just put it down right over there. commissioners, i will place this under general public comment, not to exceed 15 minutes. members of the public may address the commission on items of interest of the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction except for agenda items. your opportunity to adjust the commission will be aborted when the opportunity is reached in the meeting. each member of the public may speak for up to 3 minutes. i would like to take this opportunity for those of you who wish to speak on the calaveras dam it replacement project, the public, item -- the item is closed, but following public comment, is comment on agenda items where the public hearing has been close, and your opportunity to speak will be afforded at that time. commissioner miguel: this is on general public comment.

>> good afternoon, planning commission. i'm an organizer at the central city sro collaborative. this letter is addressed to commissioner sugaya. on behalf of the central city sro collaborative, we are willing to accept your apology, but on one condition -- you need to take a tour of the tenderloin neighborhood, which is something you address when you gave the comment. it will be led by a collaborative tenant organizer and will provide a view of our neighborhood from the perspective of some of us who live here. when we attended last thursday's hearing on the request for conditional use authorization to sell beer and wine from the grocery store, we expected that

some on the commission would vote to approve their application, despite our strong objections, but we never expected you to insult our community by suggesting the operator sell drugs from his store in order to make ends meet. life is a struggle in this neighborhood. many of us live well below the poverty line, struggle with our mental health or substance abuse and have been victims of violence in the past, but we are trying to improve this neighborhood, and we have no choice but to reach out to you to help us make this happen. to be honest, we initially wanted to see you resign for your insensitive comments, but when we thought about it more, we realized that maybe you do not know enough about this neighborhood and the people who have to live here with the decisions you make here at the planning commission's. maybe you can be an ambassador on our behalf. so if you accept our apology today and attend a tour of our neighborhood, then we accept

your apology. thank you for your time. commissioner miguel: thank you. >> commissioners, the director of the central city sro collaborative. i want to be brief to allow other members of the community to speak, but i do want to say at the planning commission hearing 18 months ago for a top market, i think you saw how seriously neighborhood residents take planning issues brown liquor stores -- r.l. liquor stores in the tenderloin, and without the message was clear, so i hope from this, we can learn that these issues are really important -- how seriously neighborhood residents take planning issues are around liquor stores. ultimately, the planning decisions that come before you have to be your consequences. all we ask is to be treated fairly. people who live in the tenderloin, who work in the tenderloin, sometimes we have

mixed emotions about the places we call home or where we were, but ultimately, we are passionate about the area, and we want it to change, and we want you to help us change, so we ask that you take these matters seriously. commissioner sugaya, we want you to come to the tenderloin, see it from their perspective, and hopefully, from there, we will have more sensitive comments on matters involving the tenderloin. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm a legislative aide for supervisor kim. commissioner sugaya, thank you for your public apology, and we appreciate you taking the concerns about your comments last week seriously by reaching out to the tenderloin community. as a representative for the

tenderloin, we know and see the vibrant community that the tenderloin is, and concerned about these sorts of comments, and we wish that you would take a tour with our community and also the sro collaborative, and we very much appreciate what you have done today. thank you. commissioner miguel: thank you. is there a dismal public comment on items that are not that denies -- is there additional public comment on items that are not agendized? >> [speaking spanish]

>> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is maria ferreira -- herrera, and i want to thank you for your apologies for your comments. i wanted to share that the tender one family has -- the tenderloin has many families and many children, and we fight everyday to make sure our children do not fall to waste, so it is important that we work with the commission so you guys make decisions that are

positive for our community. we are not all bad people. there is a lot of good people in the tenderloin. >> i was going to say something. i quickly wanted to share a comment. i do appreciate the statement made by commissioner sugaya today. i wanted to share that i do think it is important to think about long-term commission planning in terms of the social impacts, and i know that is something many of you have constantly grappled with. i wanted to share stories, and i'm going to try to be as brief as possible. we just came from commissioner kim's office to talk about a project involving a pharmacy that our families did not want there because we did not know who was doing the business, and it was called bay drugs, and that really scared a lot of folks, and some of the business practices were under scrutiny. we're able to the 72 families from that block area to sign a

