tv San Francisco Government Television SFGTV March 27, 2016 10:00am-12:01pm PDT
10:00 am
that time were a little bit different than today, the sea level rise was considered then. >> that concludes my presentation. do you have any questions. >> thank you is there any public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> commissioner kristen's commissioner katz. >> where to start first of all, it is dishaney we don't have more public comment this is something that we're all i want to thank you all for your presentation as you may know this is an issue that is near and dear to my heart i've been talking about it so i'm pleased to see the effort and, of course, the port staff and
10:01 am
participation for the guidance for you will have you working on this and as you may know we have the presentation not close to two years ago on the sea level rise and i think the thing that struck me most of all the surprise exhibited by so many people and the magnitude it is getting worse and realize the kind of impacts thank you for all partnering and demonstrating you know how we have to work together all the city departments on a regional basis to figure a solution pr probably ca talk up too many time but have a question questions. >> one is to call to action it
10:02 am
is a little bit light the directives i assume more of that continuing to be developed wondering if there is a big plans underway in terms of implementing those actions and additionally and most importantly looking at funding sources you know immediately as opposed to i guess sort of it is a balancing act that is doing the full assessment we have gone a long way but assessing what needs to be done and planning and making sure we have the funding source in the pipeline to be ready when we are and i know there is certainly competition for federal dollars around the country's the saving graze we're not as bad off as
10:03 am
miami and that's not much soltice there is limited federal government funding so doing everything we can getting the fund to be using it when we have projects and plans similarly with state funding we have the regional planning i'm tossing out a variety of questions i'm not sure who will answer and experiencing what kind of regional planning is going on i know that san francisco certainly the center of the region we're taking on more of that but what are we are doing to include the smaller community that will be impacted and look at the solutions currently nothing the financial impacts of san francisco that will impact the entire region even though we side the significant assessment
10:04 am
for the city then from the science stand point and you mentioned we'll continue to update the projections but it sounds like we're recommending from scott community and my sense we're continuing to see more and more dire predictions and incorporating that into our thinking we've done things to anticipate that but i guess your thoughts on the direction if over and over those projection will be going on my sense i've heard it is in the in the direction he want you make sure we are incorporating worst case scenarios and then in terms of best practices around the world
10:05 am
i know community optimistically the nerld had to face this but you know other communities have put certain projects and programs into place do we have focus on the best practices around the world and some of the experts to help us and then step 5 was the one i was focusing on but the timing for the further recommendations we anticipate specific or more concrete steps we can and should be doing and know we have the waterfront plan update in terms of directives there and make sure that we have specificities and any guidance will be appreciated
10:06 am
and then from our prospective as we plan i know we've been very good at the port for many years requiring the projects incorporate the impact of sea level rise and that staff presentations have included that i recall 3 years if not more we've required that but we have sort of two issues that we need to address both planning on the existing tenants that have long term leases and iowa we need to do and investing and i can perhaps have a better handle where we can be more pro-active but going backwards and who is going to do have their responsibility and the kind of planning for that impact i know that is a lot no particular
10:07 am
order but thank you. >> that was a lot thank you. >> sorry. >> i'll try my best in all of your questioning there was a colonel first of all, on the major exact science of changing conditions we've tried to build the wheel not one stop at each click but the wheel we revisited the part evaluating the knowledge of sea level rise we're using the last consensus from it cc it is a few years the making using that as a baseline knowing the likelihood of those projections will change and you're right to say i think we haven't seen the oz lowered
10:08 am
they generally rise for example, the model the consensus model don't yet take into account the full impact of methane gases nor do they fully predict the eyes masses we'll probably see higher numbers by picking an end point with the highest reasonable perhaps the absolutely absolute case with the high-end range we've provided ourselves where a few decades of pretty good working range we've revisit but we're not underestimating with that deep range not sort of low balling so on that piece but
10:09 am
you're right to point that out with regards to funding a major undertaking i'll say about a year ago the city adopted capital plan guidelines that means that each project coming forward for budgeting has to show facts of sea level rise that's most of major ones for funding 5 study shows to capture the private part that will rely heavy on changing the regulations both planning and regulations and so that is one of the nearest term actions once we know more on that but for the in the meanwhile this will depend on private dollars count major projects need to go through the ceqa the california
10:10 am
environmental quality act so that process is using those numbers for pier 70 for example, that project is attentively the 2050 to adapt in terms of 6 other robust funding streams i think the best we can say at the moment we're trying through the effort of really cataloging by department and department their schedules between that and the larger design composition which will help to fuel the bigger gaps we're putting ours the best possible position for state funds and tracking what the resources no federal pot of money waiting for us but i think as you indicated with miami situations increased flooding in the midwest but funding this
10:11 am
kind of infrastructure lots of voters we're doing that and one of the actions calls for a regional body to track them including potentially the cap & trade funding so we don't have immediate answers suddenly like a lot of money but we're tracking that by design at the same time. >> and with regard to the waterfront land use plan we'll be there torment evening i wanted to thank the staff they've been be with us and actually having two members of the staff on the committee itself and the planning department staff has been working with us low and trying to dovetail the design challenge work thinking that at least one
10:12 am
or two of the segments will be campaigns for that challenges and we've been trying to dovetail that with the north end with the seawall study and the remedies for the engineering so we have a better idea of conditions and costs and can talk about the alternatives and augmentation i might have missed a question. >> you got most of it some minor follow-up i'm sorry just - >> and i know that was touched on during the presentation but some of the public private opportunities any efforts to modify or change regulatory restrictions to allow for more
10:13 am
opportunities. >> potentially we have 2 extremes open that one we're looking at public-private funding arrangement the future some of the special assessments will be created a new extended beyond their current or immediate shelf life to contribute financially long term that's one piece of it i'm wrapping up for the inspector will point out that we're also looking for example, in the shrine challenge is a million dollars enterprise we don't want the city or cities to be - we're trying to raise through the foundation business means missouri most of that
10:14 am
money for the challenge there and i will say with regards to the question it is a - we started with the 3 big cities i think that berkley is a city member coming on quickly we have also diana has been reaching to the communities and in confrontation with the san clara county next will the the smaller jurisdictions we're looking for communities that represent a variety of both landscapes and community types of for example, thinking about east palo alto or richmond and san jose can be revolved in the competition work. >> that's we talked about the design competition you know
10:15 am
should be taking advantage of some of the rich technology community we have here and see how we can you can see term design or design thinking want to make sure that it will incorporate - >> you're right, in fact, it was announced today but we'll have conversations with the techs. >> and last getting grand letter looking at building up some of the - it is a massive amount of fill to start thinking about obtaining to do the implementation. >> i have to be honest we've not figure out out that yet yeah. >> don't know yet but a good challenge i remember the other
10:16 am
private patterson thinking this is to allow a variety he have mitigation including potentially horizon levies and the visiting the north end because we've seen it driven by wind and mitigate some of the wave activities further out into the bay will horizontal levi that enhances the ecology part this is one of the things that might be allowed in bcdc were to flex the regulations as you can see some of the private investment incorporating those kinds of needs. >> thank you very much. >> sure.
