but there are some aspects of the cbd that still require some refinement. at the end of this hearing -- i will just do this now -- i will motion for continuance on this until september 16, so i can continue to work with folks. i will ask the office of economic and workforce development to keep my -- to heed my requirement and understanding of continuing to foster. i do believe that the cbd should continue. i look forward to the refinements that should happen, and i ask that we return to this conversation and hopefully a successful vote on september 16. in the meantime, i think it is important to hear from those who have come to share their opinion with us. thank you. i will motion now on that continuance. supervisor chiu: why don't we do that at the end of the hearing? let me also mention that at the conclusion of the public hearing, the department of elections will be tabulating the ballots of the assessment,

including those received during this public hearing, and then we will discuss tabulation to the clerk, who will inform the board at a later time -- and then will discuss tabulation to the clerk. members of the board wish to view the tabulation, they can go down to city hall. we at the board will not approve the establishment of the district, nor impose assessments, if there is a majority protest. a majority protest exist upon the conclusion of the hearing, ballots submitted in opposition to the assessment exceed ballots submitted in favor of the assessment. ballots are weighted according to the assessment of the proposed property. we will first hear from individuals that wish to speak in support of the assessment district. each member of the public will have up to two minutes to speak, and we will hear from members of the public that oppose the assessment -- supervisor mirkarimi: i am

sorry. i misspoke. in mid september 13. i said september 16. we caught it. -- i meant september 13. supervisor chiu: supervisor mirkarimi will be making a motion later on to continue the item to september 13. with that, let me ask if there are members of the public that wish to speak in support of this district. if you wish to speak, lined up in the center aisle. now would be the time to do that. everyone who wishes to support this, if you could please step up to the center aisle. if you could please proceed. first speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. thank you for your time and attention to this matter of utmost importance to the residents, businesses, and property owners in fillmore community benefits district.

i am the chairman of the renewal steering committee for the district, and i am here today to comment on the vital importance of the renewal for the next seven years. we have come a long way in the past five years. the proof is in the pudding. if you come to fillmore street, it is light years difference from the time that we were subject to the redevelopment agency's influence and now, when we are self-governing and operating with an agenda that includes the most important aspects of any business environment. that is -- public safety, cleanliness, and marketing. we are urging new -- urging you

to support our renewal and to recognize that, indeed, we are an evolving organization, and we intend to get a better. we have made tremendous strides. we know we have some ground to cover, and we struggle with reaching consensus, and an agenda that everyone can buy into, but that is just part of being a dynamic community, and we are proud of that. we ask that you recognize that this is not a small matter. this is a huge matter, particularly since we are relying on the city -- [bell rings] supervisor chiu: thank you very much. next speaker. >> ♪ b. fill more jazz district

you make me feel you really turned me on you knock me off of my feet now with jazz, lots of songs filling our district up, like a store fillmore, you make me feel you really turned me on you knock me off of my feet now with jazz and song filled the district of -- fill teh dis -- fill the district up like a big store you really turned me on your knock me off of my feet now ♪

[applause] supervisor chiu: next speaker. >> that is a hard act to follow. very good singer. i am the president of the fillmore jazz community association of san francisco. to the honorable supervisors, and to the general public, i thank you for this opportunity to speak. we do certainly ask -- signed you for the continuance of this item. certainly, there are many organizational and administrative struggles and hurdles and that we have had as a cbd. however, as the supervisor has so eloquently spoken, this community has gone through many transitions with regards to redevelopment agency -- the

redevelopment agency. i think it causes for what i would like to call a mass anarchy. i will say that in a very brass way because we need to have some organized structure in the community for cleaning, safety, and for marking the area. without that, who will be the person to take that on? who will take the task of cleaning the streets? who will take the task of making sure that when persons leave their residences, that they will be able to walk down clean streets and not have to fall over pot holes and things of this nature? there is a lot at stake here. i know there are many opponents to this, and there are those who support this. we just ask that you think objectively as you consider this legislation, and we hope that we have your valued support on this

item. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am with mjm management group, and we were the consultants on this project as well as five years ago, when it was first born. i want to start by thanking supervisor mirkarimi for your support and involvement. thank you. you really got involved and guided us along the way. what i would like to say is since writing the first plan five years ago, they have really stuck to their plan. this group has come together in understandably difficult circumstances and has cleaned up the area. they did what they said they wanted to do in their management plan. they cleaned up the streets. they marketed beautifully. businesses are driving down there. they have a beautiful brochure and beautiful website. -- businesses are thriving down

there. it is difficult in that community. they have come along way. they have new leadership. they have an executive director hopefully starting in september or shortly after. they are on the right path. thank you for your suggestion to continue this item, supervisor mirkarimi. i think that would be an excellent idea, especially considering some recent developments that may have influenced some of the voters, the property owners recently. i would urge you to give them time to get organized. i can see this moving forward in the very near future. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> i am the marketing assistant to the cbd. i handle most of the day-to-day activities. i really would like to see it continue. for me, personally, it is a labor of love. i love going up and down

