how can you commit to something that is so huge without some caveats in here? please rethink this development agreement. you do not have to say goodbye to these people. but tomorrow, as i understand it, their funding has to be assured. that is why you are being rushed through this. ask a few more questions. >> thank you. >> good evening and thank you for listening. my name is kate wilson. i live in costello avenue. i can vouch that those on the project seem to have done a thorough job. parkmerced has hosted over 250 meetings, maintaining open communication with those who would be affected. there have been countless meetings with city agencies. i had the opportunity to get to

know many longstanding residents and would not speak on behalf of a plan that did not benefit them. a few points i would like to highlight our that the residents, once moved -- the residents will move only once, and at the owner's expense. the monthly rent will remain exactly the same. parkmerced continue to be home to 321 rent-control units. change is inevitable. i support working together to progress in a positive direction that is best for everyone. i support the immediate apartment of this project. president olague: thank you. arnie, jeff wohl, charlie zang. >> my name is arnie larsen. i have lived in parkmerced for 14 years. when there was the first meeting about this project, i was amazed

that what i and wanted to see happen for years and thought never would was being proposed. it stunned me, really, to see that something i had wanted was happening. i have heard from young families here, speaking to the commission about their interest in having better buildings and a more complete neighborhood. san francisco is a city of renters, people who live for decades in their homes. this is what those folks are looking for. there are folks who want to keep the neighborhood intact, maybe even make it a historic landmark. but a whole neighborhood that cannot be changed is a place where i would not want to live, a place that can not improve. i heard the director of the school talking about the kids.

it reminded me of something. i did have kids. in our neighborhood, the city came around and tore up all the streets and put in new streets. i think i can speak to all of the kids of our neighborhood to say that was the coolest thing that ever happened there. i have a feeling the kids will be all right. at one of the first meetings, i raised the issue about rent control and making sure that continued. in the time since then, it has gotten to the point that the rent control will continue for the life of the property. that is real progress. that is a wonderful, critically important thing. there have been so many meetings, many of them with you, as you know. now we are here, and i encourage you to approve this project. thank you. president olague: thank you.

>> good evening. my name is carol kapell. i have lived at parkmerced for going on 20 years. i am in support of the development plan in its entirety, the ceqa findings and the general plan amendments. thank you. president olague: thank you. >> good evening. my name is our mind -- armand polegian. i am a resident of district 7 and a local business owner. representing all of the above, and there are so many positive aspects regarding this project that we have talked about ad nauseum. culturally, brotherhood way is unique to san francisco. i do not know of anything like it in the bay area, the state of

california, and maybe the united states. we need to service computer -- service commuters at this point because there is not enough value-based housing for our families to live in. they have all moved to the peninsula and the east bay. the greek school recently shut down. the hill school thrives in the area. but if you ask any of us, most of our constituents who frequent our cultural organizations are coming from the peninsula, because there is not a plethora of good housing in the area. parkmerced has vacancies. our families are not going to live there right now. with all due respect to the project, they need an update. they need an upgrade. this is a valuable project not just for san francisco, but for

cultural organizations that are proud to be san francisco-based, and hope our families will move back into the city so we can maintain our presence in a city we love and are proud of. president olague: thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. i am with my wife margaret. we have lived in the parkmerced area the past 16 years. my children went to school in that neighborhood. the one thing i find missing their is less and less young families. this project, as i can see, is going to get things to change and bring young families back into that neighborhood. they are a much needed part. people do not realize that our school has less and less enrollment. you heard from seven people.

there are a lot of schools in that neighborhood. whatever we can do to get more kids and families back into that neighborhood is fantastic. i want to thank you for doing a fantastic job. my family and i fully support this project. president olague: atomizer, mike smith, and james becker, can cleveland, linda corso. >> my name is mike smith. i am and 8 year resident of parkmerced. about this stuff done that i was going to say and i am not going to say any of it. i have heard so much tonight. i am in support of the vision of the project. i know the plumber. he is there all the time. he was there on super bowl sunday. i am sure he has to make a living, but i do not want him to make it at my expense all the time. [laughter] parkmerced is a tired horse.

president olague: i think your landlord is in the room. >> i know he is. i am not going to turn around. seriously, the 1950's -- i have pipes the break. so far, it is not a gas pipe. i do not want a gas pipe to break and my wife likes of the stove and we go into never never land. there is so much to worry about. everybody i have listened to has got an honest point. the demolition is going to go on. there is going to be noise. that goes on in america every day. buildings are torn down and new buildings are built. that is america. that is what we do. somebody complained about parkmerced being built in the first place. some orange farmer probably said there is too much noise. i am in favor of the project.

to me, it is like -- i just got rid of my car because it is really bad. i had to get another one because there was no hope for it. unless something is done for parkmerced, it is going to become a ghetto and deteriorate more and more. it may potentially become dangerous. thanks for your time. president olague: thank you. >> good evening. i am linda corso, speaking on behalf of myself and my husband. we echo the eloquent statement that jim made and urge you to push the problem forward. thank you. president olague: niveo massar, julie anderson, deedee macdonald. >> i am going to keep this one brief.

