bigger area. we can have space and move around. we do not have space to do stuff. we can eat together and have fun together instead of going other places. that is all i have got to say. >> thank you. >> my name is still in rodgers -- dillon rogers. i would like to make booker t. baigger -- bigger because we do not have a lot of space. the middle schoolers have to go someplace else. we cannot see them. sometimes the gymnasium is taken because there are practices and games. >> my name is eshon jones.

i have been a part of booker t. washington since third grade. i am now in college. i grew up in district 5. i have not seen many educational facilities such as property washington. booker t. has supported me throughout my years with a safe, nurturing, and loving environment. i would like to see them expand so that they can give youth the same opportunities i had. >> thank you. >> i have been with booker t. continues. the community is wonderful. the kids are wonderful. it is time for us to get a bigger building and space. we have a lot of new faces. it would be better for the kids. >> thank you, very much. we really appreciate it.

[applause] thank you for your patience, like everybody else. let's resume the speakers' list. come on up. those people have been patiently waiting. thank you. >> good afternoon. i am a legislative affairs officer with the san francisco youth commission. in 2005, the commission noticed the lack of housing for youth and asked the mayor to have a task force. he did so. this task force then advised the mayor's office of housing to create 400 new units by 2015. the members of this commission are probably aware that the goal of creating housing remains just as great now as six years ago. should this project and others

all give build, it will still does the over 1/4 of the recommended units built by 2015. the task force ordained by the mayor made 16 recommendations. they consider those crucial to the success of the population. while we focus on just one recommendation today, it is remar-- important to remember hw endangered this population is. to insure the 500 new units get built, the san francisco youth commission is holding a hearing on monday, june 20. we will be hearing presentations from the mayor's office of housing among others. i hope you will consider joining us. >> next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. as a youth commissioner and president of district two, i am very excited to see the possibilities of this project

being moved forward. we did not know before coming here is that theryouth radio is planning on having space. that is really exciting. i think would be great for the youth in san francisco to have the opportunity. i always look forward to hearing the perspective of youth on npr. it would be great for the youth in san francisco. we definitely need the housing board. and people. this would be great for the youth of san francisco. -- we definitely need the housing for young people. this would be great for the use of san francisco. >> i am going to read some more names. >> good afternoon. i am the executive director of community services. i am here to speak to the need of housing. even if we get all 400 units by

2015, that is just a tiny bit of what we need. market street sees 3400 youth a year. we estimate the need to be 5700 or homeless or at risk for it each year with a huge percentage of those coming out of the foster care system. this project needs to go through at full capacity. it is a lot if you are one of the nine who do not get housing because there are not the extra nine units. this is a moral decision. this is about addressing the needs of transitioning youth. it is critical that the project go through. . to washington and youth radio make an excellent team who will provide great services for the young people who have the honor of living in the building. >> next speaker, please.

>> good afternoon. i am the chief of programs and a member of the board of directors for booker t. i want to wholeheartedly support the project as it stands. i want to highlight the need for housing for transitional aged youth. we currently have a shelter for them. it has 40 beds and is overflowing every night. we have a bottleneck of available housing for those young people need transitional housing. the need is great. the difference between 24 and a smaller amount makes a huge impact. i want to wholeheartedly support the project. thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> think you for taking time to

listen to us. -- thank you for taking time to listen to us. my name is still at stone -- philip stone. i am on the board of directors for the booker t. washington center. i am a fourth generation san franciscan. i joined the center in 1948. i have been a member and instill in communications with most of the african-americans who grew up in the western addition. i have been a deputy public defender and a deputy city attorney in the city. i also work for the department of housing and urban development. about five years ago, we put out feelers about what we should do and how to best utilize the property. at that time, we talked to some of the neighbors. i personally talked with three neighbors and steve williams at

the same time. the proposal then was that the community center should knock the building down and make a park so that the neighbors could walk their dogs. i was obviously upset. but let me just say this -- we appreciate the proposals, but, as a compromise, it presupposes there was an agreement by interested parties. booker t. has never agreed to that. i would ask this board -- i have nothing more to add to what the people have said, but i would ask the board to consider when it is time to vote, five stories and 50 units, i appreciate your

time. supervisor mirkarimi: i have a question -- the proceeding is supervisor had provided support for the original projects, correct? >> that is correct. i went to her office and she was very helpful in showing us ways to shape the project so we could make it agreeable to all, other people in the neighborhood as well. we originally wanted something very large. through the housing department, we set among ourselves and decided we would get something that made sense. from that point, we compromise further. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you.

