Board Greenlights $1.4B Potrero Yard Rebuild After Fierce Housing Fight

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) board's March 3 meeting was defined by a single, wrenching question: Can San Francisco modernize its crumbling bus infrastructure without breaking promises to communities that need affordable housing most? The board answered 6-1, advancing the agency's largest-ever capital project while acknowledging that 365 planned housing units on public land are gone — for now. Elsewhere, record Muni rider satisfaction, a new state transit loan, and a near-balanced budget offered rare good news for an agency staring down a $307 million deficit.

• Board approves $612M Potrero Yard bus facility rebuild 6-1, cutting planned housing from 465 units to roughly 100 after $70M podium eliminated for cost overruns

• Vice Chair Stephanie Cajina casts lone dissent, citing broken promises to Mission and Bayview communities and an 82% reduction in housing element commitments

• Muni riders report highest satisfaction in 25 years — 78% rate service excellent or good, with double-digit gains in the Excelsior and Bayview neighborhoods

• Governor signs $590M state transit loan for Bay Area agencies, buying SFMTA time to avoid service cuts next fiscal year

• Treasure Island gets metered parking on every new street at $1/hour — 850 spaces for a planned 8,000-unit development

• Agency nearly on budget at midyear, with transit fare revenue up $16M and parking up $7M; draft plan to close the $307M gap due March 17

The Potrero Yard Modernization Project consumed more than two hours of testimony and board deliberation, exposing a fault line between the agency's urgent infrastructure needs and its commitments to affordable housing on public land.