10:17 am
>> again, thank you everyone this is a start it is a daunting task but i'm very impressed with all that is gone into that and thank you all. >> commissioner. >> well, i want to say since our last report i appreciate the tremendous progress in terms of understanding the issues and the vulnerability and taking the inventory of the assets of the city you don't have to say we have a problem we obviously know that and obviously this year we share the city and public and private sector and the community that's not where the solutions b will come from and enjoying i know you a timeline for adaptation and i guess we've thought about that and looking at the studies done so far is
10:18 am
really appreciate as we look at the projects we're trying to address them and each project you're trying to give guidance to the owners of the projects who care for this at least for the next 50 years to understand what the projects will be i guess the question is trying to understand the global level is how much is we - how much of the seawall problem will be and the and having to go building by building project by project on the waterfront i guess that i know that you may want know the complete answer but is that part of - the biggest sort of factor we can consider and over the course where is the funding there's a lot of issues but if we know that is like that takes care of x part of ordinance but
10:19 am
i still don't know and i think we want want to know we understand the problem where the solutions will come from not necessarily where the solutions will come from but what can you do in the interim besides addressing project by project what are the interim measures that can be taken to address this step by step that will not be one big do the next thing for the next 3 years but obviously it is bigger and not enough fund with a major swoop makes sure i'm trying to understand the level where is the biggest bank coming from in terms of call to action implementation and adaptation. >> the seawall because of it's
10:20 am
location to address the sea level rise is not ideal for the port because ports assets would be abandoned by that but we don't know where it line of defense is at at this point and any improvements we do to the seawall we'll make sure it has the capacity to accommodate a grade wall on top of it if that is the place we are to keep the floodwaters out but a horizontal levy outside that way to retain the assets and have the piers impacted the other question about interim measures that we can take moving
10:21 am
forward over the next thirty years is addressing those low lying low points where water can get in depending on you know a continuous monitoring of studying the problems and the best science and addressing them the low-hanging fruit but looking at the long term stream it is going to take a regional effort and he build by design is part of regional collaborative effort one other question i had obviously this is not an issue but need the united states it is a problem globally. >> i know we looked at the netherlands and the issues historically so over the century but we want to understand the barriers in terms of making in terms of
10:22 am
doing things and addressing the issues not studying them but findings the studies to the issues is there anyone out there had. >> i guess it is colorado italian the netherlands they have a lot of areas of land that is development and blow sea level we have a study commissions in 2014 a joint venture with let's see - with the dutch government and a funding effort so the the study it it was done in the final stages has not been published but will be soon this is the different scenarios of where the line of defense will be and the studies the low lying areas and the different
10:23 am
impacts and the cost impacts of addressing sea level rise. >> if i may add a couple of items we discussed the outlining city's cohort in terms of funding and financing the mayors budget and the office of the finance and the capital improvement plan committee will be joining me with the cohorts to figure the ways to finance the seawall improvements i think completely said it right this is a problem but somewhat of a patient problem in terms of of figuring out the sea level rise and hearing about the seawall at the next he port commission understanding the problem and how to address the problem what are the solutions and how to finance them over time and addressing the seawall and the
10:24 am
seismic risk first and figuring out sea level rise over time and in phases so know that is not easy to not have the answers but a problem that will shape over time as we figure out solutions. >> thank you, very much for your presentation and hard work i guess my main point would be that even though it is a slow moving problem there are immediate donations decisions that need to be made depending on the projects you in fact; right? so a - needs building
10:25 am
retirements based on where we think water levels will be and masked by fooemd before those measures are in place go through an action i wonder if you could walk us through that >> we'll go through the environmental review process and planning for sea level rise is part that have process looking at like the project life and the impacts of that the importance of the facility itself there are all incorporated in so before they get either a building permit orntit ement they have to incorporate the sea level rise one of the questions that
10:26 am
commissioner katz asked was the long term leases so we did modify the typical language of lease language for the pier one long term lease extension we don't currently have a program go back back to the existing long term leases that are not coming up for resume like that is something we have to consider moving forward so - >> that's your question. >> so if i could just clarify a little bit more so right now with the current projects that meets the sea level rise the project approvals for the public they go through public and address did sea level rise in terms of the assets we're trying to figure out the projects in between the projects of we address the development by development all the spaces in
10:27 am
between so as we talk about sea level rise we'll shape potential solutions and dialogue around the solution to figure the implementation we're definitely dealing with at risk and including in our language recommended to flowed risk and the ability to compel our tenants to address flood so again, the horizon of the issue it is flooded today at sea level rise more time to prepare but you're right there are current actions we must respond to so we're mr. haney planning and positioning ourselves correctly through the projects at this point. >> correct the development projects are the easier projects inform incorporate the requirements, however, the city as a whole is you know pretty much built out
10:28 am
the most important part of sea level rise committee is to do policy and ways to address all of these areas that are you know old and development already and currently at the level they will be vulnerable to sea level rise so this is a huge like you, members of the jury, fund and mitigation efforts it is so much easier to address they will be like small islands from the rest of areas. >> yes. >> two major developments like treasure island and candle stick point they already took sea level rise into consideration the because of those developments is higher than. >> were they using the same assumptions we've heard 676 inches over between now and the
10:29 am
end of the century and i believe see and the raising the base for example, treasure island the development area by 3 feet and also the seawall that be improved on the island i'll say can be raised further in the case those are higher than project projected. >> questions. >> commissioner vice president brandon. >> one of the earlier answers we gave on the best practices nobody is could go this at berkley and we have an 5150s new york has done a measure of work i saw a few images many diane showed and the design challenge is also a paid advisory of ours
10:30 am
we expect that call for sdierpz to be international both designers and finance people as part of teams as well as the community engagement they want to actually be coming from the community so that's the co-design process and the other place occursly not occursly but in terms of the initiative design new zealand's has been working with the waters to retain 3 and 3 and a half i've spent time between katrina and they invited the dutch and american organizations to where they landed a city that needs to live with the water partly they're responsible for rebuilding but to actually
10:31 am
incorporate water into the city landscape and bring it in that revolutionized the thinking about the infrastructure within those levies there is a lot of talent out there this is so those will be pubically vetted that be an engaged process with a lot of local talent as well. >> thank you, very much everyone for such a wonderful presentation a lot of information and a great need i think that it is wonderful to know we have such a knowledgeable committee involved in there to help us with the long-term plan and solutions for sea level rise and i'm very
10:32 am
happy to support been engaged you know the process since 2009 and that we have incorporated it into all of our long term projects and this realistic numbers be able to work with the development partners to combat it now waiting until the solutions really come and also we're doing our part with the new asphalt matching plan that we will have that will help to contribute to the development and help with the foundation for sea level rise abatement so thank you very much that was a very wonderful presentation and glad to get that as commissioner katz said we really need to get the public involved and knowledgeable and understand on this on or about and you know, i think that is great we're working with other a
10:33 am
regional coordination so we're all using the resources to combat it so thank you very much. >> first of all, i want doesn't commend the mayor for taking this step forward it is tedious i feel good that tomorrow night you'll meet the waterfront working group this is the first time i've heard you make a presentation you were articulate and kind of i enjoyed you talking and thinking you're really good i'm happy you're on the committee we have brad and diane and david that will help us this is something we have to continue to do that is like a pilot program and continues to evolve and i know i ask a lot of questions but not one solution
10:34 am
we have to find out what works best and be pro-active i appreciate that we've taking the lead and i'll ask you come back in a year or 9 months and give us an update of what is going going on i hope the community knows more about that it was funny i know that ambassador there was a lot of people that does building in sea level rise and politicians in d.c. you know what i'm talking about global warming people saying that didn't exist at least in san francisco we are active like being here with the earthquake vinyl we are being pro-active and responsible so thank you.