petition, and these are folks that are immigrant families. we have asian-american, arab- american, latino families predominantly to sign the petition because they want to see a different neighborhood. i was not here, so it may have been out of just that the comment came knowing that the tenderloin is a difficult place and knowing that a lot of folks are surviving, but i want to share that there is a frustration in the community because many times we come before the commission, and projects get pushed through, and there is another social impact that occurs. maybe that pharmacy does not want to see street level drug dealing, but folks are taking their prescriptions and selling it at the corner, and that is the reality. for us, the first response that families had was, "how can they say this? we go before them, taking time out of our day or out of child care he kfx the family that comes to city hall -- or our

child care." it affects the families that come to city hall. commissioner miguel: thank you. is there additional public comment? >> hotel. been there for seven and a half years now. i would like to comment on sugaya's, and last week. i was not here [inaudible] but a recognize that a person in your position should be more careful of how you treat people in the tenderloin. we struggle every day to keep the place livable, workable, and make you proud of it, and we have not had that for a while. a few years ago, we were having an upsurge in business. things were straightening out for business, and then, the recession's hit. things have gotten worse.

i recognize that a lot of the economy as well as the streets have gotten a lot worse. but i still think someone in the planning commission, people appointed by the mayor, should be more sensitive. i feel that there is a certain curious this that is coming down from up high telling us how to live and how we should be handling our daily activities. i just wanted to comment on that. i think it is wrong to equate the tenderloin with west portal in regards to licensing. we are not west portal. i hope [inaudible] commissioner miguel: thank you.

>> good afternoon. i have lived in the tenderloin. i have also worked here for approximately four years. for various social service agencies. the neighborhood is getting pretty bad, and i do want to thank the commission [inaudible] we do not need anybody else selling beer or liquor in the tenderloin, and i would also encourage you to before you make those decisions come down to the neighborhood, talk to the tenants, walk the streets. i'm not talking about 2:00 in the afternoon. i'm talking 10:00 at night on a friday when you really get to see the impact that the drugs have in the neighborhood. i really encourage you all, and i would like to thank mr.

sugaya for his apology. it is tough living in this neighborhood. but we need public officials who are going to really see things as they are, honestly, not just by the dollar signs, but by the people who live there. i just hope you continue to work closely to work with your community leaders, with the residence before you make these crucial decisions. commissioner miguel: thank you. >> good morning, commissioners. or good afternoon, commissioners. residents of district 6, no. mission. i want to touch base with you regarding the recent insensitive comments on january 20, 2011. it is clear and apparent by the impassioned, cogent testimony of residents the community with in this corner of the district is

saturated by establishment spending alcohol. it was also clear the request was unreasonable, given the totality of social issues impacting this area. indeed, he wanted to sell sand at the beach. as a press, voiceless citizens -- oppressed, voiceless citizens, considered second and third class, we ask ourselves how - mets are sustained and carried over for a new generation. we're both surprised and disappointed when we realized it is our very own public officials creating such an environment. i'm troubled by mr. sugaya's comment, "maybe he could sell drugs out of their." it ultimately validates callous attitudes by the larger public, and aware of the problems faced by district six community members living in depressed areas of the district. mr. sugaya's coated top, sets of

people like me, an african- american male with a master's degree in social work, but yet, i cannot walk down the san francisco streets without some community members believing in a threat on multiple levels. to be placed in the most violent, stereotypical imagery without consideration of the damage it leaves behind. i would like to see mr. sugaya do the honorable thing and step down because he has decided the public trust. it is not enough that he has apologized to a leading agency that promotes human rights. his previous comments and most recent statements prove him to be unfit for his position. we ask him to have honor, stepped down, and led a true voice of the underserved serve to restore equity to this body. thank you. commissioner miguel: thank you.

