Preparing San Francisco for the Big One is not a one-time effort. The city’s Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) Bond program, which has passed voter approval several times in the past ($412.3 million in 2010, $400 million in 2014, and $628.5 million in 2020), is likely headed back to the ballot in June after a hearing at the city’s Budget and Finance Committee on Jan. 14.
The ballot measure would seek voter approval of $535 million in general obligation bonds to pay for earthquake safety and emergency response upgrades.
San Francisco City Administrator Carmen Chu told the committee that the new bond would enable “our departments to make critical seismic safety upgrades and improvements to some of our city’s most essential infrastructure — our first-responder facilities, our emergency firefighting water system, amongst others.”
We know the big one is coming; the question for us will be whether we did everything we could to prepare.
She said “These infrastructure improvements are needed now. We know that a large earthquake is something that we should be planning for and preparing for. According to the USGS [United States Geological Survey], there is a 72 percent chance of a 6.7 magnitude or greater earthquake in the Bay Area in the next 30 years. That’s a pretty significant and high percentage of likelihood that we will be experiencing seismic activity in the Bay Area.”
Chu says the bond is critical to the city’s ability to respond to disasters. She noted that during the Palisades fire, water hydrants there ran dry, and she said this bond would prevent the same problem in San Francisco. Chu cited the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake to point out that “sometimes it’s not the initial shaking that causes the most damage, but oftentimes the fire itself that starts to bring much more loss of life and casualties and other issues with the city.”
Brian Strong, chief resilience officer and director of the Office of Resilience and Capital Planning, broke down the spending in the bond that “will . . . be making critical improvements to fire stations, police stations, as well as doing some critical repairs”:
– $130 million for the Emergency Firefighting Water System, especially extended high-pressure water pipelines, hydrants and key connection points in western neighborhoods;
– $100 million to renovate or replace fire stations vulnerable to significant damage or collapse;
– $72 million for seismic retrofitting of police stations vulnerable to significant damage or collapse;
– $33 million to address critical needs at public sites across the city (plumbing, electrical systems, HVAC systems, etc.)
– and $200 million for the city bus maintenance facility at Potrero Yard (which is more than 110 years old) to ensure the buses would be able to function after an earthquake.
Some might express surprise at the inclusion of the Potrero Yard in the bond coverage, but Julie Kirschbaum, director of transportation at the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, has said the buses are “an integral part of the city’s response to a disaster,” and rebuilding the yard site is essential to Muni.
Following the meeting, the bond moved to the full Board of Supervisors. In a statement issued by the mayor’s office, Mayor Daniel Lurie said “By passing this bond, we are taking steps to keep San Francisco safe by giving our neighborhoods the tools they need to withstand emergency events and ensuring our city is ready to respond quickly when disaster strikes.”
That was echoed by Board President Rafael Mandelman, who added that “We know the big one is coming; the question for us will be whether we did everything we could to prepare and protect our city and especially our first responders.”
The bond measure is supported by the mayor, Board President Mandelman, and Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Alan Wong, Bilal Mahmood, Danny Sauter, Chyanne Chen, Connie Chan, Stephen Sherrill, and Myrna Melgar.
The general obligation bond won’t increase property tax rates; new bonds are only issued as old bonds are retired. If, as expected, it is approved by the full Board of Supervisors, voters would see the bond request on the ballot for a special election on June 2, 2026.