San Francisco's supervisors outline 2023 goals
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
New year, same problems. We caught up with a handful of San Francisco supervisors to discuss their 2023 goals for the city.
Why it matters: San Francisco faces a number of challenges and city supervisors are tasked with addressing them.
Below are the top issues supervisors hope to tackle this year.
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The big picture: Homelessness has slightly improved in San Francisco since 2019, but there were still 7,754 unhoused people in the city on a single night in 2022 — about a 12% increase since 2017, according to the city.
What's happening: Part of District 5 Supervisor Dean Preston's plan for tackling homelessness is to turn the Oasis Inn into a permanent shelter for unhoused families.
- Creating bulk shelters, like the Oasis Inn, are "the step out of homelessness that a lot of people need," he said.
- He's also hoping to secure 400 Divisadero St, a former gas station, as a site for affordable housing.
Separately, District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí hopes to produce mandatory audits and better oversight to San Francisco's homelessness response system, which, he said, fails to "achieve lasting results."
- In November, voters passed Proposition C, which calls on the city to establish a seven-person Homelessness Oversight Commission.
- Safaí said now it's up to the Mayor and Board to follow through and establish the commission, and urged interested residents to apply.
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The big picture: San Francisco is in the midst of a deadly drug overdose epidemic, largely driven by the opioid fentanyl.
State of play: Continuing to push for the opening of supervised consumption sites and wellness hubs are top of mind for District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey and District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen.
- In December, they were among eight supervisors who introduced legislation to call on the city to commit $5.5 million to open safe consumption sites.
What they're saying: While the drug crisis can't be solved overnight, Dorsey said, "I think there is an expectation that we're going to be making progress in the right direction."
- Beyond the wellness hubs, Ronen said she wants to make sure the city makes progress on the implementation of Mental Health SF, which in part entails the opening of a service center to better help people suffering from addiction and mental health issues.
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The big picture: San Francisco must approve a housing plan by Jan. 31, detailing to the state how the city will build 82,000 housing units over the next eight years.
- Otherwise, the city is at risk of losing state funding grants for affordable housing.
What they're saying: District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who previously served as president of the city's Planning Commission, said it's important to have a path "that's sustainable for the next generation of San Franciscans to be able to afford to live here."
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The big picture: There's a lot that needs fixing in San Francisco, but it's also important to create more moments of joy across the city, newly-elected District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio told Axios.
What's happening: After a recent trip to visit his husband's family in Taiwan, Engardio said he wants to bring an Asian-inspired night market to the Sunset District.
- Engardio said he's confident "most people are hungry for more joy. And a night market hits the spot."