and i look forward to the opportunity of sitting down with commissioner richards. i like the opportunity of sitting down with both sides. it's something i value and try to do in my jobs, as well. supervisor yee touched on a lot of questions i have. obviously, we see the pull of wanting to build more housing because we are in a housing crisis, and the complaints that are driven by neighborhood input and neighborhoods blocking housing and things like that. so my questions for both of you are how do we balance that? we know we have a need for housing, but there are a lot of people in the city that actually value neighborhood input, and a lot of them are my constituents. so i want to know how we can better balance that. and are there steps we can take

internally because a lot of times what i'm seeing, we look at what can we do to address what's going on out there, but are we really looking at the planning department to see what we can do to help move the process along? sometimes it's unpredictable, and there's not a lot of predictability built into that. and then, i have one more question, but i'll let you start there. >> commissioner richards: okay. so the first question -- i apologize, there was a lot there. was around. >> supervisor stefani: balancing the need to build housing based on everything we're seeing with the process ordinance, sb 827. what are your feelings on how do we balance that, and what can we do going forward? >> commissioner richards: so i like reverse engineering. what is it that we've actually experienced and what has been the result, and i'll go out to sit with some neighbors, and

they'll raise a bunch of issues, and i'll say, what are you trying to accomplish here? if they say better liveability, they kind of strike a chord with me. i think if it stops the development, it kind of stops the conversation with me. i like at the d.r.'s, and it's a good way to do this. how many times did we take d.r., what was the project for, and was it fore the berment of the community or not? that's really going to help us try and understand how and where public input is beneficial and the projects are actually better. i know we take d.r. probably one in five or six times, and it may just be 3 feet or 2 feet, or in the case of russell, 7/16 of an inch, but the project was better. so i think also, the department -- we had a lot of d.r.s around roof decks, and so

the department has now taken -- we say hey, when we keep establishing a policy around every decision, we keep taking roof decks and altering them, the department's not going to have a policy on roof decks, and we understand. i think those are the things that we want to provide certainty to the people actually providing the roof deck on, when they come to the commission, this is generally what they're going to feel, they think. i like that kind of a situation. that's reverse engineering in a different way: what has the pattern of the commission been. i think the worst thing, where they d.r. your neighbor's roof deck, and they cut it back. but the unengaged neighbor doesn't d.r., and they don't cutback their roof deck. >> supervisor stefani: that's great. roof decks, that's something that happening in the cow hollow. >> three hours, 42 minutes, the

longest hearing we've had on a roof deck. >> supervisor stefani: predictability, if we could do something around that so people know what to expect. the other question i had, what can we do to better understand how units are being taken off the market through projects that are being approved. and what i'm seeing people complaining about in my district is a lot of these two unit, three unit, four unit buildings are going through the process and they're getting improved, but it's not a two unit or three unit or four unit building, it's a monster home. i don't feel that's being looked at in a way that's constructive, and i don't think that it's being enforced at all, and i'm just wondering how we can prevent from happening. >> commissioner richards: so the flats policy schmidt gate that, i believe -- flats

policy, i believe we put in place will remedy that. i think we have a vacancy problem in the city. we had spur and the department in 2014 study that -- realize that we have about 25,000 vacant units in the city. i think we can account for neighbor nine or 10 of those thousand, but the other 15,000, we can't account for, why they're sitting empty. we have some new construction. we have this in vancouver, seattle, other cities, maybe 20% of those units aren't even occupied. so i truly believe with public data, we can tell who lives in a unit, whether it's occupied, whether it's just being held as a land banking or an investment from somebody outside of the area, and i believe we need to address that issue somehow.

vancouver placed a vacancy tax on their vacant unit. i believe we need to take some step nz that. -- steps in that. i talk to some people in the yimby unit, and they say well, that's 5%. we need to address what we've -- just like the entitlements, we need to address what we already have before we keep trying to take on more. you know, what is the reason why units are sitting vacant? >> supervisor safai: i have a question for commissioner moore, yes, please. thank you, commissioner, you might want to pull the microphone down. so i appreciated the conversation we had the other day, and i was appreciative of all of your international experience that you bring as well as all the work that you've done in san francisco. so i first want to say i think

