works, working with our police department and their foot patrols are out here, and they see what happens every day. we do not want anybody to get into the streets at all. right, commander and captain? it is their safety that is really the preeminent thing that we want to do. while we try to enhance the family experience in chinatown and welcome in a little bit more business and have that positive experience. it works or it we need to tweak it, we will do more of the. we will work with everybody to enhance it. i think this is worth trying. i think it is time we do this, and it will begin this saturday. i think it is a welcoming thing for everybody that will increase the participation and i think increase the businesses.

while the tourist business has increased this last year in the city, certain pockets of our city have not experienced as much as other pockets of the city. so this is yet another way we can do it. i know north beach has some special needs. we can pay attention to that in the very near future. there are other pockets, but this is part of what i wanted e merchant quarters, hear what they had to say, respond in a positive way and experience and experiment with ideas that innovate with our emergence to try to enhance their ability to make a little bit more, and also help with the cultural scene. this year is the year of the dragon. eat you know anything about the dragon, you know that the dragon is kind of like the big leader of all of the zodiac animals. they are fearless. they have the big dragon breath. you know, the fire breath. they are not fearful of hast

things. they want to just flows through some new ideas, and i think that is what we wanted to boldly this year, kind of use the spirit of the dragon to say, cassette and let's do some new ideas. let's be bold about it." let's do something that enhances the cultural theme of chinatown as well. we decided to do this. we believe we have the support of all of the residents. there preeminent thing was that pedestrian safety be the number one thing, so we have done that. we have reflected in it. i want to thank this very balanced approach that vw has had with everybody's cooperation. all of the inspectors would be here. we will have some additional monitors to make sure that the safety is preeminent, but at the same time, to gauge the participation of everybody. i do believe what everybody's help, this will be a positive thing. particularly, i want to thank the merchants. they were bold enough to say,

"let's try something a little different. supervisor is responsible for what happens in this district, so we engaged him early. i want to thank him for helping to support this but also helping to lead it as well. we will be working closely with him as he gives feedback on the experience. supervisor chiu: thank you, mr. mayor. happy new year. have a chinese new year two weeks ahead of time. one of the most amazing aspect of, i think, one of the most special holidays that we celebrate in san francisco is the chinese new year rally brings books together. i want to thank everyone who is part of making this great announcement possible. our city agencies who are here, the mta, our san francisco police department, dpw, our city administrator. also, i have to thank our mayor. he first spoke to me about this in, i think, our first meeting right after the election.

we both wanted to move forward on ideas that would help revitalize not just our merchant corridors and job creation, but make sure that chinatown remains the very special capital of the chinese-american community that it is. i think the announcement is also very special because we're talking about how we use our streets in a way that bill communities. san francisco in recent years has been on the forefront of taking back our streets for our families, our children, our seniors. just like sunday streets, i think what we are experimenting with with this pilot project will be in that direction. we are also talking about making the chinese new year experienced more authentic. more what we expect chinese new year's to be celebrated throughout the world. i want to thank everyone here from the chinese merchant associations, attorneys chambers, our family associations, our non-profit associations. this is what san francisco should be about, coming together to celebrate san francisco.

again, congratulations. happy new year. [applause] >> as you heard the mayor and supervisor chiu say, it is always coming together. one of the key partners in making sure the project is successful is sfmta. i will have them come and give you a few tips on what to look for. [laughter] >> on behalf of all my colleagues at the sfmta we are pleased to be partnering with all the other city agencies as well as the community to bring forth this pilot. in addition to enhancing the pedestrian experience, we have done quite a bit on stockton street, including the pedestrian scramble signals recently. in addition to enhancing the experience through this pilot,

one of our primary goals is to make sure that the traffic and transit continue to operate satisfactorily throughout this corridor. for that to happen, we will need everyone's cooperation. i think the best tool is compliance and cooperation. i am sure that will be the case. i am really looking forward to this pilot being impactful, the official, and ultimately successful. thank you. [applause] >> another partner to make sure that while you are shopping at tsa is -- that while you're shopping you are safe is the finest police department. >> i had not prepared to come up, but i can tell you we're just delighted at the notion of wider sidewalks. it is good for fitness and good for safety. the captain and i walked up here, and i moved one double

parked car along the way and let the bus through the intersection, at a said we should take the bus up, and we realized it was faster to walk. one thing we did also was we cut into the street a lot because of all the credit sidewalks. wider sidewalks are good, and we are most happy working with the issue of deliveries early and late, so not during the day. this is going to be good for traffic, good for business, and good for pedestrians. the richmond station where i was several years ago -- i thought something like this, and i was told everywhere was too complicated, forget about it. so i commend you guys. i am sort speechless, and that does not happen to me often. [applause] >> as the mayor said, this idea was being worked on over the last few weeks, and it took quite a number of meetings. it took quite a bit of organizing. some agreements were being made.

