The suit, filed last week in the Superior Court of San Francisco County, is based on a chain of agreementsthat created the structure for development of the 300-acre parcel that was formerly a part of San Francisco Bay.
Under the agreements, the suit alleges, the city took responsibility for maintaining the infrastructure of the streets and sidewalks of Mission Bay.
The suit says that even as the infrastructure sinks, the city refuses to shoulder responsibility for the necessary work. The plaintiff asks the court to compel the city to fulfill its duty to maintain the spaces.
In a complaint that weaves San Francisco history with dense legalese, the plaintiff tells the origin story of Mission Bay, the neighborhood roughly bounded by China Bay to the north, Dogpatch to the south, I-280 to the west and the San Francisco Bay to the east.
Prior to 1859, the area was part of the bay but thereafter was gradually filled with dirt and rock. By 1892, the perimeter of Mission Bay was enclosed.
According to the suit, the site was to be developed through a public-private partnership with a private master developer responsible for building -- either directly or through sub-developers--many of the projects that today make up Mission Bay.
