the sf mta. we look forward to seeing the results very soon, starting here. there will be 30,000 in san francisco eventually. now the largest city to do this anywhere in the world. thank you. [applause] bu>> with leadership like a scene from the three gentlemen behind me, they have set a clear course and strong direction for us. there are a number of folks within the mta that will execute. i want to acknowledge a few of the folks at the mta that have gotten us to this point were driving the program forward. jay is the project manager for sf park. he has been a great leader setting the model. steven lee, lisa foster. george reynolds and the neter

-- meters shop putting it todd monology -- putting the technology on the street. i went to acknowledge all the great staff behind the effort. it is city staff partnering with the private sector. the mayor has been strong in pushing technology and partnership with the private sector. we have a great private-sector partner here who has done the work elsewhere in the country and the world. we're pleased to have them on board with us to put into place what will be the biggest planet worldwide in san francisco. here is the man behind the technology to pay by phone. >> we're very excited to be working with san francisco in implementing this proven and

popular technology. despite the convenience and reminder text messages that unproven popular, the joy of the system is that can be used on any phone and any network. we are breaking new ground. san francisco will be the first city in the u.s. to implement nfc-enabled parking. it will be the largest rollout anywhere in the world. that is very exciting. the pay by phone tag is embedded with a tag. any enabled phone can be swiped to activate the parking session. there are not that many phones on the market at the moment with

the chips, but san francisco will be ahead of the curve in terms of the significant rollout throughout 2012. we will be able to benefit from the technology and network effect of having these smart tags all over the city. while it is ground-breaking technology we are introducing, i would emphasize the service is available on any mobile phone. all you need to do is dial the toll-free number or download the app on to the smartphone. whatever method you use, the benefits are available. you can get reminder texts. you have the convenience of not carrying coins to pay for parking. you can top off time remotely. you can get e-mail receipts for your parking. it is exciting technology. thank you very much.

we are excited to be helping san francisco making parking as good as it can get. thank you. [applause] >> i am going to try to show you how it works in a second. i want to reemphasize the point that the mayor and supervisor wiener made. we regulate parking to make transportation work. we want compliance and not to catch people. we want people to obey the rules so we do not have to give them a ticket. despite people's thoughts to the contrary, i do not want people to think of mta as the people that gave and the parking ticket. i want them to think of us as the people that help them to get where they need to go. that is where this technology epitomizes that philosophy of

the mta to make transportation work in san francisco. in this case, it is a fun and high-tech way. now i am going to try to show you how it works. my first generation iphone is not as sophisticated as the new ones. you can do this with a regular cell phone. if you have a newer one, you just tap. you will have to trust me because you cannot see this. it launched the app already downloaded by tapping. it tells me where i am part, what time of day it is. then it prompts me for a

duration in minutes. i will put in 200 minutes because it is not my credit card. [laughter] i just put in five minutes. it will cost me 17 cents. this is to confirm and charge. i click the button and i am good to go. i will get a confirmation e-mail if i have set it up that way. it will go directly to my credit card that i have set up. it is completely secure for the credit card system, for those concerned about security and safety. i will give a text message of the reminding me the meter is about to expire. if i want to extend it, i can do it just as easily. that is all there is to it. you can be processed by calling the 800 number. it is simple technology that helps people to be compliant and

helps to make sentences the transportation work. i think we have an ipad with a close-up of the app. thank you for coming out today. there is a 45 cent fee. this does not go to the mta. is a transaction between whoever is using it and pay by phone. that is the cost for providing the service. initially, you get a couple of them free to try it out and see how it works. if you compare 45 cents to the time it would take you to run and fish for coins, i think it is 45 cents well spent. it is 45 cents as opposed to the cost of a parking ticket. that is an even better cost calculation. >> [unintelligible] >> it is a per transaction fee.

as we deploy more in the city, it is possible the fee will go down in time. compared to the cost of a parking ticket, it is a pretty good deal. >> [unintelligible] >> each time you transact, there is authorization against your credit card. there is a fee each time you transact. we're looking at ways to reduce that in the future. starting out, that fee will be there. in the 45 cent fee, it goes to paying the credit card processing fee. the balance is covering our costs. that is where our revenue comes from. >> [unintelligible]

