we get a chance to design the world we want to live in even if it is just for a little while. i think that is a great perspective. for a brief time, they're given a chance to research, educate, and demonstrate what is possible in urban agriculture in partnership but the city, we were given a grant to start the program and support from the san francisco park's lines. once again, as development and real estate and all the exciting things of the future city come to fruition, the notion of an term used project is being questioned and is of concern to many people, the idea that you can do something temporarily and see benefit to that. when we first received a notice -- if i may go on for just a moment here -- when we first received notice a year ago that the development plans were going

to proceed, we were excited about the opportunity to sit and work with the mayor's office and a number of neighborhood and community-based organizations to identify additional spaces. one of the lessons i learned was an urban farm is something worth understanding a little about. [tone] it's not always going to be a very large space. what i would like to see is a community that has spaces throughout the neighborhood. some available for thing slyke composting, some for tools, some for class's and i don't think we need to have it all in one large space, but many spaces. as i stand here before you, i teach at the community gardens as well as two days in the

bayview doing a job training program with some of the most at risk use. i'm confident the enthusiasm is there and they're our capabilities for these things to become very productive. the last thing, i want to touch the talent from the people's garden and the tenderloin -- san francisco continues to be a leader the rest of the world looks to in response to social, environmental, and economic crises we respond to daily here and i look forward to this legislation being a big part of the future. i have a copy of the report and i would like to share that with you. president chiu: are there any other members of the public who wish to speak on this topic?

>> i am interested and very much in utilizing the resources we have in san francisco and not using any more of our money to do any more research on how to do airports. we have a big community that will be receiving five years from now and a university known for building the best of the best engineers and the world. people from around the world come to san francisco university to graduate and to get the best. why can't we use those guys to do the research on the best merino we can build --

supervisor mar: you were talking about the previous item. >> we opened it and we closed it. please try to speak any urban agriculture program. >> that's what we have forms for. supervisor mar: is there anyone else would like to speak? let's close public comment. president chiu: i would like to thank all of the folks who came out today. there has been a lot of frustration about the fact we have seven different agencies that impact agriculture but we were not able to see the type of coordination i hope will arise out of this legislation and hopefully we'll have more full- time staffing and make sure the declining resources and our budget is something we will be

able to address. i would like to think the city administrator's office, the rec and park department, planning and real estate. in particular, have to think the urban agriculture alliance and all of you who have been working together to create a vision not just a san francisco being a green city, but being on the forefront of the urban agriculture movement. i would like to summarize the changes we have made. we introduced a new version last week and some of the changes includes a new language that for the upcoming fiscal year, we would have at least one of full- time employee for this urban agriculture program. we included language to require the strategic plan to include budget and funding sources to make it explicit the mayor and administrator will consult with

relative -- relevant departments and ensure once the program is in place, we will seek public and put from stakeholders and including the language to conform with agriculture and public health laws. to make explicit the rooftop audit will identify suitable roofs and not make final determination of the suitability. language that would allow changes to the completion date should be processed result another time lines. broadening the definition to include non-food plants and will include in the duty to ensure existing spaces are fully utilized. there was one other change that was made that i would like to propose an amendment today. that refers to the language around job training and employment opportunities.

there was a suggestion that we reference we want job-training opportunities for low-income and used as well as think about employment opportunities for a san francisco residence. i think that language is worth putting in. i would like to suggest on page 4, subsection 7, line 11, that we state one of the duties shall be to explore our urban agriculture can provide new opportunities and enhance existing programs for all san francisco residents and how employment opportunities and incentives can be created for employers to hire a san franciscans. i thought that was useful to add to this language. i would ask for that amendment and ask for your support. supervisor mar: -- supervisor

olague has joined us. supervisor ma supervisor olague: this is something i find very exciting. i have been trying to reach out individuals engaged in this work, particularly there is a lot of strength in the african- american community and a lot of folks there who are actually expert on african american farming and this sort of thing. we are hoping in august to have a conversation and presentation from the rosa parks senior center which is adjacent to the buchanan mall. we hope the mall will be used to replace some of what we will be

losing when the hayes valley farm ceases to exist. we're glad we got a six month extension. i would love to have more time than that and hopefully we will continue to engage in conversations to that and because some of the work going on is pretty incredible and i would encourage anyone who hasn't been there to go by. they have beehives where they produce honey. they have rehabilitated the soil through composting efforts. it is a beautiful sustainable project and there is a see the farm there pyrrhic if it is amazing what can happen when people come together spontaneously and create a beautiful space in the middle of an urban environment.

