years, it sometimes 10 and 28 votes per start. i will tell you there is no need for infrastructure to run a sailboat race. hundreds of sailboat races are run every year on san francisco bay. the yacht clubs put up the committee votes. they send out zodiacs to move buoys. i would get seasick on a committee vote. they do not need that. what is happening here, it seems, is that the port is conflating the really great thing about having the america's cup race with their long-term needs to find money to build stuff. they are separate subjects. the race can go on without spending a lot of money. as for the visiting big yachts meeting dredging and big facilities, if they are big enough, they can stay out in the

bay, and drop their hooks in place, and a row motorboats back to the city. this is a great event. it is overlooking small boats. small boats are going to keep this bay happening. i hope we can find some way to do that in the long term. meanwhile, let's get on with the race. we do not need lots of construction. we need coast guard and police. nobody can go near those boats if they are moving 40 knots. even five knots is going fast. >> good evening. i am paul erickson. i have been a resident for almost 60 years. i started a grammar school here in the 50's. i am a member of three yacht clubs in the bay area and one in australia. i have been at america's cup events since the 1970's on three continents. i serve on the board of the u.s. coast guard foundation, based in

connecticut. we represent the pacific air, based in alameda, headed by admiral brown. it is the largest coastguard sector in the world, comprised of 73 million square miles, from here to india, the arctic to antarctica. the coast guard is interested in sailing a tall ship named the eagle to san francisco in the fall of 2013. this is been a top-down decision from the komondor -- from the commodore to various sectors. the foundation is hoping to bring back their annual awards presentation dinner than has been held 20 years at the fairmont, when? wade was a member of the coast guard foundation -- when dick swann was a member of the coast guard foundation. that brings in between 700 and

01 thousand people to that event alone. people from all over the country. the coast guard and the foundation supports the event. i just want to add that i have been to three continents with the cup. i think if you look at what has happened at fremantle in australia and auckland, new zealand, 20 years after the event, that is still a tribute. i think your constituents will be proud of you when you move this project forward. thank you. chairperson chu: i want to take a moment to welcome the former city attorney, louise renny. it is always good to see you. >> i want to say at the outset i have been in support of the america's cup. i have the utmost respect for the market and carol. but i am here today to oppose the effort to sneak the eight

washington project into this legislation before the eir for that project has even been approved. since i understand from port staff that they are now going to delete the eight washington peace from the proposal before you, namely seawall 351, i can stop here, other than to say to make sure that is actually done. if one of us had not found the reference to seawall 351 snuck in a whole raft of documents, eight washington street would have gone by you, and it would have gone by us. i think that is a disservice to you. it is a disservice to us who legitimately oppose 8 washington project.

and it most certainly is a disservice to the america's cup, which does not deserve to be looped in with other projects they have nothing to do with. thank you. chairperson chu: i am going to call a few more names. jason santana, brad caress go, hunter cutting, david fossio, valerie santori, fernand of costello, vince cassolina. >> good afternoon, or almost good evening. my name is gary. i am here as i have been at two other board of supervisors' meetings, back in december

2010, as an ardent supporter of the america's cup. there is one little area down there similar to what the distinguished louise testified to, which i am opposed to. seawall lot 330 -- there should be a more equitable arrangement. why is seawall lot 330 even in there? there is no linkage to put it there, except with these conflated costs now going into pier 30 and 32. i only found out about this because i happened to be hanging out at the job of -- at the java cafe across the street. seawall 330 should not be in there. besides that, with the inflated costs being $440 million -- that is for giving away this little piece of property across the street.

it is worth $35 million two years ago. now, under the report, these kooky real estate appraisals are putting the property at $140 million. they bought into something with the event authority. that thing should be eliminated. winston churchill once said give it the order of the boot. it does not belong in there. it is illegal. it does not justification for it. it is a pure give the public funds. thank you. >> good evening again. my name is david fozzio. i am the founder of helix opportunity, a disability services firm. my comments are more directed

toward the ceqa and mitigation monitoring and reporting program. there are obvious adverse social and economic factors for the disability community within each of these projects. i do understand the event authority is interested in providing access features to allow the disability community to access these events and these facilities. as we move toward implementation, i want to redirect your focus away from access, toward inclusion. over 1/3 of our population lives with one or more disabilities. maximizing our participation is critically important. by statistics alone, you should expect over 100,000 disabled spectators over the next two years, as well as families and friends. 70% of all disabilities are hidden or invisible, just like mine are. i endured a traumatic brain

injury august 2, 1996. we have an annual spending power ranging to 1 trillion dollars. -- $1 trillion. our city and state are going broke. we need the money. we enjoy sports and sailing. we travel and have money to spend. putting in handicapped parking spaces, and in wheelchair ramps, and meeting 88 access is not enough. the city of san francisco can do better than provide disability access during the 34th america's cup. we can utilize state of the art processes, age, -- signage, and others to create a more inclusive environment that allows us to meaningfully enjoy the best of what is san francisco and allows us to become part of the life of the

bay area. these enhancements will be a legacy that transforms our city into a more interactive, engaging, and compelling destination for everyone to visit. the conversation has to change. it is not about access and civil rights. it is about inclusion and meaningful participation. include us in what is best in san francisco and what his life to the bay area. there is a monumental difference between access and inclusion. access unintentionally stigmatizes us as different. it says "blacks enter in the back." that is offensive to us. anytime you have to put up a sign that says this is a handicapped-extensible entrance -- chairperson chu: your time is up. if you would like to submit your statements, we would be happy to take that into the record.

