purchased by my godparents and given to my parents until this morning when i picked them up for you. a book of postcards and a book of inscription detailing all the inscriptions from the world's fair and the meaning behind them. i look forward to giving this to you. on behalf of the city hall of all of san francisco, thank you to you three for all of your service. [applause] and i invite you, if you want to, to say a few words. certainly, you do not have to, but please, come on up. >> it has been a great honor. just a great honor. thank you for the privilege of helping to restore this magnificent landmark. i would like to acknowledge my husband, who has been with me every step of the way. he has done so much for the community. on behalf of my grandmother and grandfather, who fell in love

under the rotunda, i'm just so thrilled that i was able to give this gift to the city. i want to thank jan and ponds and the board -- jan and hans and the board. i could not have done it without them. we would be happy to give any of you a private tour. thank you so much. this is really a thrill. i really appreciate it. thank you. [applause] >> i also echo donna's thanks. the really important thing here is the legacy of public/private partnership, and i want to thank the city. i think bill ginsberg and rec and park -- phil ginsburg and rec and park deserve recognition for what they did to bring the product to a successful conclusion in difficult economic

times, and i applaud the creativity we have here. i want to say thank you, thank you. it is a message we all need to share in the community, that the government really can work when we all work together, so thank you very much. [applause]

supervisor chiu: thank you, supervisor farrell. that concludes our 3:30 commendations. if we could go back to the unfinished business. >> item 17 is an ordinance ordering the vacation of portions of the public right of way within the transit center project area. wiener aye. avalos aye. campos aye. chiu aye. chu aye.

cohen aye. elsbernd aye. farrell aye. kim aye. mar aye. mirkarimi aye. there are 11 ayes. supervisor chiu: this ordinance is finally passed. >> item 18, ordinance amendment the san francisco transportation code and police codes amending parking lots. supervisor chiu: can we take this same house, same call? without objection, the ordinance is passed. >> item 19, ordinance amending the san francisco administrative code to establish a process for the mayor to a peer of the board of supervisors for a question and answer session. supervisor avalos: thank you for continuance on this item. i did have concerns about the spontaneity of our exchanges we

have had with the mayor under this ordinance. i still have those concerns, but my conversation with mayor lee, i said that i would be able to live with this. if it is an ordinance we want to look at later on down the line, we can do that. i would like to do that at some point. we can add a little more life into it. i do believe that my discussions were very meaningful with the mayor, and i think we can make this a useful tool for us and focus the mayor's attention on things that perhaps he or future mayor she would not be attending to. i think it would be a useful exercise to move forward on, but hopefully, we can look at building a little more spontaneity into it, and hopefully, we will see as we move forward we will work to do that. thanks. supervisor chiu: colleagues, can we take this item same house, same call? without objection, the ordinances passed on the first

reading. >> item 20, ordinance amending the administrative code, authorizing the assessor to recommend rewards for information related to the detection of underpayment of tax owed to the city. supervisor chiu: same house, same call? the ordinances passed on the first reading. >> item 21, ordinance authorizing the department of technology to accept and expend a grant from the u.s. the poorman of commerce for sustainable broadband adoption training and services and amending the annual salary or in its fiscal year 2010-2011 to reflect the addition of six grand-funded positions. supervisor chiu: same house, same call? the ordinances passed on the first reading. >> item 22, resolution requesting the recreation and parks department and the department of the environment to collaborate to establish a comprehensive parts recycling program. supervisor mirkarimi: can we re-referred to this later in the meeting? supervisor chiu: i understand there is ongoing discussion. without objection, that should

be the case. >> item 23, ordinance amending the planning code by amending the fee waiver criteria for affordable housing. supervisor chiu: can we take this item same house, same call? the ordinances passed on first reading. >> item 24 is an ordinance ordering the summary vacation of property located near ocean and phelan avenues, authorizing the sale of city property to the redevelopment agency for approximately $4.1 million and the grant of a pedestrian access easement and emergency fire apparatus easement over a portion of the adjacent city property. supervisor chiu: can we take this item same house, same call? without objection, the ordinances passed on the first reading. if we could now go to roll call. >> supervisor wiener, you are first on a roll call for introductions. supervisor wiener: thank you. i have two items.

