. thank you for your time. >> thank you, president chiu and members. before i give you my comments, i realized sitting here how much i appreciate you all observing what you go through and listening to all of this. sometimes we take you for granted because i had to go preach at a funeral at 5:00 and that funeral was a hell of a party compared to what you guys are going through here. [laughter] they were crying. let me just say that i am here representing the naacp. we are on record as supporting this asking you to please approve this eir and tonight the appellants. i know there are things to be

worked out. i want them worked out as every person in the city does. but let's not hold the eir hostage to the other work that has to be done. what frightens me is that every time we delay this, i start thinking that the people in the city are salivating. i know that sounds ridiculous. it sounds just about as ridiculous -- just about as ridiculous as impossible as the santa clara 49 years. -- 49'ers. >> good evening, president chiu, board of supervisors, thank you for having us here tonight. my name is ray and i am a stakeholder on this program of rebuild cpmc.

i am part of the cpmc project team at california pacific medical center as the project manager. i am also a native and resident of san francisco. i was born and raised here and so are my family and kids. we plan to stay here throughout all of our lives and we will continue to do that with your help. i was here 27 years ago in a similar situation but it was on a smaller scale. my family had the opportunity to acquire property in district 2 and we had to go through a subdivision. in order to accomplish that, we had to work with the board of supervisors, associations, and went to a a series of meetings. i had no idea what i was getting into. but we were successful at the end.

i am glad we did it. i see this as similar, much more complex, and it is going to leave a legacy for all of our families and our kids and their children as well. it has been great to hear you have experts that have put together a eir from the planning commission, health commission, a transportation, the various experts that have been brought here today. i encourage you to improve -- approve the eir and in order for this to work it will require negotiation on both of our parts, compromise, and above all collaboration. i encourage you to improve the eir. >> san francisco building and construction. the color is called safety line.

it is appropriate to hospitals which is why i chose it. our organization sent out an inquiry about projects. in that connection, they provided a link to a story on the top hospitals in the united states. california pacific medical center is rated 49. sixth in the bay area. we have heard the nurse is criticize the other hospital but from the point of view of u.s. news in world report is a legitimate objective. while it might not be the only legitimate objective, and why there might not be literature to support that, literature follows upon facts. i support the preservation of this as much as anyone.

my grandmother worked here. seven of my eight siblings were born here and i live in the excelsior district. she is correct that to require the resizing of the hospitals relative to one another would result in a delay of years for the project. and she is correct in saying that the traffic impact on st. luke's would be severe and if it is correct that the impact of the campus would be on housing in the tenderloin, it should be correct that the -- it would be that way in the mission. i asked you to approve the eir and reject the appeal. >> my name is bruce and i am a small business owner of a construction company.

i am proud to tell you that last year i hired 87% of my team from the baby you area. after listening to all of the comments this evening, many of them system -- sincere and passionate, it is not possible to make everybody happy. the challenge becomes, what is good enough? i would argue that i have been well served by remembering perfection can get in the way of good enough. i am in favor at looking at this shrinking window of opportunity as an important commodity that should take good care of. nature staff has done a good job of doing the best they can in predicting the future. i do not know if you can get any better than the work they have turned into day so i would urge you in the strongest way possible that you move forward

with approving the eir and if you feel as though there is no way you can do that, i would argue for the position of everybody putting the gun down and stepping away and recommit themselves to find a way forward. >> hello, supervisors. i am born and raised here in san francisco. i would like to say that you guys should approve this eir and allow this process to go on. i come from a personal and professional background. personally, my father was born in louisiana in 1931, a time and place in which the health-care industry was not helpful to our community. he worked in the cotton fields and was able to get a job for

the railroads, made his way to california and went from the borough's two working for united airlines. prior to his retirement, he was diagnosed with leukemia. having been diagnosed with leukemia and a history of his relationship with the medical industry in america, my father was not mentally prepared for his battle with leukemia. cpmc provided a team of practitioners around him and i am proud to say that my father is here. he, through the voice of my father, is supportive of this project and would not know what to do with out cpmc. he is attending it on a regular basis and i go there with him. i have been able to walk

hospital and i have seen positive role models and positive people throughout the hospital. they have been supportive to my father and myself in learning the process of leukemia and what it would take for my father to get through it. that said, i think this project needs to move forward. on a professional level, cpmc came to our organization and helped us create a health care. >> good evening, supervisors. i am representing over 4000 members of our union. i wanted to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak in front of you.