10:35 am
>> next item please item 13 new business. >> colleagues anything else that you want to discuss. >> yes. commissioner. >> anything that you want to as director anything i heard to put on sea level rise in the months. >> okay. >> and there's no more new business. >> i move to journey the meeting in memory of our colleague. >> this meeting is adjourned may she rest in
10:36 am
>> hello. welcome to "meet your district supervisor." we are here with supervisor farrell from district2, which includes the marina, pacific heights, st. cliff, and the neighborhoods surrounding the presidio. supervisor farrell started his first term this january, so he is new to the board. we will get to know him and talk about the toughest issues facing the city. welcome, supervisor. thank you for joining us. tell us about your background --
10:37 am
where you grew up, went to school, the kind of jobs you have worked. >> i am a born and raised san franciscan, first and foremost. very proud of that. i am also a born and raised district 2 residents. i grew up close to the palace of fine arts. my parents still live in the same set of flats i grew up in. i went to grammar school at stuart hall in district 2. i went to high school in st. ignatius. i'm a very proud wildcat. i went to college at loyola marymount college in los angeles. i had a scholarship to play baseball down there. ended up going to ireland and getting a master's degree at university college dublin. came back to the states and went to law school at the university of pennsylvania. spent three years in philadelphia. came back, and ever since coming back to the bay area, professionally, i have been a corporate attorney down at palo
10:38 am
alto. i left after about three years and became an investment banker here in san francisco at thomas was all partners. working the industry for about five and a half years. in the summer of 2009, joined a venture capital firm. i am happily married. my wife and i lived around laurel village in district 2. we have two small children. our goal is five and our boy is three. how parents and excited to be here on the board. >> why did you choose to live in san francisco? and tell us about what motivated your interest in politics. >> choosing to live in san francisco was natural, given that i was born and raised here. when you are a child, you do not understand what you have until you leave home. i have the fortunate opportunity to live in los angeles and abroad in ireland and in philadelphia. there is no place like home in san francisco is your home.
10:39 am
very natural and something was looking forward to in trying to find a job to come home to after law school. my job afforded me that opportunity, to come back to the bay area. so i'm lucky, and i will be here the rest of my life. in terms of getting into politics, for me, it was two reasons. first, being from here was part of my motivation. really feeling a sense of routes in san francisco, and also raising our children here. as a young family, we went through the discussion and dialogue that many young families go through in san francisco. "should we move to the suburbs? should we move elsewhere? san francisco is expensive to live. the public-school system has been difficult in the past." i think less about the quality of schools because we have great schools and grieg parental involvement, but more about the assignment process. where would my child go to school? a lot of family leaves, -- a lot
10:40 am
of families leave. we stuck around, but it was a turning point decision to say, all right, we are here from -- we're here for good. what can we do to make this place better? getting involved in politics was the fact that the seed was open for election for the first time in a long time. it was previously mayor newsom's seat and supervisor alioto- pier's seat. i did not get into politics because i had a lifelong ambition of being a politician. that is not me. i came from a private sector, and looking at honestly answering the question -- did i have something different to offer that i thought would be valuable to sanford's is go right now? i do think a large part of our problems in the city are financial, economic. with my background, i did think i would be able to add a lot of value, and that is why i decided to get into politics. >> where do you place yourself
10:41 am
on the political spectrum? >> i have to say, i'm one that has been trying to get away from the political spectrum dialogue in san francisco. i would just say, generically, i think i am in the middle. i'm a moderate person. nationally, i think we are a little bit left in san francisco, but i think i am a socially liberal person. that is what i tend to practice what i preach. >> what did you learn campaigning for supervisor, and was there anything that surprised you? >> that is a great question. i have never run for office before. i am new to the political world. for me, the learning curve was the best he could be. there were a lot of lessons to be learned in running a race in san francisco. a few that stick in my mind -- money does matter.
10:42 am
raising money. that is the simple, somewhat unfortunate fact of life. i think really having a message that resonates with voters, not just saying you want to be a politician, but you have to really explain why you, and i think that was really court to what we did. most importantly, the one thing i drew out of it was the hard work and other determination is the thing that will, i think, allow you to succeed more than anything else. i believe that the candidates who won this past november with the ones who worked the hardest in their races. >> what are the biggest issues facing san francisco? >> i believe the biggest ones are economic problems right now. we face was estimated to be a $400 million deficit this fiscal year. potentially growing next fiscal year. it all comes back to that in many ways. we have a growing pension and
10:43 am
retiree health care problem that is huge and looming and getting worse. as important, we have a huge unemployment rate here in san francisco. it is about 9.6% right now, and the fact that we have not done much about that in city hall i think is about to change. that is certainly something i will be focused on, putting people back to work. it is an individual issue, but it is a family issue, and we have a lot of families still struggling, and a think people have lost sight of that. hopefully, we will be getting out of this recession soon, but we need to do a lot in city hall to accelerate getting out of the recession, making sure families are back at work, making sure children are provided for. that is my biggest priority. >> talk about the issues facing your district specifically and how you are going to balance the issues facing the city at large against those in your district. >> we definitely have a few big projects for issues -- or issues
10:44 am
we're paying a lot of attention to and we will continue to devote a lot of attention to, both myself and my staff. one of biggest ones is the planned development of the new campus for california and pacific medical center. that has dominated a lot of city-wide dialogue in the past few years. that project is slated to go forward or get through the entitlement process this year in city hall. if you are not familiar, we currently have a california campus and a pacific campus, and the plan is to build a bigger campus and consolidate those services into one larger hospital at the old cathedral hill spa on van ness, and that is going to have a huge impact, both in terms of the neighborhood in district 2, not only the new campus, but what happens to the pacific and california campus.
10:45 am
also, is a huge job creator. we're making sure to do it in a way to we have every constituent buy into the project, create a ton of new jobs, and move forward with a health care system that benefits all of us. otherwise, some of the other issues coming up -- francisco reservoir in russian hill is going to be an issue that comes up. we have a huge project on doyle drive that is getting finished in the next couple of years. we need to make sure we wanted to the impacts. it is going to be a big deal. after leaving here, i am going down there with the mayor and the head of our department of transportation to really make sure we understand exactly what is happening at this point in time in the project. that is just a smattering of some of the issues, but they are very important, and a plan to spend a lot of my time -- and these are the neighborhoods i grew up in, so, for me, it is
10:46 am
fun to be in these neighborhoods to see what is going on and influence some of the thinking of some of the people making these decisions. i think we do lose a lot of sight. in the past, district supervisor's have lost sight of the fact that we do represent sanford cisco as a whole, and we need to major in city hall that we are acting policies, laws, and legislation that will of the city forward as a whole. there are a lot of issues like that. i mentioned job creation, pensions. a lot of them are economic, but some of them are more than that, making sure we continue to have dialogue with the 49ers. that is something that is not necessarily economic but something that matters to the city as a whole. it is a big part of what i look forward to doing in city hall. >> what are the specific thoughts you have on how the city can deal with budget issues? >> i think of two things. i'm not one the things that we can raise revenue and that is going to solve out of our
10:47 am
problems -- i'm not one who thinks that we can raise revenue, and that will solve all our problems. we need to look at what we do as a city and was services we offer. we have 26,000 city employees. our payroll and fringe benefits for city employees accounts for over 60% of our budget. if we are not willing to look at that issue, i do not think we are going to solve -- i know we will not solve our long-term financial issues. that, to me, is the biggest deal. second, it is about job creation. jobs are not just putting people back to work, which i think is the highest priority, but it is all the ancillary benefits we received, whether it be payroll taxes, an increase in property taxes. people who live and work in san francisco also shop at local restaurants, so shop at the local retail stores. it is a huge economic impact in san francisco. in my opinion, it is getting our costs under control but also