>> it depends on what credit card you are using. it varies depending on corporate credit cards and charges. the fee can range from 25 cents to 35 cents. you will not see it on the meter. you do not need to worry about the fact the meeting does not get updated. when they come around with the hand-held, they can tell it has been paid for. >> will it make it more confusing for them? if they're looking at expired meters? >> on the application when they do a look up, they can enter 1 location number. it will bring up all of the locations on the street. they can just walk down the street and see the locations with the information. >> [unintelligible]

>> the parking control officers will be using a hand-held device to determine if the meter is current or not. even if they start to process a citation for an expired meter, it will bounce back an electronic check to make sure it has not been paid electronically. it will not allow them to issue a ticket if it has been paid for electronically. there is the electronic check to ensure that you will not get a ticket. it is a real-time transaction. that is the beauty of the technology.

here. commissioner lee: here. commissioner hyde: here. commissioner joseph: here. commissioner tan i believe is on his way. >> item one is discussion and possible action to send recommendation to the planning

commission and the board of supervisors regarding entertainment and community planning. before i call on commissioner hyde to address us, i want to make a couple of points. neither myself nor this commission is discrediting the process of the plan. we respect the process, we just know that it isn't finished yet. we feel like it is fair to keep on talking about it. things have been referred to as an entertainment zone. we find that language to be inflammatory. it serves no purpose and is not factual. our input, by the way, is simply recommendations. it is for those bodies that actually make the final

decision. no decision made here today reflects the plan, it is just our recommendation to them. land use is a very long-term decision. when you make a land use decision, it goes out into the future. it requires as much discussion as possible. we are taking it seriously and we feel that we can continue to talk about it. there are issues that still need to be talked about. we realize it has taken a long time for this plan to be formulated. issues are different now, and there are folks that still want to have some input. after this presentation is made, it is to form a subcommittee to further discuss this issue i imagine any -- many

of you out here are to speak on the subject and the request that everyone be civil and respectful during public comment. commissioner hyde: i wanted to thank everyone that came out tonight because it is this kind of input that i have been trying to open the doors for for several months now. my idea was not to rush ahead without community input or concerns. i think it is very important to note that since june, i have been trying to open this for discussion for issues that were brought to me by members of the commission and concerns from the news as well as small business owners and people who work with

these small businesses. the plan is very comprehensive, and we are proud that we have a community plan that takes a lot of the better parts of the plan, such as the stabilization policy or the idea of more bike lanes and being more like friendly, creating better transit, these are things that i acknowledge are good for this plan there is a discussion around alternatives that they feel like they have not been heard. i am not saying that they are the only voices, i am not saying

they are the only ones i have done out reached 2 or intent to do outreach to. i was glad to hear that we are moving this forward, because this discussion needs to be open and effective. the reason it was being pushed through, i was told how, as were other people on the plan, february is when the eir would come out. that is the environmental review that would start implementing this plan. people were saying that all this time has come, we need to do something and we need to act fast. i was placed in the position of trying to come up with language as to what these would look like at trying to get someone to discuss them with me. that was a very difficult process to get someone to discuss them with me. i did the best that i could invoicing and common language what it would look like if we

invested a little more and entertainment and took another look at how it fits into the western soma neighborhood of fabric. i intend to also do more outreach to the neighbors. if you want to talk to me, i am extremely available. i love meetings, i love getting coffee, please contact me. i mean yeah. there are several people that have worked with me in the audience tonight, i am very open and willing to listen to your needs and concerns. i am not going to promise that i agree with everything you say, you will probably not agree with everything i say, but it is only through open dialogue that we can come to the best decisions and make sure that it is not just here say that we are reacting to. as to why this was brought to me, i was on the western soma

planning task force that started with the arch representative making comments to me that he was looking for help looking into entertainment ever since the former entertainment person have left the discussion. he felt that he was having trouble getting these points listened to. so i help him pursue this, and at every turn, we were told that we did not understand about to have this conversation. this conversation could not continue. and when you start telling me know and the small businesses starting yes, we would like to continue this, i feel that it is my duty to continue on. and check out what people have asked me to check out. i am not doing this to get