next speaker. i am going to read some more names. [reading names) get >> good afternoon. i have a brief message -- please support the compromise. but there has been much discussion about the original number of this. the original number could be 220, therefore there could be a big compromise on the part of the supporters because a would be cutting it in half. this is only a joke. that's all. supervisor mirkarimi: next speaker, please.

>> 30 years with local 22 and i have not met a project yet that doesn't have controversy. but this has a nice ring to it -- affordable housing and a gymnasium. i remember many years ago, coaching where i grew up. there's something about when you say gymnasium that brings something to my heart. it's about a kids and that's a tough act to follow. i urge you to support the kids. supervisor mirkarimi: next speaker, please. >> thank you. i'm the vice president of the laurel heights improvement association. i just submitted a level -- just submitted a letter for the committee invalid file. we support the proposed compromise by supervisor

farrell. the original proposal lists eight exceptions to the zoning rules that would apply to this proposed project, including exception to height, bulk, usable open space, some light, and dwelling unit exposure, and density standard. the proposal to lump all of these exceptions in to a special use district constitutes spot zoning, granting preference to this parcel not granted to other parcels in the block. we understand the project would extend 30 feet into the required of barrier yard. this would adversely impact neighbors by relieving mid blocked open space that benefits all properties on the block and conflicts with provisions of the residential design guidelines that impact light and privacy to adjacent structures be mitigated and the structure

designed to be compatible with the neighboring structures. in addition, the modern facade of the building conflicts with the older architectural character of the area and fails to comply with the requirements of the residential design guidelines that the architectural features of the building be compatible to those commonly found in the neighborhood. in the appeal to the conditional use permit, we hope you will require a landscape in the rear of the building as has been installed at the rear of the institute on aging building where it is backed up on residential neighborhoods and you will require the sought improvements to make the architectural quality of the building compatible with the neighborhood. the height limit should be no more than 45 feet proposed by supervisor farrell, who spent substantial time looking at the data and propose this height. [tone] but none is being proposed and a child-care center is not

intended to serve the residents, but a profit-making use it should be eliminated so the building's extension can be reduced in the rear yard. the current proposal is acceptable in size and bulk. supervisor mirkarimi: next speaker please. that exhausts all our speaker cards. if anyone would like to speak, please step up. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm a native san franciscan and my husband is fourth generation. we have two children and live within 300 seek from the booker t. washington. i am an early childhood special educator and i have been working with underprivileged youths for 25 years. i am in full support of booker t. washington and all that the project comes with. however, i do not support the

size or magnitude of this particular project in our neighborhood. i know it keeps coming up, all of these buildings that are surrounding the neighborhood that would be -- the position it would just a blur in. but this is a very boutique area. yet never been in the neighborhood, take a walk around. it is mainly victorians. our house will be impacted. the building will be a vision from our yard and house and it will be in the shade. we are in the shaded area. i urge you to consider the compromise supervisor farrell has come up with. as some other speakers have said, that's not exactly what i would want, but i am willing to meet in the middle because it is important for everybody to get

their needs met, the neighbors and the booker t., and what that is going to bring. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker please. >> good afternoon. i'm the chair at the land-use subcommittee. the neighborhood supported the project which was within the zones and this project is far beyond what the zoning allows. on a personal basis, i played at booker t. washington what i was a young man and my brothers played there. i support the programs booker t. has been providing.

in regards to the gymnasium, it will be fine, but the primary user is not daugherty. -- is not a booker t.. that is an important issue because the gm is a physical part of the community center and this whole project is based on a private motive. the city had some planning, perhaps the community land trust to get some funding. perhaps the gymnasium could have been more primarily used for the use to attend booker t. washington rather than a private high school. that's another point of contention -- the school is going to have primary use of the gymnasium.

