SAN FRANCISCO The Port of San Francisco received new bonding powers under legislation that has been approved by the California Legislature and signed by the governor.
The new law allows the port to use redevelopment-style financing without going through a redevelopment agency, said Monique Moyer, executive director of the port.It allows us to do it directly as the port, instead of using the redevelopment agency, she said, by giving the port legal authority to create an infrastructure financing district.
Such districts already exist in state law, utilizing tax-increment financing, in which tax revenue derived from increasing assessments flows to the district to pay for or to finance infrastructure improvements.
The existing state law governing formation of infrastructure financing districts assumes the presence of private landowners and registered voters. The new law, signed last week by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, allows such districts to be created on Port of San Francisco land, though its property is publicly owned and there are no residents.
Getting the state law passed was just a first step, according to Moyer. We have to go through the [San Francisco] Board of Supervisors to create the district and all the aspects of the district, she said.
The port controls more than seven miles of San Francisco waterfront.
Moyer said the new tax-increment authority gives the port a valuable tool as it tries to redevelop the southern half of its waterfront territory, running from the SBC Park baseball stadium at China Basin south to the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. Much of it is blighted, Moyer said.
While weve had a lot of new development at China Basin and the Ferry Building, the economy at the rest of the waterfront still is moving at a snails pace, the bills sponsor, Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, said in a statement after the bill was signed.
Moyer said the ports Pier 70 exemplifies the challenge. The pier property is full of historic yet vacant buildings. Built for industrial and maritime uses that are obsolete, the handsome buildings have great redevelopment potential, she said.
Theyre just amazing buildings, Moyer said. But they require upgrades to improve earthquake safety, as well as environmental remediation for asbestos and other unsafe materials.
The city planning department has reviewed the Pier 70 site, finding that it meets the criteria for a national historic district and that certain buildings are worthy of National Trust designation.
Migdens bill specifically authorizes the ports infrastructure district to finance seismic upgrades, historic preservation, and hazardous material remediation.
Its too early to say how much bonding the new infrastructure districts would support, Moyer said. At this point, it hasnt been determined how much of the port would be included in a district.
But the port is working on preparing an updated capital improvement plan that it plans to unveil in the spring.
Much of the ports property hasnt been renovated since the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake, and the needs assessment is complicated since much of the ports property consists of piers built over San Francisco Bay.
The port has 39 piers; weve renovated four with cash and four with public-private partnerships, Moyer said. That leaves us with a lot to fix that is now 100 years old. It will be a big capital improvement number when it comes forward.
The Port of San Francisco has about $20 million in outstanding senior revenue bonds, with underlying ratings of A by Fitch Ratings, A-minus by Standard & Poors, and A1 by Moodys Investors Service.