10:48 am
promoting economic development so we have a financial engine that will continue to promote us year after year. >> what are your ideas on dealing with the issue of homelessness in san francisco? >> i am one that thinks mayor newsom did a great job thinking proactively about what we need to do in san francisco. when he started care not cash -- but enacted so many things past that. project award down, when he ended up making sure there were family members on the receiving end, giving people bus tickets to go back home to where they are from -- project homeward bound. unfortunately, the project does not have a silver bullet ending. we deal with our homeless problem, and a lot of it, we need to make sure that the homeless population -- a lot of them have mental health issues where it is just not solvable to
10:49 am
lock them up. we need to help them, and i think we have that in our heart and soul to make sure that we treat the people as much as possible. at the same time, our biggest issue is that we have a continued influx of people in san francisco, so the more people we help, the more people come in, so it is a rotating system right now, and i think we need to continue to address the issue, spend a lot of financial resources on the issue, but again, i think it is something we will have to grapple with. but what is the long term solution here? we continue to attract more and more people in san francisco. again, i do not know what a silver bullet is to that, but i acknowledge it is a huge priority, a huge issue that affects everyone in the city. in our neighborhoods, the homeless people themselves, of course, and also the tourism industry, which we rely on so much, so i think it is a big issue and something we all need
10:50 am
to focus on. >> what about the city's housing needs? what you think the board of supervisors should do to really address housing? >> again, a huge issue here in san francisco. we live in a very expensive place. housing is one of the biggest components of that. i'm not one the things we should be interfering with private markets sales and so forth. i think that should be left to its own devices. again, we are in an expensive city. however, what we can do at the board is in sure that we promote and provide for both affordable and middle-class housing in the city. i think it is so important that we maintain our diversity in san francisco and who we are as a people and we really stay true to those values. the large part, insuring something that we want to focus on and i want to focus on, making sure that there are housing opportunities for our first responders to be here in san francisco and living here, police officers, firefighters, sheriffs, teachers -- people
10:51 am
that provide such essential services for our community, to make sure they have opportunities in san francisco to buy homes, set up groups as a family and really be integrated into our neighborhoods. to me, that is what we should be doing and, again, something we should be doing. >> let's talk again about transportation in your district. is there adequate service? let's talk about parking and traffic. tell us a little bit about district 2. >> district 2 definitely relies on muni quite a bit, though perhaps not as much as other districts, but it is so important for a number of people, for a community perspective to and from work. the mainline, stockton and the marina. the one california is a major bust the comes through the district, and a few other lines, of course, on the borders of our district. it is a huge deal for us, and we
10:52 am
need to make sure we continue to provide a great service. we are transit first here, and people embrace that, but we need to make sure we have a reliable, robust public transportation system, so it is a big deal. we do have a lot of people in the district that drive cars, a lot of people that have families. i'm one of those as well. i take it was once in awhile, but frankly, the way we have arranged in our family is i spend my morning with my children, and time allowing, i take them to school in the morning, so i drive them with my car. i do not believe the way to achieve our goals is to make parking so inconvenient, so expensive, such a bad experience that people, so to speak, capitulate and take public transportation. that is not the way we are going to make it happen. we need to innovate, in my opinion, our public transportation system. we are doing things like the bus
10:53 am
rapid transit systems, things like being allowed to pay for your public transportation -- we now have the clipper card. let's talk about putting that on your mobile phone and using that. innovating in ways were people say that public transportation is a great way to go. that is the way to achieve true innovation, not through making it so inconvenient for people to drive. i think it is a fact of life. young families are going to use their vehicles. we need to do a lot in san francisco to encourage young people and young families to stay in san francisco. i think we are missing out on a lot of our diversity when young families leave our city. we need to do all we can to be mindful of the needs of young families in the city. we mentioned housing. schools are a big deal. but also being able to be flexible with transportation and children. >> what is happening with crime in your district?
10:54 am
give me your thoughts on how you think the police are doing with respect to crime in your district? >> i think we are very fortunate in district two. we have a number of great police captains that oversee the stations that touched district two. richmond and northern are the two major police stations that touched the district. we do have a lot of crime in district 2. both crimes against individuals but also against merchants along our merchant corridors. chestnut. union in particular has been hit. fillmore and sacramento. it is a big deal. we also have the break-ins. we need to be very mindful that people keep their iphones and laptops out of sight. but it is a big deal. one of the things i talk a lot about on the campaign, making sure that we do fund our public
10:55 am
safety departments. we have to make some tough decisions this year, but to me, one of the biggest priorities is making sure that we have our police and firefighters and sheriffs' offices and their budgets fully funded so that we can ensure that public safety does not lag during these budget times. again, in district 2, i do not think it is talked about as much. we are fortunate that we do not have a lot of homicides. we do not have a lot of those types of serious crimes. but the crimes that to happen to matter to the people in district two. so as a local supervisor, it is incumbent upon me, and i take it very seriously to pay attention and make sure we engage with the police and fire department said they are aware of exactly what is happening, but again, i have to tell you that i think we are very lucky with the police infrastructure we have an firefighter infrastructure we
10:56 am
have and the officers and firefighters we have on the ground. we are very lucky. >> you mentioned that you are a former athlete. talk to me about the role of sports in the city's economic future, from the 49ers to the america's cup. talk to me about sports in san francisco. >> i was fortunate growing up. i was one that had season tickets to season49ers -- season tickets to the 49ers from what i was 8 years old. one part is economic, which i'll get to in the second, but the other part that is missing is what it does for the city of san francisco to bring us together as a community, as a city. what happened when the 49ers won those super bowls year after year? that was a huge deal for our city and our community in san francisco. what happened with the world series this year when the giants won for the first time in over
10:57 am
50 years? incredible. everybody was celebrating. and that is a huge deal for our community in san francisco, but i think, economically, not only jobs in terms of construction of stadiums and what have you. economically, you know, for those people who do not believe or do not really fully appreciate what type of economic drivers the sporting events and teams are, go down to soma during a giants game. come to the marina when the blue angels fly in town. what it does to the local streets and bridges. come to district 3 and district two and districts 6 and 10 when the america's cup comes to town and see what type of influx of economic activity these events drive to us. i think that is something that is not talk about enough. both the community aspect, the intangible fact of who we are as san francisco, coming together
10:58 am
around sports teams, that is an incredible opportunity, but then, the economic drivers in our neighborhoods is very real, and i think something that we are lucky right now, certainly in district 2. we have the blue angels every year, but the america's cup will become a large economic boom, and we need to pay attention to how much that benefits us as a city. >> it looks like we are just about out of time, and it sounds like there is a lot happening in city hall today, so we are going to wrap this up. >> there is. >> always. are there any other issues or things you would like to share briefly with respect to your new position as supervisor, or thoughts you have about san francisco before we wrap up our conversation? >> i touched on it earlier. for me, personally, especially coming from my background outside of city government, i knew my role on all the economic
10:59 am
activity in san francisco, focusing on jobs, but also, a lot of quality of life issues. young families, what is like to live here as a san francisco, and what we can do in city hall to make life better for san francisco residents. to me, that is a huge deal. i think we have lost focus on that in city hall over the past few years. it is something i want to focus on. to me, it is a huge priority, why i did this. i will be very true what i talk about on the campaign trail. representing a. 2, but also the city -- representing a district 2, but also the city and county of san francisco. it is such an honor and unique experience, and of just having a great time and look forward to making a big difference in city hall. >> great. we have been talking to supervisor farrell from district 2.
