underperforming in the spanish immersion program. her plan was to break up the combination classes into separate grade level classes. consequently creating one large class and two smaller classes. she told me she would have two teachers in the classroom with a larger amount of kids. it seemed like a reasonable plan to me. at the end of the year, we learn to know none of the immersion teachers where returning this year and the decision to change a class structure moved forward to. had 40 kids matriculate into the fifth-grade class and despite what the principal told me last year, only one teacher was being hired to teach that class. it is not surprising to me that the class was the only class not able to find a permanent teacher by the start of the school year. sadly, this plan was hurting the very kids that it was supposed to help. our kids are being undervalued and shortchanged. munro parents are not recognized as male partners and making rational and sensible school improvements that are sustainable. our school needs to be held

accountable. any serious plan moving forward has to include hiring two bilingual certified teachers for that many kids. the district must support parents and children with an immediate plan to keep our classroom safe and sane. our kids learning and thriving and parents are appreciated and valued. thank you for your time. 's. >> [speaking spanish] >> good evening. my name is jessica ortega and i am the mother of a fifth-grader at monro. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: i'm here because i am very concerned and i realize that there are

parents of other ethnicities that are just as concerned, not just latino parents in what is happening. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: as the other parents mentioned, we have gone through at least three principles and this has caused the school to become unbalanced and uncontrolled. the current principal lacks a proper work ethic and has not been able to handle the problems that we are facing. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: i also want to express that this has also caused an emotional imbalance in both the parents and the children. it has been two weeks that we have been without a teacher and the people who have been sent, lack professional ethics and human kindness. i think that the academic portion is one part of its, by the other part is the emotional aspects that we have not focused on. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: another thing that the principle has allowed is a fact that there are more than 40 children in the classroom. he comes from the musee from new york and the laws are different there. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: i appreciate all of you and i respectfully ask and hope that you will find a quick resolution

to these problems because they are affecting all of the kids. a lot of my child friends are moving to other schools and i don't want to have to do that to him in his last grade at elementary school. >> good evening. my name is peter. my daughter is a fifth-grade student at munro elementary school. i am here to sound the alarm in regards to the situation that has quickly spiraled out of control under the guidance of the principal. the school year started on the 20th of august, absent of not one but 20 bilingual teachers we were promised. let me be clear. forty-one fifth-grade students started the year in an overcrowded room without a single qualified teacher.

firstly, it is worth noting the school is holding a meeting tonight to discuss this exact topic. most parents are not able to attach both meetings and many are there tonight to and are desperate to hear of any news or progress. my daughter has been a student at munro since kindergarten. it is a small school with a grunt -- great sense of community. we are grateful for the wonderful teachers that have worked tirelessly educating and shaping our daughter's future. in fact, they are sorely missed. the past seven days of schooling has been a disaster by all accounts. the third substitute teacher started this week. the overcrowded class has been reduced by some parents are choosing to take their child elsewhere. i feel ashamed that there is an element of release -- relief and hearing this terrible news. the fifth-grade students at munro elementary are being monumentally failed. i will repeat that. the fifth-grade students at munro elementary have been monumentally failed to. the communication has been disgraceful. there was no e-mail, no letter or phone call to even prepare us for the possibility of what was to unfold. we were told by our children on the first day. no one knew where no one cared.

the principal is negotiating alternatives from a position. for adjusting -- suggesting a english speaking teacher with a spanish-speaking aid is not enough. the majority of students are behind great level -- grade level and slipping quickly. trust has been broken and confidence is gone. sadly, our children are paying the price for the negligence. hopefully the union school district hears our cause of distress. the alarm bells are sounding. thank you. [applause] >> my name is danny kim. for 20 years, i was an educator. for the past six years, i have been a parent to just want to love my kids go to munro. and my son is in this fifth-grade class. for the past couple of years, he has experienced bullying. but the saving grace for my son has been wonderful educators that have worked with him and his classmates to create a safe

environment. that has been why we have trusted our school and the people who care for our kids. when my son came back this year, there was no teacher. on the first day, the sub made fun of him and another girl. the girl threw a pencil at his eye and and at that point, we knew that in that particular environment to, my son would not be safe. we are not just talking about learning, we're talking about safety. for my son, that meant i needed to pull him out and do what i needed to do as a father. that is what i did. i have given a lot to this district. he really is sad that it has come to this. my daughter is still at the school. i am glad for that. in in this case, my son has expressed the cost of that. why am here today is because i support my fellow parents and the community at munro that

