help make sure that everyone has a seat at the table. that's really important. >> president tan: great. i will say one thing. i think commissioner bleiman has been a huge asset on our commission. you had really big shoes to fill with audrey joseph leaving the commission, but i think that having a champion of nightlife that works, in the industry and part of the industry and also to just get called to the table to represent the industry outside of the commission, i look forward to all you can actually accomplish in this commission. it's part being a great referee, great advocate, and hear out the different points of view as a commissioner and i'm sure extraordinarily as president. i fully, fully support that and i'm happy to pass the gavel over once we vote in this meeting

today. all right. any other comments or thoughts? if not, we can take a vote. >> clerk: [roll call vote] >> president tan: congratulations to both of you. we'll look forward to continuing to be on this commission, but not in this seat. all right. so we'll move on to item 9. commissioner comments and questions. our final item of the night. commissioner thomas? >> vice president thomas: i wanted to say, bryant, thank you for your years of service on this commission. it's been great to be vice president under you. i've learned a lot. i really have appreciated the ways in which you engage with often contentious voices in

conflict and helped all of us to figure out how to get people to better places and come to some compromise and shared understanding and it's really -- it's been an honor to serve with you and i've really appreciated it and thank you. thank you for all of the time that you spent away from your family on behalf of the commission in particular and so thank you. >> president tan: thanks. i will start crying. [laughter] >> commissioner bleiman: i have two comments. the first is, i think we would be remiss not to thank commissioner thomas for her work as vice president of the commission. i was very -- i think i speak for everybody, that i have this level of confidence that when president tan wasn't here, we had a steady, wise hand on the gavel and was eminently competent and we were in great hands for that.

it was amazing. and, secondly, i didn't bring this up before, but the next meeting, i have a family vacation planned, so i'm letting you all know that i won't be able to be at my first presidency. but i promise i will do everything to go to every single meeting from that point on. [laughter] >> president tan: dori, are you ready? >> commissioner caminong: i'm ready. >> president tan: all right. i guess i'll say something. it has -- thanks, commissioner thomas, for that really sweet -- the sweet words. i can't even count. i think it's been close to five years as being president of the commission. we had to change the rules of our bylaws so i could stay here. before that, we were limited to two years of presidency. thank you for believing in me,

supporting me. i've done my best to be as objective as possible. for someone that loves nightlife and loves san francisco, it's been an honor to serve on this commission and definitely an honor to feel like one of the youngest persons on this commission i've been given the gavel. so i look forward to serving as a commissioner and being able to continue to think on my feet and continue to advocate where i can for nightlife and arts and cultures in this city. and, yeah -- it's been great. so thank you very much. all right. let's open this up for public comment to the no one that's out there to give public comment. [laughter] all right. if there are no more comments or questions, we can adjourn. all right. for the last time of this presidency, this meeting's

adjourned at 6:23 p.m. have a good night. >> clerk: call to order. roll call. [roll call] >> clerk: item 2, approval of the minutes of june 22, 2018 meeting. >> so moved.

>> second. >> is there any public comment? all in favor? [voting] >> the minutes have been approved. >> clerk: item three, public comment on executive session. >> is there any public comment? seeing none, okay, is there a motion on executive session? >> i make a motion. >> okay. okay. rec reconvene in open session. >> i make a motion to reconvene in open session. >> second.

>> okay. [pledge of allegiance] >> clerk: please be advised that the ringing of and use of cell phones, pager's and similar sound producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. please be advised that the chair my order from the meeting room any person responsible for the ringing of cell phone pager or similar sound producing advice. please be adviced that members of the public have two minutes to make public comment on each agenda item unless the commission adopts a shorter time limit on the item. item four, public comment on items not listed on the agenda. >> is there any public comment on items not listed on the agenda? seeing none. >> clerk: item 5-a, executive director's report. >> the first item i would like

to report is that on july 25, we had a three star general, lieutenant todd semonite of the chief core of engineers visit the port. he was in town to attend the change of command ceremony for the army corps regional office, the south pacific division. we toured him -- well, actually, he toured the black -- in a blackhawk helicopter several of the projects in the region, including fire recovery areas in the north bay, as well as an airborne look at the port's waterfront and what the embarcadero sea front protects. we conducted a tour for him and a walking tour. i found the general to be a very solutions oriented leader and we thank him to look into our project and to delve into the details with us.

