and our work together started some time back when you were working with byron and taking an idea that was born a bcdc strategic planning retreat where the idea came up of treating a bay conservancy, and that was made legislation, and now, it is a program that benefits the san francisco bay through the coastal conservancy's program. we also appreciate your work on california coast, on the projects that monique mentioned regarding offshore oil development, and as a giants fan, i appreciate if you seeing the way clear to allow us to sit in the cheap seats with the great views of their of san francisco bay, and we wish you the best of luck in the future. thank you very much. [applause]

>> thank you, commissioners. i just echo everything everyone else has said. there has never been anyone who has worked on the issue of the public trust that has been more a staunch defender of the public interest than you. i know we have not always agreed, but we have always striven to reach agreement. back in virtually every case, we have managed to do that, and it has been to the benefit of the public both here in the city and also the people of the bay. i hope when you come on your many post-retirement visits to the city you will look around you not only to the places that monique mentioned, but also she forgot to mention hunters point and treasure island, some of the most important projects in the city today, and you will see

your legacy and the legacy you have let people in the state, so i want to thank you, and i wish you all the best in the next phase of your career. [applause] >> development director for the port. yçxdçpaul as well. i came to the port about a year after you came, so all the developments here i have worked on with paul. i also worked on treasure island and hunters point shipyard before i came here, so you could not get away from me, i guess. i also wanted to acknowledge that just from a hands-on perspective, the planning development staff worked very

closely with you, and all of our projects started with the same sort of process. we would come to sacramento, make a detailed presentation why the project was consistent, and you would say, "no, it is not." [laughter] but you would then say, "explained the trust from your perspective," and we would begin a lengthy process that always lead to a very successful process and a project that was eventually trust-consistent. projects like the fairy building and soon to have a ground breaking, the exploratory him. so thank you. [applause] >> planning and development division as well, and i'd like to follow on fire in closing remarks, and everybody else's,

for that matter. we would have the experience. -- i would like to follow on byron's remarks. a lot of the problems were not known upfront. san francisco has thrown so many weird situations into the public trust discussion where you really had to think the new many times over yourself. it was not like there was a formula in the book and you could tell us what your sage advice was, but there really was a creative process that had to go through each and every one of these projects and legislative proposals, and that is really what governance is all about. especially when you're dealing with something that is so ancient. it is also rare. for the and the other legacy you are leaving is an incredible staff, which is also something

that is rare in governance. the succession planning so the you handed down the benefit of your insights and wisdom so that that could be carried forward, and i think it is going to be the ultimate test in here -- pier 70. i'm not sure you have others to carry the same issues we throw toward you. we appreciate your time and attention. so thank you very much, and good luck. [applause] >> any other public comment? i think the mike is yours. >> thank you very much. the state lands commission has worked up and down the coast, but i have roots that go back a long time here.

my family on my father's side goes back. both my mother and father graduated from uc-berkeley back in the 1940's. as a result, when public trust issues came up in san francisco, i was much more willing to come down here, but do not tell them that. thanks very much for this honor. this is going up in my study and certainly will remind me of the whole team that has worked on public trust issues, and i want to emphasize the point that although there is a lot of discussion, ultimately, that is why we have the waterfront, so i have to give credit, as others have, to what a fabulous staff we have to people who work on the issue for a long time.

folks who worked on the ball park issue, that kind of thing. ultimately, really, these projects were homegrown. it is a credit to this board and the ford and the city that you have the staff and the board to guide the waterfront through this transformation from historical relics to something that lives and breathes. those projects were not designed in sacramento. they came here. people in the city developed those, and our responsibility was to try to help the city and the ford -- and the port make them happen, to get out of the way. we had trouble, but our intent right along was to try to find some way to make it happen. i think that pab

evident in what happened on the waterfront, the it is better not because of what we did, but because of what everybody did. that partner -- partnership extends to people like michael and bill who have spoken already, who were just as eager participants as we were to figure out what the hell the public doctrine was and figure out how we could use that to make a better waterfront. to conclude, in some respects, the work we all do is honorable in a way that i do not shy away from saying, and i am really proud to be part of that and feel privileged to have had the ability and opportunity to work with all of you. my wife and i often talk about how lucky we are. we are lucky we were born in the united states to be in such a wealthy and great society. we are lucky to have found each other. we are lucky to have great jobs. i feel like i have been lucky to have the career i have and to

have worked with the people in this room on these issues for this city, so thank you very much. [applause] >> that concludes my report. commissioner fong: general public comment on the director's report? okay, next item, please. >> item on the consent calendar, request retroactive authorization to enter into an agreement with united states department of the army corps of engineers for design and construction assistance for the removal of year 36 in support of the brain in street wharf open space project -- removal of pier 36 in support of the brannan street wharf opens this project. >> i am a member of the south beach area cac.