fillmore street, connecting with merchants, going over ideas on how businesses can thrive, a plummeting, and seeing them successful. if the cbd does not survive, then that will not happen anymore. -- going over ideas on how businesses can thrive, implementing them, and seeing them successful. we are doing a lot, and i really want to see that continue. it would be such a shame if it would not continue. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> thank you so much. i am a long-term property owner, business owner, and i happen to be co-owner of america's oldest african-american-owned store, marcus books. i am pleased to hear all the

good things about the cleanup, the sanitation of the area. yes, there needs to be a continuance of the cbd without doubt, but there also needs to be more inclusive membership, if you will, to reflect the diversity of the particular neighborhood. so i would like to thank all the supervisors and all the public for being here, whether you are opposed or supported. in my judgment, in my personal opinion, yes, there is a great need for a cbd. i would like to thank supervisors mirkarimi -- supervisor mirkarimi for always being attentive and looking at the facts. so thank you very much. >> i am the owner of 1300 and also a property owner in the fillmore. i have been involved with the

cbd since it started. it started on a rocky road, but it has definitely come forward and is very successful in a sense of getting the community together -- events, clean streets -- really getting the people out. when i first started my business, there was hardly any type of -- there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets. now, it is lively. it is happening. events are going on. people are coming out. it is just getting better. the thing is it was not that way before. i really feel that the cbd has had a lot to do with that. i would encourage you to support us in this renewal. thank you. supervisor chiu: next speaker. >> i am the owner of yoshi's san

francisco. i also serve on the board of directors of the fillmore cbd. from the business owners' point of view, i think it is essential that we have a very effective working cbd to support the market in that area. being in business here for three years, i found out more and more every day still about how hard it is to get a big size of a new -- a big size then you to succeed in that area. we have to have something special to get people in the area from all over the city to

make a business succeed. for that, the support of the community-based organization like fillmore cbd is something that must -- that we have to be able to count on going forward. thank you. >> i just think the arts is so important in san francisco, and particularly the music. the music that combines us together, gives us souls, feeling, etc. i have been on the -- on teh -- on the s train. people wanted me to sing, and the driver said then we would have trumpets playing and no. i said that there seems to be an invisible sign around san

francisco that says, "no dancing musicians allowed." i asked if he wants to kill all the artists. he says, "yes, but keep the athletes allied -- alive." i returned to that, and he said, "i did not say you should kill them. i was just agreeing with you." it is really like -- what? athleticism -- two weeks ago when you gave the park funding -- i mean, how much do we have to do for the athletes, but we have got to do this stuff for the community. we have to do this stuff that gets us out of the street without danger to the people, and i believe the supporting something like this -- and i do not think you should take jazz out of it. supervisor chiu: thank you.

next speaker. >> i am and businessmen on fillmore for the last 10 years and western addition for over 28 years. i came in on the support side, but that does not mean that i do not have serious concerns having to do with financial accountability, representation, and democratic representation and transparency. my concern is that you have to remember that in the last five years -- first, i want to say i am not against the renewal of the cbd. at the last subcommittee hearing, we came in with an amendment recommendation for transparency, the sunshine law, and assessment -- concerning the assessment. for the last five years, cbd spent over $2 million of our tax

money. half of that winter janitorial service. half of and on and administrator that was spending his time doing his own business -- half of it on an administrator that was spending his time doing his own business. we're not interested in rejecting the proposal, this legislation, but serious amendments. right now, one of the things that really concerns me is the presentation. the board is supposed to be presented by individuals. somehow, some individuals on the board decided to have one of the largest real estate owners to have veto power of the fillmore center appeared in my opinion, as the largest property owner, is probably the major reason for the major underdevelopment of the economy of the fillmore and particularly the black community.

does not matter to me whether they have some closer relationship to have them. it is your responsibility if you are governing us to make sure that -- [bell rings] supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker in support of the district. are you speaking in support of the district? >> my name is as washington. -- ace washington. ace on the case. it is no mystery. i could tell you about the history of as i call it the fill-no-more. as you said, the fillmore -- it depicts the way it used to be in the fillmore center. as the new era of the

redevelopment came into and revitalized -- they call it the urban renewal. i call it the negro removal. let's talk about the cbd. the concept may be good. i was there in the inception, documented everything. i told you over the number of years and told to at the beginning that this was not a good fit for our community because this is unlike any other community where we had the big giant redevelopment agency. i can describe to you and go on and on and on, but i am so happy that ross is going to call its so we can sit down with them and tell them they will have to deal with the community. there is unity in the community. they are changing their name to try to change the game. it goes back to the initial game -- to the initial vein. the fill-no-more. i was there at the beginning. you have to understand the cbd

