SPUR Publications

Seven city agencies spent nearly a million dollars supporting urban agriculture projects in San Francisco in 2010-2011. Yet there is no single staff person responsible for coordinating that funding, nor any overarching goals for how the money is used. Urban agriculture legislation introduced on April 24 by Supervisor David Chiu, however, would change that. The proposed ordinance, which implements a number of the recommendations in…

As the deadline approaches to submit measures for the November ballot, the City and County of San Francisco is moving ahead aggressively with its effort to reform the city’s business tax. While the city has made significant progress in recent weeks, there are some signs that the complexity and commitment to reform are being further complicated by increasing calls for a tax that would not just replace revenue from the existing payroll tax but bring the city additional funds.

After more than six years of planning, we now have a clearer picture of what bus rapid transit might look like on Van Ness Avenue. This past Tuesday, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency unanimously approved a combination of two out of the four designs under consideration. SPUR has advocated for this blend as the best option for an effective system on Van Ness.

The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite delivers water to 2.6 million Bay Area residents every day. This November, a group of environmental advocates will put forth a ballot measure that would require the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to develop a plan to drain Hetch Hetchy. But tearing down O’Shaughnessy Dam in order to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley would be a disaster. In fact this ballot measure is so problematic that SPUR has taken early action to oppose it.

In recent months, Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego each passed their first Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) in response to Senate Bill 375 , the 2008 state bill requiring each region in California to create a coordinated land use and transportation plan to reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions from driving. We in the Bay Area have the advantage of being the last among the…

Earlier this spring, high-speed rail in California took two very significant steps. First Bay Area leaders announced a plan to electrify Caltrain, which would make it possible for Caltrain and high-speed rail to share the same tracks between San Jose and San Francisco. Second the California High-Speed Rail Authority released an updated business plan that cuts the cost of the train system by a third. While these important steps will move the project forward, there are major unresolved questions about how we will extend Caltrain to San Francisco's Transbay Transit Center and conntect the Bay Area to the high-speed rail trunk like in the Central Valley.

For the last decade, businesses in San Francisco have been adamant that the city’s payroll tax is holding back job growth. First, companies must pay the tax when they reach $250,000 in payroll, which discourages new hiring. Second, they must pay it when employees exercise their stock options — a strong incentive for any company considering an IPO to leave the city. SPUR, along with…

The Ocean Beach Master Plan continues to be developed. Please check back here for the final document. In the meantime, you can download the draft version: Draft Ocean Beach Master Plan Document >> [pdf download - warning: file is 75 MB]

Meals cooked from scratch. At least a quarter of the ingredients locally sourced. Fresh produce from the 1.5-acre farm adjacent to the new central kitchen. These are just a few of the goals in a new vision for Oakland’s school food program detailed in a recently released report.

The Stockton Street Enhancement Project, spearheaded by Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC) and SPUR, brought Chinatown and SPUR stakeholders together to discuss ways to preserve the economic and cultural vitality of Stockton Street while offering opportunity areas for improvement through the next decade. The project, made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, included a walking tour and two workshops designed…

On March 9, 2012, San Francisco issued its first zoning permit for “neighborhood urban agriculture.” The change of use permit, given to Little City Gardens , allows the small urban farming business to grow produce for sale at its three-quarter-acre market garden in the Mission Terrace neighborhood. It is the first permit issued under San Francisco’s pioneering urban agriculture zoning guidelines , which Mayor Lee…

Let’s say you’ve got a great jam recipe. Or perhaps you make some mean pickles. Your friends keep telling you that you should quit your day job and follow your culinary passion. But unless you’ve got quite a bit of savings or other access to capital, following your friends’ advice is a pricey proposition. That’s because in California, you can’t sell any food prepared in…

This June’s primary election will bear little resemblance to the contentious ballot San Franciscans considered last November. Gone are the competing pension reform measures, sales taxes and bonds. We’re left with two measures, both placed on the ballot by voter petition. While the June slate may be lean, voters should take the time to fully research the measures on the ballot this spring. They’re important…

SPUR's 32nd annual Good Government Awards , held March 19, honored City of San Francisco employees who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. The Municipal Tax Automation Team — Darrell Ascano, Tajel Shah and Rebecca Villareal-Mayer — was honored for its outstanding teamwork and achievement in upgrading the technology used to collect and process the majority of…

SPUR's 32nd annual Good Government Awards , held March 19, honored City of San Francisco employees who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. Steven Castile was honored for his commitment to preserving public access to parks while ensuring environmental sustainability of parkland, managing the city’s agronomical practices for five golf courses, three stadiums (including Candlestick and Kezar…