we have heard a lot of eloquent statements tonight for this development. i think we can look at the job it is going to do to create a good quality of housing. it will create additional low- cost units. i think this is a great project we should take advantage of. with that, good night. my name is neveo massar. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is james jagger. i worked in the real-estate community. i wanted to express my support for the parkmerced vision project. this can serve as a prototype. redeveloping offers us the

chance to change social effects of past planning principles, and in their place foster a vibrant community. the number of jobs created would be a huge benefit to our city's unemployment rating. perhaps most importantly, parkmerced's location gives a unique opportunity to address the environmental pressures of our increasing greenhouse emissions. i strongly encourage your commission to support this project, as it makes sense on summoning levels to become a model for future development projects. thank you. president olague: thank you. jim cook, bryce body, brooke turner. >> can i pick any one of those three names to be tonight?

i will be brought turner, coalition for better housing. i am here to say that we at the coalition, as housing providers in san francisco, support the project because it is quick to give thousands of work force and low income housing. this is a wonderful opportunity to add this much-needed housing. i need to speak briefly for mike two sons, one of whom is 8 years old. the other is 5. there is nothing they love better than watching construction and destruction of large buildings. you could sell tickets to that 25-year-old kids. they love it. that is not to discount the concerns of the preschool provider, only to say my own children are a little interested in the issue. thank you. president olague: thank you.

>> good evening, commissioners. my name is jim cook. my home has been parkmerced since 1987. we have all seen the development documents. i have been impressed with the way parkmerced has covered the issues for the residence. the have been reaching out to the community since 2006, with hundreds and hundreds of meetings. this would be hundreds and hundreds plus one for me. i have attended numerous planning commission meetings and learned about the meetings held with the city. most of the so-called open space in the current parkmerced is located in the middle of busy streets. it is not useful for recreation. it consumes 55 million gallons

of water a year that we would normally be drinking. that is going directly into the ground. it is not really green unless you consider the use of artificial supplements and chemicals to make the landscape of green. the new parkmerced gives the residents over 68 acres of green space in the forms of parks and athletic fields for community use. i have attended more meetings than i can count, learning and talking and listening about the new parkmerced. i support the project as a resident and urge you to approve the project tonight. president olague: thank you. is there additional public comment? >> good evening, commissioners. i am the director of the san francisco apartment association. we represent rental housing providers in san francisco. i am here to speak in favor of the project. i believe the addition of rental

units in san francisco is something that is needed, something we could all use here in the city. i urge you to approve the project tonight. thank you. president olague: thank you. >> is there an overhead still on the side here? put this up, if we can enlarge it. it is over here for you to say. -- to see. do you know this place? that is the first and last statement i have in regards to this project. we have seen the developer pump the room full of as many people as they can from whenever organizations that could pump in here. this is not about that. they are utilizing the system in the best way they know how. the lobbyists here are paid

lobbyists. those here are probably members of coalitions for responsible growth. that is not how public process should work. the people sitting behind the dais in front of me should understand the principles of this project, and should investigate it thoroughly. the fact that four of you have already approved an eir document suggests you are not serving the public's best interest on this project. at least one of you should be standing here and saying this is not right. it is not right on one principle. there has to be something here that is correct. although four of you didn't vote for that, one of you was not willing to turn the other way. that means there are four people who should be replaced on this panel. they should not be here anymore. as for the general plan, the

development agreement cannot delegate responsibility mitigation on the project. monitoring must remain in the city. you have a housing element. you have a land use the element. you have no collaboration with transit. dead end in transit in parkmerced is the wrong solution. there has to be a better solution here. you need to discuss this. that is the only way you would get to a right answer. i have submitted my drawings. the city do not want to talk about that. they do not want to discuss that there is another person who has submitted a feasible alternative. it is in the eir document. it meets preservation issues. it meets transit alternatives. it is not freezing it in time. you can do infill here and not demolish a national register

site. that is an issue you guys should be discussing. i feel like the lorax talking about the trees. i just see people here saying, "we are going to get some much money, money, money." where the hell, excuse my language, is any affordable rental housing being built in san francisco? $800,000 for a new unit in parkmerced? i do not see a lot of families moving in there. i do not see a lot of labor union representatives who are going to be working on this project able to afford it. there is a correlation. president olague: thank you. is there additional public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. i do want to -- you have not spoken yet? you will be the final speaker. i did close public comment. that is fine. >> good evening, commissioners.

