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Preface to the Environment Code

On {Date, 2002}, the Board of Supervisors adopted this Municipal Environment Code. The Environment Code was developed to consolidate the City's ordinances governing protection of the environment, natural resources and sustainability that were previously scattered throughout the Administrative Code.

SECTION 1. The San Francisco Environment Code is hereby enacted by enacting Articles I through III to read as follows:

Article I. PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE

Chapter 1. Precautionary Principle Policy Statement

Sec. 1. Findings.

A. The Precautionary Principle was set forth in the Rio Declaration of the 1992 United Nations Conference on the Environment, and was signed and ratified by the United States among other nations. It is stated as follows: In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost effective measures to prevent environmental degradation

B. The release and use of toxic substances, the exploitation of resources, and physical alterations of the environment have had substantial unintended consequences affecting human health and the environment. Some of these concerns are high rates of learning deficiencies, asthma, cancer, birth defects and species extinctions; along with global climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion and worldwide contamination with toxic substances and nuclear materials.

C. Implementation of Precautionary Principle internationally [To be added]

D. Despite U.S. acceptance of the precautionary principle in international treaties and other statements, little has been done locally to implement the Precautionary Principle; however, some laws have a precautionary nature, such as the Clean Water Act, which established strict goals in order to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.”

E. In the U.S. in 1997, Massachusetts passed “An Act to establish the Principle of Precautionary Action as the guideline for developing the environmental policy and quality standards of the commonwealth.” It provided, among other things, that “The precautionary principle shall be applied to all policy and regulatory decisions of the administration in order to prevent threats of serious or irreversible damage to the environment.”

F. The Board of Supervisors of the City/County of San Francisco has passed a number of environmental ordinances adopting a precautionary approach to specific City purchases and activities. Some of these include the Integrated Pest Management Ordinance, the Resource Efficient Building Ordinance, the Healthy Air Ordinance, and the Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Ordinance. [More examples to be added especially outside of traditional environmental field]

Sec. 2. Precautionary Principle.

A. Scope of Precautionary Principle

The following shall constitute the City and County of San Francisco's Precautionary Principle policy. All officers, boards, commissions, and departments of the City shall implement the Precautionary Principle in conducting the City and County's affairs:

Where threats of serious or irreversible damage to people or natural systems are posed by the use of a product, service, plan, or technology, lack of full scientific certainly of harm shall not be viewed as sufficient reason for the City to postpone measures to prevent the degradation of natural systems or protect the health of its citizens. Where there are reasonable grounds for concern the Precautionary Principle is meant to help reduce harm and shift focus to alternative options.

Decision making utilizing the Precautionary Principle involves a careful analysis of available alternatives using the best available information and selection of the alternative presenting the least potential threat to human health and the City’s natural systems. Any gaps in scientific data uncovered by this alternatives approach will provide a guidepost for future research but will not prevent a protective action to be taken by the City. As new scientific data become available, the City will review its decisions and make adjustments when warranted.

The Precautionary Principle mandates full disclosure by manufacturers and suppliers so the most protective standard can be applied in the comparison of potential alternatives. Only the full disclosure of ingredients and impacts of the products and services will allow the City to make informed and protective decisions. For example, suppliers of pesticides must disclose the “inert” ingredients in products used on City property instead of limiting disclosure to the legal requirement of “active” ingredients which may make up less than 1% of the product.

B. Precautionary Principle 5 main tenets:

1. There is a duty to take anticipatory action to prevent harm.

2. It is the obligation of manufacturers and suppliers to supply complete and accurate information on potential human health and impacts to natural systems associated with the manufacture, use, or disposal of their products and services. The burden of safety lies with its proponents, not with the general public.

3. Before selecting a product, service, or plan, an obligation exists to examine a full range of alternatives and select the alternative with the least potential impact on human health and natural systems, including the alternative of doing nothing.

4. Decisions applying the Precautionary Principle must be transparent, participatory, and informed by the best available information.

5. There is a duty to consider (internalize) the full range of costs of the product including manufacture, use, and disposal.

Consideration of extended time frames is critical when evaluating the benefits of various alternatives. Reducing demand for products as well as selecting those with minimal human health and environmental impacts often results in long-term cost savings.

