opportunities as a stea and i urge you to support it. groups like community partnership have been working for over a decade in this partnership, in partnership with lennar and the treasure island developers. while i know there is controversy and there's always planning and these things move at a rate in san francisco that some might think is slow, i fully endorse this plan and feel that this is the time, particularly with what's happening at the state level, that we move as a community to secure this housing for homeless individuals and the hundreds of units of affordable housing that will be there as well. i urge you to vote yes this evening. thank you. >> hello, my name is louise williams. i'm a local 22 carpenter and i want to approve this -- i want to endorse this project. it would create a lot of jobs, lots and lots of jobs. i am welfare to work. i've been working at least 12

years. and if it can work for me, it can work for a lot of people. and right now in our communities throughout san francisco, we are in dire need of employment all over. please, please push for this project to happen. thank you. >> good evening, president olague and commissioners from treasure island and planning commission, adrian siebe from carpenter's local 22, field representative. i have here tonight with me brothers and sisters from carpenters local 22. we have more downstairs. these are working carpenters. these are out-of-work carpenters, brothers and sisters. we're all together in this. this is an opportunity that we need to take advantage of. opportunities come and go. the ones you don't take, you never know. this is an opportunity we have to put carpenters to work and

local 22 would ask that you approve this e.i.r. and let us go to work. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is sue vaughn and i'm here speaking on behalf of the sierra club. the sierra club urges the san francisco planning commission to recirculate the treasure island -- the e.i.r. for the following reasons -- the project has changed substantially since it was initially approved by the treasure island development authority and the san francisco board of supervisors in 2006 and then updated in 2010, and then changed also earlier this year. to the sierra club finds that the amount of allowable parking is far too high. residential parking should be no more than one space for

every two units. and in fact, caltrans wrote a letter to the planning department yesterday noting that the san francisco-oakland bay bridge is already at capacity and no funds have been identified to undertake the multi-use project that would say lao people coming and going from the -- allow people coming and going to and from the island. the transit agency to the planning department dated august 20, 2010, notes that the project will create significant and unavoidable queuing at the approach to the bay bridge in san francisco. and the sierra club also poses a governance structure which gives the treasure island development authority and/or the developers complete civil authority over a piece of san francisco land. for example, money that is gathered from parking fees and fines normally goes to muni, but in this case it will stay with the governing authority on the island.

the sierra club also opposes the 17% decrease in planned affordable housing, which has now been limited to replacement of existing affordable housing only. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is shari williams and i'm the executive director of the initiative known as tie-dye. all of our members have written letters of support for the treasure island project to move forward. that includes the boys and girls club, catholic charity, c.y.o., mission hiring hall, rubecon program, and walden house. and we're here tonight to support the project and every one of your votes tonight. after a decade of planning it was, of course, very disappointsing that the governor proposed to eliminate re-development right at the time the project was going throughout approval process. this impacted the financing of the project, which resulted in the decrease of affordable housing units. this is hard, but the housing

plan does have specific provisions to restore this decrease by creating changes to the state i.f.d. laws. even with the decrease, there are 2,000 affordable housing units in the plan, 435 of which are for homeless families and individuals. it will also create thousands of construction and permanent jobs for san franciscans, 25% of which are for homeless and economically disadvantaged people, with a priority to those who live on treasure island. the plan also includes significant opportunities for nonprofit social enterprises and joint ventures that employ and train people with various employment. some of these business ventures are in place on the island today and have provided an opportunity for low-income people to live, work and thrive on treasure island. this model of placing job seekers living on the island will also assist in reducing the traffic impact on the bridge in addition to providing a stabilizing force for people who are rebuilding their lives. we sincerely hope you will support these efforts by approving the e.i.r. and moving this project forward. thank you.

>> good evening, commissioners and directors. my name is mark connors. i am a rest sent of -- resident of treasure island and yerba buena community group. i'm also a member of the citizens advisory boards and have been civically involved for the past 6 1/2 years. i was also married there and led the campaign to safety chapel in the redevelopment, which was worked into the e.i.r. i fully support the proposed development of tiybi. for 10 years there's been much thought and planning that has led to a thought-out plan and at some point we need to move forward to the next step and i believe that time is now. the development will lead to a better quality of life for residents and access to the benefits that rest of the city enjoys, things like grocery stores, entertainment, local jobs, affordable housing, etc. many of us have been waiting patiently for years on end now, some as long as 10 or 11 years

