president chiu: good afternoon. welcome to the san francisco board of supervisors meeting for february 14, 2012. happy valentine's day. could you please call the roll? >> [roll-call] mr. president, you have a quorum. president chiu: thank you. ladies and gentleman, could you please join me in the pledge of allegiance? >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands at one nation,

under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. president chiu: madame clerk, are there any communications? >> i have no communications. the first item of business is the formal policy discussions between the mayor and members of the board representing the even districts. the mayor may address the board for up to five minutes and the mayor will recognize the supervisors from districts 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 who will present their own discussions to the mayor and discussions will not exceed five minutes per member. president chiu: thank you for being with us, and there, and showing some love to the board. mayor lee: thank you. today, i want to wish everybody here a happy valentine's day. earlier, we had the pleasure of commemorating tony bennett and his famous song, most classic song ever written about our

city, "i left my heart in san francisco." i am sorry if there were some members here who could not get out of the transportation subcommittee, but there will be a lot of good copies for you to take a look at. today, we will be commemorating important african american san francisco and for their lives in serving our city as business leaders and community leaders, to celebrate during our black history month, to honor and appreciate members of all ethnicities and i look forward to hearing about the fantastic people you have selected to honor today. president chiu: thank you. today we will hear from our colleagues to represent even number districts. our first supervisor who has submitted the longest question so far is supervisor farrell. supervisor farrell: teanacies-

in-common have been a vehicle for residents are city to realize our goal of home ownership. san francisco has always promoted a pass toward converting them to condominiums, which has a number benefits -- principally the ability to obtain lower interest rates for their property. over the past decade, however, the condo conversion lottery has created a bottleneck fortic home owners. to compound matters, during the recent recession, the vast majority of lenders to finance them stop lending into the market, leaving only a handful of financing options. at the same time, many owners are facing adjustable-rate mortgages that are resetting and threatening to place many owners into foreclosure. the concept of by pass legislation where condo owners would be offered a one time opportunity to pay a fee to bypass the lottery should be a

win/win situation for everyone, especially given that the fees would be directed toward affordable housing in san francisco. would you support this lottery by pass legislation which would secure the dual purpose of helping of hon. tic owners in san francisco and provide a significant source of affordable housing community to plug our current budget deficit? mayor lee: thank you for bringing this up. i am open in principle to discussing a condo conversion program, but to my knowledge, there is no current condo lottery by pass legislation before the board. if legislation was brought, i would be open to considering it, providing a balances are need for revenue, for affordable housing, the value that responsible ownership brings to the city, and the rights of tenants who could be affected by a change in policy. it would serve a public good if we could relieve some of the

pressure that has accumulated in the lottery over the years. but we also want to make policy reforms to make jury back up does not occur again. condo conversion as an issue has been in city government for as long as i have been. not only does that tell me how important it is to everyone involved, but how contentious it has been for a number of years. since 1979, when the board of supervisors first decided to do condo conversion, the city has tried to expand homeownership opportunities to middle-class families with a need to preserve our existing rental stock. in 1982, for example, the board of supervisors, at mayor feinstein's request, reached a compromise and limited the number of conversions to 200 per year and only allow an owner- occupied units with six units or fewer to be eligible for conversion. a limited number of two-unit

buildings may convert subject to certain restrictions. we have also put in place certain policies to make sure bad evictions did not occur. san francisco, for example, permanently disqualified a property that became owner- occupied through victory -- through no evictions up of elderly or ill persons. last decade, we improve the process to favor those who have been in the process for many years. but since owners must wait three years before being eligible for the lottery, the backlog continues to build up. this was a problem for those residents who have followed our cities will and guidelines, then the right thing, and remained in a state of limbo that has lasted for years. meanwhile, as you mentioned, the housing bubble burst and available credit from lenders had shrunk dramatically for all forms of housing, including tic's.

