addressed scheduled to meet the eir by the end of this year. if you have other questions, i would be happy to answer them. supervisor chu: thank you. supervisor mirkarimi? supervisor mirkarimi: mr. benson, thank you for being here. it really has to be, for extraordinary reasons, we elect to waive against the process of competitive bidding for of this contract. i would like you to expound just a little bit more. i think that the pursuit of us making sure we have our ducks lined up on ceqa is companion to the notion that the city and this event has to be in full ceqa compliance. there can be no mess up in timeline. there can be no mess up in teaching the process so the net

effect is san francisco and america's cup is in full compliance. it is a big role of the dice, one that i co-sponsored and am willing to make happen, but i want to hear more about the fact that we're not just gambling on this idea that san francisco along the way, because we sold- sourced, somehow we decide we have to cut corners. i want to hear more on that. >> sure. i think that our recommendation to the committee -- and i thank you for your cosponsor ship on this ordinance -- is that getting the city ceqa and permiting team on board now, we will be able to do robust analysis that i know that you and others have been looking to make sure that the city is thinking through all of the potential impacts.

as edgar mentioned, we did go through this competitive selection process. we found esa of the respondents the most qualified because they have done analysis of the waterfront land use plan. they have done marina analysis. they completed the problematic eir review for the water system improvement project for the public utilities commission. they have a kind of experience needed to look at what we are most concerned about, in-water construction activity and how the transportation impacts are, and how people are congregating in sensitive park areas. esa has that experience. we are expanding the city staff side of the equation as well. it is not going to be a

consultant-driven effort. we have been looking to our sister agency at the puc. there are qualified staff working on the permiting for the list of projects. they're coming on board to oversee this effort. by avoiding the additional five months -- that is a best case scenario for being able to start fresh and bid a new the america's cup ceqa work -- we are able to hit the ground running now. the goal is to finalize what is called the first step in the process, the project description. regular meetings with port and city staff and the america's cup event authority and race management to develop a detailed project description describing all the activities on the different areas along the waterfront and the parks, and estimating the number of people

that would be using those areas, thinking through all the construction activities, and the goal would be very shortly to publish that project description as something called an n.o.p., a notice of preparation of an environmental impact report. that will happen in february as we meet the current timeline. following the notice of preparation, there will be public scoping meetings. this goes to your point, supervisor mirkarimi. we have such great public interest in the america's cup. there's concern that we go about its the right way. supervisor mirkarimi: on that point, relative to us shortening the solicitation for contract by four or five months, in my opinion, only then that

adds more challenge and pressure on the city to do everything just right environmentally. that is why i framed my earlier remarks. i don't want us to roll the dice and be wrong. this is about so much more than san francisco and an event. i traveled to sacramento last saturday to speak to the planning conservation leak in the state conference. there were hundreds there to talk about the america's cup process. they see this -- it is interesting to hear the perspective of environmental leaders and elected officials who affiliate intimately with the environmental community from california. they see this event in san francisco as a one and only kind of the event that they want to assign a brand, maybe this will

be, a kind of dream event. carbon neutral, perhaps carbon negative, perhaps a zero waste, something they would love to have the super bowl subscribed to, or the olympics, or world cup soccer. that level of thinking is not really mainstream. it really does not happen. they have elevated the expectation that san francisco will put that kind of caliber of green credential into this event. i responded to them that the ceqa process is going to require groups like psl to be right at the table with us, holding us and obligating the city and the organizers that much more responsible, or else, it will just be another gimmicky,

novelty kind of thing. in this day and age, people like to pitch it has green, but in reality, it is not that green. this might seem a little pro forma in trying to exempt from the contracting process on the front end. on the back end, 12 months later when ceqa is divulging what is on this on the review, so much is more at stake. i want to make sure we'll load up on that expectation in this conversation now. >> we hear that message loud and clear. we appreciate being able to work with you during the drafting of the hosting venue agreement on coming up with additional specific plans that are going to ride along with ceqa, the

transportation plan, how are we going to handle up to 500,000 people, getting them to and from the locations they are going to? it can't be cars. the embarcadero does not have the capacity to move people by that load. it will have to be pedestrian activity and transit service. the waste management plan that you called for in the agreement is going to get to, how was the city trying to meet its natural diversion goals. when people are congregating in sensitive areas like the parks, how are we not impacting habitat? we do have a good way of handling the waste that crowds would generate through those

activities. we understand the expectations are high. if we are seeking flexibility now on the other end, we will have to deliver something that is a truly clean and sustainable event. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. supervisor chu: a quick follow- up question. the cruise ship terminal, there was an environmental study for that. >> that is right. supervisor chu: help me understand, with the terminal and the america's cup bid, given the intersecting locations, it makes sense that they have to go together, simply because they would be similar events occurring with mutual impact on each other. >> yes. two activities happening at the same location. you would want to do a cumulative impact analysis under ceqa, really looking at polls and how they work together.