that perspective is very important. so one of the questions that i have is this is me as a city planner in the work that i've done here locally in a number of different positions. what do you think are some of the biggest missed opportunities over the last 20 years from the perspective of planning in our city? i'll start. not to catch you off guard, i think that when i look at mission bay, for example, i think every time i ride through there, i think maybe we didn't do enough in terms of the level of affordability, in terms of the design. like, i just -- i have -- i actually have a very visceral reaction when i look at some of the design in those buildings. i think d-- i understand the design and the location, and the research. i think that was very thoughtful, but when it came to the amount of housing, and the amount of housing we could have, and the height and the

density and the mix of incomes, i see that as a really big missed opportunity, particularly because it was redevelopment land. it wasn't just private land, it was redevelopment land, so that's what i mean. >> commissioner moore: i appreciate your explaining yourself and giving more subtlety to the question. let me say that we are blessed with a number of very, very good plans in the city. most and foremost, i think our urban design planners are strong and exemplary for the rest of the country. since that i am too, we have served many good plans. while they serve for a period of time, they then sit on the shelf and they are not used as guiding documents in areas like mission bay, which had six or ten plans by noted architects and planners, all of which were overturned as time went by, and we like to jump on the new things without looking at

things that we have. one of the plans that i appreciated for its thoroughness was, for example, the rincon hill plan, which the current planning commission, many times, finds itself discussing exactions and exemptions to a really good plan, and good plans are there to give guidance over time to area that's need to be built out, but they don't need exactions or exemptions while they're being implemented. we have the same thing, and anybody that is here from the variety of neighborhoods, we have a number of very, very good plans, except we have to fight each time for these plans to be recognized and be the guiding documents in order to implement these plans over time. mission way is one of the them. i think while the idea of putting ucsf has a research institution into mission bay was a great idea, unfortunately i'm going to be very critical, and i'm going to say, and i've said it before, it is turning

into little more than a suburban office park. >> supervisor safai: right. >> commissioner moore: that is my biggest criticism. the only thing -- and i want to say something positive -- is adding the warriors stadium i think will give a heart to mission bay, and i think it will tie everything along the third street rail corridor together. that is my biggest hope, and then we can move together while we're moving into neighborhoods. that is the common thread. >> supervisor safai: that is a good point. we've had this debate more recently in the last year since i've been on the board, and a number of my colleagues have joined me in the conversation about expanding the opportunities for middle class housing and diversity of housing. and mididle class housing is oe of the hardest housing to finance. we have the tools to finance

lower income housing. we lost one with the redevelopment agency's being gone, but we recreated the trust fund, we have the low-income housing tax credit. the market rate housing, some would argue, we need to do more, and i think that's based on projections of growth, but in terms of where we're meeting the demand, i think we're close to meeting the demand in terms of what we're projected at. and i think we definitely need to be doing more, but when we're talking specifically about those that are working and middle class families, we're falling far short, so i wanted to hear you talk about that a little bit. >> commissioner moore: i think the biggest point to make is that middle class housing and middle class is quicksand. it is disappearing while we're talking about it, and i think we cannot lose the focus that the differences between very low-income housing, low-income housing, and middle class

housing is basically a housing issue, per se. i talked with a member of the german parliament the other day. i was asked to have lunch with them and helping the planning department bridge the gap for time they didn't have. and this gentleman told me that housing is a basic constitutional right. that is not quite the case here, and he tried to talk to me and i was a little bit chill about what we are doing with low-income evictions, what we are doing with ellis act housing, and what we are doing with middle-income housing. for example, leaving a unit empty for more than three months in their definition is an intent of change of use. and it's a very kind of heavy weighted decision because that allows, in their environment, people to basically be fined and be fined to the extent that people are really serious

trying to stay away from having empty units. if we have a housing shortage for all lower and middle-income housing, then i think we need to start a serious look at the large amount of vacancy that we have in the area of 35 or 40,000 or more. i can tell you where i live, i can look around 360°, and it's dark where it used to be light. there's a huge amount of vacant homes which indeed can capture the entire spectrum that you were just trying to address, and i think that would be a very immediately available element, and i think commissioner richards also touched on that, how do we deal with existing vacancies and bring those units back to the market instantaneously. >> supervisor safai: have i not looked at the tape or been at any of the commission

meeting in terms of over the last couple of years with the central soma plans, but i think there's some criticism out there that you're probably aware of that people feel there's not enough housing in the current proposal. and i'd like to know how you feel about that. i know the district supervisor, kim, is doing everything she can to change some of the zoning. i understand from some of the planning and zoning, the downtown corridor makes the most sense to locate office buildings, and we have some idea about office buildings and how they should be shaped, for sure, but just want to hear what you think about the level of housing and the density that's being proposed there. >> commissioner moore: let me say that what is in front of us is a plan that is based on an approved e.i.r., and an e.i.r. is a qualitative and

quantitative document that gives us some guidelines of what we need to do. the proportionality of office and housing is properly done when this particular document was started. it's something we all questioned. however, if you add more housing, you will have to balance that with a decrease in what an e.i.r. allows you or not allows you to do. tuning the e.i.r. over time to really looking at an actual better balance between life and work, which many of us in the hours and hours of e.i.r. review brought up again and again, we all believe there is a better balance of life-work, which we have all ignored in every project over the years, but this project is large enough where we can continue to carefully reexamine what it means. on the other hand, we need to

admit to ourselves, we have a very, very rich smorgasbord of community benefits in this particular plan. and as we all know, there are uses which are ultimately capable of funding it. we may have to have a slightly slimmer diet or tighten our belt in order to create a better balance for the housing we need, and perhaps eating a little less in community benefits. that is, i think, the only answer i have, and we have not any plans to change the e.i.r. process, so it is what it is. it's ultimately a balance that is built into an approved e.i.r. >> supervisor safai: i just want to clarify one of your comments. when you say tweak the e.i.r., do you -- no, just let me finish -- allow for -- i understand there's a lot of community benefits. it's gone through over a ten-year process. were you saying after the fact, meaning approve this and then allow for an opportunity to come back and look at the e.i.r. going forward for additional housing?

>> commissioner moore: i really am hesitant to answer that in a yes or no question. i think there has to be a little more subtlety of how that is done, and i in this moment don't have that subtly. >> supervisor safai: i just wanted to know what you mean by tweak the e.i.r. >> no, i didn't mean tweak the e.i.r. we need to approve it, and start the housing or we need to disapprove it and keep the balance of housing in the e.i.r. >> supervisor safai: i don't have any other questions. thank you, commissioner. i'll just say some of the things that we talked about on the record. one of the things that i'm interested in having a conversation about with the planning commission, for the record, is we've been advancing the conversation about accessory dwelling units. i think there was some misunderstanding in the public or not whether going forward, a new construction that maybe did not have any demolition, we could add accessory dwelling

units. i spoke with commissioner moore and commissioner richards. they said they were open to that conversation going forward, so i think we're going to bring that back up because thinking about the opportunity to add density where there is new introduction but not incentivizing any way demolition i think is an important conversation to have. another thing we talked about was what supervisor yee and supervisor stefani talked about in terms of process improvements and how you balance the respect of neighborhoods and neighborhood process and moving forward. i think there's an overarching question and i'll just say for the record i think this is something that the planning commission is dealing with on a daily basis. we have a number of units that are entitled, they've pulled permits. they're in the process of being developed. there's a whole host that have not even begun to pull permits.

why, we need to understand that, but at the same time, there's a question of our population is growing. we are the most rapidly growing city in the united states, but we are bound on three sides by water and an additional county and city. we are confronted by conversations about height and character and neighborhood preservation along with this issue of density, so there is a general question about what is the proper number for san francisco and at the rate and what is the proper rate of growth and balancing that history? but i will say, you know, given the history of the city, when we started out as a city of 10,000 by 1848, and then by 1849, we were pushing 60,000. the rate of change in the gold rush was very different than it was today, but it's very similar. i think the commissioners do a good job in keeping that in mind and balancing it out. i appreciate the comments and

questions and thoughtful comments. and all the public that have come out to comment on questions one and two shows the level of support and the importance of this commission and the importance the role these commissioners play. so any additional comments from commissioners on these items -- i mean, excuse me from supervisors, colleagues? sorry. committee members. okay. so entertain a motion, then. supervisor stefani? >> supervisor stefani: yes. i'd like to approve supervisor yee's nomination for dense i say richard for a four-year term ending july 31, 2022, and approve supervisor fewer's

nomination for kathrin moore for a four term ending july 31, 2022. >> supervisor safai: can we do that without objection? without objection, that matter is sent to the full board of supervisors. please call item three -- oh, maybe we can do three and four together. >> clerk: just to clarify, item one and two have been amended to approve the appointment, and those are forwarded to the full task force with recommendation. item number three is it a motion approving, rejecting the mayor's nomination of the appointment of rodney fong to the planning department for a term ending july 31, 2022, item

four is a motion approving, rejecting the mayor's nomination of the appointment of milicent johnson to the planning department for a term ending july 31, 2022. >> supervisor safai: commissioner fong, please come forward. >> president fong: good afternoon, supervisors. i won't take much of your time, but i think the conversation we just had was a fascinating one, and needs to continue beyond the confirmation appointment. i think the questions you asked are the questions we asked. it's been discussed, balance, some art, some science of how to shape the city going forward. i'm a fifth generation san franciscan. i hate when people say that -- >> supervisor safai: why do you hate it when they say that? they throw that out there? >> president fong: they throw it out there. but my house, and in yours, i'm

dealing with young kids, college kids, i'm dealing with people ageing in place, and we're all dealing with this question, how are our kids going to afford to live in this darn question. my focus on the commission in the last eight years has been future forward, in asking those questions. the questions about you supervisors, what does the future look like? what does it hold? how do we build more housing on top of transit? the topic of transit hasn't come up today, but i think that's a significant piece of solving how large cities continue to grow. i think it's a regional piece. there's job creation in san francisco, but there's still little housing built outside of san francisco, and i think it's incumbent on us to come together regionally to speak with other mayors in other

cities to see how we solve this as an area. i seek your reappointment. it's been a pleasure and honor to serve this. i understand the power and responsibility of this seat and take every single vote with great thought, thinking about who's involved, who it affects, and while i'd like to say sometimes it's a science, it is certainly human compassion that plays a large role in making decisions on a weekly basis. >> supervisor safai: thank you, commissioner. we'll call you back up when we have questions. we'll allow commissioner johnson, thank you. >> commissioner johnson: good afternoon, chair safai, supervisors stefani and yee. thank you so much for hearing me today. i am incredibly honored to have

been renominated by the mayor to the san francisco planning commission, and i am excited to express my qualifications and desire to serve. i was just here a few months ago, but i think it's important for members of the public to hear my story. my passion for public service is inspired by my family and specifically my mother who worked hard to give me the best of everything, even when it was hard to make ends meet. she believed that getting a good education was the best gift she could give me, so when it came time to give me the gift of school, she did her research and moved just a few blocks away where the best school was. it was in that moment where i decided that i wanted to find ways to make sure that everyone who live s in cities has the opportunities that my mother worked hard to give me. a few career highlights, in

college, i majored in social justice studies is did my senior thesis on the legacy of red lining and discrimination and interned at the national housing coalition. my first job out of college was running an asset development program, helping low-income people realize their dream of home ownership. i chaired several interagency working groups on housing enforcement, code enforcement and land use policies. this is where i came to understand the planning process including my share of eight to ten hour public meetings and where i deepened my commitment to building opportunity rich and resilient communities. i came to california in the height of the foreclosure crisis to work for an organize called the green lining institution, and i talked with organizations. i brokered several community reinvestment agreements between financial institutions and

those communities and brought together all members of our community from elected officials to the provide sector to the nonprofit sec to have to create win-win partnerships that invested in and supported the resiliency of those communities. i worked with tipping point community to reunite the private sector to do good in our community and sit them around the table with our city's nonprofit leaders to facilitate partnerships that would address our city's twin challenges of housing affordability and homelessness. i built my career on that. as an african american, a renter, someone who hopes to have a family in the city one day, and a person who has dedicated my career to working in the nonprofit and public secto sectors, i bring a unique complementary perpeculiartispe the commission.

i take great joy in rolling up my sleeves and doing homework, proactively engaging city staff, planning staff, project sponsors and community members and working hard to come to the most thoughtful and balanced determinations. i have been committed to being an open and accessible commissioner because i believe that the solutions to our most challenging problems lie at the intersection of these different stakeholder groups, and i'm committed to developing housing for people of all income levels, focus on expanding our affordable housing stock, and where needed working to build bridges between project support ors, community groups and city agencies to strengthen our collective work and the fabric of our community. it is ultimately my mission to work alongside you and all of our colleagues to do everything we can to create the conditions in which people of all backgrounds and income levels have the opportunities to live, work, and thrive in our beautiful city. and so i humbly ask for your

support in my reappointment to the planning commission. before i close, i just want to note that i submitted for the record a letter in support from tipping point community. i also just want to thank those that have come out to speak on all of our behalves, and to say that i fully support all of my commissioners. it has been a pleasure and honor to work with them. there is a level of integrity and professionalism that i really appreciate, and even if we don't always agree, i know that we will work together, one, to benefit the city, and two to push each other to come to the movst balanced and thoughtful determinations possible. so i fully support them. thank you, and i'm here to answer any questions you might have for me. >> supervisor safai: thank you. commissioner yee? >> supervisor yee: so i think you heard me questions, and i'll try to repeat it. the first one's pretty straightforward. what's your views on neighborhood input in the planning improvement processes? >> commissioner johnson: yes. so you know, i'm fortunate to

be the newest member of the planning commission. and so i'm looking at everything with fresh eyes. so for example, when the mayor's process improvements came before the commission, i was simply able to kind of take a step back and take a moment and say, you know, can you walk us through the moment from when someone applies for preapplication to the moment when we actually sign off and approve their permit, what does the process look like? and little by little as the department began to describe what that looked like, we were able to notice moments where there might be 30-days or 60 days where, you know, a permit might just sit there as we do noticing and other types of things. i think there is a lot we can do internally to improve our processes and figure out how we can amend them to expedite the process. >> supervisor yee: okay. which really answers my second

question, which is about streamlining the processes. and i know we had the discussion already in my office about family friendly housing, meaning families with children. >> commissioner johnson: yes. >> supervisor yee: would you be able to work with your fellow commissioners? >> commissioner johnson: yes. this is something that i shared with you. in my background as a community organizer, i think i've learned two important lessons, which is to define the change you're trying to make in the world, and to be clear about what it's going to take to get there. i think we need better definitions for family housing that take a holistic approach, not only the size and numbers, but making sure they have access to parks, to transit, to libraries, and quality schools. i think better confining definitions like that extends to things like affordable

housing. we know that affordable housing means different things to different communities, including communities that have been traditionally left out of the economic mainstream, making sure we know what we mean by affordable housing, and making sure that folks have access to community serving retail, possible transit, so i'm fully committed to working along with my colleagues to better defining family housing in particular. >> supervisor yee: thank you for your answer. and i have the same questions for commissioner fong, but maybe you have questions. >> supervisor stefani: thank you. it's good to see you again. i know we spoke when you were first up for appointment, and at mayor breed's inauguration, so it's good to see you. i was just thinking about something in terms of zoning in our merchant corridors and having walkable neighborhoods.

and i have a lot of seniors in district two, and there are areas where it's difficult for people to get to a grocery store. and we have a grocery store that recently shutdown. and i -- i just -- when you are considering projects that come before you, i mean, what do you think about in terms of making sure that our neighborhoods are actually walkable? i mean, obviously, there are so many reasons to make our neighborhoods walkable, but what do you think about how you do approach decision making when it comes to making sure that we have access to all types of services and -- in our neighborhoods? >> commissioner johnson: great. thank you for asking that question. that's actually something that's near and dear to my heart. i'm 34 years old, and i don't have a driver's license by choice. i choose to walk everywhere because it's the best way to see the city, and so i think walkability is very important to me. i think we recently had a project in the design district that was being built that was a

really interesting kind of p.d.r. mixed space. and they took the extra step of consulting with walk sf and with the san francisco bike coalition to make sure that the development was actually going to be a benefit to the surrounding community by improving kind of the curb cuts, the walkways, making a very unsafe intersection safe. that's the type of thoughtfulness i think that i look for and that i try to encourage in all of the projects that we see, really, and kind of engaging those stakeholders that can help strengthen projects. so ultimately, when we approve a project, it's something that benefits all of our members of our city. >> supervisor safai: i just want to say for the record, i know i ask a lot of the same questions. you've just been appointed a few months ago, so i think i'm happy to give you an additional term. i know that you've been working hard on the commission. i know that supervisor yee and

stefani asked you a lot of different questions, but i think the most important thing is have you enjoyed being on that commission, because i myself personally, i said this to all of you when i met with you. i mean, we have long meetings here, but i don't -- they pale in comparison to the time you all have to sit in committee meetings. it's a true test of stamina. i mean, we have other obligations also outside of our tuesday meeting, but the preparation that you all put in, it's commendable, so i want to say that to all of the commissioners. and i said that to you privately, so thank you. i don't have any additional questions, and same thing for our fifth generation president fong. so i think that there's been a lot of time and effort put into these conversations, and the questions that we've had. we met -- i think it's really important, and i'll just say it again for the record. i think it's really important

to be thinking about how you balance this desire for moving into the future with additional units in demand and preserving what makes san francisco so special. >> supervisor yee: so i was going to ask commissioner fong the same questions. >> supervisor safai: oh, okay. great. >> president fong: i think there are some road blocks. i think there are some opposition groups that don't want to see the same thing necessarily. i think there are some economic things that are happening, construction cost, land parcel costs play a part in why we have so many projects that are entitled but not being built, and i think you are going to continue to see that until construction prices start to drop some. with that, i think there are some opportunities for us in particular, sites that have owned the property for a long time, and that includes some of the city sites where the land

basis is low, and you can spread out the construction over time. but if someone's paid top dollar in the last 24 months and wants to try to pay price persquare foot to build, that is a difficult performance to reach. i think anybody will argue, if you look at the math and you look at the performance, it's difficult. the challenge is if you press that, and you add the affordable housing piece, the mandatory housing piece, what happens is the mandatory units meet the threshold of the affordable housing piece. in addition, design begins to suffer, and you end up with less than top quality projects. so i don't know the answer to your question, i'm not sure if that's exactly the answer to your question, but efficiency in trying to expedite as much housing is important, and no crystal ball or silver bullet to that, but would love to continue those conversations

with the housing commission, the planning commission, and the board of supervisors. >> supervisor yee: it's really interesting that looking at the -- what are the issues as the laying some projects, and you spoke about a few of those reasons. and then, but what i've seen more legislatively in the recent year or so is to look at the external piece of the neighborhood's always complaining or the delaying of the projects, so let's eliminate the amount of opportunities or time they could actually appeal to -- or to provide input into a project. yes, maybe there's some of that, but there's very little that's looking at well, there, you have entitlement already.

and projects have been sitting there over ten years, so the excuse that, you know, why didn't they get started ten years ago when construction was -- wasn't that expensive? and what about these vacancies? so those are good answers to me, that we also need to look at those issues when it comes to the housing crisis that we're facing. >> president fong: and i think it would be a good time. when i first came on the commission eight years ago, the mayor had asked to take a look at all the projects that were entitled or weren't building and started construction, and look at them and categorize them, why they didn't start. was it an economic problem, was it a finance problem? i think it would be a fair time to look at those projects that we've entitled and look at why they struggled. >> supervisor yee: so did you look at them a few years back. do you have the results. >> president fong: i'm sure we

have them. >> supervisor yee: can you get us a copy. >> president fong: yes. >> supervisor yee: and the other question i asked was about family housing. would you agree to push for some universal definition we can all agree on? >> president fong: absolutely. i think the under lying idea is to keep san franciscans in san francisco. that's a multifold answer that has to do with school, with getting your first choice school near your neighborhood. that's affordability, that's how far you have to drive to your work. many people live in san francisco but work outside, and that just eats into expenses and family time. so as far as defining that, yes, i'd be, obviously, part of a discussion to help build that sector of housing. >> supervisor yee: okay. thank you very much. >> supervisor safai: great. we'll call you back up if there's any additional questions, but any member of the public wishing to comment on item 3 and 4, please come forward. >> clerk: one minute? >> supervisor safai: yes.

do the same time as before. >> commissioner richards: i just wanted to chime in here. i know i should have spoken for commissioner moore, as well. i think the commission is functioning really well, and i think that commissioner fong and johnson really add to that clo colorful debate. commissioner johnson has only been four months, but we have some great conversations. commissioner fong is going to be in his ninth year. he brings that experience with him, that gravitas with him. he's a great calming influence. i absolutely hope that you support the renominations. >> good afternoon. my name is alex lofton. i'm here to speak on behalf of the nomination of milicent johnson.

i know commissioner johnson from our work together on projects related to the future of work here in the bay area as well as working on housing issues for all in the bay area. i actually rush an organization that's focused on helping middle class afford home ownership in the bay area. why milicent? one as a fellow operator in the space? i've seen her approach as being balanced, fair, and compassionate, and her approach to life is one that acts with integrity at all times, and that's one that i want working for me, and she brings that and more to this board. i hope that you reappoint her. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> greetings, all. my name is shakira simley. i am the acting director of the southeast facility here in the bayview, and i'm here to

demonstrate my strong support for commissioner johnson and her reappointment. [please stand by]

