president garcia: that is pretty discriminatory against people like shaquille o'neal and other tall people. >> any public comment? you are one of the appellants, right? you can speak under rebuttal, but you cannot speak under public comment. we will move into a bottle. you have three minutes. -- rebuttal. you have three minutes. >> i am not afraid of this technology. i do not fear anything about this. i did want to say a couple of things. i do not know if this is the kind of forum to have this decision made. what i what so bad is to have been denied their permit and take this back to the appropriate forum for discussion. maybe that is the planning department.

many other cities buried this equipment underground. why aren't we doing that in san francisco? it is not like we do not want the technology. we all want our computers to move faster. but it is how it is being placed in the city. they have a right to put this equipment and a public way, but san francisco has a right to oversee the whereabouts. i found a case in new york were this particular village, at the same thing was happening to them. a visually similar to box and antennas. the people were so distraught by it. they agreed to provide a slimmed down version. i have seen the pictures and it is so much different. why aren't we doing that? when i presented my request, i felt the board made it clear that it was not your place to consider esthetics. i found a course case where the

judge did determine that local governments are allowed to consider esthetics. it is not the health concern. i am not afraid of this technology. but i think about san francisco as a whole and our standard of living. it is not this. if this was happening outside your home, maybe things would be different. people are just starting to see these boxes. but there are a lot of them in the city. pick it back to a department that will make better decisions about how this -- kicked back to a department that will make better decisions about how this technology is used. i just wanted to consider those things, thank you. i will make one more comment. when the -- when i asked the department of public works to provide me with that letter that the department of health had a typo.

the letter was dated in august. that was the only letter that they provided me. in the department of public works response, there was another letter dated january. they were very similar. in the first letter, they talked about one antenna. in the second letter, they talked about two antennas. i think there are discrepancies in what happened between conversations between agencies. discrepancies that are valid not to revoke the permit. thank you. >> aside from the scientific value, i have a middle school down the way and kids go buy it every day. i would like to see that out of

the way, more high -- higher and more discreet. >> thank you. any rebuttal? >> the white house, a couple of times. that is out of our control -- the height has, up a couple of times. that is out of our control. we do not have any flexibility over that because pg an &e has a standard meter. regarding the aesthetics and the underground, that is a longer conversation. in general, you look at what is going on in the neighborhood. this neighborhood is not an underground area. there is equipment, when you are evaluating the impact, you look at the facility.

planning has approved a much larger facilities than desperate we have much larger facilities throughout the country. -- planning has approved a much larger facility. we have much larger facilities to allow the country. sometimes it can be smaller, but for this technology, it needs to be in a box of this size. that is one of the more -- is one of the smaller ones out there. it is only 2 inches wider than it would be to be a tier one. president garcia: what is the meter that is 6 feet 8 inches off the ground metering? >> a that is pg &e's meter. that is their standard.

it is me during the power. president garcia: of? >> of the pit -- of the equipment on the pole. president garcia: that is how they built you? -- bill you? >> if you look at any of the utility poles with the comcast battery supply, you will see the meter at 7 6. all the comcast meters are at 7 feet 6 inches as well. president garcia: comcast meters. >> if the box is separate -- is on a separate bracket, we could.

when we put the box is higher, that was interfering with second story of views. we kept them lower in order to not interfere with second story of views. >> the internet itself, is there are recent there cannot just be one -- and the antenna itself, is there a reason there cannot just be one antenna? >> in order to get the coverage, there has to be two of them. there are other locations that only have one, but you have to try to meet the demand so it can pick up the signals from a certain area. it is not particularly large. the antenna is put in itself -- is put into a round shroud. fairmount to gather at the top -- and there are mounted together at the top. this was the intended that was needed. we looked at a lot of other ones and they were a lot taller.

these were the smallest available about -- available. >> would you put this -- would planning approved this? >> planning has approved this configuration on many good an excellent view streets. this was part of our building out of the network. i think we have about 20 of these configurations are around the city. they have all been approved by planning with the exact same configurations. thank you. >> thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. the comment from the applicant -- i mean, the appellant.