i want to talk about members. the necessity the most of the unions got. also the community. build sovereign. population. our obligation is to try to find work for our members. population, as you know, we do not have to investigate about the population growing. at one time or another, and the betty ann's up in the hospital. that is part of our life. what better thing than to be in

a nice hospital like the one that is about to be built. if we talk about the project, the management, and they have gone over the board, including the company. just wanted to say, i urge you to approve the eir and we will move for with this project. >> thank you for -- i am also secretary for the van ness place. this past year, these characters are over confident in

their demands and lost everything in the end. their overconfidence became their downfall. let's not kid ourselves that they will stick around forever. the city is demanding a lot and will benefit from this project. it is at risk of losing everything. what will be left if this is not approved and they pull out? there will be an entire city block that will sit still came intel another developer decides it is worth to undertake what they have done. the hotel will be a visible reminder to everyone of the failure of the city to negotiate with a company who is bringing resources to this city. i am a public-school teacher. there is a lot of talk about affordable housing. how much will the city get if the project fails? nothing. there is talk about traffic

concerns. cpmc has done a tremendous job making intersection's a safe place for everyone. we will get they can sidewalks, of violence, and vandalism. what about st. luke's? it could shut down altogether. zero residents have to travel outside the city to get access to a hospital? overconfidence will cost all of us in the end and it may cost us this hospital. i urge you to approve. >> thank you for your service to the city. my name is doctor jeff gardner. i am also a pastor in san francisco. i have enjoyed listening to the voice of the people. the people, as shakespeare would say, are the city.

i have the utmost respect for them as fellow citizens. i hear their concerns but i see these fears with highs of hope and faith. without a vision the people perish and some have issues outside the vision and scope of the nest. the reality is we perish into the abyss of nothing. i think we would be wise to consider the project on its own merits and not dwell on things that are not germane to the mission. i have been pastor since 2004. i know the students and property owners. i walk for coffee, my daughter and wife talk to the symphony. i frequently walk the streets at night and pray for this city that it would be blessed and prosper. this is my home and mott -- your

decision is one i will live with. i understand it is an issue but i do not know that it is the issue. having to wait a few minutes for me, in such a beautiful city, is a privilege. cover -- others have voiced a fear of congested streets but what about them right now? empty buildings, vacated blocks, and a promise 24 hour security and our neighborhood to get the boost of having a private provider of charity care in san francisco. i asked you to support this and thank you for your service to the city. >> thank you and, members of the board of supervisors. i am here to ask for you to approve the eir. i am a healthcare architect and my entire career has been committed to designing healing

environment for communities across the country. the oakland medical center was mentioned, and that is my project. it is with knowledge, interest, and good intentions that i speak to you. as i have looked at this project, there are three things that impressed me. one is place. the effort that is made to combine the integration of the building, the needs in the neighborhood is terrific. i think it enhances the community. world-class has been mentioned. the city it deserves a world- class medical institution. one of the physical drivers of world-class is health care institution coastal ability to embrace change. i see that in this plan as well. innovation. cpmc is planned to be one of the safest places in san francisco in the event of a seismic event.

without compromise to function or aesthetics. by the way, one secret, i have been doing health care for 35 years and i cannot understand my traffic engineer's analysis. i share your concern about that but they know what they are doing and they do a good job. >> good evening and thank you for a hearing this important item to date. i am the general manager here and a member of the van ness corridor association. her neighborhood -- the blight of property is on the entire city block. across the street is a haven for crime. your constituents are struggling to make ends meet. the proposal provides up to 24

hours to secure our streets. it provides thousands in our hotels and businesses. we might end up with accepting more as time goes by. i want to make it clear to the leaders to notice the help that we need. not only for my and self and my co-workers, i am here to support this project. think about all of the people it could put back to work. >> thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts. as a former resident of the tenderloin, i am here to

communicate the voice of a taxpayer looking for the government to lead the people. i work full time and take pride in focusing on my day-to-day tasks. i have no interest and time to ask for handouts or explain how a break in the status quo to allow progress will bring devastation to my life. most of the members on san francisco real minute to protect not only the disadvantaged in society but also to protect the progress and prosperity of all. the success i'm getting get things done, i agree but there is another dynamic, getting them down in a timely manner. dragging your feet is not freed.

