have the black history month. education, when the proclamation was signed, was a great ability for a african-americans to learn. they did not have a head start. they did not have schools. they had to start from somewhere, and are still trying to catch up. today, you have an opportunity as the president of the united states said. early childhood development will help america's children not be left behind. the more educated children are today, the better america's future will be tomorrow. as we begin to try to find ways to create engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and inventors, this is where it starts -- at headstart.

people can begin to work with these bright sentences since -- san franciscans that could be mayor, that could be governor, that could be facebook. how do they get there? by good teachers teaching than the ways and means of tomorrow's world. i will support education from k to 100. the only way we will be able to sustain small businesses in san francisco, which is one of the better places to learn, is rebuild our education system. we have been waiting for this particular type of schools to appear, so that all of san franciscans, especially those that lack education, may have an

opportunity to get a better head start. we would recommend for this particular time to just move forward. you watch. tomorrow, or 20 years from now, one of these kids may come back and say, "because of you, san francisco is on top." my name is archbishop gray richardson. president olague: gregory stengel? >> i live at 1800 scott street, which is immediately opposite the corner from the school. i would like to address you on two points this morning, one is a property owner and one as a parent of three small children, one of whom is in the special education program at sherman elementary, where i am on the school site counsel, and the other two of whom are in

preschool in san francisco, one of whom god willing starts preschool in san francisco earlier this year. the availability of preschool spots in san francisco is incredibly limited. it is a bit of a fight, if you do not qualify for services, as my oldest son did, to find a spot. on that ground alone, i think the expansion of stretch the imagination is a wonderful idea. the other brief point i wanted to make as a property owner who is immediately adjacent to the school -- i also think it is a great idea to have these types of services available to us in our neighborhood. having to get three kids to school by oneself as a working parent -- both of us are working. it is quite a challenge. having this type of service

available in the neighborhood is a fabulous idea. i am convinced it is good for our property value. that is really the only points i had to make. thank you for the opportunity to address the board. president olague: thank you. i just noticed more speaker cards. i wanted to make sure our secretary noticed them. it must be for this item. and there is one more. >> are there any more? [laughter] president olague: thanks, miss every -- avery. let's see. christine mornes, megan escher, cordelia brown, and sharon tobar. >> hello. my name is christine morris. my husband and i live in the inner richmond with our two

sons, who are four and 1.5 years old. we live eight minutes away from stretch. we are so glad it is available to us. preschool can be extremely daunting and stressful. we realized early on that there are very few options for this program. stretch is one of them. our son has an april birthday and was not able to go to school until he was almost three and a half. as people who have children know, once they are two or 2.5, it is hard to keep them stimulated and socialized with just the family. they need to be in some type of school program. my son enjoyed the program and is currently in preschool at stretch. we hope our second son, trevor, will start in the fall. it is a wonderful program that

michelle eloquently explained, a small, home-like environment with caring, nurturing teachers. it is really wonderful. we hope that with the expansion, more children will be able to experience stretch. thank you. president thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is meghan asher -- escher. i have a son in the program and a doctor who will start in the fall. i have been -- and a daughter who will start in the fall. i have been blown away by the sense of community within the classroom and the work the team does. it is such a great example for our child to see people set the

example, and she teaches he has a boys, how he can participate in the community, how he can make a difference. he just started to read, write, and spell. the first word he learned to spell was friendship. i think that is a testament to his teachers and his community at school. we are proud to be a part of the school. i implore you to improve the community with stretch of the imagination. thank you. president olague: thank you. >> my name is cordelia brown. i am a teacher at stretch of the imagination. meghan's son is in my class, and i was lucky to have someone cover for me so i can be here. i teach at stretch 40 hours a week. it has been a great place for me

to grow professionally. michelle and and that have allowed me to take continuing education classes at night and further my career. in the past few years, i tried so many different jobs. i found this niche at stretch and feel i am really working for a family. until the city and community are very strong, being able to be involved with the families, and take children out into nature. it has been an incredible experience. i can speak for all the teachers and say we are so supportive as educators to find out what the children are interested in and to develop the curriculum and bringing aspects of learning to their own interests. it is an incredible place. i want to let you know how lucky i am to work there. i hear from the parents what indeed there is in the city for

more classes and room for their children. they are so eager that children can get into our program. . it is an incredibly unique place where kids can be creative and be themselves. we can protect them and provide a safe place for them to be kids, to learn, and to grow from there. thank you. >> my name is sharon tobar. i lived down the street from stretch of the imagination. i do not have any children who go to the school, but i have seen the way their business has operated, their school. when the kids pick up, they do not obstruct traffic on bush street. i have talked with ned. what they are doing is great for the neighborhood.

