part of that committee that you are starting 4 rec and park, i am across the street from kimball, and i don't see people from the community at all. we want to see an overview of who your funding in our community and we want to make sure people are doing what they're supposed to be doing. thank you a lot, mayor lee. thanks, ross. hopefully this is not the last time that you come out. i hope you do stick to what you said and get your old job back. hopefully we can work together again once you become sheriff appeared >> thank you. this is going to be the final speaker. then we will wrap up. >> how are you all doing today? i represent more real tv. i want to say, support your up- and-coming on some heroes. ross mirkarimi, you have a young man in your district, manny.

people talk about safety. maybe we need to support heroes who are doing something to create more safety. boxing is growing in the bay area. take a look at this. i saw kareem and his brother packet out. it is all about the numbers. support that and look into that. support your new up-and-coming heroes. god bless you all. >> thank you. let's give a round of applause to the public and their contributions to tonight's discussion, to all of you. we have just a few more cards we did not get to, but the topics, i will just read them out to you. perhaps of people want to continue the discussion afterward, i encourage you to do so, or talked to some representatives of the city family here.

there were concerns about the ecology contract. is it good for ratepayers? there were cards about pg&e. what about smart meters and the safety and reliability of pg&e? there was another card that spoke about, we want more urban gardens. there was an example laid out of a park and other work that has been done here in transforming blighted areas into wonderful urban gardens. and a card about homeless, how the homeless seem to be hanging out quite a bit under the walkways that lead to the rec and park areas off steiner and webster, and what police, rec and park, and others can do about that. those were the other themes in the cards. we hit every other card and the theme identified. i want to thank mayor lee. the new police chief and the

whole rest of the city family, for being here. most of all, i want to thank all of you. we come in our district, have made tremendous gains, no matter what neighborhood you come from. i look at the economics that weekly. i look of the public safety stats. i look to the general health and wellness that. many neighborhoods, particularly the ones in the sector, have overcome a lot of challenges, a lot of problems. it would never happen if it were not for the service and leadership and the activism of so many of you that are here tonight. i want to say thank you. thank you for the collaboration between you and the city. we have got more work to do. at least we got some answers here tonight. everybody have a good night. remember, june 18 and 19, come and celebrate. have a good night.

>> my father was a lebanese immigrant. he would say that range today is very good luck. we are seeing good luck on our ceremony today. and an upsurge in interest with the sustainability program. in july of 2009, the executive director -- executive directive

talking about healthy and sustainable food for san francisco, i asked all departments to carry out posturing food production in the city. today, we have are before us, literally, groundbreaking legislation. what he will sign into law today, what the mayor will sign into law today represent a big of a to the city's regulation of local food production. our community gardens and backyard kitchen gardens will be permitted everywhere under this legislation. surprisingly enough, prior to this legislation, the sale of that food was not.

the products are primarily derived from locally grown foods. it establishes operational standards to ensure compatibility of urban agriculture within our existing neighborhoods. there are [unintelligible] from the agricultural commission as well. it is my great pleasure to introduce the champion of environmental sustainability. he was director of public works

and the city administrator. he has been instrumental in moving electric vehicle policies forward as well as leading an overall effort to make the city far more sustainable. it is my great pleasure to introduce you today. >> good afternoon, everybody. it is my personal pleasure to be out here. i want to thank supervisor mar, the environmental department, the agricultural commissioner, the real people and volunteers, i have just been acquitted with the names of eli and caitlin. and all of these more famous

people in my opinion because of what they have been doing with this example. we are personally very happy to sign this legislation. i know we got started some time ago. we are out here, but we are not going to be out here for five hours like the planning commission meetings. we are out here to do something very good for neighbors. we have the neighborhood here that are all in concert. it will be very good deal for the city. my wife wants to be on that list to be able to buy organic. she is one of those crazy 5:00 36:00 in the morning light people. it don't bother me, i am going out.

i think this is wonderful. the agricultural ordnance, which is smart legislation, and it is all one of the legislation's that brings government, volunteers, and people of residents closer together. it is things that we do that we are proud of. i would rather win more friends than create political enemies. i will perhaps set the standards a little higher. they have got to come and support these types of things that are greener, the are more. we have got to break open these lots. we have got to do something more. the supervisors got on that very

quickly because it was natural for them to do we will enjoy the food produced here. that is why the health department is involved and that is why there are so many other agencies involved. i am here as a proud moment to be here with the community and represent that more of this has to be done. i was here when we tried to unclog these flooded streets.

