During her annual State of the City address Thursday, San Francisco Mayor London Breed unveiled a new plan to revitalize the city’s struggling downtown area.
Breed’s goal with the 30 by 30 initiative is to attract 30,000 residents and students downtown by 2030.
“Downtown has always been the economic engine that funds the services we care about, and its post-pandemic difficulties are the driving reason for the deficit we now face,” Breed said from Pier 27.
Breed acknowledged the city’s economic reliance on industries operating from downtown offices. That dependence was made clear at the onset of the pandemic, with a persistent downtown office vacancy rate exceeding 30% due to the shift to remote work.
However, Breed also indicated that she believes technology companies still have a large role to play in fueling that economic engine.
“We are recruiting new businesses and continuing to see new leases signed led by AI, which alone is projected to add 12 million square feet of office space by 2030,” Breed said. “And it won’t be AI alone. This is one of the most beautiful urban environments in the world, with an unrivaled pool of talent, of builders and dreamers, and the largest collection of deployable capital in the country.”
To meet this new goal, Breed said she hopes to work with state Sen. Scott Wiener to change state laws to provide regulatory and tax exemptions for building conversions and spur housing production downtown.
To that end, Breed committed to vetoing any new piece of legislation that she deemed to be anti-housing.
A state report released last October criticized city rules for making new housing production slower and costlier. Even if some of those local rules are changed — obstacles remain — including high construction costs.
The announcements come as Breed seems poised to score several victories in Tuesday’s election, including the likely passage of propositions C, E and F, which she sponsored. Though not all votes have been counted, all three measures were leading by more than five percentage points as of Thursday afternoon.
Proposition C, if passed, would provide the new owners of converted office buildings with a one-time exemption from the city’s real estate transfer tax. As of this writing, it currently leads with nearly 54% of the vote.
Proposition F would require residents who receive city benefits to submit to drug screenings and treatment programs if they are suspected of having a dependence on illegal drugs or risk losing their benefits. Critics say coerced participation is not likely to lead to successful treatment — and vulnerable people could lose their housing if cut off from assistance programs.
During her speech, the mayor thanked residents for their support of those propositions.
“We will roll out 400 automated license plate cameras at 100 intersections across the city this month. Thanks to the voters for approving Proposition E on Tuesday,” Breed said. “We will be installing new public safety cameras in high-crime areas, deploying drones for auto theft, car break-ins and other crimes.”
Along with giving police greater access to surveillance technology and reducing officer requirements for use-of-force reporting, Proposition E would allow police to engage in vehicle pursuits more often.
The mayor seemed to take Tuesday’s election results as a mandate to continue her efforts to ramp up police crackdowns in the city, vowing to support arrests of drug dealers and even drug users “who are a danger to themselves.”
“Yes, offering people services is critical, but frankly, we must compel some people into treatment,” Breed said, adding that she also hopes to expand treatment options for those suffering from substance use disorder.
Breed’s test of true public support, though, will come in November.
That’s when residents will decide whether to re-elect Breed and give her the time to enact these plans or vote in one of her challengers instead.
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