my name is david turnoff -- schernoff. i am a lifetime resident of parkmerced. over the last decade or two, i have seen the quality of life in san francisco go down, and the ability to move in and around the city and my own neighborhood inhabited. i have seen two lane roads turned into one, backing up traffic and causing noise and air pollution. now it is finally coming out to my neighborhood. i have seen the quality of life could down in my neighborhood over recent decades, and i am outraged and appalled by the size and scopa of this project. i see the benefits touted by the developer are exactly what is

being taken away, such as open space, schools, and services. this used to be an integral part of the never heard. we had a grammar school, one of which i went to. it was recently used as a school of the arts. i believe it is still owned by sf unified and has remained vacant for years and years. we had a recreation area which is now owned by state college. it is being used as a corporation yard for their construction and expansion. not only do i think this is a bad development for parkmerced and the surrounding neighborhoods, but for the city at large. since this is a major southwest corner of the city, traffic is

going to be impacted in an adverse way. the problem is not going to go away? i do not see putting up sidewalks and crosswalks to facilitate the move of traffic or to create any kind of safety for pedestrians, cyclists, and what not. all i see is trying to cram more traffic into a smaller area, which i think just cause is a danger. i also think it is imperative that the commission look at what san francisco state is doing and what they are going to do, before they approve this project. they seem to be expanding without any kind of restriction. i think that is going to highly

affect the whole area and the movement of people through the area. president olague: i will ask one last time. is there any additional public comment? is there anyone who wants to speak? i will close public comment after this. >> mining is alex strauss. i am a west side resident. i am familiar with parkmerced. my issues are, first of all, affordable housing. secondly, i have an issue with basically mumming down all of the -- mowing down all of the two-story buildings. we are not a suburb. we are a city. i thought a city was a polyglot, a mixture. leaver house in new york is now smaller than the other buildings

in the area, but they kept it there because it is more interesting. it leads to the quality of life. i am also very concerned. i live on taraval street. i know what is is like to have a street car on steroids move to my street. you are going to have poles and wires. you are going to try to dodge the streetcar. it changes the nature of driving and walking. you are going to be dead ending that streetcar. that has an impact that needs to be considered. thank you. president olague: before staff addresses the commission, is there any additional public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. i do want to acknowledge for the record that it has been the practice of the commission for the past two years to allow any group to speak on either side of

the issues. the was the first time it was clarified that the intention of that rule was for opposition only. a rules discussion is coming up in a couple of weeks. if any of you have any input on that, please come. it has been the practice, before i was even chairing. that is how we have always done it. if you request to block of time, we give it to you. i want to apologize for that. it did create, i think, an uncomfortable moment and set the tone for the meeting in a way that was unfortunate. i encourage you to come to our rules discussion or send us your input through e-mail or phone, and give us your input on that. the intention, as i learned tonight, was just for opposition of something. >> elizabeth waddy, department

staff. i want to read a minor modification into the record. on page four, we would like to strike the last sentence listed. thank you. commissioner antonini: thank you very much. as i mentioned in my earlier comments, i am a resident in the area and about three-quarters of a mile from the borders of parkmerced. i feel i should know about the impacts, having lived in this area since 1976. i would say it is my neighborhood. i would give you the reasons why. the first thing that really struck me is that a number of the people who testified tonight are people who i know have lived in western san francisco for generations, and favor the program. a lot of people who are contemporaries of my children spoke in favor of it.

i think there is an important point. this is going to allow us to have families have the opportunity to purchase new units that do not exist, 5600 new ones. we are not good to have more stories like the puentes family who testified earlier. they had to move to find enough space for their family. at a rate they could afford, there was nothing here in san francisco. that has been a theme we hear a lot of. we had a lot of testimony to that effect. there are other reasons i favor this project. it is a private redevelopment project. we have heard what may be happening with three development. this is an opportunity for a project that will produce housing and produce retell, and produced transit, which i will deal with in a minute, that is

not predicated upon a precarious situation that now exists in our state. it is privately funded. the benefit to those of us who are neighbors of this project -- there are many. the one i was really impressed with, after meeting with peter allenberg, was the tier 5 improvements. it is a lot more than muni going into parkmerced. it will allow tunneling under 19th avenue, perhaps even under st. francis circle, to improve transit times, and coming back and having an overpass going over the boulevard as it approaches 280. that will be much faster for everyone. the branch will go up 2 daly city park -- to daly city park.

it will also branch off and go to neighborhoods. there are big benefits. the other benefits will be the traffic improvements that will allow all those people who are moving through san francisco to get in and out of san francisco quicker, which is the biggest source of our congestion -- not the residents, but the people who use 19th as a conduit. we can do that by improving the traffic in that area. as i mentioned earlier, the new housing for our children and families who are now forced to leave san francisco is a huge benefit. the diversity of density which has been brought out by the project sponsors -- now you have a choice of an aging, compromise town house. i know about plumbing problems. i know about things that are always breaking down because

they are old. sometimes, you need to demolish and build new. now you have a choice of various housing types that go from the present town houses, which is a great stuff for a family, but also various heights and configurations. the most important thing is these 5600 new homes will not be in the suburbs, will not be eating up more farmland or putting more cars on roads. it will be people who are living here. i think a lot of them will be working here. i think our population base will grow and it will make it better for businesses to be here. their workers will be here. they will not be in other areas. one thing i want to comment on is something i think is important. we have a vision of what it is quick to look like as far as the open space.