supervisor maxwell: experiencing -- oh, there is. we are experiencing some technical difficulties. i'm going to go forward anyway. welcome to land use. thank you for joining us. madam clerk, you have some announcements? >> please make sure to turn off cellular phones and pagers. completed speaker cards and documents to be submitted as part of the file should be submitted to the clerk. items that move out of committee today will go before the board on january 4 unless otherwise stated. supervisor maxwell: thank you. we had a number of items today

that will be sent as committee reports, and i will make the announcements as they come along. we will take item 8 first. >> item 8, hearing on the status of the public utilities commission's community benefits program. supervisor maxwell: we have heard this a number of times. there is a number of things going on, so i suggested that we hear this first. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name again is juliet ellis. i want to thank you for the opportunity to come back again. no technical difficulties on our end today. we are here to provide you with further information regarding our community benefits program following last week's hearing. we have conveyed all our executive management, categorize our community benefit initiatives we have cataloged so far, and in respect -- in

response to your request have prepared some ballpark estimates for categories that we will present to you today. our discussion last week highlighted the importance of one vital fact -- that all the benefits from our existing programs are mutually beneficial and really benefit us all. debris -- they are required to benefit the puc and our core mission, but they also benefit the communities we care about. we are most excited that the program will allow us to conduct our business and operations in a manner that will increasingly reflect our responsibility to local communities, regional communities, as well as reflect our commitment to being a good neighbor as well as taking care of our resources. as we present the different categories of initiatives and some initial cost estimates, it is also important to note that many of our initiatives impact several important community benefit categories.

a specific contract initiative that is categorized under work force and economic development may also and oftentimes does have significant positive environmental impacts while also playing an important educational role. if you look at the categories, we will go through how much we are spending in each of those categories. keep that in mind. we will present you with a few specific examples to clarify this later, but we wanted to explain that although a few initiatives may be categorized as an environmental program and the costs associated may be reflected under the environmental category, that specific initiative may also have work force and economic development or positive land use impact. on the slide is a list of the different categories with approximates of how much we are spending in those areas. again, they are rough cost estimates for several community benefit areas we put together during the last week or so.

trying to give you a flavor of the type of investments we are making in the community. the information we have been able to collect regarding specific initiatives we have received demonstrates that we are spending approximately $31 million annually on work force and economic development initiatives. we will spend approximately $50 million this year on a wide range of initiatives that could be characterized as environmental and sustainability programming. similarly, we will spend approximately $2.8 million on land use initiatives, $331,000 on educational initiatives, and as required by the charter, we will be setting aside $6.9 million for our support based on our above-ground construction. to give you an idea of some of the specific initiatives under each of these categories, our investment and workforce programs, for example, involves interagency regional workforce programs such as the works, and

it is an innovative program at our southeast community to provide long-term opportunities for our residents. some of our innovative environmental initiatives include many conservation efforts. our solar program and newly adopted environmental justice policy, which we are just beginning to implement agency- wide. our land use initiatives include things such as the interpreter center that will be located in sunol, which is a unique opportunity for us to educate our neighbors about our services. the center will also be open and available and accessible for community members and provide space for educational programming and arts, etc our education initiatives remain from a partnership with san francisco unified school district as well as partnerships we are doing with san francisco state and also with the sustainable agricultural education program, which is in

alameda county. i want to take just a quick moment to go a little bit deeper to give you two examples of how our community benefit programming takes place on the ground. the first program i wanted to share with you -- to tell you about is our led streetlight community -- led streetlight conversion program. for this program, we could have easily let this contract -- left this as one standalone $60 million contract, but we instead decided to work collaborative with of the department of partners to maximize the benefits for different communities through this opportunity, so the first thing we did is we unbundled the contract into components and contract with a local business

to conduct a survey and inventory all of the city-owned street lights. we required that the contractor employ new employees in the field component for the project. for one of the city's bonds and job-training programs. when the work is completed, we estimate that this will result in between 1400 to 1900 work hours. really important. that was the first unbundling of that contract. we then unbundled the installation, the second portion of this contract, into separate micro set aside contracts to maximize smaller contracts for san francisco certified businesses. to allow the maximum number of firms to bridge is a thick, we will be providing these small san francisco businesses with all the supplies they need to do the installation portion of the contract and we have broken up