11:00 am
thank you for joining us on sfgtv's "meet your district supervisor." four episodes when we come back with another of our city supervisors. thank you very much. >> you bet. >> good evening all called this meeting to order. and we will do will call. >> this is a meeting of the commission on the environment. the date is tuesday, march 22 25th 2016. the time is 5:08 pm. a reminder, the ringing and use of cell phones pagers and similar sound producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. please be advised that the chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any
11:01 am
persons responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone or pager or other similar sound producing electronic devices. just want to remind the public that there are public comment cards they are at the desk so viewed like to speak about a public comment card and the items you would like to speak on the agenda, you may speak anonymously could we will call speakers the president of the commission will call speakers in the water bill received the cards and move on to the folks who've not completed cards. rollcall. >> clerk vp bermejo is excused commissioner stephenson, here. mr. wilde, here. commissioner king juan pierre
11:02 am
>> commissioners any changes to the minute? hearing none,-i need to public comment first? >> i move approval of the minutes as read. >> moved and seconded. we went out opened up to public comment. the comment. all all those in favor say, aye. opposed? hearing none, the motion passes. next item on the agenda clerk next item is the public.
11:04 am
>> testifier: what i'm concerned about is that you will not have the opportunity we've had a very close opportunity to hear that because the minutes that meeting did not go up until sometime today. this is not a criticism of the staff member in any way. i think the person has a huge body of work to carry through and needed assistance in order to get this done in timely way. i do know the audio was up late last week i think on friday. however, it takes a lot of your time to listen to the audio, and although i think that's a wonderful idea if you do it, but if you don't have the time to do it having the minutes at least seems to me a responsible use of your time. so, i am concerned that these 3 individuals only had a very short of a comment period and you've not had the opportunity
11:05 am
fully to digest what they said. thank you very much >> president omotalade any further public comment? >> testifier: i would like to back up to previous comment that any agenda items you have on your agenda today that have not been able to fully debriefed on and absorb, the comment, public comment and other evidence put forward in the last policy committee, if that information has not been forthcoming soon enough than no final decision should be made about any of those items at this meeting especially in light of the fact that commissioner omotalade has some strong interest is not present right now. thank you. >> president omotalade thank you. any further public comment
11:06 am
for things not on the agenda? yes >> testifier: i want to talk about education for propaganda or brainwashing for which everybody is of course subjective. it's about the [inaudible] and invasive or non-native >> president omotalade that senate agenda on the at item on the agenda. >> testifier: noted its environment and education on in general. i've got an article to you from [inaudible] by highly regarded and schlitz she suggests all these things is basically the efforts of chemical companies to ask band the market and i hope you will read it. then i want to say if
11:07 am
i have some talk about my personal story. i came to this country in 1979. by 1990 i was, these things are in the air. you absorb it. you hear about [inaudible] native plants in the newspaper, the schoolchildren have native land gardens and in 99 was going to the [inaudible] about native plants and everything is good. it's propaganda. it's brainwashing. you learn it. i learned it. except then i get a dog and i'm walking in the area in my neighborhood and here are pesticides, herbicides, all the time. if you wonder a little bit in the look it up, they are really bad. okay. yes. the question, of course, is why is
11:08 am
it advertise? why is it called native be 3 what is native? would environmentally things are allowed for so-called cultivation cate not too long ago the main enemy to environment was toxins and it was the this touching of the forest. after 40 years of work, by chemical companies are the main threat are the plants and the main curious herbicides. thank you very much the main curious herbicides. and chainsaws. so [inaudible] and people don't know. no idea. because it's all natural. i'm
11:09 am
sorry. i was reading and i hope you read the article. >> president omotalade: any further public comment for items not on the agenda? >> testifier: i do not allow one of these. i just got here. i just want to take 30 seconds of your time. to honor the memory of the late dr. espinal at johnson without whose efforts the environmental justice in the bayview hunters point district would be even less close to reality than it is now. i just found out about her passing and i needed to say something so think. >> president omotalade thank you very much for any further public comment on items not on the agenda? hearing none,
11:10 am
public comment is closed. >>[gavel] began omotalade will move to the next item on the agenda >> staff: >> clerk: next item on the agenda is the community outreach presentation biking rules on the road. san francisco bicycle coalition the speaker senior clean transportation coordinator this item is for discussion. >> testifier: good evening. i am introducing the bicycle rules of the road video we created in partnership with san francisco icicle coalition. the city cycle program. this bicycle coalition was a great partner in creating this video i like to knowledge liberty not been who's here today she is program court, nader at the bicycle coalition, as well as our partners who's also in the department outreach in transportation and manages the
11:11 am
city bicycle program. the video was funded by the transportation fund for clean air which is a administered by the bay area air quality management district, and the san francisco county transportation authority. it is also funded by the proposition k for transportation which also san francisco transportation authority. the department initiated the city cycle program in 2001. in an effort to reduce drive alone trips associated with city police business travel. since then, the city cycle program has grown to become one of the largest bike shares system in the country for government employees, and just about 300 bicycles are available at 30 departments throughout the city. through our 2012 employee transportation survey, we found the city cycle program and
11:12 am
employees participating in the program bike for work related trips aren't estimated 2400 miles per week and this has saved the city in fuel costs by about $4000 and omissions by 35,000 pounds. we found, basically, once a city cycle is available as a resource city employees choose to write a bike with greater frequency. just a quick background on our outreach. we partnered with the bicycle coalition to provide in person lunchtime presentations at apartments throughout the city to encourage more use of the program and also to respond to the safety concerns we heard about biking around san francisco. attendance was good, but we also found that to make these presentations not everyone could make these presentations or all the sessions offered. we then worked with the bicycle coalition to create this video you're about to see to share
11:13 am
the same content on bike safety and rules of the road. this could then be seen by anyone on their own time. as a result of 2 versions of the video were created good one for the general public and i'm one for city employees. the only difference between the 2 is that the city employee one as to places that promote the city cycle program. that is the version that i'll be showing you today. it also features our very own, our department's own gail problem who's on ou-if you could play the video for item number 4? >>[video]
11:18 am
you have any questions, commissioners any questions? >> commissioner stephenson [inaudible] the by coalition i think we often take for granted how amazing it is in san francisco to have all these resources and the by coalition is definitely one of them. i want to give them a shout out. i also really appreciate the fact that the rules of the road thing were spelled out through the whole video. i've random questions as a follow-up about when you're turning right across a bike lane and you're in a car who gives way and things like that. i think would be nice to have some more follow-up and maybe at the end of that a url that directed to something more than just by coalition but to a page that had an outline of all the rules of the road that somebody could actually see it. i think something easy easy to change
11:19 am
the tax i think would be great if you could further promote an understanding as we encourage more biking throughout the city. >> commissioner wan i was at the bike where i got to see this video. it's kind of awesome to come first circle. again i would like to echo all parties on the hard work to get more people out of cars into bicycles but i think it's for important. i think we need to continue to push the envelope as far as encouraging committees all over the city to get involved in cycling. both recreation and is a form of commutes. >> president omotalade any other comments, commissioners? hearing none, all open up for public comment. [calling names]
11:20 am
