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tv   [untitled]    July 22, 2010 2:00pm-2:30pm PST

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the site originally had homes on it. there were homes on the site, but cal-trans bought the site for freeway use. we are asking to seek rezoning of p to rh-1, which is similar to the neighborhood. we are proposing 28 homes. our site would mimic -- would abutt about 20 homes, so it is still very consistent to what we have now. we are providing family housing, affordable housing, two to three bedrooms, with parking, but two-car parking in the two to three bedrooms, and that was part of the process that we did when we were speaking to the community to make sure we had enough parking. as i stated before, we have talked to the planning commission, and this p.u.d. was
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approved by the planning commission. throughout the process, which i started in 2009, i had three widely noted neighborhood meetings. i had two presentations that were n.i.a. i had a presentation to the san francisco housing action coalition. i sent numerous letters to each neighbor abutting the site providing updates which provided my phone number and e-mail address to make sure if there was information they wanted i could address them personally, and once i took all the public comments together and finalized the new plans, i went door to door to all the abutting homes i have to say, for the vast majority the comments were very positive. it removes a nuisance from the site. we have been victims of illegal dm dumping. it was stated by another neighbor in may, the planning commission, that he's observed many criminal activity over the
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course of 30 years. so the homes would add more to the site. i also have endorsements -- when i went door-to-door i got signatures from abutting sites, i'm not sure where these petitions came from, where they are located, but my endorsements are from abutting home owners, and that was presented to the planning commission as well in may. [bell] chair maxwell: why don't you finish. >> i think the neighbors understand i'm providing increased safety, new housing stock to the neighborhood, and lastly, in that video, my home will act as a sound barrier to the homes on sagimore street, permanently blocking noise for them. chair plax we will: i guess the whole idea is who is blocking the noise for those other folks? thank you. next speaker, please.
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>> thank you, supervisors. i want to respond to a couple issues that were raised at the hearing today. first of all, i want to put on the overhead the zoning map of the area. you can feel everything in yellow is rh-1, so rh-1 is the predominant zoning in this area. it is the lowest density zoning that we have in san francisco. that's what's been approved and what the planning staff is recommending. i also have copies of the letters from my neighbors, which is a large neighborhood organization in the area that endorsed the project back in october of 2009. i'll pass a copy of that up for you. the issue of sound and health and welfare, it is true these homes will be right adjacent to the freeway. they have been designed with that issue in mind. you will recall a few years ago
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the supervisors sponsored legislation to require ventilation of homes adjacent to freeways and other traffic barriers so the air inside the homeds is pure -- inside the homes is pure identified -- purified before it goes into the homes. the negative electric legislation to this project that was approved and an appealed discusses in a fair amount of detail that the interior air quality in these homes will be safe because of the ventilation system that would be built into the homes. what's on the overhead now is a cross-section of the project. this is the freeway to the left. the new homes in the middle, which was what we built, with inoperable windows along the back. openings would be in the front, so the fresh air will be from the front as well as from the ventilation system to pure
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identify the air that does come in. on the far right, are the existing homes on sagimore street. so these existing homes will serve as a sound barrier, and the indications are that the noise level on sagimore street will be reduced about 10 decibels because of these buildings serving as a sound wall between the new homes and the elevated wall. this also shows the berm that separates the freeways. that berm remains in cal-trans ownership and remains in the p zone. this was approved in may. it was a negative declaration that was not opposed that found there are no unmit indicated significant impacts from the -- um -- unmitigated significant impacts from the project. it is my understanding that
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supervisor mar approved this as well. chair maxwell: any other public comments? >> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm speaking on behalf of o.m.i., which -- neighbors in action. which has over 200 members. we have been talking to owners. they have been diligent in coming to every one of our meetings in explaining what's going on and how designs have changed. i think our members agree that this is an ingenious piece of urban in-fill that addresses problems of vacant, unmanaged, and therefore dangerous land. it does so by first dealing with the sound issues, as was explained. it blocks substantial sound or noise from the freeway to the existing houses. because these new houses are built to a higher standard with
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insulation and double-glazed windows and so forth, as you heard, they themselves would be better protected than most of the existing houses along the freeway route r. so we think it makes sense. we have endorsed the project, and it's a good thing that we should add some new infill housing. probably the most important reason to add housing in san francisco is because people need it. i think this is an appropriate reason to approve this rezoning. thank you. chair maxwell: any other public comment on this item? seeing none, then public comment is closed. i would like planning to come back. we have heard comments and concerns. could you address some of those comments and concerns? i don't know that they were heard at planning or not.
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if they were, what whether some of the comments and how are you then feeling that this would be ok? >> thank you, chair maxwell. i am from the planning department. i am not the planner who was in charge of this case and i was not at the planning commission hearing. oufer i can address some of the comments made today. this whole process of map rezoning as well as the plan unit development requires extensive notification. both mailed note fantastic to subjects within 300 feet and in terms of the map rezoning, intersection postings for every intersection 300 feet from the subject property as well as multiple postings on the site. so there was opportunity and there was clear notice of this project going to the planning commission on may 13. from my discussions with the planner, there was not a lot of opposition presented to the planning commission.
