assistant secretary marquez. [applause] >> it is my pleasure to be here. i do not get to come home very often. it is nice to be here. we have been friends a long time. we're both natives. we have watched the city changed over the years for the better. mayor, congratulations on your election. we're also proud. i want to thank you for helping us out and doing such a wonderful job in this area. at hud, we're focused on the issue of ending veteran homelessness. we have made a commitment to the president that we would end veteran homelessness in five years, along with the secretary of the va. we have worked hard to deliver on the promise. in the past year, we have brought it down by 12% in one year. that is difficult to achieve. it comes from specific focus between the va and different offices in hud to make that

happen across the country. this particular project is wonderful. it is serving those who have been on the streets along time. there are folks who have really suffered. we do not want to forget them as young girl men and women are coming home. we do not want to forget the folks who have been on the streets along time -- a long time. they have aged beyond their years. we want to help them. this is the type of program that does it. does it with special plans. the whole program has built over 1 million units in 20 years. it is a fabulous program. it helps extremely low income people all the way to home ownership for people just beginning. this is an incredible example of that. the couple of days ago, the president made a huge announcement about housing. one thing that does not get as much play in the press is the

focus on the very poor. he made a $1 billion commitment to the first affordable housing trust fund. he has said it will be included in his budget in a few weeks to congress. that affordable housing trust fund is focused on rental housing for people at 30% or below the area median income, folks like those that will get the opportunity to call this place home. we're very excited because we're already working on what has been passed but never funded. we're calling on congress to fund it. the president has also made a commitment that included in his budget will be $15 billion program called project for build. it is the neighborhood stabilization program to rehabilitate foreclosed properties across the country. it will put people back to work. we estimate the $15 billion

program will create over 200,000 jobs and treat over 350,000 units. many of them look like this and achieve these goals. today we had encouraging news. the unemployment rate in january dropped to 8.3%, the lowest in three years. over 257,000 jobs were created in the last month. we're moving in the right direction. we have a long way to go. a comprehensive list of programs like the one the president obama announced a couple of days ago, for the struggling poor, those working their way into the middle class, and ultimately a national refinancing program that will help those are current in payments to stay current. it will ease stress and help families save about $3,000 a year. we're talking about a full complement of programs that takes you from when you need a hand up to those who just need a

hand to stay where they are and keep fighting for their families. i am pleased the mayor and staff invited us to witness this. i grew up here. going to school, i was right here every day riding by. i knew exactly where this building is. thank you for to beautiful day to be home. congratulations, mayor, and your entire team on what you are doing. i have had the pleasure of working with the non-profit communities involved in this project for a long time. other members of my family continue to be involved in san francisco. best of luck. i look forward to coming back and greeting the first tenants calling this place home. congratulations and thank you. [applause]

>> thank you, very much. the mayor mentioned the development team managing the construction of the project is ccdc, chinatown community development corporation. the project manager is kim. she gets to the day to day work to shepherd this through. one of the greatest challenges of affordable housing is that it is difficult to finance affordable housing and get it constructed. it is even harder to keep it running. the organization that will be keeping a running -- it running and serving the residence for many years is swords to plowshares. they will have the heavy lifting over the long time. to really change the lives of

those residents of this particular development. they have had a long and successful track record in doing so and deserve all of the support that we can give them going forward in the future. the whole notion of it takes a village, it usually takes a whole district to do a project. in some cases, it takes the delegation in washington, d.c., also to help. there are many people to thank. i would like to thank the leaders office. i see dan and nicole, also the d.c. staff, bob edmonson, i want him to know that we really appreciate his efforts on behalf of this project. the leaders in helping to finance this particular project also. in addition to the leader's

office, we want to thank senator boxer's office. there they are. thank you very much for being here. thank you for all of your assistance. supervisor kim, she is a wonderful supporter of affordable housing. she could not be here because of a scheduling conflict. as we have wonderful leadership at the national level at hud, we also have wonderful leaders about the regional level. this is the regional office that has contributed greatly to the success of affordable housing in san francisco. i would like to acknowledge ophelia. [applause] rafael, maria. [applause] they are the team that does the implementation.

