tv [untitled] April 24, 2011 8:00pm-8:30pm PDT
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keep the island clean and green. thank you. >> good evening, board members and commissioners. my name is peter mccaffrey, the owner of wine valley catering and pavilion by the bay. i'd love to encourage you to support the e.i.r. and the whole agenda this evening. we supply real jobs to real people that live on the island, and in this economy, it is so needed. some positive news for so many individuals. i feel that this project is wonderful for the environment, it's wonderful for san francisco, and i just strongly encourage you guys to support it. thank you very much. >> good evening, commissioners. i am currently owning a business and a resident at treasure island. the address is 2 avenue of the
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palms. and i'm there on a daily basis. i see a fair amount of people, tourists and other people. most of the customers are tourists. they come to the store. and when they come, they ask me what's on this island, can you pass through the gate? i told them yes. it's residential. and they ask if there's restaurants, is there shops, is there things that we can buy on the island? and i have to tell them no. basically you get the feelings and you feel how they -- the look on their face, that they're kind of disappointed. as far as san francisco, why is nothing here? they ask a lot of questions that i'm not able to answer, except tell them that there's some new development coming soon. that's all i can tell them. they are really excited. i think the island will be a good place for tourists and people to live and businesses as well, and i'm very supportive of this project. thank you very much.
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>> good evening, commissioners and title board members. my name is betty mackey. this is my seventh year of residence on y.b.i. i live with a lifelong disability and i'm hanging on by my fingernails to hang on to my apartment in a safe neighborhood. i'm asking you for the disapproval of the transition housing plan as it exists today and for the creation and fair and reasonable plan which will include rental housing offered on y.b.i. for returning residents and affordable purchaseable housing offered on y.b.i. for returning residents as well. in addition, i'm asking for relocation options in safe, clean housing throughout san francisco, not just on treasure island. i am an older woman. i'm living with a disability which makes me incapable of outrunning anybody. i simply cannot move to a higher crime-rate neighborhood. the relocation must offer an option to relocate me to an equally safe neighborhood. please don't make me a victim with this existing transition
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housing plan. i offer for your perusal crime-mapping statistics which compare yerba buena island versus treasure island and the crime rate on treasure island is 2500% higher than yerba buena island. thank you for your time. >> hello supervisors and commissioners in. my name is brian. i've been on the island for three years. i currently am on the island due to commercial ventures. i come from a different perspective. the new winery just opened six months ago. a lot of people encouraged me from moving forward and doing business on treasure island. it is difficult to get to and nobody will ever come out. we have seen a lot of support, not only from the treasure island development authority but
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also from the community. people are looking for reasons to come out to treasure island, if you look at what my pred -- predecessor said, people come to the gate and ask what is on treasure island. he has to tell them nothing. well, there is starting to be something. there are businesses that are bringing people out to the island. in our first six months we've had 10,000 tourists and people out to the winery and we have seen this development as being something that could be great for the city and something that we know are going to be transitioned and are going to have to work with the developers with the transition but we see it as a good thing for san francisco overall. we have ended up hiring a number of people. we have created jobs and we have created something to do on the island, so we are in support of the efforts mere here to develop the island and we see it as a challenging and realistic goal
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and we think it could be a great part of san francisco. thank you. >> good evening commissioners, supervisors. my name is tony rodriguez and represent the fire union. i'm in support of the e.i.r. i feel it is a well thought out project. on another note, though, a lot of people, construction workers or represent construction workers who haven't worked in a year, a year and a half, during the recession, construction is the last industry to come out of the recession. right now, a lot of these construction workers are hanging on and don't have a lot to look forward to. a lot of the work has disappeared now. that won't happen for maybe a year or two years. a project like this will supply
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a lot of work. i guess we're here to approve or disapprove of the e.i.r. i urge you to approve the e.i.r. and not delay the project that would allow many construction workers to work. thank you. >> commissioners, board members. mibling, construction and building council. i think we have read recently about tsunamis and the effect of earthquakes on the island. i recently had occasion to read a fairly detailed droichings how the island would be reengineered. the work that is involved is work that we can do and do well. public transportation, there will be a brand new ferry terminal, a primary connection with the city of san francisco that does not now exist. that is work that we can also do well, the construction of that ferry terminal. there will be thousands of units of new housing that the city