>> testifier: good evening commissioners. my name is winnie noxon. i'm the program coordinator in charge of bicycle education at the >> president bikes coalition. the sf bicycle coalition is a provider of bicycle safety education good or bad to educate thousands of people every year teaching adult children and professional bikers to share the road safely and courteously. since our formal education rhodium in 2007 we've educated over at thousand 422 adults who attended nearly 350 events. talk about the rules of the road and safely bicycle not on the streets of san francisco. all are bicycle safety classes are free and open to the public and welcoming for all ages. the rules of the road video we just watched was produced in 2014 in partnership with sf environment bay area air quality mission district and sf [inaudible] we use this video to support education programs and show each of our safety classes and in addition to sharing it with
11:21 am
members [inaudible]. we also posted on the sf bicycle coalition website in since 2014 posting it has received over 46,000 views. we know the value of bicycle education in helping to [inaudible] and encourage people to try biking as sustainable and healthy. after the participants report biking more frequently since taking our class. over 90% of our students said they would recommend the cost to one of their friends. over 70% of her students have a good understanding of the rules of the road after taking the class up from 30% from taking the class. a recent student commented that classes extremely helpful needs to brush up on the rules and regulations of the road. this course is an excellent way to
11:22 am
own the and skills as a writer and make it safer for people biking, driving and walking. we are immensely grateful to the apartment of the environment, the bay area air quality management district in the sfmta for the support in producing this video. it's in the bible sources to support a mission to support the bicycle for everyday transportation and teach san franciscans every year to drive to wor driver on the safely >> president omotalade thank you very much that any further public comment? >> testifier: my name is-. i live in a city. on the west end side. i'm not a size this but there's a lot of people who do right bicycles in the city. in any case,i'm interested in safety so i appreciate this video spells out the wolves of the road. the public far as i'm
11:23 am
on this discussion about how cycles have to obey the regular rows of the road. so i think this is really really helpful. for a follow-up at some point when another video is to be made, i would really like to see something about this ability. because what happens on the west side is well within the false belt so people come out in the regular biking gear, which is very often black and they are writing the hills around the neighborhood and then the [inaudible] and they become invisible in a period of about 5 min. they don't know how invisible they are. i drive around that area all the time and i would really like to see people wearingreflective clothing on a light-colored clothing, even in the daytime. because of this fact. so, something that talks about
11:24 am
safety not in terms of rules, but safety in terms of keeping yourself in one piece, that would be great. be kind of >> president omotalade thank you. any further public comment on this item? hearing none, public comment is closed. we will move to the next item on the agenda jeff >> clerk: next item is approval of resolution file 2016 04 supporting san francisco proposed bitterroot ordinance. they spent 3 doctrines of resolution file 2016-04 and the proposed bitterroot ordinance. the sponsor is deborah rafael director and speakers andrea parker legislative aide with the office of the supervisor scott wiener and barry huber clean building special. this item is discussion and item >> president omotalade all of the director introduce good the resolution. >> testifier: p thank you president omotalade. this is a
11:25 am
subject matter the commission has been in discussions about for about 2 years now. it was fully understood that we are a very dense city and that the roofs represent, of our buildings, the present some significant real estate, if you will and that that real estate has not been taken fully advantage of. as you read the resolution come i think some of the numbers that say it best where they say in san francisco buildings account for 70% of the electricity used, 40% of the raw materials, 12% of potable water and 56% of greenhouse gases. so clearly ever going to tackle climate change we have to look at our buildings themselves within the built in varmints. i want to say that we have been very blessed with the partnerships of supervisor scott wiener. he's taken a terminus interest in this subject and leadership and he has put one of his key staff
11:26 am
members,, andrea's power on this and andres, i have to say is been lucky enough to work with 2 of our excellent staff members know what to call out barry huber and keisha brockman for their leadership and their blood sweat and tears, if you will come on pushing this through. so th that out turn it over to andrea's to set some context and tell you where we are. >> testifier: thank you. on today's power with supervisor scott wiener's office. they are considering this item today. the legislation was considered last week at the building inspection commission and was endorsed by the commission as well. this is a simple one looks. today's building code in the title 24 requires most new construction to designate 15% of their rooftop area is being sold are ready. what that means in this context free of obstruction and other elements on the roof that would preclude the installation of solar elements like solar panels. the
11:27 am
legislation before you today builds off the solar ready requirements and would require hearing in san francisco be solar ready but solar install. this context solar means solar panel for electrical generation or also elements for hot water heating as well. so, as director mentioned, in this era of uncontrolled, change, it's important we do every thing we can locally to make our built environment more sustainable and we do think energy consumption and reduce co2 missions as a result of that were taking reductions as significant aspect of a more sustainable city. in drafting this legislation we reach out to a broader array of interested parties including people who instruct buildings and people than manage them and we received support for this legislation. we would be honored to the commission support as well. i do want to mention, this legislation before you today is part one of what we see as a two-part piece
11:28 am
of work. the 2nd piece of legislation that will be traveling and hopefully introduce shortly will expand these controls to allow for a menu of improvements on a roof up to what we are calling it better. a significant component of that is solar, but we also want to extend that to include things like green roofs and other aspects for a roof that you have all kinds of other environmental benefits. so, with that alternate over to barry huber, who is been working with closely. but in the percentage of i'm here to answer any questions. thank you. >> testifier: thank you. thank you, commissioners led to be with you this evening. andre's presentation was actually very thorough. i'll try to be very brief in my remarks but i'm here to answer any questions you might have. can we have the
11:29 am
presentation for item number 5? as entrées mentioned, we been thinking about this as a effort which would need to have some faces in the supposed approach is today which ensuring that removal energy sources are developed on new buildings and reserved for that purpose. also, recognizing the value of living roofs for their contribution to biodiversity and attic insulation in numerous other benefits within the built environment. so, in essence, this requirement would require-one question the supervisors are looking at in this slide reflects, the height of buildings affected by the ordinance. the ordinance is originally drafted would apply to all commercial buildings in all residential buildings up to
11:30 am
10 floors in height. it was a recommendation that came out of the building inspection commission supervisory committee that 75 feet in height would be more consistent with how the building codes are applied to buildings. that's the threshold for a high-rise building in new construction. a lot of more complicated mechanical system requirements begin to face and right at that threshold. it's very straightforward to add this to buildings that are 75 feet shorter and 'located for buildings that are taller. the recommendation was for this first phase keep it a straightforward simple and get the benefits available. in single-family homes the requirement would be to enter and 50 ft.2. the roof would need to be available solar installed on it and in larger buildings it would be the key percent of total repair. that strictly drawn from the state housing for energy code. as was
11:31 am
mentioned, the 2 options for compliance in this proposed ordinance would be either the installation of any combination of solar and solar hot water heating. the overall goal for this, behind this policy proposal are meeting article 1% renewable energy citywide, minimizing greenhouse gas emissions but recognizing urban land is a valuable and underutilized resource. last, buildings and not designed for truly being green but for number of reasons and at the same time, it's necessary to recognize there's a need for exceptions in some certain cases when statically, dated to install solar today and that includes buildings that are shaded by other buildings were
11:32 am
solar resource would be less viable. buildings primarily occupied by laboratory or data center where the concentration of mechanical equipment in the buildings makes roof particularly a complicated space in very valuable territory and last, the state provides not an exemption for the entire building but the area that's occupied. parking is not required to be consistent with solar ready area. so it's consistent with that state requirement. this would be replacing an existing role energy requirement that san francisco has had on the books since the green building ordinance was adopted in 2008 of 25,000 buildings were larger. or purchase from removal energy credit were built to be at least currently 10% more efficient than the california code. you can use efficiency has an alternative this will make those 3 options in the
11:33 am
