San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood is urging the Board of Supervisors to vote on an Affordable Groceries Act after the measure was removed from Wednesday’s Budget and Finance Committee agenda.
Mahmood said Budget Committee chair Connie Chan told him the proposal was pulled at the request of Mayor Daniel Lurie.
The proposal would impose financial penalties on large grocery and pharmacy chains that leave stores vacant for extended periods and would create a fund to support affordable grocery access in neighborhoods that have lost supermarkets and pharmacies.
Chan’s office weighed in, saying she agrees with the goal behind Mahmood’s measure but believes it isn’t ready, according to Robyn Burke, a legislative aide to Chan.
Burke said Mahmood is still finalizing his own amendments to the legislation, and that Chan concluded the measure needed more work before moving forward.
“Chair Chan agrees with Supervisor Mahmood’s intent for this measure — we need more neighborhood grocery stores — but she also understands that much work needs to be done to this measure to deliver that intent,” said Burke.
Lurie supports concept, not proposal
The mayor’s office has echoed a similar note of caution about the proposal, saying it supports the broader goal of bringing more grocery stores to the city but opposes part of Mahmood’s approach.
“Mayor Lurie is working to bring grocery stores to San Francisco’s communities. More taxes won’t achieve that,” the Mayor’s Office said in a statement. “We support the Affordable Grocery Fund and will continue working with Supervisor Mahmood and the entire Board to bring more grocery stores to the city.”
Under Board of Supervisors rules, the measure can still be brought before the full board for a vote. Mahmood argued that removing the proposal from the committee without a hearing denied the public an opportunity to weigh in before a decision is made.
“This is bigger than one bill. It’s about whether San Franciscans get a real say on affordability, or whether that decision gets made behind closed doors before the public ever weighs in.”
Supervisor Bilal Mahmood
Mahmood said he has the support of Supervisors Chyanne Chen, Danny Sauter, Stephen Sherrill and Myrna Melgar, and needs one more vote to place the measure on the November ballot.
The legislation is intended to address long-vacant grocery and pharmacy locations, which Mahmood said contributes to rising food insecurity and reduced access to essential services in parts of the city.
“This is bigger than one bill,” Mahmood said. “It’s about whether San Franciscans get a real say on affordability, or whether that decision gets made behind closed doors before the public ever weighs in.”