will be inclined to grant the variance with the normal conditions. thank you. >> clerk: now we're on item 19 for 1233 polk street. >> good evening, commissioners. andrew perry with department staff. the case before you is a request for conditional use authorization to legalize the use -- [ inaudible ] the existing establishment is currently authorized for both restaurant and entertainment use with the latter occurring through conditional use authorization circa 1993. however a condition of that approval stated that electronic amplification was only to be permitted on friday and saturday nights until midnight. the current application seeks to remove or modify this condition such that electronic amplification would be permitted seven days per week until 2:00 a.m. at time of closing. the establishment was found to be operating in violation of that condition.

the general plan and planning code both simile discourage the operation of night time entertain with amplification past midnight, however that said, the commission may authorize conditional use for operation past midnight, provided facts are presented that the use will be operated in such a way to minimize disruption to nearby residences. it should also be noted that the entertainment commission has previously granted this business a place of entertainment permit, allowing for operation until 1:30 a.m., and this permit does not distinguish between types of entertainment, nor does it place restrictions on the amplified type of enter at the same time nor does it restrict hours during certain days of the week. the project sponsor has hired local consultant charles m.sulter associates to conduct several rounds of testing.

following those testing, the consultant had made a number of recommendations to the operator in order to improve the sound proofing of the establishment, and in part, the prior continuances granted tor this case were to allow the project sponsor that time to make the necessary improvements. during the course of review, staff has received 24 communications in opposition to the proposal, with most of the concern focusing around the extension of entertainment hours until 2:00 a.m. on week night. staff has received communications from five individuals in support. and most notably in the last week, staff has received two additional letters inform are consideration. the first comes from salter associates which acknowledges that the project sponsor has adhered for prior recommendations for the kitchen, windows, and front doors, and second was a letter received from the lower polk neighbors. in their letter, lpn acknowledges that the concerns

that their organization and members have had while surrounding this case while noticing that the owner has been very engaged with the organization over the last few months and has been actively working to implemented recommended sound proofing measures. based on the significant investment into soundproof and mitigation changes, lpn is in support of the conditional use authorization, on the condition that a rehearing would take place if there are two or more citations issued against the business by the entertainment commission in the next six months. the department recommends approval of this project given the owner's commitment to sound proofing natures and given the surrounding neighborhood of polk street. that's my presentation, and i'm available to answer any questions. thank you. >> hello. are you project sponsor? >> good evening, commissioners. project sponsor, jeremy paul for may's oyster house. i'd first like to say, to

express my appreciation for all the work that mr. perry and dario jones from the enforcement section of the planning department have put in to make this work. this operator has really gone above and beyond to try to change the physical nature of this space and take hard measures and really explore new ways of being a better neighbor. i've been doing this for entertainment venues for, you know, well over 20 years, and i don't think i've been with -- on a project where they really put so much of their heart into something, and it hasn't been easy because they put about is -- $100,000 into this space, and they have to run a business all simultaneously. and the sound problem and the problems created in the lower polk area, the problems of

night life in general have been a fact of life in the lower polk virtually forever. i mean, in the early 80's, i remember coming over from berkeley as a student with friends to go to the night clubs and bars there, and we're not saying that the problem's solved, but we've gone a long way to do it. after closing on weekend nights, may's has started power washing sidewalks, which has done wonders, not only for cleaning up the mess, but also encouraging people to go home, and that's been a big problem of loitering and lingering. so i really want to encourage the kind of management that may's has shown, and i'd like to ask charlie salter to come up and give his comments. and i don't want to take too much more of your time on such a long day, but if you have any questions, the operator's here,

and we're ready to talk to you. >> commissioner melgar: thank you. >> good evening. my name is charles salter. i've been doing acoustical work in san francisco for 45 years. so we were hired a year ago to deal with some of the complaints of the neighbors, and adrian did the study a year ago, and he made specifically acoustical recommendations that have been implemented. he had an opportunity to do a before and after measurement. in approximate our letter that we published today, we concluded that between the sound isolation improvements and the sound limiter on the audio system, we are very confident that this venue will not cause a problem for the neighbors, and so i'd be glad to answer any questions you have about acoustics. >> commissioner melgar: we may have questions for you after public comment. thank you. and with that, we will open

this up for public comment. anyone here for public comment on this item, please come forward. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is robert lesco, and i own the building at 1228 sutter street. back of my building is opened up diagonally to may's oyster bar. i've had trouble in the past with them with noise, and it seems strange to me that we are putting up high density buildings in the neighborhood. there's a nine story building that went up next to me on sutter, old post office. there is a building on bush street that's going up, and so all these people are going to moovalya into this building, and therebuilding, -- move into this building, and so there's going to be noise coming into their apartments every day until 2:00 a.m., and they are not here to fight for their right to get a good night's sleep because they're going to slip in now.

