comment about this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. president buell: commissioner lee. commissioner lee: these photos look great. i was commenting with my commissioner up here, commissioner harrison, the bridgework looks terrific. commissioner harrison: it really does. commissioner lee: the gentlemen that did the interior work, lynn brackett, who has appeared before the commission before, his company did the interior work of the tea house and the gift shop was also contracted to do this bridge as well. and for the first time i will say that this is the first time that the tea house in the japanese tea garden will be accessible. from going from the street into the large project. so the tea house now is fully accessible. a.d.a. accessible.

this is terrific work and i think, you know, the community has from the beginning has really stepped up and i think it's fully appropriate to name the building after -- i mean, made it all happen. i remember when mr. hirose came before us just shortly before he passed away, i think it was just a few months after he spoke in front of this commission that he faffed away. and i think it's fitting that now that the vision that was outlined to this commission last year's finally coming through fruition that we should recognize the work of mr. hirose. president buell: thanks, tom. seeing no other questions i'd just observe i can't imagine a more appropriate thing to do. and thank the community for

coming forward and making this recommendation. thanks, tom. have a motion. >> so moved. president buell: moved. seconded. all those in favor. aye. it is unanimous. thank you. >> item number 11 is the new park at 17th and folsom. >> hello. i'll also try and follow those two presentations. i am very pleased to be before you to present an opportunity for this commission to recommend to the board of supervisors that we build a new park. it's a pretty special day i think for the recreation and park commission and for our park system which is old and always needs new things like this. the item before you was originally presented at the july capital committee and received a recommendation to approve. we were working on some of the details of the m.o.u. and so

that's why we're bringing it back to you today. we've been working very closely with a lot of partners, clubs the p.u.c., which is the current owner of the site, and the mayor's offers of housing and we're finalizing some of the details of the paying back of funds for cleanup and other items and those are still in progress but the park and the plans are definitely exciting and moving forward so i wanted to -- we wanted to bring it to you today. first, i want to talk about i think the funding. i want to talk a little bit about the fact this park would be in a very high-needs neighborhood. the community outreach to date, an overview of the park and our next steps. i'm also -- i'd also like to recognize i'm joined by a whole fleet of members of our city family that's been working very hard on this. susan from the planning department. jay from the n.t.a., april from supervisor kim's office. john is here from the

department of real estate. the p.u.c., mayor's office of housing. they're all here if you have any questions about the project. so i think that the funding story on this park is excellent. we have funds for the acquisition. all the various life cycles of a park. we have funds for the acquisition through the eastern neighborhood impact fees, for the development through the prop 84 state grant that you allowed us to apply for several months ago on this project. we also have funds for maintenance from the eastern neighborhood impact fees. there's not too many times i think a project comes before us that has this kind of funding behind it. so all of those funding sources are from non-r.p.d. sources. i also like to highlight because we have these funding sources and the park is in such a high needs neighborhood it would score at the top of the list with our new draft

acquisition policy that the parks and open space advisory committee and the department staff has been working very hard and will be bringing back before you in september. it's precisely this kind of project that led to prozac and other members of the community saying we really need to look at our acquisition policy. this park was -- is in a neighborhood, as you can see from these two diagrams, in a very high-needs neighborhood in both the 16986 recreation and open stays element of the city's general plan and even today in the new draft revised 2011 high-needs area map that's included in the draft roads. so -- in other words, for the last 20 years this has been a high-needs neighborhood. it will continue to be a high-needs neighborhood and this park is one step i think in moving this neighborhood forward and providing more park space. within a half mile radius from the site there is approximately .36 acres.

that's less than half an acre of open space for 1,000 residents compared to the city average of 6.7 acres for 1,000 residents. after years of analysis and community planning, the eastern neighborhoods plan has been adopted which provides improvements to the neighborhoods in eastern san francisco. so i'm here providing -- this is images of the plan areas that are included in the eastern neighborhoods plan which is an adopted citywide plan which will bring new housing and new resources, just parks and other improvements to these neighborhoods. in the mission neighborhood alone, and i'm going to highlight -- that's the green one -- in the mission neighborhood alone that will result in up to 2,000 new housing units, a population increase up to 7,000 people and, again, within the half mile radius of the site and the site is represented with the red star, there are only .3 acres of open space per 1,000 residents.