he has a lot of experience, the most current being the response to hurricane sandy in the waterfront region. i see mr. bierman from the waterfront project is here from the army corps of engineer. i'd like to thank the commander fore come -- for coming out, and we continue to be very excited for the new solution start with the army corps of engineers. [inaudible] >> it's being held for five primary themes for the summit, inclusive economic growth, and the purpose is to showcase public and private actions that have where been taken to reduce emissions, to secure bold commitments to do even more and

to show that ecarbonization -- in september to celebrate this summit, so i encourage the public to take a look at globalclimateactionsummit.org and get involved. i am pleased to be announcing we will be hosting a large sculpture in harry plaza. it is -- harry bridges plaza, in the location that the commission approved for the harry bridges monument, between

two light towers, although slightly held off to allow plenty of space for pedestrian movements. i have waived the fee. it is in my delegative authority to do so. it's an amazing piece of art, and i think it will evoke lots of conversation and should be a lot of fun for everyone. also i'm announcing our next seawall community meeting which will take place september 26 from 5:30 to 7:00 at the exploratorium. building on the success of the first meeting, the seawall team will be hosting this meeting. it includes presentations on seismic and flood scenarios as well as existing assets and a programatic approach. the tentees will be encouraged to take part in the interactive

mapping exercises. the first event went extremely well, which took place june 21. i want to congratulate our staff and the public for such a great event. 70 people attended the first meeting. in addition to explaining the plans for the seawall program, there were exercises that allowed the public to think long-term about the waterfront, which was very -- very worthwhile. so please mark your calendars for september the 26 at the exploratorium from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. and my last item is something i'm very proud to announce. the eco center was awarded one of four california natural resource agency secretary awards for excellence in sustainability. the secretary award for excellence is a sustainability competition that recognizes outstanding achievements in california museum projects in two areas: public education or external operations. the competition is the joint project of the sponsors, will

california association of museums. the eco center received its award for its eco center internship programs. this empowers youth in the bayview community to carry sustainable practices. it facilitates very active learning with solar -- oh, i hate this word photovoltaic systems -- you know what i mean. waste water treatment and management, living roof, natural landscape, native plant landscaping, and it really prepares the intern cohort with sustainability skill sets that are lifelong. we congratulate our friends and partners at the eco center for receiving this award, and that concludes my report. thank you. >> thank you. is there any public comment on the executive director's report? next? >> clerk: item 9-d, portion

commissioners reports. commissioners do you have any reports? >> no reports. thank you. >> clerk: okay. item on the consend clent, item 10-a, request authorization to accept and extend an $80,000 grant from the california department of forest and recvation -- to allow for removal, storage and disposal of eligible surrendered and abandon abandoned vessels. >> do i have a motion? >> so moved. >> second. >> is there any public comment on this item in all in favor? [voting] >> the item is approved. [agenda item read]

>> good afternoon, president brandon, members of the commission, port staff, and members of the public. i'm diane oshima, deputy director from planning and environment representing the waterfront land use plan staff team, making this presentation. we're very excited to be here on the waterfront plan update. we've finished a major chumpg. work that hopefully allows us to move forward on some next steps ahead to update the waterfront plan. we have been before you several times to try and provide a good debriefing, on the plans that have been developed by the waterfront working group through a long series of meetings that were supported by the waterfront plan advisory

team. there were three sets of recommendations, land use, transportation and resiliency, and we had presentations before the board previously, so we're not going to go into detail, but happy to answer questions about any of the 161 recommendations were forwarded, of which 160 were unanimously accepted and advanced to you. this presentation focuses a lot on a series of meetings and walking tours and workshops that we held in april and may into june regarding the part three of the waterfront plan update. the dates here are indicated, and the purpose there really was to educate the purpose about the work and the recommendations that the working group developed. it was a long report. there was a lot of content that was covered. sort of difficult to try and absorb it all, but we thought through the -- it was the

walking tours, and the workshop that we had, it helped the public better understand what was the variety of issues that the working group developed their recommendations around and allowed us to also answer questions and receive further public comment. it's also a good opportunity to show people what the port's facilities look like and a hands on look at our historic piers, broad variety of commercial, industrial and recreational activities that take place on the port's properties. provided a really great backdrop in which to then educate them about the port's open space systems, the recommendations that came through on the -- on the working group meetings. maritime industries to really talk through about how many different types of maritime

activities we have. the recommendations around the embarcadero historic district, the series of finger piers and bulkhead buildings that we are trying to advance our rehabilitation and redevelopment efforts, and it really conjured up a nice set of public conversation as we were able to walk along the waterfront. so a big thank you to all of the port staff and also to the san francisco planning department staff, who helped us put these programs together, supported the walking tours, and a lot of the discussions were also around how the working group recommendations really highlight the integration and alignment of bringing port policies in line with city policies and the types of improvements that will make the waterfront stronger and better.