i've been here in this neighborhood since 1978. my partner who passed away, robert, had been in the neighborhood since 1961. i was here earlier and someone was complaining about a church on sunday that was making noise, and i'm here trying to talk to you about how a club shouldn't be open every night until 2:00 a.m. it's so obvious that it shouldn't be. if you want to put high density buildings in a neighborhood, you can't go back to club land. you can't have it both ways. you can't have a high density neighborhood and clubs. it doesn't work that way, so i just am vehemently opposed to this evening being considered, and many more people have come out in opposition to this idea than in support of this idea. and i just -- i've retrofitted my building 'cause the city

asked to, half a million dollars in debt because of that. i run a vrbo out of my house to pay for the $500,000 retrofit that i went through. i marched down to short housing -- short-term housing, i paid all my money, i dotted all my i's, i paid all my taxes. i'm a good citizen, i'm a schoolteacher. i need my sleep. i just really strongly, strongly oppose this happening, so thank you for listening. >> commissioner melgar: thank you, mr. lesco. >> good evening, commissioners. chris schulman, lower polk neighbors. i'll be as brief as i can. back in december-january , lower polk neighbors submitted a letter that really outlined the concerns that we had for this business. we did have some, i believe, legitimate issue does. over the past year, and then

really accelerating since that initial hearing that we requested a continuance, and i appreciate you granting that, things have accelerated in a number of physical and operational improvements and modifications have taken place. lower polk neighbors and working with the project sponsor is very confident and hopeful that these mitigations will be successful. however, we are asking that there would be a rehearing in six months if there's two violations or notices of citation issued by the entertainment commission. that's not complaints, just actual verified citations. we're hoping that doesn't happen. we don't have an expectation of that, we just believe that that gives us an additional layer of comfort as you will hopefully approve this today. i'd like to thank the project sponsors, i'd like to thank their representative, jeremy paul. they've been good to work with. they reached out early when

they received their initial notice of violation, and they've worked with us to find out our concerns, and i am hopeful that the mitigation work that they took place will be successful. i'd also like to thank the commission and the staff for the continuances. it gave us a lot more confidence to support today, when you don't support, you have to say no support, so thank you so much, and i hope you get out of here soon. >> commissioner melgar: thank you, mr. schulman. next speaker, please. >> good evening. my name is fikro, and i'm at 1237 polk street. we're direct neighbors adjacent to may's oyster house. we're just here to offer our support, and they, from our point of view have been good and responsive neighbors.

worked on mapny things securit, keeping sidewalks free and working together to do this. and we feel that's -- it's been a proof for them. it's a large part of their business and is definitely needed for their success. where their success goes, i feel a lot of the other businesses in the neighbor's success go. we very much have a symbiotic relationship, and it's not as if there is 20 night clubs on the street. there is diversity and variety. we're a bar without any entertainment. most of the other bars are, too. i think there is a place, even in a neighborhood that may be going towards high density, for one or two places of entertainment, and you know, lest we all forget at a certain time in our life, we all look for those kind of places. i might be too old now, but

there's a large section of our population that need us, want us, and i don't think there's any harm in having a couple of places in our neighborhood that provide this. that's it. thank you. >> commissioner melgar: thank you. next speaker, please. >> my name's james hansel wi, i've been in this town for 50 years. and fern alley for the last dozen years i've been a resident. thes these gentlemen are working in a premier club. i've seen the changes down here, and it's all for the good. these guys are very approachable. they've addressed every concern that i've seen, and i clean the place, so i know exactly what's going on there. and the security at night is very good, and i would approve it. you know, these guys are great. plus, i'm employed. thank you, folks.

