air and water, provide insulation, and improve the views for the many people looking down on this development. for me, it means adding dozens and hopefully hundreds of well- paying, sustainable jobs. ever since i moved from new york city and started my company, i have been trying to get back here. this project provided the final inspiration needed for us to establish our west coast office headquarters in san francisco. the office of economic development has also been helpful and encouraging. we want to make a difference here in san consistent. we think that the thousands of people walking along the embarcadero every day, looking out at the screen roof, looking over at the green walls on the north side of this building, are going to be inspired. they're going to think to themselves, i could do that for my own house, for my own business, my own industrial or

commercial building. we think that is very important. it is going to be great for my business if that happens, but it is also, more importantly, and to be very good for the environment -- going to be very good for the environment and the quality of life for people in san francisco. i urge you to support and uphold the eir. thank you. >> president chiu, supervisors. my name is katie. i am an avid walker. i live two blocks from the embarcadero for over 17 years. i spend a lot of time on the embarcadero and around the area. just being grateful that i can live and what i do. i am really looking forward to this project because it is like to make my walks safer and a lot more enjoyable. i have often wondered what it looks like behind the walls of the green fence where the current club exists. it has been an eyesore and

arrogantly-minded that some said franciscans have been able to use this wonderful piece of land for themselves. this product will open up the piece of property for all of us to enjoy it while the club members will have a new and improved facility. everybody wins. those club members who bemoan the demise of their club are playing with other people's emotions. there are not losing their club at all. on another note, i am the president of the mission bay neighborhood association. i invited representatives from this project to speak at one of our meetings. the group did not currently endorse anything. i can tell you that everybody was very pleased with the project. there were no-objections or anything. everybody was very happy with it. so i asked you to please approve 8 washington and uphold the eir certification and conditional use applications. this will make the area around

the ferry building so much more inviting. thank you. >> good evening, supervisors. my name is steven. i am one of the rare birds in your chamber tonight. i am a native san franciscan, just turned 60. that tells you how long i have been witnessing the slow but shirley positive evolution of the embarcadero. i look forward to further positive developments along the waterfront. i speak tonight for mr. will travis. "after spending 16 years as executive director of the sand francisco bay conservation and development commission, my first civic act as a civilian, i offer my unqualified support for the proposed project located on lot 351. i will not dwell on many of the other public benefits of the project, its consistency with

community planning goals, or its outstanding architectural design. i will stress the role it will play in making the embarcadero a truly world-renown to urban boulevard. i am proud of what ecdc accomplish during my 10 years. the waterfront today is remarkably different than what it was two decades ago in large part because the city, the board, and the ecdc coordinated our processes to attract and light and developers to implement our shared vision. the result is an ever-improving urban landscape being built on san francisco's historic piers. it requires complementary structures on both sides of the roadway. so far, -- some parts of the embarcadero have this. in other places, chain-link fences for the border for this

magnificent boulevard. the 8 washington project will replace one of the stains. i have learned that in politics there is nothing more powerful than the status quo. however powerful current conditions may be, we have learned to live with them. president chiu: thank you very much. >> good evening, supervisors. danny campbell, workers' union #104. the hour is late. i will get straight to the point. this is a smart, and urban design that meets the standards that the planning department and ceqa -- it complies with ceqa and as the planning department demonstrated earlier, it meets the standards under ceqa.

it also has -- we have heard the great benefits that this project -- the public benefits, the revenue to the city, the beautification of the waterfront, the open space. what is not to like? like i said, the hour is late. i urge you to reject these appeals and move forward with this eir. thank you. president chiu: next speaker. >> good evening. i am roger, a resident of sentences go for over 35 years. -- of san francisco for over 35 years. i support public schools and a true public open spaces. i am principle of the architectural firm walker -- working on the architectural development with projects such as pier 24. this proposal is truly a once in

a blue moon opportunity, one that is intelligent, well thought out, a financially balanced. it is a proposal that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. you are taking two parts, a triangular surface parking lot that otherwise is not able to be developed, and you are combining it with a private club that is cutting off the connections to the waterfront. by combining them together, you create a synergy of effects. first, you create public, pedestrian view corridor acces from jackson to the eastern neighborhood and services to the waterfront. also, it forces the western pedestrian, not edge -- pedestrian promenade edge, which

is the greater good for the area. i think this is a very intelligent massing. they are asking for a height exception, but it is not really asking for more bulk, it is redistributing the bulk from the north area were really as an urban response. i will keep it short. i support the project and i highly recommend that you do the same. thank you. >> good evening, board and president chiu. my name is paul. i am a resident of north waterfront, leaving 1.5 blocks from the embarcadero. i am a walker. i really enjoy my walks on the embarcadero on the opposite side of the street. i am really looking forward to, after having attended numerous meetings and hearings and so