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at that hearing, a mitigated negative declaration was approved. it was aursed by the planning commission as well as the recommendation of the zoning map change. a lot of the issues in temples -- terms of to the project site itself were taken care of in the mitigated negative declaration was -- as was discussed. that was thoroughly vetted out at the planning commission and, like i said, it was not appealed. in terms of traffic, that again would have been in the mitigated negative declaration, and i don't really know what to say about that in terms of the neighbors' concerns. there was opportunity for testing at the planning commission. the planning commission did aurs -- authorize that map prior to
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being presented to the board. chair maxwell: in -- there are 28 houses and 42 parking spaces. >> yes. chair maxwell: what are the extra parking spaces for? >> they are for the units on site. most of these will be two-bedroom units, which is something that the planning commission prefers. every unit will be single family and they are generously proportioned. the meeting of the parking requirements, the two family car hustled, so a lot of them will have more than one parking spot in the garage. >> in the arge? chair maxwell: in the garage? >> yes. chair maxwell: is this near public transit? >> no. there are buses, but this is almost at the edge of the city and the county of san francisco, so it is definitely much more of
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a car culture. it doesn't butt up to the freeway there, so mainly buses. chair maxwell: supervisor chiu, do you have any other comments? we have into other comments, so there will be no further public comments at this point. understanding what we have heard today, there are concerns. i think these concerns are concerns we all have. we have put on any number of things in place so that when housing comes close to freeways and other properties that might bring out noise and pollution, that we do have things in place to take care of that. one you heard walls the -- was the ventilation. it is not easy. it is expensive. but we thought it was an extra
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cost that was important. one of the first questions i asked about was a buffer for the noise. the berm is the buffer. parking, wl when there are two or three bedrooms -- this is a lot of parking for most places in our city. we would not require this kind of parking, but because of the community and the neighborhood, we are requiring extra parking : -- parking. so i think in that, a lot of the extra concerns and questions that you have, have been thought about and considered. we also prir a lot more notification, because we want people, and especially when there is in-fill, that means when people are already around, that they are aware of what's going on. i think to that end we have heard that there has -- there was a lot more notification than on some parcels when there is no neighborhood or no people to have to deal with. so with that, i am going to vote
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in favor of this. supervisor chiu, do you have any comments? supervisor chiu: no, i agree with that. i appreciate the concerns raised by the neighborhood, but i feel at this point that this project ought to move forward. obviously that we will continue to discuss these matters with the neighbors as we move forward, but they have addressed a lot of these concerns. chair maxwell: without objection, we will move this forward. are there any further meet asms -- items, madam clerk? the clerk: no, there is not. chair maxwell: then this meeting is adjourned.
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[at 2:43 p.m. the meeting was adjourned. ] >> as the city of san francisco has grown, there are a number of cultural organizations that have grown with it. the san francisco symphony, the ballet, and ensure we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the san francisco museum of modern art's. one of the things many of our viewers may not understand about museums is the way they grow and
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evolve is really about a broad. his patient and support from many individuals who give their collections -- and broad support from many individuals who give their collections to the museum. this year it will be celebrating and abolishing those individuals through exhibition -- and acknowledging those individuals throughout asia. joining me is janet bishop, the curator. i understand you have been with the museum quite a number of years. you remember its original home on van ness. now you are part of that transition to the center, the civic center, and of course your museum has been really the anchor of cultural tenants that has helped us transform this area of the city. >> to my mind, it is wonderful
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to be part of such a rich cultural community. when visitors come to this area, that have so many different options. >> let's talk about the anniversary show, which will be a phenomenal opportunity for san franciscans and all visitors of the city to get a real sense of how the city has grown and the importance of culture. >> we focus on moments where it was involved in pushing the dialogue about contemporary art forward. the jackson pollock exhibition in 1945 is a perfect example of that. our founding director was deeply interested in abstraction and was engaged in dialogue with the guggenheim about bringing the jackson pollack showed to the west coast. the original price for the painting, $750. are directors thought that was too much of a stretch before the
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board of trustees, so she convinced them to reduce the price to firefighter dollars. it was just -- to $500. it was what was needed to persuade the board. it is a very subjective history of art. it has been very much shaped by the individuals involved with the museum over the years. in 1935, would start with the gallery with works that came in through albert bender, one of our founding trusties. when we opened our doors in 1935, 181 of the 186 pieces in our permanent collection had been gifted. >> what are the names that pop out as the museum evolved? >> we have another gallery that looks at the theories that the museum has since the late 1980's. we focus on a particular aspect
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of that program that developed under one of art curators. he arrived in 1989 and was especially interested in artists. >> are some of the highlights? >> one of the aspects of the museum program that i have been especially involved with have been the exhibitions that stand for society for the encouragement of contemporary art. it is encouraged to honor exceptional bay area artists during their careers. for instance, an early worked who showed here in 1996. for this exhibition, he has extended an updated it to 2010 with the addition of photographs and other frameworks. >> thank you for joining us.