exactly how this was going to work. one of the neighborhood groups we worked with, so we will have them say a few words. >> i am the presiding president of chinese consolidated delivery association, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of chinatown labour association and merchants on stockton street, we want to thank you. mayor lee, president of the board of supervisors, david chiu, dtw director, director, and commissioner, for all the support for making the chinese

traditional sidewalk merchandise displayed a pilot program, a reality nine days before the chinese new year. starting from january 14 to january 22, from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.. we all know that the sidewalk is only 9.5 feet wide. it would be too congested for pedestrians to walk through the area, therefore, we elected mayor lee to use the parking space to display the merchandise in the parking area so that pedestrians would be able to walk through the sidewalk area. we are happy to report to you all that mayor lee accepted the stockton street merchants request. i have been saying for mandates

to all my friends for many times that the people of san francisco are so lucky to be let ed lee as our mayor because he is not a politician but a public servant. he has served the people of san francisco for 22 years in five different city departments under four mayors. he understands the chinese community problems and is ready to offer his assistance. this pilot program is one of the examples. we are proud and honored to be one of the supporters of this program and to sponsor this pilot program has per midi and agent for stockton street merchants. again, thank you very much

there, and all your supporters. thank you. >> thanks so much, everyone. first of all, this is the year of the dragon. i am sorry that i almost forgot. but can you imagine what is going to happen during the year of 2012? we have a historic mayor. first chinese-american. the best mayor in the whole world in my opinion, but now, he got elected by the people of the city as the first asian elected mayor. should we all give our wonderful mayor a 22-year experience in city government a big round of applause?

[applause] as i said many times during the several events that i was involved, you can see the history continue to be made by our great mayor in the next four years, eight years, and beyond, believe me. our mayor has already shown his leadership ability to all of you. you know, what he has done -- i do not have to repeat what he has done. you have your own judgment, and he is a visionary mayor. he has done everything for us. not only chinese americans, but the city and every part that is involved. we're so grateful that the mayor, together with our president of the board of supervisors approved this program. we started talking about it

maybe three weeks ago. can you imagine within the short time, three weeks, the department of public works, under the leadership of director -- in oneand last night, we had a meeting from 6:00 to 8:00, and we completed a detailed plan of how we would do the celebration of the fair. this is something we have to give credit to all the department of public works under his leadership. [applause] and, of course, his assistant, the bureau chief, that he should get credit as well. in the way, thank you so much for your great effort. also, do not overlook the

senior help supervisor, lisa o'malley. she has been spending a lot of time with us. i wonder she is here today. but thank you so much. also, the mta and the other departments involved, the police departments, the captain. therefore, i will say this year will be a good year and thereafter as well, under our mayor ed lee. thank you. thank you. happy new year. [applause] >> ok, so i have been working with the department of public works for over 11 years. when i took this job, i work with mayor ed lee. someone who has mentored me, guided me, given the advice, and, frankly, been able to get to where i am is the next person i am going to introduce. they are partner in this, and

have done a lot of work with dpw. i have had the opportunity to travel to other countries to see how public works and how cities are being kept clean and green. welcome. [applause] >> well, i am not very good at clapping hands. i am very good at kicking behind, and to get things done. you know, the thing about mohammed and our mayor and our leadership in our city right now is that they are willing to listen. i have always advocated that the community comes together when that there is a good idea. when there is a bad idea, i am the first one -- i do not care who you are, i will object to it. this idea of displaying the sidewalk, as the mere mention, really started 11 years ago when he was in dpw.

at that point, the city, you know, a member of the city attorney and everybody, said it was too cumbersome, too difficult, the liability was to prohibited. and i was so happy when this mayor cut through all that bullshit and came up with this idea, you know, accepted this idea and expended it and work with different departments. it will be minimal cost. i said, again and again, when we -- one that is something we try and it encourages additional cost, the community should step forward to assume their responsibility. so they have they insurance policies, so it should not cost that much. and i call out, you know, tommy

yand, david wong, and the other associations, and i said, let's all step forward to share the cost of that insurance policy. it would only cost a few hundred dollars for eight or nine days, so it will be a real meaningful community effort. and i hope this will continue to last. the mayor taking the cue from previous mayor willie brown. he is a very forgiving person [laughter] under me, i will kick your butt before, you know, i get to work with you. but, mayor lee, giving us a new leadership, and we should all follow. thank you. [applause] >> a couple people i would like to thank. one of our main partners, recology, who is here.

there will be picking up garbage on time in making sure that the area is restored back to normal everyday. the pilot itself runs from 9:00 in the morning to 7:00 in the evening. and so, during that time -- >> no. >> ok, at 10:00 until 6:00 this and the merchants will be out there. between 9:00 and 10:00 is the preparation time. and between 6:00 and 7:00 this the cleanup time. we will be putting out some barricades along the parking strips. so those will all be within the sidewalk. nobody will be allowed on the street unless you are crossing the street at an intersection. ok, and the police have that information, and the sfmta also have that information because we have promised to allow the buses to run on time, and there will be nobody stopping or impeding the travel of the vehicle's speed up other people i would

like to thank, our deputy director for engineering. he has been very helpful. the city administrator, naomi kelly, someone i have been working with for many years, and we're working closer now. and all the community groups from chinatown, i want to thank you all. it has been a great working relationship, and another is a lot more work that we will do together. and we will be here cleaning up graffiti, making sure everything is clean. we will be watching the tunnels and the next few days, and we will be doing more work. i want to thank everyone for coming out today, and happy year of the dragon. thank you. [applause]