forth on the matter of 8 washington, for you to move this project forward. it is the right project and the right time. i hope it will go forward. thank you for it -- thank you. president chiu: please proceed. >> i am here to read a letter into the record from jonathan middlebrook. he was always bugging santoses good design people for changes to this project, specifically, to lower the height and as you know, in the end, that is what ended up happening. "i write you as a former owner of a condo in the golden gate way. i currently live in a different

neighborhood, but maintain a lively interest in my former neighbors. some pr person let them know that the actual name sounded exclusionary. it sounds exclusionary because it is. they have elevated their monthly dues to prove my assertion. they are incapable of adopting the supporting a private club that operates under the rules of free market bullying, selling, and lobbying. suspect because, for no reason i can understand, the cost of their effort to influence their vote are paid for with tax deductible contributions. a developer on the waterfront experience has the financial backing to create hundreds of union jobs building a lot less wealthy developers to build, high-priced days on a spectacular sight for rich people. it is the american and everybody else's way. in this case, the people of california who owned part californialot 351.

it is quality work and this condo project will also be quality work. i no longer live in the city. but the land in question does not belong to fog, it belongs to californians. keep your interest in mind as you cast your vote and whatever else you may decide, please require that the barbwire come down and that the construction of the public west embarcadero is removed. thank you." >> president chiu and members of the board. my name is ellen. i am a resident of the northeast waterfront. i have had a 45-year career as a professional environmental planner in san francisco and served on the staff of ecdc for 15 years and many other

committees. i was very involved with the northeast embarcadero studies. i have to say i was really impressed with the city, the port, and the developer, the many citizens that participated in that study. there was a very thoughtful vision, a revised plan that came out of that. it came out with a very beautiful project. the planning commission has certified the environmental impact report on that. i really believe is in the scope and character of the neighborhood. i urge you to reject these appeals. and continue to support the conditional use permit. additionally, i want you to consider -- we have heard a lot of stuff about the negative environmental impact.

i want you to consider the positive environmental impact of the project. for instance, the value of this project to the port of sentences go -- of san francisco and enabling it to continue its vast amount of public services. i am excited to open up the west side of the embarcadero. i think the city is fortunate that we have a private sector developer that has an excellent track record on piers 1, 3, and 5. to join forces and continue our revitalization of the waterfront. thank you. >> i am a resident of district 1. i'm here to read -- i am also a member of the golden gateway club. i am here to read a fellow swimmers comments.

she was year earlier but she had to go. she is a resident of district 6. she is a member of the club now known as the bay club at the golden gateway. she has long enjoyed swimming outside in the pools. when she first heard about it, of course she was concerned. "i did not want to lose my oasis. i believe the project would destroy our club. that is simply not true. i have since learned that this project will make the tools and the fitness facilities at the club much better it -- much better. here is the rendering. swimmers will have more lap lanes and it will give them the option to swim 25 meters or 25 -- or 50 meters. the space will be doubled and will be moved from a windowless area to a spacious fitness facility along the embarcadero.

during construction, i understand the club members lack access to tennis courts at the tennis club and the swimming pool at the bay club. it is time for club members to share this waterfront treasure. it strikes a good balance between private and public by rebuilding the club and providing lots of public, open space. thank you." president chiu: next speaker. >> my name is christian. i am a green roof professional. i am walking proof of the jobs that motivated professionals like amy has created. more storm water will be managed. the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get started. the awareness of green roofs will be awake -- will be raised due to the visionary experience of this profit. it will be matched by the beauty

of the low impact, high- performance design. using only native plants for this product will ensure that the plan will restore pre- construction conditions with a more efficient use of space. the continued care, interest provided by the community has only increased. please support this project. thank you. president chiu: next speaker. >> good evening. before i get into what i have to say, i would like to say that the captions i wrote years ago, for the future and the good that

we can do. i mean that to everyone of you supervisors. as i sat and listened very carefully, the project is being discussed is a very, very good in my humble estimation. one thing that i would like to ask all of you, there are poor people out there who are carpenters, painters, the list goes on. try to get them a job. so that they can have a better quality of life.