for the project to progress and i encourage the board and the commissioners to adon't the revised e.i.r. so the development of the property can move forward. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners, board mess. i'm leon winston, chief operating officer representing swords to plows shares representing 2,000 homeless people we serve each year. we're a founding member of tie-dye. been working on this project, on bringing homeless programs and housing to treasure island since 1997 and have been providing housing there since 2000. we strongly encourage you to approve the e.i.r. and all the items before you this evening. this is a wonderful opportunity for badly-needed housing. it will double the amount of homeless housing on the island in a community in which it will be integrated and out of the

tenderloin, out of areas of the city where, to date, most homeless programs are forced to locate. it's hundreds of veterans in our program have reclaimed their lives over the last 10 years on treasure island and we look forward to additional weather opportunities as part of the tie-dye plan and once again strongly urge you to support the plan and all the items before you this evening. thank you. >> commissioners, board members, i'm steve cravill, executive director of tool works, an official enterprise dedicated to providing and creating economic opportunities for people of low income san franciscans with disabilities. i urge you to support this project and every vote that comes before you this evening. tool works is a charter member of tie-dye. we have been on the island for 14 years. served more than 300 people in training and job placement.

the contracting opportunities provided through tie-dye, treasure island businesses, the coast guard, and our fellow c.b.o. have further provided employment opportunities for this population. thanks. >> good evening, commissioners and board members. my name is renee smith and i manage women and children's services for walden house, a large behavioral house. this evening i am urging you to approve the e.i.r. and to approve all of the items on your agenda related to the development of treasure island. walden house operates -- it is a women and children's substance abuse program on treasure island as well as transitional housing for women and women with children. over the last nine years we have been phenomenally successful with the program on

treasure island and have re-unified many women with their children and additionally have gotten them employment and housing. many of the women would love to live on treasure island, however, have not been able to have that opportunity, and they tend to do quite well when they do. it also would be a great thing to be able to have them not leave the island to get employment and do a variety of activities with their families. so this is just a tremendous opportunity for homeless women and children and for all of the homeless population that tie-dye serves, and i encourage you, this is the time. thank you. >> good evening. my name is jeff, the executive director of catholic charities, c.y.o., a member of tie-dye. and since about 20 pioneer families moved out of homelessness and into permanent support of housing in 1989, we have been there with them, supporting them. today we are supporting almost

200 formerly homeless families on the island. in addition, we run the child development center, where we have about 60 children of those families. i would encourage you this evening to certify the e.i.r., as well as approve all the other items that come to you this evening. i would ask you to consider the incredibly positive environmental impact of housing of formerly homeless families and the fact that hundreds of children now are graduating high school. the families are stabley housed. and this incredible community at treasure island has been living there for up to 10 years without basic infrastructure, without a supermarket, without a public school, and the need for that infrastructure is now. this incredible tie-dye program is a godsend both to the families as well as the community. we believe it's time we move forward and we greatly encourage you to do so.

thank you. >> good evening, members of the planning commission and treasure island authority. my name is tom, and i'm here representing the san francisco board sailing association. we've worked long and hard with the city. i want to acknowledge our thanks again to the city working with us and with the navy to open up the island and give access to the island for board sailors over these last five to 10 years. a year ago or even six months ago or even three months ago we would have been supportive of this plan. however in, the last few months the plan has changed and we're just not sure. there was formerly in the plan a clearly-shown access to the water and two access points and parking. many changes have taken place to the plan.

even our ceqa -- in-house ceqa expert has had trouble following all the changes. we'd like to ensure that planning commission and the treasure island authority at large understand that the water immediately adjacent to the island is one of the premiere windsurfing and board sailing and kite surfing spots in the united states. i brought copies of the pages i'd like to pass out after i speak that clearly show, i think, the changes, and it's just too vague. we'd like to point out that these sports, as with big-boat sailing, are equipment intensive. while we'd all like to be able to take public transit out to the island, it's not feasible to carry this stuff on a bus. he we need a rigging area, parking areas. in the 2006 plan, they were showing 125 parking spaces. however, in the 2011 plan, we can't find any.

the transportation implementation plan -- this is figure 3.10, page 38. thank you. president olague: thank you. where's the clerk? you can, i guess, leave them up here. >> good evening, commissioners, directors, i'm ken cleveland, representing the building owners and managers association. we represent commercial real estate interests throughout the city, and the bulk of the high-rise office buildings in the city. many of our members' projects have come before this body, before the planning commission, for approval. but few, few have had or will have the impact that this treasure island development will have on the city. as you've heard from many of the speakers already tonight, so much good is going to happen from this project.