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needs eds but in a neighborhood that -- needs but in a neighborhood that is well contained. it is work that we can do well and work that we want to do and work that we need. thank you. >> good evening. i'm here in support to have e.i.r. i'm also in support of getting our members back to work. we have to get them off the out of work list and often unemployment. this is very important. this is very important. i think it is very important that we understand what's going on here and that we need housing and that we need jobs for our members. thank you. >> good evening commissioners. eric brooks speaking on behalf of san francisco green party and the local grassroots organization of our city. those of you who have already heard me speak about tsunami
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danger please listen. the san francisco green party in our city also just as sierra club insists this e.i.r. be recirculated. it is extremely deficient. you have seen my remarks hopefully about sea level rise. since those remarks, we have seen the japan tsunami happen. we have seen reports and n many newspapers about what would happen in the case of a similar tsunami from alaska which would raise at least by 10 feet the water level in an immediate sense around treasure island in the midst of that kind of an event. since then, however, i have also learned, and please look this up before you make a vote on this e.i.r., you can look it up online. look up cascadia zone, the fault off the coast of canada, washington, oregon and california and it is a fault
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that if it had a serious earthquake, it had one 300 years ago. it has one ever 300 years. it is a tsunami events. we are due for one and it would raise the water levels much higher. instead of four hours from alaska, it would be less than 30 minutes. the idea that you're going to evacuate 20,000 people from treasure island in 30 minutes is absolutely crazy. this e.i.r. must be redone because of that factor. and in the e.i.r. itself, it says people will be evacuated on ferries during a tsunami. you have got to be crazy. if you saw what happened in santa cruz, you know that people will die if that happens. it is also suggested in the e.i.r. that people can shelter in the higher floors of buildings. if you watched what happened in japan, buildings caught onfire because the salt water interfered with electrical
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systems. that is not an option. this e.i.r. must be recirculated. finally, staff has admitted to these inadequacies in these hearings and said this is a matter of emergency design and not design for the project itself and so it doesn't have to be in the -- that is insane. this has to go back. >> thank you. >> good evening. i'm president of the treasure island family center foundation, a non-profit based on treasure island for the past 10 years. i'm here in support over the e.i.r. on behalf of our board and the children and individuals that we have served through our programs. we are very proud to put 1,200 kids through our programs each year. most of which have not had experience on the waters in the past and have some sort of form
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of scholarship, but we can do better. the plans that we have been working on for the past 10 years with the treasure island community development, will give san francisco an excellent resource, an excellent place for our community and our citizens to go sailing and be able to have access to the bay. there are cities across the country that have fewer citizens, less desirable places to sail that have done a great job of getting them access to the water. we can do better. we will do better but the project needs to move forward in order to do that. the time is now. the america's cup is coming to san francisco. we're all very excited about that, but let's make sure it is not just the professional sailors that are getting out there on the water and that the rest of our citizen consist go sailing. so, please, approve the e.i.r. let's move the project forward and support the rest of the
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measures that will be heard tonight. thank you. >> good evening. my name is becky hogue and i'm a resident of treasure island. i have been for almost eight years. i would encourage you to vote yes on the e.i.r. and the whole plan. i know people say they don't want to move down to treasure island but why not? we have a very good community on treasure island. we're safe. you're going to find crime anywhere you go. we look forward to the people moving down with us and being part of our community because we feel that both islands are a community. the housing transitional plan that is in place now is really good. it really -- they didn't have to look after us as well as they have. i'm in a situation where a while back on treasure island there were 54 units that had to move because of the housing that went back and they treated us well
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then and i believe they will continue to treat us well. i encourage you to vote yes on the e.i.r. and the whole plan. it is exciting. we're excited that the island is going to be a very fun place to be and we want to be there to continue it. so i encourage you on a yes vote and i hope that these people will give it a chance and give us a chance. thank you. >> thank you. >> good evening commissioners and directors. i'm here to speak in behalf of the san francisco golden gate rug by club in support of the proposal, particularly the open space in the recreational areas. san francisco golden gate rug by club is one of the premier clubs in the united states with. we support three men's teams. one of which was a national champion two years ago.