C. Five Year Review

No later than five years from the effective date of this ordinance and each five years thereafter, the Commission on the Environment shall submit a report to the Board of Supervisors on the City's progress in meeting these goals. The report should include the description of City department efforts to achieve the goals using Precautionary Principle, description of the types of actions taken as related to each goal and report on the indicators established for each goal, whether the use of technology, substance, materials or activity meets City performance requirements, the applicability and feasibility of using adopted criteria, and lessons learned.

{To examine: Creation of Environmental Assessment for City departments that will meet the reporting requirements of environmental ordinances such as RCO, REB, IPM, EP3, etc}

Chapter 2 Precautionary Approach to Acquisition of Commodities

Sec. 3. Findings.

A. San Francisco has an annual purchasing power of $600 million. By screening all contracts for products or services that exceed $50,000 in value through the tenets of the Precautionary Principle, San Francisco has the ability to promote goods and services that result in reduced waste and pollutants.

B. Selecting products and services that minimize negative impacts to human health and the environment, will use San Francisco’s significant purchasing power to create markets for alternatives products thereby driving manufacturers to engage in research and development towards the production of additional innovative alternative products.

C. Adopting the Precautionary Principle in purchasing practices will enable the City/County of San Francisco to lead by example and to demonstrate to residents and commercial entities that adopting similar practices will achieve significant protection of local natural resources.

D. Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) is a well-developed mechanism for incorporating the tenets of the Precautionary Principle by utilizing key environmental and human health criteria with traditional price and performance considerations in making purchasing decisions. Application of EPP can be enhanced by the consideration of Extended Producer Responsibility and Externalized Environmental Costs.

E. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), requires that producers bear legal, physical or economic responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products that cannot be eliminated by design for the entire life cycle of the products. This includes "upstream" impacts arising from the choice of materials and from the manufacturing process; "downstream" impacts arising from the use and disposal of products; and "end of life" impacts from the post-consumer stage, where the producer is obligated to take back a product at the end of its useful life. EPR provides incentives to producers to prevent pollution and reduce resource and energy use in each stage of the product life cycle through changes in product design and process technology.

F. Environmental and health costs associated with the manufacture, use, and disposal of products (called "externalities") are often not internalized into final product costs. This failure to capture the full costs of a product's environmental and health impacts, creates a price advantage for dirtier products. In order to be able to effectively compare the price of similar products it is necessary to ensure that goods fairly quantify and internalize their direct and associated environmental and human health costs.

G. The City’s Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program (EP3) has achieved great success in reducing the human health and environmental impacts of janitorial, and building and fleet maintenance products used in City operations. Specifically:

1). City staff and outside experts are currently revising procurement specifications for purchasing certain chemical products used by the City to minimize impacts on human health and the environment.

2). A list of hazardous chemical product types have been identified and targeted to be replaced with preferable products.

3). Environmental and health & safety criteria have been developed to evaluate the preferability of chemical products used for janitorial services, building and fleet maintenance;

4). The EP3 pilot study has demonstrated that environmentally preferable products are available for janitorial services, building and fleet maintenance that meet the criteria and most City performance requirements, and are often price competitive with traditional products.

5). The City will use the Precautionary Principle and the EP3 criteria to judge product “preferability” and make purchasing decisions on chemical products used in janitorial services, and building and fleet maintenance operations.

Section 4. Scope

A. Under this Chapter, the City and County of San Francisco wishes to exercise its power to make economic decisions involving its own funds as a participant in the marketplace and to conduct its own business as a municipal corporation to ensure that purchases and expenditures of public money are made in a manner consistent with its policies.

B. Goals. The Board of Supervisors hopes to achieve the following goals by implementing the Precautionary Principle in all purchases made by City departments. It is the intention of the Board of Supervisors to focus first on purchases over $50,000 and then to amend this Chapter to cover additional purchases as progress towards achievement of the following goals is attained.

The goal of this Chapter is to reduce negative impacts of purchasing on: [To be determined by the Commission on the Environment within the next two months]

C. Indicators and Criteria. The Department of the Environment works with community groups and other stakeholders to develop appropriate indicators and criteria that will help monitor the City's progress toward achieving the above goals. These indicators and criteria will be presented to the Commission on the Environment for review and approval no later than120 days after the effective day of this ordinance.

