Improve Affordability
San Francisco remains a high-cost city for both residents and businesses. The San Francisco Chamber advocates for affordability for both those who live here, as well as the job creators that sustain the economy.
- Cost-of-Doing Business– Advocate for policies that streamline and stabilize the cost of doing business, making San Francisco a place where businesses can start, sustain, and grow.
- Small Business - San Francisco is one of the most expensive and difficult cities to start and operate a small business. The San Francisco Chamber promotes policies that support the creation of new businesses and entrepreneurs, especially those from BIPOC communities.
- Affordable Housing – Partner with city agencies, private sector employers and housing advocates to lead joint strategies that support housing affordability and keep people of all skill levels in San Francisco.
Support Economic Sustainability
Sustained economic prosperity depends on a vibrant business climate. The San Francisco Chamber strives to achieve an environment in which all businesses can recover, grow and prosper.
- Business Regulations – Work with legislators, business industry representatives and stakeholder groups to ensure businesses of all sizes are not hindered by an overabundance of burdensome regulations.
- Small Business – Promote San Francisco’s small businesses and formulate favorable public policies to sustain small business success in the city. Illuminate and work to mitigate archaic policies which adversely impact small businesses.
- Business Taxes – Ensure that business taxes are responsibly and fairly implemented and spent, with the goal of economic sustainability, shared prosperity, and quality public services.
Enhance Mobility
A robust and efficient transportation network is vital to ensuring livable communities, productivity, commerce, and a clean environment. The San Francisco Chamber works to boost transit options and investment in San Francisco and across the region.
- Infrastructure Investment – Continue to support vital infrastructure projects that will increase and enhance mobility, while creating jobs and economic benefits, such as the future extension of Central Subway, High-Speed Rail/Caltrain, Transbay Transit Center, SFO Terminal 1 renovation and other projects.
- Public Transportation – Host transportation planning stakeholder meetings and participate in the budgetary process to improve public transit, traffic flow, parking, biking, and the pedestrian experience and identify new funding without imposing downtown congestion pricing fees.
- Employer-sponsored Transit – Work with employers and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to maintain and grow employer-sponsored transit programs including commuter tax benefits, corporate shuttle buses, vanpools, and other strategies to encourage carpooling and reduce congestion and air pollution.
Build the 21st Century Workforce
Education and skills are keys to both individual prosperity and economic vitality in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chamber supports workforce development initiatives that help prepare the 21st century workforce and ensure a pipeline of future talent for the businesses driving the economy forward.
- Workforce Development – Support policies and programs that improve student outcomes and pathways to success, preserve San Francisco City College, and encourage partnerships that connect the private sector with the city’s public education system.
Spur Economic Growth
As state and federal funding continue to become scarce, it is increasingly important for San Francisco to pursue its own initiatives to spur and sustain economic growth. The San Francisco Chamber advances projects, events, and industries that will lift the local economy.
- Economy-boosting Development – Support large-scale projects and land use planning efforts that will create jobs, housing, and economic benefits.
- Clean Economy – Continue to support Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE) and other initiatives that grow our clean economy, protect the environment, and create jobs in the green tech sector.
- Housing First Policy – Work towards charter reform provisions to expedite the approval of affordable housing and support legislation that makes housing at all levels easier to build.
- CEQA Reform – Join statewide efforts to reform the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to ensure that vital housing and infrastructure projects do not fall victim to NIMBYist (Not In My Backyard) strategies.
- Attract and Retain Business – Collaborate with the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and GlobalSF to continue city funding of business attraction and retention programs.
Clean and Safe Streets
Safety and civility are essential to a high-quality of life in San Francisco. The San Francisco Chamber aims to ensure that our city is safe for all those who live, work, and visit.
- Public Safety – Promote policies that keep all San Francisco residents, workers, visitors, small businesses, and communities safe.
- Street Behavior – Work with businesses, city government, and nonprofits to responsibly reduce homelessness in San Francisco and encourage civil street behavior.
- Resilient City – Join SPUR and other organizations in plans to strengthen San Francisco’s structural and economic resilience following an earthquake or other disaster.
Ensure Good Government
Even the best legislative ideas can have unintended consequences. The San Francisco Chamber works to hold our representatives at City Hall accountable to fully review proposed legislation, make the tough infrastructure investments needed to support long-term growth, and reduce excessive process and unnecessary, burdensome regulations that slow innovation.
- Legislative Engagement – Proactively engage and educate the Mayor, Supervisors, agency staff, and the City Attorney on potential public policy impacts during the legislative drafting process.
- Long Range Investment – Defend major local, regional, and state infrastructure projects from misdirected and short-sighted criticism, such as High-Speed Rail and water system upgrades.
- Regulatory Engagement – Proactively engage with City and County officials on the development, implementation, and enforcement of regulations that govern the conduct of business and impact the economy.
- Legality of Approved Ordinances – Require more transparency in the drafting of local laws and encourage the City Attorney to prevent enactment of illegal legislation.
- Ballot Reform– Partner with local legislators to introduce changes to reduce the number of unnecessary measures placed on state and local ballots.