is the environmentally friendly parking lot that they want to save. the other thing that will happen, which i think is really cool, if this project gets approved, is there will be a green roof next to the new swimming pool. i will get to see that and we will lose a green wall. i urge you to approve the project. one last thing. i also part in the golden gate with parking lot. this thing is empty on saturday mornings. thank you. >> good evening, supervisors. thank you for your time and thank you for your amazing perseverance. my name is mona lisa. i am a district 8 president. i am an attorney and small- business owner. i am also the mom of two small children. i'm here to support the 8 washington project.

i am also here to support the over 100 merchants at the ferry building. i would like to talk to you about how excited i am to imagine and -- to imagine we can manifest here, picture in our minds, children frolicking in an outside water fountain. how beautiful that idea is and instead of walking out with your amazing food that you got from this building, looking across and seeing a chain-link fence and concrete and instead, use the green, people walking, bicycles going back and forth. just the picture of that, i am really excited about that and i am really excited about progress. i would like to take the last few moments and read a letter from another mother. she is the former executive director of the bay area bicycle coalition. "supervisors, i am writing you

to set express my strong report for the project. as a mother and bicycle advocate, i am pleased with so much this project has to offer are deserving city. i love that it will bring more housing to the waterfront, making the area more safe and active at night and on the street. the whole city will benefit from restoring jackson and pacific streets. i love that the project will create public open space where there currently is none. the children's playground is icing on the cake. please vote yes. thank you for your consideration." >> i am an architect. a member of spur and aia. i want to speak in support of this project. it is a fantastic project. it replaces these ugly fences and an ugly parking lot with a wonderful, brand new health club

with swimming pools and new ground-floor retail there really benefits the public. i walk from the embarcadero station to my office in north beach. i avoid the block right now. i hope someday that i can walk through the spot -- this block and enjoy the public benefits, a lot more pleasant pedestrian environment that would be created. the product sponsor and his architect has worked well with -- to design these buildings. as a result of this planning, a compromise with the planning department, we have lower buildings on the embarcadero to allow more light. the higher portion of the buildings are up against the

golden gate center. we have the same amount of square footage, but it is placed better in the project. much better planning. on top of that, the icing on the cake is the green roof. all of the existing buildings will look down on this green roof, a lot better than the tennis courts. the green roofs will solve a lot of our storm water runoff problems. it will door of the rain water instead of running it into the sewer system, creating environmental overflows. there are a lot of great things for this project. as far as heene workers, -- as far as union workers -- president chiu: thank you very much. >> good evening.

i live in district 3 on the northeast waterfront, not far from the project. i am representing a lot of neighbors who could not stick with us all evening. some of us could not. i highly support the project and urge you to deny the of the -- deny the appeal and approve the conditional use permit. i am sick to death of the allies and misconceptions that the opposition is growing around, including the asinine assertion that some of us are on the payroll. we have been here for many hearings and have no financial connection with the project whatsoever. it is strictly a good project for the city, a good project for the waterfront. it is a good project for our neighborhood. i urge you to get it going. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker.

>> good evening, president chiu and supervisors. my name is june. i have lived in san francisco since 1965 from canada. i am in my senior years and i have a severe health problems, osteoporosis, cervical and spinal stenosis. i have lots of time for walking. i do a lot of walking in the area, which i am very lucky to do. i get to see everything down there and study all of the construction. it is really exciting what is going on. when i go past there, for many years, you can see the terrible green fences. you cannot see anything. it is just horrible. the parking lots, i have seen drug stuff going on there and everything. it will be nice to see improvement. we do need to go forward. this is a serious situation that

we have. i used to be afraid to go along with everything and now study everything more in detail. i am not afraid to speak up. i think it will be wonderful if we go forward. i will be very happy. one very fine example is our golden gate bridge. we mentioned many years ago that it was not going to work, environmental problems. washington can be another wonderful one. i want to thank you for hearing me and hope that you will support it. i'm so nervous. thank you so much, everyone. president chiu: thank you. >> good evening, president chiu and supervisors. my name is richard. i am on the russian neighbors board and am currently the chair of our design, zoning, and land use committee. i have lived in san francisco