anyone or do anything other than open up a conversation. i am just going to say that one more time. i would like to move forward in a positive way where my back is not against the wall to come up with planning speak that i don't know. i am hoping that we have a full board at the entertainment commission, which could have a full and vetted discussion about entertainment that is not in the purvey, unnecessarily, of the actual taskforce since i was unable to get that discussion there. that is really all i have to say except that i am really glad you came out. i am not looking to extend entertainment throughout all of soma under everyone's roof. it is about some of the entertainment uses that have looked as far as the zoning end

the conversation would continue from there. please contact me because now as when the work starts. commissioner joseph: please note commissioenner tan is present. >> i will call for public comment, but before doing so, i would like to form this subcommittee that will have no less than three meetings that will engage the public in dialogue on this issue. on the subcommittee, i appoint a commissioner tan, commissioner hyde and myself. a three-member sub-committee. you will all get a copy of that agenda, and we will see you then. i look forward to public comment

on this issue. i have some speaker cards. forgive me if i mispronounce your name. >> i have lived within the western soma community plan area for over 10 years. i have a vested interest in the betterment of my community. i am here to ask you to stop this attempt to overrule the western plan. please respect the community plan as it is, there have been 66 community meetings discussing entertainment with input from all interested stakeholders. please do not ignore our well thought out and well the plan. show my neighborhood some respect and leave the plan alone. i suggest you start your own plan. thank you.

>> next speaker, jeremy pulled. -- paul. >> my name is jeremy paul, i am a permit consultant and diocese people with projects going through the permit process. this plan has been very -- a lot of hard work has gone into it. there is so much quality in this document. i don't want to see a this, the quality of the essential core element of this document be threatened by a weak entertainment element. it really falls upon the entertainment division and the community that created its to support entertainment uses in the western soma. i have worked there for about 60 years and spent most of my days there.

i feel very strongly that this plan as it now stands is very weak in how it supports entertainment uses and how it enables a entertainment uses to thrive and continue. many elements of this plan are accepted in a defacto sort of way but the planning department as it reviews upcoming projects and the district. there is a preemptory review of the upcoming projects under the draft plan, the i don't think you can waste any time at all in getting serious about presenting alternative proposals as far as the entertainment uses in this district. >> [reading names]

and anybody else that wants to speak on this issue, please line up on that side of the room. >> i live in the south of market district. my partner lives in the western soma planning area so i feel affected by any decisions in that area. i will ask that you stop trying to hijack and spoil a well thought out and well vetted community plan. if sfgovtv would please show was on the overhead? i guess i could read it. you're starting a subcommittee with three members. how many mailings to zero residents are you going to do? the planning task force held all 7000 residents and other affected parties three times.

21,000 pieces of mail. you have the budget to send out 7000 mailings at least once? twice? three times? i guess no. you're starting a process, and a totally different process here. so far this commission has had one public meeting prior to tonight. between 2006 and present, they have discussed entertainment and how it fits in in a balanced way with the rest of the other stakeholders and interests in the community. how many times is the subcommittee going to meet? we say it is just eleventh street, but if you attack eleventh street, your attacking all south of market residents.

finally, and there really was the overhead was working right now, the entertainment division, we are setting up the three- member subcommittee. there are six members of the entire commission. there are 26 members of the task force appointed by the board of supervisors. i will read the different members to you. honda president representative, one recent representative, when entertainment activities rep. a nonprofit developer, a for- profit developer, the san francisco transportation authority, a planning department representative which is very important. if the subcommittee doesn't have a planning person, what are you doing talking about planning?

please back off. thank you. >> the evening, commissioners. the neighborhood contains some of the most important entertainment venues in the city. these small businesses contribute to the san francisco economy and the city of the vibrant culture. we all of knowledge that they often conflict with residential uses and we don't oppose housing entirely because there are already neighbors that lived adjacent to these venues. some of them moved into the neighborhood because of the thriving nightlife. encouraging more housing in this neighborhood is asking for

trouble. we support reforms that will improve the relationship between the nightlife and the community. if new housing is built in the neighborhood, it should be designed to take into consideration what is already there. like new construction that will protect residents from allies. we also favor making entertainment a permanent use. making entertainment a permanent use will help ensure the viability of the businesses for years to come. it is a delicate negotiation and it is important to hear from the stakeholders' involved and we thank you for undertaking this process. people move to san francisco because of the vibrant culture. the economy has been hard