has cast some of the unanimous votes. our city is committed to replacement housing for the 19 households that will be relocated for this public benefit and we know that great cities and our regret building subways. great cities regret not building subways. the rest of my items i will submit. >> thank you. supervisor mirkarimi. supervisor mirkarimi: i have one item. i would like to ask the city attorney to resuscitate a piece of wood solution that we sponsored nearly two years ago and that was to call for moving the san francisco police department crime lab under the cao so it would be in independent jurisdiction. considering this spate of stories about scandals that have compromised the integrity of the crime lab and the drug lab, and the fact that the national academy of sciences has come up with a report recommending to

all metropolitan government's they'd move to crime labs to an independent jurisdiction, i had decided because of the disinterest and the resistance in different corners of the city government to revive that legislation. i am making a public request of the city attorney. >> thank you. supervisor elsbernd? supervisor cohen? supervisor cohen: thank you. i am proud to co-sponsor with supervisor wiener legislation that would establish a commission to review practices and make recommendation to the board of supervisors on changes. this is important in light of the realignment that supervisor

mirkarimi has been taking leadership fund and put the public -- and create the public safety committee. we need to make sure we are utilizing innovative approaches to decrease the rate of recidivism. in addition, i am very excited to introduce a supplemental appropriation that will appropriate $1 million of city funds the city received as part of a settlement agreement that closed the referral power plant. that settlement was the result of a decade of negotiations that -- resulting in the plant pose a closure last year. after a robust public process, led by the asthma and powerplant task force, we identify programs that the fund will be used to continue to support. these programs are focused on promoting public health in the neighborhood surrounding the plan and include funding for

retrofitting homes and air quality -- in here quality -- air quality hot spots for its support for committed the guards and projects and bending for an asthma educator to assist the community in understanding, preventing, and treating asthma. the preparation is a significant step forward in combating the decades of impact from the power plant. although it has closed, our obligation to ensure the public health and well-being of those communities who were disproportionately impacted has not ended. i also would like to say on a closing note, i would like to think many members who were active in the southeastern neighborhoods. those folks in bayview n potrero hill. i would like to thank the leadership of city staff that put numerous hours into helping shut down this power plant.

i would like to thank our city attorney for his leadership and also ensuring that this toxic power plant has been shut down. looks like justice has prevailed. i am very excited to introduce the supplemental appropriation. the rest i submit. >> thank you. supervisor kim. supervisor kim: thank you. in light of supervisor mirkarimi's comments about the increased shooting and the increased need for gun control, our district also experienced a recent shooting this past saturday morning. it 15-year-old girl and a 42- year-old woman who were struck in the legs and the torso. both are in the hospital. it is a continued tragedy of violence, particularly because of the reason spate of shootings that have occurred on sixth street. many of the neighborhood -- much

of the neighborhood has come together and meeting monthly to see what we can do about reducing violence. this incident was a damper on a lot of the efforts of folks are making to make this a safer place for everybody. i am also proud to co-sponsor president to pose a resolution in support of central subway project and the replacement of demolished rent-controlled units in chinatown. in recent weeks, we have seen this project, under scrutiny again despite a thoroughly vetted expansion. and we have seen -- republicans are using this project as a target to cut funding for the city of san francisco. though this resolution is non- binding i believe it will send an important message to the

obama administration. as well as to our city residents of san francisco, we stand with them in supporting this project and of our replacement housing. we have been engaged in this discussion many times but this is a promise we made to recommend these. communities of color have often been left behind in the economic development and also transit first projects. as you know this will connect the bayview and alley to the south of market on mission bay, chinatown, and union square. those who have dismissed this project as a subway to know where this regard the important neighborhoods these -- this project will connect. also i am dismayed by the continued targeting that has become fashionable among those in our circles and the media to target nonprofits. i think we start to see that in budget discussions over the last couple years as we have been