and it's been studied and it's been studied, and there's public hearing and there's been public hearing, and i think the time now is for some action. we're in a recession. we're coming out of a recession. we need to get people back to work. we need to expands the city's tax base. this project is a marvelous project. we are blessed in san francisco to have these kinds of redevelopment opportunities. so i say don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good and approve this e.i.r. and approve the subsequent approvals for the project. thank you very much. >> good evening. my name is wilhelmina parker and i'm the business and community director of treasure island job corps. we're located on treasure island and we serve youth between the ages of 16 to 24, and we have in excess of 600 students currently. one of the things that has proved to be an extremely motivating climate and a vision of tomorrow for our students

who are engaged in a variety of trades, including the construction trades, looking at green jobs, has been an extremely motivating vision of jobs for the future, as conveyed by the redevelopment team. they spent the time to communicate a transparent process of the we've talked about opportunities that might involve the students and going the extra mile in studying and doing the due diligence to become versed in the work that they will be practicing. it is a delit to know that these students will have the capacity to have jobs that are high-paying, quality and really validate the work that they put into their training. thank you. >> hi, my name it levina da silva, i'm the clubhouse director for boys and girls clubs of san francisco located on treasure island. i'm here to support the e.i.r. and all the items on the agenda. i want to thank tie-dye for all their support for the past 11

years since we've been here on treasure island. we've seen our families really rehabilitate and we work closely with our families and have been extremely successful. we're really excited about this development, and just really looking about more of the opportunities that it comes. with 2,000 units currently, we have 6 to 18-year-olds and around 400 children a year that are on the island in summer at school. we see that being an amazing opportunity. we're one of nine clubhouses, and what i found -- i've been with the organization for over 15 years. treasure island is amazing. just breaking a locality of the barriers that our youth see every day. it's amazing, it's beautiful and it's an amazing community. and we provide wrap around service, mental health services, academic success, teen services, job readiness, outdoor education and healthy lifestyles. and if we move forward with the projects, which i really hoping

we will, it will be amazing for our youth and our families and our parents. thank you. >> good evening. my name is john stewart, and i'm here to support the treasure island project enthusiastically. our company became involved in 1999 at treasure island when it was empty. we entered into a leasehold agreement at the time and invested $10 million in the moderate rehab of the navy units at that time. the youth -- the use is interim, not permanent. we now have approximately 1,000 residents that are still on our lease out there. treasure eeled has a particular fond spot in my heart, because would like to see its

reincarnation in a positive way. i'm dating myself, so don't do any mental arithmetic. we have been working with a firm for many years now and they've been transparent, very direct, very thorough, very professional in the transition plan. and in the course of that involvement, as we segue from our interim lease, which originally had 650 residents, now has 400 and some odd leases. we've looked at their plan fairly carefully, and i have three comments. one pertains to the use of public transportation. so we have, i would offer, some empirical data on who uses public transportation and who doesn't. our survey, which is very current, because we update it every month, shows this -- we have 991 residents that live in -- that are in our leases,

which are the market rate portion of what's out on the island. they are all over 18. of that amount, 80% use the bus. of that 80%, that would be 700 -- [chime] president olague: thank you. >> 80% use the bus. president olague: thank you. >> good evening, commissioners and board members. i'm scott with the bay area council. we'd like to strongly support the project, certify the e.i.r. and approve the project tonight. the council is a member organization of about the top 300 businesses in the bay area, with about 4.5 million employees and approximately $2 trillion in worldwide revenues. the problem here is the region in his trouble. there's a lack of housing, a lack of affordability, there's

congestion, conflicting regulations. there's different growth projection that is are not going to be able to sustain the region. one of the best ways to solve a regional problem is to look at infill projects that are significant, that are positive, and that will reduce our carbon footprint. this is in line with all of the state-mandated sp-75, all of the community strategy goals. this project -- it's fundamentally and it significantly moves not only the city, but also the region forward in what we're trying to accomplish. in addition, it creates jobs, it creates housing, it creates retail and commercial space and improves not only the business environment, but also the quality of life for the region. so i strongly urge you to certify the e.i.r. and approve the project tonight. thank you very much. >> good evening, commissioners. i'm tim, executive director of the action coalition.

it's fair and balanced and addresses the environmental issues appropriately. on the question of housing, which we strongly, strongly support, we deeply mourn the loss of those 400 affordable housing units. but that's much more the fault of the economy and the questionable status of the redevelopment agency than anything else. we would support doug shoemaker's suggestion that if the economy improves and conditions improve, that first call be put on funding to restore the affordability as it was before. on the question of transportation, what we really, really like is the sharp emphasis that has been placed on reducing private auto use. this is clearly the direction development like this and re-use of old bases like this has got to go. we hear controversy about the bridge, but the idea that commuters are going to go out to treasure island and then say, great, i'll get on the bridge and drive down 101 to go to silicon valley doesn't make any sense. they won't come here.