>> commissioner melgar: thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. my name is lee. i live above may's, and i've lived there for about five years. when i first moved in, it was in circumstances beyond my control, and i figured i'd be moving out pretty quick, but as things developed, i became more and more comfortable and became associated with the bar, and i can tell you firsthand that we have gone through a lot to make that bar, you know okay with the neighborhood. we've put in sound proofing, we have, you know, held fundraisers for different events throughout the city. we have tried to become good neighbors. i sleep above the bar, and i can tell you it has gotten a lot quieter, and like the

gentleman before me said, there are people that love to come and have a good time at that place, and we provide entertainment that is safe and joyous, and thank you very much for your consideration. >> commissioner melgar: thank you. any other members of the public want to comment? okay. with that, public comment is now closed. commissioner richards? >> vice president richards: a question for mr. salter. so mr. lesco got up and was quite -- quite upset about the situation. i'm trying to determine whether or not his complaint was prior to all this work being done or there's still something going on that's -- that's causing him disruption. can you tell me -- i mean, have you made measurements between -- have you taken measurements periodically kind of on a -- kind of a secret shopper-type basis where you just go up and measure and make sure that things aren't --

noise isn't escaping, like the entertainment commission or has it just been kind of planned measurements? >> planned measurements under our control, so what we did a year ago is play the loud music in the club and measure the noise reduction. and we identified that the doors, the three doors were the weak link to improve the soundproofing. and so when adrian redid the work, he had loud music in the club, made the same noise reduction measurement and showed the acoustic improvement. so as i testified to a few minutes ago, we have the sound isolation, and with any construction, there's a limit. and so you say okay, here's our soundproofing. then, what you do is you reduce the sound in the club so it doesn't disturb people in their homes, so they can sleep at night, so the entertainment

commission is -- finds the sound level acceptable, and there's a good neighbor situation. and so that's what we have in this club. that if in fact there are complaints, the entertainment commission noise monitoring people will go out there, and they'll identify, gee, you're five decemberibells over, or maybe they'll find you're in compliance, and then, the club can adjust the sound accordingly. so like i say because of the combination, we're very confident that it'll be successful in terms of controlling the noise. >> okay. i mean, mr. paul and i got started knowing each other way back when. ichs the mr. lesco in a place, and so that's why i'm taking a special interest in it. i know what it's like not to

get sleep for nights and nights in a row. have you taken any measurements from mr. lesco's building. >> no. >> do you think that would be something that would be beneficial? >> and that's something that's a great question, because to get at the heart of noise complaints, what the noise monitoring people at the entertainment commission do is they go to a person's home at the time that the person is complaining. so if somebody says, i am disturbed in my bedroom at 1:00 p.m. on saturday, they will go there and get the data, and they will determine if it's audible, not automobildible, w it's coming from, etcetera. so what's interest about this problem is the san francisco police employee -- san francisco employees do the work. they're not going to believe me. but i have worked with them in parallel, and i'm very impressed with their

effectiveness. so -- so your hypotheticalal, let's say there is a complaint. it should be leveed with the entertainment commission, make a plan to make a measurement having nothing to do with me, and then, the person measuring the noise will determine whether it's acceptable or unacceptable. >> vice president richards: okay. thank you very much. >> so as you can see, it's very protective of people who could be impacted by excessive noise. >> vice president richards: right. this all makes sense. i've got this -- they came to my bedroom several times to measure the noise. >> so you know exactly what i'm talking about. >> vice president richards: i do. i think a lot's been done, and they've employed the person -- it's nice to meet you finally. >> thank you. >> vice president richards: -- who's got the situation under control, so i move to approve the situation with six month

look back. >> commissioner melgar: okay. which request? [ inaudible ] >> vice president richards: well, i don't think -- >> vice president richards: okay. i think mr. schulman was asking for a look back, not a situation. if there are complaints, they can come back and ask to have the conditional use permit revoced, but i don't think that's going to happen. >> and i don't think that's going to happen. >> okay. >> clerk: commissioners, there is a motion to approve the permit with amended conditions. on that motion -- [ roll call. ] >> clerk: so moved, commissioners. that motion passes unanimously 5-0. item 20 has been continued, so that places us under your discretionary review calendar commissioners for case number