that has left us at the local level looking for ways to find affordable housing ourselves. this is why our housing trust fund has been formed. they met last week and will continue to week over the coming months. -- continue to meet over the coming months. no idea is off the table. thank you, supervisor, for keeping attention to this longstanding issue. president chiu: our next colleague is the supervisor of district no. 4. supervisor chu: thank you. having zero vibrant neighborhood commercial quarters in all parts of the city is important, there were residents shop, eat, get services, and build a community. it takes time walking these corridors to truly understand the challenges. will you commit to investing sometime in the neighborhood commercial corridors of the outer sunset and explore opportunities to enhance our community? mayor lee: thank you.

yes. i will make this commitment. that's a primary goal of mine and i have shared many times during these question and answer sessions that concern. we have already done work in several corridors in the outer sunset, such as the storefront improvements on noriega, banners on the irving, and a multifaceted neighborhood marketplace site. the most recent accomplishments include facades improvements to five businesses. additionally, the commercial corridor program created and events series which provides opportunities for local stakeholders to celebrate their community, the highlight event being the annual taste of terrible event, which showcased nine restaurants last year and aims to engage more businesses in the event. the other event is the recently installed park in front of double seats bakery.

this improved 12 storefronts. the needs and opportunities far outweigh the resources we have brought to bear the star. i plan to rely new strategy for investing in neighborhoods which will allow us to work more effectively and more courts across the city and with more resources based on the needs of the corridor. the invest in neighborhoods initiative will include commercial districts in every supervisor of district. i can commit to that. i plan to work with each supervisor so we can focus on the neighborhood commercial districts with the greatest need and most opportunities to enhance mobility, vibrancy, and create jobs. the key to doing this in a time of limited resources to do it thoughtfully. a corner store not -- a cornerstone of the program would be an initial assessment that determines the best approach for east -- for each participating

commercial district. this may include anything from parks and office of improvements to new zoning, marketing campaigns or business attraction to match entrepreneurs with the needs of the neighborhood. as always, thank you for your attention to small business issues and i look forward to more commercial corridor walks with you in your district. president chiu: our next question is from our district 6 colleague. supervisor kim: small businesses are a core part of what makes san francisco the city we have all come to love, the say that people want to visit and the city that people want to move to. they define our city and our neighborhoods, they create jobs and become places for our community together. we are seeing more and more of these small businesses being forced out by the rising cost of rent. in the recent past, we have lost businesses, some of which every located, but we have lost businesses like the eagle tavern, the john barleycorn,

original joe's, the front room, the red vic theatre, mission records, andna namu. what other businesses are going to lose next? how can the city protect our existing small businesses from rising rent while maintaining neighborhood character and protecting jobs? how can we help them stay competitive with many of our larger stores? mayor lee: thank you, supervisor, for that question. always concerning when we learn a small family-owned businesses closing. there are many reasons why a business closes and sometimes it has nothing to do with rent. for instance, when the original joe's burned down in 2007, as you well know, whether or not it would be reopened was a question for a younger generation's interest in continuing the business and viability of taylor

street for a large format restaurant. the family actually owns the business there -- the building there. as part of the efforts to build business in the tenderloin, we worked with the family to help reposition the business in the tenderloin if they wished or help them police their space for another restaurant or art use. ultimately, the family decided to sign a lease with a small theater company and ceramics studio and just recently reopened of original joe's on washington square park in north beach. the red vic also owns their building. the small business assistance center is working with the owners to adapt to changing times and reprogram the space with a new business model. we have this expertise in house and we fund the number of community-based groups that provide business technical assistance, training and consulting. as you know, we have a small

business revolving loan fund which can provide small loans to businesses and do it quickly. we have recently introduced legislation to increase this fund because it's an important resource for small businesses across the city. not all businesses are lucky enough to own their building as you know. it is true there are many cases of business is closing because of rising rents. we have a number of resources and partnerships that our fingertips which we will use to assist those businesses. whether a business comes through the small business assistance center or through one of our commercial corridor programs, if they have an issue with their release, we can refer them to the legal services for entrepreneurs. we can work with urban solutions, who has been an expert in these negotiations and has services available to businesses city-wide. in the past, we have targeted specific corridors, such as third street and at the bayview

