supervisor mar: welcome to the monday december 5 meeting of the land use and economic development committee. i am the chair, to my right is supervisor cohen and to my left, supervisor wiener. >> please make sure to turn off cellular phones and electronic

devices. documents to be included should be submitted to the clerk. supervisor mar: please call item no. 1. >> transferring jurisdiction of property at 341 corbett avenue to the department of public works. supervisor wiener: this legislation will enhance public spaces and public of green space, in particular in the corbett heights neighborhood. this is a parcel that is zoned for public. it is filled with mature trees, it is on the slope at making it difficult for development, it

was transferred a number of years ago to the mayor's office of housing under the surplus property ordnance that is designed to increase housing for formerly homeless people. since then, nothing has happened with it. it has sat there vacant. the surrounding neighborhood it is very interested in improving this space, making it more usable, gardening and. they have at the forefront of this, and the president of the organization will speak about plans for the parcel. there are some pretty amazing plans for making this a greater and more usable public space. this legislation would transfer the property to the department of public works so that the

neighbors can do that work. the legislation also provides discretion for transfer of the parcel back to the mayor's office of housing if the space is not being used as a public space. today, i am also offering an additional amendment that would require an automatic review after five years so that if the space is not being used, if it is not benefiting the neighborhood, it could be transferred back. in my view, keeping this is open public space to be improved by the neighborhood would be of great benefit to the neighborhood. as opposed to selling it to a private developer for development of market rate housing at this site.

with that, mr. chairman, i do offer the amendment. and i will read the amendment. in addition, if not previously transferred to the mayor's office of housing within five years of effective date of this ordinance, the director of property, and the director of the mayor's office of housing shall meet and confer at that time in addition to consulting with the district supervisor and members of the public to evaluate the best use of the property and whether it should be maintained as neighborhood open space or transferred back to the mayor's office of housing. such a valuation will take into account if it is being used as public space, if the use is benefiting the neighborhood, if the transfer would be detrimental to the surrounding neighborhood, and the benefits

for affordable housing production. that is the amendment. the mayor's office of housing, i believe, should be here as well. would you like to say anything? and are you hear from the mayor's office? >> yes, we are supportive of the amendment, it would provide a date certain for possibility of using it for affordable housing or sell. supervisor mar: i know that the surplus property ordinance is a broader city-wide issue, and i think a number of the housing advocates are going to be speaking in a moment. what are your responses that by

not utilizing properties like that have already been identified for raising funds for affordable housing, how would it to replace those funds in the future? >> is one of the reasons why we would like to have a date certain. it did not necessarily pan out in terms of the marketability in terms of the steep slope of the site. we will try to look at other surplus properties if they could be sold in lieu of this particular site to be able to raise the particular proceeds to would be looking for. supervisor wiener: i also want to point out that the idea of surplus property is a property that is not being used for anything else. and when you have properties such as this one, it has another used to benefit in neighborhood. one can raise the issue if it

remains as surplus property, but the purpose of my amendment is to make sure that we are disciplined and taking a look to see how it is being used, if the neighborhood follows through with its plan and to make a decision about whether to keep it or transfer it back. at this point, we can open it up for public comment. do we have any cards? supervisor mar: we will limit it to 2 minutes per person. because of the five items on the agenda today. supervisor wiener: i will call a few names and you can line up. [reading names] we will start there.

>> of the afternoon, i am the president of the heights neighbors and the treasurer of the eureka valley neighborhood association. i am here because i discussed this with a supervisosupervisorr eyaryears now. we have been actively trying to improve the open space, this is the only actual retail space that we have. we have raised some money, we have a sponsor, the san francisco parks alliance. people have donated to the improvement of the slope. we have had numerous work days, who have cleared out spaces, taken the lead out, built have this, stairways, and generally

improved for the entire neighborhood. we have unanimous support from everybody there. the things that happened during financial difficulty times, open space environmental people who lose and affordable housing people lose. this is not a competition. we both have valid arguments and this is something, to eliminate this space, it is not going to solve anybody pose a problem. -- anybody's problem. >> i'm a native san franciscan. i was born and grew up just around the corner from dispersal that you are talking about. i have a lot of memories of

this, i used to play there as a child, and that green space, to look over is just beautiful. it is part of what makes san francisco unique. if they start taking away these places, it changes the look of the city and so forth. i hope that you will take that into consideration. i can tell you after world war two, i stood there with my sister watching the cars honking in keeping coming up market street. the thought that it would be taken away now is just -- i hate to see that happen. >> i am the founder of kitchen garden, we started in 2009 and our mission is to create a network of community gardens in