the installation portion of the contract into 12 separate might grow lbe set-asides, and the contract will be as small as $200,000, which will provide even the smallest san francisco businesses opportunities to gain prime contractor experience as well as develop their capacity. this contract epitomizes the concept of green contracts and jobs, as it will also result in 50% energy and cost savings over time. we believe it serves as a great example of how we are conducting our business, and it is business we have to do. we needed to convert the streetlights, but the way we did the project gives us the opportunity to allow small businesses that typically would not have come in at a prime position to be able to do that. there are also several macro benefits from these types of initiatives, such as intentional green contacting and job opportunities that maximize local participation, but it also contributes to our local tax base via payroll. these are the same people that

eat in our restaurants and purchase in our stores, etc. the last example i just wanted to share with you, to give you a sense of what we have been doing in the direction that the puc is moving is highlighting the first stuart program, which is a collaborative partnership between the sfpuc, the sheriff's department, and the garden project, which many people know about. it engages youth in watershed and horticulture projects. taking lessons from the garden project, which works with former offenders, the earth stewarts program is an intensive 38-week training program for at- risk young women and men of color, ranging from 17 to 25 years old, who had the opportunity to earn a paycheck, continue their education, build life skills, and continued -- contribute to the community environmental project. participants into the trade apprenticeship program.

the young people in the program learn horticulture and landscaping through farm and site-specific projects in the field such as organic agriculture. they work with a garden project staffed, puc staff, gardeners, learn about the environment, and leave a tangible mark in the community. again, this is a program that has such immediate impacts for the young people going through the program, but it also allows these young people to be able to have access to healthy food that they can take back to their families. looking at the young people coming through this program, it is often communities that do not have a lot of grocery stores in their community. they are able to keep their families around healthy eating, and they get a paycheck at the same time. similar to the street conversion program, the birth storage program -- the first stewards

program has mutual benefit both for the sfpuc as well as the communities we are partnering with for this program -- the earth stewards program. as we were talking about the program, developing inventory, we realize the level of macro impact that it has intentionally for the puc. the puc is a large property owner, and we have a lot of properties that need to be managed, whether it is the landscaping and the upkeep and maintenance. programs like the earth stewards program allows us to be able to work closely with the community to get these types of efforts under way, that is done in a way that has benefits on the ground as well. i wanted to conclude quickly by letting you know where we're headed. both of the led program and the earth stewards program, as you

look at the categories under the umbrella of where we are making our investments, really just a snapshot of where we hope to head as an agency. as i mentioned a week ago, we introduced the policy commission in november. we got concrete feedback from them. they will be adopting a policy that gives them a go to fully develop this program. the program will be coordinated and intentional and satisfying to provide a range of intersection of benefits to work force and development opportunities, educational opportunities, a comprehensive land use policy, arts initiative, and some of the most innovative environmental programs we think in the world. the programs will be transparent and accessible to interested stakeholders. we will be tracking the programs and reporting publicly regarding their effectiveness and impact, and we are excited to develop a program we think could be replicated both within san

francisco with other city departments, throughout the country, and we have been having conversations with folks as far away as pittsburg regarding what type of models around community benefits, and it could be a model at the international level as well. we want to thank you for your interest and support in the project and are here to answer any questions you might have. supervisor maxwell: questions? supervisor mar. supervisor mar: thank you very much for passing the ordinance and for the detailed explanation. seems that the resources are significant. i would like to see the slides. could you forward those at some point so we can look at the more carefully? i am especially interested in the elimination of food desert'' and getting young people more involved with healthier eating and life styles in their communities. it sounds like the next step for the puc is more of an implementation plan for the community benefits ordinance.