supervisor chu: does that mean that if we went out for a separate bid, the cruise ship terminal would have had to consider the america's cup anyway, and the america's cup would still have to consider the development work at the cruise ship terminal? >> that is correct. we think it is a much more organized process to have one prime consultant managing to look at those impact rather than two different consultants, potentially with different datasets they are trying to reconcile. supervisor chu: you mentioned what the internal timeline was in terms of getting environmental draft support out was. the reason why you did not elaborate was because as part of the agreement, we agreed we would have to complete the environmental process by a certain time, otherwise the agreement could be backed out. is that correct? >> that is correct.

the city is obligated to complete the review in 2011. to hit that timeline, we think we have to have this public scoping meeting in february. it would be very nice to have the environmental consultants reviewing the project description and participating in the scoping meetings to listen to what the public is saying and be publishing a draft eir in the summer so that we can have the public comment and participation period that ceqa of ford's before deadlines. supervisor chu: thank you. supervisor kim: normally, i would feel very uncomfortable raising a competitive process for such a huge event that we will be hosting here in san francisco. it is fortunate we went through a process recently in the same area. i just wanted to clarify. some of it has already been

asked. i want to clarify again. so, this esa, its main offices housed in san francisco? >> correct. supervisor kim: the bulk of employees were cure. how did you know half of the employees reside in san francisco? >> it is information we asked. supervisor kim: that his information they give in the bid process. were they the lowest bidder? i & they were the most qualified. >> i will let edgar discuss that. >> for professional services, we do not ask for that. we asked the most qualified in the negotiate. supervisor kim: the price is not part of the bidding process. >> correct. supervisor kim: city staff will

require that the amendments meet the enterprise goals. what will that requirement be? >> right now, it is that they meet 16%. the team they assemble are, right now, 30%. when we make amendments, we will ask they exceed the 15%. we have not amended the contract yet. they have committed to maintaining 30% participation. supervisor kim: when you say you will require 15%, you are not setting another goal. >> the consultant has made a commitment to maintain a 30%. there is so much of the services and details that need to be worked out. we will be putting that in. supervisor kim: just a clarifying question again -- i think this was already addressed. the ceqa analysis and public participation process have not

yet begun for pier 27. >> correct. supervisor kim: all of this is going to be done blended together. there is no separate processes. >> correct. supervisor kim: ok. thank you very much. supervisor chu: thank you. why don't we open this up for public comment? are there members of the public who wish to comment on item number 7? >> thank you. i'm dennis mackenzie. i am in support of this waiver. the environment is pretty critical at this stage. i provided this body with my proposal for a number of years. i want to take this opportunity to share that this is a good example of why my proposal for the marine science academy as a part of this project -- this

entire entitlement process is an inherent educational opportunity for kids. i teach high schoolers and have a consulting practice. kids in the schools have a separate reality in classrooms. their understanding of the real world and what the classroom work means to them is very abstract. i am asking this body once again to consider working together to create a marine science academy project where high school and college students can be involved in the step-by-step process that is necessary part? -- for public and private agencies to cooperate. there are no separate, isolated entities.

there is financial support from the public. the students also have a very great need to be introduced to the public service jobs that this body holds, as well as other agencies. it would be a tremendous incentive for these kids. thank you very much. supervisor chu: thank you. are there other members of the public who wish to comment on item number 7? >> good morning, commissioners. i am sitting here and i am listening to the possibility of san francisco hosting the america's cup. i want to expound on the gentleman who just spoke before. he was making references and talking about the kids in terms of different things that will be involved with the hosting of this cup.

the other thing i am concerned about, the gentleman making the presentation with the amendments and this kind of review, i hope that -- with the involvement of the kids, trafficking issues have been dealt with. one of the things i'm really concerned about upon reading, we know that to the super bowl is coming up this weekend. dallas has done a full-out, major educational -- to the residence and the overall to the dallas community regarding these events and these kinds of events that draw many people from many different places, to be aware, to be concerned, to be educated regarding the human trafficing issues that are involved with

our young kids for the sale of sex. i hope all of this is taken into account with the possibility of posting the america's cup. supervisor chu: thank you. are there other members of the public who wish to comment? >> good morning. as a general rule, i don't think you should give any waivers on competitive bidding. as you know, there will be a dwindling general reserve this year. you should have all contracts out for competitive bidding. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. are there other members of the public who wish to comment? public comment is closed. thank you very much for the presentations. i am willing to support this item. i do think we need to be cognizant of when we allow for

waivers to exist for competitive bidding. given the tight time lines required for the america's cup, given the fact we did have a recent competitive bid for the agency did win and there is a clear connection to the two, i am willing to be supportive of this item. supervisor mirkarimi? supervisor mirkarimi: something that was not mentioned, but i think it would be a good time to refer to it, it was when in the earlier process of san francisco vying to host the america's cup that there had been contemplation by people not in this room that wanted to seek a state exemption for the environmental review. that was alarming. that had motivated and number of folks, me included, from around