so the outreach process on this park has been long. in fact, i think you'll hear later from members of podair, oscar who spoke at last month's meeting, this project's actually been talked about by the community for years, starting with the department actively in 2009 and through the eastern neighborhoods process an idea of a new park in this area has been discussed for quite sometime. there have been over 15 community meetings with over 300 participants and we've been again partnering with podair, which is the people organizing to demand environmental and economic rights. i think you're going to hear more from them a bit later. we will further detail the design for the play gruned other elements in the park and the n. -- m.t.a. is working with a park plan to have it

from a paid parking lot to a farc. meeting with all the local businesses and the various community groups involved will continue this fall. i wanted to show you an image of some of you -- at the full commission meeting when we brought this before you, a lot of the members were able to attend. a lot of those kids are in school today and couldn't ble here again today. i wanted to mention that they came and represented their support for this project. again, the m.t.a., the planning department, community organizations, supervisors kim and camp oasto s's office. we have -- canpos'office. so currently the site is a paid parking lot owned by the san

francisco public utilities commission. it's surrounded by residentses, businesses, community organizations and a high-density, low-income, culturally diversed neighborhood diefficient of open space. -- deficient of open space. what happened there? so this is the portion of the site that would be occupied by the park. the other portion would be -- at the same project being sold to the mayor's office of housing. our park would take up approximately half of the site. and the parking lot would continue to function for at least a year into -- in its current condition until 2012 and during that time we'll be working with the mayor's office -- excuse me -- the metropolitan transportation authority tanned others to

develop parking strategies to make improvements to the neighborhood parking availability and, again, the rest of the portion of the site will continue to function as it is until the mayor's office of housing will move forward with their project which i understand could be quite a few years. this is the area surrounding the park. here's some images of some of the housing down the street from the park. and one of the images i show from red star. you see that compared to the housing. and here's the park site plan. i know this came before you. this plan is conceptual. it shows a playground. we're thinking of both area for adult and kid play. lawn areas. and some very, very state-of-the-art environmental sustainability features. i really think that this park in many ways is a flagship park for sustainability in our system providing bioswells.

and the new park design we've ever implemented including low-impact design which is the reuse of water collection on the site. using a cistern. performance bases for the opportunity for community to perform on site. and other educational elements. so something the community has been very actively interested in seeing at their site. so here's some images of the adult exercise equipment and the lawns and other types of things that could be included in this park as we move forward. again, there's been a lot of different partners helping us to make the park what this neighborhood has been asking for. and to the next steps we'd be going to the public utilities commission in early mid september and then the board of supervisors would review and hopefully approve the jurisdictional transfer and also continuing our community outreach with the partnership

of municipal transportation agency and additional design workshops in the fall. and i'd like to at this time pass around -- i know you've already received a big packet of emails that we've gathered of let irs writ -- letters of written support. i am going to ask april to come up. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is april and i'm here on behalf of supervisor kim. she couldn't be here today but wanted to convair her strong support of the park -- convey her strong support of the park. to bring to you all as commissioners. i just wanted to read this letter for the record. "dear commissioners, i'm writing to express my strong support at 17th and fulsom in my district.