21. [agenda item read]. >> commissioner moore: there's nobody here. >> good evening, commissioners. david lindsey, department staff. on february 8, 2018, the commission considered the request for discretionary review submitted by jack long for the project at 2514 balboa street. the project proposed a horizontal addition at the rear and a two story vertical addition positive the existing two story single-family house with the addition of a second dwelling unit. [ inaudible ] >> -- the potential disruption of sewage lines and ventilation of adjacent properties. following the hearing, the commission continued the item to march 22nd with direction to

the project sponsor to readvise the project such that the two proposed dwelling units would be more equal in size and more standard in terms of layout, and that the space behind the garage on the ground floor be incorporated into the dwelling unit above. the commission also directed that the project's proposed fourth story be eliminated, along with the proposed rear fire escape. following the february 8th hearing, the project sponsor revised the project to eliminate the four story fire escape and reconfigured the two dwelling units such that each has similar layouts and number of bedrooms. the area behind the garage is now proposed to be a family room part of the unit above connected by interior stairs. it's staff's recommendation that the proposed revisions appropriately respond to the commission's corrections and also address the d.r. requester's concerns. is there -- staff recommends that the commission did not --

does not take d.r. and approve the project as revised. >> commissioner melgar: okay. it doesn't look like -- >> vice president richards: commissioners, if i may, i had -- during the break, i had a conversation with several of the neighbors and the d.r. requester, who -- all of them were not able to remain. they gave me comments in writing, handwritten some comments, and there are three -- i have one, two, three neighbors who -- who wanted to register their comments, so if it's okay, i'll just read some of their comments. >> commissioner melgar: okay. but sir, are you the d.r. requester? [ inaudible ] >> commissioner melgar: okay. all right. >> so one is steve cooper at 2526 balboa, 13 year resident, has two main concerns. one is the qualification of the architect, their firm, background, and education. the second is how many these

projects have they completed in the past. the second major concern that mr. cooper has is the type of construction materials being used. are they above building specification? i'm not sure what that means, and are they earthquake proof? of course, these are primarily building code issues. second opposition is from chanelle boysoyik, who's adjacent to the property at 2526. appreciate that changes have been made but continue to have concerns and has concerns that the hearing notice sign was not up ten days prior but only seven days prior and submitted photographs on march 12th and 13th to show that the sign was not there. the third opponent is from elias feldman, also at 2526 balboa, i should say all tleez of the

-- three of these residents are from the same residence, different apartments. all 20 neighbors continue to oppose the project. three students have been crammed into a questionable unit and were not informed about the project until i spoke to them three years. the layout continues to be suspicious, the addition of three living rooms in unit number one does not seem realistic. is this possibly a boarding house, and four we have concerns about a project that uses play wood and other cheap material given that we are situated on a sandy hill and are especially susceptible to earthquakes so theose are the three opponents that i have for this project who live next door to the project. it was a little unusual that they were not able to stay, but i did tell them they could write some comments down. >> commissioner melgar: so it doesn't look like there's anyone who will comment in

support of the d.r. requester, so we will hear from the project sponsor. >> thank you very much. my name's der 2k4rd -- derrick. we have been working with the planning department staff. the fourth floor have been eliminated since the last hearing. due to the ten days, the first posters actually had a minor typo, and so we actually swap out and get a second poster from the planning department and therefore, the ten day wasn't fully full ten days, but we tried our best to go that poster up due to the typo, so it's actually been a couple of days. and qualifications, we're an

engineer architectural firm. we've been -- our license has a civil engineering license, it's been obtained for the last seven, eight years, and we've been doing this project, san francisco especially, for about seven, eight years, and we have done about -- i'd say about a dozen, maybe two dozen of these projects in the past and our kwfss shouldn't kwfss shouldn't be -- qualifications shouldn't be questi questioned. we're happy to answer any questions that you may have, given the project coming a long way in, we hope we get your support, and we've been working with staff to assure all these concerns. thank you. >> commissioner melgar: okay. thank you so as it looks like there's no public comments in favor of the project sponsor, i'll open it up to commissioner moore? >> before we begin, i was remiss in actually

acknowledging that commissioner johnson wasn't present at the original hearing, and if you could acknowledge you've reviewed the previous materials and hearing. >> i have. >> thank you. commissioner moore. >> just to know, a professional engineer under the state of california can design this project. it's deemed to be within their competence, and i have to say i think the changes miles an hour made to the project completely reflect what we have been asking for, and at this moment, i cannot find the comment that the previous d.r. requester -- requesters made to be substantive to what we had asked for, so i believe that the building will be establishing two units of equitable ties with property ak set to light and a

set -- access to light and air. and i make a motion to not take d.r. and approve as revised. >> second. >> clerk: thank you, commissioners. if there's nothing further, there's a motion that has been seconded to not take d.r. and approve the project as proposed. on that motion -- [ roll call. ] >> clerk: so moved, commissioners. that motion passes unanimously, 5-0. >> thank you. you have a good day. >> commissioner melgar: okay. so we are adjourned.