something has to be done. thank you. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: good evening. my name is jasmine ortiz and i am also a mother of a student at munro. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: when the meeting started, i listened as they discussed renaming a school after our former mayor derek [speaking spanish]. >> voice of translator: i i heard a member of the board mention that when you walk into

that school, you can feel the love and the joy in that school. unfortunately, that's not happening at my child's school. [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] he was really excited -- >> voice of translator: he was really excited about seeing his friends from the previous year at exciting about meeting his teacher and excited about his last year and his promotion. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: as you have heard before for the reasons stated, a lot of parents have pulled their children from the school. one of those children was my child's best friend and my son is very sad he won't be able to celebrate his graduation with him. he doesn't want to go to school. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: thank

you for listening to me. i want us to find a solution. i want us to find a teacher that would treat our children with the love because that is important to them. he has been learning everything. he has realized that munro was not welcoming to them. the school was dirty when they started. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: there was still posterboard and torn pieces of paper from the previous year, this year. thank you, very much. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: good evening. my name is benito ortiz. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: my son is also in the fifth-grade. he is the third one, third-generation at munro. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: i remember in previous years, it has always been a great school. there was even some renovations done. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: i want to be direct. this problem started to watch when years. [speaking spanish]

>> voice of translator: my son was bullied and the teachers and the staff and administrators have not been doing a good job. [speaking spanish] >> voice of translator: and i ask you to look at all the people who were here tonight. obviously something is wrong at this time that u.s. representatives look and find what is wrong. >> good evening. i want to thank the families who came out tonight. my name is rosemary and i'm a long-term -- long time. a community member. i've been there since 2002 with two current students that while they are and i started a fourth and fifth grade class.

my daughter is an alarming of lowell at a recent college -- college graduate. i lived what what blocks from this quality advocate for services for the families and residents of district 11. the students are representative and our working class immigrant community. a community that relies heavily on education to improve lives and education of children. these families are considerate, respectful and supportive of their children's education and the schools that they attempt. it is an understatement to say this administration, the current administration is committing a grave disservice to the community. families and our students and our staff. families in this situation are experiencing unnecessary tension , frustration and sadness with the time lost at work that they have had to take off. hurrying here overwork after cleaning houses. sleepless nights, a lack of structure. and the one place where many people look for structure in the classroom.

last year the administration disregarded community input throughout the academic year and failed to call for a single community meeting prior to submitting the budget. which i addressed or informed the district about. the result of having failed to communicate and collaborate with the families and the stop has created a current situation of an unsafe and overcrowded and ineffective learning environments. the situation is not only completely chaotic but especially disruptive to the children and their families causing numerous inconveniences and moving children to other schools across town and losing friendships made over the last five years and disappointment and that public school. my husband and i really want to continue your currently, we are told to support staff pops and from time to time but they are finding the situation incredibly difficult to control or instruct they are, intern, snapping at and punishing and sometimes criticizing our children for something that is not their fault. this set up that she has set up is not working for us.

our efforts as parents to support the administration initially allowed us to go into the classroom but then told us we weren't allowed. >> thank you. >> she continues to tell us we can assist and it tells us we can't. and puts up pneumatic -- numerous obstacles. >> good evening. i want to start by reiterating something that i think the board president said that you all have equity priorities. this is an equity priority right now, right here. if you want a project for the week or the month or the year, here we are. i am a long time munro parents. my daughters in the seventh grade and my son is in the fifth-grade. the difference in their experiences has been dramatic. not only is my son a former foster youth who has been repeatedly failed by adults and public institution, but he it has now been failed by his school. despite being on the southeast side of the city and full of immigrant families, families

have done a great job at educating children. many of whom, like my son have high needs. today i cannot say that this is true. we do not educate our students the same anymore. we have lost all of our veteran spanish-speaking teachers. we can't seem to keep a principal and we are putting the lives of our children at risk. they have no teacher, and all order has been lost. i feel quite certain that if this was clarendon or another school or any westside school, any of the fancy schools, that everybody wants to go to, this would never be tolerated. we are not a rich school but we are equally, if not more committed to demanding the same quality of education as students from those westside schools and we will not be ignored. our principal talks a lot about the spanish-speaking kids in our school who are mostly in spanish immersion and how they have the lowest test scores in all areas. if things continue as is, they will surely worsen.