the mta has now begun its long- awaited collective bargaining process. i rise today to stress the critical importance of bargaining to the future muni in terms of costs and functioning of the system, as well as the message it will send about 88's commitment to reform. -- about mta's budget. we were reminded about what happens when the budget gets so off kilter for so many years that they cannot address the basics of keeping the system running. we have a meltdown in the subway and intel down on the market street lines. a few weeks ago, another derailment on the subway. we have seen a continuous stream of malfunctions that cause people problems on a day-to-day

basis. muni needs to get its costs under control so it has the funding it needs to invest in its physical plans. otherwise, we will continue to see a deterioration of the system, and muni needs to change the way it operates. after the board of supervisors failed to address muni's labor costs and work rules, the people of san francisco took matters into their own hands. 75,000 of us signed to get proposition g on the ballot and voted to support it. provides mta management with an amazing tool that will allow us to take a big step in the right direction of reforming the system. prop g allows mta for the first time in decades to bargain with everything on the table. it specifically provides mta with the power to negotiate away work rules that make no sense, the cost mta millions, and that

underline the functioning of the system. now that the voters have done their job, it is mta's turn to do their job and bargain effectively. it is not enough just to get a few successions and nibble around the edges. mta must set a new base line for its employee relations and particularly for the work rules that need to be addressed. mta must show fortitude to change the way it does business. to be clear, mta's work rules and labor costs are not the only reason for muni problems. for decades, we have under invested in the system, and, of course, we are dealing with a year in europe cuts from sacramento -- dealing with year- in, year-out cuts from sacramento. power to negotiate a labor

agreement that is not only fair to employees but also to the hundreds of thousands of riders, who depend on muni every day, mta needs to get it right. san francisco is watching. finally, i have an in memoriam to clint mitchell, a resident of district 8. to san francisco, the mission district, and liberty hill, all of us were diminished on march 2, when clint mitchell died at home at the young age of 50, surrounded by his wife, his stepson, family, and friends. everything about clint mitchell was vague. he'll -- was a big -- was big. he was a big man, over 6 feet tall. his generosity was huge, whether spearheading a neighborhood

project or hosting an event for death penalty focus or for friends. he was the consummate volunteer, dedicating large amounts of time and effort to causes as diverse as the san francisco civil grand jury and the san francisco international wine and spirits competition. he was never one to turn down a chance to help participate and lead. as president of the liberty hill neighborhood association, his leadership was essential. he led by example, diving into any and all challenges and projects that came his way. his intelligence and preparation shown through everything he did heshone -- his intelligence and preparation shone through everything he did, and he will be missed. >> supervisor farrell. supervisor farrell: i submit. supervisor chu: submit.

supervisor campos: thank you, madam clerk. colleagues, i have a number of items. the first item is a little more -- is to provide a little more specificity about an issue that came up and that i address at the last meeting, which has to do with a historic site located in my district. for those of you who may not be aware, in 1991, a longtime resident of vernal heights and covered a venture -- vintage coca-cola sign under the asbestos siding on his home. hearkens back to a time of old bernal heights. an anonymous complaint led to the discovery that the historic sign was out of compliance with local laws because it had uncovered for about 35 years. when the story first broke, we heard a number of perspectives

on this issue. some people raise concerns about the potential health message that it would send children to have a coca-cola sign, especially being in front of a school. others voiced a very strong desire to preserve the sign as an historic treasure. since the story broke a few weeks ago, my office has received a number of calls, a number of e-mails from residents throughout bernal heights. we have also taken the time to check with parents at the paul revere elementary school where the sign is across the street from it. overwhelmingly, the response has been supportive of preserving the sign. i am looking at the issue, we have learned how complicated and complex it is to actually protect a sign of this nature, how difficult it is procedurally to establish an historic signing district. to protect this kind of a sign,

a property owner has to request the establishment of a historic signing district that would have to get legislative approval that has to be introduced here at the board of supervisors. it also has to get conditional use authorization from the planning commission. this project was established -- the process was established in order to protect a large number of historic signs in a given area, but signs like the one we are talking about exist outside many areas in san francisco. the legislation we are introducing is legislation that tries to simplify this process. it is simply would simplify the application process that you would have to follow by clearly defining what it means for a sign to the historic and by streamlining at the planning commission the conditional use process. our hope is that through this legislative effort that we will

be able to simplify the issue, should this matter come up again and another district -- in another district, which we believe is likely. i want to thank the attorney's office for working so closely with my office to, again, simplify this process. the second item in introducing is a hearing request at the government audits and oversight committee on the issue of an audit that was conducted by the city service auditor on the use of the laguna honda fund that was created for the use of patients, and there was an audit on that issue that was completed, and we want to have a hearing on that. the last item i am introducing is a resolution declaring march 26, 2011, as senior officer -- monsignor officer romero day to

honor monsignor officer romero who dedicated his life and ultimately gave his life to protect human rights. he was essentially murdered at the altar at a small chapelhe h. for the fight for social justice and human rights. he means a great deal to many of us in san francisco. not only people from hong the el salvadorean community and the latino community, anybody that believes in human rights and social justice. the rest i submit. supervisor mar: thank you. i have a number of items.