>> that is exactly where we are. as we have had conversations over the last couple of months with both the commissioners as well as several of the board of supervisors, what is interesting is as you look at the inventory and look at how the investments have been taking place in the past is that we have been doing it, so it is not like there has not been community benefit activity happening, but it has been somewhat scattershot and not as intentional as both the commission and leadership within the puc would like to see it happen. we are in the place now with the passage of community benefits policy that we are celebrating that this is the direction we want to head, and the question comes into play as to how we operate, how we coordinate the good things we are doing, amplify what should be growing and create new initiatives. it crosses each of the enterprises, which is also extremely exciting. there's so much overlap between

wastewater and arts and jobs and what we are doing in infrastructure and water and power, so there is a huge coordination peace that we are just beginning to hit the ground running. supervisor mar: my daughter, her co-worker the weekend was writing an article over the ptolemy -- the tuolome river. the schools and the curriculum are great, and i hope a lot of schools take advantage of the visits to the treatment plant and learning how the water works and creating a more sustainable water system as well. thank you. supervisor maxwell: thank you. i very much appreciate it, and i think what we can understand is that the puc has to do a lot of this work anyway. it is how they are going about doing it that is really benefiting everybody in the community, so again, i want to thank you all for all of your efforts because it takes a lot of effort to do it this way, but it certainly pays off. again, thank you so much, all of you. really appreciate it.

any other comments from anybody on your team? all right. thank you. why don't we open this up to public comment? public comment? all right. mr. eric brooks. eric, why don't you come on up? >> good afternoon, commissioners. derrick brooks representing san francisco green party in our city -- eric brooks. i was not here for the entire presentation, but in the previous meeting, i had mentioned something that is really crucial that we got nailed down on community benefits. first of all, want to commend ms. ellis and her staff. this is groundbreaking stuff, and it puts san francisco far ahead of any other city in the country. i wanted to make sure there was follow-up on what i commented on last time, which is that when nonprofit groups or even for- profit companies are out in the

community advocating for community benefit, it is very important day our firewall from the actual community benefits money that is created, such that they have to bid for contracts just like everyone else -- it is very important that they are firewalled. that would be the first thing. they should also be barred from kind of serving in a godfather role of advocate for community benefits bonds. and then somehow end up sitting on a panel about how those funds are distributed to other non profits. that is not good either. so we need to make sure that that is being done. and then the contractors that do the projects themselves should also not be able to go directly to those nonprofits and contract them. they should have a bid process through the city or the agency. so because it is holidays, and i have not heard a lot from the folks that are working on this on feedback on that point, so we

could ascertain that and make sure that that -- something to make sure that that is moving forward. that would be very important. so thanks. >> my name is francisco da costa. i'm the director of environmental justice advocacy. i have been following this since 1980. i was here for a number of meetings, and somehow, we were not getting the right information, and we still need to address it in some manner that is holistic. first and foremost, supervisors, you have to understand that hetch hetchy and the water belongs to the first people. so in any deliberation where we use this sacred water, we have to not only respect them, but we have to reach out to them.

today, i was on a radio show where they were talking about water resources all over this nation. where more and more water resources are being taken over by private entities. if we and you supervisors and politicians are not very tactful, how we take care of our water, how we maintain our system and how we charge our customers, we will be in big trouble. one of the reasons why they are spending $4.6 billion is because in past years, our mayors have cut into the general fund and deferred maintenance. today, after about three or

four attempts, we still want to know what percentage of the $2.6 billion of the money spent from our bond measures are spent on our community, and we need that detailed report. i cannot express that in just two minutes. supervisor maxwell: thank you very much. is there any further public comment? public comment is closed. quickly, can anybody speak to what mr. bruce mentioned about -- what mr. burke's mentioned about the non profits coming in? can anybody speak to the fire wall we have in place that protect us? >> again, julie ellis, assistant general manager for general affairs. eric brooks makes a really important comment about having some sort of separation and making sure that -- to me, the question is how are we in

ensuring transparency and accountability with how decisions are getting made around community benefit investments? because we are in the process of developing the program, specifically coming up with what are the decision making processes and how do we ensure that we are being transparent and accountable, we have been getting information from a bunch of different types of stakeholders. the issue has come up, so it is front and center, as we will come with other resources to make sure that we are doing it in a way that is responsible and does not allow for those types of misuses and inappropriate relationships to take place, but at the same time, i would also say that we are looking for opportunities, knowing that for some of our nonprofit partners that are on the ground -- i think about the number of nonprofits, whether it is in bayview/hunters point or in alameda by sunol, or places