>> congratulations, commissioner olague on your presidency. tenderloin district 6 residents, a third-generation san franciscan. let me say from the outset, commissioner sugaya, your apology is unacceptable. several weeks ago, mr. sugaya was merely contemplating whether he would apologize or not last week with respect to the matter come engaging another backlash, a telephone call from supervisor at kim, and a nuanced whisper campaign for his removal, his race and class-coated remarks would require more than an apology. who actually endorse to live in the tenderloin? who are the people rebuilding the tenderloin block by block? it is becoming customary for mr. sugaya to cast his remarks as a template that just humor and "can they take a joke"

rationale. he evidently slipped, "i suppose it will makes this an apology ia few days, only after a supervisor went public with her complaint. what is also troubling is that people -- and a few of you laughed and chuckled out loud, somewhat unbelievable, that is, that he said it again. who knows what the viewing audience did? i submit that you should have halted the proceedings, especially after his previous remarks in december, and called a recess. this since a forceful message to him and the public that this speech bordering on hateful and dehumanizing will not be

tolerated by this commission. the remarks were sent in front of a packed house of residential hotel tenants, people of color, disabled folks, who told their tenderloin tale of despondency and despair. mr. sugaya, you know better by now. you know the price of prejudice, even if it is shrouded in seemingly harmless sarcasm toward palace people and the underprivileged. after all this, given the breadth of knowledge and your experience, you have a greater sensitivity toward the preservation of historic buildings than preserving the dignity of poor people in this city. you have the right to deliberate and vote your conscience on the commission, but you do not possess the right to dehumanize people. i request or naively demand, perhaps, that you resign from this commission. you may apologize again or be given a tour of the tenderloin. in reality, though, if you make further denigrating remarks at the time an insult corporate

ceo's on wall street, playfully accusing them of money laundering, i can assure you you will be asked to be dismissed. commissioner miguel: thank you. is there additional public comment? if not, general public comment is closed. commissioner olague: i just wanted to -- i was chairing the meeting last week, and perhaps i should have called a recess at the time. i want to also apologized to all of you from the tenderloin who came out. you were vigilant last year in your challenge of the liquor license, and i appreciate that you also had the courage to come out and stand up for that again, and i apologize that you had to experience a moment like that here at this commission where

you felt very -- your integrity was, you know, called into question. so i apologize. i certainly will go on the tour. i have been to the tenderloin several times, but i would like to go to gaap -- it was bobby, perhaps, to meet several of the latino families. i have not been exposed to that part of it, and i know that cpmc and other issues are coming up that relate to residents in the tenderloin. i would encourage all of us to go and take a tour. there is a lot of changes and a lot of really exciting things happening there as well because of the hardware of the tenants and the organizers there. richard, you have been there forever, organizing. it is good to see that you are still out there fighting the good fight. on behalf of, i guess, myself at

least, i'm sorry that you had to experience that here. >> commissioners, that will place you under public, on the agenda items where the public hearing has been close. members of the public who wish to address the commission on agenda items that have already been reviewed at a public hearing at which members of the public were allowed to testify and the public hearing has been closed must do so at this time. each member of the public may address the commission for up to three minutes. two minutes. i do have several speaker cards. commissioner miguel: i will make a request, and i greatly appreciate the fact that on these items, we have a large number of the building trades present. i think i can anticipate the reason for their being here, probably, on this item.