one thing about this project, we have talked about the sponsors, the bottom line is it is about the people who will be here. i wanted to do a shot out -- shout out to cheryl cooke and the county veterans office as well as john from the veterans affairs. they are the folks locally looking after our veterans. they are advocating on their behalf to ensure that they get the services they deserve. lastly, i would like to acknowledge the department heads who are here. mayor mentioned bevan, also trent. there are awards the will help to fund the operation of this development.

the ongoing operating support will probably come through his department. this shows the commitment of the city towards providing wraparound services to our veterans. leslie, i like to acknowledge -- lastly, i like to acknowledge those whose debt financing helped -- gap financing helped. you on the unit contributed to the project. this project is have we done. -- you have all contributed to the project. this project is have we done. it will be even better when we can open the doors. blogging rosenthal -- bobby rosenthal from the veterans department. [applause] we are going to pass out hard hats. we will see them before. i am sure everybody will be here when we open the doors again for our veterans. they do, everyone.

-- thank you, everyone. [applause] >> thank you very much.

>> hello. 9 judge terri l. jackson. the court is now recruiting prospective civil grand jurors. our goal is to develop a pool of candidates that is inclusive of all segments of our city's population. >> the jury conducts investigations and publishes findings and recommendations. these reports them become a key part of the civic dialog on how we can make san francisco a better place to live and work. >> i want to encourage anyone that is on the fence, is considering participating as a grand jury member, to do so. >> so if you are interested in our local city government and would like to work with 18 other enthusiastic citizens committed to improving its operations, i encourage you to consider applying for service on the civil grand jury. >> for more information, visit the civil grand jury website at

sfgov.org/courts or call >> welcome to the rules committee for thursday, february 2. i will be the chair today. i am joined by supervisor campos and supervisor farrell. our clerk is linda wong. thank you to jennifer and carolyn from sffd. the record the meeting senate the transcripts available online. are their announcements? >> yes, the item and it -- the items recommended will go to the full board on tuesday, february

13. >> please call item number 1. >> the motion to appoint supervisor olague, a term ending june 7, 2013, to the reentry council. supervisor kim: thank you. this seat was previously held by supervisor mirkarimi and is now vacant due to his new office. we have a motion to appoint supervisor olague to complete the rest of his term on the reentry council. colleagues, is there any discussion. seeing none, we will open it up for public comment. if there is any public comment for this item, please step up. public comment is now closed. >> motion to move this forward with recommendations. supervisor kim: we can do that without opposition. >> item number two, hearing to consider appointing one member, a term ending april 19, 2013, due -- to the child care planning and advisory council. one seat and one applicant. supervisor kim: thank you. this is also a replacement for

the district seat, district 6 seat. the appointee is actually here today. ms. mehta. please approached the microphone. for other appointees that are here today, our format is traditionally the same. introduce yourself for a couple minutes. background, expertise, and why you think you would lend to the actual position in some of your interests. >> my name is deepa mehta. thank you for this opportunity, surprises. i want to start off by saying that i currently work for a foundation that the family youth and child care center, family coordinator for child care and out fresh school programs. i have a b.a. in child development and recently got a master's in education, focusing on leadership in early childhood. most of my experience -- i have worked in the east bay for many years, and most of my

experience with after-school programs and some with early childhood programs. that is a little bit about myself. supervisor kim: could you talk a little bit about your interests in serving on the child care planning and advisory council, some of your priorities and issues you hope to work on? >> first of all, i am very new to the san francisco community. i do not currently working -- live here. i have been working at glibde for a year. i have gotten to know a lot about how decisions are made. i would like to get more involved in that process. i am interested in getting more involved in the community that i work with. i think it is really important, especially in the tenderloin area. as far as what i can bring to this position, i think i can definitely bring diversity to cpac. i can bring in after school

perspective. most of my experience has been in after-school programs. as far as some challenges and issues that we're facing right now, at the state level, there are some budget cuts that could be happening for subsidized care. at collide, i work with only subsidized family speed up -- at glide. i want to provide a voice for that community and the families i work with. supervisor kim: in terms of subsidized child care, what did you view as some of the priority issues around child care? issues that the city is not addressing, things that we can do better in. >> wow, i was not expecting that question. i mean, -- wow. supervisor kim: just from your personal experience working as glide and in the tenderloin, anecdotal things you have seen.

