$8.5M Zoo Loan Advances Despite Public Outcry Over Mismanagement

San Francisco's Budget and Finance Committee unanimously cleared every item on its agenda Wednesday, but the flashpoint was an $8.5 million loan to a zoo still digging out from an audit that exposed no-bid contracts and weak financial controls — and four public speakers who showed up to say the money shouldn't flow without stronger strings attached.

• $8.5M loan to the SF Zoological Society advances to full Board over unanimous public opposition demanding accountability and transparency reforms

• 66-year parks deal transfers 13.5 acres at Hunters Point Shipyard to city stewardship with zero general fund cost

• Two community newspapers added to official city advertising list, expanding multilingual outreach to Latino and Chinese neighborhoods

• SFO adds cargo airline Airzeta, projecting $15 million in airport revenue through 2033

Zoo Loan Clears Committee as Speakers Demand Accountability

The committee forwarded an $8.5 million loan to the San Francisco Zoological Society — a deal designed to stabilize an institution flagged by the Budget and Legislative Analyst for financial mismanagement — but not before hearing from every public commenter in opposition.

Why it matters: The loan ties city dollars to a nonprofit zoo operator whose credibility has been battered by audit findings of no-bid contracts, high executive expenses, and resistance to oversight. The reform milestones attached to the loan could shape the zoo's next lease agreement and determine whether the city eventually takes more direct control.

Where things stand: Antonio Guerra, Rec Park Director of Administration and Finance, presented a joint letter from Rec Park and the zoo outlining conditions for accessing the funds: a comprehensive financial sustainability plan, improved budgeting with panda scenario analysis, a strategic plan, a campus master plan, strengthened governance and internal controls, workforce culture reforms, and alignment with AZA accreditation standards. The $8.5 million breaks into a $6.5 million principal and a $2 million reserve, with disbursements tied to hitting those milestones.

"Restoring financial stability and transparency through a comprehensive financial sustainability plan, improved budgeting practices and ongoing reporting," said Guerra. "And that includes some analysis on what happens if we get pandas, what happens if pandas don't arrive, or what happens if pandas arrive and the attendance isn't as strong as we were thinking."

Budget and Legislative Analyst’s Office Analyst Nick Menard confirmed the loan agreement is consistent with a previously reviewed term sheet, with one clarification: repayment runs 10 years after the final disbursement, making the total term approximately 12 to 13 years.

Chair Connie Chan credited the audit requested by Supervisor Myrna Melgar as the catalyst for reform.

"I believe that the audit that Supervisor Melgar has requested really became a roadmap for SF Zoo and Rec Park together to really how to move forward and rebuild not just public trust, but I think that really rebuild the financial health of San Francisco Zoo," she said.

Public Pushback Was Unanimous

All four public speakers opposed the loan outright or demanded far stronger conditions.

Nadine May opposed the loan and the zoo's pursuit of pandas, citing the city's budget crisis and cuts to health, senior, and youth services. She pointed to a panda death at the Memphis Zoo and called for accountability before any funding.

Michael Angelo Torres, Chair of the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control and Welfare and In Defense of Animals staffer, offered the sharpest institutional critique:

"We are now discussing an $8.5 million loan after years of warnings from the public and only after an audit that the Zoological Society resisted and fought hard against."

Torres detailed years of ignored community concerns, noting that even Joint Zoo Committee meetings faced questions about public access — including an incident where an ABC7 reporter was warned not to film.

Susan Cronin Parano laid out a specific list of demands:

• city approval for major expenditures

• annual financial reporting

• restrictions on acquiring new animals to only rescued or native species

• city sign-off on enclosure reuse

• direct investment in existing animal care over panda acquisition.

Sydney Dent, representing San Quentin Village, urged the committee not to bail out the zoo, citing the audit's findings on no-bid contracts and CEO expenses. Dent asked whether the zoo should be brought under more direct city management.

Decisions: Despite the opposition, the committee voted 3-0 (For: Chan, Dorsey, Sauter; Against: none; Absent: none) to forward the loan to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

What's next: The full Board of Supervisors will take up the loan agreement. The reform milestones embedded in the agreement — financial sustainability, governance, and AZA accreditation — will serve as the yardstick for disbursements and, ultimately, for the zoo's next lease negotiation.

City Takes Over 13.5 Acres of Hunters Point Parkland

The basics: The committee approved a 66-year Joint Community Facilities Agreement formalizing how the city will manage parks, open space, and public art at Hunters Point Shipyard Phase One — a hilltop development with 767 housing units and 13.5 acres of green space in Bayview-Hunters Point.

Why it matters: The deal creates a long-term operating framework for some of the largest new public parkland in the southeast side of the city — entirely funded by a Community Facilities District, with no general fund dollars required.

Where things stand: Marc Slutskin, Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure (OCII) Deputy Director, presented the agreement, which divides responsibilities among three agencies. Rec Park will provide staffing — custodians, gardeners, park rangers — enforce the park code, manage permits, and serve as the California Public Trust trustee. The Arts Commission will accession eight artworks into the civic art collection and submit annual maintenance budgets to OCII, which administers the CFD funds and oversees remaining park construction.

"This is 100% covered by the CFD. So there will be no general fund dollars used at all for the management of this open space," Slutskin said.

Chair Connie Chan pressed Rec Park to engage the local community — specifically through Supervisor Shamann Walton — on how the facilities should be programmed, drawing a parallel to the community engagement model used for the SFPUC Southeast facility.

"With Supervisor Walton, please make sure that his team, him and his team are looped in in terms of facilitating a community dialogue and what permitting, what kind of events and what kind of community events and how that facility should be used," she said.

Antonio Guerra, Rec Park Director of Administration and Finance, confirmed strong community engagement through the existing Citizens Advisory Committee and coordination with India Basin outreach efforts.

Decisions: Approved 3-0 (For: Chan, Dorsey, Sauter; Against: none; Absent: none) and forwarded to the full Board.

Dorsey Expands City's Official Newspaper List

Why it matters: Under Proposition J, approved by voters in 1994, the Board of Supervisors annually designates which publications receive city advertising dollars for official legal notices and community outreach. The designations determine which neighborhoods and language communities actually see government notices.

Where things stand: Sophie Hayward Legislative and Public Affairs Director from the Office of the City Administrator, presented the annual package, which designates the SF Examiner as the city's official daily newspaper, the Bay Area Reporter and Wind Newspaper as weekly community-based outreach periodicals, and a roster of monthly neighborhood-based publications including El Tecolote, Noe Valley Voice, Potrero View, and others.

Vice Chair Matt Dorsey amended the resolution to add two publications: Sing Tao, serving Chinatown, Richmond, Sunset, Portola Valley, Excelsior, Outer Mission, Tenderloin, Oceanside, Ingleside, and Merced Heights; and El Reportero, serving the Mission, Bernal Heights, Bayview, and Excelsior.

"If we're going to say with a straight face that we support our communities, we need to also support community-based journalism," Dorsey said.

Decisions: Approved as amended, 3-0 (For: Chan, Dorsey, Sauter; Against: none; Absent: none).

Minor Items

• Airzeta cargo airline lease at SFO: The committee approved adding AirZeta Co. Ltd. as the 50th signatory airline under SFO's 2023 lease and use agreement. The airline began cargo operations in August 2025. Daniel Sang, SFO staff, said the deal is projected to generate "about $15 million to the airport through June 2033, which is about $2.2 million for the general fund." Approved 3-0.

• Budget hearings ahead: Chair Chan noted the Budget and Appropriation Committee would begin enterprise agency budget hearings that afternoon.