this year you all should try to help those people stop letting people sleep on the sidewalk. please help those people get decent jobs so that they could have a better quality of life. >> president chiu, supervisors, local 22 carpenters union. the question now is the eir. this appeal, is it a weak one or a strong one? that is the question before you tonight. we have heard everything from a to z. good report from the staff. excellent. you guys did a very good job. here is the question, is this

project a bad one or a smart one? i think it is a smart one. with your approval. thank you. president chiu: next speaker, please. >> i am here today wearing two hats. the first is on behalf of the ferry building area merchants who support the proposal of having more residents in the area in addition to more parking. they have signed a petition and you have it here today. i am also here on behalf of the private developer, san francisco waterfront partners, who has been working on the project for nearly seven years. i would like to submit these binders of letters of support, articles supporting the project, and a list of supporters in district 3 and citywide who support the project. i'm sure this is just what you

guys want right now. but i have all of these to hand out to you guys. >> good evening, supervisors. my name is jim. i am an urban planner and i have been working on waterfront issues in denver cisco for 35 years. -- in san francisco for 35 years. i marvel at this conversation tonight. there is not -- nothing unusual or extreme about this project. it is small, well-scaled. 140 units. there is nothing unusual about the site, about the water table. this is handled all the time incenses go. -- in san francisco. the traffic impact is minuscule. it will be invisible on the

embarcadero. the construction impact, nothing unusual about them. every building has construction impacts. every building in the city has construction impacts. you handle them and they go away. somehow, the project's components have clearly with up a frenzy of fear -- whipped up a frenzy of fear among many honest people. i think the planning staff addressed these issues very well. some of them just have to be addressed. the idea that 8 washington has called the housing shortage in san francisco is beyond understanding. the fear that the health club is going to be lost and gone away simply is not true. the fear about the owner of the adjoining building who apparently has untoward business

practices has nothing to do with this product. i ask you to really reject these appeals. as a planner, i have to say that there is no question that the eir is adequate and accurate. please of firm the certification of firmfeir. as a planner -- please affirm the certification of the feir. please reject the challenge to the c.u. thank you very much. president chiu: thank you. are there any other members of the public who wish to speak? seeing none, why don't we move to the final rebuttal by the appellant?

you have up to six minutes to be divided as you see fit. >> thank you. good evening. i am still here representing the ferry building. let me address the eir. it is an informational document. the eir remains inadequate, inaccurate, and incomplete. i will not repeat the point i made earlier. there were some things that the public said that came to remind me that there are some very important issues that were not well-addressed in the eir. the northeastern waterfront study is cited liberally as a basis for recommendations and decisions. as if it were, in fact, a regulatory document. for example, it is the reason

for narrowing drum st. this stands in stark contrast to what the city has been arguing in another lawsuit, which is filed by the telegraph hill dwellers, among others. it is the northeastern embarcadero study, not regulatory, has no force, is merely suggestive. that is contrary to the manner in which the planning department and planning commission have treated the northeastern and marketer of study. the question is, which is accurate? is it a rule, a regulation, or is it not? it is inadequate to be addressed in the eir and. because what position taken by the city attorney in another case. secondly, on traffic. in particular, the feir assumes

that a provision of that study will be implemented. namely, the removal of a vital left turn lane off the embarcadero on to west on washington. because of that, 8 washington would have eight serious adverse environmental impact. the level of d would drop to f, which is unacceptable. despite the gridlock it would cause, the only mitigation measure suggested would be that the staff recognizes that it is not want to work at all. not only that further mitigation measures were examined and there were no alternatives that would alleviate this severe environmental effect. as a matter of fact, on the recreational point, there is a specific provision of the ceqa

guidelines that requires a mandatory finding of significance in mitigation when there is a determination as evidence before you tonight that there is a profound adverse affect on the recreational resources and access. that finding is absent. no mitigation is provided. for all that the planning department and mr. manley, who i respect greatly as a lawyer, have tried to do to rehabilitate this, it remains deficient. outdated traffic information, fails to assess cumulative development, all its obligations of the city to our client, the ferry building, fails to consider alternatives that would actually mean something in terms of dealing with environmental effects. therefore, it is the worse it gets.

i urge that you reject the eir and returning to the planning commission for correction. until that is done, you should not approve this product. thank you. >> thank you, supervisors. number one, we believe that the eir is inadequate for all the reasons previously stated, including the loss of recreation that was so eloquently stated by those who gave testimony. i have a pamphlet of some of those documents that they referred to. in looking at the conditional uses, there are four questions one has to ask themselves. this is extraordinary height, dramatic bulk, big building.you recall the video. recalling the video, one has to

ask themselves, is this really what we want for this spectacular piece of property, residential housing in particular? do we want this particularly? it will trigger similar, large, high-rise, balky buildings in the adjacent proximity. we already know there is one waiting in the wings. number three, do we want to do this at the expense of community? a community-based recreational asset that is eight citywide impact. you saw the people across the city, number four, is this a good deal for the city? you do not have the answer to that question. i do not think, under the circumstances, you can grant conditional use for it when you appreciate your attention to our

arguments. president chiu: any questions to the appellants or any of the parties? okay. at 11:57, this hearing has been held and is closed. let me ask our court reporters. do you need a break? are you able to hang on for a few minutes? ok.