since 1982. all in district 3, originally on telegraph hill and subsequently on russian hill. a great city. i love being here. when russian hill neighbors looking to the proposed development, we were inclined to be against it. after looking at the existing condition and following the ever-improving evolution of this design, russian hill neighbors is in strong support with the current iteration of the proposed project. most significantly, for us, it reconnect the city with its precious waterfront while providing new swim club facilities. russian hill neighbors urges your approval of this project, which we believe will benefit the city as a whole. it will be a much better land use with this underutilized site. please approve this project and deny the appeals. thank you very much.

>> hello, supervisors. i am a condo owner in russian hill and an eight-year resident of sentences of. i am going to read a letter from the president of our russian hill neighbors association. "after extensive study and consideration, russian hill neighbors has concluded it will support the current design for the proposed project. the condition being that the height limit adjustment due to specific circumstances surrounding this particular site not be used as a precedent to justify other high limit increases along the northern waterfront. our support is based on the following -- the developer will reconnect the city to its waterfront, it will provide more open space to the more sensitive northern side of the development, and the cascading

of the building provides a logical transition from the existing much taller buildings to the shorter buildings close to the embarcadero. we urge your approval of this project, which we believe will benefit the city as a whole and be a better land use for this underutilized site. thank you." >> good evening. almost good morning. my name is justin. i am the founder and spokesperson for waterfront for all. i am a district to resident now. i used to be district 3 when this project first began. i was involved in the study and that was a public process. the current design came out of. there was mention about an alternative plan. that was not public. i was not invited. i would also like to take a second to thank the planning commission. they have done a great job.

they are a world-class organization and i hope the supervisors give their work to the consideration that it deserves. i would like to thank a lot of people in the audience. no one has a dog in this fight. we are here because we love sentences go and we have stayed here for seven hours. -- we love san francisco and we have stayed here for seven hours. we are here because we care and we think this is a good profit. i'm going to address a few points. first of all, the height. we can have buildings that are all 84 feet, but all the design professionals tell you it is not going to look good. we raise the height in the back to make the project financially viable and we get something better. affordable housing is a huge issue. i am very sympathetic to it but these units do not come out of thin air. they have to be paid for. this will provide $11 million. that is significant. that money can be leveraged and we can buy a lot of units. if we are serious about afford

housing, we should talk about raising a heights on this project, not lowering them. the 99% discussion offends me. unless i win the lottery, i will never owned one of these units. but if you build it, i will benefit as a citizen, a pedestrian. waterfront for all, are big thing is to try to get people engaged in the process, to talk about -- i suppose that is all my time. please support the project tonight. do not continue it. thank you for your time. >> only seven hours. it feels like 10. i am sarah and i represent the jackson square district association. we represent both of the owners, merchants, and residents of jackson square. when this project first came

before us, it was not something we like. this project has evolved into something that is very exciting. from the input of a lot of people, a lot of professionals. it is something that we should embrace and be proud of. the outcome of the input. at great cost to the developer. we support this project in part because it opens up jackson street to the waterfront. and because of pedestrian thoroughfare that will introduce people to jackson square as well as chinatown. we also think that the condos, it is a perfect location for such a development. we really do believe that people should live where they work and work where they live. on the other hand, we also support the additional parking. it sounds a little contradictory, but retailers need that parking.

we know today, in jackson square, parking has been -- there is less parking out. on saturday, by 10:00 in the morning, we are already full with people who are parking at the ferry building. i do not understand all the numbers, but it is a very important part of the project that we think the city will benefit from. thank you. we hope you support the project. president chiu: thank you. next speaker for it -- next speaker. >> my name is amy. i am the owner of a green roof and green infrastructure company. so i care about green roofs. 8 washington provides a significant move towards residential green roof insulation. these green roofs will clean the 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