this is a high need population and for seven days, we have had three subs, 40 enrolled students in total chaos in the classroom, which i have witnessed. nothing about what i witnessed is acceptable and you are elected representatives who have the power to do something. at a minimum, we are asking for two certified teachers as promised by the principal and extra support staff or the fifth-grade spanish immersion class. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. thank you to all of the parents that came out for it munro. we appreciate your presence and your input. our next item is section g. i believe that is all of our public speakers. our next item is section g. the special order of business. we have not tonight. section h. is a discussion of educational issues. we have not tonight. section i is consent calendar items are moved. we have none. section jay is the introduction of proposals to committee.

altogether, we have four policies. the public and board comment on proposal. if anyone has signed up, which i have no cards at this time,. ok. all right. susan solomon. come on up. >> thank you. this is in relation to the policy for prior authorization to use personal belongings at school and reimbursement if they get lost or stolen. i just wanted to make sure that the board knows that there is a contract provision and both the search to vacated unclassified contract that says the following this is article 14.4.5 active certificate and 15.2.6 at

classifieds. the district shall reimburse a teacher or a pair just a educator for damages or theft resulting from attack, assault of physical threats, robbery or vandalism when said damage or theft occurs in the line of duty , including supervision without fault of the teacher. it is possible that i am misreading the policy, but it seems to me that this policy will only provide reimbursement if the personal belonging is being directly used for instruction. the contract doesn't specify that it is a belonging that is being used for instruction. thank you. >> thank you. item two is board policy 3350. and play travel expenses and work policy. item three is board policy 5148,

childcare and development at preschool early childhood education. can i hear a motion and a second for first reading? >> moved. >> second. >> thank you. unless i hear otherwise from council, we will be sending these policies to the rules policy and legislative committee ok. thank you. section k.'s proposal for immediate action and suspension of the rule. there are none tonight. section l is our board member process reports. appointment of commissioners to committee. at this time, we would like to announce that all of the board committees will remain the same. we made a leadership decision to keep the committees in the same

order because of the transition of board members which will occur in january and new appointments will be made in january. so just to reiterate the current committees and their chairs, buildings and grounds and services, i will continue to chair with matt haney. curriculum and program commissioner norton will chair with commissioner cook. rules policy and legislation, commissioner sanchez will chair with commissioner cook and commissioner ross say. the ad hoc committee on student assignments will be chaired with commissioner haney and commissioner norton. personal matters, labour relations and affordability, the vice president will chair with commissioner sanchez and commissioner norton. and the ad hoc school district city college joint committee will continue to be chaired by myself and trustee, alex

randolph. we will be with commissioner haney and commissioner norton and trustee selby. and the city college oversight committee will actually josh i currently am on but i have resigned from it. and commissioner cook and the vice president -- vice president cook will be taking that position as soon as we transition over. that will be the committees going forward. please let us know if you have any questions. item two, standing committees. we have no meetings that have taken place as a last board meeting except for buildings and grounds and we announced all of the action items on the apps. forge, two membership organizations. does anyone have any updates on that? and the other reports by board members? vice president cook.

>> i just wanted to wish everyone a happy first week of the year and on friday, i have been presuming my friday morning school sight visits. i would like to thank the tenderloin community school of san francisco and the chinese immersion school for welcoming me. i will be attending other schools this friday. also, on the first day of school , i attended wallenberg high school and another elementary school. i would like to thank them for welcoming me. the last thing is i'm a proud member of the san francisco mentor for success program. and my student is in the western indigestion. i got him a fortnight backpack to start the school year. apparently it grows in the dark which i did not know until he told me. if you are not into the program,

i encourage you to participate. >> any others? i too want to thank hillcrest and francisco even though the superintendent sounded like he went by himself like he was generous to let me join him. i want to thank both of those school communities for allowing us to be there on the first day of school. i also just wanted to welcome our new deputy superintendent two has disappeared. see how special she is. i just want to welcome her to our group and -- there she is. [laughter] you have cheesecake in your teeth? yeah. [applause] >> welcome and congratulations on your new role. i'm looking forward to working with you. any other announcements by board members? ok. calendar of committee meetings. are there any upcoming meetings

to announce. >> rules committee will be meeting on thursday, september 6 th at 6:00 pm. >> other meetings? anything scheduled at this time? no. section m. is other informational items. we have no reports tonight. it is a memorial adjournment. there is no memorial adjournment tonight. at this time, will take public comments for those who have submitted speaker cards for close session items. we have none this evening. section o.'s closed sessions of the board will go into closed session. we will be back.

