as well as the environmental justice subcommittee, and we still have more to go. as a result of this, our findings show that the public is very excited about the fact that puc has made a tremendous effort to reach out to communities. particularly in sunol. the folks there were so delighted to have someone there just to listen to them and help address some of the issues that have been plaguing that community for a while related to puc projects and properties managed and run by puc. what we did find was that the community wants more. they would like to have a stronger community partnership, and they would like puc to be more part of their community. we have developed a community

benefits website, and it is to increase public input. it is an opportunity for people to learn about what we're doing as well as to provide input back to us through the online survey, and you can find that again on the sfpuc website. we have a banner there that will take you directly to the information about the community benefits program. with that, i would like to turn it over to bonita to talk about our definition of community benefits. >> good afternoon. i'm very excited to be here, and i would like to add my congratulations to the general manager, t juliet ellis, a friend of mine, and someone we hold in high esteem. i think it was a brilliant decision to uphold this position

or expand its response ability to really consolidate your action, and we want to thank the commission for the commitment to developing community benefits. you have a wide range of programs, and we will be touching upon them as we go through the definition. we were not able to find a universal definition of community benefits, not surprisingly. however, based on all the research we conducted, and we put the definition here at this part of the program, because it was informed by the many discussions we have as stakeholder outreach, the research we did, including independent research beyond what other utilities are doing, to come up with a definition, and we believe our definition complies with state and local requirements. we had some really great conversations about proposition 218, and about the

administrative code, so we created a definition that we think is they're tight and that also reflects the values of the public utilities commission -- that we think is air tight and that also reflects the values of the public utilities commission. that is balancing the goals of equity, environmental sustainability, and economic strength, and we believe the puc is very good at looking at the economic issues and has done an amazing job at looking at the environmental. we being the equity 1 is an area where there's a lot of room for improvement. we're talking about the stability. we're talking about given the bradth of the area that sfpuc covers, how community services are delivered. our recommendation includes 10

categories that have consistently come up. the definition reflects our agreement with commonly accepted principles that community benefits must be measurable and have appropriate nexus to sfpuc services and activities. our draft definition, and we have provided you, the commission, with the draft definition that appears on the website. this presentation short of truncates it a little bit. we have also made some copies of the draft definition available for the community. as i said, it is also on the website. we are seeking the feedback of the community on this definition, as well as stakeholder feedback, which we hope to gather through the website and through the survey that is online where anyone in the community can look at the definition, look at what we put on the website, and give us input into what we are proposing. the draft definition reads -- "

community benefits are those community impacts resulting from operation of its water, wastewater, and community services, and this is on page 13 of your hand out on the powerpoint. "the sfpuc seeks to be a good neighbor and promote stability by trouble bottom line, which balances economic, environmental, and social equity goals." what you do not have in your powerpoint hand out, but which does appear in the draft definition and on the website is what one might call a value statement. the sfpuc creates measurable outcomes and devote sufficient resources to achieve the following 10 community benefit outcomes -- the first one is stakeholder and community involvement, and we put this first for a reason -- we believe that having your stakeholders involved in the design, development, the implementation,

the monitoring, and the evaluation of your programs is critical, and you have some excellent examples in terms of the community advisory committee, the dead just a task force, and eight range of other communities stakeholder involvement vehicles throughout your area. the second area is workforce development. we look at both internal and external. we know there is a great deal of interest being paid to what we might call the extra oil issues around local hiring, a round mandatory local hiring, and around a citywide project labor agreement, and we have been closely tracking the activities of the facilitated discussion that has been called for or at least is helping to informed decisions at the supervisor level. we know that the supervisors are very interested in coordinated work force development, and we believe it is important for puc to work closely with the office

of work force development. we have seen in many areas that that is happening, and we are very encouraged by many discussions recently and actions that we think will result in greater hiring of residents and opening up opportunities for those stakeholders in the community who are dying to get involved. internally, we were delighted to learn about bay work. we think this is an excellent sample of both how puc can look at session planning, identify key knowledge skills that are necessary for people to do the work and deliver the and deliver sfpuc seeks to deliver, and we think there are opportunities to open it up so that not only people are pleased with their work, but that those opportunities that will emerge from so many of the advance, and experience who may be retiring soon, that those positions can then be filled by folks in the

lower ranks and also members of the community who seek to work with puc. the project labor agreement that is part of the wsip program, has delivered excellent results, and we know there are steps taken to really strengthen the job training and opportunity program. with -- we know that they're working with a range of local work force development organizations. we know there is a small business task force. there are lots of ways the community is involved and the community benefits are delivered, and we look forward to both helping to strengthen that and move it along. we also saw it within the work force development arena, a number of internship programs. we think there are some opportunities to really streamline what is happening, reduce any redundant efforts, and again, create opportunities for young people to know and

understand what sfpuc is doing and see that as a possible career that might help them in their studies to do better and see that there is some in point and some success that they could have in their young lives as they prepare for their careers in the environmental justice of reappeared obviously, puc has gone far beyond what any other agency has done, by adopting not just environmental and sustainability policy, but an environmental justice policy, and we see there are a lot of opportunities for that policy to be implemented. we discovered, and i have to really take my hat off -- i do not have one on, but i have to say i was blown away by the staff and the amount of work that has gone into developing a sustainability matrix, identifying baseline sustainability criteria, and really providing criteria for