the state', from the land use community, who funneled into the conversation in san francisco. what a mistake that would have been if we did not pursue that route. then, it would have lost all credibility in the discussion that we are attempting to have here about making sure we are in compliance with ceqa, and doing something really meaningful in a green way with this event. if there is any value in our chronology so far, it is a good start. the fact that we were able to have sound minds emerge in making sure that that effort was heading us toward sacramento was pre-empted to not do that, it makes me feel a little bit better about the place we are in right now, although i don't like the fact

we are giving exemptions. in this particular case, as i said earlier, it is the end product that is going to have to double up and compensate for what we are doing in this particular way. supervisor chu: thank you. do we have a motion to send this item forward with recommendation? without objection. [gavel] can recall the remainder of the items, 8 through 16? >> item 8, resolution adopting guidelines for the establishment and use of infrastructure financing in the city and county of san francisco. item nine, ordnance creating a financing drastic and adopting an infrastructure financing plan for the city and county of san francisco.

item 10, resolution proposing the formation of an infrastructure financing district for city and county of san francisco infrastructure financing district number one. item 11, resolution approving the infrastructure financing plan for city and county of san francisco infrastructure financing district number one. item 12, resolution calling for a special election for the city and county of san francisco. item 13, resolution declaring the results of special election for city and county of san francisco infrastructure financing district number one. item 14, resolution of intention to issue bonds for city and county of san francisco and for stricter financing district number one. item 15, resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds for city and county of san francisco financing district number one. item 16, hearing requesting the office of economic and work- force development and

controller's office to provide a summary of existing use of tax increment financing in san francisco, the dollar value of these increments, and an accounting abuses for tax incremental funds. supervisor chu: thank you very much. there are a number of items we have called together, items 8 through 16. the reason why is because they're all related to the same item. this is with regards to the infrastructure financing district potentially being created, in addition to setting guidelines for the establishment and use of infrastructure financing districts. we had called for a hearing with regard to tax financing or the usage of tax increment financing. the way out like to proceed with these items, there are some amendments supervisor kim will be some -- will be introducing. one of the things i thought

would be helpful as if we could actually have the controller's office and the redevelopment agency give us a very brief overview of the use of tax increment financing, number one, and we will go into the specific example. the reason why this is important is because to the extent that we allocate and agree to use tax increment financing, through whatever model, the real trade- off in the real consideration for the fact that we are diverting a certain amount of revenue away from the general fund operations. it is important for this committee to understand the level to which that diversion has occurred and where it is that we have been making improvements with that money. if i could ask the controller's office and the redevelopment agency to come up? i would like to ask the controller's office to give us a brief overview. then i will ask the redevelopment agency. >> thank you.

i will be giving a couple of brief facts about the overall tax allocation in the city and i will turn it over to amy from the redevelopment agency to go into more detail. so -- if you look at the overall allocation of our property taxes -- this is not just tax increments, but the total property tax in the city and county. you will see that we collected approximately $1.9 billion recognized as revenue. of that amount, 67%, 1060 million, was allocated to the general fund. 9% was used for general obligation debt. reallocate a further 6% to our three special sons.

this is property-tax that belongs to the city and county, but there has been a determination to allocated for these purposes. of that $1.9 billion, 22% goes to the school district, the community college district, and the educational funds that support the state's funding of those schools. a small amount as provided to bart and the bay area management district. about 1%. in fiscal year 2009, there was a net amount retained by the redevelopment agency. it was about 5% of the total revenues recognized. i will mention a few facts here. maybe we will go into more detail. as you can see, the

redevelopment agency is 5% of the total net after they pass through the increments they are initially allocated. they were eligible -- the maximum tax increment was about $53 million more than that. we are an unusual jurisdiction in san francisco. we have just one city and county and redevelopment agency at this point. the county retains the budget approval authority over the tax increment funding, which allowed a decision by the county not to allocate the entire maximum tax increment. $53 million was not allocated through the budget process. it does appear likely, depending on what happens with this discussion about redevelopment, the way things are trending, tax increment financing requirements are likely to grow, as we anticipate there will be new activity and bonding relating to

hunters point, treasure island. it will be further discussed on the financing district. those are some of the general facts. now i will turn into amy for more detail. >> thank you. supervisor chu: i know you have provided us with pretty lengthy overview. in the interest of time, because we do have a bigger presentation today, if i could just ask you to focus briefly on just an overview of san francisco redevelopment agency, and then to walk through primarily where our redevelopment project areas are, number one, and two, walk us through the financial investment that we have given as a city, as opposed to the project areas. >> sure. i will go through briefly the redevelopment agency and the increment financing.

i will also address your concerns. iowa and sorry of the copy is not good for the general public. supervisor chu: speaking to the microphone. >> sure. in general, redevelopment agency's are organized under the california community redevelopment law. we worked in designated project areas for plans that are adopted by legislative bodies. agencies may establish land use controls, acquire and dispose of property, and issue bonds and obligations. that is the definition of a tax increment. we use these funds to invest and leverage private investment to finance affordable housing. sorry.