>> they get the authority at the district to be omitted. section q. is adjournment. this meeting is adjourned. thank you.

>> supervisor safai: good of the good afternoon. i'm safahsha safai, and to my l, supervisor yee and supervisor stefani. i would like to thank sfgov tv for staffing the meeting. mr. clerk, do we have any announcements before we begin? >> clerk: yes, be sure to silence all cell phones.

completed speaker cards should be submitted to the clerk. items acted on today will be on the july 31 board of supervisors agenda. item 1 is a motion approving or rejecting malia cohen, nominations for the reappointment of dennis richards to the planning commission, for a four-year term. >> supervisor safai: unless there are additional comments, i would like commissioner richards to come up and address the committee. >> 2 or 3 minutes? >> supervisor safai: there's really no time. brevity is appreciated. >> i will be brief. it's weird being on this side of the railing. i'm nervous. to supervisor stefani, i always tell people, please don't call me or write me the morning of

the commission meeting to try to talk to me or send some substantive communications, and i did the same thing with you this morning, so i apologize. i'm happy to meet with you any time day or night between now and the board vote if you would like to get to know me better. i would like to get to know you better. i turned in my community resume, which you have in front of you. there was so little space, the type font got so tiny that supervisor safai had a hard time reading it, so i know it didn't show up that well. i have 20 years of community service, volunteering, advocacy around the neighborhoods, especially around land use. the octavia plan in 2005 and serving on that c.a.c. in 2014 when i assumed the commission -- being a commissioner. prior to that, i was in tech for

30 years. on the 30th day of my career, i left and did something fun. the last four years, i've been on the planning commission. i tell people, never before have i worked so hard, made so little money, but had so much fun, being a planning commissioner, and i seek your reappointment today. one of the things -- i had some reflection on this. i work with all sides, neighborhood groups, community groups, developers, mayor's office, supervisors, in fact, after this meeting, i will be sitting down with the mayor's office of housing, ken rich to go over the india basin project that we'll hear tomorrow at the commission. i tend to balance out the needs and am collaborative, but when i believe in something, i stay firm to that. a couple of things that happened recently, we have a historic resource in the gay and lesbian community that was going to be

demolished and worked to delaying the certification or the e.i.r. and we got word from the sponsor that he will add more units. so that's a win there. so it's an example of being collaborative and firm, so a win for everyone. when i got into the planning commission, we would talk on things and we didn't know if anything would happen. but learning from tech, the action item list. i have in my hand, it's four years old, we have a lot of items on it. i've contributed a lot to it. we have some larger policy initiatives that will come out of that. during the hearing, people were talking about housing stabilization. i want to know from a radius of the 5m project, where they're stabilized. they produced a map for me. out of that, came the capacity of -- understanding the capacity

of zoning of 141,000 units. subsequent to that, housing affordability study that was a couple of weeks ago at the planning commission. from the things that we talk about, there's a genesis and the department runs with them and then the action item list is the thing that did that. we also came up with a commission policy. we saw affordable housing being lost because two identical flats are being changed. one made into a tiny unit. one made into a large unit. and then being sold as a single-family house. we have discussions around that. and commissioner hillis and i pushed for that and i'm happy to say that we're in place. the other big one i have under my hat is the demolition of definition and reform. we have a lot of smaller units that have been lost. we don't have a standard definition between d.b.i. and planning on demolitions

resulting in a mismatch. we consider something a demo. d.b.i. doesn't consider it a demo. we tried to come up with a solution to that called the residential expansion threshold. it didn't work, but now supervisor peskin is coming up with legislation to harmonize the legislations, and it will go a long way for the development community and neighborhoods in the city on attaining affordable housing. i served on the rule subcommittee, updating the commission rules. i advocated in the budget for a process person and i got the looks from people, what is a process person? planning is a factory with 8,000 ins and outs. at times i would get different answers from different people. and we hired somebody this past fiscal year and working on the process improvement legislation, so i believe your board has passed in the last couple of

weeks. lastly, i advocated in the f.y. '19 for a tenant advocate. we've had so many times where projects come before us and the tenant comes that lives in the building that they will be displaced because the project will displace them. and i only knew about the project when the sign went up on the building. myself and fellow commissioners asked for a tenant advocate in the f.y. '19 hiring plan and that's going to happen and we can understand and take into account the effect of projects on displacement of existing tenants in buildings that will be refurbished. goals for the next four years. retail is a big issue in most districts. on the action item list, i'm pushing for n.c. 30. we had an n.c. 20 at the department 10 years ago that got a lot of fanfare and publicity, but nothing came out of it.

eating and drinking establishments need to be looked at and i'm pushing for, joint hearing with the small business commission to understand our decisions and how they affect retail. the second goal, housing affordability study. that was put before us a couple of weeks ago. i think what we need to understand is what will come out of it. short term, medium term and long term. we have to triage what we have before us right now and we need long term solutions to figure out how to keep the middle class we've been losing. it's been about 10 years in the making and it's just sitting there. and there's been a lot of other projects that have floated to the top and given the development pressure, preservation is needed. a look at live-work and a policy around amnesty.

we had projects come before us and found that half live-work are not being used and they're considered dwelling units and avoided the impact fees when they were built. my estimation is there could be $100 million left on the table for people that want to come out of the shadows and say that they live in a dwelling unit. and the last is parking standards for the city. we had a project coming before us with a parking garage into office space. we don't have any standards that are parking wise. a look at that is warranted in the next four years. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you, commissioner richards. i was thinking maybe, supervisor yee, we would open it up for public comment unless you want to ask your question first. >> supervisor yee: doesn't matter when. >> supervisor safai: okay.

we'll open it up for public comment and then come back to folks here. anyone like to comment on this item, line up to the right, or i can call your name out. i see there's a bunch of people that have come to speak on this. >> good afternoon, supervisor safai, stefani and yee. >> supervisor safai: i'm trying to get an idea of how many people are going to comment on this. we're going to limit public comment to 1 minute. please start over. >> yes, please. i will be short and tell the commissioners to be short in their presentation to support commissioners richards, moore, johnson and fong. i know that the diversity -- they bring diversity to this city. i don't always get what i want when i go there, but they bring a different perspective and that's what it is and that's

what your rules committee has tried to uphold. i can tell you that we need them collectively. please pass all of them on. they're good for this city. they work hard. thank you. >> supervisor safai: is your comment for all four commissioners? >> yes. >> i'm jerry dratler. to save time, would i like to comment about agenda items 1 and 2. ms. moore is an architect and urban designer and brings 38 years of professional experience to the commission. she was recently awarded an acip, lifetime award by urban land institute. land use policies and environmental impact reports are reviewed, and those can be 700 pages. mr. richards says it takes 20 to 30 hours a week to be an effective commissioner. i've observed ms. moore and mr. richards in planning commission meetings dealing with a variety of agenda items.

they're always well prepared, ask insightful questions and lead to fair and logical conclusions. they comment on site bureaus they've had made and that demonstrates their personal commitment to understanding all neighborhood impacts of the project. the citizens of san francisco are fortunate to have able and committed individuals willing to serve. >> supervisor safai: thank you, sir. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i'm ken hogart. i'm here to advocate for commissioners richards and moore being reappointed. i've personally met with mr. richards concerning an eviction that was going to take place. i can assure you, mr. richards is -- has utmost sensitivity for

those who are vulnerable among our citizenry. he's got a heart of gold, in my opinion. i've been a real estate agent for 43 years in san francisco. and i can see how things have changed. when i started in the 1970s, the affordability index was 23%. today it's less than 7%. we need people like mr. richards and ms. moore to help -- >> supervisor safai: thank you, sir. next speaker. i will interrupt for one second. trying to get a gauge if everyone in line is here to comment on items 1 and 2. it may make more sense to allow public comment and allow commissioner moore to come up and speak and then allow more public comment. is everyone here going to speak

on items 1 and 2? okay. let's have commissioner moore come up and speak and then we'll resume public comment. before you do that, we have to call item 2. just sit there and wait for one second. >> clerk: motion approving or rejecting president of the board of supervisors malia cohen's reappointment of kathrin moore to the planning commission board for a term ending july 1, 2022. >> hello, supervisors. let me begin by looking back and reflecting on how i engaged with the city. working as an urban designer and architect since the early '70s, i've found myself on the opposite side of the table, explaining to city officials like yourselves, planning directors, commissions, while planning and urban design matters. over the years, people started to recognize my voice.

