As much as $250 million in state taxes generated from development along San Francisco’s waterfront would be directed toward the city’s ambitious plan to reconstruct the crumbling Embarcadero seawall, under legislation Assembyman David Chiu will introduce Monday.

The measure, AB2578, would create an infrastructure financing district along the waterfront, from Fisherman’s Wharf to Mission Creek. The special tax district, known as an IFD, would not only divert state tax dollars to the seawall project, but also allow the city to generate additional money by selling bonds against future tax revenue generated from projects within the district.

The seawall — which supports historic piers, wharves and landmarks like the Ferry Building — is in need of about $5 billion of work to protect against both earthquakes and flooding from rising sea levels, city officials say.

Chiu, who drafted the legislation with two fellow San Francisco Democrats, Assemblyman Phil Ting and state Sen. Scott Wiener, said the seawall reconstruction project is desperately needed to protect more than $100 billion worth of public and private property in a 500-acre area along the waterfront. The area also includes key utility networks and infrastructure for BART, Muni and ferries.

“There is a lot of talk from the Trump administration about infrastructure, but in San Francisco and in California, we are actually doing the work to protect our critical infrastructure,” Chiu said. “Climate change is happening, sea levels are rising. The city has an incredible need to strengthen our seawall to avoid catastrophic flooding.”

The legislation comes as the city is preparing a bond measure of up to $500 million to fund phase one of the project. The bond measure will likely be on the November ballot and would require two-thirds approval to pass. A recent poll found that 73 percent of voters would vote yes on a seawall improvement general obligation bond.

But Chiu said local money alone is not going to be enough to pay for the project.

“We know this work is going to require significant investment at the local, state and federal level, as well as private sector sources,” he said. “This bill is what we need for the state portion.”

Built in 1879, the seawall runs along 3 miles of waterfront from Fisherman’s Wharf to AT&T Park on the banks of Mission Creek. It is one of San Francisco’s oldest pieces of infrastructure and was designed before engineers understood how to build infrastructure to survive earthquakes.

The seawall rests on unstable bay mud and is “vulnerable to lateral spreading and settlement in a major earthquake, which could destroy or seriously damage utilities, light rail and buildings along the Embarcadero,” according to the Port of San Francisco.

Last year 24 million people visited places along the Embarcadero, drawn by destinations like AT&T Park, Fisherman’s Wharf and the Ferry Building.

Port Director Elaine Forbes called the legislation “a creative tool to make private investment part of the solution.”

She said the bill leverages investment from developers and property owners who will benefit from the infrastructure improvements. This group includes the San Francisco Giants, which recently won approvals for its Mission Rock development just south of the ballpark. The 28-acre project would generate about 1,500 housing units and 1.5 million square feet of office and retail space. Taxes from the Giants project alone could spin off an estimated $55 million for the seawall project.

The seawall was built by the state and, like most of the California waterfront, falls under the jurisdiction of the State Lands Commission.

“Given that it was the state that built the seawall more than 100 years ago, it’s incredibly rewarding that there is a bill to provide state resources to repair it and protect our harbor,” Forbes said. “We are all too aware of sea-level rise, but there is not a lot of money for climate adaptation out there.”

Mayor Mark Farrell said the city doesn’t “have the luxury to wait any longer on this crucial infrastructure issue.”

“At a time when the Trump administration refuses to acknowledge even basic scientific facts, it is up to state and local governments to protect our residents from the dangerous impacts of climate change,” he said. “The San Francisco seawall is a crucial barrier against the threat of sea level rise, and if we do not act now to shore up the 3 miles that protect us from the rising tides, our city will be dealing with the fallout for generations to come.”