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>> my pleasure. >> as we examine the 75th anniversary, we cannot overlook its important role as an educational institution and how it brings public program to all of our citizens in the bay area. try me now to talk about that is dominick, the curator of education and public programs. you are vested with a multifaceted responsibility, with education and also multimedia. could you explain that? >> there are three main areas. we produce education activities for all ages, k-12, and adults, and we also produce a lot of educational media, a lot of interviews with artists, stuff
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that we published online, and other galleries. there's also a public program, which include some educational activities, but also live cultural programming for the artists projects. >> what are all the ways that the museum reaches out? >> the latest platform for educational media is launching right now with his anniversary. we have gotten to the point where we could put a lot of the content about artists, the stories behind artists we have had on line, but those on to the ipod touch. >> could you talk about the education role that the museum plays in the city of san francisco? >> we are in the middle of a new initiative to provide more resources and programs for families and the locality.
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we are benefiting from a grant from the wallace foundation, and in the last two years many more bay area families have come to the museum, participated in the programs, most of which take place on sundays. we will see more and more different offerings rolled out in the coming months. >> thank you, dominic, for being part of "culture wire." >> the museums are almost like a team sport. there is a tremendous amount of talented staff that puts together patrons to help support the institutions, but they all need a coach. the coach is the director. neal, could you let the viewers know, you have been director how long? >> we are working on eight years. >> now you have the 75th anniversary. how does that feel?
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>> we opened this building in 1995. it was bought at that time as a move from the civic center and the veterans building 2 third street, into our new building, a much expanded space, better space. it will be wonderful for the museum for decades to come. and 15 short years we have been amazed by we have outgrown the building. the collection has grown to 26,000 works. >> was a challenging to decide what was going to be put on display during the anniversary year? >> 3 people on our staff spent 2 1/2 years of going through archives, the storage vaults, honor think all kinds of works that we have not seen -- uncovering lot of works that we have not seen but also history
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we uncovered about how we presented a television show produced by the museum, in the museum, in 1950. a lot of great stories that the presentation tells. >> the most recent news was the incredible decision on the part of donna morris fisher to give their collection to sfmoma. >> think it is commonly understood that the fischer collection was 1100 works by some of the great contemporary works, one of the great collections in the world. in fact, the collection has not been seen. it has been largely stored at the headquarters, there has never been a publication or exhibition. >> but fischer collection and the additional expansion over the next 50 years, what in the
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next 25 years will the museum be doing? >> we are very committed to expanding the museum, expanding the collection, the overall growth of the museum. that is one of the things that is very important to us. we are about to enter a strategic planning process. the fundamental question we want to address is, how wil sfmoma growth and enhanced its engagement with the community? it is not enough that the museum has great works in its collection, has great exhibitions, wonderful education programs, it is how does the institution grow and enhance its relationship with the community. it is very important to us. >> on behalf of the residents of san francisco, we thank you for shepherding this institution through this incredible growth phase, and thank you for being part of "culture wire."
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>> my pleasure, thank you. >> the museum has exciting anni >> i have been a cable car grip for 21 years. i am a third generation. my grand farther and my dad worked over in green division for 27. i guess you could say it's blood. >> come on in. have a seat. hold on. i like it because i am standing up. i am outside without a roof over my head and i see all
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kinds of people. >> you catch up to people you know from the past. you know. went to school with. people that you work with at other jobs. military or something. kind of weird. it's a small word, you be. like i said, what do people do when they come to san francisco? they ride a cable car. >> california line starts in the financial district. people are coming down knobbhill. the cable car picks people up. takes them to work. >> there still is no other device to conquer these hills better than a cable car. nobody wanted to live up here because you had to climb up here. with the invention of the cable
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car, these hills became accessible. he watched horses be dragged to death. cable cars were invent in san francisco to solve the problem with it's unique, vertically challenged terrain. we are still using cars a century old >> the old cable car is the most unique thing, it's still going. it was a good design by then and is still now. if we don't do something now. it's going to be worse later. >> the cable cars are built the same as they were in the late 1800's. we use a modern machinery.
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we haven't changed a thing. it's just how we get there. >> it's a time consuming job. we go for the quality rather than the production. we take pride in our work and it shows in the end product. >> the california line is mostly locals. the commuters in the morning, i see a lot of the same people. we don't have as tourists. we are coming up to street to
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chinatown. since 1957, we are the only city in the world that runs cable cars. these cars right here are part of national parks system. in the early 1960's, they became the first roles monument. the way city spread changed with the invention of the cable car. >> people know in san francisco, first thing they think about is, let's go