because [inaudible] because all buildings have to be efficient in the energy code is got quite a bit stricter in pursuit of the state's energy goes in the renewable energy is available and cost-effective resource. we've done quite a bit of analysis of the cost impact am happy to talk about any detail about it but the most financially to look at it is remodeled the cost of the most expensive way of complaint using -and found it to be cost effective for the full range of buildings that represent the types of products brought the environment in san francisco and it's worth keeping in mind more than 75% of new photovoltaic projects since 2013 have been funded through a third-party, by power purchase agreement and the reason that might sound a little technical but the point is the cost of the solar is not even born by the developer and are some options to be exercised if cost is an issue. so there are a lot of different ways to meet the
11:34 am
financial part of compliance and last, the installed cost of solar is declined more than 55% since 2008 and it's expected to continue. there's a small bit of precedent and the us vertically when castor and-have adopted solar requirements. course there built but simpler than san francisco but by and large those records are affecting using the family homes in santa monica has a reed as well. so, we remove those benson happy to answer any questions you might have. appreciate your support for this ordinance. >> president omotalade thank you very much. commissioners, any questions? commissioner stephenson
11:35 am
>> commissioner stephenson what percent of the construction is this going to apply to be very wiggly saito to 75% what percent is up to 75 feet and what percent is under? >> testifier: all have to get back to you with the answer to that question. we calculated in a particular way. we do have estimates the total impact and was in the-apologies. i don't have it rated hand but was under tens of thousands of carbon emissions reductions. first up with you. it's considerable and really, it is directed at the size and form of buildings that we think would have the most straightforward impact. >> commissioner stephenson can you talk about the responsibility of the dept. of the environment would be in regards to this? >> testifier: this adapted to go into the green building code
11:36 am
and where the partner to the building of inspection in assisting them with a code for the entity the entire responsibility for its enforcement. by partner i mean we work with them since 2008 in the writing of the code the writing of the regulations and the code preparation and compliance documentation and for righty types of technical support. but in terms of the fundamental responsibility dept. of building inspection and forcing the ordinance. environments role would be continuing to provide a sense of services to dept. of building inspection come as well as in this ordinance tracking the impact of the ordinance family systems are stalled at the total capacity >> commissioner stephenson is there money set aside for tracking that and reporting on it? >> testifier: the ordinance does give the better to ask for request that the work we've done in preparation for it has been done also partially funded
11:37 am
be a good apartment of building inspections. >> president omotalade thank you. commissioner wald >> commissioner wald: i want is my gratitude for it to gary and they've done on this issue. i actually think it's more than 2 years that you have been working on this. even though the former supervisor is not here, i would like to acknowledge all the work and the thought she put into promoting this idea, including the notion of expanding the definition of better roofs to include green roofs and other kinds of improvements in addition to solar. i also want
11:38 am
to thank supervisor wiener and his staff because without their help we would not be able to put these ideas and this work into action for the city of san francisco. so, i hope not only do we always support his this resolution but the board of supervisors will support the legislation. last but not least, i do want to make it clear that while i am willing to support this resolution, i'm going to support it even though it doesn't say anything about the trailing legislation and the notion of green roofs. i'm controlled you to at least try to make that a part of this effort. i think it's a very critical and important parts. >> president omotalade thank
11:39 am
you. commissioner wan >> commissioner wan: what is small residential buildings. what is the definition? >> testifier: it's a building that's noon and nonresidential and 2000 ft.2 or smaller. >> president wan for the roof space you mean? >> testifier: for the roof space >> commissioner wan: what was the percentage of exceptions in the city? >> testifier: relatively small although important uses. for example there are to my knowledge to data centers in san francisco and one being constructed. so it's not a massive growth industry but in terms of all buildings dedicated to it in terms of laboratory that is palmer use in mission bay and there was a significant volume of laboratory development that was
11:40 am
a exemption laboratories was adopted in a green building ordinance back in 20 weight and it's just consistent over that entire time. >> commissioner wan the sheet of buildings is not a big percentage? >> testifier: that's a situational question. there are rules in [inaudible] that help guide the calculation of that solar area. so the building is unshaded that's 50% of the rooftop but we do a site analysis to figure out for existing structures if there are shading the building to calculate how much area was and i can get down as small as exempting the build. it's not merely exempted if it should get it has to do whether the resources going to be valuable for solar. >> president omotalade thank you. see no further comments from commissioners all opened up to public comment. >> testifier: good evening commissioners. eric rooks
11:41 am
california's for energy choice. we looked asked pensively on protecting and launching community choice programs in california like clean power sf that most of the clean energy advocates which works for over a decade when clean power sf. this policy looks like a really good step forward. however, i noticed one thing that's of concern. that is the ability of the building owner, purchase renewable energy certificates in lieu of fulfilling the requirements of the policy. that's what the last slide it looked like it said that was a possibility. so, if a building owner is able to buy renewable energy certificates to get out of the requirements, i would ask you to-maybe i'm incorrect on this, but i would ask you to make sure that's not in there because renewable energy certificates to not promote an all new renewable construction
11:42 am
and especially if there are from third-party industry voluntary certified reps they can be bad like-. the last slide it makes it look like that's the case and see director raffaella should read so hopefully i'm wrong on this but if that's the case of asked the commission to say, please know. >> president omotalade thank you. any further public comment? >> testifier: i am very in favor of this whole green roofs initiative. i've seen it operating in other cities and i think it's wonderful. i would like to suggest one other exceptions for shading and that is for trees. normally you wouldn't think it's going to be
11:43 am
an issue with a 75 foot limit because there's not that many street trees are that tall, but there are are many cities. you can have situations where people demand the trees because down to unshaded a roof. i would hate to see that happen. i would love to see an exception made for buildings roofs shaded by trees. >> president omotalade thank you. any other further public comment? >> testifier: that was a good presentation but my name is greg zara and i've cut the line that takes the water off of my roof that goes into the storm drain, sewer system. i'm just so happy with all the water that i've collected off of my roof. it's so clean i can wash my hands. flush the toilet with it. it's amazing how much water you can get. then you can return it to the aquifer as well. sen. going to the sewer
11:44 am
system and into the storm drain. so, i mean it's just really sad to see how much water is being lost in the city that could be usable for needs around your house like watering your garden washing your hands after weeding or what have you. another thing is, go to chicago green roofs projects because chicago is way ahead of san francisco. they have done green roofs hundreds of them in the downtown area. it's amazing to look at aerial photographs looking down on chicago. it looks like looking at a prairie rather than 40 story buildings. >> president omotalade thank you. any further public comment on this item? hearing none, public comment is closed. commissioners can i hear a motion? or any further
11:45 am
discussion? >> commissioner could you speak to the credit system? >> testifier: i concede there was confusion. that is now going to be repealed. that is the existing law and this repeals that. back in 2008 it was a requirement to the to build the gold and lead gold is a menu you can choose various points and because we were very interested in promoting global energy back then we said the gold and in particular you have to make sure you get the points for renewables by their doing 1% burnable energy or buying these racks. that's old thinking. so was wonderful about these latkes repeals that old thinking and replaces it. i appreciate the comment. >> president omotalade be t. commissioners can i hear motion?
11:46 am
>> commissioner i move we adopted the ordinance. >> president omotalade the motion was made by commissioner stephenson said was that all in favor say aye. opposed? the motion passes next item on the agenda. >> clerk: next item is approval of the resolution file 2010 05 trinity united states postal service the file 2016 05 sponsor is debra rafael director and the speakers stephen jeb knows her waste specialist and ted campbell by mental consultant with the united states postal service western district. was was terry bolcom supervisor united states postal service san francisco.
