washington high school, the poll fields, and beach chalet. unlike the outer sunset where they can go and play, i have nowhere to play and my kids have nowhere to play. if you go to polo fields right now, page closed sign. the field is surrounded by a chain-link fence. beach shelle, surrounded by a chain-link fence. washington high school, a big chain link fence and began a play on it. it is important for those of us that we also get a part. is open and available for us to play. i think it is important and you win over this one with staff, to recognize this is a renovation of existing facility. it is a port facility and needs to be renovated to modern, sustainable standards and that is what this project and this eir is addressing. how to turn this athletic field for at least 75 years into a modern athletic field so we can all enjoy it. thank you. president chiu: thank you.

>> i am the president of the california soccer association, north. in september we will celebrate 110 years of existence in san francisco serving the soccer committee. we have 12,000 members ages 18 to 65. 2000 of them play in san francisco. you have already heard from our member woman pose a league that has to play outside the city. our -- some of our members, 60% of them are latinos who are underserved because they do not have a place to play either. many of the time they have to play out of the city and cannot use beach shelle because of its poor condition for its -- it is closed or over broke. the real issue i think for you

should be the safety of the children. not what i believe or what the opponents believe. but how many broken legs of 10- year-old and 8-year-old have to be suffered before somebody recognizes this is an unsafe environment. the folks who are opposed to the eir were the very people who demanded that it be done. and now because they did not get the result the wanted, the one you to delay it more. did not keep delaying it. if you move to another site, do not delay it there. if you move to mcclaren park, they will delay it. please uphold the eir and let's move forward with this project.

>> i have been involved in soccer all my life, 32 years here. we live in the 21st century and as we use of the advances in other walks of life, we should also be able to benefit of the advances we can use for recreational sports such as synthetic turf. parks, the golden gate being one of the largest, the respect for the integrity of the environment is being maintained. the natural environment upon flowers and trees and natural habitats, people are aware -- beware of making a park, maintaining that. but also there is a small percent in what will be called on natural amenities allowed to be brought in such as restaurants, bars museums,

offices, even homes and so on. even though a majority of the park is in its natural state, we do allow a minor percentage of unnatural. soccer is a growing sport. it is our duty to have the facilities available to our young people so that one day maybe with demand, a major turfy would be brought back to the united states to honor this country. it is our duty to make sure the facilities are available to hold and develop these skills of the young. every generation should pass on to the next generation something practical, applicable, meaningful, and wonderful. it would be a great service to the future of san franciscans that they would have beach chalet as a soccer field. for those who love the sport.

>> good evening. speaking on land behalf as a former athlete that used the beach chalet fields and the father of a young athlete who request you approve the project. beach chalet has been not designated. it is more -- no more habitat. of hall has misconstrued the purpose. it was never intended to be isolated and seal off of people it was always intended to be used for their recreation. osan francisco faces a lot of challenges with having too many families with children. adequate fields in which the suburbs have an enormous advantage over san francisco. it is hard to imagine a more hostile action that could be taken against the interests of families with children than to

turn this project down. it would impact the interests of thousands of young athletes who want to play an outdoor sport but cannot because of our well known and chronic inability to supply playing fields. turf fields are being installed by the thousands in parks and schools across the country as a way to allow more people, especially the young to get access to good quality playing fields. we have a foundation that will pay half the cost of the project. it does not seem that is something we can afford to turn down. the project opponents have nothing to other -- offer a six of the status quo. president chiu: next speaker, please. >> i am with sunset soccer group. i live in the city in supervisor cohen to's district. i am speaking on behalf of my soccer group which is mostly

immigrants and adults remained they come -- we spend all of time planned the soccer field. this is natural turf, natural grass with israel difficult to play and without age, we got injured. i am 35. we basically tried to avoided at all costs. there is some surprise their concern about really. this is the best service i play in and near its the zero injuries or major injuries. is your brain -- the zero major injury at all. when i see all these -- this misinformation and deceptive

from all the comments, i have to show support as well as i am i looked at -- i looked at the documents and share my document. where are my colleagues and have an interest with this project and he agreed and i think this is -- i have checked and re- checked because i like the environment and make sure that this present has no major impact for adults. thank you for your time. i support your decision to install turf fields. i have played baseball, not

soccer. i know the field that is in a decrepit condition when i see one. they're suddenly -- seldom mowed or cute. turf fields do not need to be cut and are always in perfect condition for ball game. in the jury of my teammates preferred term for over grass and emit i take lessons out there to days a week. the cages are also turf. as long as i have been taking lessons i am sure it is not toxic. i hope that today when you vote, you consider everybody including myself, my teammates, and everybody else my age and you respect their decision and as far as i can see, no person my age or younger spoke for the opposition. if they want turf field, the

