>> was that the case for mr. williams? >> no. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> my name is margie. and here to support the compromise by supervisor farrell. the building is too large for the neighborhood. i do not know the terminology, but for the planning department to amend the code so that it allows for this building of such scale and height -- i think is wrong for the neighborhood. i urge you to support the compromise by supervisor farrell. thank you. >> i am going to read some more names.

please come on up. >> my name is ronald li. i am a long-term member of the community. i do support booker t. washington. i think the proposed measure should help the community center. the height of the building is not the issue. the young people who are trying to be in the apartments, to not think of the height of the building, think of the well- being of the community and the young people who are going to stay in these apartments. thank you.

>> thank you. next speaker please. >> my name is richard wu. i am the executive director of a nonprofit. we work wito support people with training and employment with companies like google that are growing. i come from a background of 20 years in the i.t. department. i am also a senior engineer for a company. we have been working with them. i strongly support this project as a nonprofit organization and a native of san francisco who has lived here for 20 years. i see the need for affordable housing. i am hearing all of these things about these nine units. we have to understand that these units are very valuable for these people. we are affecting their lives.

we always have economic concern for the neighborhood. you have a decision to make. it really impacts their lives and future. how is it going to affect the future of san francisco. to i grew up in the neighborhood. i have seen the changes. i want to support a project like this. i think it will benefit us. i worked in the bar. -- barcadero. do not own a car. i make over $60,000. i do not want to deal with parking. think about public transportation. think about other uses. this project is a solution for many problems for housing and

for sentences coke itself. [tone!] we could create a hardship for our city. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. my name is kevin sinclair. i am a resident of the presidio. i am here in support of the compromise that supervisor farrell laid out for you. i think this is a question of physical integration in the neighborhood. living on the street, i can tell you rebuilding of this size would overtake the streetscape of the east side of presidio ave. i have a deck on the roof of my house. i am on the far end of presidio. he would be towering over my residence. it does affect more than the height. it affects where people live and

how they live in their residences. this would represent at least 10% of the allocated seats you would be looking to fill. i think that is a good percentage of this city of san francisco to represent 10%. i would like to say that there has been plans put forth in previous years. they did zone in. i think this would be going over the zoning too far. i think the compromise laid out would go along with with the neighborhood feels would be good. we're all in support of booker t. washington. that has never been an issue. we think the community is great. there's nothing but community support. the neighborhood wants to say we feel like this would be more in line with our values as well. [tone!] >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> my name is sam. i have been the head of a

school. for blocks from the site. -- four blocks from the side. i live about seven blocks from the site. drew school and booker t. have actively engaged in partnerships during my 20 years there. my students and faculty have been able to engage with community members. they have grown a lot from our side of it. our kids and families have grown enormously from the partnership. i believe this project, which i support in many members of the school community support, is really about to the fundamental things. one is the very real needs that have been articulated. the other is the leadership for this project for the greater good of san francisco. we're all aware of the huge number of young people

transitioning out of foster care on an annual basis. this project will help address some of the need. by no means will address all the needs articulated. i think the financial needs as articulated by the chair of the board are very real. the needs of the community and the needs of this particular service center are real. about the integrity, i can only say that there is a 100-year track record of historical integrity. they have served the community. there is a huge thing to be said about the integrity of the governing structure there. the current executive leadership and hands on faculty and staff as low as the board -- as well as the board have been amazing in both settings. they have a vision for the center to keep alive as well as managing the day-to-day realities. [tone!] this project injures our

neighborhood in an attractively. i urge you to support it. -- this project interest our neighborhood in an attractive way. i urge you to support it. >> could you talk about the use of the gym community center and the benefits you get from the new building. >> in terms of the gymnasium, i am pleased to say that several years ago, we partnered with them. we are a tenant. we pay market rates for gymnasium time. the partnership involved at a time of mutual need. my school was looking to share facilities with some community entity. we needed space. we still do so that our children can participate in physical education and sports. i believe there is still a desperate need by the community center for a guaranteed cash flow.

we have worked with booker t. to purchase a certain number of hours per year so that we can get our gymnasium time as much as they can flex their scheduled to meet our needs. it has been a win-win situation for both. my students have had the opportunity to be mentors in tutoring and home work situations as well as helping -- they've been able to help the teachers and faculty mentor and summer programs. we have provided some athletic and fun trips for them as well. it is beyond the classroom. >> it was not that long ago that drew asked for permission to demolish a residential unit building so that there would be an extension of the facilities. what came before us was under

the planning code under demolition of a tenant unit building. is that correct? >> yes. >> i am curious. >> it is in the vicinity of this area. >> it is about a five-block walk. >> what kind of support did you get from the community for the demolition of the building for the expansion of the school facility? >> the extended community was overwhelmingly in favor of us. we have been an active partner in the community. the planning commission voted 7- 0 in favor. the board of supervisors upheld an appeal. i think there were two parts. both of them were supported by the board of supervisors.

