Mayor Lurie and President Mandelman Announce 2026 Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond to Modernize Infrastructure and Support Public Safety

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today announced the 2026 Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response (ESER) bond measure in partnership with Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman. The ESER bond, which moved to the full board after a hearing at today’s Budget and Finance Committee, would accelerate seismic upgrades and public safety improvements across San Francisco—including critical funding for police and fire stations in neighborhoods across the city. The proposed $535 million bond aims to safeguard residents citywide by supporting improvements at essential facilities, enhancing earthquake response capabilities and ensuring the city can recover more quickly after a major disaster. 

The bond builds on Mayor Lurie’s work to improve public safety in San Francisco and improve the city’s emergency preparedness. Early in his administration, Mayor Lurie launched “ReadySF,” a comprehensive campaign designed to help residents, workers, and visitors prepare for emergencies. The mayor signed legislation to unlock funding to revamp the San Francisco Fire Department’s (SFFD) fleet and ensure the department is ready to respond in any emergency. The mayor is working every day make the city safer, and after his first year in office, crime is down nearly 30% citywide in San Francisco.

“Keeping San Francisco safe starts with strong, modern emergency infrastructure,” said Mayor Lurie. “This bond will invest in the fire stations, police facilities, and critical water systems that our first responders rely on to keep our city safe. By passing this bond, we are taking steps to keep San Francisco safe by giving our neighborhoods the tools they need to withstand emergency events and ensuring our city is ready to respond quickly when disaster strikes.” 

“The proposed ESER bond will help fund necessary and overdue investments in firefighting capacity, seismic upgrades, and critical infrastructure that will allow our police, firefighters, and transit workers to do their jobs when San Francisco needs them most,” said President Mandelman. “We know the big one is coming; the question for us will be whether we did everything we could to prepare and protect our city and especially our first responders.” 

If approved by voters, the 2026 ESER bond—a general obligation bond—would fund upgrades across San Francisco neighborhoods, reflecting the geographically distributed locations of the city’s fire stations, police facilities, and emergency water system infrastructure. Consistent with San Francisco’s longstanding financial policies, the bond will not increase property tax rates above the 2006 baseline. The bond is expected to be on the June 2026 ballot and is being advanced from 2028 to 2026 to address urgent seismic needs. 
The following examples underscore the bond’s citywide impact, though specific projects will be determined through future planning, design development, and public oversight: 

• Neighborhood Fire Stations and Support Facilities: Funding would enable the renovation or replacement of fire stations with the highest identified seismic needs. Examples of stations with previously documented vulnerabilities include stations in North Beach, the Mission, SoMa, and the Sunset, though final project selection will occur later.  
• Police Stations and Support Facilities: Investments would address seismic and operational deficiencies at police stations and support facilities. Possible examples include upgrades to century-old or structurally vulnerable facilities such as the historic Taraval Station, though specific project decisions will follow further assessment and public review.  
• Critical Public Safety Building Repairs: This category would fund state-of-good-repair improvements—such as roofs, electrical systems, plumbing, and emergency power—at high-need public safety facilities across multiple neighborhoods. Final project scopes will be refined as part of the city’s ongoing capital planning work.  
• Muni Bus Storage and Maintenance Facility at Potrero Yard: Potrero Yard, Muni’s 110-year-old maintenance facility, has significant seismic vulnerabilities. The bond would fund the replacement of this facility to ensure Muni can continue supporting emergency transportation, evacuation, and disaster-response operations after an earthquake. The facility’s buses serve almost 100,000 riders per day on some of Muni’s busiest lines.  
• Emergency Firefighting Water System: The funding would enable the city to extend high-pressure water pipelines, fire hydrants, and other water system infrastructure to ensure adequate firefighting and drinking water supplies after a major disaster on the west side of the city. 

“As chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, I fully support the 2026 Earthquake Safety and Emergency Response Bond and urge our community to recognize its critical importance. This bond represents a vital investment in the safety and resilience of our city. The ESER bond will fund seismic upgrades and modernization projects across our neighborhood fire stations and emergency infrastructure,” said San Francisco Fire Department Chief Dean Crispen. “These improvements are not just structural—they are lifesaving. By strengthening our facilities, we ensure that our firefighters can respond swiftly and safely during disasters, especially in the event of a major earthquake.”

“Safety updates to our infrastructure are critical to ensure the San Francisco Police Department provides the best services to our community,” said San Francisco Police Department Chief Derrick Lew. “This bond measure is a vital investment in public safety. With upgraded facilities, we can continue to provide the best services in any emergency.” 

“Potrero Yard is at serious risk in a major earthquake,” said Julie Kirschbaum, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director of Transportation. “We have to protect our buses and, more importantly, the lives of the staff who maintain and operate them. Our buses are an integral part of the city’s response to a disaster, and rebuilding this yard is essential to improving Muni's reliability and modernizing critical transit infrastructure.”   

“Keeping our essential services running after a major earthquake or disaster is key to protecting our community and helping the city recover faster,” said City Administrator Carmen Chu. “This bond will strengthen the buildings and systems we count on the most in an emergency—our fire and police stations, our emergency water supply, and the transportation facilities that move people, first responders, and resources where they need to go. By investing now, we’re making sure San Francisco can stay safe, connected, and ready when it matters most.” 

“San Francisco cannot afford to gamble with public safety when we know a major earthquake is inevitable,” said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey. “This is about doing the responsible work now so our fire stations, police facilities, transit infrastructure, and emergency water systems are ready to perform when everything else is under strain. This is about protecting lives, supporting our first responders, and ensuring every neighborhood can recover quickly when the next crisis hits.” 

“For the Sunset District, earthquake preparedness is about whether emergency services can reach our neighborhoods quickly and safely when it matters most,” said District 4 Supervisor Alan Wong. “Many west side facilities, including fire stations, the Taraval Police Station, and our emergency water system, are older and more vulnerable in a major quake. This bond is an important step toward making sure the Sunset is not an afterthought and that our communities have the infrastructure they need to stay safe and recover.” 

“This bond will directly translate to keeping our communities safer through investment in neighborhood facilities,” said District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter. “From new fire stations to critical seismic upgrades, these projects will bolster our emergency response and public safety. Paired with strong fiscal stewardship of these dollars, I am confident we will quickly see the impact of these dollars.”

"In District 11, home to some of the city’s highest concentrations of seniors, children, and multigenerational families, earthquake safety means saving lives and providing peace of mind. This bond helps ensure our emergency facilities remain safe, resilient, and fully operational when our community needs them most," said District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen.

“This bond is a critical investment for our city’s infrastructure to withstand the next disaster with the capacity to sustain and rebuild,” said District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan. "The city will continue to exercise fiscal prudence as we make capital improvements—retiring prior debt before incurring new obligations to avoid increasing property tax for San Franciscans.” 
“We can’t predict the next earthquake, but we can choose whether San Francisco is prepared,” said District 2 Supervisor Stephen Sherrill. “This bond will delivers the infrastructure to ensure firefighters have a reliable water source when it matters most.” 

“As the Supervisor representing San Francisco’s westside neighborhoods, I think constantly about how prepared our communities are when disaster strikes,” said District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar. “Without raising property tax rates, this bond makes prudent, forward-looking investments to strengthen our emergency firefighting water system and retrofit critical public facilities, so our first responders are not working out of vulnerable buildings when it matters most. This is about protecting lives, safeguarding public safety, and making sure our city is ready for the next major emergency.”