fighting over service dollars and other things about the supposed waste the nonprofits produced in the city. while there may be some, the vast majority of our nonprofits work with incredible dignity and with incredible respect and commitment and dedication to improving the city of san francisco and also improving the lives of our low-income communities by providing and stretching every single public dollar we give them to provide housing and other services. i am also dismayed by the disregard that several folks have for the decades of community planning and meetings that our marriage -- residents have been involved with. 10 years ago i started attending meetings in support of central subway and watched as seniors and used demanded to see this type of improvement come to their neighborhood. 90% of residents in chinatown do not own cars and depend on muni

to get around the city. i am happy to co-sponsor this legislation with president chiu: and supervisor cohen and other supervisors. thank you. >> thank you. supervisor farrell? >> ." i am asking the budget and legislative advisers to conduct a study to compare and analyze how a number of other cities and states provide incentives for local film production either by rebates or other incentives offered to encourage local production. asking to review these incentives that are being offered, the law enforcement costs, permitting fees, how much -- how many television shows feature films -- and whether or not there is the incentive for commercials and how many jobs have been secured

by the rebate offer. secondly i want to thank in a particular the marina association and the impetus behind this for a great family festival. we had hundreds of families come out and it was a great time. i wish the weather would have cooperated but we will have it again next year and it will be bigger and better. we want to thank the mca for their hard work in putting it together. i would like to thank the members of the california league of cities that came to our tun -- town for their annual conference. i served on the california director and i was appointed by mayor ed lee. i want to congratulate our treasurer for being elected second vice president of the california league of cities which means in two years he will

be the president of the organization. he will do was proud in the city and i want to -- to do was proud in the city and i want to congratulate him. we have one in memoriam, a beloved and long term president. he was born in 1922 in colorado, he was a proud u.s. navy combat veteran of world war ii and served from north africa to or canola. he was featured in the "san francisco chronicle." the library of congress was making an effort to get their recollections of veterans to the collection. he is quoted as saying, "we were a part of history/ . it is not neat and clean like in the movies. it is long periods of boredom

followed by short periods of actual terror. people did not understand what a horrible experience work can be." he wrote on his computer which is now part of the project. he was a retired vice president by -- of bank of america. he was married for 67 years. he and his wife lived by example and mentored couples. their advice was basic. have fun, left, and do not take things seriously. there were adored by the young adult group and those they mentored and gave new meaning -- meaning to the phrase, young at heart. he is survived by his loving daughter who was a great grammar school teacher of mine a number of years ago. her husband and their son, there will be a mass at st. vincent de

paul church. where jerry spent years as a usher. we will miss him in district 2 and he will be missed by so many san franciscans. thank you. supervisor wiener: i would like to have my name added as a co- sponsor to the resolution supporting central subway. we have this unfortunate habit in san francisco if you have a project that moves forward, that will create a lot of benefit and as it nears completion or gets down the road, all of a sudden, barriers are thrown up or people start questioning it. any major transit or infrastructure project to the bay bridge or bart, or the central subway, there will always be some controversy. there will be folks who think it can be done better.

we have to extend our transit system, this is an area that needs transit. i am confident we will extend it further north. no major project is going to be 100% when you want out of the gate. this is a project that will make it up to the no. one day. i want to co-sponsor that. i also want to elaborate on the legislation i am introducing today with supervisor cohen and supervisor farrell. the district attorney has been spearheading this and i want to compliment him for his work here and anticipating one of the effects of realignment, namely, we need to be smarter about how we sentence people. we will have a much heavier burden in san francisco not just with the current prisoners but with future prisoners who in the past we could said tuesday president, but if we sentence

them, ain making sure that the e -- people who go to jill go to jail. we have to make sure that they do not concern the rest of the budget. we have seen what happens in california when we are not smart with sentencing. we have a state budget that is higher than our state education budget. i do not want to see that happen in san francisco, so this will be composed of the district attorney, the public defender, adult probation, the reentry council, a number of other representatives, so we have a complete group of stakeholders that can go about it in that way, and i am proud to be sponsoring it. clerk calvillo: thank you, supervisor wiener. supervisor chu?