>> good evening. i am a local 10 longshoremen. we have been in talks with the racing management to assure our work on the waterfront and the spears. we are excited about this venue. we are excited about the work that could be coming. we traditionally provide labor for the spears -- these piers. we just want to go on record with that. chairperson chu: thank you. >> good evening. my name is jason santana. i am president of local 75. our unit is next to a supervisor kim's district. i work security on the docks, including the cruise ship terminal.

unfortunately, i am not working there today. my members demanded we get new job, because we continue to be replaced by renta cops on marine terminals. we appreciate the assurances that we will guard the peers of america's cup racing. the last thing i want to do is stand in front of my members and say i did not come through. >> good afternoon. paul oliva. i am "the san francisco chronicle" waterfront columnist and and part of san francisco yacht club. i can also say we have increased our membership,

seemingly directly in connection with the america's cup, san francisco being chosen as the location. we urge you to support the items before you and to get on with identifying and planning for the legacy uses and development of the waterfront to increase access. moving this ahead will also help us with our planning for hosting teams and welcoming visitors to san francisco. putting on my consultant hat, i might comment on a couple of the questions you had earlier. with people coming to san francisco, this is just anecdotal evidence, but i have heard from various sailing clubs from southeast -- from south beach harbor, and various harbors, that bookings are increasing. hotels have contacted me with

interest in the cup. they are getting interest in bookings for rooms as well as meeting space and the new space. we are seeing activity around the other sectors of the city. as far as fund-raising, it is difficult to fund raise as long as there is a question of whether the city is moving forward. the faster you move ahead, the more easy and swift the job is going to be with fund-raising for the city. >> i am hunter cutting. i grew up sailing in northern california. i sail on the bay right now. with this proposal before us, we can see some things have approved in the deal. but some of the central problems and one of the central ironies of the deal is that it does not do much of anything to actively

support sailing on the bay. when you looked at the list of benefits the port presented, conspicuously absent were facilities for sailing, or anything near that in the list of benefits. i thought the ceqa findings did a nice job in coming up with a benefit, which was to generate interest in the sport of sailing. we are already a world capital of sailing. anybody in sailing already knows that. we cannot meet the current demand right now. there is a 10 year wait list at public arenas. there is no public facility storage this side of the bay bridge. the marina that is proposed in the deal is purely optional. it is not required to go forward.

the credits for spectator dredging -- big deal explicitly allows the event authority to cash those credits. they do not have to be credited against the marina. finally, the vision remains the same -- large boats and super yachts. there is a total elimination of smaller boat slips at the san francisco arena. we need a larger vision that includes facilities for small boats in this deal. i asked you to make that happen. thanks. >> my name is valerie. i am a taxpayer and a member of the golden gate yacht club. i with my husband run the youth sailing program. we are in favor of having america's cup development proceed. we ask for your support in working out the details of the

agreements. we serve high school students here in san francisco, not necessarily members' children. we have three schools with currently represent. not all of our kids can afford to pay. a good number of them don't. we raise all of our funds through fund-raising and occasional grants. i can tell you that having the america's cup has helped our program in many ways. we are partnering with more other youth programs, such as the sea scouts, other yacht clubs, doing everything we can to make our assets work for as many kids as possible. our membership is up. we are finding a lot of enthusiasm for fund-raising with our members, especially the new members.

the numbers from last year are about twice what we had a year ago. my next-door neighbor has about 75 kids in their program this year. usually it is around 30. this is all because of the buzz of the america's cup. i would like to see that continue. thank you for your time. i hope you can work out the details. chairperson chu: i will read a few more names. tony kelly, antoinette, lauren chagas -- chavez, joe skinner. next speaker. >> good evening. i am the executive director of the fisherman's wharf community benefit district. our district represents businesses, many of them small businesses, and property owners in fisherman's wharf. what we do i delete is preserve

san francisco waterfront landscape while enriching the experience of visitors to marketing, security, traffic, and emergency preparedness. i am here to reiterate our support for the america's cup event. we really see it will create jobs, stimulate the economy, and provide new public access areas for the general public to enjoy for many years to come. not only for the america's cup events, but the construction and renovation along the waterfront , this will not only bring more local bay area and international visitors to san francisco, but will create new public access to be enjoyed by all who live here. as we all know, these peers would likely otherwise not be renovated, the least not in the

