thanks. >> hello, commissioners. i'm sorry, but it's my turn. you had your turn. >> ms. avery, if you could -- i don't know. >> i thought i was up next. good afternoon. i do reside at 2651 post street. i've been in the neighborhood for quite a long time. i really appreciate the need for the emancipated youth. i support booker t. and the wonderful service they provide the community. i myself have been mentoring a child for six years from big brother, big sister who lives in a very at-risk neighborhood. so i really appreciate the compromise that's been brokered by supervisor farrell, and i appreciate, also, the spirit of the community to come together and find something that will work for all. i do like -- i would like to

see the commetion of the -- the completion of the project in due time. the building needs to go and would love to see something appreciative by all and provides services to the community and falls within the height limitation for the zone as it is. i would like to see further reduction in size and scale. please bear in mind we're adding 41 units where there are zero housing units. the impasse on the traffic is already evident by the coming and going with the youth gymnasium and will become a little bit more of an increase, we all understand that but do believe there is further room to find a sweet spot that everybody would be happy with. thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> mr. fakudo. wanted to speak and their parents are waiting. would that be ok with you? ok. brittany scott and sarah -- ok. thank you, mr. fakuda.

i'd like to have -- the youth to have the opportunity to participate in the process. but sometimes they have school constraints and whatnot. and don't worry, we're only taking two. >> they all want to be seen. >> exactly. i guess we can start the clock for one and then the other. >> my name is brittany and i've been at booker t. for a year now and what i like about is how they take us a lot on field trips and do a lot of activities like girl scouts that we are in, most of us. and they sometimes take us on

trips to six flags and stuff. >> thank you. and our second speaker. >> i've been going to booker t. for four years and the past four years, all the staff members, they've been respectful, taking us on good field trips, having good snack. and i -- that's all i got to say. the new building means to me more kids get to come because it's bigger and we got two gyms to play more basketball. >> thank you. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you for bringing them out. a hard act to follow, mr. fakuda. thank you for your patience with that. >> no problem. [inaudible] >> i find myself in a very difficult position between a hard place and a rock because i used to play ball at booker t. and my older brothers were very active in booker t. with mr. yuri wada. and i know how important this project is, but yet on the other hand, if you look at it from the scale of the project, it is somewhat massive and i think this is a good

opportunity, for example. we ask to pass the resolution to remove the top floor and change the facade to make it match the neighborhood. and also to increase parking. speaking on a personal note, i know the commission has always said, the planning department has emphasized that reducing -- exchanging parking spaces for units was a good thing. well, here you are, we have a project with 22 spaces, take them out and put in 23 units and take out the top floor and as far as the parking, we have parking right next door and they ought to do their share and come up, pony up and pay up. and i think this is a good opportunity. here you have, you know, you want transit first, you want muni and take away the parking, do that but remove the top floor and everyone wins. also, it's been stated there's

great need for housing for youth in transitioning from foster care. why not increase the number of units? you have 41 units or so or whatever, increase the number of build units for those youth transitioning. and i think that's another consideration that might be made. thank you. >> thank you. >> good evening, commissioners, my name is eric toliver, a member of the board of directors of booker t. washington community center. but more importantly i'm a product of booker t. washington community center. i have three generations of my family that have been impacted and made better citizens by participating in the events and activities that take place in that center. my parents became members of

the booker t. washington community center back in the late 1940's. and i joined the booker t. washington community center as a youth. in the 1950's. so when i look at what we need to do in terms of the support of this project, it goes far beyond just the brick-and-mortar, and i think a lot of people talk about the human capital that's developed by helping our fellow citizens and that's one thing i was taught at an early age through a lot of the programs that were conducted by the booker t. washington community center. i'm in full support of this project at its present state. i don't want any reductions to the project, but i want to make sure that we have a really solid relationship with the community at large and that's one of the reasons why the

alumni of the booker t. washington community center will play a real valuable role in helping the transitional youth newly emancipated youth transition back into the mainframe of the society. so again i really fully endorse this and i would hope that you would, again, support it in its present state and not reduce it at any cost. thank you very much for your time. >> thank you. vanessa manzanaris, ty wynn, chanelle williams followed by gail goldman. you spoke already. kevin sinclair. and i'll keep calling names. >> good afternoon, commissioners, my name is kevin sinclair and live at 880 presidio. i think it almost feels like this is a save booker t. rally