wonderfully, the building has now been completed. i think the neighbors and extended community and grown to appreciate it. it came largely as a result of the fact we've worked hard to be engaged and active partner with the community and understand its needs. supervisor mirkarimi: i think drew has demonstrated that. it is a well-known private school. >> is a well-known independent school. supervisor mirkarimi: it is fair resourceful. is that the case as well? >> over 40% of the students are in financial aid partnerships with us. we work hard to provide access to nearly 50% of the kids who go there. we have been fortunate that a fepercentage of our families tht have the ability to get beyond tuition have supported us in efforts to go directly to financial aid and this

particular building project. we have also had to borrow quite a bit. we have quite and mortgage debt in essence. supervisor mirkarimi: think you for your public service. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. i am speaking on behalf of the housing action coalition. we followed this project for a long time. i want to state plainly that we strongly support the scd. we think it is an excellent project. it is entirely in context with the neighborhood. this is a neighborhood in transition as stated previously. for goodness sakes, is across the street from a large bus parking lot. this is not going park or no year rally -- glen park or noe valley.

this is affordable housing. we see again and again that indeed is oceanic and the supply is a trickle. in the best of worlds, it is painfully difficult to find affordable housing. we know this is not the best of times. we think in a real and perverse way, a compromise is saying that a community service -- center that provides service in a real way is expected to subsidize a neighborhood of much higher economic status. that is a perverse use of the land. this is a great project. you have heard from the mayor's office of housing that the reduction in the number of units is a real cost to the city and office of housing that could deploy those resources elsewhere. i think this is a project whose time has come and it deserves to go forward.

supervisor mar: i am going to read some more names before the next speaker comes up. gail goldman, mike terio, and brett luellen. >> i am a native born and raised in laurel heights. everyone keeps referencing the bus yard. i grew up on the other side of that. i wish i was fortunate enough to attend drew school now that they are getting this new gymnasium that is a very big deal. i am and several phone profit -- philanthropic boards throughout the city. community support is the key to making sure that any community

organization is run successfully in the neighborhood. you have the option and opportunity of full community support with supervisor farrell's this in and compromise of the 41-unit building. we all support booker t. washington. we support affordable housing and transitional housing as well. those nine units might be a transitional or low-income units. those could be made up in another project. the conformity of the neighborhood is key. another side note i wanted to make is that the gymnasium in its current location is -- [tone!] 1 basketball net will be flipped. it will be infringing on several backyard neighborhoods

-- neighborhood backyards. it will affect the sunlight reaching some solar panels as well. we urge you to support supervisor farrell's compromise. bring the neighbors and community center to make it together to make a wonderful organization we know it can be. [tone!] >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. my name is hannah. i live on sutter directly across the street from booker t. i am in favor of the 45-foot compromise. the thing i am concerned about that no one has raised is solar.

there is a building with solar panels a couple of buildings down. my understanding is that they will probably pay higher utility bills as a result of this building if that happens. what about future installations. it marked the shadow? what about the shadows? what will a 50-foot building due to the opportunities to have solar in this neighborhood? that's it. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. my name is gail goldman.

i have spent a good part of my career trying to develop partnerships between housing developers and service providers to build housing for the transitional age youth population. it has been a rewarding career, but it is frankly difficult and it gets more difficult because resources for building affordable housing are even more difficult. three of housing projects i have worked on and seen developed -- for the youuth housing products i have worked on and see developed, some require at least six funding options and up to 10. they rarely come up the same

time. to develop this sort of housing project often takes years. i know of one that took 10 years to develop in the city of san francisco. fortunately, this project 3 fortunate set of circumstances has not taken as long as 10 years. the financing is easier than most projects because property the booker t. owns the land. the other wonderful thing is that it is in a safe neighborhood with good public transportation. these young people cannot afford cars and do not have them. the access to good public transportation is critical. moreover, it comes with a community center and the resources for the young people as well as good role models. [tone!]