D. Annual Review. No later than one year from the effective date of this ordinance and annually thereafter, the Commission on the Environment shall review the goals and indicators and, after a public meeting, may recommend additions or revisions of the goals to the Board of Supervisors.

Sec. 5. Definitions.

Unless otherwise defined below, words in this Chapter shall have the same meanings as those words under Chapter 21 of the Administrative Code.

A. “P3” shall mean the Precautionary Principle Program established by this Chapter to apply Precautionary Principle strategies and considerations to purchase commodities by the City that will support the goal of protecting public health and the environment.

B. "Contract" shall mean an agreement with a nongovernmental entity for the purchase of services that includes the acquisition of commodities or for commodities at the expense of the City and County or to be paid out of moneys deposited in the treasury .

C. “Contractor" shall mean any person, corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, joint venture or other legal entity which enters into a contract with the City. The term “Contractor” shall not include a governmental entity.

D. “criteria” shall mean a set of standards that are established to judge the acceptability of targeted commodities to be purchased by the City.

E. "Department" shall mean the Department of the Environment.

F. “Lead Agency” shall mean the Department of the Environment.

G. "Director" shall mean the Director of the Department of the Environment.

H. "P3 Analyst" shall mean an individual working for the Department of the Environment to perform the following essential duties for this Chapter:

i. Develops, manages and implements programs established by this Chapter.

ii. Serves as the City expert and resource in programs related to Precautionary Principle.

iii. Promotes application of Precautionary Principle in commodity acquisitions and other related programs.

iv. Works with City departments and other stakeholders to ensure effective program implementation.

v. Reviews solicitations for commodity purchasing to ensure Precautionary Principle strategies and procedures are followed in accordance with this Chapter.

vi. Represents City at public forums, including those at the federal, state, and local level.

vii. Prepares, coordinates, and manages budgets.

I. "Services Contract" shall mean both general services and professional services that include the acquisition of commodities as those terms are defined in section 12.02(k) and (12.02n) of the Administrative Code.

J. “Targeted Commodity” shall mean materials and equipments that may pose adverse impacts to public health and the environment and are prioritized for the application of the Precautionary Principle.

K. “days” shall mean working days, not including weekends, public holidays or other City-approved leave days.

Sec. 6. Applicability and Exemptions.

A. This Chapter implements the Precautionary Principle established in Chapter 1 with respect to the City's acquisition of commodities. This Chapter applies to contracts and subcontracts for the direct acquisition of commodities with a value equal to or in excess of $50,000 in a twelve (12) month period. It shall constitute official misconduct to divide any purchase into two or more units with the intent of evading the requirements of this section.

B. This Chapter shall not apply to the acquisition of commodities with a cumulative value of less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00) in a twelve month period; the acquisition of commodities under a services contracts or pursuant to an existing union contract {City Attorney's Office researching this one for substance and format}; contracts for public works or improvements; or contracts for the purchase, sale or lease of any interest in real property.

C. Exceptions to the threshold of fifty thousand dollars shall exist for commodities covered under the EP3 as described in Chapter (To be determined)

Sec. 7. Department of the Environment Duties

The Department of the Environment will serve a coordinating function and has the authority to require the participation of City departments to review current departmental practices and participate in training to ensure compliance with this Chapter. Pursuant to this Chapter, the Department of the Environment shall:

A. Collaborate with City departments and other stakeholders to develop and implement the P3.

B. Develop a process by which community input is solicited to ensure effective evaluation and implementation of the P3.

C. Provide support with input from City departments to OCA in the development and evaluation of technical specifications for use in the formulation of procurement contracts.

D. Provides support to OCA in the review of contract documents for bidding purposes.

E. Provide support to City departments for the evaluation of commodities submitted by potential vendors for compliance with criteria established in accordance with this Chapter. Work with City departments to define and evaluate performance requirements.

F. Track compliance of City departments in the purchase and use commodities that using the criteria established in accordance with this Chapter. Develop and implement a waiver process which includes the participation of the community .

G. Provide general support in the implementation of this Chapter to City departments, especially to those departments not having access to full-time heath and safety personnel.