and it certainly isn't because the whole -- as a neighbor, in that community, we're all behind a new center and absolutely for it. i think it's going to make our neighborhood a better place but it's zoned for 40 feet, and in working with the community, going above and beyond that and asking for an approval to add on more floors doesn't make sense of what the whole community work process does. and, you know, i also think that adding 41 units is no small feat itself. that is the improvement rate there. if it's 41-50, you know, you're dealing with a small increment versus 0-41. and as also a neighbor of another project down the street, we're very accepting of reaching out to the community and i mean more so than probably most neighborhoods in san francisco. but i think you do need to take into consideration the people

that have purchased homes there over the years and to keep the neighborhood the way it is, certainly accepting the new plan but not to go above and beyond what's already within zoned and to take in consideration the people that are residents there. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, everyone. my name is chanelle williams and in support of booker t. washington's proposal. i'm a former youth commissioner, juvenile justice commissioner and actively organized to inform service providers and public officials nationwide about the needs of youth in foster care and the juvenile justice center for 11 years. in addition to community activism i am also a foster care youth and when i transitioned out of the system at 18 years old, supportive housing was one of my main concerns. having an environment where i could focus on gaining employment and going to school was critical. but unfortunately i didn't have access to the services and had

to struggle on my own. i wholeheartedly believe this is a no-brainer as reverend townsend said earlier. booker t. washington community service center is a gem in the western addition and helped thousands of young people and their families get access to services. also, too, i don't see what the issue is and the concerns from the neighbors. it's not coming out clear to me. i think the cost of reducing the amount of units available to transation will -- transitional aged youth is too much to bear given the issues we have with homelessness. i think this is really about young people and the neighbors have concerns. i really want to hear what those are because it isn't clear to me at this point. i heard someone mention issues with the fences, issues with the height but it's not clearly defined what is the issue. support the project as it is. transitional aged youth need the housing. we need the units. it's really an important project.

support it as it is. thank you. >> thank you. morell green, evan cambridge, loren tom followed by ben robertson. >> good afternoon, commissioners, my name is morell green. i come here in many hats but one of those hats is from the executive committee of the n aacp and another hat is from the city of san francisco where i serve as counseling faculty. i want to talk to you very briefly about two things. one is what booker t. has done and what booker t. can do with your approval. the first is i'm a product of booker t. that was my first summer jodge through the marist youth employment program when i was 14. that was 20 years ago. i'm still at booker t. working with the high school kids today.

my mother and mother-in-law were both products of booker t. in the 1950's and 1960's. because of some of the things that booker t. has done for them, they have been allowed to raise children who are doing positive things in the city and county of san francisco. my mother-in-law raised my wife who is now a doctor, a foot and ankle surgeon. it's because of some of the things her mother learned at booker t. and my wife learned at booker t. she's been able to succeed. as well i'm a doctoral candidate in education, because of what booker t. taught me and what i'm able to teach others. there's not many people born and raised in san francisco like myself for 34 years that come back to the community to give back to these students. i grew up in a beautiful victorian near booker t. washington and i was next door to a huge building. i went to washington high school, george washington high school in the avenues which is filled with residential areas. i tell some people complaining,

welcome to san francisco because that's what goes on here. we all have to come together in a seven-mile area radius. i just want to leave you with saying i support this project and there's always going to be people who complain but it's the people who can't afford a car that don't complain about gas. i just want you to think about that. [applause] >> hello, my name is eve an cambridge, a district executive with the boy scouts of america. i cannot give my opinion because i'm not allowed to by my organization. however, i can speak on to things i've witnessed myself, first and foremost, i've heard that the facility adds parking, a lot of parking on the 800 block of presidio is due to the center being there and of people needing to park to pick

up and drop off their kids. so should that parking be added, it would actually be a service to the neighborhood. secondly, as many times as i have been there, i have not witnessed any exceedingly detrimental traffic to the community. the streets are very wide and if you go there now without the added additional parking, you will find people are double parked. the newer buildings, and this is an opinion, should have sound -- better sound dampening abilities than the building that's there now. the building there now is a little bit older than newer technology. also, the booker t. is, of course, the oldest neighbor of the neighborhood represented in