ok, thank you. >> thank you. your passion is well felt. next speaker, please. >> i was born and raised in san francisco. i am transitional aged youth. the matter being discussed has to do with height or the building fitting with in the context of the neighborhood, but what i would like to stress to you is that this is a moral decision on your hands. that is something my grandmother taught me on how to carry myself in life. i think this is one of the moments where it is more clear than ever that this is a moral decision. the fact is that 24 units of transitional housing will still not be enough to meet the needs, but is a step in the right direction. when we talk about feet and

units, we're really talking about lives of the youth who have the odds stacked against them. this is an opportunity for you to make the right moral decision of prioritizing the lives of former foster youths and folks who need affordable housing over building height, car spaces, or fitting into the context of a neighborhood. this is about lives. i urge you to make the right moral decision in supporting this project to move forward. thank you. >> [inaudible] it looks like ava desra, cherilyn adams. >> i urge you to strongly support the 50-unit five-story

building as approved by the planning commission. my support comes from various perspectives. i am a resident in mr. two. i am on the board of directors of the little school, and neighboring preschool just a block away from booker t. washington. i of four children that have attended the school and live in the neighborhood. i am also a civil rights attorney who has worked in public education for many years. in terms of the children who live and attend school and in iraq, we cannot go wrong with having a vibrant community center. this project will create that. we want a long-term community center that can survive for the long term. we've heard a lot of testimony today in terms of the financial stability that the 50 units would create. from my perspective, we want something there that continues to be stable in the neighborhood and provides services to children in the

neighborhood. second, booker t. washington's proposed project is a very unique model. it has wraparound services for the transitional aged youth and their children and also the school aged youth who have access to the after-school programs. this is unique. it is a unique public-private partnership. as a resident of district two, i support public-private partnerships. this will leverage the public dollars to go long term and work with non-profit community organizations that have a strong track record from party washington to first place for use. i urge you to support the project. >> where is the middle school located questio? -- where is the little school located? you do not see those in competition?

it helps to create a vibrant community, but is that competition for a little school? >> it has more applications than available slots. there are child care -- very cute child care options in the city. there are many children on waiting lists for child care in the city. >> there is little school. water the other child care options in the area? >> there is a new center across the street from little school. i do not know if it is a licensed child-care center. i do not know the name. in the neighborhood, there are other centers. there is nothing directly right there. >> thank you. supervisor mar: 80. next speaker, please. >-- thank you. >> i am just going to come in

for the most part and say with the reverend said. some of you are aware that the average as with us for apprentices is 29 years old. they come to us after they have stumbled around. some of them come to us after incarceration. they have lost 10 good years of possible a cccrual of pension benefits, building a nest egg, starting a family. supportive housing would give transition-age youth the real possibility of dealing secure enough to come to us and others like us to start a career earlier and start their lives more successfully earlier. the more support of housing we have in san francisco, the better off we are, including a us in the trades. we have all heard about the outlook of the working class and

especially the african-american working class in san francisco. we farm out our foster youth to other counties. if there's no place for them to come home to, that is where they stay. i say we bring them home to san francisco. nine units may seem small. it is huge in this regard. there is a crew of good-looking little kids across the hall that i hope to get a chance to see before the system. i think they are a powerful argument in favor of this project. we support the project. thank you. >> they did not fill out cards. i hate to keep them waiting indefinitely. someone organizing them should consider bringing them in together. i hate to think of them just hanging around. the next speaker, please. >> i live and own property on

sutter street immediately adjacent to the backyard of booker t. washington. i have lived here since 1988. i have never had an issue with the community center. i would like to reiterate in the six years, the neighborhood has never been opposed to the project, only to the facts. i am here to give my support to the pefarrell compromise. i feel like this is repeating some of the mistakes from the 1960's when we built overcrowded housing projects that we have since torn down and rebuilt as more family-friendly units. the current plan for a property is trying to cram too many people into a small space. we want to help as many people as possible, but we have to consider the cost. the housing we build half to bea has to be livable.

in an early iteration of the project, there were only 10 units for these kids at that time. now we're up to 25. we have more than double that. that is good. the 50 studio apartments are tiny. i urge everyone to really look at these plans. it kind of reminds you of a college dorm room. they do not show the kitchens or bathrooms. the apartments are tiny. currently, the lot is zoned for 28 units of housing. we're trying to build an enormous gymnasium, a community center, a radio center, and adding 50 studio apartments. it seems like something has to give. as for the forego housing component, i do not see how 25 tiny studio apartments achieves the goal of keeping families in the city.

[tone!] >> thank you. bring them up together. two can speak on behalf of them. >> i would like to make booker t. baker because more kids and people are coming to booker t. i would like to get them together so we do not have to go to the garden house. we can just be a one place. but what was your name and men,? -- >> what was your name, young man? >>