was put together by the redevelopment agency. there is a concept. there is history. ain't no mystery, y'all. if they will come back in another week with the community involved, i will be very much up here pleading to move on, but if they do the same thing, i will tell you, we don't need no cbd, and that comes from a-c-e. >> i am like the last gentlemen, i did not know whether to get on the proponent or opponent side, but i looked at a lot of the community benefit districts. especially one that was recently agreed to hear in the civic center, and i have learned that many citizens who get into this do so with a very unclear understanding of what exactly that community benefit district is going to do. for example, the library commission had a presentation, and they were basically told a very generic things about we are

going to work on sign it and do this and do that, but nothing specific. they agreed to a 10-year, $20,000 a year, which will be over $200,000 at a minimum, commitment. they did so almost nothing. these community benefit districts are also difficult when you try to use the public records law, the sunshine ordinance, to try to get some real financial data to see exactly what the heck is going on with it. they will fight you to and nail. they will act like they are dumber than a box of rocks and just do not understand a very simple request. recently, i made a request to the library commission about their relationship with the friends of the library, and they have been just delaying and delaying. they will not say simple things like how much money they raised last year. they raised $5 million. how much of that money actually made it into the library either in cash donations or in-kind donations?

they have already hidden all this information, and they just give these things -- "we provided this much money this year and we did this in this year" -- but there are different years. there is no way to confirm it. some of the comments from previous speakers that they do not know what is going on or do not understand and have concerns about where the money is going need to be address. supervisor chiu: thank you. any other members of the public that wish to speak in support of this district? ok, at this time, why don't we move to members of the public that wish to speak in opposition of the district? please step up. if you could step up to the microphone, yes. >> good afternoon. i am a homeowner.

i was opposed to the project from the very beginning, and i did not accept the way it was made. it was not, for me, a democratic vote. i do not think the program has fulfilled what they plan to offer us. many times, these last five years, i called and requested -- -- requested they tell me where the money went, and i never received a single answer. did they clean up? yes, but it is not as different as it was before. my st. is continually full of leftovers from the restaurants -- my street is continually full of leftovers from the

restaurants, the business people in the area, and it stays there. we, the homeowners, have to pay for them to clean the streets, and i believe that is not our obligation. the best benefit was to have improvements in the library and the others. for me, to continue paying that association is not fair, and i do not think it should pass. thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. my name is charles spencer. i am is small business owner on fillmore. on july 11, i resigned as treasurer of the fillmore community but the district. i support the cbd.

i think it is a great way to bring local resources to the local level. on july 11, i resigned as treasurer. i have several copies of my letter of resignation for your convenience if you would like to see it. the content is correct. i wanted to make some comments. on may 26, the gao committee approved the resolution to renew the fillmore cbd with some conditions. one was that it becomes subject to the sunshine ordinance. the second was that the fillmore cbd more accurately reflect the intent and content of the bylaws. when seeing the draft resolution, i did not see those amendments. i was surprised and concerns. i ask that you support and approve the fillmore cbd renewal with those two amendments.

thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. in 1957, i was a child. in 1958, the redevelopment agency walk up or made the announcement that the fillmore would be changed and that most folks would have to leave. my family was one of those families that left. over the course of time, the mayors, the supervisors, a number of others said that there would come a time when the african-american community, which had been, of course, as you all know, brought to san francisco to help build the ships that helped win world war ii, would be able to come back to the fillmore.

that date has yet to arrive. i come not in opposition of the cbd. i think it is an important aspect of governance in the fillmore district, but i believe there is a lack of transparency within that group, and this is what concerns me. i also believe that there needs to be more residents who are members of that community involved in that cbd. i noted they have established committees, but i do not see the kind of commitment to allow persons from that afro-centric rich center of the community -- king-party square -- king-garvey square and some of the other

tenant associations and bald, and i think they should be because it gives a true flavor of what the fillmore was. most of the folks on the cbd are more recent arrivals to the neighborhood, and they do not have the -- [bell rings] thank you. supervisor chiu: thank you. are there any other members of the public that wish to speak in opposition of the cbd? as i mentioned, supervisor mirkarimi will be making a motion to continue this item. today, we will not be tabulating the results. there will still be an opportunity for individuals who did not testify today if you want to testify on the 13th to do so, but at this time, this hearing will be held open until then. supervisor mirkarimi has made a motion to that effect. is there anything you would like to add? supervisor mirkarimi: i will reserve the rest of my comments until the 13th. i look forward to having the

economic -- office of workforce development work with all parties involved. the cbd has grown considerably. it has some refinements in its renewal for another seven-year consideration, and i am hoping over the next seven weeks that there will be those improvements. i look forward to us ratifying those. motion to continue to the 13th. supervisor chiu: supervisor mirkarimi has made a motion to continue, seconded by supervisor mar. without objection, this item will be continued to the 13th of september. until then, the hearing will still be open, so individuals who did not have a chance to comment today will be able to do so. without objection, this item is continued. what i would like to do at this time is we have 1 3:30 special commend