each -- >> three! commissioner miguel: you will have two minutes each. when i call your names, you will line up against the far wall to your left, my right. then you will come up as your name is called. the rest of you will line up on the wall to your left and come up in the order in which i call your name. if your card is here, all you have to do is come up to the microphone, like anyone else does, and they will put the microphone down to you so you can speak. >> i would like you to know who

you are calling out of order. in genevieve -- commissioner miguel: and i'm ron miguel, president of the commission, and people normally speak when they have been recognized at the commission. with my apologies to the staff, who have put a lot of work into this, we are going to have to reschedule because the commission needs to have the information. you will line up on your left. [reading names]

if you have a card, put it in the basket. when your name is called, you can come up in a wheelchair. >> i was called second. i have one question, one of information -- we were originally told three minutes. is it possible to have two minutes plus a little extra -- commissioner miguel: i will give you your three minutes as long as up and move through. >> thank you. and i do want to hear from staff -- commissioner miguel: i'm sorry. one way or the other. either we proceed the way we are regularly going to or we proceed your way. >> i am managing partner of the partners said shopping center --

park mayor said shopping center. the management are proposing to build a $250,000 or 300 dog -- 200,000 or 300,000 square foot shopping center. since we took over the original shopping center, it is a treasure. it was built 60 years ago. we just finally signed our final lease. they are all individual family- owned/run businesses that these people took out money, borrowed, took a chance, so now we have a big shopping center coming. we are concerned about it. but park merced has assured us they intend to add a road where

our shopping center is located, and that is all we are asking -- to make sure you commissioners understand how important it is for small businesses to still stay in business. we are below level. we cannot be seen. we have no signage. so no one knows where we are. they are proposing to put a road there. thank you so much. that is also on behalf of the park merced merchant

association, which i am the president of right now. it is a new organization for the merchants of park merced. thank you very much, commissioners. [applause] >> good evening. i'm president of the merced extension triangle neighborhood association theory thank you to the commission for holding the meeting in close proximity to park merced and thank you do san francisco state for hosting the meeting. my understanding of the planning commission is that this responsibility is to listen and represent the best interests of san franciscans. with that in mind, the merced extension triangle neighborhood association is not opposed to the project. the size and scope of the project is not in the best interests of those living in or near park merced. [applause]

there has been no effort on the part of developers to meet with the neighborhood groups to scale back their plans. we would welcome that effort as a coalition of neighborhood groups. we would like to see meaningful dialogue regarding a compromise with the height and bulk of the proposed project. furthermore, it is imperative that the transportation recommendations be implemented, or we will have gridlock when all 8900 units, 16,020 bedrooms, and close to 30,000 people will move into the projects in the next 20 years. the project will impact the southwest portion of san francisco for the remainder of the 21st century and beyond. time and again, the eir states that this project will have significant and unavoidable environmental impacts on numerous components, including traffic.

by approving the project, we are putting the cart before the horse. the mitigation measures -- and some are not realistic -- need to be in place, especially the tier 5 transportation plan, which is currently being refined. hoping certain measures will be approved on the line after the project has been approved makes no sense. thank you very much. [applause] >> i'm the president of the park

merced residents' organization. we are the oldest tenants' organization in san francisco. we are over 30 years old. i know because i was and our original member. glad to see some familiar faces on this planning commission. hello, friends. all right, we are not going to be -- i have lived in my apartment for 30 years. i had to fight to get in there with metropolitan life, and i have been fighting to stay in there ever since. i have had children born there. my wife has died there. and i'm still going to live in park merced until i get cremated. which is all paid for, by the

way. i was born in brooklyn, new york on april 30, 1924. i fought in world war ii. that is when i first came to san francisco, just passing through, and i fought the japanese. i'm proud to be -- park merced is my home. i'm not going to be evicted from it because real estate wants to make more money. i know some faces are familiar on this committee. remember -- when you were sworn

in to your committee, you promised to give an open hearing, fair hearing, and you are not going to get my cooperation to evict me and throw me out on the street. this is the president of the park merced residents' association. that is it. [applause]

>> [inaudible] if you want to line up in that order. thank you. go ahead. >> good evening, honorable planning commission.

[inaudible] i have lived here about 64 years, and i am against the proposed implementation of parkmerced investment properties, and thank you very much for listening to me. [applause] >> good evening. i'm a resident here in parkmerced. i have been living here for about 20 years and a clue what in this area. i do support this project. i understand how special this

neighborhood is and what it means for all of the residence. [inaudible] i see positive change, and i hope by all of us working together, [inaudible] you are going to hear many different points of view, but i think we have a really unique opportunity. [inaudible] there is a problem that cannot be resolved. if we all work together to resolve our differences and really make this a special neighborhood that would be an example for everyone, not just in san francisco, but i'm hoping everywhere. thank you. commissioner miguel: thank you.

[applause] >> ok, for all of you who are going to speak in opposition to this project, those who support it should boo you also? ok, then that is how it should go. if you are going to boo every one who speaks in favor, they should as well. absolutely. it works for me. >> hello, commissioners. [inaudible] i have a few comments i would like to make to you. [inaudible]

instead, i would like to see this isolated area integrated into the surrounding community. [inaudible] others have pointed out the unwise risk of building tall structures in this part of the earthquake country. if worse comes to worst and approval is given for this bill- advised budget, my wife and i would be incapable of moving in less than six months. she is 65. i'm 74 and in poor health. in rent-controlled unit is our only hope. this has been guaranteed to us by the current parkmerced

management. [inaudible] [applause] >> good evening. i have lived here for 31 years. i received a flier from the tenants association and a flier from management. this is the flier from the tenants association. this is management. what -- one comes in the door, one is put on the door. on the one from the tenants association, it says, "under state law, even a promise by a landlord to continue to review a red-controlled apartment is unenforceable, making the bet even riskier.