san francisco, the people grow food and become self-reliant and resilience. we began working with the slow earlier this year to create a community garden in the neighborhood. we have been assisting them getting access to the site, creating a comprehensive site plan, coordinating work days, volunteers, tools, and materials. we met with the enormous support, so happy not only to come together, but looking forward to growing food to gather and seeing a site that has been vacant for so long, looking forward to growing food rather than leads and the garbage. growing food in san francisco has become more and more popular with the increase in poverty.

we look forward to creating something near shanghai. supervisor mar: how long does it normally take you between first contact with a potential community garden to clear it out and began planting vegetables and other goods items? >> it depends on the site. for this site, it took a couple months to get our heads together and figure out what we wanted to do, to start meeting. they can take as little as a few weeks. >> and the neighbors have been proactively involved? >> absolutely, it would not be happening without them. we have been giving them the information, letting them know what the structures are, but it would not be happening without them. gary has been the ringleader pulling us together and it would not be happening without the

neighbors. have been coming out every time we have a work day, even if it is raining out. as the urban agriculture environments and then -- supervisor mar: has the urban and agricultural alliance been involved? >> they have been giving us support for where to go from here and helping us figure out to go to the parks trust to get sponsorship, and really creating a network and a community. supervisor mar: it would be interesting to see how you utilize that property because i understand you might have to make terraces. >> we don't usually select a site, it select us. we are very aware of the challenge is there, but also the

potentials. a lot of sun, so at a neighborhood that oftentimes can be foggy, having a self-effacing slope is really important. i like to envision southern italy when i think about the slow and how they grow their citrus trees. if it can happen there, i think we can do it in san francisco. supervisor wiener: let me call the next speakers. [reading names] >> i am a resident of 59 morris street and the men here support of maintaining green space which is under consideration at this point.

it is just an extraordinary possibility to have on the open space and green is that san francisco is speaking of, and we're trying to be as natural as possible. i recall a former mayor wanting to plant grown trees. it also gives an opportunity for the neighborhood to get together, which normally doesn't. certain families, but mostly working people, it is an opportunity for that kind of ambiance to form. the location is a prime one for those going up as tourists. this is not so superficial because of our city is reliant on tourism. many are wearing lederhosen and sometimes walking sticks. they think it is just marvelous

to be able spot that particular spot and looked out and say how much of on the field in seeing the beautiful city that they have. i do support the proposition. >> i live in the neighborhood as a member of the corbett hegiths ights neighbors. i support this so that we can have a large open space. thank you for your consideration. >> i am with the housing rights committee end also with

q.u.e.e.n. there is no more urgent need then for affordable housing as you noted in the new york times recently. we don't have enough housing here in san francisco. that is certainly true in the lbgt community. 30% of homeless youth are queer. 40% of people with aids are not housed. there is such an urgent need for housing. a number of the sales could go to finish up the funding because we know that the mayor's office

of housing does not have the funding needed for that project. we could use the money from the sale of this property to fund 109 units. the rest of the money could be used in district 8 for housing with people with aids and seniors that desperately needed. there is a possible compromise here. let us buy the land and turning it into a park? use the money to fund affordable housing. supervisor mar: the community once a garden and open space. what do you suggest? >> may be a donor can come in and put up some money. affordable housing is the most urgent need we have. supervisor cohen: u r -- and you

have a donor in mind? >> no. supervisor cohen: it seems the are mostly in support of having the money go towards affordable housing. >> we feel that the building of affordable housing, particularly for the lbgt community is a desparaterate need. there are so many people homeless and our community, particularly use and people with aids. we desperately need this money. i don't believe, honestly, that the money will materialize for the 109 units of senior housing. supervisor cohen: the mayor's

office of housing is in favor of this transfer, right? supervisor mar: i will ask for ideas, if the property is not going to be used for surplus housing, what strategy do they have to raise the funds for the critical need. >> even hud will be holding a conference in d.c. to talk about housing. they recognize that there is such a need for lgbt housing. supervisor mar: thank you. next speaker. >> i have lived in the neighborhood for 35 years and hah hah heartily support the agenda item #1 of supervisor wiener.

