Defend Bayview Hunters Point Committee v. City and County of San Francisco

The Defend Bayview Hunters Point Committee (DBHPC) gathered the required number of signatures on a petition to force a citywide referendum on an ordinance adopting a redevelopment plan for the Bayview Hunters Point community. The City and County of San Francisco (the City) rejected the petition because it failed to include a copy of the 57-page redevelopment plan that had been incorporated by reference in the ordinance when the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco voted to approve it. DBHPC’s ensuing petition for a writ of mandate compelling the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors (Clerk) to accept the referendum petition was denied by the trial court, and this appeal followed. We affirm the judgment denying DBHPC relief.

L BACKGROUND

A. Facts

In May 2006, the City approved San Francisco Ordinance No. 113-06, entitled “Ordinance Adopting the Redevelopment Plan For The Bayview Hunters Point Redevelopment Project” (the Ordinance). The Ordinance approved and adopted a redevelopment plan that added nearly 1,400 acres to the previously existing 137-acre Hunters Point redevelopment project area (the Plan). The Plan itself, which was set forth in a…