H. Implement a training program for City employees and contractors for the purpose of compliance with this Chapter and Chapter 1. Such training program will consist of application of the P3 for commodity purchases for the City, the reasons for such application, roles and responsibilities for compliance with this Chapter, implementation approaches and procedures such as goals and indicators establishment, criteria and their development, contract procurement, exemptions, and waivers. Departments will send relevant staff as determined by the Department of the Environment such as Department Heads (or their designees), purchasers, or health and safety staff.

I. Establish and maintain a library of key documents to aid City employees in applying the Precautionary Principle. The library shall include reference materials relevant to the Precautionary Principle and this Chapter, including: fact sheets, reports, web resources, and other materials that summarize the City’s efforts as well as progress and success stories of other agencies in implementing the P3.

J. No later than 120 days after the effective date of this ordinance, and after a public hearing, create and maintain a Precautionary Principle Manual For City Purchases of Commodities. The Department shall review and update the manual and report any update or modifications to the Commission on the Environment. The Department shall consult with the Department of Public Health, and other relevant City departments and outside experts in developing the manual. The manual shall, at a minimum, include:

i. a Planning Tool to include sets of health & safety and environmental criteria, list of targeted commodities purchased by the City that may have known or potential adverse impacts to public health and the environment, and grouping of targeted commodities under applicable criteria to identify opportunities for applying the criteria to future acquisition of these commodities.

(ii) a list of environmentally preferable products or product types for each commodity, a list of products or product types restricted or prohibited from use by the City or under review for restriction or prohibition by the City, and supporting documentation for each listing. It is the Board of Supervisor's intention that ultimately, there will be an environmentally preferred product or product type for each commodity regularly purchased.

(iii) a Precautionary Principle checklist to be used by Contracting Officers. The checklist shall consist of a series of questions designed to elicit qualitative and quantitative data and information about a given commodity. The checklist should include: Type of commodity to be purchased, potential impact of commodity manufacturing on natural resources (e.g., use of chemical feedstock, land acreage, water; generation of air and water pollution), potential impact of using the commodity on the health of users and the community (e.g., chemical exposure, air emissions), and residual waste from using the commodity (e.g., solid waste and hazardous waste). The checklist should also include the potential vendor information items addressing the compliance of a commodity with P3 Program criteria and performance standards.

(iv) a Precautionary Principle checklist to be used by Offerors, Proposers, and Bidders. The checklist should include: Manufacturing “footprint” for a commodity such as chemical feedstock used, use of recycled materials, lifecycle analysis information for the commodity if available, and completion of various informational forms issued by the City on the commodity (e.g., criteria compliance, scoring of products, and performance claims).{DOE to expand on this. Issues to consider: different analysis for different products? Different analysis where there is a sole source for the product?}

(v) a benefit-cost analysis methodology for applying the P3 Program considerations. The cost analysis will be qualitative including: Commodity costs; costs of user requirements such waste disposal and special equipments; short-term and long-term benefits to public health and the environment. {DOE to clarify and expand; explain how the costs for each contract will be analyzed}.

(vi) Forms to be used by City departments to notify the Department of the use of an Exemption or Request for a Waiver at the opening of the bid process

K. After a public hearing, promulgate any rules and guidelines necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes and requirements of this Chapter and Chapter 1, such as those described in Chapter 2, Sec. 10 B, Sec. 12 and Sec. 15.

L. Report to the Commission annually on the implementation of this Chapter. Annual Report to the Commission should include: Recommendations for amendments, list of waivers granted, number of contracts subject to this ordinance, evaluation of the progress of achieving program goals, effectiveness of using indicators and established criteria for their intended purposes, annual Reports by City departments pursuant to Sec 14, success stories and benefits realized by purchasing commodities in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter, an assessment of any economic impacts on the City departments due to their compliance efforts with this Chapter,

M. Review exemption notifications, consider and grant waivers pursuant to Section 17.

Sec. 8. Role of City Departments.