>> the meeting is being called order. please turn off yourself funds and put them on silent. we would like to take an opportunity to thank sf gov tv for all of their constant support. roll call. commissioner adams: here. commissioner clyde: here. commissioner dooley: here. president o'brien: here. commissioner o'connor: here. commissioner riley: here. >> item two.

approval of the november 14, 2011 meeting minutes. kraft november 14, 2011 meeting minutes. president o'brien: can i get someone to recommend approval? >> i motion to approve the november meeting minutes. >> second. president o'brien: that was december? november? thank you. approved without objection. >> item 3, approval of the december 12 minutes. the documents on december 12, 2011. >> i move. >> second. president o'brien: objections?

seeing none, approved. >> and general public comment. members can comment on items under the commission's purview. president o'brien: anybody that would like to talk on items not on the agenda? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> discussion and possible action to make recommendations to the board of supervisors on file # 111331. charter amendment, analyzing proposed legislation in relation to a net job loss. this will amend the charter by adding section 2.118 to require the board of supervisors on limitations of private businesses, require the comptroller to determine if such legislation will result in a net

job loss. authorize a small business commission for the board of supervisors consideration, and to prohibit the board of supervisors from taking final action until the small business commission submits alternative legislation or 60 days after the report issues the report. in your binder is the explanatory documents and we have a presentation by jason elliott, legislative director. gosh commissioners, my name is jason elliott -- >> commissioners, my name is jason elliott from the -- it started as a discussion with the director and with chris, so appreciation to them for months and months ago, coming to us with an idea. the charter amendment that you are considering today and what you have in your blinders is, in

principle, what i would like to discuss today. a few minutes ago, we received potential amendments that we are considering making. if i can, we can talk a little bit more conceptually about the idea as opposed to the specific line by line. we are moving away from the exact wording of what is in the packets. but just to take a step back, the idea here that the mayor made clear in his inaugural address yesterday morning, the number one priority is jobs for all people in san francisco. to that extent, having a smart economic development policy, and innovation corridor through the day and through central market, we have tremendous amount of investments that we are making a citywide. simply put, city government should be a partner in this to

create these jobs. jobs of all strata of them, and all skills for all types of keble. city government should be a participant and a partner, certainly never get in the way of what the private sector is doing to move forward on job creation. we have strong ordnances for minimum wage and prevailing wage. we are a city with responsible of employment rules. to the extent you want to keep creating those jobs, city government should be a partner in that. even well-intention the legislation. even from the apartments, they can have unintended consequences. they are sometimes meaning the destruction of jobs or a net loss of jobs. as the city, when we see legislation like that from ourselves, or from a number of

the board, the mayor feels it is very appropriate to take a step back and say that this legislation might fulfill a very important social goals. it also happens to destroy jobs. let's have a conversation very specifically about this question. how does this piece of legislation -- is it worth the- job impact? the charter amendment that we are considering and i will outline for you, it still allows legislation like that to be adopted. we're not saying that you can never have legislation that the comptroller of fines destroys jobs. it is a case through independent economic analysis, they find it is-jobs. is it worth it? and this commission, and other commissions, other departments will be required to come together and have that

conversation to answer that question. some have said in criticism of this that it is all about slowing down the process. in an odd way, i sort of would agree with that. it is about slowing down the process, it means you will bring in voices from this commission, the people of this commission represents, and we can talk about medium and big size programs, we want those voices in the conversation. there is a consensus process, and everybody gets on board with something. that is great. there is not much more required. to the extent that sometimes a slowing down collecting public input, considering options, those can be positive things as well. it could be people losing their jobs in the private sector.

to close on a sort of a preamble here, the mayor made clear that his number one priority is creating jobs, keeping jobs in san francisco. the extent that folks in this building are trying to do the right thing, that is good, that is our job. we should do that and be partners. if i can, very quickly, i didn't bring a copy of this for you because it is still in draft form. i can just outlined in principle what it does. it includes quite a bit of a process about what happens, and on what day this happens on. the feedback that we got from a lot of corners was that prescribing that amount of process in the charter, who coaches had issues with some of the processes that we set up. in a more overarching thing we

heard, it was not on the process. it is a place to set priorities and principles for the city. much like question time that was done to the charter amendment recently, the way that that was done, there was a policy priority set. the mayor should appear before the board. we will leave it to the legislators to work out the details. we have taken very much the same approach of this charter amendment, and we can't forecast what the best process would be. we can't forecast if this step should come before this that, it is hard to predict those things. we wanted to take a step back and say that in the charter, what we're asking for your support, is requiring the board of supervisors to wait 60 days before adopting an ordinance that may result in significant net loss for