should be respected. thank you. >> i am a committee member for the chavez family vision. i am here to speak out on behalf of those who have no voice, our children. i want to know who is doing the human impact report? i have not heard one person comment on the perils of playing on this gofer, ridden field. i think -- i can speak to the dangers. it is very personal to me. my son broke his fingers and months later, broke his arm. as a result of playing on the field. here sports -- he refrained from sports as soon as his arm had healed. as for the foster children playing soccer, it gave them a

sense of belonging. they had to keep their grades up to play and learn run nutrition from the coast for it their lost weight and their self confidence improved due to living this healthy lifestyle. is on their behalf that i am here to speak. the er has already passed. let's move forward for the sake of our children and for our diverse city. if that might foster children, i would drop one off and take the other two tutoring and pick the other one up and take that one to tutoring. what i picked them up, made people would tell me your children, they did so well and the kids would look at me and i would say, they did. thank you. that is what i gave them. it gave them a family. the only family they had and we need to have these fields. it is nonsense about the politics of it, it is about our children.

president chiu: next speaker. >> i spent every monday night in that section over there for many years. some years ago. this of the first time i am on the side of the chambers and it is a lot more link the over here so i will try to keep the short period -- this short. soccer is an urban sport and it is for the lower class working people. it is the opposite of what is here where it is a middle class board and the sport of the wealthy and the suburbs. we york train -- we're trying to change that. i am a parent starr king elementary. and have two children.

the general education program, mentor and immersion, and a special education program. it is the most diverse elementary school in this district. a half through higher interest students -- 350 students. now they realize soccer through the police athletic league and through the vikings. it is an opportunity that these kids would never give up. this field represents an amazing opportunity for them. i would encourage you guys during the season to come up to where we practice which is a portrayal hill recreation center. part iraq spent a lot of money trying to get that field in such a way that we could practice their without a threat of injury. that lasted about three weeks. the gophers to get back over and i know your hard and i am not criticizing. you are fighting and never-

ending battle. we need fields like this for the children of this city, particularly the low-income children from public schools that do not have anything but the black top at their school and a little bit of 4 square that could be considered recreational. >> i live in the mission district and coach two teams in the mission league. a lot of talk about endangered species. you have heard tonight from one of the most endangered species and that is families and families with children. san francisco is a world-class city for a lot of things. restaurants, views, architecture. you'd be hard-pressed to say we are a world class city for families and we're aware of the statistics. newark * talks about us stay.

the areas an article in physical education. researchers at ucsf found 20% of elementary schools were meeting the standard requirement of 20 minutes per day. guess who is out there helping that? it is volunteer coaches -- is volunteer coaches like us. the last line of defense in this area. one of the strongest partners we have is is if park and rec. they have been vilified tonight strangely in some nefarious plot they have with the fischers but they are as strong part and probably the crown jewel in san francisco's attempts to make this city family friendly. that being said, the hardest thing we have and the biggest problem we have is getting the -- for our kids.

give us two, three fields. let's make this city it world- class city not only for restaurants but for families as well. >> my name is richard cross. i lived in saccharin -- san francisco in district 5. i am a grandfather and a soccer coach for 35 years. i want to make some comments write some things i have heard yet. the city uses hundreds of thousands of gallons of water on the beach chalet every year artificial surface would use a fraction. what would happen if -- and has happened before if we had a

drought. where do you think the bar will be cut first. we will be sitting some in our homes but the park department will cut back the water which will make these worse. as mentioned, the proposal replaces the existing brands tucker fields with better soccer fields. some of the art. there been a tranquil meadow for least 75 years and is replacing one soccer field for another one. there's a question about that additional 9000 or so hours. that can generate potentially for $300,000 a year and, the fees that are charged by rec and park. maybe not that much but $300,000

would go a long way to satisfy some of the other requirements and pay for the resurfacing of the beach chalet in 10 or 12 years. that's vote for it. thank you. >> thank you for your service and tinton. what a process and i think you for your dedication on behalf of rejecting the appeal. i want to acknowledge my friends and neighbors have done a lot of research, they have done a lot of work. i take issue with one comment that a couple of other people have mentioned. at no point has anyone ever offered me a single slice of pizza of. if there were people involved, i think i would know. i am here as a father. i am here with several children.