which pro-active assistance in negotiating and strengthening leases, in this case, provided by renaissance and entrepreneurial center. in such a market, as we work directly to bring new businesses and arts and nonprofits into the area, we worked with urban solutions and the northern california loan fund to help these get stronger, affordable, long-term leases. two other new initiatives will expand resources to address your concerns. the job squad, which will extend the reach of the small business assistance center to neighbor across the city will allow us to quickly identify business owners who need help and refer them to the right services in a timely fashion. also, by investing tabrets strategy, which i just mentioned, will be a targeted approach -- my investing in neighborhoods strategy, which i just mentioned, will be a targeted approach in the area.

ultimately, the health of each retail businesses intertwined with the neighborhood and the neighborhood began to flourish when we make sure the individual businesses grow along with them. thank you very much and i look forward to working with you on all the businesses. president chiu: supervisor wiener from district 8 will provide the next question. supervisor wiener: mr. mayor, thank you for your leadership on housing affordability in san francisco. we all the hearing yesterday on middle-class housing which was a terrific discussion and presentation. your desire to create a housing trust fund provides us with an enormous opportunity to move in a collaborative way toward creation of sustainable funding source for housing are diverse population. one critical aspect of addressing our housing crisis is ensuring that people of moderate and middle income, in that in 80% to 150% area of me in come

have access to housing. less than one-third of san franciscans fall into this category. this is low and reflects the hollowing out of our middleclass. we need to reverse that trend. moreover, less than 20% of are affordable housing spending goes to moderate and middle-income affordable housing. the lack of moderate-middle- income affordable housing undermines our economy, our budget, and the city generally. how can we ensure the housing trust fund that comes out of the process you have convened will meaningfully addressed the need for moderate-middle-income housing as opposed to paying lip service to it? mayor lee: thank you, supervisor, and thank you for your attention to trying to get all -- housing to all income levels in san francisco. creating housing in all san franciscans, the 100%, is the priority for this year. i have assigned a mayor's house -- the mayor's office of housing the challenging task of bringing together a broad sector of our

stakeholders to create a housing trust fund. that will address housing needs for a broad range of household, including household in the middle. because we are a high-cost, urban area, the san francisco metal consists of a broad range of households. it starts with household making $50,000 and continues up to making $150,000. this middle captions -- captures the largest portion of our workforce, from waiters, waitresses, teachers, firefighters and police officers. they all have a common housing issue. san francisco is a difficult place for them to afford to live. for households making between $50,000.100 $20,000, we have seen an out-migration over the past decade. we could do more. san francisco has already

created 1100 below market rate units through our inclusion rehousing program. we need to continue and grow this program. second, there is no current ability to leverage local dollars for creating housing that targets the san francisco mitt. for housing of the very low income, we can leverage money for every dollar we spend. given the inability to leverage local dollars, a fact that 20% of affordable units produced targets at the middle is impressive in and of itself. it shows we have not ignored the middle but that outside money such as federal and state funds are not readily available for this purpose. i recognize household in the san francisco model, especially the 80% to 120% or leaving the city, we need to do something about it. i've directed the office of

housing to collect new ideas, creating housing for the san francisco middle and take nothing of the table initially. we are at the beginning of a housing trust fund discussions and working group process. i look forward to working through these ideas as they come up. while i have spent my mott response talking about housing for the san francisco medal, i do not want to lose sight of housing for the most needy. while we have had a incredibly successful program up to this point, we face an unprecedented crisis with the dissolution of redevelopment. redevelopment has been responsible for creating the majority of our affordable housing and now that the city needs to take on that responsibility, that responsibility extends to all the 100% from the very bottom to the very top. thank you. [applause] president chiu: our final question today is for our