as it relates to as fedex. they can be addressed in this -- as the relates to esthetics. they can be addressed in the future. planning will need to evaluate and make findings of this facility upon renewal. when they renew under article 25. planning might impose additional conditions. we do not know that at this point. moving forward, it is possible. as it relates to the confusion, it appears the letter dated august 25, 2010 refers to one antenna. at some point, between august to january, unchanged from one antenna to to antennas. -- a change from one antenna to

two antennas. the second case was also appropriate. that is where the confusion lies. right now, the permits were issued under administrative code. upon renewal, up one falls under article 25, there'll be additional reviews from the plant -- from the planning department given that it is in a residential zone. unless they change equipment, the health department has reviewed and determined that it is correct and appropriate. it has satisfied the fcc regulations. the department will go back and verify the height given the concerns of the appellant.

that the appellant has expressed concerns of people hitting it by jumping. we will try to work to make sure we find a way to possibly move it higher if that is the case. i am available to answer any questions. president garcia: it would seem like redwood is giving off that color. >> [inaudible] >> could be required -- could be required that they painted some color that would match? that is a lot to absorb all once. they have a low height on the base. something that is not yet painted. they have that natural look to the wood.

bat is creating some of the problems having to do with aesthetics. is that possible to work and to some tort of -- some sort of regulation? >> the department will require that they painted the equipmente color of the existing put to the best of their ability. we will verify that the requirement. right now, -- the permit was suspended, said they had to cease operations. that was one of the reasons they were not able to move forward. president garcia: thank you. >> commissioners, the matter is submitted. president garcia: something does

seem a little unfair. i live in an area where all the facilities are underground. and i think there was a time when, if you lived in an area that was and, if you got together with your neighbors, you could achieve that. i do not think that is being allowed right now. that seems a little bit unfair. i would agree that the esthetics are not great. it seems as though the department of public works is going to do what they can about that. i am sincerely confused as to why so many people who have backgrounds in sciences, pier and have thus think that perhaps week -- come up here and have us think they perhaps we do

not know what their needs to be -- i cannot go out independently to determine that. i have to hope that fcc and dpw -- i have to think that they are giving misinformation. having said all of that, i think you know where i am leading. i intend to uphold. >> i am troubled by the aesthetics and the fact that for some reason, we do not have underground in this neighborhood. we heap on more ugly utility or antennas. this street already has a lot of wires. i think we can do better on the

antenna that is on top of a poll. -- pole. i would lean towards denying the permit. >> i guess i did not see any basis for overturning the permit at this point. i certainly sympathize with the concerns regarding this fedex. i do not see any evidence -- esthetics. i do not see any evidence, and i've read some information in the past about these particular antennas.

they go up all over the city. they have gone up in my neighborhood as well. i did not think there is any basis that conclusively shows they are dangerous or that they are posing a risk to the public health. i think the process is going to be different going forward. there will be an opportunity for due process when this permit expires and has to be reapplied for. that will be the forum for this neighborhood and these appellants to bring these concerns into a due process hearing of some sort. i do not see any basis for overturning the permit at this point. >> i do not have a lot to add. i would echo the sympathetic position that we have.

at this time, i do not think there was anything improper done in the issuance of the permit. president garcia: i would move that we all pulled -- uphold and denied a permit because they are compliant with all codes and regulations having to do with installation. do you need more? >> we have a motion from the president to uphold this permit.

president garcia says on the basis that this permit is compliant. president garcia: correct. >> on that motion -- the votes is pre-one. this permits is upheld on that basis. thank you. >> since item seven has been withdrawn, there is no further business. >> thank you, good night.