this commission, so just keep in mind they are the oldest neighbor here represented. [applause] >> lastly but not, laura heights, if you see it topographically, it's elevated from presidio avenue and would be impacted the least from a viewpoint in the change in elevation as the percentage goes down by your change in elevation. thank you. >> hello, my name is lauren tom and i live on the corner of washington and presidio. i've lived in the neighborhood for over 20 years. i'm a third generation san franciscoian. i went to public school in the city, went to cal, graduated from hastings. i'm the mother of a high school student that goes to school in the city and we love the booker

t. my niece worked as a summer camp counselor there and want to speak in support of the project as it is. it's a beautiful site, a beautiful building. we think this is going to be an exciting addition to the neighborhood that will enhance the neighborhood in the same way the new j.c.c. building has. and i just want to say that i enthusiastically support it and hope you will, too. thank you. >> thank you. >> good evening. my name is ben robertson. i'm from first place for youth. i would like to make a few points. one is that as first place for youth we house former foster youth. san francisco youth are currently being housed in

alameda county and think it's a disservice children of the community can't grow and find residents in their community. the second point i would like to make is that any reduction in the size of the building would also reduce the amount of units served, and we're looking, you know, at this in terms of feet, but there's individuals, there's lives being helped. so when you reduce four units, there's 25-30 fewer youth that are going to be served at this location you could have an impact. that's all i wanted to say. thank you. >> thank you. >> michael sessage, followed by winston parsons and phillip stone.

>> my name is michael sessag, 2609 post street, around the corner from booker t. i agree, booker t. has done a wonderful job with the programs it's done. my problem is it you built this building 10 stories high it wouldn't solve the problem. so ask me to come within the units of the current zoning laws is a reasonable request from the neighbors. i think the answer is for us to go home and talk about in our own community adding housing units for the same purpose. and not focus on building a 10-story building in one neighborhood. that's not going to solve the problem. i have some questions about the parking. i looked at the drawings this morning on the planning commission. i came at 12:00 and cannot see it until 4:00. i went to the planning commission and saw the spots. half of them are tandem parking spaces, which is difficult to get people in and out of. one speaker earlier said she

saw the great benefit of the j.c.c. but the j.c.c. built two or three levels under the building and to solve that problem, i would be overjoyed, too, if we added three stories underneath booker t. washington center. i also heard people talk about presidio as a boulevard. presidio narrows from four lanes to two lanes in front of the booker t. washington center and actually gets narrower there and the buses come back and same shifts the same time parents are picking up their children in the afternoon. so it's -- i wish we could just go and watch. someone suggested we do that. i think that's a good idea. go over there 5:30, 6:00 and see the mess that exists. it's one lane and everybody is double parked and waiting for their kids. it's a problem now. so when they say they're going to encourage people to use muni, why not encourage them to use muni now. it seems it could be solved now

if we really had the leadership necessary to do that. so think about safety. >> thank you. >> good evening. my name is winston parsons and currently live at 636 presidio and am a fourth generation san franciscoian and lived in this neighborhood my entire life. i'll i was initially against the plan of a near eight-story project, the mission of booker t.'s downsize proposal are worthy of any advocacy. i can understand the appeal of sticking to zoning guidelines that served an area well. however, we must not lose sight of the fact they're ultimately guidelines. zoning codes are not words from on high and engraved on stone tablets. we should evaluate the effectiveness of regulations and make exceptions as -- exceptions as needed. being too rigid is equally foolhardy as having no guidelines. i'd like to address the

concerns over parking. i do not think parking is the best utilization of space for an organization seeking to aid and empower youth. adding more parking to the proposal or having one to one housing is foolhardy. also we need to remember the youth or transitionally aged youth, many leaving the foster system. while i think some of them might own a car it's not making sense most would. financing gas, insurance, maintenance and parking fees, owning a car is rather expensive. i have the benefit of a supportive family, a good education and part-time job and am living at home and makes more financial sense for me to buy a fast pass each month than own a car. i'd also like to point out the area is well served by muni. we have three jackson and the 43 masonic. lastly, i think we need to keep in mind the broader context within this project. local, state and federal budgets are being picked apart. it would appear various agencies including redevelopment agencies are going to lose funding.

