control concerns that have already been stated. this project will certainly change the character of the west side of san francisco forever. if it is not scrutinized very carefully, i will also refer you to commissioner moore's report. if things are not looked at carefully, this could have really negative impact. i do not think tripling the density of my neighborhood is a good solution. it is going to make traffic unbearable in that southern approach to san francisco, as well as liakemerced boulevard. it is hard for me to bend my mind around what that will look like. it is a vital community of working-class people and families. it is not blighted. it is an actual community of people. 20 or 30 years of construction

is also unimaginable, especially for the people on fixed incomes. the impact of that construction will be unimaginable. i would like to submit several articles regarding the developer fortress, as well as, if i could submit those documents, and also speak quickly to the financial feasibility. if it is not financially feasible, all of these projects can be pulled off the table. i would like you to consider that as well. thank you very much for your time. >> good afternoon. i am managing partner of the parker said -- of the parkmerced shopping center and an active member of the merchants association. i am part owner of the parkmerced supermarket there.

we are concerned about this project. the tenants are 12 other stores, some 30 different partners. they are all families that got together in different businesses. they are all small businesses. they are doing well. we were concerned at the beginning. but due to parkmerced management's credit, they came forward to make sure we can coexist with the future of the big shopping centers and retail space. our property is below grade level. you can barely see it. it is behind 19th ave. one of our main concerns was to try to get a road from 19th avenue so we could be a little different and people could still come and shop there and support

the family businesses and the shopping center businesses. i would just like to thank the management for coming to the table to do that, adding also a future shuttle stop in that area, and for the city of san francisco planning department for understanding the need for that road for our existence. that is our lifeline. the worked to help us out extremely to coexist. thank you. chairperson mar: thank you. if anyone else would like to speak, please come forward. we are going to close public comment in a second. >> brook turner. amounted to discuss two things that were brought up so far by speakers that i do not believe are correct. the first is about the number of vacancies available in our town today. we are at the lowest vacancy rate we have had since the.com

-- since the dotcom bust. we need affordable rental housing, family rental housing. this is best shown by the fact that the coalition for better housing, which represents many other rental property owners in san francisco, support this project. we are not afraid this is a coin to create a market that we will see more or less vacancy. we have very little vacancy in this town right now. we need rental housing built in san francisco. we need environmentally friendly rental housing built in this town. this would provide that. the other thing is about casta hawkins. i do not believe these guarantees will fail. while i was part of negotiations that took place in sacramento on

this issue, i was part of the group that drafted that. it was expressly discussed, this issue, when it was drafted, how to address it. the express exception will stand up in court. it is a red herring that should not be taken as fact. i do hope you will support this for my children as well, who deserve to have the availability of environmentally friendly rental housing in san francisco. thank you. >> good afternoon. i think it is time to look will be closely at casta hawkins rather than just repeating that everything is ok, or engaging in wishful thinking. that law was written to preempt local gun-control laws. they wanted to get rid of them

completely, but they decided to try to clip the wings of certain features because they could not get rid of rent control. they had a second problem, which was that they denied while they were curtailing rent-controlled and want to appear to be authorizing in some way. that is because at that time the real-estate interests were still harboring a hope the could get rid of rent control in a legal move which failed. we have an oddly written bill we are working with today because of that. the law says that local government cannot control and landlords right to set an initial or subsequent round. that is extremely broad language. when it was pointed out, and i was one of those who did the pointing out when this bill was being drafted in the early '80s, that they were affecting a lot of other things besides rent

control because of the way they had written it. they did respond. they did do something about subsidized housing. they did not do anything about inclusion their rezoning. it took 20 years, but we were proved right that was a problem when the court of appeals said so. they liked the density bonus programs and the grandfather of that in. that is a very specific program where a developer comes to a city and says, "i want to apply for a density bonus for a multi- unit housing." the local government must provide assistance. there is no discretion. there is a problem where there is no consideration. would you like me to answer your questions? chairperson mar: please wrap up. >> the point being that the density bonus program is specific. it anticipates lin board setting

10% of the units for very low income people. if the minority of units are accepted as affordable, it does not control runs. it is a different narrow scheme in which we now try to place the san francisco rent ordinance. there is a risk here i do not believe anybody can contradict. it is not a risk worth taking when what is on the table is 1538 when-controlled family units. -- rent-controlled family units. supervisor weiner: i have asked to this privately. it is now on my time. >> so i can breathe now, thank you. supervisor weiner: i still think this is a really important point and issue, and i would like to hear perspective on that. i was not on the board when

trinity was negotiated. i do not remember whether tenants groups formally endorsed it. there seemed to be broad consensus by the end on it. there was probably some, but not overwhelming. casta hawkins was around there. another have been some intervening for decisions related to bmr apartments. i still do not totally understand why there was such approaching consensus around trinity, which may not have been as big as parkmerced, but it was a significant number of units, and why there is such behemoths opposition now. i understand the issues around the transformation of this neighborhood. i understand that. but focusing on the casta hawkins issue -- why the 180