11:47 am
this item is for discussion and action. >> president, director raffaella to introduce this. >> testifier: this agenda item is actually very near and dear to my heart because in my first week on the job you may remember there was an exposé in the media about an inspector general report looking at post offices around the country and go in the hope they found that san francisco did not fare well in terms of its performance on their zero waste. i have to say the zero waste team and myself in you as well pretty alarmed by that finding. frankie, very surprised and you wrote a letter expressing your concern and went all the way to the postmaster general in dc, who to their credit got back to us very quickly with their sustainability team and said, help us. we want to do better. so, we took them up on their offer to be a participant and
11:48 am
we put our best people on it. stephen who you'll hear from will tell a story of what happened once he got involved. steven. >> testifier: thank you, debbie. good evening commissioners. many missed even ship working in san francisco environment and zero waste team. i'm going to start by thanking the noncommissioned allowing us to create a resolution the great zero waste worker covers by the united states post office. postal service here in san francisco and also i want to knowledge the action taken by the environment commission to draft and send a letter to the tc work orders to kick off this project. if i can get the sfgov tv to turn on the slide for agenda item number 6? additionally i want to thank our director debbie raffaella and my manager out dmitri for writing a conference call with the us ps postmaster general in
11:49 am
dc to get us started with our fantastic new friends and partners in zero waste. ted campbell and terry ockham. the united states post office or post service otherwise known as -they play a very big part in san francisco with lots of locations and lots of employees but i'll leave that to both terry and ted to talk more about their colleagues. what we did was we did an audit actually a couple weeks before the exposé came about. the timing was really terrific. from this juggled 5 ship you can tell out of closer look at what our audit showed. it showed a lot of paper. also a lot of soiled paper from compostable's. as well as yard
11:50 am
waste. our audit showed that 90% of the materials that we found in the stream were other recyclable or compostable. this is really really alarming to us. this is a slide to introduce both terry and ted enough on a picture of ted and he would not for one to me so that's the best i can do. so, terry is going to come up and speak a little bit about the project and are fantastic involvement and what she's done and what they been able to accomplish. >> testifier: good evening commissioners. it's a pleasure to be here thank you so much for allowing us to come and to share our experience with the zero waste commission. san francisco. it's been a challenge but it's also been a great great accomplishment. the ad
11:51 am
states postal service and were so happy to be a part of the zero waste law. i myself am very excited about it because i believe in sustainable energy. as a believe in a clean environment. was covered up my alley. i do not really have any idea of what to do but as soon as i was given a task was able to say let's get going. let's make this happen. first and foremost, prior to going out to the walkout by john was to find out what our invoices look like much we have been spending and then assess that information would always physically at the station. so not only did i call you called to find out what urban service was and how long the service had been in place, and come to find out there were some services we have been having that we do not need and paying for for 17 years. service that we did not need that we been paying your for 17 years where there were no cans and some of our facilities in
11:52 am
strip malls where they can piece it was already something est. food paying for service. needless to say, was able to take us off of those services got to the station assess what is present and currently there. alongside with the information that i got from rick colin g and i went back and said we can cut here and cut here along with stephen ansonia-played a big part. she's not here today but she played a big part with helping us out. i went out and they call this and had service changes reduced frequency. our pickups and also reduced our cans and container sizes. some of them we had containers that were dumpsters i mean like debris boxes could so we reduce those from like 4 yards to 1 yard, 2 yards and we were really able to do a lot of wonderful things. not only did
11:53 am
i go out to all the 41 stations physically i visited each and every station to assess what we needed. i also, at san francisco fant was able to go through our facility and see what we needed to assess there as well. the big part was getting signage and jumping on board in making this thing really big. because to me it was we need to get hit the ground running and in order to do that we need to be able to put up plenty of signage. as a result of the signage i went out to each and every station and repurpose all the cans. repurpose i can add a can to represent each of the street and some of our locations were very small. of course we had smaller containers we utilize what we have. so that gives you an overview of some of the idea of what's in the city spaces. in our restrooms we do paper towels only with the
11:54 am
combustible item. select others a lot of compost. so far were doing really good. we still have a ways to go but were on track. i also took the liberty for our plant at our cafeterias and or break rooms i ordered recycled stations from clean river at recycling item custom made so they were representing zero waste so we have representation as you see there's compost stream, recycle stream and mixed paper stream for our cafeteria and break room. furthermore, the most important thing was reaching that point. allow to each and every station and ted and i did service talks. steve accompanist from time to time doing service talks and we wanted to stress and emphasize how important it was first being combined with zero waste law i was going to impact our diamonds and what our role was in making that happen. go idea
11:55 am
was to share the information but i didn't share information much [inaudible] much we can potentially say. people got on board. still work as a work in progress. i still want to go out and get people motivated because if i motivated lover is bringing information people get motivated. i just want to see us do better. but we've come a long way we still waste to go but we are on the past to having a sustainable apartment in the united states postal service. so, with that, i like to introduce to you mr. ted campbell from the industrial health and safety engineer contract consultant from the usps office of sustainability. thank you. >> president omotalade thank you. >> testifier: good afternoon commission. later he said my name is ted campbell. i'm the person that got sent out by the office of sustainability to assist and work with the
11:56 am
dept. of the environment and the local postal officials are trying to straighten out the problems that we have with our waste disposal recycling composting. a lot of that stuff was due to the postal service. the office of sustainability has a program called the pressure recycling operations, and that is my primary focus. what that is, we are standardizing our recycling and our waste, how we handle waste throughout the postal service nationwide. there's a lot of reasons for that. as san francisco already knows, there's for a business there's money to be saved. it's a bottom-line issue in a lot of cases. we're really are taking the recyclable zeroes out of the way stream and be able to sell those on the commodity market and generate a little bit of revenue based on that and at
11:57 am
the same time were making a better environment for ourselves and our children and our communities in which we serve with kerry 31 offices. those of the opposite is within the city and county of san francisco did the san francisco district itself is about 2 and 45 offices that stretch from the oregon border down onto the south coast. part of our program some of the things we learned what we're working here in the city with terry and stephen were going to replicate some of that stuff as we expand outward into other locations that may not have statutes as stringent were as comprehensive as what san francisco has. because a lot of communities, and i think you know the state is just adopted a composting ordinance were statute that cannot this year and those things are all going to impact and spread out into other communities that don't currently have that. you guys are ahead of the game. so far in san francisco, terry talked
11:58 am
about the savings. as we went out and break ties the trash containers. we added compostable containers. we haven't recycling containers. and we also implemented our buckles where we leverage our own infrastructure of the largest fleet of trucks in the country to be able to move from other stations back to the plants here in san francisco as a hub site to generate the revenue from the recyclables. came into about $200,000 from the san francisco district the course of that year that we worked on this project. which is a significant amount of money to anybody's bottom line. we also, stephen and i went out along with sonja started from ecology and didn't after audit. one of the things that stephen mentions about 90% of all the waste generated in the united states postal service is the paper plastic or cardboard. we
11:59 am
back all the all of our paper or what we call undeliverable mail were discarded lobby millwork customers may through mail in our lobbies. we recycle all of that as well as all the cardboard containers that we so like an old priority box that may not be usable anymore. that goes into our back all stream as well as all of our sheet blasting. you guys also recycle hard plastics and metals and other things like that, which are also part of the program, but not part of our backhaul. just as there's a little thing but when we went out and did and after audit we found we probably reduced what was in our waste-you can still see a paper a lot of those little tags that go out to our carrier stations. they are on milk trails resort the mail and take them out to the general public and things like that. but most of the plastics in the paper and especially the compostable the largest single item of compostable in the postal
12:00 pm
services or paper towels from our bathrooms. they're just tons and tons of it. were generated about 8.5 tons a day of recyclable paper at her hub site in san francisco. we plan on increasing that. we also have a hub site in san jose. a hot site in richmond at our --this is a nationwide program for the office of sustainability to-for the backhaul program but we learned a lot of really valuable lessons here in san francisco good we got a ways to go. we can make it better. and that circle. to move forward and do a better job. that's about it. it's going east. all the way across. thank you very much. >> president omotalade thank you so much for that presentation. commissioners, questions? comments?
59 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
SFGTV: San Francisco Government TelevisionUploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=1070551663)