short term. this is a benefit of the america's cup events. they will be freely visible and accessible to the general public to watch for land for the first time in its 160-year history. san francisco will reap the benefits of press coverage to bring visitors here well past the time of the america's cup event. that is something to consider as well. i urge approval to keep these important events on track, expected to benefit over $1 billion not only now but for years to come. chairperson chu: there is another microphone on this side we can turn on. >> i am a member of the bay

area association of disabled sailors, and an avid sailor for the last seven years. the most fascinating thing about america's cup and why it is in san francisco is that mr. ellison already won the trophy, and it is here. we have it. what i am a bit confused about is we built a stadium for our giants. we are looking at the forty- niners. but there is no guarantee for them to be the winners, is there? mr. ellison has already brought home the cup. as it stands, we are in a position to defend that cup. in front of the whole world. we are not doing much about it, except saying the couple has run over. -- the cup hath runneth over. who is to say, bringing the sport here in a natural stadium

-- who is to say america's cup may stay here another four years, eight years, 12 years? i would suggest your staff research some of the revenue streams that have happened in the city's that have actually benefited because the couple stayed in their city for more than one term. our team is not buying for position. our team is already placed to remain here for another eight years. don't you want to defend your homecoming team? that is what i would like to do. >> toni howard from and all steps studio. you are being asked to adopt

port resolutions that promise nothing in terms of economic developments in 2013 to neighborhoods and small businesses city-wide. there are no hard numbers for city economic benefits in the port resolutions before you. there is nothing to stand behind. they are right to do it. it is based on many things that are not true. there was a defender series. there were nine challengers. the challengers were supposed to be building and in residence here. there are three of them. they are building in new zealand. we know about the local spectators experience in san diego, another strong tourist town. san diego is a strong natural backdrop. relying on our natural charm and existing tourism industry is not going to deliver the benefits

promised as part of this program. we need to bring people to the waterfront. those people need to stay here and come to our neighborhoods. we have been talking in the arts community for the past year about how we can partner to deliver those benefits in economic development the way the arts have done for generations. but today there is nothing in this agreement or in any america's cup plan to do such a thing. we ask you -- keep this agreement here until it does. it does not even attempt to deliver the economic benefits that have been promised for a year and a half. keep this here in committee until it is ready to move forward. >> andrew would. san francisco arts festival. we have been working this -- we have been working on this for a year. there are nearly 200 artists and

arts organizations who have participated in putting together an arts program. the have engaged the arts, but they cannot really engaged the arts, because the arts are not part of the deal. the arts are not in the deal. in order for the arts to be included, the deal needs to be changed. the city and the arts community need to run that program. as mr. barkley said, there are three things that have been priorities of the event authority. it is the television rights, the long term development on the leases, and ceqa. economic development in the city of san francisco is not part of their business plan. as they prepare their brand and are not getting the corporate sponsorships they thought they would, they are going to start contacting the program may have. the things they will cut out are the unsure arts and entertainment cultural activities that would otherwise

be bringing more people in and burning more spectators and tourists. what we are saying is that this needs to be a program that is city-wide, that brings benefits to all the different neighborhoods, that figures out how to get people out from the waterfront so we can avoid lawsuits of that nature, and get them to stay longer in the city. if you can imagine that out of a family of four there will be only one major sailing enthusiast, the other three will have to be convinced to come. if we can provide a comprehensive program of events, that will do that. they have called this the third largest sporting event in the world. the largest art the olympics and the world cup. the festival is mandatory. the city cannot even bid unless it has a festival. please include the arts in the bid and have the city run that program. thank you very much.

>> good evening. i am can dress stanley. i am with the san francisco arts festival. the people who organized for the vancouver winter games in 2010 said if you counted every seat in every venue at the game, you would have a capacity for 1 million people. the other $2.40 million -- the other 2.4 million had to of been doing things elsewhere in the city. we have been working with artists willing to do fund- raising on their own. we will need additional funds to put together programming the would cover the 10 to 11 week program before you. they realized having a festival run alongside large sporting events increases the value of corporate sponsorship potential, increases more than sports fans, and increases the time people stay in the city.

i feel it is important to involve the arts in america's cup. >> my name is joel skinner. i represent the flex foundation. we build our to community and community through art. i'm not to make this event a success for san francisco. -- i believe art will make this event a success for san francisco, and i feel they will cut it as revenue is reduced. an arts program is a vital core component of attracting and retaining visitors to san francisco during the event. it would also showcased the amazing work coming out of san francisco. since there is only one hour of racing per day, the flex foundation can give a way for the city to draw visitors away

from the ne waterfront and into the district by providing destination pieces. this would provide a way for many more constituencies to benefit from america's cup. that would set the tone for visitors' exploration of art galleries and performances. the needs to be a centrally coordinated control program, which represents artists from multiple cultures, as the san francisco international arts festival has mentioned. the city can maximize its economic impact. thank you for your consideration. chairperson chu: