Despite protests and litigation threats from real estate developers, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Sept. 23 to create a special community tax district—locally known as a Mello-Roos district—for the Transbay Transit Center at 2014 market rates. The vote marks a key funding piece for the approximately $4.5-billion Transbay Transit Center, billed as the "Grand Central of the West."

Mello-Roos districts are named for Senator Henry J. Mello (D-Watsonville) and Assemblyman Mike Roos (D-Los Angeles) who co-authored the Community Facilities Act, passed in 1982. The law creates special districts in which cities can seek funding through initiatives to build community projects.