[gavel] >> all right, welcome to our land use committee of, i'm katy tang, to my right is jane kim and to my left, asha safai. we would like to thank sf gov

tv. any announcements? >> be sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. items acted upon will appear on the may 1 supervisors board agenda. item number 1 is ordinance amending the building code to extend the times for existing buildings, extension of time deadlines, deletion of administration fees and directing the clerk of the board to forward this ordinance to the california building standards commission. >> supervisor tang: i wanted to explain it. i passed out packets, outlining the amendments. back in $2015, we work with the mayor on disability, the department of building inspection, of which we have representatives, the access

appeals, small business community, sf public works. we had so many people involved in crafting what i thought was the most comprehensive legislation around accessibility in the nation back in 2015. since passing the legislation, we've actually amended already one time to extend the time line for compliance. and the program was modelled off the seismic safety program and has three components. one is that places of public accommodation must submit a checklist identifying where they may have accessibility issues or not. secondly, they must obtain building permit and thirdly -- sorry, secondly file for a building permit and thirdly obtain the building permit. all of this was in an attempt to make sure our businesses are available to people who have disabilities, who need accessible entrances as is

required by law under state and federal law. and also, it was in response to many of the litigation that came about throughout the state of california, around what we're calling drive-by lawsuits, where people are going around literally to buildings and seeing if your entrance complies or not. so this legislation really was to identify or to address really two different kinds of goals, which again, was to help small businesses or business in general being more available and open to those with accessibility issues, but also with the drive-by lawsuits. today i have a set of amendments. the main crux of the amendments are extend the time line fort different types of compliance tiers that we have. so for example, if you fall into category 1 building, your new date would be january 1, 2019. category 2 is also january 1,

2019. category 3, june 1, 2019 and category 4, december 31, 2019. you have an amendment chart in front of you. we're pegging some of the definitions such as the place of public accommodation and what hardships are to other codes, so regardless of our legislation locally, or what happens on a state or federal level that these definitions are amply clear, clearly defined in san francisco. we also wanted to just further clarify if buildings are to comply with seismic safety, the program that you as a prorlt property owner would be working to have your front entrance in compliant and we clarified the section on that. and then of course, we know that although the onus is on the

property owner and/or the business for complains, we want to -- clienompliance, we want t make sure they have 30 days notice, if they have to make and irremediable yat the entrance way or the sidewalk. we want to make sure the small business tenants understand what it may be. we're not trying to harm small businesses, we're trying to help them. because when there is a lawsuit brought forward, the responsibility can fall on either the property owner or the small business tenant. so with that, colleagues, we have a representative from dbi. if you have questions, we can go to public comment. mr. sean, any other remarks? >> i would say the department is

appreciative of this consideration, supervisor. we have had a number of small businesses and property owners come back to the building department and request additional time beyond the may 23 date. a lot of this has to do with notifications and people paying attention. per your reference to the program, which has a september 15 deadline for each of the different tiers, we know that people often wait until literally september 12 or 14 before they'll submit for the september 15 deadline. so, i know we have done two notifications and four or five public workshops so far. we have another public workshop in may and our annual earthquake safety fair will have a special workshop on june 13 as well. so we're increasing the notification aspect in order to try to get more of these

responses in from property owners. and we do appreciate the extra time. >> ok, thank you very much. and i neglected to say that we're also in the legislation waiving the building inspection permit fee as well in regards to this program. so i want to thank you because we have been trying to work with dbi on outreach. they actually have on their website, a link to the video, so if you're a property owner or small business owner that needs to comply with the legislation and you can't make it to the workshop, that information is available onlinement without any further questions or comments, we'll go to public comment on item number 1. any members of the public who wish to speak in -- to speak? ok. >> hi. good afternoon i guess, supervisors. i want to say i am pleased, this

has been extended by the period that you proposed, supervisor tang. we have 12,000 places that will be subject to possibly requiring the upgrade for the accessibility to the store fronts. so i really appreciate your improving this and happy to here that the things will be eliminated. supervisor, in the long run it's good legislation. hopefully it will save these drive-by lawsuits and that way small businesses will benefit. i am the president of the council of district merchants association. >> supervisor tang: thank you very much. and again, just to clarify, this is only the dbi fee that we're waiving. there may be other fees, but today, only dbi. we will close public comment.

item 1, colleagues, if we can get a motion on the amendments first. >> i'd like this make a motion to amend. >> supervisor tang: we'll do that without objection. and then on the item as amended? >> i'd like this make a motion to move, i wanted to thank supervisor tang for your work on this. this is incredibly important for us to do, another way to support small businesses here. while it is really important that meet the mandatory access, for so many reasons, we know this has been such a challenge for small businesses that are in old spaces and buildings that preexisted these mandate. thank you for pushing this forward. >> supervisor tang: if we can pass this out as a committee report. that would be great. we'll do that without objection.

>> thank you, item number 1. >> the resolution establishing the leather and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender cultural district. >> supervisor kim: thank you so much. we have been -- well, first of all, i should start with a little bit of history. this has now been a little over a decade in the making. the concept of a leather cultural district was first introduced through the neighborhood community planning process starting in 2007. so this was a part of the promise of the western soma plan to recognize the historic contributions of the leather community in particular, as well as the lgbtq community to the development of the western soma neighborhood, with bars ranging from the stud to the eagle to so many iconic venues along with

the fulsome street fair, this neighborhood has been made stronger and more interesting because of our leather and lgbt community. after the passage of the western soma plan in 2012, we have been spending quite a bit of time, figuring out what it meant to build out a social cultural district. it's a great concept, but it's making it into a living breathing district, so it's not just a series of monuments and street signs. it's challenging, how do we grow small business that cater to this community? how do we build housing and services to ensure that members of the community continue to live in western south market. so this process has been with the community for several years, but in particular the community has been meeting in ernest over the last 18 months to try to bring this to fruition. i want to recognize the many

community members that are here today for engaging in so many meetings, on doing something very different. it's very easy to set up social cultural historic district, but it's quite a different thing to put into place a series of mechanisms an incentives to ensure this community continues to thrive and live and play in the western south market. so i want to acknowledge the group that is here today. this ordinance does more than honor the people, places and institution that gave south market its distinct appeal. it will help protect the remains businesses and sustain the people who work, live and recreate here. the goals of providing affordable housing, protecting our bars and clubs, which is more than just night life. they're also safe spaces for our community, a place where people come to and feel they can be who they are without being attacked

or criticized. and also, figuring out how to create a new community center. and also support institutions like folsom street fair. i mentioned the process began last year. we submitted the first draft in 2017 and did not get a response from any of the departments or commissions to our initial referral. i want to recognize gail rueben as well as bob gold farb and make it clear we're naming is the lgbtq leather district and want to recognize jeff shi hi. i want to recognize the collaborators. eric will, braylon, dawn, bess, jonathan, nate, steve, alex,

david, and rand as well as the san francisco bay area leather alliance, center for sex and culture and it has been moving along a parallel course. and finally, want to recognize bobby lopez, legislative staffer, and shelly. also say that there are many cooks in the kitchen to make something this big an fabulous happen in the western south market and i'm proud to be authoring this ordinance today. so, seeing there are no comments or questions from community members, i was hoping to open up for public comments. i have a series of speakers cards.

[reading of names] please come up to the mic. it doesn't have to be in the order that i called your name. >> thank you so much for that beautiful summary of how this came to be, that was well done. thank you. good afternoon, thank you for the opportunity to speak, i am a longtime san francisco resident. i have a background as author and writer, community organizer, educator, in various members of the leather and lesbian. and the news weekly, my roots in the leather world are deep. i'm here to add my support to the creation of the historic

leather community. certainly the past decades have shown that our city is ready to stand with their lgbtq citizens. i contend that the leather community deserves similar respect and acknowledgment, especially in san francisco. the market is a well known beacon of light for the countless men and women who identify with leather. by leather, i mean the strong bonded community both locally and nationally that consider these identity and social structures to be vital to the full expression of who they are. their history that brought them to the present time and the current businesses, nonprofits argueses and events that -- organizations and events that support. i urge you to vote for the resolution to move onto the board of supervisors for

consideration and vote. thank you for your time and thank you for the beautiful summary. >> supervisor kim: thank you for being here. >> i have lived here since 1986. i came to visit san francisco to see a friend. i did not plan on staying. after a week, i was at the gay pride celebration in june and the vibrancy and life of the city's gay community persuaded me to stay here. as i stayed i found i was attracted to the leather community. this community is incredibly strong and vibrant and supportive. the resolution before the committee is to support the creation of a leather and lgbt cultural district. san francisco has long been on the forefront of the historical, it was in san francisco that gay men and women flocked to the

city to create community. you all know about the castro and the pope district neighborhood, but you might not have heard of south market. this is also a community district. its working class neighborhood of run down warehouses became fertile ground for the leather community to open bars and businesses. this neighborhood fostered the growth of the recognized subculture that had its own mayor. i want to say that again. globally recognized subculture. alan shelby moved here from england and started the famous store leather and was officially known to the friends and people of the community as the mayor of -- [bell ringing] -- the neighborhood is also unique in the culture and will facilitate the businesses and people instrumental to its implementation, but will also create communities that will support -- sorry.

i'm sorry, i lost my place here. >> supervisor kim: it's ok. [bell ringing] >> -- vibrant subculture to stay in the district. i urge you to vote to pass this. >> supervisor kim: thank you very much. >> i'm steve gains and i wanted to let you know that my husband here of 27 years is with me and we were both brought -- both pulled into san francisco because san francisco leather community has always been such a leader in the world. and right now, we feel very, very threatened, threatened by the new development and we don't want to stop the new development. what we want to do is have a leather cultural district so we can be included in the new development.

and this is really important to us and the next generation of leather people who are moving to san francisco because this is the best leather community in the world. thank you. >> supervisor kim: i agree. and i apologize for separating your last name. thank you. >> good afternoon, my name is guy. thank you for the opportunity to speak. this means a lot to me. because san francisco is my chosen home. where i group up. i would never even have this opportunity to speak. i came to san francisco for university first, and this is the place where i found out i was gay. then i found out i was -- that i'm into leather.

and then i went home. i went back to singapore. i realized that was not where my heart is. that my heart belongs to san francisco. i came back here because this is where my family is, the leather community means the world to me. and i've seen it changed a lot. i've lived here for 25 years. change is always good and bad. i've seen the economic growth in san francisco. which is great for san francisco, but at the same time with economic growth it has threatened the lifestyle and the cultural vibrancy of this city. which draws many people here. why i think -- [bell ringing] --

it's important to have this cultural district, never mind for my personal interest, but economically it makes sense when a city as vibrant and when it has many layers of cultural offerings, it draws people here, it draws tourists here, it draws money here. so for that reason, i urge you to -- [bell ringing] -- support this cultural institution, thank you very much. >> my name is jeff millard, i was mr. san francisco leather last year and the first runner-up at mr. international leather. i speak for myself for a second and also some former mr. san franciscos, the current, former and current ms. san francisco in asking you to support this

measure. i got to travel the world during my title year. literally the world. and everyone knew mr. san francisco leather, because we are the heart and soul of the international leather movement. no matter where i went, australia, europe, canada, all over the u.s., everyone knew who mr. san francisco leather was, not because i'm special, but because the title is special and leather in san francisco is special. next month, i will be moving out of the bay area because 100% service connected veteran, i can't afford to live in the bay area. my income is not going up. but prices here are. and that's the story of leather right now. we're under threat of losing the heart and soul, much of the heart and soul of the international leather community because we're losing leather

folk here who can't afford to stay. if we don't do something actively to hold onto our culture, we're going to lose it. that terrifies me. [bell ringing] i strongly ask you to support the measure and help us preserve the heart and soul of the international leather community here in san francisco. thank you. >> supervisor kim: thank you, i'm going to call a few more speaker cards that i have in front of me. david, ryan -- i might have called this, grailen, rover, eric, paul, daniel, safaio. >> good afternoon, i'm a native of the bay area and speak on the behalf of the filipino cultural

heritage district and the community that has called south market home for more than a century. we like to support the lgbt and leather cultural district. our neighbors in the south of market, the filipino heritage district seek to represent the needs of long established communities that have faced continuous displacement. representatives have been working with other cultural districts to form legislation that goes to committee may 9 that provides for a framework of establishments in the city. san francisco enjoys a great legacy of cultural celebration, support for all persons and we're glad to stand with

>> hi, thank you. my name is grailen. i'm a long time resident of san francisco. and a member of onyx which is a leather community organization for gay and bisexual male identified people of color. as a descendant of slaves, slafrers and misplaced indigenous people, i fully understand the necessity of preserving one's culture, with whether that culture is biological or culture of citizens of a lifestyle bond. living in the time when fear and certainty and this trust of government trickles down from the highest office, the

preservation of the history, lifestyle and culture of the citizens becomes even more crucial. the gay and bisexual leather communities were obliterated in the latter part of the last century, but today we're witnessing a resurgence of life as young people define and live alternative lifestyles, which many would characterize as leather. years from now, those young people, many of them people of color, will look back on this day in history and know those who could make a difference made a difference by creating a leather cultural district that they could call home. thank you. >> supervisor kim: thank you so much. >> good afternoon, my name is

ryan. i'm current president of the bay area business alliance. i came to san francisco almost 13 years ago and part of the lower san francisco is because it is what it is known for, the leather community and all the people that came together to make the community. i want to be part of the community and i helped -- i established a cafe called wicked grounds, kinky coffee shop and boutique. in this became a place for people who didn't have a place to go, to feel safe, to be part of. i realize that the leather community is not for everyone, but the important thing about it, it accepts anyone who wants to be part of it. i very much support this and hope we can move forward as best we can, thank you. >> supervisor kim: thank you.

>> my name is david, i'm on the board of the san francisco bay area leather alliance. working on this project has prompted me to think about the meaning of leather culture and what the leather folk here have built and shared with the world. just wearing leather, latex or other gear can give one new appreciation for how humans express themselves through their appearance. it has helped many to find new self-respect and the phenomenon that thrives in our bars has been a big part of the awakening. surviving aids has challenged us to find ways to physically love one another responsibly and creatively. and clarified our obligations to protect our own health and one another's. they seem to have urge to share information, we give one another

countless classes and information on safer techniques and offer life saving warnings. open openly discussing our own kinks helps others to do likewise. this strange melting pot around fulsome street continues to bring us together, to work and play and organize, despite or perhaps because of the vast and obvious differences in how we look and what turns us on. perhaps our greatest contribution to 21st century culture, putting aside art, was the exploration of consent, that helps us appreciate our autonomy and respect the boundaries of others. it has helped people explore their gender and understand the wants and needs and likes and dislikes. many of us believe our exposure

has made us more interconnected with one another. [bell ringing] i ask you to recognize the importance of having a neighborhood that welcomes us and encourages us to be our best selves. let us be a reminder that san francisco still loves freedom and embraces true diversity. thank you. >> hello, supervisors, my name is eric. thank you for hearing. i'm here representing the board of the san francisco leatherman discussion group, we've been providing programming, information and outlet for kink-identified folks for 21 years now and we're in support of this. i'm going keep it short. i'm so proud to be part of this community and some of the things everybody has said and for you, supervisor kim, thank you very much, we're in support of it and hope everybody else is, too.

>> supervisor kim: thank you. >> hello there, i'm daniel. golden gate guard since 1976. a three-year resident. i'm very much in support ever the leather district. i'm not much of a big speaker in front of people, but i'm glad to see my leather family here today. i won't take too much of your time, but the people in this room, take me in when i'm homeless and hungry, living on the street, in my car. my leather family comes to defend me every time i needed them, talking, counseling and i made wonderful friendships and i consider all these people here in this room my family. i just want to let you know that. that's all i have. thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors, my name is paul, i'm a resident of san francisco, since 1993. i'm a district 6 registered

voter, a homeowner, a retail business owner with head offices within the proposed lgbtq leather district. in the late 1980s i experienced a unique and vibrant leather culture of soma. this magical city drew me in to make san francisco my permanent home. more importantly, as an officer, i'm here on behalf of the association of professional services, the association of piercers is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to dissemination of health on body piercings. we represent millions around the world, in an industry estimated to be $1 billion annually. i'm the founder and chair of the body piercing archive, we

collect the material involving histories of body piercing. to ensure the artifacts are available to generations. having lectured, as well as written articles for periodicals since the mid 1990s, i'm considered to be the leading or leading historian for body piercing. it is widely accepted that the industry's community's routes extend from the lgbtq and leather communities. without them, there never would have been body piercing. much of the history takes place within the boundaries of this proposed cultural district. i have available a map of 29 historic locations with supporting documentation, many of these locations are in addition to the groups previously prepared resolution. i am also here to represent -- [bell ringing].

>> supervisor kim: thank you. >> -- considered the father of modern primitives, his intense i have ivesed -- it's imperative we protect. >> supervisor kim: thank you. >> hello. i'm a recent transplant to san francisco. i came here about a year ago and i did come here because of this leather community or in the search of a leather community and arrived on a bicycle with essentially nothing. i lived on the streets for a time and made my way into a homeless shelter. from there, i began my quest to explore community through that. i began a gender transition from homeless shelter and this community has literally at times

been the only thing there for me in the form of support. i'm now the volunteer at the exiles and our meetings are continuing to turn toward the search for a place to provide educational opportunities for people who, like me, were once new to the community. and to a part of themselves that they may have been shut out of, or are discovering. i would like to voice my concern, that i am seeing things erode that aren't easy to replace once the beings that are here now are no longer there to maintain and adapt to the situation and maintain the opportunities that are available now. we're not going to be able to continue in this capacity. >> supervisor kim: thank you.

i'm going to call a few more cards. brian, rachel, ken, rand. who i think may have spoken. dan and these are all the speaker cards, if i did not call your name, feel free to line up. >> thank you. my name is brook. i'm the executive director of nonprofit based here in san francisco called place lab. our mission is to empower communities to create and sustain great public spaces. i am a nonprofit working with the leather lgbtq community for the past four years on a project of importance to the neighborhood and community, eagle plaza. eagle plaza will be a new pedestrian public plaza on what is now 12th street between harrison and bernice in western soma. it will provide a much needed

gathering space. and will be a space to recognize, memorialize and celebrate leather lgbtq culture. we're held up in the public works department for reasons unclear to us. friends of eagle plaza who represent a broad swath of the western soma community are in support of the plaza. we have over 200 letters of support. and we all recognize that eagle plaza will be important if not critical component of the leather cultural district. we are thrilled to support the leather cultural district and i urge you to approve the district to honor, support and celebrate the unique and special culture that deserbs recognition and protection. thank you. >> supervisor kim: thank you. >> hello, supervisors, brian with the cue foundation. we're here to speak in strong support of this measure and also to pay our respects to people

who without their efforts this would not have really come through. so nate is not in the room, but his strategy behind this has been incredible and he's one of the smartest, hardest working people i know. so many others were involved in this. as you know, the cue foundation threw the first stone when we filed the first appeal. the strategy was always comptons, soma and the castro and it seems like this is flowing and i'm happy. it's also important to know this is only begins with culture. this is not the end. this is the beginning. the strategy always included community building preservation, that through organizing and engagement with the community we also need to own the businesses

in our neighborhoods, because lgbt-owned businesses are one of the best protections against employment discrimination for members of our community. also it's imperative we own the housing that is in our neighborhoods, because the data is showing we're not getting fair and equitable access to all housing resources. the dignity fund shows we're the lowest access rates in the city. we're going to own our own buildings and make sure that members of our community have access to the services and thank you all again for support. this is awesome. >> supervisor kim: thank you. >> good afternoon, i'm rachel, one of the owners of the stud which is now since the closing of the gangway, the oldest bar in san francisco. i'm so excited to be part of this group of people who are feeling passionate about fighting displacement and maintaining our career spaces,

but we definitely need support from the city and, supervisor kim, you've been so helpful in supporting what we're doing, but i think this legislation is going to provide the support we need to keep these kind of spaces open. so thank you so much. >> supervisor kim: thank you and thank you for your work in saving the stud. >> hi, my name is rand hunt, thank you for the opportunity to address you. i went to high school in west texas in a place where the nearest movie theater was 80 miles away, where everyone in town was a southern baptist and i feared for my life every day. and i wanted to come to san francisco because i knew i would be safe there. and it was our capital city. i went on to study community development and i came here right after college, it's been about ten years.

i didn't intend to use my community development skills in this context. but i came to san francisco and found myself following a plague. i don't have enough elders right now. and my culture is vanishing quickly. and this isn't just my culture, this is your culture, because san francisco holds the flag internationally as the capital city. and in the ten years i've been here, i've seen it diminished. yearly. through lack of housing, through lack of access to resources. i've seen this city preserve neighborhood character by sacrificing demographics. and i want to stand here in favor of housing. i want to use my skills in favor of housing so there is room for everyone. if we lose that capital city

flag, our economy is going to be hurt. dramatically. we're here to save the city. >> supervisor kim: thank you, mr. hunt. >> hi, supervisors, don. past president of the san francisco bay area leather alliance and sister indulgence since the early 90s. i've been around the community since the 7 0es and seen it gone through many iterations. and i want to look forward with this cultural district. it's about preserving the past, what is here now and growing for the future so we can continue to be the capital city of not only lgbtq communities, but of the leather and bdsm communities around the world. people look to us for guidance, how to produce events, they look to san francisco for how to form vibrant organizations. and educational organizations

for the leather community. our organizations are struggling right now because we don't have enough places to gather. places to meet. social places, nonprofit office space that is expensive. all these things that feature into the changing economic picture of the city. starting this leather cultural district will help us in that aspect so we can work with developers and work with other property owners to ensure that we maintain our community spaces as well as form public spaces. also, so that people moving into the neighborhood are aware of what they're moving into and are more supportive of it in general. so we don't have complaints to the street fairs and have a supportive wider community that will also patronize the lgbt and leather businesses in the neighborhood. that will ensure that the businesses survive and thrive and grow and new businesses will

come and move in. making over the next 10-20 years a really, really vibrant global destination in south market area. i encourage you to support this and thank you for your time. hello, i'm the general manager for mr. s leather. thank you -- >> i shop at your store [laughter]. >> thank you very much. i have a latex skirt i need to take care of. your employees have been kind in giving me guidance with their products. thank you. >> thank you. as you probably know, mr. s has occupied now four locations in western soma for the past 39 years. we've grown a lot in that time.

staff is currently about 80 individuals. and there is a couple of things that are pretty critical for the survival of our business, employees that can afford to live in the area. and customers who want to wear our goods to the bars. the rising cost of housing in san francisco is dwindling. our resources for the former. and without a vibrant leather scene we also risk losing the latter. soma has had a rich leather history for well over 50 years and it's important to solidify that heritage for the long-term. i'm here today in support of leather cultural district to ensure not only our business, but my personal sense of community. thank you again. >> supervisor kim: thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is angel. i'm the current president of the

sf bay leather lines as well as san francisco girls of leather. i am also will, which is women's international leather legacy. i just came up from international miss leather out in san jose, so i'm happy to make it here and share our support as the girls of leather as well as the bay leather alliance in this cultural district. and to note that part of what my job was, as women's international leather legacy was to document women's history that has been lost. and to find that. and to be in san francisco and to preserve that by having people be able to stay here and international miss leather moved from san francisco because we lost our space because it was unaffordable and to have that continuity of that history of women and people participating in our community, has had impact

and i would love to see what we can do to maintain and preserve our history here. and continue to see it grow and people be able to come and for women specifically to find a safe space and support as they maneuver through the world of leather and finding out who they are and to be able to provide community spaces to do that and comradery. thank you for your time. >> supervisor kim: thank you. >> hello. i'm milo. i'm here speaking on behalf of district 6. and we really support the establishment of this district. it's great community, we're really happy and proud to have a leather community in district 6. and it's just filled with so many inspiring, wonderful, beautiful people and it's a true treasure. so, this is -- will be great improvement to move forward with

the establishment of this cult really district, thank you. -- cultural, thank you. >> i'm bob, i'm the compare of the leather group, for the leather cultural district and i chair the young leatherman's discussion group and former president of the fulsome street fair. i've been active member of the leather community for more than 20 years. and i've a long history of volunteering and fundraising in the local elect are community which is a community that i love and the reason i moved here in 1997. i want to express my support for passage of the resolution. and the resolution will help preserve and revitalize san francisco's famous leather culture, which draws visitors from around the world throughout the year.