>> like i said, i am really new to this community, so i am not totally aware of all of the challenges and issues we may be facing. but in working at glide, i know that we're always struggling -- our families are always struggling for access to child care and quality child care. i definitely think that is an issue as a whole. supervisor kim: ok, thank you. are there any other questions? thank you very much. >> ok, thank you. supervisor kim: at this time, we will open it up for public comment for item number two. so pleased lineup. >> good afternoon, supervisors to deal for from the child care planning and advisory council. i wanted to speak on behalf of deepa mehta's recommendation to be appointed to the council. one of the things we have been

at struggling with at cpac is to have broader representation of the after-school perspective. cpac is supposed to be up to 12- year-old, and the expertise is on 025 year olds. people -- she has worked in after-school most of her career. she works in that works edglide. i think having somebody from glide on cpac --were king in the regarding the bush regarded institution and a linchpin in the community is very important. in bringing the viewpoints in the voices from the children and families that live and work in those communities. one thing we really want to do at cpac is nurture and grow new leadership. so we do have a lot of people in the field who are retiring and moving on. even though deepa mehta is a recent addition to the community, i feel like it is

important to bring new people on board and to really give them some help and guidance in taking on those leadership roles and understanding policy and planning at the city level. thank you. supervisor kim: thank you very much. any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is now closed. deepa mehta is my appointment for the d6 seat for the child care seat, and she is replacing judith becker, who has been a longtime advocate around child care and child care planning needs in the south of market. as was previously mentioned by our public comment, we do have many folks that are retiring and opening up new leadership and growth in this area of colleagues, do we have a motion. supervisor campos: i knew that we move this forward with recommendations. supervisor farrell: i think we need a motion on the residency waiver first, right? supervisor campos: is that included in the motion?

supervisor kim: we have a motion for residency waiver and a motion to move forward ms. mehta to the cpac. we did that without opposition. please call item number 3. >> motion approving/rejecting the president of the board of supervisors, supervisor david chiu's nomination of cindy wu to the planning commission, for the term ending july 1, 2012. supervisor kim: thank you. cindy wu is here. same format. >> good afternoon. too much for considering my nomination. if appointed, i believe i would bring expertise and experience in community planning. i have management the chinese -- i have managed the program in chinatown over the last four and half years, giving experience in diverse communities in building technical skills. i came to ccdc from the graduate planning program

themit, and i studied housing, a committee, and economic development. prior to that, i worked in support of housing act glide. in my work, and focused to break down barriers that prevent people from the planning conversations and decisions in the city that might include language access or the fact that someone is working two jobs and they do not have time to be part of the process. i have look for creative and culturally specific ways to engage the public on planning issues. some examples of projects i have worked on recently are the broadly corridor planning, arts and storefronts, relocation planning due to construction projects. although much of my work as been focused on a few neighborhoods, it appointed, i would have an open-door policy and make it a priority to partner with on the ground stakeholders in other neighborhoods. i also think there might be potential to do cross- neighborhood lbored.

we all right to say buses and go to the same gathering spots. with the commonalities we can find? as san francisco grows and changes, i want to make sure all people are represented in part of the process. one question that many people have been asking me about is if there are potential conflicts due to my day job at ccdc. i did speak with the city attorney's office and understand that anything with the financial impact would be a conflict, so for example, i would have to recuse myself if ccdc or putting housing project forward. finally, just wanted to thank everyone who has supported me through this, especially those who have written letters and have come here today to support me. supervisor kim: thank you. i know we will have some questions from my colleagues to but i just wanted to flesh out the conflict issue a little more. if ccdc comes before the planning commission, you have to