good morning and welcome to the community and assessment services center. today's event focuses on our efforts specific to the firearm compliance and safety initiative. this initiative is a collaborative efficient toen sure the -- effort to ensure the removal of guns from our communities.

the adult probation department plays a critical role in the process as outlined in new responsibilities defined in proposition 63. the safety for all act. these new responsibilities coupled with the sheriffs department work in recovering a firearm from restrained persons is at the very core of the work we do to promote public safety. many thanks to those individuals who have joined us this morning and their continued support to keep our communities safe from gun violence. specifically, mayor mark farrell, supervisor stefani, supervisor sheehy, chief freeno representing sheriff hennessey. chief bill scott from the san francisco police department. beverly upton and the domestic violence consortium.

it is truly my distinct privilege to introduce mayor mark farrell, a long time advocate for gun control and safety. as district 2 supervisor, mr. farrell introduced anti-gun ordinance to 2015 which was subsequently approved by the board of supervisors. this gun control package was intended to fill gaps that existed in federal, state and local oversight of firearm dealers and ammunition sales. this included requiring the video taping of all gun and ammunition sales within san francisco and required the regular storage and electronic transmission of ammunition sales data to the san francisco police department. as district 2 supervisor, mr. farrell introduced a safe gun storage and trigger lock law apooreded by -- approved by the board of supervisors in 2016. this mandated that all be kept

in a locked container or be disabled by a trigger lock. as district 2 supervisor, mr. farrell announced his intention to introduce a gun restriction law after the krissy field rally in 2017. as you recall, an alt-right group, requested a permit to hold a rally. there was a city-wide response to prevent the rally from becoming violent against the anti-immigrant national rhetoric. ultimately, the group withdrew from holding the rally, citing safety concerns for their own members. as you can see, our mayor of san francisco has been a true advocate of gun safety and gun control. please join me in welcoming mayor mark farrell. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, chief fletcher. i want to thank you for your

hard work. i want to thank the police department, chief, thank you for being here, the sheriffs department and supervisor stefani and sheehy, who have been leaders and beverly upton and doctor. it's an honor to be here. recent events across the country unfortunately have brought gun reform and control questions back to the forefront. we did not learn from columbine and sandy hook and we're faced with another mass shooting in one of our schools in the parkland shooting in florida just a couple of weeks ago. as congress continues to stick its head in the sand on the issue, it is up to state and local governments to counteract and to do everything we can locally to protect the sanctity of life for our residents. i was honored last week to join the walkout with the school along with supervisor sheehy,

which is in district 8. with the high school students there. at 10:00 a.m. i know schools across the country and right across the entire san francisco were participating in the walkouts. very proud of our students and local leaders here in san francisco for all of the efforts they did in terms of walking out and demonstrating their own first amendment rights, but also the voice of the next generation. this is a fight that doesn't end today or tomorrow. this is going to be the next generation of americans that will carry this issue forward and make a difference in the country. so inspiring to be there at the high school last week, watching students in israel walk out of their classrooms, watching students in iceland walking out, in solidarity with the youth of the united states of america. we are not alone in this fight. for once, last week, instead of fighting against d.c. which we do constantly in san francisco,

we were fighting with generations of young children across the entire globe. it was incredibly inspirational. unfortunately, the nra continues however to dominate politics in washington d.c. and as chief fletcher kindly mentioned, as a supervisor, thanks to the leadership and producing of my legislative aid, now supervisor catherine stefani, we worked on a number of gun control laws in san francisco during my time. chief among them, a law that then forced the last gun store in san francisco to leave our city limits and to shut down. as i was trending on twitter with the nra because of all the hatred they were spewing toward us in san francisco, toward me personally as a legislator, we told people in the community in san francisco, we would rather see a preschool or grocery store, as opposed to a gun store. that's what we need more of in