similarly, that folks would come out to treasure island and say, great, i'm going to drive my car to downtown san francisco, where there's 15 minute of headway ferry service doesn't make any sense. we like that they're dee emphasizing it, providing other alternatives, not making it easy for driving and charging for it, and using that to funds trance it. because the success of this will stands or fall on how it works on transportation. and then on the question of -- well, i think we shouldn't be bound by what exists today in terms of cars and bridges and what not. it's a 20-year buildout, and $6 to $8 gasoline will take care of a lot of problems, which we might very well see at the time this is finishing being built. and then on the question we've heard some stuff on the seismic issues, a tsunami. in a former life i was a geologyist. those are engineering calculations, not environmental impacts. president olague: thank you.

>> good evening, commissioners and directors. i'm peter, representing the san francisco planning and urban research association. spur has been supportive of this project for many years. we work very hard to make sure that the density increased enough to allow for commercial and for ferries and so on, which it wouldn't have in the original project design. so we urge you to support the -- vote for the e.i.r. and the other items on this agenda. and i want to point out that treasure island is very special because there's no other land in san francisco where you can create a wonderful 21st century sustainable transit-oriented neighborhood. because we're out of land. so this is the opportunity to show the world what we can do with our talents and our

abilities, and so we should do it. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners and supervisors. my name is mimi manning, and i'm a member of the board of directors of the treasure island museum association. over the last several years the developers have been very supportive of our organization as we re-envision our museum for the next chapter of the island's life. we look forward to working with the developers and citizen groups in making treasure island a wonderful new neighborhood and resource for all of us. we hope that this project will move forward, in spite of the existing conflicts, which we hope can be resolved fairly. thank you very much. >> good evening, i'm andy thornly with the bicycle coalition. i'll limit my comments to the

transportation issues of the ceqa analysis. we're concerned and skeptical. the parking ratios are probably too great. but as previous speakers have said, we are evolving towards unaffordable driving, and the peels of this project that compels us to afford -- piece of this project that compels us is the pricing. this product has the state's first roadway pricing strategy in place. it is legislated as ready to go. and we have faith and will work to make that the control. if you own a car and live on treasure island, i will have to pay to drive off of the island. we will be able to turn up that number until it is not appealing for you to drive off the island. that's an important planning aspect of this project and it's part of why we're excited about the project. we did review the e.i.r. we make comments. you know we come and we speak to you and all of our comments

had responses that we were satisfied with having to do with bicycle circulation, and especially anticipating pedestrians and bicycle access on the brinl. that access does not exist today. we're certain it will. we will work to make that access exist. it has to exist. and in 20 years it will exist. in 10 years it will exist. so we can't be planning for next year. we have to plan for 10 and 20 years from now. so, again to, the extent that the transportation analysis had any issues that we commented on, our comments were responded to, we look to the pricing control to be effective and a pioneering measure in discouraging private auto ownership. thank you. president olague: thank you. >> good evening. i'm abby and i work with catholic health care west at st. francis memorial hospital, and we are here tonight to urge you to pass the e.i.r. and the related legislation.

we have been impressed in the planning of the treasure island community that's taken so many considerations and factors that impact health and are really looking forward to working with the various community agencies and our partner, mercy housing, to ensure that the health delivery system is there to serve the very healthy population. we won't have much to do. so thank you very much. >> good evening, commissioners and directors. my name is john, and i'm the general manager of rubecon landscape. our mission is to prepare low-income people to achieve national independence. we support the development and urge your support of all the issues being considered tonight because our presence at treasure island has helped us provide numerous opportunities for very disadvantaged people. we've been on treasure island since 1992 when we did

landscape work for the u.s. navy. and we've been there ever since. all our hiring and entry-level workers is through the tie-dye and we have created over 70 long-term jobs for disadvantaged san francisco residents. we focus on individuals with a history of homeless and similar barriers. we help them by providing steady employment, a supportive environment, medical and other benefits, job training to make them professional landscapers, and this builds confidence and determination. we strongly support this development because it gives us more opportunities to help more people. thank you. >> hi, my name is dave alexander. i'm an employee of rubecon. nine years ago i was at rock bottom, homeless, jobless, etc. within those nine years they offered me a job landscaping. i now ha help of