so in 2001, i was asked to sit on the treasure island citizen advisory board, which i continued for 15 years until 2015. in 2005, i was appointed to the san francisco waterfront advisory committee. and i continue to serve on that body. earlier this year, elaine forbes asked me to join the pier 70 design review, this is sprinkled in between my three terms on the planning commission. i was first appointed to the planning commission, if you count backwards, in 2006. i'm speaking with the unchanged conviction that as an urban design architect, i'm able to bring a broad perspective and raise the bar in discuecembe did decision making, which is coupled with institutional

memory. what other milestones during my time on the commission? there are many, but i will mention a few just for reference. there's a market octavia plan, the first time i met now-commissioner richards. there's the eastern neighborhood plan, merced, shipyard two, japantown cultural heritage. the commission 2020 plan, 5m, the hub, central soma and the list goes on. there are many other projects large and small and all that have mattered to me. i remained anchored in my profession, shaped and challenged by circumstances inside and out side the city and by an ever increasing amount of planning in san francisco, including gentrification. today i find myself expand and

shaped by my past 12 years on the commission and my professional skills remain one of my strengths, i find i've become more consistent and stronger voice for neighborhood concerns including ethnicity, race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, types of disabilities and other relevant demographic qualities of the city at large. with an urgent awareness of the enormous, increasing imbalance in our affordability for housing, rising income gaps, i believe that a balance has to be balanced somewhere so we can be livable and our way of life sustainable for all that can regain an element sustainable for all. i'm actually rooted in the conviction that a balanced

position between social and environmental equity are more important than economic considerations on their own. to that end, my objective for serving on the planning commission reflects my commitment to supporting the committee. we will continue to engage in authentic discussions and bring new insights when we look at the environmental and social and city-wide planning. those are challenges that we face every thursday and i reflect on them every week. i believe we need to add a new ingredient into the process, which is a comprehensive, broader view of the city of the future, where we can -- where we need to balance the important

qualities of our city with a step-by-step thoughtfulness. it's not about good plans and long visions but how we achieve formulating that. in closing, i'm honored to serve again on the planning commission and today i ask for your support. i'm firmly committed to bring what i can to preserve and enhance a strong, traditional planning in the city that for me includes a voice for all neighborhoods. i would like to thank the many supporters that have written and spoken on my behalf and especially those who have come today to voice their support. i do also want to mention that i strongly support my three fellow commissioners in front of you today. as a team, think we're unbeatable. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you. we'll reserve our questions until after public comment.

please come forward. >> good afternoon. i'm here to support the appointment of dennis richards and kathrin moore. i've lived in san francisco for 30 years. i've seen planning commissions and directors come and go along with land use and aesthetics. i believe that in commissioners moore and richards, we have individuals that can bring a measured, balanced perspective that bodes well for the san francisco of the future. no one can deny the credentials that commissioner moore brings to her role. commissioner richards is tireless in his commitment to the community. both of them are willing to speak up to question and to compromise when it's the best option. the presence on the planning commission assures me there will be accountability to the residents of san francisco for the important decisions being made. thank you.

>> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. i'm stephanie peak. i'm here also to support katherin moore and dennis richards as their appointment to the planning commission. and i'm not speaking just for myself, but a lot of neighborhoods couldn't come due to work, such as chris and duta hockett. especially these days when we're tempted with short-term housing solutions, we need critical thinkers with years of experience like mr. richards and ms. moore. ms. moore is one of the few who have been around long enough to understand exactly how the building and planning departments function together. we need someone who understands this system in need of rehabilitati rehabilitation. mr. moore spoke out strongly in the last couple of weeks, exposing the machinations of