supervisor chu: in terms of connectivity, thinking about how not only connects some, but how it connects the outskirts of san francisco to the central part of our city. so many residents of the sunset, richmond, the valley, they do make their way to chinatown and the downtown for work, for shopping, to connect with community, and to the extent that we do this, it is not just an economic magnet and something that helps the state economy overall, but it is something that helps improve the connectivity and transportation for our existing residents, so i do want to be added as a co- sponsor of that legislation, as well. clerk calvillo: thank you, supervisor chu. president chiu: ok.

supervisor avalos? supervisor avalos: banks that have been bailed out but who have not been doing their part to support local communities, banks like bank of america, wells fargo, they received bailout from the federal government and yet have not been doing their part to create jobs and to ensure that households across the state and the country have recourse to prevent foreclosure and default, modifications of loans with these banks not as strong as they can be, and it is when residents demand that there is action and accountability that we know we can create change, so my hearing request, looking at how we can leverage our dollars, that is this week, a proposal to these actions. also, it just so there is no doubt about my position on the central subway, i would like to

add my name as a co-sponsor for the resolution affirming the central subway, and i have actually been kind of alarmed about have a sense of what has been criticized by some of the various people who have been supporters over the past several years, so i think it is important that there be no doubt that could perhaps jeopardize funding that is going to need -- we needed for the build up, funding that will be openly approved at the federal level, where there is a great deal of change going on in terms of transportation projects being approved, and i think the board of supervisors making this statement will be important to assure that there is support for this, and i hope it is unanimous, which it think it is, because we all voted on different aspects of this at the transportation authority. clerk calvillo: thank you, supervisor avalos.

supervisor campos: i do not want to be long. i just want to add my name to it. clerk calvillo: that is the end of the roll call. president chiu: ok, it is just a little after 3:00. can we go back? madam clerk, could you please call items number 29 and 30? a hit -- 29 and 30? clerk calvillo: this is a resolution to establish the westboro community benefit. president chiu: this is to be

named the west portal community benefit districts. this hearing is held pursuant to the board of supervisors resolution that was adopted, on august 2, 2011, which sets today's hearing date and also approved a plan an engineering report from 2011 as well as the form of ballot for property owners. supervisor elsbernd, this is in his district, and i understand he may have some amendments. supervisor elsbernd: yes. there are some amendments in relation to this. it is minor. we are proposing to remove two parcels from the total parcels that would be covered, dropping us down from 84 parcels them 82 parcels. one is an apartment building, and the other is a professional building. they are located in an area that would not have produced a great deal of money, i think a grand total of $4,700 out of the

$2,000 that would be generated. this just reflects the deletion of those two parcels and the technical amendments that need to be made to assure the completion of the benefit districts. i am not sure, madam city attorney. should we adopt this minutes before the hearing, or should we adopt them after? i think most folks know we are going to do this, so i would make the motion to adopt those amendments now. president chiu: supervisor elsbernd has made a motion to amend, seconded by supervisor mirkarimi. colleagues, if we can take those amendments without objection? that shall be the case. so at this time, we are going to hear from any speakers who wish to speak in support or in opposition of this disaster. we will first hear from speakers in support, and then we will hear from individuals who oppose

it. after today's public hearing is closed, the department of elections will count all of the ballots, including those ballots received during today's hearing and some of the tabulation to the board. members of the public may choose to view these on the basement level of the building in room 59. if there are too many ballots to accurately tabulate them today, we can recess this meeting to a later date to obtain a final tabulation. if the tabulation of the ballots shows a majority protest, the board of supervisors will not approve the establishment of the district or the assessments, but if there is not a majority protest, the board may choose to impose the assessments. a majority protest exists if the weighted balance exceed the ballot of those in favor of the assessment districts. the ballots are weighed according to the obligation of

each of the affected properties. so with that, at this time, why do we not open up a public hearing on this issue for anyone who wishes to testify on the proposed establishment of the west portal district and on the proposed plan an engineer's report from september 2011? that forced ask if there are members of the public that supports the establishment of this district, if you could please step up. police stepped up, and if you want to line up on the right- hand side, that would be great. each member of the public shall have up to two minutes to speak. >> that afternoon, supervisors. thank you for letting as the year. i have a business. i have been active on this street with a merchant's organization for well over 20 years, which is how long i have had my business.