degree flip? >> i was not involved in the trinity deal. something was going on in my life at a time. -- at the time. i raised an eyebrow at the time. i think there are major differences and people confuse this. first of all, it was not a long standing and to a community filled with family housing. it was a hotel which had been converted into residential use. the housing stock had some difference. i guess i would say it was not really as valuable, to put it bluntly. the second difference is that there was a calculation made about what was likely to a car. this is where there is a discussion about the kind of landlord and what they are doing. the landlord in that case is somebody who is solidly in the landlord business in san francisco and does not appear to be going anywhere. they felt it was likely that he would continue to own it and

continue to abide by the agreement. in this case, there is serious doubt in our minds, because this is a company that does not have a history and has brought in and investors who seem to be in the business of buying into the property and figuring out a way to raise the units to market even or find a way to make the project worth more, or closer to what date paid for it, by developing it and selling it off and doing things like that. it is just a judgment that what is likely to occur here is different because of the kind of landlord and what is going to happen, and the buzzing of the -- the value of the housing stock in one case versus the other. there was a court case, the palmer decision, which said to me that i was right, what i said in 1984. it stopped inclusionary housing

programs for rental units. you cannot set aside 15% of your unit's poor people under certain units if it is rental. the second case that came out, which fits into a more complex scenario of how this goes down in the ensuing years -- that is the embassy case. what was disturbing about that case -- the city of santa monica had a settlement agreement. it was a settlement agreement with the landlord to continue to rent certain units as rental units. subsequently, the landlord decided they did not want to abide by that agreement. when they went to court, the court of appeals found and said the landlord has an absolute right to go out of the business of maintaining these units. that is a right which cannot be waived by a landlord for themselves or a subsequent

landlord. further, we do not need to look at the underlying agreement the tenants are raising. it is not relevant. do not care what kind of agreement it is. presumably would not care if it is a development agreement. there is an absolute right to go out of business under ellis. the development agreement makes no attempt to deal with this. i am not sure there is much you could do about it. i think there are other aspects that may complicate how you would go about doing that. we could play out what that looks like over 10 years. but my point is that there is significant risk here. if i am advising tenants who live up there, i cannot talk to them with rosy-colored glasses and glowing optimism. i think it is highly questionable, not a good deal. have a distinguished it? -- i distinguished it? supervisor weiner: i don't know.

chairperson mar: last speakers, please. supervisor elsbernd: we are going to potentially have a lot more discussion on this, but for me, what i am going to need to hear -- you have not distinguished it on legal grounds. you have distinguished it on the notion of housing stock. but there is nothing in casta hawkins that says formerly hotel properties should be distinguished one way or the other. it is not a legal argument. >> one of the things you do as an attorney is analyze the risk under the circumstances to the parties. supervisor elsbernd: i understand. but we are talking about the law. your second point is about what is likely to occur or not. again, and i am not looking for an answer today, because there is no vote today. show me something that says in casta hawkins this is something

that is likely to be sold or not. you are not making legal discussions. >> sometimes the law opens you up to a risk, but how that will play out will be different. supervisor elsbernd: you are not making legal distinctions. you are making property distinctions. if you are going to make the argument that this is different than trinity, i am going to need you to make legal arguments. right now, you are just making value choices. you are not making legal distinctions, in my eyes. >> i think those judgments would be shared by many. thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am the director of the san francisco apartment association. at this hearing today, i would like to speak in support of the parkmerced development. i think the addition of 6000

rental units to our city would be helpful, and adding more supply and keeping rents down so folks can find an affordable place to live -- if we want to talk about the merits of the product or legal aspects of the project, i agree both sides can lawyer up and fight it out amongst themselves. you will probably come out with two different opinions. the only opinion that really matters to all of you is the city attorney's opinion, and we have the city attorney here today. so i am not sure how this is a valid hearing without the city attorney weighing in on this. thank you. if we need more advocates at the next meeting on this issue and more attorneys, let me know and i will bring my crew out to speak also. thank you for your time. chairperson mar: mr. paulson? >> i used to live in parkmerced

in the way back when, in one of the towers. ♪ parkmerced city spirit moved me every time i am near and you were like the project sponsor in my mind could it be parkmerced city magic? major building fast could it be the city magic, parkmerced at last? let me take you and show you the building's height upon a steady building district high up were the buildings meet the sun could it be building magic

i want parkmerced magic last to last please make it work a right tonight, mcgee last -- make it last ♪ chairperson mar: thank you. is there anyone else who would like to speak? anybody else that would like to speak? seeing none, public comment is closed. colleagues, are other comments or questions? supervisor weiner: i pressed on mr. yearney on this issue. the reason i did that is because i remember the time when trinity was under consideration and we had this wonderful solution where we got to dramatically increase the amount of rental housing in mid market.