Each City department, board and commission subject to this Chapter shall cooperate with, and provide in writing to DOE, all information necessary for DOE to carry out its duties under this Chapter. City departments support DOE in the development and implementation of the P3 Program through active participation in workgroups and data gathering. City departments will provide annual reports to DOE on their efforts, progress made, and lessons learn in P3 commodity purchasing. It is the responsibility of all City departments involved in purchasing to make decisions under the guidance of the Precautionary Principle. Each City department, board and commission subject to this Chapter shall:

A. Cooperate with, and provide in writing to the Department, all information necessary for the Department to carry out its duties under this Chapter,

B. Participate in training programs by sending relevant staff as determined by the Department of the Environment.

C. Submit Exemption Notification form and Waiver Request forms to the Department as detailed in the Manual.

D. Submit an annual report, as detailed in the Manual, to the Department summarizing purchases, exemptions, waivers, and actions taken to reduce need for future waivers

Sec. 9. Implementation.

Under this Section, the City establishes the following approach to develop and implement a program to purchase commodities by applying Precautionary Principle. This program effort is intended to build on the success of the current City Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program (EP3), which applies the Precautionary Principle to the purchase of chemical products used for janitorial, building and fleet maintenance operations.

A. All City departments will be required to purchase commodities, when applicable, following the Precautionary Principle Policy Statement and requirements pursuant to this Chapter.

B. The Department will adopt a collaborative approach that actively solicits inputs and feedback from City departments and other stakeholders during the development and implementation of the P3 Program. This may include establishing workgroups and training seminars, and conducting public information briefing.

C. The Department, working with stakeholders, will develop and adopt health & safety and environmental criteria applicable to commodity purchases using Precautionary Principle. Criteria development will be a dynamic process; therefore, criteria will be subject to modifications as additional and relevant information becomes available in the future.

D. The requirements to purchase commodities will be implemented in a phase approach to allow development and application of health & safety and environmental criteria for targeted commodity. Additional criteria will be eventually developed and applied for the purchasing of additional purchased commodities over time.

E. Establish a detailed strategy and procedures for purchasing commodities pursuant to this Chapter. Strategy and procedures should be integrated, to the extent feasible, with existing purchasing practices and procedures including: (1) The Office of Contract Administration (OCA) to develop and procure term contracts for purchasing commodities, and (2) City departments either purchase commodities off the term contracts, or purchasing commodities through their existing purchasing methods. The Precautionary Principle will be taken into account during the stages of contract solicitation process such as scope preparation, bidding, evaluation, and contract award.

A typical commodity procurement process could include the following steps:

i. OCA prepares draft solicitation to purchase commodities.

ii. The Department reviews and drafts solicitation based on the results of the Precautionary Principle analysis and initial benefit-cost analysis.

iii. Issuance of solicitation.

iv. Submittal of bid proposal by Offeror (potential vendors).

v. The Department evaluates and score products using applicable criteria.

vi. If warranted, testing product samples to ensure performance requirements are acceptable.

vii. Short-listing of potential vendors.

viii. Contract award by OCA to multiple vendors (to provide options) based on their products meeting criteria, performance, and low bid.

F. Establish a “Planning Tool” to perform Precautionary Principle analysis. The Planning Tool should consist of:

i. Sets of health & safety and environmental criteria, which can be applied to purchase commodities.

ii. List of targeted commodities purchased and used by the City that may have known or potential adverse impacts to public health and the environment.

iii. Grouping of targeted commodities under applicable criteria to identify opportunities for applying the criteria to future acquisition of these commodities.

G. The Department will work with City departments to perform Precautionary Principle analysis on solicitations and bid submittals prior to short listing. In addition, the Department will work with City departments to plan and conduct any testing necessary to evaluate product performance prior to purchasing.

H. Designate the Department as the Lead Agency and define roles and responsibilities for other City departments.

I. Establish policies and procedures for granting exemptions and waivers.

J. The Department will work with Health and Safety staff from other City to monitor and ensure compliance with the requirements pursuant to this Chapter.

