largest line item in the Pay-Go Program. A 2016 sales tax measure that would have accomplished this goal failed at the ballot. Soon thereafter, the State of California passed Senate Bill 1 (SB1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, discussed further below. Street Repaving is one of the eligible uses for SB1 funds, and this complementary source has enabled San Francisco to fund its Pay-Go Program at the Plan-recommended level in every budget since its passage. Going forward, SB1 Street Repaving dollars will be considered along with the General Fund as a source for the Pay-Go Program.

For more information on the Pay-Go Program, please see Chapter 2: Introduction.

Over the 10-year timeframe of this Capital Plan, the City will fund many of our ongoing annual needs with funds from the San Francisco General Fund, the source of the Pay-As-You-Go Program (“Pay-Go”). The General Fund is comprised of various taxes collected by the City, which include property, sales, business, and hotel taxes, and is the primary funding stream for nearly all City programs and services. The General Fund is an appropriate funding mechanism because San Francisco residents, businesses, and visitors alike benefit from the capital investments laid out in this plan. 

Improvements paid through the Pay-Go Program tend to be smaller in scale than programs that require debt financing over a multi-year period. By using the Pay-Go Program for short-term improvements, the City is less reliant on debt financing, and ultimately spends less money to deliver those projects. Pay-Go strikes an important balance between paying for improvements today, and issuing debt which will be largely be borne by users of those improvements in the future. Within the Pay-Go Program, Routine Maintenance, ADA Transition Plans for Facilities and Public Right-of-Way, and Street Resurfacing are recommended for full funding.

For more information on the Pay-Go Program, please see Chapter 2: Introduction.

Infrastructure

San Francisco Slow Streets

Infrastructure is central to our daily lives yet often hidden from view. The Capital Plan is critical to taking care of the infrastructure we already have and investing in systems that meet the challenges of the future.

Lifelines

The Lifelines Council of San Francisco brings together public and private sector infrastructure operators to share information, ideas, and data that provide the basis for a coordinated response to hasten the recovery, restoration and viability of San Francisco following a major earthquake. In 2014, the Council published an Interdependency Study, which identified a series of actions to improve utility reliability and post-disaster functionality in San Francisco. Building on that study, the Lifelines Restoration Performance Project, completed in 2020, developed for the first time, a common set of expectations for when lifelines systems serving San Francisco will restore service following a major earthquake and sets restoration goals for each system. The plan identifies projects, policies, and actions needed to close the gap between current and target restoration times.

Waterfront Resilience

The Embarcadero Seawall, which spans three miles of shoreline from Fisherman’s Wharf to Mission Creek, needs to be strengthened to address seismic risks, floods, and sea level rise. Recognizing the significant consequences to the city, the region, the state, and the many community members and businesses that depend on the Seawall’s integrity, the City initiated the Seawall Program, led by the Port of San Francisco. Phase I will implement the most immediate life safety upgrades to the Embarcadero Seawall at select locations and plan for additional work to ensure a resilient waterfront for 2100 and beyond. The Port will implement the Seawall Program over several decades and will require federal, state, and local permitting and funding to complete the effort. For more information please see the Neighborhood and Economic Development Chapter.

Transportation

The COVID-19 crisis has greatly impacted public transit in San Francisco and the SFMTA has developed the Transportation Recovery Plan (TRP) to strategically respond to the crisis. The TRP makes the best use of the SFMTA’s limited resources to adapt its transportation services to minimize risk to its employees and the public, meet changing health guidance and transportation needs and support a strong economic recovery. Among TRP measures are strategies that enable efficient modes of transportation, like the Slow Streets Program, temporary emergency transit lanes, and temporary bike improvements. SFMTA’s Slow Streets program is designed to provide more space for social distancing by limiting through traffic on certain residential streets. Throughout the city, over thirty corridors have been planned or implemented as a Slow Street by adding signage and other improvements to these streets to help minimize through vehicle traffic and prioritize walking/biking. This program also helps the City towards its Vision Zero goals of prioritizing street safety and eliminating traffic deaths by 2024.