there is the potential risk of an earthquake. this will do nothing more than increase the health care cost and alienate the business world and have us look elsewhere. let us succeed together. >> president chiu en supervisors, my name is amy. i hope that we could get you to approve the eir tonight so we can all go home after six, seven hours. i am sure you are tired and so are we. many of us have come in spoken before you to support the rebuild. from the time when i served on the master plan, i have spent

many hours talking to nurses, patients, and they all love st. luke's. cpmc knows that the success of the cathedral is based on how successful and how committed they are to running the st. luke's hospital. give them a chance to prove they are a good medical center for all of us. many of us are patients. my whole family uses the cpmc. we have good memories of the hospital. the staff are always courteous incompetent. i think we know this is a good project. if cpmc should walk away or the board of supervisors are not willing to compromise, and it is going to be a big loss for all of us. please support the eir.

>> good evening, president chiu. i am a patient-relations coordinator at cpmc and a resident of san francisco. i support cpmc's plan to build a earthquake-sake hospitals. i have been unemployed for 15 years and look forward to many more to come. i urge you not just as an employee so i will have a job but as a citizen of san francisco who wants this new hospital for my family and friends when we need care. the approval has been delayed for too long. it should be upheld. i urge you to support the plans to rebuild by certifying the eir.

>> supervisors, i have spoken in front of many of you about the importance of the jobs this project will bring but tonight i want to speak as a resident of san francisco building on the border between district 6 and 9. i urge you to a firm in this eir that has already been certified by our planning department. this city needs this project. we need earthquake-safe half the dose. -- hospitals. we cannot stand to lose what we will of these projects do not move forward. not only the new hospital but st. luke's will not make it through the seismic requirements and we will not receive any of the community benefits cpmc has

pledged to provide. please move this project forward. get this going. we need these safe hospitals and we need these jobs. thank you. >> good evening. my name is keith and our firm is a business and landowner in venice boulevard. my wife and i also give in the city where we witnessed the fantastic and dedicated service of the cpmc staff and the deteriorating facilities. it is rare to find an organization that is willing to spend $2.5 billion without any public assistance. it is the equivalent of building the golden gate bridge today. one can see that thousands of jobs and act meant -- economic activity would be generated in a

place that has disrepair and has been neglected for too long. city officials have done an incredible the job of extracting concessions to the benefit of san francisco residents. the benefits include a commitment to spend over $300 million, the equivalent to build a park which will likely be closed if the hospital is not approved. the new project will be a catalyst for growth, investment, and job creation that is littered with boarded up storefronts. it is heartbreaking but not uncommon to find people selling and using drugs and urinating in the streets. unfortunately, we have had customers refused to return to the area.

although the project will not solve all of the problems, a hospital will provide an important security presence. the proposed project is one of those rare projects that only comes along once in a lifetime. it has been neglected for far too long. we hope you will support the project. >> my name is adam keller and i am a business owner. you guys have done an amazing job in extracting a lot of concessions and have been hanging in there a long time. it is time to look at what are the alternatives if this does not move forward? it is in shambles right now. i do not know of any other alternative who would be willing

to invest. we cannot look at projections and assumptions but none of us know what is going to happen tomorrow. we only know what is going to happen today. gobo could only dream of having shovel-ready projects like this. that is what we have in front of us. it was said a few hundred years ago that the perfect as the enemy of the good. it feels like we are close to that right now. think about what kind of legacy you want to leave after you are out of your office and what you want to show to your kids as you walk that area in five years. you want what is there now or do you want a beautiful area? my guess is that people will remember you kept it privately funded or lost it all together. people do not remember the

details, even if they are wrong. if this does not happen, no one will walk by and say we're glad these heaps of rubble are still here. you guys have done a fine a job moving this forward but do not let the perfect drive out the good. >> i am a construction manager. i live and work here in san francisco. i support cpmc and believe that the eir is adequate and the project has been thoroughly studied. they are injecting billions of dollars into our city to meet the requirements necessary to

have safe hospitals in the event of a major earthquake. these are world class hospital facilities that will enhance our community. tonight i have found out that it is the second largest employer of san francisco and should be celebrated. i am shocked that so many nurses are here in opposition. earthquakes are unpredictable and devastating. i remember the 1989 earthquake. 62 people dead. 3700 people injured. all of those people looking for care and health care. i agree that the neighbors can be a great support for earthquake preparation but they earthquake preparation but they are not skilled to take care of