K. Assign personnel and define their responsibilities for commodity procurement as follows:

i. Analysis by Contracting Officer. Contracting Officers intending to issue a Solicitation for a contract subject to this Chapter shall complete a precautionary principle analysis prior to preparing and issuing the Solicitation. A precautionary principle analysis shall consist of a review of the Precautionary Principle Manual For City Purchases of Commodities, issued by the Department pursuant to Section 13(c), application of the criteria to the intended contract, and a consultation with the Precautionary Principle Analyst.

ii. Analysis By P3 Analyst. The Precautionary Principle Program Analyst shall review the draft Solicitation and shall perform a qualitative benefit-cost analysis pursuant to the manual. The Analyst will also review the Solicitation to ensure that the Precautionary Principe has been applied and complied with the requirement of this Chapter. The Analyst will either approve or disapprove the issuance of the Solicitation. [Check Charter rule conflict]

iii. Issuance of Solicitation. A Contracting Officer shall not issue a Solicitation subject to this Chapter unless the Precautionary Principle Analyst approves the Solicitation.

iv. Analysis by Offeror, Proposer or Bidder. All Offers, Proposals and Bids subject to this Chapter shall include the following components: Product information including completion of the product criteria evaluation form(s), product performance claims, and completing the checklist referred to above. Offeror, proposer or bidder could be requested to provide additional information for the purpose of completing the evaluation and scoring of their bid proposals.

v. Duties of Purchaser - Purchaser prepares contracts for OCA to make awards. Purchaser makes decision on which vendors to purchase from and the P3 Analyst will provide confirmation based on compliance with applicable criteria.

Sec. 10 Contractual Obligations.

Each Contracting Party that enters into a contract subject to this Chapter shall agree:

A. To comply with the requirements of this Chapter and Chapter 21 of the Administrative Code;

B. To comply with the rules and regulations adopted by the Department pursuant to this Chapter;

C. To provide information and reports to the City in accordance with any reporting standards promulgated by the Department;

D. To cooperate with the City if it conducts an audit of compliance with this Chapter and to provide the City with access to pertinent records relating to compliance with this Chapter after receiving a written request to do so and being provided at least five (5) business days to respond;

E. To include in every Contract and Subcontract subject to this Chapter provisions requiring compliance with this Chapter, consistent with any directives or standards adopted by the Department {DOE needs to specify what types of directives and standards so they can be described in section 13};

F. {DOE to provide short policy-type re-statement of the chapter to be placed in each contract}

Sec. 11.Waivers

A. Pursuant to Chapter 6 or 21 of the Administrative Code, the Contract is necessary to respond to an emergency that endangers the public health or safety (exemption?);

B. The public interest warrants the granting of a waiver because application of this Chapter would constitute an adverse impact on services or an unreasonable adverse financial impact on this City; or

C. The commodities to be purchased are available under a bulk purchasing arrangement with a federal, state or local governmental entity; purchase under such arrangement will substantially reduce the City's cost of purchasing such services; and purchase under such an arrangement is in the best interest of the City or the public.

D. The needed commodities are only available from a sole source.

E. Each waiver shall be effective for the duration of the Contract. Subsequent waivers may be requested and either granted or denied.

F. A City department may apply to the Department of the Environment for a two-year waiver for the purchase of a particular product. The application for a waiver shall be filed on a form specified by the Department as part of the Manual and shall be signed by the City Department Head. The Department of the Environment may grant the two-year exemption upon a finding that the City department:

i. Made a good-faith effort to find alternatives that protect public health and the environment; and

ii. Demonstrated that an unreasonable adverse financial impact would be created by choosing alternatives required pursuant to this Chapter; and

iii. Developed a reasonable plan for investigating alternatives to the desired product during the two-year waiver period.

Sec. 12 Preemption.

Nothing in this Chapter shall be interpreted or applied so as to create any power or duty in conflict with any federal or state law.

Sec. 13. Period of Suspension.

City Departments shall not be required to comply with Sections [----] of this Chapter until the Director has approved and promulgated rules and regulations pursuant to section 13 to assist with compliance with this Chapter and has provided notice to City departments of such action.

Sec. 14. Severability.

If any part or provision of this Chapter, or the application of this Chapter to any person, location or circumstance, is enjoined or held invalid by a court of law, the remainder of this Chapter, including the application of such part or provisions to other persons, locations, or circumstances, shall not be affected by such action and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this Chapter are severable.

Sec. 15. No later than 90 days after the effective date of this ordinance, the Planning Commission shall, pursuant to Planning Code section 340, initiate amendments to the General Plan to incorporate the Precautionary Principle. {is this a charter issue? Sec. 4.118}

source: 
http://www.sfgov.org/sfenvironment/aboutus/policy/commission.htm
http://www.sfgov.org/sfenvironment/aboutus/policy/ppordinance.pdf