Vision Zero SF uses data-driven strategies to protect people from serious injury or death by crash with safer roads, slower speeds, improved design, and education and enforcement to support safer road behaviors. In addition to strengthening and adapting infrastructure and making our right-of-way safer, the City is also working to make sure that the transportation network supports San Franciscans’ vision for the future. With the help of thousands of residents who participated in focus groups, surveys, and targeted outreach, ConnectSF developed a vision, goals, and objectives that will guide the city’s long-range transportation planning. For more information on these efforts, please see the Transportation chapter.

Climate Resilience

Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Zone map

As we consider the next generation of programs and projects that will build strong, adaptive, and sustainable communities in San Francisco, two strategic documents serve as guides: the Hazards and Climate Resilience Plan and the Climate Action Plan.

In June 2020, San Francisco adopted the Hazards and Climate Resilience Plan, which also serves as the Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, making San Francisco eligible for federal funding opportunities. The plan assessed vulnerability to existing hazards, such as earthquakes, as well as hazards increasing due to climate change, such as flooding, drought, extreme heat, and poor air quality from wildfires. The plan includes resilience strategies to improve San Francisco’s buildings, infrastructure, and communities and drive future resilience investment in the City.

The updated Climate Action Plan will define a pathway to deliver net zero emissions by 2050 and articulate the wider social, racial, environmental, and economic benefits of climate action. Since the completion of the City’s 2013 Climate Action Strategy, there have been significant achievements, such as the launch of CleanPowerSF, the passing of the Better Roofs and All-Electric for New Buildings Ordinances, a transition to 100 percent renewable diesel in the City fleet, and advancements in building energy efficiency. San Francisco’s post-pandemic Climate Action Plan will also center around creating good jobs and economic recovery resistant to crisis-level shocks.

This section first discusses projects related to sea level rise and flooding and then extreme heat and poor air quality.

Sea Level Rise and Flooding

The 2016 Sea Level Rise Action Plan left no question that San Francisco’s lower-lying shoreline areas will be exposed to flood waters in the relatively near-term. The City then completed the Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Consequences Assessment in 2019 to provide detailed information to decision-makers on the level of vulnerability of public assets to inform future adaptation strategies.

The City has already adopted technical guidance for incorporating sea level rise into capital planning. Approved by the Capital Planning Committee in 2014 and updated in 2020, this guidance establishes a consistent review, planning, and implementation process for projects in the Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Zone. Departments are expected to identify and map project sites to check whether they fall within the Vulnerability Zone, fill out a checklist for all projects over $5 million funded within the next 10 years, and submit for review by the Chair of the Capital Planning Committee and the City Engineer.

In September 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) finalized San Francisco's revised  Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) that shows flood hazards associated with flooding from coastal tides and storm surge. The National Flood Insurance Program provides reasonably priced flood insurance to homes within the flood zone and helps communities manage floodplains. The City will amend its Floodplain Management Ordinance in 2021 so that the revised FIRM can go into effect.

Storm water also poses a threat, particularly during extreme precipitation events as runoff can result in flooding and sometimes property damage. As this type of flooding is not captured by our sea level rise maps or the FEMA floodplain maps, SFPUC has developed a 100-Year Storm Flood Risk Map that shows areas of San Francisco where significant flooding from storm runoff is highly likely to occur during a 100-year storm. The purpose of the map is to inform existing and future property owners about flood risk on their property and promote resilience. This effort will be closely aligned with the City’s Floodplain Management Ordinance.

Preliminary planning is already underway in areas known to be vulnerable to sea level rise. The Port has partnered with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for a Flood Resiliency Study, where the Port and USACE each committed $1.5 million to study flood risk along San Francisco’s 7.5 mile waterfront. This USACE appropriation represents the beginning of the General Investigation process that will culminate in a recommendation to Congress regarding additional federal funding to support the Seawall Program and other areas at risk of flooding along the Port’s jurisdiction. For more information, please see the Economic and Neighborhood Development Chapter.

Also along the bayside, the Planning Department and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) are collaborating to develop the Islais Creek Southeast Mobility Adaptation Strategy, funded by a Caltrans grant. This strategy will build adaptation scenarios to lay the groundwork for a resilient, safe, and reliable multimodal transportation system for projected population and job growth.