i am here speaking in favor of families with children as often as i can and the facts on the grounds are these. from time to time our practices are canceled. our weather is not something that works. every so often and we too often, we get our kids to play in fields outside san francisco because fields are not available. our children are getting from time to have time for her to -- time to time heard on the fields. it pains me to add this because i wish there were better and more efficient ways of keeping the fields better in shape and is a horrible thing. a synthetic field is one of those options we have to look at. those are things that we have to look at. things that make this work. i have to say that my children

cannot be here tonight. there are some things they -- i do not want to see. this process is one of them. a lot and of -- a lot has been said about legacy. i know that you want to leave a city that works well and works better for the next generation. one of the things we can do is make sure they have fields to play on. i add my voice to those of the families that are here with children who are trying to struggle to make sure they are available here. it makes a lot of sense. please reject the appeal. thank you for your time. >> good evening. i am a parent. i was born in san francisco. i came back here to raise my son. he is 11. i think we use to -- use the field five or six times a week.

i am on those fields and lots. beach chalet is one of our regulars. we played lacrosse, we play soccer. those fields are used for many sports including rubber be -- were big. last winter, our games were canceled one-third of the time. this has an effect that has not been mentioned much but parents, working parents by myself are scrambling because of -- a lot of the cancellations have been hours before syria have well- meaning volunteer mom's or dad's calling around trying to figure out what are we going to do with their kids. are the fields going to be cancelled? yes there, no they're not. the benefit of a turf field is you know with a large degree of certainty those fields will not be closed. there is an enormous impact and

also in the kids, do you think the fields will be closed? i do not know. should we pack your cleats? yes, no. this is difficult especially for working parents. i would like to recommend pleased that we can keep those fields, get them to turf, they spend a lot of time on that beach shelle -- chalet turf. i recommend we go forward with this. thank you. president chiu: if you could speak into the microphone? >> i do not have the words to match all the support of

parents. i brought one of our soccer teams. we live in district 10. we have lived here for 16 years and we decided to make a stand against urban flight. i was all set to move to iran and take your daughter out of san francisco and raised her in the public schools of marin. my wife was not as set on that. you make compromises. we have had a great compromise. we have found a home. we have formed a team. with the coach and a number of parents. we had 23 kids. soccer does not require a lot of money. it requires a ball and a field. one of our teams was known as the gophers united.

the turf field was gopher ridden. the gophers are back. the important thing to note about these teams as we have had them over the seasons is the kids are smiling. they're all out working hard. this is the most recent team. this is rhianna - brianna, elen, daisy, maxine, skyler, mackenzie, helen, and andrea. don't let them down. we have less rainout with turf. president chiu: thank you. >> good evening. i live in district four. have had to leave, one is still here. my wife is a lifer in san

francisco. i ask that you reject the appeal and move the project forward. the eir was completed and this project is sound. millions have been spent and to reject it would throw this back into a continuing cycle i do not see an end to. golden gate park is wonderful but is not a wilderness preserve as our opponent will make you think. it is a part in the middle of a major city. the soccer fields are already there. we're not clearcutting fields to put in a new facility. we're talking about fields that are there already although they're often closed. these are uneven surfaces. to listen to those thinking -- rejecting the er, you would think that the park would be bulldozed over and cemented, water supply poisoned and birds

falling from the sky. we know that this is not true. they have been working on this for years. we have -- there probably national experts on what they're working on. please to not let the eir rejection go through. reject the appeal and move the project forward. thank you. >> good evening. i am a 32-year san francisco resident and a soccer dad of two daughters. for me, they beach chalet is more than soccer. it is about committed to building. it is a great place for families, kids, and everybody else. anyone who has gone through south sunset and crocker amazon has to be struck by the sense of community you will find there. there are people of all ages,

all ethnic groups, seniors, toddlers, newcomers. the fields feel like a community resource. our daughters are 16 and 18 now. they have played soccer in san francisco for 12 and 13 years. my wife and i can remember before south sunset and crocker amazon were redone, we would sometimes play in those fields. in south sunset, it was a case where there had been a recent rain. you were playing in a mud pit. kids could simply disappear there. ryan crocker amazon, france would say you are planning their, you have to be careful. it is a little tough down there. all that changed when the fields were transformed. this could happen again at the beach chalet. it could be a place where people

are brought together, people from different backgrounds come together in a nice, and ranching community sort of way. please support this project. thank you. president chiu: thank you. next speaker. >> i also have two children in the city and do my best to remain positive and loving of this beautiful city. tonight we have heard fantastic arguments and when we evaluate a project like this where often considering benefits vs. costs and how to the benefits outweigh the costs we have to evaluate in a decision that ultimately is based on one which has a rigorous methods and best practices based on scientific evidence from other projects.

the opposition has held the sponsor to enormous and exacting rigour with regard to proving that the environmental impact will be minimized. the sponsor has gone through excessive project review and has been flexible to change the design to meet the opposition's needs as best it can. the benefits are three times playing time that exists today. the benefits are public health and safety, the benefits are community and community interaction. i've played with people from all over the world and we've crossed social, racial, ethnic