CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE


STATE CAPITOL
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
95814

August 17, 2004


Matt Gonzalez, President
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
City Hall, Room 244
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689


Dear Supervisor Gonzalez:

We write to urge the Board of Supervisors to adopt the Transbay Joint Powers Authority's (TJPA's) resolution laying-out a cost-effective and expeditious path toward construction of a new Transbay Terminal.

The Bay Area delegation in Sacramento strongly supports anew Transbay Terminal. We recognize that the construction of a new facility will bring a myriad of benefits to the Bay Area, including improved regional mobility, affordable housing, jobs and economic development, along with aesthetic improvements to the City's landscape. It is with all of these benefits in mind that the Legislature has passed all of the following:

1. Legislation that identified the Transbay Terminal as an eligible recipient of funding from bridge tolls (AB 1171 (Dutra) and SB 916 (Perata));

2. Legislation to enable the expeditious demolition of the current facility, a building listed as a national historic structure (AB 812 (Yee)); and

3. Legislation asking voters to support the financing of high-speed rail between Los Angeles and downtown San Francisco (AB 1856 (Costa)).

While we in Sacramento have been supportive of this project and the benefits it promises, we want to emphasize to you the importance of local cooperation and buy-in for the project to ultimately be successful. Current law recognizes the TJPA as the local agency with "primary jurisdiction with respect so all matters concerning the financing, design, development, construction, and operation of the new terminal." 1 The TJPA has passed a resolution (Resolution Number 04-010) recommending to your board the best path toward construction of a new Transbay Terminal. We encourage the board to adopt the TJPA's recommendation so the project can move forward in a cost-effective and expeditious manner.

1 Section 5027.1 of the Public Resources Code



Thank you for your consideration,

Fabian Nuñez
Speaker of the Assembly

Don Perata
Majority Leader

Byron Sher
11th Senate District

Liz Figueroa
10th Senate District

John Burton
President pro Tempore

John Dutra
20th Assembly District

Jackie Speirer
8th Senate District

Tom Torlakson
7th Senate District

Leland Yee
Speaker pro Tempore

cc: Members, San Francisco Board of Supervisors