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last year we hosted a number of national events but more importantly, we also have three high school teams. we have. 300 kids from the ages 5-14 who play in the development leagues playing in the different brands of this game that will be in the olympics, the next olympic cup. we work with the developers. we developed this field and the clubhouse and built the field and renovated the old p.x. and i would advise any of you who have not been here to come back, we have something going on. on saturdays we have the men's clubs playing on on sundays we have the youth league which brings kids from all over northern california in to play on this remarkable field that we have. we urge you to support the proposal. i have letters of support, which
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i will leave here. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. directors. my name is christopher. i'm a resident for the last 11 years now. some of you have seen me speak and patiently, a lot of us are still there. i'm here tonight to express our enthusiastic support for the project and ask you to approve the matters brought before you tonight. we know that those issues are not quite resolved yet. we know there is issues that will arise to make this a new community in san francisco. we know environmental impact reports must be based on what is important to us now and in 50 years from now. we respect your notions to take great care of the environment,
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traffic, low income and regular housing. we trust that you will make the right decisions in the future to make this a wonderful community and i hope -- may i speak frankly for the island residents which will get the notice to evacuate the premises very soon. we hope that you'll make it happen and that we will have a great place to live afterwards and stay together as a community. thank you. >> good evening commissioners in. my name is patrick from the athletic association. we very much support this project for the very many positive aspects of the project. we feel that the positives far outweigh the perceived or real negatives to have project. but what we really like about this project is the fact that out of the 400-acre development, 300 acres are open space and out of that 300 acres of open space, 40 acres have been set aside
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specifically for sports fields. i represent an organization that represents thousands of children in san francisco and indirectly thousands more to the boys and girls club, ymca, etc.. what the kids in san francisco are literally crying out for is more quantity and quality playing fields. to help fill that void. it will also be a base for the local organizations, sporting organizations already existing on the island. the local and regional sports facilities which will draw kids from all around the bay area. when the kids come to sport on treasure island when this facility is developed, they will bring with them their parents and probably their pets be they on leash or off leash. the parent also spend much nb
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local stores and restaurants. if they get bored watching their children play america's great pasttime, they can very easily take a short walk around the perimeter of the island and they will experience views that are unparalleled anywhere else in the world. i urge you to move this forward. thank you very much. >> my name is tony and i'm from the plumber's union and i'm here to speak favor of the approval tho environmental impact report. i'm one of the representatives of the union of 2100 members. 35% of them are out of work on the construction side. many of them up to 2-2 1/2 years now. we need the jobs. the construction industry is the last industry to come back in
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the recession and i would urge your approval and try to get this thing going so that our construction industry can start to make a comeback here in san francisco. thank you. >> good evening. my name is tony cantnor. let me say it would ruin its iconic stature. there is no way to mitigate its impact, which would be monstrous. before you take action, you should be very clear where and to what extent radioactive components are present. hunters point and the hunters point mantra that it is the navy's responsibility. the e.i.r. states page 4 p 15 that there are only two sites with radioactive implications. sites 12 and building 233.
