SF Bay protection: Measure AA passes

A great egret wades near Chipps Island in the Suisun Marsh near Pittsburg. Measure AA is intended to restore marshes and take other steps to protect the San Francisco Bay habitat. A great egret wades near Chipps Island in the Suisun Marsh near Pittsburg. Measure AA is intended to restore marshes and take other steps to protect the San Francisco Bay habitat. Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Leah Millis, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close SF Bay protection: Measure AA passes 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Thousands of acres of land around the San Francisco Bay will be returned to wetlands after voters in the nine-county Bay Area approved a new $12-per-parcel tax that will raise millions of dollars for bay enhancement and habitat restoration.

Grants from the $500 million raised over the next 20 years through the measure will begin to be distributed in 2018 and could attract additional state and federal funds, supporters said. Measure AA passed with 69 percent of the vote in the primary election, exceeding the cumulative two-thirds majority required for approval.

Measure AA is the state’s first-ever parcel tax to be levied across a region.

“The Bay Area was voting as one region, and the combined result shows that the region as a whole cares about the bay,” Executive Director David Lewis of Save the Bay said Wednesday. “We should all celebrate this victory. It really shows us how strong local support is for San Francisco Bay.”

The flat, $12-per-parcel tax will first be assessed July 1, 2017.

REAL-TIME VOTE TOTALS (NEEDS TWO-THIRDS MARGIN TO PASS)

Measure AA exceeded the required two-thirds majority vote in five of the nine counties, with the strongest support in San Francisco, where it passed with 77 percent. Voters also favored the measure in Alameda County (74.6 percent), Marin County (72.4 percent), San Mateo County (71.4 percent) and Santa Clara County (69.4 percent).

The measure failed to reach the two-thirds majority in Contra Costa County (64.7 percent), Sonoma County (63.2 percent), Napa County (57.1 percent), and Solano County (53.3 percent). Still, the cumulative total from all nine counties kept the vote above the two-thirds majority required for passage.

A total of 837,162 people across the Bay Area voted in favor of the measure, while 371,542 voted against it.

“Bay Area voters made history by passing the region’s first truly regional ballot measure,” said Jim Wunderman, president of the Bay Area Council, in a statement. “This investment will help ensure the Bay Area is positioned as the most climate resilient coastal region on earth.”

Supporters of the measure said a dedicated revenue source is needed to restore marshes along the northern and southern edges of the bay, which would serve as buffers from sea-level rise in the coming decades. The marshes would also protect inland areas from flooding during high tides and severe storms.

The San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority will distribute the money through grants, which will be aimed at improving water quality, restoring wildlife habitat and increasing public access along the shoreline. The restoration authority will use the tax to fund projects in all nine counties.

The authority’s governing board is made up of elected officials from throughout the Bay Area, including San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener and Mountain View Mayor Patricia Showalter.

The parcel tax would raise $25 million a year for 20 years before automatically expiring in 2037.

Opponents of the measure said it unfairly assessed the same tax on inland homeowners and multimillion-dollar businesses on the bay.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: MelodyGutierrez