to fight a project that develops services to lift youth out of a path of uncertainty at a time when services are being cut is shooting ourselves in the foot. ultimately this project doesn't seem about making a profit but empowering youth who have went through undue hardship. we fall into this of pulling them up from their bootstraps. a safe place to live is the first step to achieving individuals to a better quality of life and why i support this project. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> good evening. my name is phillip stone. i'm a fourth generation san franciscoian. i live at the corner of washington and presidio. i'm here to ask you to support this project. i joined the booker t. in 1947. my parents helped build the present building at 800

presidio in 1951. since that time i have been and my neighbors have been, we lived on laguna street at the time, have always gone through all of the african-americans my age which is 67 have come through the booker t. washington community center. i'm a product of lowell high school, university of california. and i'm an adjunct professor of law at university san francisco school of law. i ask you to support this project. i think there's no question this project is needed. it's needed not just at the corner of washington and presidio but needed all over the city. right now this is the one place that can facilitate and help such needs we have in the city. i'd like to make one correction i heard earlier. in front of the booker t. on

presidio street is a place where the street widens, it doesn't narrow. after you leave sutter and go towards bush street then it begins to narrow. i just want to correct that for the record. again, i'm here to let you know i don't want to get in the specifications of the attorneys and the planners do that but this is a good project and we might as well use what money we have to the maximum efficiency. and i say, again, i'm also on the board of directors. i'm the pressurer. please support this project. thank you. >> thank you. we have no more speaker cards. is there any additional public comment at this time? >> good evening. my name is lorel dean. i'm the middle school coordinator for booker t. washington. but besides that, i was born and raised in the city, the

western addition, and i've been a part of it my whole life. i think this gentleman said it best, most the african-american males, if not community have gone through booker t., is one of our oldest buildings in the city alone, let alone culturally based oldest and is a neighbor of that community. i point out two things. one, we do have j.c.c. in that area and we also have the west side public housing authority in that area. and they have co-existed around this neighborhood for a number of years. to see this building revise itself, regenerate itself, re-establish and break down to be rebuilt is vital and necessary for our youth. our youth see nothing that is of substance without us doing it ourselves. and we have opposition which is not a problem. i think with more is less comes less opportunity for that youth

who's looking for a chance. so there's less. what will they do next? that's the true question. so please, please support this project because i have an 8-year-old and i want my 8-year-old to have the opportunity to go there as a fourth generation. >> thank you. is there any additional public comment? >> good evening, commissioners, steve williams again. i wanted to thank supervisor farrell for his obviously thankless job, not getting much thanks in this room. the planning commission is here to enforce the general plan and the planning code. and the need, the social need no matter how great, no matter how worthy, has nothing to do with whether the project satisfies the code or the general plan or is compatible with the neighborhood and allowing these general, universal social need and worthy cause to control a

specific decision is wrong. and it leads to great inequities. we're talking about the building and we would be here no matter what was in the building. we would be here if it was luxury condominiums, which, by the way, is how this project started in 2006. luxury condominiums. so this block is not as it's been portrayed. this is a very low-scale victorian block. it has three one-story buildings, 12 two-story buildings, nine three-story buildings and only three four-story buildings. this is a very radical change for this block. there's no housing there now. and to put 50 units -- and this building, it's not going to be just 55 feet tall. it's going to be close to 70 feet tall as you come down the very steep slope on sutter. and so we're asking for -- and the impacts are obvious. people are saying what are the impacts? the shadow, the athetic, the

impacts are overwhelming to plug this building in this small neighborhood and it's absurd to claim they've given back anything. they're going 100% over the current zoning. there's no rear yard for these people to live next to it. i mean, we started at 100 units and now down to 50. come on. there's only 28 under the zoning there. you know, the compromise that's been offered is not something i think the neighbors like. it's something i think they're willing to swallow for a good cause. >> thank you. >> president olague, commissioners, my name is sam kadavac, a member of the district and head of drew school which is four blocks away from the project. and i'm here to give my full support and that of dozens of