scoff law developers who have been making people's lives miserable for years. >> supervisor safai: thank you, ma'am. i appreciate it. next speaker. >> good afternoon, members of the committee. i'm john buruso. i'm here to thank president cohen and the board of supervisors for reappointing dennis richards and katherin moore and to thank them both for ongoing service to the city. my brother and i encountered them when we joined the russian hill association responding to a project on my block . commissioners moore and richards demonstrated their job dedication when they agreed to site visits, assessing the block's homes and streetscapes

firsthand. over the course of two hearings, commissioners moore and richards showed patience and resolve working through circumstances drawing on backgrounds in architecture, land use and reaching a solution. commissioner moore and commissioner richards are committed to ensuring the environment serves the purposes of the community, the neighborhood, and the city of -- >> supervisor safai: thank you, sir. next speaker. >> good afternoon, chair safai, supervisors yee and stefani. here in solidarity to support my sisters and brothers of the commission and urge to you reappoint all two of them, as the items are called today. i value both commissioner richards and commissioner moore. the roles on the commission are very important. dennis with his lgbtq background

is valued as well aztec. he's objective, logical and fair. i also highly value commissioner moore, with her european background and architectural design, she is experienced, thorough and detailed. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you, commissioner. next speaker. >> rick hall, cultural action network. we have a very good balanced, planning commission at this time. knowledge and experience, people with judgment that are reasoned and fair and recognize that planning is not just about buildings, but about people and community. both commissioner richards and moore exceed my expectations in all of those areas. commissioner richards is well-read, always brings new information to commissioner comment that is relevant and

stimulating. he asks thoughtful questions and brings the right issues to discussion and judgments. commissioner moore brings her rich design perspectives based on her back ground world travels and also is very thoughtful in discussions and judgments and both bring a human quality. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. i want to associate myself with the comments of the people before me and want to thank the -- i appreciate the reappointment of all the commissioners. they all bring their own perspectives. and even though they're closer than some than others, i appreciate the appointment of everyone. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker.

>> i'm jim orshell, i'm representing van ness neighborhood groups and victoria alliance, of which i'm president. on behalf of those groups, i'd like to heartily endorse both commissioner richards and katherin moore's reappointment. anyone who attended katherin moore's board of supervisors meeting where she was acknowledged sees what her outstanding qualities are, recognized by her peers. she represents experienced professionalism and commitment. dennis, unbelievable openness, accessibility, preparation and caring. as a d.b.i. commissioner, i look forward to working with them and collaborating with these excellent, excellent people.

thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you, sir. next speaker. >> i'm a neighbor, small business owner and developer and i have the pleasure of working with commissioner richards on projects, some big, some small. i will tell you that he listens to all sides. in my experience, he's challenged every project he's worked on. i wholeheartedly support his nomination and am glad he's back up here. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. i'm chris shulman, lower polk neighbors. we enthusiastically support the appointment of commissioner moore and commissioner richards. they're thoughtful, well prepared. and we look forward to working with them for an additional four years on the commission. thank you. >> supervisor safai: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors.

i support the reappointment of commissioner richards and commissioner moore. commissioner richards is fair and unbiased. he's not an idealogue or partisan. commissioner moore, we support her because she has an extensive background in planning and she has integrity and she has the commitment to balance new projects. both commissioners have been sensitive to the tenants issues and unlike the partisan issues of not being tenants in a city that's made up of 65% tenants. these two have stood up to tenants that are victims of rent eviction and saved them. thank you very much.

>> supervisor safai: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. coalition for san francisco neighborhoods. i congratulate all of you for your nomination and support of katherin moore and dennis richards. they've proven to be excellent, excellent planning commissioners and they've supported the neighborhoods many times, not always the traditional, wealthy contributors that seem to run the city so often. so it's very nice to see justice prevail in this one moment. thank you very much. >> supervisor safai: thank you, sir. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. gary weiss, president corbett heights neighbors and part of the san francisco land use coalition.

the feeling from all of us who have worked for better neighborhoods has always felt that commissioners moore and richards have proved to be two members we can always depend on despite not always voting our way to approach each project with thoughtful, considerate insight. we appreciate supervisor cohen's reappointment of them and hope you do as well. >> i'm pat hayes, telegraph hill dwellers. you are discussing reappointment of four commissioners. taken down, these four commissioners provide balanced perspective, experience, continuity and diversity. as a package, they all four warrant reappointment and thanks for the willingness to continue a tough job. i especially want to thank commissioner richards with his woit