where we will be developing community centers and we have this service with residents about how we will be developing community centers, that, to me, seems like an appropriate position to be contacting with potentially a nonprofit that has access in a much more in-depth way than an agency as big as the puc would have. looking for those opportunities to do collaboration via things we needed to gather information from community members, but that we are also extremely clear that it would be inappropriate for us to be having nonprofits or other folks, whether it is contractors or consultants, to be on decision making panels and influencing the puc and financially benefiting from that, and then we will have that front and center. supervisor mar: i was just going to say that from your presentation last week and this week, i also understand that the boat is coming up in early january for the puc, so that is, like, in the first couple of

weeks of january -- i understand that the vote is coming up. you have given the review that there is about 80 different projects you are trying to pull together, and i think it is within your first week of trying to be on the job as well, and i understand the geographical scope, so the scope is pretty broad of what your doing. i just wanted to ask to get more information also about project will and the high school student work and what we are doing with the san francisco unified school district downtown, which is more information about how i can be supported as well, but i really appreciate the presentation as well. supervisor maxwell: colleagues, then, if there are no more questions or comments, thank you, all of you, for coming in. why don't we filed this -- why don't we file this? item one. >> item 1, ordinance amending

the administrative code regarding the appeals process under the california environmental quality act to clarify procedures and public notice. supervisor maxwell: all right, you are on. thank you for coming me. >> thank you for having me here today. colleagues, before we begin, we need to have a couple of amendments that the deputy city attorney has drafted since our last meeting. the amendments have been suggested by the city attorney's office and clarify the ordinance so that it is consistent with state law and filing notices of intention and notices of determination. is that correct? if you would not mind. >> supervisor maxwell, supervisor alioto-pier, city attorney's office. there are three changes. you have the amended ordinance

in front of you, and there are extra copies for members of the public that would like to review the changes. it is to ensure consistency with state law when notices of exception are filed, and i will notify to you -- notify you of the changes line by line. the first is on page seven, line 22, subsection 31.08j, and it starts on line 22. it is to clarify when a notice of exemption may be filed. the exchange is on page 18, line 20. this is in section 31.15. it is just to clarify when a notice of termination for an eir would be filed. it is a whole new subsection. on page 23, line six, there is a

deletion of a clause in section 31.16b11. starting on line six. it refers again to when the notice of the exemption may be filed. supervisor mar: i'm sorry, could you repeat that? >> it is on page 43, line six. 31.16b11. it is this clause that starts on line 6, provided that a notice of the exemption or determination shall not be filed for effective until all appeals. have expired and any appeals have finally been resolved. those provisions have been moved into the individual sections on eir's and exemptions to clarify the law with respect to each. there is one more change that the committee actually made last week that i overlooked when i was in putting the changes, and it is on page 25, line 13.

we changed the word "within" to "no later than." that was an amendment made last week, and adds is neglected to include it. supervisor alioto-pier: it is my understanding we need to move those. it is also my understanding that several of these concerns have been raised by the planning department and others regarding specifically what was mentioned. changes to a censure and determination procedures as outlined in section 31.08 and in portions of section 31.16. one path forward here is to sever the changes to the exemption determination procedures and proceed on the remaining changes. i also understand that our director of planning is here and

can further elaborate on why he has concerns about the changes and exemption procedure. supervisor chiu: could i just ask for clarification? in the version of the legislation we have, what exactly would you be severing? supervisor alioto-pier: why don't i let miss daisy cover those? supervisor maxwell: ms. stacey, could you cover the splitting of the file and what we would consider today? - standing as it would cover the negative declaration today and the environmental impact report, but if you could go over that -- my understanding is it would cover the negative declaration today. >> my understanding is that the planning department has asked that all of section 31.08 b seven out of this ordinance. supervisor maxwell: for those who do not have that, what would that be, do you know? >> 31.8 deals with exemption determinations. in includes a number of