SEC. 16.122. RIGHT TO VOTE ON ANY PROJECT THAT WOULD PLACE 100 ACRES OR MORE OF FILL IN SAN FRANCISCO BAY.
§ 16.122
San Francisco voters must approve any city project that would place 100 or more acres of fill in San Francisco Bay. The project must first comply with environmental law, including preparation of an Environmental Impact Report if required, and the report must be made public before the election. The ballot measure must ask voters whether to approve the named project and specify the acreage.
If a city project would dump 100 acres or more of fill (dirt, materials, or structures) into San Francisco Bay, the voters of San Francisco get to vote on it. Before the project can even be put to a vote, it has to follow all environmental laws, including getting an Environmental Impact Report if needed. The report must be shared with the public before the election. The ballot will ask voters a simple yes-or-no question about whether to approve the project and how many acres would be filled.
- Controversial:Whether major bay-fill projects require a citywide vote is a politically contested issue involving environmental protection, development, and public participation in land-use decisions.
- Complex:The section contains multiple cross-references (Charter, Elections Code), procedural timelines, and definitions that interact in ways requiring careful coordination between election officials and project approvers.
AI-generated · claude-haiku-4-5 · informational only, not legal advice.
Official text
(a) The qualified electors of the City and County shall have the right to vote on any Project of the City and County that would place 100 acres or more of fill in San Francisco Bay.
(b) Notwithstanding any contrary provisions of the Charter, the approval of any Project that would place 100 acres or more of fill in San Francisco Bay shall be conditioned upon the affirmative vote of a majority vote of the electorate.
(c) Within three (3) business days of such conditional approval by any department, board, commission, or other unit of government of the City and County, including any board, commission or other unit of government of the City and County of San Francisco established by state or federal law that is subject to the provisions of the San Francisco Charter, of any Project that would place 100 acres or more of fill in San Francisco Bay, the approving entity shall provide written notice thereof to the Director of Elections who shall place the measure required by this Section on the ballot at the first general municipal or statewide election which occurs at least one hundred and twenty (120) days after said notice is received by the Director.
(d) Ballot measures generated and placed on the ballot pursuant to this Section are not exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act nor any other federal, state or local environmental laws and regulations to which the Project may be subject. Before any action is taken by the City and County to approve a Project that is required by this Section to be submitted to the electorate, the Project must comply with the California Environmental Quality Act. If compliance requires the preparation, consideration and certification of an Environmental Impact Report, that process shall be finalized prior to project approval and the information contained in the final certified Environmental Impact Report shall be made publicly available to the electorate for its consideration prior to the election.
(e) The general statement of the ballot measure to be voted on, pursuant to this Section, shall read as follows:
Shall the voters approve (insert name of project) that would fill in (insert number) acres of San Francisco Bay? Yes or No
The name of the Project to be inserted into the general statement shall be determined by the City Attorney pursuant to Section 510 of the San Francisco Elections Code, or any subsequent amended or renumbered version of Section 510.
(f) Definitions. Words and phrases used in this Section shall have the meanings specified in the San Francisco Charter, except that the following words and phrases as used in this Section shall have the following meanings:
"Project" or "Project of the City and County" shall mean any activity proposed, sponsored, initiated, or funded by any department, board, commission, or other unit of government of the City and County of San Francisco including any board, commission or other unit of government of the City and County of San Francisco established by state or federal law that is subject to provisions of the San Francisco Charter.
"Place fill" or "fill in" shall mean to introduce, or cause to be introduced, earth or any other substance or material, including pilings or structures placed on pilings, and structures floating at some or all times and moored for extended periods.
(g) If any part or provision of this Section, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Section, including the application of such part or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, provisions of this Section are severable.
(Added November 2001)