that is what i would like to be discussed tonight -- what guarantees in writing -- not the word of a landlord -- what guarantees, and can these guarantees be enforced? that is what i'm really here for. not to know what is planned for one end of the neighborhood to another end of the neighborhood -- what is to guarantee me a rent-controlled apartment in the future after my apartment is torn down? thank you. [applause] commissioner miguel: actually, that was part of the presentation tonight, but you did not want to hear it. [crowd boos] >> good evening. thanks for coming out and

listening. i'm a lifetime resident. first, to speak to the rent control issue, nothing has been guaranteed in writing, as the previous speaker mentioned, we are not even sure if that is allowable. there is nothing guaranteed, and i'm what you would consider a working-class person in san francisco. i'm a high-school teacher, and rent control is what allowed me to fulfill my dream to teach for the last 18 years or so. without it, i would have had to do something else. the relocation process is an enormous undertaking as well. 20 or 30 years of construction

-- imagine having to live side- by-side with that every day for 20 or 30 years. and having to deal with being relocated. there is a lot of elders in our community that would be very upset by that whole process, including the noise and traffic and so forth. speaking of traffic, 5700 new units that according to this plan, they are going to be environmentally friendly and so forth, and that is commendable, but any environmental gains realized by this project will be completely wiped out just by the massive size of this thing. it will be huge, and the traffic is already gridlock on 19th and lake merced boulevard. i invite you to drive by any night with all the residents trying to get in the same place.

finally, second to last, just the face of the residents had chains. so many students are living here side by side with seniors, and they want to party because they are young. three weeks ago, there was a big party i woke up to a 5:00 in the morning, and it was still going on in the building across the street from my house, and there was a fight in the window. what -- parkmerced cannot even manage the residents we have now. there is no way. i would invite you to look behind you. this is the only home i have never known. it is not a frat house or a dorm. it is my life and my livelihood and all i have. thank you very much. [applause]

>> good evening. like my brother said -- i do not know whose pipe dream this is, but it is very disturbing. i have lived here for -- it will be 40 years this coming february. i'm 43. i grew up on these streets. this is my home. i cannot believe whoever is coming up with this stuff. this is not planet krypton. i do not know if you have seen all that, but it is unbelievable. i cannot believe it is even being presented. the environmental concerns we are all for. we are for a lot of the things. we are not for the demolition of the beautiful garden apartments. parkmerced should be a national

landmark. absolutely. [applause] this is peace and solitude. this is late merced -- lake merced. this is bigger than golden gate park. imagine them doing that to golden gate park. it is the same idea. there is natural beauty in our surroundings. we do not want to bring in an unwanted populations and disruption to our streets and neighborhoods. right now, there is graffiti in the streets, party going on almost every night. there is littered everywhere. nobody can manage it. they cannot even manage it now. how are they going to manage it later? it is wrong. it is un-san francisco-like.

it is appalling, the whole plan. i beg you to take into consideration all our thoughts and concerns about the project. thank you for listening. [applause] commissioner miguel: [reading names] >> good evening. i'm the former director of the san francisco and 4 for 15 years. i heard some of the concerns the tenants are speaking out about tonight with regards to safeguards and assurances as to the viability and longevity of

any agreement that is entered into with respect to rent control going forward over the course of this project. i would just like to say that i can speak confidently in my 14- plus years working with the city attorney's office, that they have always first and foremost with the concerns of the rent ordinance and those of the tenants in their minds when they worked on any ordinances that we have dealt with, brock, or in force. i'm quite confident based on what i have read there is a lot of safety items and points in the agreement that i have read, that track, that speaks to this issue. this is, besides the issues i know are concerning some, about

the law and its ability to upset the apple cart, and there is also the matter of contract law, and that has also been addressed in the agreement i have seen, and i think that the tenants, regardless of what happens with rent control, there is still contract law in this country, and this contract law will govern and control the lives and destinies of any agreements that these tenants into into because there will be a written contract that will be signed by the developer. i think we also have a blueprint in terms of trinity, where we had a situation with tenants that were also subject to moving inton -- into an un-rent- controlled building.

[inaudible] [applause] commissioners, my statement here is printed. commissioner miguel: if you want to present it, just leave it in the basket. >> good evening, commissioners. i have been a garden apartment resident since july 1993. i'm speaking here tonight to

oppose any plan to demolish over 1500 beautiful garden apartments in historic parkmerced, including my own. these are my reasons -- one, the current garden apartments are more than adequate to meet san francisco's need for affordable, sustainable housing and urban open spaces. they should be preserved as a historical landmark along with the rest of parkmerced and sold to the tenants as a co-op. [applause] two, any plans to demolish our current garden apartments would interrupt our quiet enjoyment of living in parkmerced and could be legally challenged as a constructive the eviction action, leaving both the owners and city liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in litigation costs from lawsuits.

[applause] 3, the owner was a purported plans to relocate tenants is illusory at best. any new units offered to current tenants under this scheme would effectively be controlled by both state and local laws, leaving renters with no protections and no viable housing options. finally, it is no secret that the current equity holder, fortress investment group, have major financial problems, as to their minority partner. it would be highly irresponsible for the city to issue development in titles to applicants who cannot financially guaranteed that their project will be built or even completed. thank you. [applause]

>> in the basket. commissioner miguel: yes, thank you. >> i live in parkmerced for 19 years. i'm standing here to oppose the proposed development. if any of you have visited, you would appreciate the open space and it's uniquely designed architecture that all the tenants have enjoyed, but what the developer wants is to destroy this beautiful place. they hijacked the term green or sustainable to make it sound good, as though they really care about the environment, but the bottom line is this place as many people as they can to maximize their profits. [applause] what they are going to