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but there are other sites including 31-33 and site 12, which makes up nearly 25% of the island, a claim that only a small sporgs contaminated is not accurate. the popular plutonium 229 has made an appearance. everywhere they have looked for it they have found it. remember, if the ground water is very high, you can put activated material in a foot of water and not see it. potentially much of the island is toxic. last week i went to treasure island to review it and it is public. i was told the minutes were not yet available for 2010 much less 2011. that is a cover up. first the island should be completely surveyed for
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contamination. at the end of the day, the navy will be presenting -- should you consider certifying the e.i.r. thank you. >> thank you. >> good evening commissioners and board members. my name is nancy shanahan here to urge you to please require the e.i.r. to be revised and recirculated to what are inadequate responses to comments, the main reasons for this request are the fundamental changes in the project description and objective since the draft e.i.r. and the comments and responses document were published on march 10. changes that are likely to impact the fiscal environment
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and the public has not had an opportunity to comment on. the changes started with the decision to abandon financing for i.d.f. financing and it has resulted in an increase in the amount of affordable house. that this has led to other changes. first the mayor's office has discussed new project alternatives that would reduce the loss of affordable housing by eliminating parks and other public benefits that were a pat of the description and objectedives. such alternatives must be analyzed and revised in recirculated e.i.r. second, because of the change in financial structure, a whole land use scheme has been proposed in the form of area plans and special special use district legislation but with a unique twist. all normal city planning principles will be handed over
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to an inexperienced body unaccountable to the public and the body politic in san francisco. in fact, that body will be a non-profit corporation and redevelopment agencies if they are abolished. part of these new land-use controls -- thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good evening. tom mccarthy. i'm a member of the carpenter's union. i have lived in the northeastern part of the city for 50 years. i have seen what has happened to that part of the city. it has been lost to low-income people. we have now the chance to build a new community which will
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embrace low-income people and i look forward to being able to see that from the part of the city that i live in now. there is no better time for the city to commit itself to a project such as this. the needs of the people of this city are -- you all know, are very great. and if we can proceed on this, you have seen from so many different groups, agencies, well-being of the cities as a whole, it is unmanageable to me that we cannot see to it that we continue to bring our interest to bear as this project unfolds including environmental concerns. there will be environmental concerns from here on out. we have the people here in the city that are more than capable of bringing the political and policy pressures to bear to make good on those concerns.
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i strongly encourage you to pass this e.i.r.. thank you. >> good evening, kathleen duely. i just want to add my voice to make sure this be reviewed again. too many changes so close to the hearing with not enough time to go over the changes and also my primary concern is public safety. i can't imagine why people are chuckling about the possibility of an earthquake. we all know we're in an earthquake zone. and to think that you're going to get 250,000 people off an island by fer -- 20,000 people off an island by ferry is insane. are you going to feel a little bit bad whern that happens and -- when that happens and many, many people die? i think it is worth spending a little more time on this e.i.r.. we all want to see treasure island developed but this is a huge thushu and it needs more
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time to be looked at. thank you. >> hello, my name is ed jeopardieson. i've been -- jepson and i've been a carpenter in this area for 23 years. we had an earthquake and i'm here to tell you that construction has ways to deal with these catastrophes. we have been dealing with them commercially and residently for years. and i also want to tell you that in 1989 while i was working as a carpenter, i also was able to put my daughter through college. she became a schoolteacher here and with the help of the union, now i have a son that is an apprentice and he is looking for work. so i would like to think that it is good for the city to give jobs to young people that can
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make themselves self-sufficient and contribute back to the city and our culture. thank you. >> my name is richard hanson. i've been involved in treasure island since 1978. 1948 when i first came here on the battleship iowa and landed here at treasure island. i think the project is very exciting. i think there are many rewards and i certainly am not opposed to making opportunities for people to have low-cost housing and jobs and especially the playing fields. it is a good way to keep people out of trouble, but in the morning newspaper, the "morning examiner" there is a map of treasure island but there is not indication that there is a sea wall around it. i think the one thing that they have learned, especially in japan in the last six weeks, is
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that tsunamis are very serious business. the full expectation is that the normal sea level will rise six or eights or 10 feet. these are predictable that it will happen sometime in the next 100 years. and i'm really concerned about who'll pay the cost of putting that sea wall up, which i think is going to be inevitable and what responsibility will the city of san francisco have if there is a devastating tsunami that wipes out all of that real estate without being bizarre about it, causes the death of many, many thousand s of people. we need to think about the thank you. >> my name is linda spence and i
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live on telegraph hill. i feel i share the views of many of my neighbors when i express support for the redevelopment of treasure island and i hope that you will approve the yire. -- e.i.r. thank you. >> good evening. my name is bob middlestock. i'm a residents of telegraph hill. first i want to indicate my strong support for this project. i would like to design and build things and i'm confident that the design team that will be hired to execute this project will take into account all of the negative factors that have been brought up here and there are many more i'm sure. i also want to make it clear that many of our fellow residents on telegraph hill do residents on telegraph hill do not agree with the t.h.d.
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