i have also been probably the key member in seeing this through. this started in 2009 sort of out of frustration of the volunteer- based merchant organization. we looked at the aspects of the cbd and talked to property owners, and we formed a plan. the aspect was discussed in merchant meetings, and eventually, we hired a consultant and drew up a management plan, after which we had several neighborhood meetings aimed at property owners and merchants and set up a website to get out the word of what we were proposing. in setting up this plan, we researched other districts, including a valid one, because we thought it was very similar in the make up to west portal, and we learned a lot from things they did right and things they may have missed stepped, and we

adopted two important lessons that we learned, the budget amount. we learned a lot of districts are too shy, so we went for a high amount, and then the length, the term, we figured it should be significant, so we went for what we thought was a reasonable amount. the assessments are fair, especially less than one phone bill for a business owner like myself. i pay about $80 per month. and it said that the formation of a clean and green district, so we are going to clean the streets, green the streets, and put up some small parks. this is a well thought out plan. i encourage you to support it, and we have a lot of supporters here. thank you. president chiu: next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am an owner, and one of the locations i have is on west

portal. i have had that business for 12 years. i have also grown up there. my family and child a home is still there. growing up there, i have seen it go both ways. it is one of those avenues that is nice, quiet, charming, and sleepy, but it needs revitalization. in the past years, it has always been voluntary, and all too often, it was way too few people doing way too much for people who probably did not deserve it. this is a great unifier. everybody gets skin in the game. we have a functioning infrastructure. everyone is committed. i feel that wants everybody starts to pay into the system, they tend to be more committed, and they tend to be more involved, which i look wholeheartedly forward to. i am currently president of the west portal avenue association, and once again, it is way too few people doing way too much.

i support this. there are some that had objections to them. i have looked at some of the videos of some of the other conflicts. west portal is not as diverse lead discrepant s some of the others, which at that questions and conflicts. i think we are all on the same boat, headed for the same island. it is just a matter of having something to get us there. thank you. president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is james robinson. i have and big business on westboro avenue for the last five years along with my wife, who will be speaking shortly after. the cbd's have a tremendous track record, where they go in and help improve the neighborhoods and to manage with the existing organizations, and

i urge you to wholeheartedly support this, as i do. thank you. president chiu: next speaker. >> below, my name is gail. my husband and i have owned a business for five years. we are very excited about this. we believe it will bring continuity and unity, and it will elevate the business district, which is so sorely needed. thank you. president chiu: next speaker. >> good afternoon. my name is bob presley. i am neither an owner or a merchant. i live a couple blocks away. i have been around there for 10 years. we have enjoyed watching the good things on west portal. we have done a lot of shopping there. there are restaurants. we eat out a lot there. there are a fair number of new people moving in. there are five new families on our block with kids.

we hope this was portal area will continue to grow and be the center it can be. this would be one of the stops on the way to the suburbs. we have more muni lines: through west portal then i think anywhere else in the city, so it has the advantage of being able to handle more people, and the growth in west portal is growth without necessarily having more cars. that should be a positive thing for the city. i support this very much. i see or do people -- i see older people in jointness, taking a walk in and join the local stores. i support the type of distress you are setting up, and i hope that you vote for it, because it is important for the board of supervisors to lead in things like this, so thank you very much. president chiu: thank you. next speaker.

>> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is auburn shepard, and i am with the greater neighborhood association. i have lived in san francisco all of my life, and i have grown up and have spent a long time -- a lot of time in westport. my uncle used to take me down when i was younger than you. i am here to support the community benefits district. i think it will welcome west portal into the current world. people go to places now. they go to restaurants. they could to shops. they expect to see something bright and shiny, and this is a great way to make a place bright and shiny. the assessment that the merchants and property owners will get is so small that they will not even feel it, but they will feel the benefits of it. i