and actually do something that label be proud of it for many generations to come. this movement has been fantastic. it is one i clearly endorse. i know that we are going to unveil some really great maps. we will really take advantage of this ordinance that allows us to do this. we will do this, and with the cooperation. >> of 4 i introduced our next speakers -- before i introduce our next speaker is, from the

early stages of this process, we joined with the office and the local at cultural community, i have to say, being in the department for three years, it is one of those were moments when the planning commission will be when everyone was saying yes instead of no. we are responsible for what you see growing around us today. they are the owners of little city gardens. and they are really testing the economic viability of what we

are dealing with this whole concept. they have created a transparent communicative community-based business. we are eager to spotlight the benefits. thank you for hosting us today. [applause] >> my name is brooke, this is kaitlin. we are happy to celebrate this important step forward for agriculture. it is important for us because we have celebrated the first year anniversary for working this beautiful, fertile piece of land. this lot was an overgrown jungle. really serious leagues. -- weeds. it has been a pretty action packed year for us, transforming the lot from that to this.

we can't think of a better way to make this year -- the mark this year of hard work than the signing ceremony. little city gardens is an urban far more people can come to learn about agriculture and talk about food systems. little city gardens is also a small business in that we aim to support the work that we do have a place that we hold in the community by growing, selling, and distributing fresh produce. we started this business because we believe that productive urban farms have a great role to play in the future of our cities. urban farming has always had an important presence in san francisco. we felt like the agricultural movement could take on the sustainability of some of them could support themselves economically. when we began, there were no gardens that we could look for as a model. we knew there'd be ample benefit

and ample challenge in the process. we have experienced plenty of both. we are totally awed every day. and also, as we are trying to carve out a new space, we have challenges every day. as many of you know, the first major obstacle here was the fact that selling the produce was not legal. the zoning code did not allow us to support ourselves. thank you for all of your hard work and putting together this ordinance. we are grateful for the way we are able to work together to make this happen. close to home is not a new or particularly innovative idea. it is a simple act that the communities have only recently lost. we are pleased to live in a city that recognizes the importance

of ideas. with the passage of this legislation, they are validated and inspired. we will be able to test out the business plan. we have a couple of ways to go -- but we have had some ways to go, to recognize the agriculture as part of the necessary city landscape. [applause] >> this is a great testament to your hard work. hnext, i would like to introduce a president chiu. he was a co-sponsor of the ordinance. david is excited to see this legislation come to fruition. >> it is great to see everyone here today. it takes a village to build a garden.

it is great to see this village around us. i want to thank the mayor had his predecessor. and our friends from the department of the environment, you help do this. i also want to thank supervisors as the chair of the land use committee. as was the case at planning, a very friendly reception with a sea of green t-shirts. also all want to thank all the men and women that stand behind me better part of the urban agriculture alliance. you're the ones that came to my office late last fall and confirmed for me what i had wandered for many years. can we bring it green back to the urban jungle? the district that i represent in the northeast part of the city, we have very little green. one thing i had been wondering for years, why can't we use those little plots of land in

the middle to growth in the. what is so exciting about today is that we are creating a new urban experience. the things that we can smell when we are out in the city of the food and the greenery that we can touch, they are of course the things that we can eat. the reason that this is so wonderful is that san francisco has always done the cutting edge of being on the forefront of what it means for the environment. what we are doing in san francisco hopefully will be on the cutting edge of the urban agriculture movement. and on the cutting edge of what it means to have some of the best food in the country. >> as you mentioned, he was the chairman of the land use committee.

they see more legislation than any other on the board. thank you, everyone. >> i was watching, and if i could, i would be doing the same thing. i would have to be digging in the dirt as well. i know your hands are much more dirt and fingernails than mine. i wish i could do that today. linked to the little city farm, but also the other farms are represented. we are proud to be supportive of the san francisco urban alliance activism. and hopefully around the world. i also want to say that our head of food policy is here. i know at what help us make sure

that children and residents, not just their but in the neighborhoods that have a healthy and locally grown produce will have more access. at a recent panel that we were on, and want to see this expanded to every single square mile of the city. this is a really good start but we need to implement the mayor's initiative. we have to be the shining example for the u.s. and also this world. thank you for being here, everyone. >> i also want to recognize his supervisor avalos. next, i want to introduce a community representative that played a key role in policy development, and that is of the sentences of zero urban agriculture alliance.