. >> hello, everyone. my name is mara dilley. i'm a neighbor and friend of my i cent johnson, speaking on her behalf today. i think many of her supporters will speak to her racial and social justice and equality. her career has risen up

alongside technology and innovation here in san francisco. and her passion for both of those things, how can we be sure that this rising tide raises all ships, that's what milicent's going to look out for. thank you. >> hello. my name is brian pritchard. i'm glad that there's a fifth generation that's going to be on the board. i support both these people. they bring great opinions to san francisco and to the planning department. thank you very much. >> hello, again, supervisors. joe el koppel, district four resident, here to speak in favor of my fellow commissioners and their moving forward with the reappointment. both of them play vital roles in the commission as a whole, keeping it ethnically diverse,

and milicent, the newest commissioner, as me being closest to the newest commission, knows how it is to start off, and i think she's incredibly on ramped very well and do something but succeed in the future. as well, president fong exudes culturalness. he's very well travelled and forward thinking. thank you. >> lisa ferber from community hill. i just wanted to say a word about milicent johnson. while she's new to the commission, i do think that she does bring a fresh perspective and represents different viewpoints in terms of generational, perhaps, and adds a diversity to the commission. i think she understands that

people are behind planning and land use, and i think she's generally respectful to the neighborhoods. thanks. >> good afternoon. ossie roman with neighborhood council. i just want to support commissioner johnson as the only my lenni on on on only milennial on the commission. we're very supportive. we welcome the fact that we have someone that is going to be representing that generation, and we'll look forward to working with her. thank you. >> hello again.

anastasia yanaopolous, district 8 resident in support of commissioner johnson for reappointment. she's been on the commission a short while, and she's a breath of fresh air. she brings a wealth of experience with the background she's had, dealing with groups, community organizing, and i feel that she's an asset to the commission. commissioner fong brings a balance to this commission, as well. >> good afternoon. todd david, speaking on behalf of myself today. i want to say that i think both of these commissioners do an outstanding job. i really think that it's great that rodney is a parent raising children in the city really brings a perspective that myself as a parent raising children in this city, it's helpful to have a parent. i'd love to see more parents on commissions. when milicent speaks, i feel

that everything that i'm thinking comes out in her mouth, and it's so beautiful when she says it. when i say it, it gets all screwed up. she does a great job of talking about the core values of equity, of making sure that we're building well located housing in all levels of affordable throughout the city, and that we have, you know, people have access to really great housing at all neighborhoods at all levels of affordability, and i really commend that she's taken that message and is driving it home in her short time on the commission, so thanks. >> supervisor safai: thank you. any other members of the public wish to comment on this item, please come forward? seeing none, public comment's closed? [ gavel ]. >> supervisor safai: any additional comments from colleagues? seeing none, can i entertain a motion? oh, sorry. supervisor stefani? >> supervisor stefani: yeah. just want to add, very supportive of commissioner fong who i've known a very long

time, and commissioner johnson, who i've met recently and very impressed with both of this records. there's something that cory smith said that struck me, that i thought was good when he said that because someone's xyz, and he's xyz, that person is the best to represent somebody, and it got me thinking that just because someone is an xyz doesn't mean they weren't once before. so i think it's really important for us to all understand that commissioner richards said that it's really important to work with both sides. if you're not xyz, you need to reach over the aisle and understand xyz. the highest level of empathy requires profound purpose larger that the self-kind of understanding. so i am thinking, when he said that, it just struck me that it's really important to be able to identify with people, but that -- if you -- you have to be able to understand people

that are different than yourself, and i hope that our commissioners do that. i think we have a planning commission that does that, and i just want to move forward. commissioner fong and commissioner johnson, and approve their nomination to the full board with a positive recommendation. >> supervisor safai: great. and can we do that without objection? great. so that is ordered. congratulations again, commissioners. >> clerk: i believe the motion was to amend the motion to remove the rejecting and to refer to the full -- >> supervisor safai: board with positive recommendation, and we're sending both item number one and two and three and four -- >> clerk: there is no need -- >> supervisor safai: it will be automatically on the 31st? >> clerk: yes, it will. >> supervisor safai: okay. great. congratulations. please call item number five. >> clerk: item number five is a motion approving, rejecting the treasurer nomination of ben rosenfield, reeta madhaven,

kevin kone, eric sandler and aimee brown, terms ending june 17, 2022 to the treasury over sight committee. >> supervisor safai: great, and i think we have someone here from the treasurer's office to speak. >> thank you, supervisors. amanda confried from the office of the treasurer's. i'm pleased to announce the most recent appointments to the treasury over sight committee. this is an advisory body to the treasurer, primarily comprised of c.f.o.s from department are oztiare -- or agencies that invest in our commission. this is a body that's created by state law and is active in most counties around california. with your support, we recently updated the authorizing legislation for the committee