how you measure sustainability, what the successes might be, and again, i'm very excited about the prospect of real attention being paid to this project being consolidated. in the area work force development, your adherence to the local enterprise policy, the ways throughout the region your stakeholders have talked about utilizing local workers and local businesses and local resources to support the puc -- it was very inspiring. in the arts and culture are arena, there are many opportunities to celebrate local artists, to celebrate and used part as a way of educating the community not only about art, but about how the puc works in its role in the community. we did not see health as a criteria for component of other

community benefit programs, but we see what puc is doing as a way of having opportunities to improve health in the community, not just with the mitigation of orders and traffic congestion and other things that result from development, but by the maintenance of open space and parks and recreation areas so that people can develop healthy recreation lifestyles and see puc as a partner in developing positive outcomes. in the area of education, i will not go into detail, but there are so many ways to augment what is happening in the public school district and teach young people about the ways that water, power, and wastewater services are delivered that will enhance their understanding of physics, knowledge, math, so we are hopeful that education will be a very important part of the community benefits policy that we propose you develop. land use -- we have to give

proper to gary and his group. they are doing an amazing job of documenting the land use that is made available to the community in a variety of ways -- with that, and i know you as a commission had received reports about all of the areas and how land use is used to benefit the community. we do think there are some ways where guidelines and criteria can be developed so people who are not now taking advantage of those lands can have an idea about where they need to go as opposed to using the squeaky wheel concept. they really would have an understanding. we think the attorney's office could be very helpful in helping to give information about what those guidelines might be. diversity and inclusion is an area we think is critical in terms of diverse members of the community participating in planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation, and

there are ways that bought puc's resources -- there are ways that puc's resources can be made available. this was brought up in groups of people who may have language difficulty understanding english, so we think this is an area where there is lots of room for opportunity. finally, financial and in-kind contributions. that means not just money, but the staff time that is devoted to boards and commissions and task forces that shows the community that sfpuc really cares, so i'm going to move into some of our initial recommendations. first is that the community should adopt the statement and develop an agency-wide community development program. we think the concept should be integrated into the core mission of puc and that it needs to come from the top down. we think you, as a commission,

and the general manager harrington, harlan kelly, and all of the staff that we talk to are very committed to community benefits. we think with coordination at the level you are now proposing, that you will go leaps and bounds ahead and be the real trend setter, and really the benchmark for what community benefits really means in the context of a public utility. we think the community should develop long-term plans to sustain public involvement, beyond the development and implementation of the wsip and thessip. while folks are engaged now, we would love to see a way for that community involvement to continue. third, we think the community benefit program should be coordinated and sustainable across all enterprises, and we talked about creating a shared vision not just to run community benefits, but a shared vision where all three enterprises are

working together in a unified manner. four, due to the importance of community benefits, we believe the puc should provide coordination and management had a senior staff level. i will leave that alone. we have made great progress in that arena. 5, to develop clear guidelines for recruitment, participation, abolition, and evaluation of stakeholder participation. we have seen, through many of the stakeholder processes, that there is a lack of clarity on how they stay engaged, how they get information, and how decisions are made. we have put all of the back from materials we have been working with together in a very large binder. not sure where it is, but we are also going to blow all that information on the web site because we want all the community and stakeholders and commission to have access to the wonderful material we have been looking at, and you have the website there, sfpuc-

communitybenefits the board -- sfpuc-communitybenefits.org. we want to finalize the definition of community benefits. again, we would love your input. you will find on that definition of community benefits that we have handed out to you contact information for myself, so that if you have questions or concerns or ideas, we would love to hear them, and we put that same invitation out to anyone who is with me, and members of the community. we will produce a final written report with recommendations for a proposed community benefits program by december 1, and the proposal will include both proposed implementation structure as well as metrics for developing and measuring

benefits and success in the community benefits program. with that, i will end and invited me questions. again, thank you for your commitment and attention. commissioner crowley: colleagues? >> i have a couple of comments. thank you so much. it is really exciting work you are taking on, and we really appreciate all your hard work. i guess i want to speak on the environment perspective. i think there is so much potential in there as well. i know you are looking for some feedback on the definition, and i think you are pretty right on. i might add a couple of words. i also think there is an opportunity not just to preserve and expand what we have, but to identify new projects, new programs, that we can then use to see if they work.