Also in the Southeast bayfront, the Recreation and Parks Department will remediate a brownfield site adjacent to India Basin Shoreline Park to create one grand waterfront park in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood. This park will increase access to open space in an under-served area of the city and programming will have an emphasis on access, social equity, waterfront recreation, sea level rise resilience, and marsh and wetland habitat. For more information, please see the Recreation, Culture, and Education Chapter.

Adaptation to sea level rise is also underway on the west side of the city. The 2012 Ocean Beach Master Plan (OBMP), led by SPUR, involved federal, state, and local agencies in the development of a sustainable and resilient long-term vision for Ocean Beach. The 3.5-mile stretch of Ocean Beach is home to rugged coast, a national park, popular urban open space, and the site of some major infrastructure assets. The OBMP presents recommendations for the management and protection of Ocean Beach in the context of climate-induced sea level rise and severe erosion. It includes six Key Moves over a horizon of several decades. Current efforts include the removal of the Great Highway between Sloat and Skyline Boulevards and the introduction of a coastal protection, restoration, and access system.

Heat and Poor Air Quality

San Francisco faced a record 30 consecutive spare-the-air days due to wildfire smoke in summer 2020 and the City must continue to prepare for more poor air quality and heat waves due to climate change. We must also look out for the most vulnerable and make sure people know where they can go to access cleaner air and cooler facilities. The City has identified public facilities that are well suited to serve as cleaner air and/or cooling respite centers, and facilities that could serve as respite centers with investments in ventilation, air conditioning systems, and window upgrades. Going forward, the City Administrator’s Office will work with partner agencies to recommend an equitable level of service for cleaner air and cooling centers in San Francisco and strategic investments in public facilities. The City is also working to advance the capital-related strategies called for in the Hazards and Climate Resilience Plan, including expanding the Street Tree SF climate resilient tree planting initiative and developing multi-hazard resilience design guidelines.

Eliminating Greenhouse Gas Emissions

At the Global Climate Action Summit in 2018, Mayor London Breed committed San Francisco to new building decarbonization goals, which require all new buildings to be net zero emissions no later than 2030 and all existing buildings to be net zero emissions by 2050. A key first step in achieving this goal is the Municipal All Electric Ordinance passed in January 2020. The legislation requires that all new construction and renovations of municipal buildings to be all electric. Facilities funding through this Capital Plan will meet this new requirement.

The 2018 Global Climate Summit

In 2018, San Francisco hosted the world’s climate change leaders, problem-solvers, and advocates for the Global Climate Summit convened by Governor Jerry Brown. In tandem with that event, San Francisco made ambitious new climate commitments to:

• Reduce emissions to net zero by 2050.
• Reduce waste generation by 15% and landfill disposal by 50% by 2030.
• Build net-zero carbon buildings by 2050.
• Issue more green bonds to finance capital projects.
• Switch all electricity in to renewables by 2030.

The Embarcadero Seawall, which spans three miles of shoreline from Fisherman’s Wharf to Mission Creek, needs to be strengthened to address both seismic risks and current and increasing flood risk due to sea level rise. Recognizing the significant consequences to the City, the region, the State and the many community members and businesses that depend on the Seawall’s integrity, the City initiated the Seawall Program, led by the Port of San Francisco. For more information, please see the Economic and Neighborhood Development chapter.

Another essential disaster preparedness project is San Francisco’s Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS), which is vital for protecting against loss of life and property from fire in the event of a major earthquake. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission assumed responsibility of the EFWS in 2011 and is steadily moving forward with plans to improve and expand its reach. For more information, please see the Infrastructure and Streets chapter and the Public Safety chapter.

Through Vision Zero SF, the City has committed to working together to prioritize street safety and eliminate traffic deaths by 2024. Vision Zero SF uses data-driven strategies to protect people from serious injury or death by crash with safer roads, slower speeds, improved design, and education and enforcement to support safer road behaviors. In addition to strengthening and adapting vulnerable infrastructure and making our right-of-way safer, the City is also working to make sure that the transportation network supports San Franciscans’ vision for the future. With the help of thousands of residents who participated in focus groups, surveys, and targeted outreach, ConnectSF developed a vision, goals, and objectives that will guide the city’s long-range transportation planning. For more information on these efforts, please see the Transportation chapter.