san francisco. very proud to have seen that go through. and then to see lieutenant-governor newsom and his efforts with prop 63. huge credit to lieutenant-governor for his efforts and bold leadership on so many issues here a san francisco and across the state. specifically around gun control. chief among the parts of prop 63 and what we're here today to talk about and announce, is the ability for local law enforcement personnel, for our sheriff's department to confiscate for guns. we want less guns. we will never pander to the nra here in san francisco. guns do not belong on our streets in san francisco. and i am proud to be here today

along with chief fletcher because since prop 63 was enaced on january 1 of this year, our adult probation department has done heroic efforts and their case load has skyrocketed through the roof in the ability to confiscate firearms from homes here in san francisco. firearms we do not want to appear on our streets. we do not want them in the hands of san francisco residents. because of the work they've been doing, and because of what we are seeing into the future, today we're announcing that we're funding in this upcoming budget, close to $1 million of new funding for the probation department alone to make sure they have the staffing they need. 500 will be hired, so they have the staffing they need. because these people are going to be working full-time to get the guns off the streets of san

francisco, i cannot think of a better priority for the budget. i want to thank everyone for being here today. i want to thank chief fletcher for her leadership on this issue. this is something that everyone behind me supports. this is something the entire san francisco supports and as mayor of san francisco, this is something i will never forget and we will always prioritize in our city government. thank you, everybody. [applause] >> thank you, mayor farrell. it is a tremendous amount of dedication and support you have committed to this effort. and we thank you very much and on behalf of the residents of san francisco, i know each of them feels safer with having you committed to such an effort. thank you. it is now my pleasure to introduce supervisor catherine stefani, supervisor is ardent advocate for gun control.

supervisor stefani is familiar with district 2 and all of their concerns as she worked as an aide to both micayla, and now mayor farrell for nine years when they each serveds the district 2 supervisor. in february 2018, supervisor stefani. join me in welcoming supervisor stefani. >> thank you. first i want to thank mayor farrell for committing to the funding to make sure we comply with proposition 63 passed in 2016. a clear mandate from california voters that they wanted to keep weapons out of the hands of felons.

and to make sure that after they're convicted, their weapons are actually confiscated. it is not by sent that this -- accident that this proposition passed. as a gun violence activist for two decades, i have seen support for commonsense gun support continue to grow as we're inundated with devastating stories and gruesome scenes of gun violence every day in this country. more than 90 americans are shot and killed and hundreds more injured every single day in america. our gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than that of other developed nations making this a uniquely american crisis. i also want to mention in light of the fact that we're celebrating women's history month, the board of supervisors today, that gun violence disproportionately affects women who are 16 times more likely to

be shot and killed in america than peer nations. 50 women are shot to death in a month by current or former partner. 4.4 million american women have been threatened with guns and guns are weapon of choice in domestic violence murders. women are the victims of mass shootings. as a mother and i know i speak for millions of other mothers, we are tired of sending our children to school to participate in lockdown drills, preparing for mass shootings and wondering if you're children's school could be next. there was a school shooting today at a high school in maryland. one is dead. one is in critical condition. a woman. and another has serious injuries. it is time to stop this madness and i praise the students who walked out last week. i went into the crowd and told

them, thank you, you are the next generation. you're going to help us solve this. i was so moved last week by their activism. i know they're going to be the force that helps change and turn the tide on this horrible epidemic in our country. proposition 63 will make california the first state in the nation to require all prohibited criminal offenders to provide proof that they sold or transferred their firearms after their conviction. i want to really thank lieutenant-governor newsom for everything he did to make sure the proposition passed. i would also like to thank chief fletcher for doing everything you can, beginning january 1, to make sure your team and san francisco is following the law and removing illegal guns from dangerous individuals. i also want to thank the efforts of the department of the status of women and our family council

led by beverly upton, for their important work. and chief scott with the chair, we cannot do this work without all our partners. i am so proud to join the mayor today and the colleagues up here in supporting additional funding to make sure that san francisco is removing guns from violent offenders and following the letter of the law. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor stefani. we're pleased to have with us today, supervisor jeff shery. he was appointed by mayor lee in 2017 and serveses as the chair of the public safety and neighborhood services committee. 20 years ago, mr. sheehy helped create and defend san francisco's historic equal benefits ordinance. making san francisco the first city in the country to require employers with city contracts to offer equal benefits to the

domestic partners of their employees. supervisor sheehy recently declared support for the march 20, 2018, march for our lives, where commonsense gun reform and commended the students in san francisco and around the nation for leading a movement to demand commonsense gun laws and school safety measures. please help me welcome supervisor sheehy to the podium. [applause] >> thank you, chief. you know, the movement by the kids has really been inspiring. my 13-year-old daughter at her middle school, public middle school here, her whole class, whole school participated. to see this next generation take the baton and show leadership in fighting against the scourge of guns is something that i am so proud to see.