>> welcome to "culturewire." today we are at recology.

they are celebrate 20 years of one of the most incredibly unique artist residency programs. we are here to learn more from one of the resident artists. welcome to the show, deborah. tell us how this program began 20 years ago. >> the program began 20 years ago. our founder was an environmentalist and an activist and an artist in the 1970's. she started these street sweeping campaigns in the city. she started with kids. they had an exhibition at city hall. city officials heard about her efforts and they invited her to this facility. we thought it would coincide with our efforts to get folks to recycle, it is a great educational tool. since then, we have had 95 professional artists come through. >> how has the program changed

over the years? how has the program -- what can the public has an artist engage with? >> for the most part, we worked with metal and wood, what you would expect from a program like ours. over the years, we tried to include artists and all types of mediums. conceptual artists, at installation, photographers, videographers. >> that has really expanded the program out. it is becoming so dynamic right now with your vision of interesting artists in gauging here. why would an artist when to come here? >> mainly, access to the materials. we also give them a lot of support. when they start, it is an empty studio. they go out to the public area and -- we call it the big store. they go out shopping, take the materials that, and get to work. it is kind of like a reprieve,

so they can really focus on their body of work. >> when you are talking about recology, do you have the only sculpture garden at the top? >> it is based on work that was done many years ago in new york. it is the only kind of structured, artist program. weit is beautiful. a lot of the plants you see were pulled out of the garbage, and we use our compost to transplant them. the pathway is lined with rubble from the earthquake from the freeways we tour about 5000 people a year to our facility, adults and children. we talk about recycling and conservation. they can meet the artists. >> fantastic. let's go meet some of your

current artists. here we are with lauren. can you tell us how long have been here so far and what you're working on? >> we started our residency on june 1, so we came into the studio then and spent most of the first couple weeks just digging around in the trash. i am continuing my body of work, kind of making these hand- embroidered objects from our day-to-day life. >> can you describe some of the things you have been making here? this is amazing. >> i think i started a lot of my work about the qualities of light is in the weight. i have been thinking a lot about things floating through the air. it is also very windy down here. there is a piece of sheet music up there that i have embroidered third. there is a pamphlet about hearing dea -- nearing death.

this is a dead rabbit. this is what i am working on now. this is a greeting card that i found, making it embroidered. it is for a very special friend. >> while we were looking at this, i glanced down and this is amazing, and it is on top of a book, it is ridiculous and amazing. >> i am interested in the serendipity of these still life compositions. when he got to the garbage and to see the arrangement of objects that is completely spontaneous. it is probably one of the least thought of compositions. people are getting rid of this stuff. it holds no real value to them, because they're disposing of it. >> we're here in another recology studio with abel. what attracted you to apply for this special program? >> who would not want to come to the dump?

but is the first question. for me, being in a situation that you're not comfortable in has always been the best. >> what materials were you immediately attracted to when you started and so what was available here? >> there are a lot of books. that is one of the thing that hits me the most. books are good for understanding, language, and art in general. also being a graphic designer, going straight to the magazines and seeing all this printed material being discarded has also been part of my work. of course, always wood or any kind of plastic form or anything like that. >> job mr. some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. -- taught me through some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. >> the first thing that attracted me to this was the printed surface. it was actually a poster. it was a silk screen watercolor, about 8 feet long. in terms of the flatwork, i work with a lot of cloddish.

so being able to cut into it come at into it, removed parts, it is part of the process of negotiating the final form. >> how do you jump from the two dimensional work that you create to the three-dimensional? maybe going back from the 3f to 2d. >> everything is in the process of becoming. things are never said or settled. the sculptures are being made while i am doing the collages, and vice versa. it becomes a part of something else. there's always this figuring out of where things belong or where they could parapets something else. at the end goal is to possibly see one of these collage plans be built out and create a structure that reflects back into the flat work. >> thank you so much for allowing "culturewire" to visit

this amazing facility and to learn more about the artists in residence program. is there anything you like our viewers to know? >> we have art exhibitions every four months, and a win by the public to come out. everybody is welcome to come out. we have food. sometimes we have gains and bands. it is great time. from june to september, we accept applications from bay area artists. we encouraged artists from all mediums to apply. we want as many artists from the bay area out here so they can have the same experience. >> how many artists to do your host here? >> 6 artist a year, and we receive about 108 applications. very competitive. >> but everyone should be encouraged to apply. thank you again for hosting us. >> thank you for including us in "culturewire." ♪

>> welcome to the tuesday, april 10 meeting. hopefully, if appropriate, everybody has paid their property taxes. you have unti