basically, it is a business neighborhood of ucsf and a lot of single people. it is great to see mothers picking up kids. it is nice to see that, a little small-town feel. i am for this project. i hope you let them expand. i do see a lot of families that are coming back into the neighborhood. president olague: is there any additional public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioner moore: i think the testimony speaks for itself. ms. wood prepared a convincing argument that we do not have to worry about housing or dwelling units being abolished. i am very convinced this is the right thing at the right time, and move to approve. commissioner borden: second. the only thing more scarce than

affordable housing in this city, i think, is preschool. i am at the age where all my friends are having kids for the first time. literally, they are registering kids for preschool in utero, which is crazy to think people have to think that far ahead. as a person who has seen friends leave the city, it is depressing to think we cannot better accommodate people here with more preschools, in a residential neighborhood where people can walk with their kids. it cannot be transit first if the services that serve the neighborhood are not in the neighborhood. i think this preschool is a wonderful project. it is meeting a need that is very great. i am very familiar with the rogero concept. it is a phenomenal teaching method for growing kids and having them become the persons we want them to be come

acerbically engaged and creative in our society. -- to be, critically engaged and creative in our society. thank you. vice president miguel: i was impressed with the school and the high percentage of the families that were in the neighborhood are close enough to walk. expanding to 48 children and instituting some scholarships is going to be a really good thing. i think they handled pick-up and drop-off very well, which is always a challenge. by using the space they have next to the school for that purpose, it moves very seamlessly. i am very supportive. -- commissioner antonini:. vice president miguel: my daughter purchased a condo around the corner from that location last year, and although she has no children of that age -- her youngest is 22 -- talking

to the neighbors, talking to others in her building and the adjacent buildings who do have young children, everything echoes exactly what we have heard here this afternoon, as well as the well-managed drop- off and pick-up. as commissioner gordon mentioned -- commissioner borden mentioned, the scarcity of good preschools in san francisco is becoming a real problem. i am glad to see this expansion. >> the motion is before you for approval. on that motion -- commissioner antonini: aye. commissioner borden: aye. vice president miguel: aye. commissioner moore: ye. president olague: aye. >> thank you, commissioners. that motion passed unanimously. you are now on item nine, for

2451 sacramento's street. >> the proposal before you is located on sacramento's street. it is a proposed amendment to rezone the subject property from rm-1 to the adjacent upper fillmore street neighborhood commercial district. currently, the subject lot contains a surplus parking lot owned by san francisco housing authority. they are wishing to liquidate this authority. a change to the neighborhood commercial district west and directly adjacent to the lot would extend the upper fell more -- filmore to the subject lot, and would create a continuous zoning district both for the upper filmore mcd and the rm-1

district. and e-mail was received by the -- from the pacific heights residents' association. they are requesting the commission consider continuing this item. they feel it would be a practice of serial permitting, and moving it would remove any obligations to develop housing on the slot. we would like you to approve the draft ordinance so we can send it to the board of supervisors for their permission. president olague: archbishop gregory richardson followed by suzanne gamble.

>> i am a resident of this particular building. this is housing site. as we know throughout america, many of these sites exist because of dr. martin luther king jr., creating hud. this particular parcels are called projects, projects that need to be developed. that is the bottom line. the incentive for america to get it right is in this particular type of opportunities you are able to do more with federal land than city or state land. funds are more able to be achieved because it is more possible to help children, youth, and their families. this particular site is a senior disabled building. once again, america has to help itself. people that live there have to

help themselves. in a recession, we have to create bills. we have to create notes. we have to create economic growth. we have to create development to be able to keep the economy going. not only that. it gives the residents the opportunity to learn how to take care of business. it is a long, drawn-out process. i will give you one success story of work done down in north beach. we walked to hell for a heavenly cause. this place was madness. it was not a safe place to be. but as we began to come together as residents that did not know one another, we started to attend meetings and talk about something of value -- redevelopment. new homes for residents that were isolated around the

community, that did not recognize them. right now, you can go down and see trader joe's around the corner. you can see a thriving street where many businesses are. this was done because it was a federal property, and the leveraged funds to get it done. this is senior housing which made a lot more services. there are not services there adequate enough for the residents to flee get the support and services they need. with steady redevelopment and grows, you bring in new ideas, fresh minds, and a way and means for people there to have the opportunity that was written for them. they have access to jobs. they have access to care. they have access to professional people there would never meet before. it is a learning experience. that project has been built.

residents are thriving. the same thing will happen here. we will be able to work with the mayor, the board, the supervisors, and the commission to hire residents and put them on the job. our seniors really are isolated. they need a lot of help. there is not a lot of money. they need a lot of services. this particular project would give them what i saw with my eyes. i ask that you move this forward. the people there -- i can speak for myself. it would be a blessing in disguise. thank you. president olague: thank you. >> i am a resident at 2451.