district six a vibrant mixed use district which lacks open space for our residents, young and old, to safely engage with neighbors. this park will support an underserved area of the mission district and identified as an opportunity suit in the eastern rezoning process. this is an exciting opportunity to transfer surplus property for affordable housing and open space. i want to commend the staff, the planning department and recreation and park commission for their work in conjunction with the community to develop preliminary design concepts. by engaging community members, supervisors and other city agencies to get honest feedback from honest stakeholders involved. this shows community involvement such as encouraging multicultural uses of the park, including the use of solar, energy and creating space for recycling and environmental conservation education. the project also addresses the

city's continued need for affordable house and family-friendly neighborhood planning. our office is committed to supporting this effort. identifying key stakeholders and engaging in a community process. which includes their input. sincerely jane kim." thank you very much. president buell: thank you. >> there were additional supporters that had to go back to work but there are other people, i'm sure, that will speak on their behalf. thank you. president buell: thank you. commissioner lee had a question. commissioner lee: yes. i had a question on maintenance. when we heard this at capital you said there was a possibility that you could -- the maintenance costs were, what did you say, $40,000 annually? >> yes. commissioner lee: and you believe you could raise the -- to pay those funds with moneys raised from -- >> we have the first three

years of maintenance funds in hand. it will be coming through the eastern neighborhood impact fee which is a fee levied through the eastern neighborhood plan for development so those dollars are already in place. those will pay for the first three years of maintenance. after that time i think there's options of community and we've been talking to folks through the neighborhood planning process about potentially having concessions or other things that could also help further fundraise for the site. but i think it would be good for the first few years to see how it goes and what the best plan goes. commissioner lee: i encourage you to come up with a plan because those three years will go by very fast. i'd be interested in hearing when you do have a plan in terms of a sustainability plan to continue maintaining the site and how we can fund that. i'd like to hear that when you got to together.

>> thank you. president buell: thank you. >> we do have public comment. mara blitzer, oscar grande, francisco ramos. norma. enrique delvilla to start with. >> hi. actually, mara had to go back to a meeting so i'm here in lieu of her. my name is serena. i work for a 30-year-old nonprofit housing development corporation that develops, owns and operates and provides services for 3,000 low-income individuals and families in 30 buildings within five neighborhoods throughout san francisco. we own and manage mosaic apartments and mosaic senior housing which is located at 18th and alabama which has nine apartments for families and children and 10 specific to

seniors. these families will greatly benefit from this park, and community programming that is being planned for the 17th and fomsom site which is less than four blocks away from the building. we really urge the commission to continue its support and the community's effort to convert this site into a park and we really continue to support all the energy that has started with the eastern neighborhoods and is continuing on in this development with this park and so we're just here today to just voice our support and we're really, really excited about what this park will do for our community. thank you. president buell: thank you. >> oscar. >> thank you, commissioners. my name is oscar delvilla. i am glad to be here with my

comaneros and companeras. this is a vision -- has been a vision 10 years in the making. while we're dealing with issues of housing displacement, skyrocketing rents, you know, street violence, environmental injustices at the same time grappling with those issues we're always constantly, how do we create, how do we create something that will really create a resilient community through thick and thin, through good times and bad times? and really that way is through a community park in the neighborhood that has had its unfair share of negative impacts and burdens. and so i'm not going to take up all my time because there's been people that have been rating a long time. i wanted to share a couple of comments. there's been a few key leaders that have left and they wanted me to make sure i convey kind

of some of their ideas. and one of those leaders is imparo villa. his family has owned a company. she's a native san franciscan. she lives close to the site. she went to go pick up her granddaughter who goes to school right down the street at st. charles. and so she, you know, i think is reflective of the diversity of voices you're going to be hearing that are supporting this park. another person who couldn't be here today is alissia, a strong active leader who unfortunately got hit by a car a couple days ago actually going to meet us. she's been very active. she's ok. she's recuperating. but she's been a strong instrumental leader. especially in her myan community. we have an mayan community. we have an emerging mayan community in the indigenous neighborhood. we've been hearing from mayan

leaders this is what they want in the community, a place where they can some of their cultural, some of their traditions to the broader mission community. and so i just want you to please support and approve taking ownership over this site and we look forward to working with the commission, with the department, with the other city family. and so we're looking forward to that. thank you. president buell: thank you. >> ok. we have francisco. then, nora. what about enrique? malvita, she left. fanny valencia. >> hello. good afternoon. my name is enrique. i come here to support the park.