The lack of affordable housing affects everyone in San Francisco. For more information on affordable and supportive housing, please see sections in the Economic and Neighborhood Development and Health and Human Services chapters. In the coming decades, shocks and stresses like earthquakes and sea level rise have the potential to make our housing challenges even more severe. As a result, housing is an integral part of our planning for hazards and climate change, disaster recovery, and seismic safety programs.

City Resilience Index

As part of a cohort through 100RC, in 2018 San Francisco evaluated our resilience performance through the City Resilience Index (CRI). The CRI uses a comprehensive framework based on 12 resilience goals:

• Diverse livelihoods and employment
• Effective safeguards to human health and life
• Collective identity and community support
• Comprehensive security and rule of law
• Sustainable economy
• Reduced exposure and fragility
• Effective provision of critical services
• Reliable mobility and communications
• Effective leadership and management
• Empowered stakeholders
• Integrated development planning

The Office of Resilience and Capital Planning has completed the initial intake assessment for the CRI. Next steps include reviewing the analysis, refining the framework in light of our observations, and exploring future opportunities.

Both the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors are committed to protecting public health and welfare by calling for and supporting local actions to reduce global warming and protect the environment. A major component of that effort is increasing the adaptive capacity of our capital infrastructure while decreasing fossil fuel dependence. 

The City’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals codified in the Climate Change Goals and Action Plan within the Environment Code are: 

• 20% below 1990 levels by 2012 
• 25% by 2017 
• 40% by 2025 
• 80% by 2050 

Achieving these reduction goals requires that we use clean energy sources, abandon the use of fossil fuels, and make healthy choices for ourselves and the planet. As part of that effort, emission reduction measures are integrated into departmental standard operating procedures and are an important consideration for our facilities planning.

San Francisco is leading the way in municipal green building. San Francisco was one of the first cities in the world to require LEED certification for our buildings, dating back to 1999. LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a green building certification program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that provides independent verification of a building’s green features and promotes the design, construction, and maintenance of resource-efficient buildings. In 2016 the Mayor and Board President jointly introduced legislation to update the San Francisco Environment Code with new green building standards for all new municipal construction projects. The proposed legislation will bring municipal building into compliance with state law and alignment with the requirements of LEED version 4. This legislation will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while providing healthy, productive places for City staff and members of the public.

The proposed Environment Code change also requires feasibility analyses to explore achieving Zero Net Energy in new municipal construction by 2030 and identifying potential sites for solar and storage capacity to increase resilience in case of a disaster or emergency.

California has set a goal that all new residential buildings be Zero Net Energy by 2020 and all commercial buildings will be Zero Net Energy by 2030. A Zero Net Energy building produces enough renewable energy to meet its own annual energy consumption requirements. While state-level guidance has focused on residential construction so far, San Francisco is looking ahead to be able to meet the commercial target. The feasibility studies required in the proposed Environment Code will enable the City to refine our approach so that the potential of Zero Net Energy construction is realized. 

Like other cities, San Francisco faces the challenge of being unable to use our sustainable energy resources if the electric grid goes down. The Solar+Storage for Resiliency project aims to integrate solar and energy storage into the City’s emergency response planning. The primary goals of Solar+Storage are to accelerate the deployment of photovoltaics and create a roadmap for using them as a viable tool for energy security in the event of an emergency. 

San Francisco municipal leadership in green building and greenhouse gas emissions reduction has informed the adoption of LEED standards in the San Francisco Building Code for private sector development. Green buildings have achieved extraordinary market penetration in San Francisco, with more than 100 million square feet of space earning LEED certification to date. In 2011 San Francisco was awarded Best Green Building Policy by the World Green Building Council and ranked the number one market for green development in North America in the Better Bricks/ Cushman & Wakefield Green Building Opportunity Index. 

San Francisco’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction and Zero Net Energy goals are challenging, and there is much work ahead. San Francisco needs timely, granular data in order to evaluate building performance and utility usage so that it can make improvements and track progress. The City also needs a clear understanding of each municipal building’s criticality so that emergency response preparations can be prioritized strategically. Identifying funding mechanisms that will support the implementation of recommendations as they are developed is also essential.