i am hoping when -- i don't know that a task force will be created but as we focus on the issue of urban agriculture, i hope we can identify some spaces that are publicly owned. there are a lot of underutilized public space and i realize these soil needs to be rehabilitated but i think there might be a way we can work on sites in between development. there was some talk of this a couple of years ago but maybe we can start looking again at publicly owned, under-utilized sites since the idea is one that is being discussed. i look forward to having discussions with public health. therefore the lot on community health impact studies, i think

that directly links to this issue of our urban agriculture. finally, i do support mr. allen's amendments of around the employment of the use and that sort of thing. the urban agriculture issue. will it be held in the department of the environment? where will that be? where will it be located? >> if i could answer, right now the city administrator's office is talking about the best place to house staff, said that decision has not been made, but that is something that i hope that the city administrator can make in short order. the idea was to get the department's shopping. >> -- supervisor wiener: dph be

an obvious choice, i was just curious. supervisor mar: thank you so much to president chiu, and all of the various urban farms and gardens that participated in this. i think that the seven overarching goals are important for the one-stop shop, july 1, 2013. the garden resource centers across the city are expanding efforts looking at surplus properties from different districts and places. by highlighting the different gardens and farms within the city. i know that the alliance has identified sites within each of our districts. i also know that the waiting list for the community garden in my district on 16th avenue near fulton has a huge waiting list. i think it is a good goal that

residents seeking plots should not have to wait more than one year or access to apply their other efforts. i am appreciative that the president appreciates the advocates from the alliance that they have made for funding in the position and incorporating as much as possible from different stakeholder groups. i would love to be added as a co-author as well to expand its of that san francisco is a leader in urban agriculture around the country. thank you. supervisor cohen: i also have one quick comment. i wanted to also comment on the fact that the haight-ashbury neighborhood council, the recycling center, they have a lot of relief -- there is a native plant peace to that project and plots that people

are using to plant. i believe that they've worked collaborative lee with the farm over the last couple of years, and it is a great way the different communities come together to change the information and work towards creating a sustainable city. i wanted to give a shout out to hank for their efforts in this also. >> thank you. colleagues, we have amendments before us. can we -- supervisor mar: colleagues, we have amendments before us. can they be adopted without objection? can they be moved forward without objection? thank you, thank you everyone. [applause] i know that i think as part of this year's budget process, but will have a conversation about funding for these urban agriculture programs. stay tuned, we will likely have

conversations over the next few short weeks about this topic. thank you for being here. miss miller, please call item no. 4. >> item #4. hearing regarding the needs and issues faced by the san francisco seniors living in single room occupancy. supervisor mar: in calling for this hearing, along with supervisor olague, this is an issue of dignity and respect for seniors who have difficulty living within the tesoro -- sro's in the city. now we have some data and clerestories, data for moving forward legislation that will hopefully improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable residents, seniors and people with disabilities living within these hotels. this will face increasing

challenges as they age in place. the official san francisco policy is to support seniors to age in place, but there is no comprehensive strategy for serving those who by choice or circumstance live in residential hotels. while relatively affordable and close to transit, that former housing provides a ton challenges the tenants. the city, according to our input, needs to develop much more creative strategies across departments to reduce the isolation and make the buildings safer and provide the elderly and disabled greater access to community resources. i wanted to applaud the senior action network. i know the supervisor olague was a former organizer with them. the collaborative and episcopal community services, the income support services consortium and others who have produced this great report that you all have

in front of you on your desks has concrete recommendations that i am committing to help implement along with supervisor olague and others. i want to thank the group of grass-roots housing organizations and others and look forward to hearing from the department and community members on this topic. i wanted to thank scott walton, from the human services agency, a knee from emergency management, and cheryl adams, for being here today. we have a number of representatives here today from city departments. i wanted to allow supervisor olague to make some remarks. >> thank you -- supervisor olague: thank you. as the supervisor mentioned, i think that this has been a positive process. the network and collaborative in the city, as well as chinatown and the community development center, we all came together and

work hard on this report. we worked hard and surveyed individuals that live in the hotels and it was surprising what we found. in some instances, i think there was even a sense that some seniors were not interested in leaving where they lived, but interested in seeing better conditions in the hotels where they resided. in chinatown i believe that the organizers located someone who was in their late 90's, close to 100, who had lived in the hotel for 40 years to 50 years and were very attached to that community. i think that we sometimes need to catch ourselves in these assumptions that we make about what we consider to be home. even though these situations need to be improved, definitely, and we need to do all that we can to make certain that the quality of life for

individuals, seniors, people with disabilities that lived in some of these places, that the conditions are approved. in some instances, as i mentioned, these folks consider these places their homes and we need to be sensitive to that. i think that the other side of it is that to the extent that we can continue working towards building affordable senior housing, we always have to keep that as one of our goals. many folks, we found, who wanted to relocate or leave it -- leave where they live cannot because the availability for affordable senior housing is not in place. i hope that we walk away today with some next steps. as i mentioned earlier that the press conference, there are now lots of conversations happening around seniors in this city. we will have one of the largest senior populations of any major

city in california in the next 10 years. we want to be ahead of this topic. i am happy to be working with all of these groups to try to bring as much focus as we can and as many resolutions around, and improvements around the issues that concern seniors. such as pedestrian safety, have the ability, or any of the rest of those issues. we are here to listen and hopefully move towards some next steps today. i want to especially thank the senior action network and caring for helping to put together this report. supervisor mar: thank you, supervisor olague. i have a number of speakers and cards from people in the community. i will be calling six different representatives. first, maria, from the department of aging and adult services. >> good afternoon.