at its peak, there were more than 30 leather businesses in the soma area. this part of san francisco's diversity is currently threatened by rising rent and redevelopment and the leather and lgbt district offers opportunity to save one of the unique features that make this a place we all love to call home. please vote for the resolution, establishing the cultural district. thank you. >> supervisor kim: thank you. >> hi. i'm steven. i'm strongly in favor of this cultural district, it's essential that government acts to protect cultural groups in the city from being displaced. and as we continue to grow the city and welcome new people, it's important to have districts like this to ensure that these

cultures are not lost and that there is room for everyone to participate and come here if this is where they -- where you need to be to be your true self. i'm glad it's happening and strongly support it. >> supervisor kim: thank you. >> hello, i was wondering if preserving existing spaces might lead to allocation of tax revenue toward subsidizing long existing bars, restaurants, et cetera and if that is an appropriate way to expend tax dollars. also may not subsidy lead to new market, experiencing distinct advantage in light of the former government subsidies and might this lead to more empty store fronts and less business

formation over time? >> supervisor kim: thank you. is there any other members of the public that would like to speak on item number 2? all right, seeing none -- oh, yes. if you'd like to speak, come up, otherwise we may close public comment. and we don't want to do that before everyone speaks. >> sorry about that, good afternoon. i moved to san francisco in 1978. during that time, i met my husband south of market, we were able to get married, establish our home together, and today, is the anniversary of his passing. so i had to come up and speak on his behalf to encourage this movement. i was also fortunate to meet my fiance south of market at the fulsome street fair and we were engaged in a fair. so i have a long connection to the leather community.

and i would encourage you all to move this effort forward. thank you very much. >> supervisor kim: thank you. >> good afternoon. i'm blade. i've worked in the leather community for decades. first in arizona and now in san francisco. as you can see, i'm a member of the leatherman's discussion group. i'm on the board as well as being an active mentor in the mentor program. i'm not going to take up a lot of time, you have been so patient in hearing everybody's views on everything and their passion, which you can see from the room, it's full. we have businesses, and all different members of this diverse community urging you. so all i ask is that you please go forward with this and support this resolution. thank you. >> supervisor kim: thank you.

any other members before the last speaker? >> my name is tina. i'm in the process of -- i'm in the process of trying to find a new place to live right now. and it is really hard. i came here because this was a place that i felt my heart was to. i had to leave several years, i came back, i work two jobs, over full-time, and just seeing this district come together has been an amazing experience. i co-chaired the governance committee in the middle of writing the bylaws.

i've helped write mission statements for the cultural district. this is my home. so i urge you to keep this a home. thank you. >> supervisor kim: thank you, tina. [applause] seeing no other members of the public that would like to speak, if we can close public comment. public comment is closed. i just want to thank members of the public for your incredibly moving testimonial and the immense amount of work you put into being here today. as i mentioned, it's not easy to contemplate a completely different type of cultural social district, one that is more than plaques and statues. we don't just want to commemorate the past, we want the diversity of our communities

to continue to live in the south of market. and i think that work is so much harder to do than just recognizing our history, which we could have just done and walked away from. but i think, tina, your story about struggling to live in the city that you feel that you're a part of and you feel safe in and embraced you is a big conundrum in san francisco today. it's great to be a progressive city, liberal city, but what is the point of having the best policies in the world if people can't afford to live here? this district is just one of the tools that we're trying to create. really trying to create something that doesn't exist, to protect what we love about san francisco. we don't want san francisco to be a city of just the rich and very rich and look monolithic. we made the city and all of you have been deeply embedded in the

creation of the culture that makes people want to come here and create jobs here and open businesses here. and has been this beacon for so many americans. you came here because you believed san francisco was the city, where your accepted for who you are, love who you want to love and choose to love. so i just want to thank you so much for the moving testimonial. i cannot reiterate enough our thanks and gratitude for the work. the work is not easy. the dialogue is not easy and coming together is not easy, but we're doing it because we believe in it and this is just the beginning of the establishment. i see supervisor ronen wants to make a comment. >> supervisor ronen: thank you. i just wanted to briefly express

my support and incredible enthusiasm for the leather district and to thank supervisor kim for bringing this forward. i am the author of legislation that is pending right now around all the cultural districts in the city. putting kind of a form and function and sort of official nature to these cultural districts which really are sort of this new creative tool of protecting these rich communities in san francisco that are under siege. and to just see the alliance that has formed between the latino cultural district, which is in my district 9 with the cafeteria, with the filipino, with the leather district and japan town and we know there is more coming is just a beautiful thing. it's all the parts of san francisco that make our city, our city, and make it special and unique in the world. and to be creating a tool to preserve our uniqueness