i'm sure there will be a note taken if instead of each of them speaking, their spokesperson would ask them to stand. you understand the process. [reading names] >> just for clarity's sake, the opportunity to address items 9 and 10 would be at this time as well. commissioner miguel: excuse me, you are right. then mr. president, members of the commission, with a law firm and council of weinberg and rosenberg. i'm here today on behalf of the

northern california carpenters regional council, and i'm here to indicate that the council is in strong support of the calaveras dam replacement project. i want to point out one of the aspects of the project that is particularly encouraging, which is there were some changes made since the draft to improve the conditions for steelhead, including, for example, new fish screens, especially associated with the divers and structure from alameda creek. a new fish ladder for the alameda creek drainage or diversion. additional water releases downstream to aid the fish, and more accurate monitoring of blows -- of flows from the dams. that is good not only for the fish but for the council, and we

believe that it is an important project for residents and the integrity of the water system downstream, for the workers of san francisco. that is an excellent example of a project that is actually going to provide substantial benefits to a fish population that is struggling to survive in that creek. again, the council would like to register its strong support for the project, and thank you very much. >> good afternoon, commissioners. director of the alameda creek alliance. i want to start by thanking those of you on the commission who have engaged on the project. some of you have taken time to listen to our concerns about environmental impacts and research the issue. i want to thank some of the puc staff who have worked to improve the calaveras project. i know a lot of people are here today who have worked very hard. there have been quite a number

of changes from the draft eir. the changes to the dam and reservoir operations we think will contribute significantly in bringing back the steel that fishery and this important creek for the entire area. i'm sure you are familiar with what those changes are. we do think this is a step in the right direction for the puc, moving forward towards a more sustainable management in the watershed, and we think you have a project that san francisco can be proud of, not just going to restore the water supply capacity, also going to provide a number of jobs, and it will be a piece of the puzzle in restoring our native fisheries and bringing back some of the natural habitat in alameda creek. there is always a caddy at -- caveat. this was a long and controversial process from our point of view. a lot of things happened

backwards. the benefits to the environment were tacked on at the end, mostly because a federal permit was being withheld, and another project is coming up downstream that will be before you this year, a recaptured facility in the sunol valley, and we had hoped to avoid some of the same problems and hope to address some of the fishery issues up front. we look forward to working with san francisco on restoring upper alameda creek, and we urge you to approve this. thank you. commissioner miguel: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm part of a coalition that has been looking at the water system improvement program for many years. back in 2008, we were able to largely support, after many years of work with the puc -- to make sure that the programmatic eir would be generally acceptable to the environment

community. we were able to recommend that that be certified by you all, although at the time, our outstanding concern was this project, so it is great to be able to see how far it has come since then. the. eir -- the draft eir did not ballet our concerns very much, but this final eir we're pleased with and we thank the puc for all the work it has done for bringing this project forward to the larger environment community. thanks very much, and we urge support of the certification of the eir. commissioner miguel: thank you. >> local 22, residents here in san francisco. i think it is important that with global warming as it is and the possibility of earthquakes here in the area, this retrofit

of the dam has been very important. in addition to that, we know that it is going to create a lot of jobs for the people here. with the economy the way it is, we think that the eir should be approved. thank you. commissioner miguel: thank you very much. appreciate it. is there further public comment under this item? if not, public comment is closed. >> commissioners, that will place us on considerations of findings and final action, public hearing closed, item nine, case 2005.0161e. >> good afternoon. i was planning department staff. item nine on your agenda is certification of the final eir for the calaveras dam it

replacement project. the draft eir was published on october 6, 2009, and the public commentary was close on december 1 -- december 21, 2009. the department held three public hearings to receive comments on the draft eir. the first in the city of fremont, on december 10, 2009. the sec on november 12, 2009, and a third was held at the request of the public in the town of sunol on december 14, 2009. the document, which was published on january 5, 2011, includes transcripts from each of these three hearings. i would like to note that the comments and responses document introduced and analyze a project variant that was not presented in the draft eir, which included

additional enhancements to additional improvements for fish. the fishery enhancements identified in the variant included modified schedules, a fish ladder at the creek dam, a fish screen, both on the diversion dam and also the intake added within calaveras reservoir, and in central california coast steelhead adaptive management and implementation plan. the project. also included some minor project refinements, and those included -- include a structure within the proposed spillway discharge channel, additional architectural features for the proposed intake tower, additional seismic instrumentation, expanded excavation to stabilize