we are all for this. just give it the go, let's go, and i appreciate that type of enthusiasm. i also wanted to take the opportunity to address something else regarding the wharf, in which the cac has not had an opportunity to do so. i will be referring to the design summary dated march, 2010, specifically page 6. regards to the interpretive wall concept, the interpreter of wall concept has expanded as a top feature over approximately two years, and at this point in time, the interpretive wall includes a full history of the area, starting before 1850 all the way up to current and rising

tides, including japanese immigration, shipping, and also labor history. we strongly support this type of inventing history almost any projects should we have the opportunity to do so. just want to go on record for saying that. thanks very much. commissioner fong: thank you. any other public comment on this item? we have a motion and a second. all those in favor? any opposed? ok, resolution 10-68 is approved. >> item 9a, request approval of the five-year lending its license agreement with the san francisco water taxi llc will water taxi services to hyde street harbor and pier 1 and a

half. >> i apologize, i normally script my comments, but i have got some good news, some exciting news. we have been working on trying to generate a new water taxi service for san francisco for the last couple of years. i think about two and a half years ago. we had a lot of people talking about the idea, and the rest of the economy was still going along pretty well. he gave us a chance to do a little due diligence. we hired a consultant to show us what other cities have done around the world with other taxis, gives the port a chance to put out a request to various entities that might be interested in such a water taxi service. we were able to find a local san franciscan, a small-business

owner, who currently operates the ducks, who is interested in starting up with a fledgling -- sorry. [laughter] water taxi operation that will call at two locations on our waterfront initially. one of those is pierre -- pier 1 and a half. a water taxi is defined as a vessel that is less than 60 feet in length used for transporting passengers on point to point trips, which needs to be coastguard certified or passengers for higher and has a maximum capacity of 49 people. will not be used as an excursion

boat. it will not be used as a dining vessel. it is a water taxi. we have negotiated an agreement with a company called san francisco water taxi llc, and i will introduce their founder in a couple of minutes. the agreement is five years with 15-year auction. the uses for water taxi service and for no other purpose, they will take as a percentage fees 7% of gross revenue, which is similar to other agreements on the waterfront. they have paid a security deposit. they will provide the adequate insurance, and our license has the standard provisions that are in all of the current licenses the city has that have been approved by the city attorney's

office in compliance with port law, yada yada yada. we did a couple of bombs in the road, but i think we are really close to it. -- we hit a couple of buttons -- we hit a couple of bumps in the road, but i think we are really close to it. i think it will complement ferry operations like the taxi cab in front of a bart station that will take you where the train cannot take you. with that, ask for your approval of this agreement. i will introduce john, who can talk more about his vision and his proposed operation. thank you. >> good afternoon,

commissioners, executive staff. i am with san francisco water taxi. i have spent the last five years operating here in san francisco and the day, and we wanted to introduce a point to avoid service to connect the dots between the waterfront of san francisco -- point to point service. in past years, we wondered why there was not already water taxi service in san francisco. we investigated and took our time and did some research. before happened to be doing a study at the same time, and great timing, and we were able to kind of put everything together and, like i said, connect the dots. we are starting small business in the toughest economy we have seen in a long time, and we are very excited about doing so. we are really excited about how we can contribute to the port as

well as complement the existing ferry system. we want to see ferry ridership go up. they could call a water taxi if they missed a ferry, and we would like to be planned -- plan b. we look forward to working with the port, and thank you for the opportunity. >> the agreement calls for san francisco water taxes to get a boat in the water in the next six months. i know that there has been a lot of interest in terms of the personnel on the boat, and i know there has been a lot of discussion between the proposed tenet with organized labor. we think they have crafted an understanding that can move forward, and see if this

operation can go forward. john has stated that it will pay prevailing wages, and that he is interested in working with organized labor to see of some employees want to be unionized or not. with that, i will see if anyone wants to answer questions about it. >> so move. commissioner fong: i have one car here from captain raid shift in -- one card here from captain ray shipton. >> the last time we were here, seems like those shares were full, so we are missing out on a few things.