that is something that should be considered. perhaps with the mayor's office of housing, they could provide more funds to get more housing for transitional use. [tone] supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker please. >> i'm here today on behalf of the john burton foundation for children without homes to express our support for the booker t. washington community service center project that has been spoken about today. the john burton foundation is dedicated to the alleviation of homelessness among children in california with a particular interest in youth who are part of the state child welfare system. we are particularly enthusiastic about this project. it will create 24 much-needed

units of affordable housing for transitional ag is in san francisco. it has been a bit disheartening today, listening and sitting back and hearing people bahut almost implied -- hearing people imply that the character of our neighborhood is a more important priority than the lives of use. one in five youths who is emancipate from the system experience homelessness within six months of exiting the charge of welfare system. without support in their transition to adulthood, there are tons of other challenges they face -- low rates of educational attainment, hullo rates of employment, higher rates involved with the criminal justice system. the program located across the state -- they have made measurable impact on the lives

of former foster youth who reported increase in work and increase in enrolment in community college and, most importantly, an increase in a permanent connection with an adult. these are proven prerequisites to adjust to independent life as an adult. last year, 162 used in emancipated out of the san francisco foster care system. [tone] the challenges i mentioned make it critical to provide support. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next speaker, please. >> members, supervisors, i'm an attorney for booker t. washington. i would like to focus my comments on the legislature itself. -- the legislation itself. the legislation before you has only two deviations.

what is an increase in height and increase in the number of units. however, these are tied specifically to affordable housing and the number of housing units so if is within the planning commission before you and by this board of how many units it is a proving. you have heard the background information, both pro and con, about the height of the unit. irises board that with respect to this legislation before you that you do recommend, and do pass to the board because without the 55 foot legislation before the board, they cannot evaluate the higher building or the lower building. you heard plenty of substantive testimony, the reason why this

legislation and the project coming before you later should be higher and also the people who oppose it. i have just a couple of other projects -- you saw a graphic and they talked about the to story and three story building. when he is showing you that graphic, he focuses on the bottom of the box and what you saw in terms of the graphic soft was on procedure itself, there is a lot of large building and there is no particular height of building in this area. [tone] >> a number of concerns were raised about the backyard, amid

yard open space and how the proposal cuts into that area. how i would like to ask about what mitigation have been made to address that. s or who lives next door in that beautiful peach-colored home -- any other concerns that were addressed, if you could dress that that would help very much. >> in terms of the building right next to it on sutter st.,

-- this building comes all the way out and is basically a five story box. what was done is to create a three-story volume right on the face of sutter st. so that this becomes a three story volume and drops back down into this single-family home. this single-family home is not a predominant pattern. it just so happens it's right at that. as you go further down the street, --

supervisor mar: i think the argument is it is not as the planning has described -- >> i would say that is true as you go to lyon street. from the top of the hill going down, you can see it as a single-family home. that is really three stories. then it drops back down and gone this corner, you have another building. you don't have a very uniform height and the same for across the street. again, -- supervisor mar: if you could

summarize the concerns of the neighbors immediately surrounding the project. >> what we did in terms of the architecture is to make sure that the five story drop down basically to 3 because the four story set back about over 13 feet and then the height as it marched down the hill reflects the slope going down. as far as the backyard is concerned, the architect -- this

is the backyard. this is the gymnasium. the backyard is here. this building has been pulled 10 feet away from here so that -- this particular building does not come all the way up to this line. supervisor mar: there is a strawberry patch and other things in the garden -- how much further does it extend from where it is now? that is 10 feet right there.

>> from here to here. [inaudible] [inaudible] >> on this side, it is over 56 feet and on this side, it is probably 60, something like that. >> this is the 11 ft. 6 from

sutter street and on top of the fourth floor, we pushed back another 59. if you see the graphics from sutter st. looking up, this leading edge here would be basically what they would call a code-compliant massing right here. this is what is predominant on this form and this is what you see from the residence below. it is not the massing on top. >> which is the height to the opponent has informed you they accepted at. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. next public comment please. >> i residents of district 5. booker t. has been incredibly important to our community. this project provides