recuse yourself. can you talk about other gray areas in your conversation with the city attorney? >> i asked about questions such as if there were a large area plan, for example, the eastern neighborhoods plan, and if ccdc owns land in that area plan to the advice of the attorneys i spoke to was that i just call at that time and work through every single issue at that time, but at this point, they did not see that it would necessarily be a conflict. supervisor kim: it the organization to deposition on the project, how would that impact your ability to vote on an issue? >> again, he did not see it as a conflict at this time, but recommended that i call when and if that situation came up. supervisor kim: thank you. supervisor campos thank you very much. i want to thank ms. wu for putting replication forward. it is not easy to go through this process where you have to come to rules committee meeting

and, you know, have this kind of discussion, but i do want to say thank you to anyone who wants to serve the city. they should be thanked. one of the things i always want to make sure happens with respect to planning is making sure that, in an addition to playing the role that you have to play as a planning commissioner, you know, making sure that you apply the planning code and all the relevant notes and make the best decision possible, that you take into account community input in doing that. i am wondering if you can say a little bit about that, because that is something that is a big priority for us on the board of supervisors. if you can say a little bit about how you approach your role with respect to that? >> sure, that is most definitely been a priority for me. i came into planning work wanting to connect grass-roots groups to planning. i think that it is important for the planning department staff to work with the groups that are

working in neighborhoods, so those might be community-based organizations. they might be churches. the mib other entities that already have those relationships, and getting the information to those groups and in creating a forum where input can be gathered and actually used. sometimes at the public meeting, sometimes it could be something like a website. we have not seen websites or in-person work for a lot of communities. so you have to be careful about who you are working with entering to figure out what their needs are but obviously, language taxes, child care, time of day of the meeting, how you ask the questions, how you from the question. are you talking about enter regional context or in a way that is about people's daily lives. making the language understandable. sometimes land use decisions become just about policy. but really, it is about how you get to the grocery store, how you get to school, how you do the daily things you need to

live in the city. supervisor campos: and i appreciate that. i think is a very important to make sure that is part of the equation. as discussions and decisions are made. one thing that i know is also important is not only how the planning commission deals with the individual cases that come before it. that is a very important role, obviously. but also, long-term in terms of looking at city-wide policy, making sure that the planning department plays a role and making sure that we're making smart choices that are inclusive of all san franciscans and that we really think about big picture, how we're doing in terms of land use. you know, we recently requested an audit around the issue of affordable housing, and one of the things that is very clear in that audit, and i know at some point there will be a more in- depth hearing about that, is how the planning department is not doing enough in making sure

that as individual projects are approved, that we have a sense of where those projects fit in the larger objectives and goals that we have. you know, affordable housing being one of them. can you say a little bit about your perspective on that, and how do we make sure that going forward, that the planning department is more proactive in that kind of overview analysis? >> sure, some of my initial thoughts are around the structure of how projects come to the planning department. right, there are individual projects did you make a vote to approve or not approved it. but then, is there a tracking system or a way to think about the aggregate of all the projects? if one affordable housing project comes in front of you and the market read project, how they interact with each other and within the neighborhood in district, within the whole city. and having a way for the

planning department to track that and to compare with what the goals are of what the housing element has laid out. supervisor campos: thank you. and i do think it is important that we do more work on that, and it is not just the planning department doing more of that work but also the board of supervisors and the mayor's office, making sure that we stay on top of that. another issue that is also a very important issue is the interconnection between planning, land use, and transportation. and as someone who serves now on the ntc, i know that we regionally oriented -- are in the process of planning with the region will look like for the next 25 years. and trying to make sure that, as we talk about transportation, that land use issues are part of that discussion is not an easy

thing to do. we're going to the sustainable community strategy, and one of the things we're trying to push as san francisco is to make sure that the region tries to direct transportation funding to projects that create affordable housing. make sure that people in the region it not only are able to get around to and from work, but also are able to stay and live here. i am wondering if you can say a little bit about that, because i know that is going to be a big topic for all of us going forward? >> sure. i actually think it is really exciting time for planning. because of sbc 75, because of sustainable communities, there's a lot of focus on housing and land use. reducing greenhouse gases is a great goal, but we need to make sure we understand what