i am suzanne gamble. i am a resident at sacramento. this building went up for sale a couple of years ago, and i am understanding housing authority has some obligations, as we probably all know from the federal court. the notice that was posted on the for sale sign for this meeting was the first notice i received about this project. i live in the subsidized cousin. -- housing. the parking lot is a parking lot. cars are going to be taken out of that parking lot and put out on the street. i do not think that, other than subsidized housing with rent- controlled -- you guys, from my

understanding -- there are too many cars on the street as is. this is a parking lot. more cars are going to go out on the street as a result of that. the other that i want to bring up is the sign for this hearing is in english only. the majority of the residents that live next door that would be most affected are russian, chinese, korean, and mexican. many russian, chinese, and korean.

not so many mexican. but it is all in english. i know that when i go down clement and see a sign in chinese, i do not know what it says. you're having a hearing for english-speaking only. the notice was put up for english-speaking only people, and nobody else. these people need translators to do their daily business, all of these people in this building. there is a part of the population that has not received notice of this hearing. i do not know about the first hearing, but i never received any notice in regards to that. president olague: thank you. is there any additional public comment on this item?

>> i am barbara smith with the san francisco housing authority. the housing authority is in need of funds for capital improvements at all of its properties. we have a lot of needs at jfk apartments that we would like to address. the proceeds of the sale of the lot next to jfk would be used for improvements at our property. also, we are facing some more severe budget cuts this year, through the federal appropriations process. the u.s. department of housing and urban development did approve the sale of this property. we actually have a resolution from the tenant association as a

result of those meetings we had regarding the sale of the property. we have very few opportunities to generate funds. we know the change is difficult, but we do need to make sure we are maintaining our properties and making the necessary improvements for the health and safety of our residents. we have talked with mr. wermer also. we know he was at the last hearing. we talked with him after that hearing, had a meeting with him, showed very preliminary plans the buyers have for the property. that are not going to go forward with plans until the rezoning takes place and the sale is completed. he indicated that he was in favor of the building envelope and the use, which is residential, with some

commercial use on the first floor, the preliminary plan to use. we have tried to work with the community and the residents through this process. it is very important for us to get more resources. we urge you to consider approving this rezoning. thank you. president olague: is there any additional public comment? public, is closed. vice president miguel: ms. smith, i also received the e- mail that mr. gabreros referred to. if i can read you a portion of the last of -- "while they," referring to your organization, "reviewed the plans of me, they

have refused to respond to requests to meet with the pacific heights resident association. we are willing to support a reasonable project in the site, or consider a project that requires rezoning. we believe it is bad policy to rezone when neither the project sponsor nor the prospective buyer, unknown, will meet with the local neighborhood association to discuss the proposed plan." any comment? >> i talked with mr. wermer myself and offered to attend one of the pacific heights neighborhood association meetings. he did not call me back. i did tell him that the plans were only preliminary and that the buyer is waiting for the rezoning. they want that before they go through the planning process for their project.

our broker met with them. we have all talked with him on the phone. i am willing to meet with the neighbors. vice president miguel: i know he is on the east coast right now and is not here. thank you. commissioner antonini: the key issue here, and i might have to ask staff some questions in a moment, is the zoning as to what will be allowed by zoning. it is clear that as redevelopment has mentioned, what they need to do is sell this excess land to be able to make necessary improvements to their other properties. they apparently had a tenants' meeting and met with many of the tenants in the building. the buyers' plans are less important than what would be

allowed there. it is important the commission understand by the zoning change what would be allowed. if it is appropriate, the use will go with the buyer, regardless of whom the buyer may be. >> currently, the rm-1 zoning would allow for five residential units on a lot, but would not allow for any commercial uses. what will occur with the passing of this ordinance, if it was to be rezoned -- it would allow the unit density to go up to seven units and would also allow for commercial uses on the first floor, and i think on the second floor as well. there are uses that are permitted as a right within the upper south -- copper fell more -- upper filmore mcd, but would

require approval from the commission. as a minimum, any project that would go on there would need 312 notification for the project to be constructed on that site, which would include public notice 30 days. commissioner antonini: you have said that certain uses would require conditional use, particularly some of the possible commercial uses. is that what you were saying? >> at minimum, even if there was a new use to go in there that was permitted as a right, it would still need public notification. commissioner antonini: the bottom line is you're increasing the density slightly. i have one other question with regards to parking. who uses the parking now, and how will those cars be relocated if parking is not provided there? >> that might be better answered by housing authority. i would rather have them answer