SEC. 4.139. SANITATION AND STREETS COMMISSION.
§ 4.139
A Sanitation and Streets Commission is established with five members appointed by the Board of Supervisors, Controller, and Mayor (subject to Board confirmation) to set sanitation policies, establish cleanliness standards, and oversee maintenance of public rights of way for the Department of Public Works.
San Francisco creates a five-member Sanitation and Streets Commission. The Board of Supervisors appoints two members, the Controller appoints one member (approved by the Board), and the Mayor appoints two members (approved by the Board). Members serve four-year terms and can be removed by whoever appointed them. The Commission holds public meetings, reviews data about street cleanliness, and sets minimum cleanliness standards and maintenance goals for the city's Public Works Department. The Controller also checks the Department's performance.
- Complex:Subsection (b)(1) contains multiple overlapping approval processes (nomination, public hearing, 60-day clock, deemed approval, and effective date rules) that interact in ways requiring careful reading.
- Controversial:Establishing a new oversight body with policy-setting authority over sanitation and street maintenance touches on resource allocation and service standards that are subjects of ongoing public debate in San Francisco.
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Official text
(a) Purpose. There is hereby established a Sanitation and Streets Commission.
(b) Membership and Terms of Office.
(1) The Commission shall consist of five members, appointed as follows: Seats 1 and 2 shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Seat 3 shall be appointed by the Controller subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors. Seats 4 and 5 shall be appointed by the Mayor subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors.
Each nomination of the Mayor and the Controller shall be subject to approval by the Board of Supervisors, and shall be the subject of a public hearing and vote within 60 days of the date the Clerk of the Board receives notice of the nomination from the Mayor or Controller. If the Board fails to act on the nomination within those 60 days, the nominee shall be deemed approved. The appointment shall become effective on the date the Board adopts a motion approving the nomination or on the 61st day after the Clerk of the Board receives notice of the nomination, whichever is earlier.
Qualifications for commissioners that are desirable, but not required, include a background or experience in cleaning and maintaining public spaces, urban forestry, urban design, construction, skilled crafts and trades, finance and audits, architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, or performance measurement and management.
(2) Members of the Commission shall serve four-year terms; provided, however, the term of the initial appointees in Seats 1 and 4 shall be two years.
(3) Members may be removed at will by their respective appointing officer.
(c) Duties. The Commission shall hold public hearings and set policies for the Department of Public Works (the “Department”) regarding sanitation standards and protocols, and maintenance of the public right of way. In addition, the Commission shall:
(1) review and evaluate data regarding the condition of the public right of way, including but not limited to data collected by the Department and annual reports generated by the Controller; and
(2) establish minimum standards of cleanliness for the public right of way, and set baselines for services to be administered by the Department to maintain cleanliness of the public right of way.
Notwithstanding Sections 4.102, 4.103, and 4.104 of this Charter, the Commission shall exercise only the powers set forth in this subsection (c), and the Public Works Commission shall exercise the oversight authority described in those sections over the Department of Public Works, as set forth in Section 4.141.
(d) Transition following November 8, 2022 election. The tenures and terms of members of the Commission on November 8, 2022 shall continue as provided in this Section 4.139.
(Added by Proposition B, Approved 11/3/2020; amended by Proposition B, Approved 11/8/2022)