we do not often create a lot of new rental housing in san francisco. and we got to take care of the tenants. we got an agreement with the landlord. there seemed to be a lot of support for that. it seemed to be a good blueprint for future projects where you have this tension between new construction and rent control. it seems to be a way around that. that is why i have been listening carefully to the arguments by some of the tenant advocates about the costa hawkins issues. whatever anyone's views are on the merits of the project, it does create thousands of new rental units and there is a very elaborate plan for accommodating the rent-controlled tenants while still creating the units. i just wanted to explain why it was that i was asking these

questions, and the concern i have expressed over the apparent change between trinity and today. i just wanted to know that. thank you. chairperson mar: any closing comments? i does want to thank everyone for testifying today, especially the planning department, about the vision you are promoting of the development and the community benefits associated with it, building more complete neighborhoods, as others mentioned. i also acknowledge the job center being created in sunset that will create a more livable community. i keep going back to catherine -- kathryn moore's statement about how common open space is a valued part of how people live. i visited michael's garden apartment. the value of a shared common

backyard space with patios and other amenities is something i am not sure it is being acknowledged as people are being relocated into new towers. i also heard clearly from visiting the garden apartments of the generations of people that have grown up and lived there, from ganed -- from grandkids to their kids -- commissioner marshall mentioned the loss of many of these families is a potential danger as well. but i realize it is a balance. my key concerns are on the enforceability of protecting rent ctrol units and concerns about demolishing sound housing communities that have developed over generations. i will continue to look for the city attorney's memo and will be asking about the business lincoln place issue -- venice lincoln place issue and how we can prevent people from facing

those fears. thank you so much. there are plenty of other opportunities where people will testify. coming up tomorrow is the appeals of the e r -- of the eir. if there are no other questions, is there any other business before us? >> what action would you like to take with this? chairperson mar: this was a hearing. what do we call it? >> would you like to continue it to the call of the chair? chairperson mar: yes, without objection. >> there are no further items. chairperson mar: with that, meeting adjourned. thank you, everyone.

there are so many ways that the internet provides real access to real people and resources and that's what we're try to go accomplish. >> i was interested in technology like video production. it's interesting, you get to create your own work and it reflects what you feel about saying things so it gives perspective on issues. >> we work really hard to

develop very in depth content, but if they don't have a venue, they do not have a way to show us, then this work is only staying here inside and nobody knows the brilliance and the amazing work that the students are doing. >> the term has changed over time from a very basic who has a computer and who doesn't have a computer to now who has access to the internet, especially high speed internet, as well as the skills and the knowledge to use those tools effectively. . >> the city is charged with coming up with digital inclusion. the department of telecommunications put together a 15 member san francisco tech connect task force. we want the digital inclusion program to make sure we address the needs of underserved vulnerable communities, not communities that are already very tech savvy. we are here to provide a, b and

c to the seniors. a stands for access. b stands for basic skills and c stands for content. and unless we have all three, the monolingual chinese seniors are never going to be able to use the computer or the internet. >> a lot of the barrier is knowledge. people don't know that these computers are available to them, plus they don't know what is useful. >> there are so many businesses in the bay area that are constantly retiring their computer equipment that's perfectly good for home use. computers and internet access are helping everybody in the community and people who don't have it can come to us to help with that. one of the biggest problems we see isn't whether people can get computers through programs like ours, but whether they can understand why they need a computer. really the biggest issue we are facing today is helping people understand the value of having a computer. >> immediately they would say can i afford a computer? i don't speak any english.

how do i use it. then they will start to learn how to do email or how to go back to chinese newspaper to read all the chinese newspaper. >> a lot of the barrier still is around lack of knowledge or confusion or intimidation and not having people in their peer network who use computers in their lives. >> the important thing i learned from caminos was to improve myself personally. when i first came to caminos, i didn't know anything about computers. the second thing is i have become -- i have made some great achievements as an individual in my family and in things of the world. >> it's a real issue of self-empowerment where new immigrant families are able to communicate with their families at home, able to receive news and information in their own home language, really become more and more connected with the world as well as connected even inside their local

communities. >> if we value the diversity of our city and we value our diverse neighborhoods in the city, we need to ensure that they remain economically viable. equiping them and equiping residents in those areas with jobs that will enable them to stay in san francisco is critical to that. >> the important thing that i see here at caminos is it helps the low income community, it helps the women who wouldn't have this opportunity otherwise. >> the workers with more education in san francisco are more likely to be able to working that knowledge sector. where they are going to need that familiarity with the internet, they are going to find value with it and use it and be productive with it every day. and half of the city's population that's in the other boat is disconnected from all that potential prosperity. >> we really need to promote content and provide applications that are really relevant to people's lives here. so a lot of the inspiration,

especially among the immigrant community, we see is communications with people from their home country but we as much want to use the internet as a tool for people to connect within the local san francisco community. >> i think it's our job as public educators to give them this access and give them this opportunity to see that their efforts are being appreciated beyond their immediate reach. >> you have to blend this idea of community network with computer equipment with training and with support. we can pull all that together, then we've got it. >> it's as much about social and economic justice -- in fact it's more about social and economic justice than justst