what i also find very interesting is having watched the kids from florida, they're insistent on not being coopted by politicians like myself and insistent on driving the movement themselves for the nation. i'm particularly focussed on this day, on the issue of domestic violence. i actually -- i think maybe worked in 850 brian. i worked for the district attorney as a victim advocate for victims of domestic violence. i think in almost no other setting is it more important to get weapons out of hands of the people who are committing the crimes. i know from my experience that the vulnerability of women, the intense fight to escape the power and control of the men who are abusing them, is a huge challenge.

and the irrationality that surrounds the perpetrators, they're focus on maintaining power and control, even to the point of killing their victims, killing the family of their victims. i think -- it's one of the most dangerous situations i believe for a police officer to be put into, walking into a domestic violence situation. it disproportionate number of murders happen to victims of domestic violence. and so i really want to salute the effort to get the funding to make sure that no guns remain in the hands of people who commit domestic violence. so again, i want to thank the city for the initiative. thank you, mayor, for your leadership and it's an honor to be here. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much for your support supervisor sheehy. it is my pleasure to introduce

beverly upton. she serves as the executive director of san francisco's domestic violence consortium. a 7-member panel of domestic violence organizations and their supporters committed to the effective delivery of services and public policy. ms. upton has actively supported individuals who have lost loved ones to domestic violence. through court hearings, and regularly attending community events to promote domestic violence awareness. ms. upton and the department on the status of women have worked with the sheriff's department and the probation department to identify those crossovers to collaborate to keep the guns off our streets. please join me in welcoming beverly upton. [applause] >> thank you, chief, thank you, mayor farrell, thank you to the doctor for her leadership and

everybody who is with us today. i am also proud to be one of the tri-chairs of san francisco's family violence council and it shows that domestic violence threats with weapons are up 50% in san francisco. we have to stop this trend and this will help us. this weekend alone, the thousand oaks mall shooting started with a domestic violence incident. the parkland shooter was set off by relationship that ended poorly. who knows what got the young man that shot today at his high school in delaware? but as supervisor sheehy reminds us, domestic violence is at the kernel of so many of these dangerous mass shootings and taking entire families out around the country. this weekend in brooklyn, a family was shot and killed.

four members of a family. including a one-year-old. there have been 15 calls of domestic violence to this household. the gun was still in the home. the prerp traitor of the domestic -- perpetrator of the domestic violence took out four of his family members. we have taken every effort in all of our careers to make sure this doesn't happen here in san francisco. we need to take the guns out of the hands. perhaps getting the gun out of the house in brooklyn would have saved lives. it's a first step, we have more work to do. we hope to see other programs this year, but it is a first step. it's a first step toward safety and healing and as chief karen

said, safety for all. we're hopeful. i'm hopeful and i hope you're hopeful, too. thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you, beverly, you are a champion for victim rights throughout the city and beyond and we appreciate your efforts. as stated over and over today, proposition 63 is a historic and unprecedented step forward for gun safety in california. this really is an effort to bring agencies together to ensure the safety of the residents of this jurisdiction. and we are certainly proud to be part of that. since the implementation of this mandate, the adult probation department has received 63 referrals for investigation. we see all kinds of people come through the department and

people referred and it is critically important to work together to identify where individuals have legal weapons and illegal weapons in their possession that are going to result in crimes and death. we support and applaud the support that we have from our board of supervisors and from our criminal justice agencies. each of them has been a viable partner in making this proposition a reality in terms of how we can implement and save lives. the adult probation department is pleased to partner in this process of removing guns from prohibited persons. we look forward to the collaboration with the sheriff department, police department, board and mayor farrell in making this a reality. we thank you for attending today to support the city's efforts in this initiative. we certainly at the close of this press conference will be open to questions. so again, thank you so much for being here and supporting the

effort. and we look forward to the collaboration in the future. thank you. [applause]