the community has been trying to be -- to build in this community. you know, this park -- this commune park can be a great benefit for the communities around this. i live a couple blocks away from this park, from this proposed park. i walk by this site all the time. you know, since i live a couple blocks away. and this is close to 16th street and mission where there is a lot of activity, you know, but there is a lot of, like, drugs going on. at night i'd seen prostitution walking around. what it would benefit is for

the community, for the children, for the moms that walk by. it should be better for these families to walk by inside the park rather than walk by 16th and mission. but, yeah, this -- i think this park can benefit the community and the people and even for the city. you know. so i think it will be great to build this park on this site. thank you. president buell: thank you. >> fannie. teresa olmigare. jamie chavaria. miguel. >> buenos tardes.

>> good afternoon. my name is fannie. [speaking spanish] >> i'm a mother, a single mother of kids and i'm here to ask for your support to develop constructive site because this is important for families like mine. i have a child that's 2 years old and it's difficult for a family like mine. we're low income. we're low income, and it's hard for children to be contained in a small room, four walls but no place to go.

this is a big opportunity for our community creating a park. i know as a mother that it will benefit mothers like me, families like mine, especially for children that are in that development age between 0 and 3 years old. open space, parks are very important for their development so they become -- development into the future.

you know, just like we heard earlier that parks and open space are tools for kids to develop themselves. therapy, development. also, for adults it's a huge benefit. we have the capacity to be like kids again. kids see this example. kids follow and mimic when they see parents and adults doing good things for the community. ok. thank you.

we wait for your support. thank you. president buell: gracias. >> teresa. >> hi, commissioner. thank you very much. it's been really nice to be here and listen to all the beautiful things that the park and rec department is really doing. i work for poder. i work for the youth program. i think it's important to support this park project because this is a community that's zoned both residential and light industrial and someone who was born in this community, someone's -- my dad was a laborer and worked in this community most of my life, it's really important to also note that, you know, it's a community that's been neglected of open space and parks. there's an inequity. and so a lot of the youth, a lot of the children that are born in this neighborhood have to deal not only with a lot of

heavy traffic, with the freeways, with a lot of the light industrial pollution but also then don't have parks to go play at. just as was stated in the earlier presentation, we have less than 1% of the parks in the city and so i think, you know, i just really recommend that the commission prioritize investing more money even if it's just for maintenance or for more parks in this community because we have a high number of kids. and just like our -- at the last testimony we heard, a lot of these kids live in one room with their families, you know. we all know that, you know, inflation in the city is ridiculous. or has been ridiculous. and a lot of our families have had to really downsize in their living environment. and all this environmental impact can be seen in the public -- department of public health's website where you see high instances of asthma,

cancer and lung disease in neighborhoods like the mission. i think this park is a necessity and is really something that our community needs to become healthier, to have places to exercise, to have greenery, and we've been really working hard within our neighborhood to build that awareness with our youth, to do ground trooping which is to really map out all the toxic hazards and see how we can work in partnership with the local businesses, with the local light industrial because these same businesses are the same ones that gives our community jobs so we can have a healthier neighborhood. also, i just wanted to say that it's really important that, you know, you know that we're working and there's already a lot of investment from a lot of the families and youth and really trying to make this park green, you know, whatever that is. and so for us, you know, that means -- water catching and that means open gardens that aren't locked up. for us that means we're going

to be volunteering and really looking at, you know, using our sweat, our hands, our thoughts, our organizationing skills to make sure this community is a success and that, you know, we have ownership and we're keeping it beautiful and a space where we can continue to build the health of our neighborhood. so thank you very much. president buell: thank you. >> ok. we have jamie. miguel. lara margarajor. elsa ramos. we'll go with that. >> hello, commissioners. i'm jamie. i go to leadership high school. so my own personal opinion i believe that this park down at 17th and folsom is actually a really good investment to look at as an open space for families that live in the mission and also building the affordable housing because right now in the mission there's been a decrease in the number of latinos that are