basically, we are here to say thanks to john for the cooperation we have forged over the last few months, working in conjunction with john to try to put something together. we had a few bumps in the road, and i know how to e-mail much better than i ever did before. we do a lot of meetings this way, e-mail instead of face-to- face, but again, i would like to thank john, and i would like to thank the four for this opportunity that we have -- thank the port for the opportunity that we have. that goes for my sister. we met with john about two months ago to try to put together something. john expressed his interest in

helping with organized labor, and we have been going at it in that light ever since. we look forward to the opportunity. i would like to thank you for this opportunity to speak to you. >> all right, thank you. >> good afternoon. i came today to speak in favor of this. just as a little background, i wanted to go back to where we started in 1999 on the dream of actually doing facilities that would accommodate a water taxi. we put a proposal in and made it

one of our gives to the waterfront. it is a fabulous opportunity. we have worked for that many years -- 10 years, i think we have spent. it hundred thousand dollars the first time building new water taxi, and another $100,000 to rebuild it -- it hundred thousand dollars the first time building the water taxi -- 800 the -- $800,000 the first time building a water taxi. we work to get landings. the port staff has adopted a mission of requiring landings as each project is built on the waterfront. the jury would be one day to get from palo alto to sausalito -- the dream.

this is a fledgling, a duckling, a little faint. we are delighted that john has been recommended by the staff. we hope you will adopt the resolution. just to say, people like monique can figure out how to refinance here -- pier 70, and with all the ingenuity, we hope everyone here can figure out ways to support this endeavor. we appreciate your favorable consideration and the recommendation. thanks. commissioner fong: thank you. any other public comment? for the record, i believe it is bay quackers.

the operator is easily confused. i just wanted to make an oral comment. san francisco is due for a water taxi system. i am proud to get this through and start on something. as simon spoke about, even big things start small, so i wish the operator of the best of luck. on that, let the water taximeter begin running. we have a motion, a second. any other discussion? all those in favor? oppose? ok, great. resolution 10-65 is approved. >> item 10a, informational presentation regarding joint planning with the water emergency transportation authority for the downtown ferry

terminal expansion. >> i'm here to introduce this item, which is an informational presentation, to update you on work that port has been doing in cooperation with the water emergency transformation authority. in a minute, i'm going to turn the podium over to jonathan stern, who has a short presentation. i just want to review the recent background to put this presentation in context. in late 2008, almost two years ago, this commission authorized staff to enter into a memorandum of understanding with weta to allow the agencies to work together on the expansion of the downtown ferry terminal. as you know, but just to remind us all, weta is a new agency that was created just a few years ago by state legislation

to expand ferry service on the day and also to provide -- to be able to respond in the case of disaster that may cause disruptions to the bay area's bridges and to bart service, so that is the emergency part. weta is not yet operational, but they are in the process of becoming a major new ferry operator on the day, and you can imagine there's a new agency that goes into it from the ground up, and they are busy preparing in their service. one of the things that they need to do is to develop the facility's need for bearing the ferries and loading and unloading passengers. let's see. so in addition to the actual

terminals, there are a set of related physical improvements that are required, which jonathan will talk about in more detail, but things like passenger waiting areas, emergency staging areas, and the like. for the first years since receiving authorization from the commission and from the weta board to enter into the mou, not a lot has been done other than drafting the agreement itself, which was finally executed earlier this year in february, i believe. again, it provides a framework for the two agencies to jointly plan for the expansion of the downtown ferry terminal in this area, and i do have a slide here. this slide shows what we are calling a project area.

it really extends all the way from pier one on the north to the pier 14 breakwater and public access on the south between the embarcadero road way and out into the bay. since entering into the mou, the project has gained some momentum in the last few months. we just hired two consultants teams. for the past few months, port and weta staff have been working with the development teams to provide the concepts that will essentially be used as a starting point for this project. these concepts are the subject of a presentation that jonathan will go through with you. they will be used to inform the stakeholder outreach process

that will help shape for design and development of the terminal expansion. key project areas stakeholders that we will be consulting with early in this process starting a little later this week include tenants with long-term these older chips within the project areas such as equity office properties, tenants with shorter term lease interest, releases such as the ferry building tenants, and d port's agriculture building tenants. regulatory agencies. bcdc -- agencies like bcdc. that is kind of where we are at this point. stakeholder out beach is about to begin with initial interviews later this week. the process will take a few

months. i would like to go through the planning process that will inform that process. >> my name is jonathan stern. we are excited to be working with weta staff. they could not attend because they are transitioning from what started out as a very small agency to one that in the year were to will be operating most of the ferry traffic on the day. we are excited to be partnering with them. i wanted to bring up some of the key issues of what is going to be happening, both in the planning context and other areas we will be looking at when we do joint planning. the two agencies, there are two separate objectives. weta is trying to expand the ferry system and bring more votes from all of brown