to clarify the comsignificanpo we're approving several members at a time. they are appointed as part of their duties as controller or c.f.o. there are coming before you in the future three remaining seats, one representing the community college board and two public members. if you'd consider it, i'd like to ask that you consider -- that you continue the consideration of aimee brown, a public member, so that we can bring both of our public members to committee at the same time, and -- and we are still working with community college to identify an appropriate representative. we are currently accepting applications for the public seats, and members of the public can find the information on the treasurer's website, which is sftreasurer.org. i thank you for your appointment of ben rosenfield,

reeta madhaven, kevin kone, and eric sandler. and i will note that not everyone was able to attend today, but i am happy to speak to their qualifications and we have a few of them here today, if need be. thank you so much. >> supervisor safai: i don't think we need anyone to speak today. that's fine. so what you're asking us to do is you want us to continue aimee brown? that's the only one? >> correct. >> supervisor safai: so you want us to sever that, but otherwise, you want us to move forward the whole package. >> yes. >> supervisor safai: the whole proposal? okay. i'm fine with that. supervisor yee, do you have a question? >> supervisor yee: no. i just needed a clarification, and you asked the same clarification, so i'm fine. >> supervisor safai: okay. so why don't we have a motion to sever aimee brown from the proposed -- >> supervisor yee: i'll move it. >> supervisor safai: so moved. without objection, it's ordered. [ gavel ]. >> supervisor safai: and then, may i have a motion to approve --

>> supervisor yee: i make a motion to approve the nomination of ben rosenfield, reeta madhaven, kevin kone, and eric sandler to the full board with a positive recommendation? >> supervisor safai: any members of the public wish to comment on this item, please come forward. seeing none, public comment's closed. and can we take that without objection? okay. great. congratulations. thank you. [ gavel ] plea [ gavel ]. >> supervisor safai: please call item number six. [agenda item read] >> supervisor safai: i've been informed that one of the applicants withdrew, so we have one applicant. that's commissioner steven lee, unless i'm misinformed.

commissioner lee, please come forward. thank you for your patience. this is like being in a planning commission meeting. >> i am steven lee, i have not missed a meeting in six years. i actually learned a lot over the years, and with some of the new tools we have to help keep night life vibrant is working. and i enjoy making comments and doing -- my focus is about public safety. even though i'm not a public safety seat, but i do want to have a voice for the capacity clubs of over 300 that draw a lot of attention to this city. and things are changing now because of economics, as you know, you know, with affordable housing, not enough housing,

people moving out of the city. it is happening for the business owners, as well. i'm very -- i own small businesses in -- in the city, and there's a lot of empty storefronts in each of your districts that i noticed. and i know that even for myself, even trying to start-up new businesses in the city, with the c.u. process being as long as it is, it does discourage a lot of people from making an investment or even trying to attempt to have a new lounge or a new bar or restaurant in the city. and, you know, night life, i love night life. i still go out. i'm still out to 4:00 in the morning. i enjoy the different generations of -- of clients, i guess, or clientele or friends that i have met over the years. and i just enjoy the -- you know, being that person to give some advice to people that want to get in business or maybe there's a -- a club that, you

know, i see, you know, just around town that might be slipping somewhere. i might make a suggestion. but other than that, you know, i just love being here, and i want to serve four more years. >> supervisor safai: great. thank you. any questions -- so i just want to double-check. can you call the other person's name, just to make sure that you're not here. >> clerk: thank you, commissioner. hold on one second. amy baylor-nobler. >> supervisor safai: yeah, i don't think she's here. i think she withdrew her name. any comments or questions, commissioners? i think you answered commissioner yee's question about the attendance record. you passed that initial question. i will say i had the pleasure of working with commissioner lee on a very important issue for our community. this was a nuisance bar in the

neighborhood where a security guard at that bar had, unfortunately -- well, let's say, has been arrested subsequently for the shooting and murdering of a patron. we -- obviously, that case is working its way through court, but the result of that was a continued and highlighted behavior of a very violent and nuisance bar in our neighborhood. we subsequently had a hearing. the license -- entertainment license was suspended temporarily. that was all the power they had within the jurisdiction of their commission. and then, subsequently abc went in and found additional violations, and we were able to shut that bar down. now, we're not in the business of putting businesses out of business, but when there are nuisance businesses that are causing extreme stress and danger to our community, we want to act, and i want to