Rules Committee Fills Fire Safety Advisory Council as Sprinkler Mandate Battle Enters New Phase

The San Francisco Rules Committee spent the bulk of its July 13 meeting assembling a citizen advisory body that will determine whether thousands of high-rise condo owners face six-figure sprinkler retrofits — or get access to cheaper alternatives. The committee also advanced an Affordable Grocery Fund toward the November ballot and confirmed four mayoral commission appointees.

• Five of six seats filled on Fire Safety Technical Advisory Council, mixing homeowners, fire professionals, and a union rep to evaluate sprinkler mandate alternatives; one seat deferred

• Affordable Grocery Fund ballot measure amended to address dynamic pricing concerns and continued one week; Chair Walton signs on as co-sponsor

• Vanessa Hartigan appointed to Port Commission, pledging equity focus on the southern waterfront and fiscal discipline for billions in capital needs

• Three additional commission nominees confirmed: Paul Woolford (Public Works), Lt. Leonard Poggio (Entertainment), James Pappas (OCII Oversight Board)

• Ballot Simplification Council reappoints veteran journalist Betty Packard and technical writer Ruth Grace Wong ahead of November 2026 election

A Council Built to Solve One of the City's Most Painful Mandates

The meeting's longest and most emotionally charged agenda item was the appointment of members to the High Rise Fire Safety Technical Advisory Council, the body created to evaluate whether alternatives can replace the costly sprinkler retrofit mandate facing older high-rise buildings across San Francisco.

Ten applicants vied for six seats. The committee heard from retired fire chiefs, licensed contractors, HOA presidents staring down massive special assessments, a nonprofit housing operator who has already deployed new fire prevention technology, and a union sprinkler fitter. Five were appointed; the sixth seat was continued to the call of the chair.

Why it matters: San Francisco's existing mandate requires full fire sprinkler retrofits in older high-rise residential buildings — work that can cost individual condo owners tens of thousands of dollars or more. For rent-controlled tenants, the disruption and displacement risk is equally severe. The TAC will recommend whether emerging technologies and targeted solutions can deliver equivalent safety at a fraction of the cost.

Where things stand: Vice Chair Stephen Sherrill, Supervisor, District 2, who championed the TAC's creation, opened with a frank acknowledgment of the stakes: "In working through this, I think many of us have seen what can happen if residents aren't centered in the conversation from the very beginning, in the middle, and at the end."

He did not sugarcoat the political reality. "By no means is today a final win, but it is a step forward in the right direction, even though I know that many of you here and many of you watching do not consider this victory at all. And I think that is a reasonable point of view," Vice Chair Sherrill said.

The applicant pool reflected the breadth of the issue. John O'Banion, a licensed professional engineer and attorney who lives at 1201 California St., brought dual technical and legal expertise. Katherine Miller, HOA board president at the 136-unit Fontana, spoke from the perspective of a homeowner community grappling with compliance costs. Gail Geary, a tenant at Washington Tower (2190 Washington St.), offered a renter's lens on displacement fears and strategic planning.

Mark Puchalski, director of facilities at Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC), offered concrete evidence that technology can work: "One of the accomplishments we had recently at TNDC was we were able to reduce our kitchen fires by 75% by employing new technologies within our buildings."

Christopher Ingram, a licensed fire sprinkler contractor running his own firm, provided a practitioner's view: "It is exceedingly complex. I've done two full bid analysis, one for Fontana and another building already and done a thorough dive and it's a very technical but solvable issue." Ingram and Brandon Bracamonte, a sprinkler fitter with 25-plus years of experience, both required residency waivers to serve.

Linas Stempuzis, an architect and HOA president at 1835 Franklin St., rounded out the applicant pool alongside Robert Eaton, a retired division fire chief from Alameda County who also serves as a fire inspector in San Rafael.

Decisions: The committee appointed Robert Eaton (Seat 1), Gail Geary (Seat 2), Katherine Miller (Seat 3), Christopher Ingram (Seat 4, with residency waiver), and Brandon Bracamonte (Seat 5, with residency waiver). Seat 6 was continued to the call of the chair to allow further conversation with a late applicant. The vote was 3-0 (Walton, Mandelman, Sherrill).

What's next: The TAC now includes homeowner advocates, a tenant representative, fire safety professionals, a contractor, and a union representative — a deliberate mix intended to balance safety imperatives with affordability. The council's recommendations will carry significant weight as the Board of Supervisors decides whether to reform, defer, or replace the current mandate.

Affordable Grocery Fund Heads Toward November Ballot

Supervisor Mahmoud presented an ordinance creating a dedicated Affordable Grocery Fund for the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot — part of the broader Affordable Groceries Act. The measure would establish an administrative code fund to receive and spend appropriations, grants, gifts, and donations aimed at expanding access to affordable, nutritious food.

