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for the next steps, go to knowhow2go.org. president olague: good evening. this is a special joint hearing between the san francisco planning commission and the treasure island authority board. before i take roll, if i can just ask everyone to turn off your cell phones, any pagers, any computers, anything that may sound off during these proceedings, we would very much appreciate it. roll call for the planning commission. president christina olague. >> here. >> vice president ron miguel. >> here. >> antonini. >> here. >> borden? >> here. >> kathrin moore? >> here. >> and mr. sugaya. >> here. >> president claudine cheng.

>> here. >> larry del carlo. >> present. >> john elberling. larry mazzolla. linda richardson and honorable jane kim is not seated tonight. thank you. commissioners, the first category on this joint agenda is public comment on agenda items where the public hearing is closed. and that's an opportunity for the public to speak prior to the certification or the commission's consideration of the certification of the final environmental impact report. that is the only item on this calendar that has already been heard in a public hearing, and the public hearing has been closed. so for all of you who want to speak on the certification of the environmental document, there are a number of cards, and they're all mixed up. so if the joint chairs would

allow, i would ask for those who want to speak to line up in the center aisle. president olague: that is the preferred way of dealing with it. thank you. and just so the public can be aware, this will be your only opportunity to address certification of the e.i.r. once the commission closes public comment in this category and they go into deliberation on the certification, the public hearing will be closed and your opportunity to speak will be lost. madam president? president olague: we'll take public comment tt -- at this time. >> and how much time? president olague: two minutes. >> the president has decided that she will allow two minutes per speaker to address them on the certification of the e.i.r. president olague: the microphone doesn't seem to be -- >> i'll turn it on.

try it now. >> hello. good evening. my name is judy west. i have been a member of the citizens advisory committee to the san francisco public utilities since 2004, attempting monthly briefings affecting the city's water and sewer system. i became alarmed about the treasure island project when i learned recently about the burden that's going to be placed on the p.u.c., which is not highlighted in your environmental review and yet, could seriously impact areas much larger than the subject redevelopment area. and so i want -- before that you conclude that this project will not have a negative impact on the conditions of the mainland sewer system, i would like to see that you review the scope of the proposed citywide sewer master plan and the sewer and water rates that are going to be required to pay for this. unlike the redevelopment agency, the p.u.c. is an

enterprise agency and must generate its own funds from water and sewer rates to fund their operations, as well as upgrades to the system, including $125 million sewer treatment plan that's proposed on treasure island. san francisco is decades behind in repair and replacement of the aging sewer system below the ground on the mainland due to voter-mandated freezes on water rates in the 1980's. the project sponsors are asking the city rate payers -- water rate payers to build an entirely new sewer plan for 8,000 new homes, when we don't have enough money to upgrade the system we have in the bayview, which deals with 80% of the city's waste water for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. it's the actual cost of the -- if the actual cost were paid for by the developers or by infrastructure bonds or whatever and then repaid by stimulating the local economy, these huge investments by the p.u.c. might make sense. but there's already conflicts about the amount of affordable

housing required or other public benefits, such that there's no guarantee that city, the developers or the p.u.c., which is what i'm concerned about, is going to be repaid for this investment. [chime] president olague: i just wanted to clarify that this is the only opportunity to speak to the e.i.r. you will have an opportunity to speak to the project at another time in the hearing. >> my name is dick millett. i'm a former president of the boosters neighborhood association. i'm speaking for myself. i just noticed in the little handout here, the project description doesn't address parking. it does talk about 8,000 homes, 500 hotel rooms, 100,000 square feet of office space. i don't believe the ridge can handle it. i don't think the ferries can handle it that don't exist. i question are we going to charge a toll to help out the

bridge, which keeps going up and up, or half a toll, because they'll be using half of the bridge? i live in a neighborhood where we're studying congested parking and it's going to cost me $3 or $6 to move around town. it cuts my ride in happen. are we going to do this with them? i think the plan is not well thought out completely, and i want to see that we have guaranteed transportation. we don't have guaranteed transportation in san francisco . all of these projects that we're doing, where we're increasing the density, we don't guarantee that we're going to have the transportation. thank you very much. president olague: thank you. >> good evening.

my name is paul and i'm a candidate for mayor of san francisco in november of 2011 and i speak on behalf of the citizens of the state of california and object to the whole proceedings where the e.i.r. is being accepted or certified for acceptance, when the property and the title of the treasure island belongs to the people of the state of california, not the u.s. navy. it was not the navy's to sell for $110 million and it's not private developers to develop. this is privatization of the public commons and i object to it. the value of one piece of property at 110 embark darrow is $6 million without any development. that's lands value alone. if you extrapolate that to treasure island, the property is worth $20 billion, that's b as in billion, 100,000 million. $6,000 million dollars. we sold this or allegedly tried

to sell it to lenar for $110 million. this is a rip-off. the ownership issue has not been settled. title has not cleared. the privatization of our commons is something that is extremely serious, especially when it's for private gain. this is something that absolutely has to stop. the land belongs to the people of california and i object to the consideration of the e.i.r. at this time on behalf of the people of california. thank you. president olague: thank you. >> good evening, commissioners and title board members. my name is gail gilman, the executive director of the community housing president buell: and a provider of homeless housing on treasure island for the last 10 years. . . i'm here tonight to urge you to approve the e.i.r. and also to understand that my comments extend to the rest of the hearing on matters of approving

the plan. this is a great opportunity for the city and county of san francisco to create a green transit-first community that will have over 400 units of housing for formerly homeless families and to give those families an opportunity to integrate into a safe, state-of-the-art community and break their cycle of homelessness and poverty. as we all know, many of our supported housing sites in san francisco are in disenfranchised and poor neighborhoods. this will be the first time that an emerging community will embrace individuals living in poverty and homelessness. this is an exciting 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