i am sad to inform everyone of the passing of the founder of tommy's mexican restaurant. he passed away last week. he came to san francisco as part of a guest worker program with his wife who is a really great person as well. he fulfilled his lifelong dream of serving his native cuisine. with the opening of the restaurant, he enabled countless members of family and friends to move north to san francisco. he greeted his customers for over 45 years. known for its warm and friendly

atmosphere, it greatly reflected himself. his sudden death has come to a shock to many -- as a shock to many of us. the small business establishments he founded, our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. the next item is an ordinance protecting local pet stores and small businesses. i am introducing an ordinance to prohibit pet supply stores in an already defined district that extends from fourteenth avenue to 28 avenue. this legislation was promoted by a coalition of small businesses and many constituents and my office and myself to protect the several small mom-and-pop pet

supply businesses. i believe that limiting large formula retail pet supply stores will help preserve our small businesses. and the mix of goods and services in the corridor. i am pleased to work with the folks here, and their hard work here for the upcoming arbor day. what i have for you today is legislation for today oppose the imperative edge in the declaring march 12, 2011 as arbor day. supervisor avalos and i were talking about dr. seuss's lorax. he is a little guy that stands

on the stump and speaks for the trees. many of the environmentalists and activists see lorax's. they protect the trees and create a livable community. originally proposed in the late 1900's, it was proposed as a tree planting holiday. the first brigade was the planting of more than 1 million trees. it has spread throughout the united states. community volunteers in the city workers will be planting trees and dust in a community cleanup in my district this year. -- hosting a community cleanup in my district this year. it is a way to make our community more environmentally friendly and the level. -- livable.

later, when we hopefully pass this item unanimously, and gloria is here to answer any questions if you have them. the last items i am proud to be cosponsoring a resolution with mayor lee. it will support the use of rainy day funds for the san francisco schools. given the state budget crisis, and the schools might be laying off teachers and staff in the coming months and weeks. some are support of -- supportive in this difficult period. and i think that's an item already introduced. campos and mirkarimi have asked to be added on.

supervisor chu has been working on this issue for many years. the seismic safety project was designed to provide the department of building inspection information to reduce the earthquake risks. it puts many people that live behind garages in jeapordy. -- in jeopardy. the report includes several recommendations that would require us to take legislative action to reduce the risk to san franciscans in the event of an earthquake. supervisor avalos: thank you, madam clerk. just a couple of items for introduction.

one is a resolution as part of our better neighborhoods plan for the parking area -- park area. a grocery store at the site. currently, they have plans to hire non-union staff that pay well below prevailing wages. it encourages them to consider union carpentry at the site that will be going to city operations and neighborhood services committee next monday. i also wanted to address a concern i have about the agreement between the mta and bart on the fast pass reimbursement. the board of director's has

approved teh agree - -th- the agreement. it will be about 17% increase. what will happen on a yearly basis, there is a cost-of-living increase up to 10% that would be alarming for the mta budget. i would like to request perhaps the budget committee consider not hearing it or objecting, go back and renegotiate the contract. it would have enormous impact on the ability to maintain a level of service. it will ensure that [unintelligible] those are my items for

introduction. >> thank you, supervisor avalos. supervisor mirkarimi. supervisor mirkarimi: two ordinances related to each other in working with the department of public works and the mayor's office. these aim to increase and intensify our efforts in cleaning up blight in san francisco. it includes criminal and administrative penalties that would be consistent with the minimum $100 fine. it amends the public-works code to provide issuance for administrative citations and for constitutional reasons is not affect political speech. portions of the public works co, they will streamline the enforcements of public

nuisances. dpw's enforcement was because of minor variations. it was somewhat hamstrung. the blight ordinance focused on the abatement process. these two ordinances now address that. the rest will submit. >> with no other names on the roster, that concludes roll call for introduction. president chiu: why don't we move to public comment? >> the opportunity to address the board for two minutes on items within the jurisdiction of the board. and excluding items that have been considered by a committee. they will be allowed at twice

the amount of time to testify. if they would like a document to be displayed, clearly states such and remove the document when the street should -- screen should return to live coverage of the meeting. president chiu: yo uhavu have to minutes unless you're using a translator. they will have equal time. >> [speaking foreign language]

we want to discuss with you about the problem we have in the city. the first time i have seen as the mayor of this city working together.