like the living machine, for example, and how that affects the community. whether it is job creation peace, what the environmental impacts are, to identify and evaluate and promote if need be. to move that forward. also on the environmental side. i know we have been talking a lot about that, and i would love their to be the use of land in a way that maximizes community benefits but also that preserves a national -- natural environment whenever possible, and how to work and identify what that interface is, whether it is a program where communities are coming in and creating gardens there, or if there is a mixed use project, what that looks like, but with an environmental slant as well because we have a building being put into an available land

space. to have that environmental component woven in as much as possible. >> if i could just comment on that -- what i went over very quickly, we found amazing examples in the stage project, the community projects, which means kathryn is doing an amazing job. there is so much going on. one of the metrics we thought could be just a ton of healthy food that is created that is giving jobs to formerly incarcerated individuals and youth through these projects while making great land available. >> absolutely, and i will slip into my day job lingo, but also this piece on education. if there is a way to integrate the growing of food into education not just for kids, but for grown-ups and the cultural connection is so important. going back to the roots of what

the foods are that are important to these communities, so there is a very rich educational component that ties in with the environmental component and the community benefits peace. >> that is one of the reasons we included health as a component. we saw the nexus between healthy foods and quality of life, so -- and water. >> so this whole integrative approach is really rich and really exciting. that is pretty much all i have. the criteria and guidelines piece you mention -- we have been talking around that a little bit as well. we do not know quite how to get there, but it would be great to keep that conversation moving along as part of this conversation as well. >> thank you very much for your comments and input. we appreciate it. commissioner moran: thank you for all of this. a lot of your recommendations --

most of them appear to be generally applicable to varying communities. not community specific. i'm curious, in your outreach, how you saw difference in expression of interest in the issues raised throughout our service area. it looks like you interviewed outside san francisco. as you look into the peninsula, and i do not know how far out of country you went, but what kind of issues did you see outside of san francisco that or perhaps different than what you saw inside? >> outside of san francisco, it is more land use issues because most of those folks do not actually have access to the water, so they are more

interested in land use issues, but what we found overall design communities where they are more organized, they were much further along in requesting and asking for certain kind of community benefits, and in those communities that were disorganized or had not come together as a community group, they want those community benefits, but they did not know how to begin the process. those were two very different requests that we found, and we went into asking the communities to tell us what they think community benefits is. without us dictating to them, because we really wanted to hear how they saw and how they framed what would be considered a community benefit. a lot of it outside of the region was land use. within san francisco, it is obviously about work force, and quality of life, health, also

use of land. those are the main things that i think we saw that people were most interested in -- education and sustainability. >> i think i would just add that throughout your service territory, there was a keen desire to partner with the sfpuc, and that might mean different things to different people, but they want to be at the table. they wanted to have input. while the issues and concerns may vary, the desire to work in partnership with puc was evident throughout your service territory. >> again, thanks for the work. they have kind of kept me brief throughout their research. one of the things i will share is that they had told me that they were hearing as they did their interviews, was that there was this desire for us to have

the meetings locate into different parts of the region, so back there was a desire a face time, so i think that is interesting. i had a couple of comments and questions. one was around facilities and how the puc thinks about the actual facilities that we own. the architects we went into, they were talking about the recycled water project. as we talk about legal and the waste-water facility and bayview, we have talked about people being able to have tors and that kind of thing, but how we think about the facility assets that puc has. we talked quite a bit about the arts commission, and i never realized when you bring up the parts issues that previous commission meetings, about kind of why we are pursuing certain

pieces of art and what the nexus is to sfpuc's priority, i did not actually realize we were supporting the arts commission financially until i sat down with you, so that, i think, is a huge asset as you think about resources that could really support the puc's vision and values. at this point, the puc does not have a connection, so now i get what you were asking because there's probably some work we could do to make those connections a little bit stronger. then, i did have a connection to -- a question about the connection to 218. are there other places where you did the stand? >> yes, they did. in chicago, specifically. new york does as well. there are some limitations, but

when you read the definition, there are clear ways to make a nexus, to the mission of the agency, and some commissions boards have been more aggressive in that way, and others have not. yes, they are facing similar restrictions. commissioner crowley: questions? ok, thank you very much for a big report. thank you very much. any public comments? ms. jackson. >> i want to thank you very much, and i would like we did consider what has been presented

to you. i have been in several meetings with the young ladies in our area. i would like to point out page 13 because that was part of my input. [laughter] so i want to thank you very much. commissioner crowley: any other public comments? mr. brian, welcome. >> i think that the commission has come a long way, spent many years -- 25 years or so, doing business in different direct and indirect ways, and i have to tell you that this is a proud moment for me to look out at this commission and have this commission recognized the need of we are setting the standard

not only for san francisco but for the country. this, my fellow friends, is the start of something very special, a start that i think in the and will benefit our community, and will benefit this country as a whole. great job. ladies, great job. and staff. >> i wanted to echo the statements by mr. ryan and ms. jackson. this is such an exciting program. i remember when there was a discussion that led to this, with commissioner alice saying you wanted to have this process. -- commissioner ellis saying you wanted to have this process. it was great to sit down and

talk with you folks and learn from your expertise. they came down and greet us at the southeast jobs coalition, and there was about 30 of us there fully engaged, and it was really exciting. there was a lot of excitement about what is to come, so i cannot wait, so thank you. i think chris was here for a minute and stepped out. it has just been really great, and i think it has a lot of promise. one other thing i just wanted to say is somebody maybe to interview, i forgot to mention that he basically wrote the letter we talked, and he knows san francisco community power. he puts the community to work, so he does really good work, and he wrote the letter that