colleague from district 10. supervisor cohen: mr. mayer, recently, the transportation agency proposed extending the san francisco part program to the mission bay dog patch neighborhoods and portions of the mission. the san francisco parks program has many innovative ways of managing parking like demand response of pricing, longer or no time limit and the availability to pay with a credit card. while these neighborhoods do need creative ways to address parking management, enforcement of existing parking restrictions has been inadequate and access to reliable transportation is still limited. additionally, after years of planning and support from the city, production, distribution, and repair businesses to employ hundreds of san franciscans have began to thrive in these

areas. i'm concerned the implementation of -- implementation and expansion of the park program is not considering the unique transit and parking enforcement challenges of some of these neighborhoods and the unique nature of pdr businesses. could you share your thoughts on how this program can be adapted and improved to better fit these areas and which be supportive of evaluating the use of parking passes for employees? thank you. mayor lee: thank you for your question. paid parking is of course controversial. it should be because how we manage parking effect how we live and work, transportation system, and our economic growth. the sfmta has been moving parking management and a new direction by making technology available easier to find parking and easier to avoid a parking ticket because it's easier to pay. that is great for drivers, but i like this approach because it is

dated driven and will help the city achieved its goals. the world is watching our efforts on parking management and i know firsthand that the obama administration and the department of transportation is paying close attention. dog patch, petro, mission bay, and northeast mission are unique emirates. they have some production distribution and repair to encourage that kind of economic activity. it is great to have a pdr area in the city, often within one block, where schools, live and work and that makes them special. as well as how close they are to the 16th street bart station and the third street light rail. i know you will agree that it's wonderful to see this part of the city began to drop -- began to thrive, even in this difficult economy.

but to really thrive and really generate job growth, we need businesses in those areas that need greater access. it needs to be easy for people to get their as well as for goods to be delivered. that kind of access is the lifeblood of the economy and areas that do not have access cannot thrive. good transit is part of that equation, whether bart, muni, or investment in the third street light rail line. this transit carries a lot of people in those areas. but for those who have to try and make pickups and deliveries, it can be hard to find space during the day. sf park aims to make it easier to find a spot close to a destination. while some of these areas are more industrial and have few clients and customers visiting during the day, they are interspersed with businesses that have more daytime activity

and need open space parking spaces so it's easy for customers to find a place to park. i will direct the office of economic development to work with employers, particularly pr businesses, regarding ways to alleviate financial burden on low-income employees. i know that mta is working with the committee to develop a sound proposal and in the parking management strategy should have ample community by yen before it is rolled out. -- community buy in before it is rolled out. thank you for your question. president chiu: that concludes today's question time. thank you for being here. madame clerk, could you please read the consent agenda? >> item 2 is an appointment to

the child care planning and advisory council. this item comprises a consent agenda and will be acted upon by single roll call vote. [roll-call] there are 11 ayes. president chiu: the motion is approved. item #3. >> this is an ordinance amending the acquisition agreement tween the city of san

francisco and the museum of modern -- museum of modern art. same house, same call, this item is passed. >> amending the code on service plans and the contribution rates. president chiu: same house, same call. this ordinance is passed. >> it this ordinance is for check out bags and san francisco and establishing a bag fee is provided to the customer. president chiu: same house, same call. this ordinance is passed. >> item 6, the granting authorization to the director of public works department to approve certain changes to official sidewalk wits and establishing a processing fee. president chiu: same house, same call. this item is passed.

items 7 through 9. >> amending the various sections of the glen park area plan, for the glen park neighborhood transit district. item 8, amending the maps to create new zoning district as proposed in the glen park committee plan, and i am nine, and ordnance amending the general plan by adding the glen park area plan. president chiu: same house, same call. these ordinances are finally passed. >> approving the nomination to the board of appeals for the term ending july 1, 2012. president chiu: same house, same call. this item is approved. >> item 11, to change the cycle of treasurer to make sure they are within the same years as with the district