committee chairman, supervisors, my name is maria and in a program analyst with the department of aging and adult services. i am here to give a brief introduction to today's hearing. supervisors, thank you very much for setting up today's follow-up hearing from the one from 2011. that hearing was affected in showcasing the tremendous work done by the senior action network, various collaborative is, and representatives from our city agencies, like the department of building inspection, service agency, and community nonprofit groups. as they work together to improve the quality of life for seniors and young adults living with disability. in particular the residents of the city's sro's. that hearing provided the cannabis upon which many

residents and people living in them could paint their pictures of what it is like to live there. for the most part, we found mainly grim scenes that were quite graphic in terms of the stories that were told about the poor conditions and lack of amenities that residents must endure. occasionally there was a bright splash of color indicating that many have hope that there is a real potential for improving conditions, and a river ray of light when some residents share that there is was really working for them and they felt that they were living with some level of dignity. we have now had several months to reflect and build up our resolve to change that which needs to be changed. not much has been accomplished towards this end, with a clear exception of the tireless day to day work that the sro's

collaborative in the central city, the birth of that date -- the work that they do on a day- to-day basis with their community partners, we all benefit from their precision in sharp advocacy. the fact that they work towards an powering up residence and the humanity that act " -- echoes through the hallways. of course, where would we be without the resilience and extremely patient residents themselves, who trust that the city will do right by them. at today's hearing, we are bringing together more of a blueprint of recommendations to help create living environments in which persons can age in place without fear for their personal security or saddling to live in an environment with serious health violations or without basic amenities that

many others take for granted. for example, a phone jack. now i think we want to add community gardens to that list. it is a goal of the sro working group to focus more on ideas and solutions at today's hearing. the group is very encouraged by the interest and support that you have afforded and want to actively engage in problem- solving the situation. the department of aging and adult services is happy to see that the limited funding we are able to give towards this effort bring forward an opportunity to make a difference. we applaud the collaboration between community partners. they have conducted a study amongst residents, tabulated findings, and crafted a comprehensive report that will help us all to focus on remedies for the many deficiencies that were outlined. that mission continues to be to

coordinate services to older adults, adults with disabilities and their families, maximizing self-sufficiency, health, and independence so that they can remain in the community for as long as possible. the mission remains, of whether someone is living in a well-to- do assisted living facility, a longtime family home, a modest studio apartment, or sro, the mission will not be fulfilled if those living within sro's are not given the highest quality of life possible. chairman, i wanted to thank you for pointing out that scott has been here, should you have questions and would like to hear from him. at the november hearing in did my remarks with a quote from an anonymous source that still applies.

the test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough to those who have little. there is a lot of work before us. thank you for your willing participation in partnership. this brings us closer to passing the test. supervisor mar: thank you. these of the department reps who are speaking. from the mayor's office, joanna. thank you for being here. >> can i have a lower microphone, please? thank you. thank you so much. good afternoon, supervisors. thank you, chairman, for allowing our office to come with a couple of brief comments. my name is joanna and and the

deputy director for the mayor's office of disability. i would love to thank you for the opportunity to frame the day's discussion in the context of disability rights issues in the city, and our city obligation to remain compliant. as many of you know, the mayor's office of disability deals with compliance issues and not so much service issues. let me begin by saying that sro 's is more than just a service issue, it is a civil rights issue. with over 8000 seniors and people with disabilities currently living in them, in approximately two-thirds of the survey sample, they reported some kind of disability. it is important to highlight the discrepancy between the number of physically acceptably units and the percentage of people that need them.

of course, we know that the majority of these are old-style hotels that do not even meet minimum have the ability standards. this is a major challenge. we are talking about really old construction with many barriers. we know that the city continues to work towards memorial projects online, such as the civic center and accessibility standards. we do not yet have enough. permanent housing is kind of far down the horizon. as long as the city is using these sro's to house people, we still have an obligation to provide access. let me take a minute to define for you what program access really is. it means that the percentage of usable units must be proportionate to the number of residents in need accessibility to function properly.

whether we call these individuals seniors or people with disabilities, it is the matter that they stop and need basic features, such as gravel bars, accessible elevators, wide doors, to safely use their environment. it is not simply enough to say that we have a percentage of 5% or 10% of the available rooms in the city accessible in usable. we must make sure that the supply meets the demand in order for the city to meet its civil rights obligation. therefore, we would like to recommend, in addition to the wonderful recommendations in the report, that these -- that they city -- that the city survey the existing stock based on features. it is important to know about people's perception of usability or