The basics: The fund is a financial vehicle, not a tax. It would channel philanthropic and public dollars into three types of programs: helping existing corner stores stock fresh food (reviving the Healthy Retail SF program that saw success in Districts 5 and 10), supporting nonprofit and worker-owned grocery models like the Sunnydale and BuyRight stores, and helping new grocery operators activate vacant commercial spaces.

Why it matters: Multiple San Francisco neighborhoods have lost grocery stores in recent years, creating food deserts where residents — particularly in lower-income communities — struggle to access affordable produce and staples.

"This fund is a vehicle. It creates a place for philanthropic dollars and board budget allocations to be directed towards affordable grocery stores," Supervisor Mahmoud said.

Supervisor Mahmoud proposed a technical amendment on page 3, line 13, updating the affordability condition to include food and grocery products offered at no cost or at a lower markup, offered consistently to all residents. The change was suggested by the Marin Food Bank to guard against dynamic pricing discrimination by large chain corporations.

The other side: Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, Supervisor, District 8, questioned why the measure needed to be on the ballot at all rather than enacted legislatively. "I very much support the intent of this legislation. I appreciate the fact that it has a provision that it can be amended by a majority of the Board of Supervisors. We have spent a lot of time over the last year talking about what happens when measures go on the ballot and then do not have capacity to adapt over time," Supervisor Mandelman said.

Supervisor Mahmoud offered three reasons: allowing voters to express non-binding intent that revenue from a companion tax measure on abandoned pharmacies and groceries flow to this fund, presenting the two measures as a package for voters, and establishing a clear voter mandate.

Chair Shamann Walton, Supervisor, District 10, asked to be added as a co-sponsor, emphasizing the need for a dedicated funding source: "I definitely agree with Supervisor Mahmoud that it should be about the voters giving them the choice to decide, but also making sure that we do have a dedicated funding source, especially since other sources have sunset."

Decisions: The committee voted 3-0 to accept the amendment and continue the item to the July 20 Rules Committee meeting.

What's next: The amended ordinance returns to Rules Committee on July 20. If approved, it would go to the full Board of Supervisors for placement on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot alongside the companion tax measure.

Finance Veteran Hartigan Joins Port Commission With Equity Mandate

Vanessa Hartigan, the former CFO of BlueX Trade and a trustee and treasurer of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, was appointed to the Port Commission for a term ending May 1, 2030.

Why it matters: The Port of San Francisco faces a multi-billion dollar combination of deferred maintenance, seismic vulnerability, and sea-level-rise exposure — challenges that demand both financial sophistication and community accountability.

Hartigan framed these as intertwined rather than competing concerns. "The Port faces a state of good repair shortfall alongside urgent seismic and sea level rise risk, which is the kind of high stakes financial and strategic problems I've spent my career on," she said.

She also signaled clear priorities on equity: "I'm especially drawn to broadening access to the southern waterfront, the Bayview, Hunters Point and Islais Creek, which have historically had the least access to the waterfront. I do not see equity and fiscal discipline as competing priorities. Done right, they're the same investment."

Chair Walton asked Hartigan about the Port's internship program with Local 261, which she expressed enthusiasm about supporting.

Three public commenters spoke in support: Mark Parcella, Regan Pritzker, and Sean O'Malley, the former CEO of BlueX, who cited Hartigan's practical understanding of maritime commerce and her commitment to equity through the Stanford Latino Alumni Association.

The committee confirmed Hartigan 3-0.

Packard, Wong Return to Ballot Simplification Council

The committee recommended veteran journalist Betty Packard and freelance technical writer Ruth Grace Wong for two seats on the Ballot Simplification Council, the body responsible for writing plain-language voter guide descriptions of ballot measures at an eighth-grade reading level.

Wong, a member since 2024, made a pointed case for why her perspective matters: "The first Ballot Simplification Committee session I joined, somebody said, we don't have to define the word pension, do we? And I had to raise my hand because before I joined the committee, I didn't know anybody who had a pension."

Kate Degelau-Pierce, co-president of the League of Women Voters of San Francisco, spoke in public comment supporting Wong's nomination, citing her ability to distill complex legal text and bring needed diversity to the council.

The committee forwarded both names to the full Board as a committee report, voting 3-0.

Minor Items

• Paul Woolford, a licensed architect and HOK practice leader who has served on the Public Works Commission under four mayors, was reappointed for a term ending July 2, 2030 (3-0).

• Lt. Leonard Poggio, a 24-year SFPD veteran assigned to Northern Station and a certified Spanish interpreter, was reappointed as the law enforcement representative on the Entertainment Commission for a term ending July 1, 2030 (3-0).

• James Pappas, a principal planner at the SF Planning Department and SEIU member with a decade of housing policy work, was appointed to the OCII Oversight Board for a term ending Jan. 24, 2030, filling the required union member seat (3-0).