they promote the growing of food through advocacy education and grass-roots actions. >> today is a good day for san francisco and urban agriculture. san francisco because the leader of cities nationwide that are revisiting their local resident -- regulations and making it easier to grow their own foods and to sell it to make extra cash for a living. a process began almost a year ago when they learned that they cannot start their business. since then, there has been an outpouring of support. as members of the commission know, the supervisors that sector a lot of meetings heard, there are over 30 organizations that sent letters in support of this ordinance. more than 300 san franciscans in 200 people from other parts of the state and country showed

support by signing this petition. they testified in front of the planning commission a few months ago in what was an incredible hearing. seeing this proposal become law has been a labor of love for the agriculture alliance. an all volunteer organization made up of 40 member organizations was founded a year ago. by one of the code word nadirs. if the members of the group could raise their hands of a show some support out here? there were a lot of people that put in a lot of work to make this happen. even with all the work, we cannot have got here today without the leadership and backing of the elected officials and the commissioner. i want to recognize a few people at the planning department. they were incredible and spent months seeking feedback for practitioners, hunting to make

sure that a zoning code would work for the people. in the mayor's office, they shepherded this through throughout. at the department of environment, thank you. of course, the mayor himself for cosponsoring its. i think you for being the early co-sponsors. help by impressing that right. of course, all of the other supervisors that supported it and the other supervisors. i am very excited to say that i don't know if we're going to get into this 2 d, but we have an amazing talent here. we will do what we call a solid coast. at this time of year, it is what we grow really well.

we have a number throughout the city. we have greens from little city gardens, a free-form, a number of backyard gardens or rooftop gardens actually. some support from the garden of the environment. they are here. any other forms or gardens i am forgetting? from across the city, that is actually pretty broad section of the city. this and salad dressing and plates and utensils. i hope we can raise a play or bold celebrate this new law. >> i would like to introduce karen. the key to this ordinance is that not only growing the fruit -- the food is illegal. it illegal. it is still illegal for the next

five minutes. but selling it was the key to this. as you know, when it comes to local food production, san francisco has a lot of fight establishments that tried their best to use local food. the neighborhood gathering place in the district, she is here to talk about her work and her support of this. >> with my partner and amazing staff, we run it as a place i hope you'll will visit. i hope i don't start crying partly through what i have to say. the key for inviting me to be here and explain why the passage or the adoption of this is important to the business. like a lot of others, we are committed to sourcing the

highest quality ingredients with of the most environmental sensitivity possible. practically speaking, when we can purchase food grown close to home, it is traveling a shorter distance from our kitchen and there is a lot less energy consumption for transportation and refrigeration. it also translates to us for a really high level of freshness. that is meaningful to all of our palates. but the energy consumption and the shorter distance is really meaningful to our businesses environmental goals. as part of what underlies the grain business certification. the practical consideration is what as well of value to us. equally important to us and our mission is helping the community develop a deeper understanding of what it takes to produce good food.

food that is grown in a healthy environment without synthetic toxic input, we are really excited that the adoption of this ordinance allows for the possibility of more forming in san francisco. when i was thinking about this, a hit me on a deeper level that with this ordinance, we're seeing food production is an important use for some of our cities very precious miles of land. i have been really gratified and moved by the diversity of voices that have come together around this. it is been a very well stored in process. i want to say thank you to hew for inviting me to participate and to help. it is great as a business person that is kind of busy to be able to work on something that is so productive and reveal something of this magnitude.

there i go. the adoption of the ordnance and the presence of the leadership and support behind it is sort of departmental at all levels. it is kind of amazing and that it recognizes the community benefit of reestablishing an intimacy and the fluency with food production. it is a high use on some select parcels of land like this one. as the commonly sought commodity value, that is incredible. as a business person that has grown a real pride in running a value driven business, we're really excited about having colleagues like that as the

front of the ship and development of this new small business sector of the farms in the city. >> thank you all for the comments a day and for being here. i do want to say that this is very gratifying to be able to help move this forward. i want to invite all of you to let us know how it is working for years to come. if there are changes, let's keep up the dialogue. and if there are similar things we should be doing, let us know. finally, the moment we have been waiting for. mr. mayor, i would like to invite you to come to the signing table and for all of us together around.