>supervisor mar: thank you. >> i am a neighbor and i've lived there for 30 years now. the spot we're talking about is a wonderful green area, the trees are gorgeous, and it would be great to retain some green space in san francisco. >> i am a resident, i have been there for 21 years. i worked on green pockets of wonderful areas and they are absolutely priceless. we can't replace a cold and beautiful trees with something new and the lesser when there is so little of the in the city. it is important to retain what we can and cannot get rid of things like these beautiful green spaces. and the neighbors, i work with

the neighbors. it is a wonderful sense of community created by having these kinds of places. supervisor wiener: the last three speakers. if there are any other speakers, please fill out a card. >> i am a 16-year resident of the neighborhood. i would not in any direct way be affected one way or the other. i do support this. one thing that hasn't been said is that many years ago, this was a neighborhood maintained a garden area. apparently there was an incident that caused the property to fence it can have access over concerns for liability. it is a difficult piece of photography, as you have heard.

it is difficult to market which probably has a lot to do with why it has been vacant. it was never considered a site itself but might be sold to generate funds for public housing. this date back to the prior use. thank you. supervisor wiener: next speaker. >> i that someone else was in front of me, but i will go ahead. i am a neighbor on clinton street. i am in favor of this for a couple of reasons, to of which are community in the green. we have a lot of concrete spaces and good ideas. when you have $pop-up, a lot of smart people come up with reasons why they think their

idea should prevail. i was out in early november to help clean up the site. kind of slow being one-handed and all, but i went out there anyway. i did not see developers of their or anyone from city hall. i didn't see anybody out there but people that will benefit from and help it. i think it is green, that is a good thing to keep, we have enough concrete. there is not enough affordable housing, for sure. but when we take green for housing, that is a tough trade off. gosh i live with my partner in the 300 block, and i am here to speak in favor of the transfer. i won't take much of your time, only to say that i have been in your area since 1998 and always

thought what a shame that such a beautiful parcel had been walled off by a chain-link fence and it has become a dumping ground. people can leave their garbage expecting that the city would be able to pick it up. i was excited the of the neighborhood was coming together to reclaim the space and make it something beautiful for the neighborhood. supervisor wiener: is there any additional public comment? seeing the and, mr. chairman, can we close -- can we close public comment? did you want to respond to anything? supervisor mar: i am looking at the property on google maps. it overlooks market street with a tremendous view and there could be a potential for

creation of housing or other use is there, it does seem fenced off, so open spaces advocated by the community, it would benefit the committee tremendously. one of the questions raised, i think tommy said that in the mayor's office of housing which has the charge of advocating for the creation of affordable housing, if you give up on surplus properties like this, how are you making it up with other strategies to beef up the need for affordable housing that they are saying is one of the most critical needs in this city. are there other properties they you have in mind that you can raise more capital so that we have more affordable housing? >> and the need for affordable housing is not lost on us for the lack of funding.

we're trying to look alternative sites for raising revenue. >> when examples of sites do you have? >> we are still in the evaluation stage, like the port, and not so much land dedication but sites they may have in terms of paying fees. that could generate significant in come or fees whether it is to the jobs housing linkage program or other fees that can be used in lieu of a modest amount of proceeds relative to the sale of this society. we would like to look the other alternative sites that will generate far more in come. >> one of the speakers said there was a previous garden there. what is the history of the site? >> i believe it was a community garden. it was deemed surplus at the

time, it was no longer used for that purpose. we have evaluated if we can sell the site for use it for affordable housing. it was deemed financially unfeasible because of the slope. we have sat on the site because we have not moved forward on the sale or focusing energies on other sales for the development. supervisor mar: i appreciate the amendments. i hope the office of housing and develop strategies and more specifics about what properties they are looking at. community affordable housing advocates have to be involved when we are talking about the surplus property ordinance and my hope is that in the future, there is that dialogue that goes on. seeing a strong push by the neighborhood residents for open

space that benefits the neighborhood, i am supportive of that. i hope it lives up to its charges and is looking for the critical need in the neighborhood. supervisor wiener: i wanted to a knowledge that we have a fairly infinite need for funding for affordable housing in this city at all levels. having gone through the laguna project and the recent efforts to make sure that we kept the affordable housing commitments there, we are very well aware of that and we need to work very hard to find ways to create more affordable housing. when we are talking about selling off public open space, that is a big deal. and if something is truly surplus property that is not used, sitting there doing nothing, it is one thing.