we spent a lot of time on the notion of the embarcadero public realm or the notion of public realm itself, which is a new concept for the waterfront plan. the waterfront plan has open space, transportation, public access policies, but since the time that the waterfront plan was created, the notion of how all of these spaces in our sidewalks, in our open spaces, in the developments that frame them all really should be looked at holistically to create an integrated public space because that is the frame within which people come to the waterfront, connect and get here, and spend time and engage with other people, with the city's -- the variety of activities. and the planning department and the sfmta have really been the

city agencies that have advanced many city policies about public realms that we need to be integrating into the waterfront plan, as well. so we talked about the embarcadero as the case study for these walking do you remembers, and it allows people to understand how these spaces have shared purposes, and it also allowed people to give us comments about how to make further improvements for the transportation and public access to open space and recreational needs that the city would like to have supported along the waterfront of our future. we've followed up these walking tours with a workshop that was dedicated to a discussion of the public realm, as well. and this, too, was staffed with the m.t.a. staff and the planning department staff so that we could integrate all of

the city's policies along with a waterfront plan access policy so that we could explain to the public how it is that the waterfront plan update could embrace all of these different facets which relates to transportation improvements, both pedestrian, bicycle, water, transportation, as well as land transportation and public transit and road ways, to -- how to make those sidewalk pedestrian spaces delightful and improved for public access and open space enjoyment. how to improve the connections and the safety of crossings and create spaces for each of those modes to coexist together in an integral way, and to respond to the city's complete streets and vision zero policies, which are really aimed at improving public safety and pedestrian

safety in particular along the waterfront and the embarcadero. we also -- on the walking tours, we went along the north beach and south beach areas. i should have mentioned that primarily because those are the districts that have the embarcadero historic district facilities. and we did talk about the request for interest to try and invite ideas about public oriented use opportunities for those piers. and in the court of going through the south beach area, we also spent time looking at pier 3032. pier 3032 is one of the few piers that is not within the embarcadero historic district. as this slide shows, it lost all of its historic shed, and so the rules and conditions under which can can be improved

really do not follow the same set of conventions that are set forth in the working group's recommendations for the embarcadero historic district piers. and so we walked through, in quite a bit of detail, what are some of the opportunities and the challenges for pier 3032. i think people recognize, as the port staff has expressed to them, that there are important uses as represented by the mass and ship in this image about its deep water berth and its maritime berthing and operational value, the revenue value of the use of the parking lot now is an important financial resource for the port. but there is a recognition that it is a doeteroirating facilit. our experience with development projects to date, structural condition surveys that have

been done have shown that in fact it's deteriorating condition as a very costly facility, and the efforts and the finances required to improve it are quite high and beyond the reach of many developers to date. the regulatory permitting issues, we've described in a bit further detail in the staff report and the supporting documents for the part three work also are complicated. and if you take it all together, we seek to the challenges that would have to be over come. and yet, the location of this facility speaks to the idea that there could be a big idea where if there were somebody with a compelling vision, with the financial resources that were sufficient to carry the cost of the facility, that there's an opportunity there

for this site, but it would take an extraordinary set of development team objectives to be able to address that. the waterfront plan now also identifies seawall lot 330 together with pier 3032 as a combined development opportunity site. it was -- that designation was set at a time that we thought that pier 3032 was in good condition, it would be feasible to development it, and if done in coordination with the seawall lot, that you could have something that was a very positive improvement for the south beach neighborhood that would complement the pier side development, and that together would generate a lot of revenue for the port. our analysis and our experience now shows that in fact that is

not the case, that while there has been work on the part of the port to lift the public use lot restrictions on seawall lot 30 which would allow some general uses to be developed there, revenues there as well as the tax increments would not be enough to care carry the cost of improvement of pier 3032, and so we explained this to the public in this public workshop, and we talked about what were the different options. and at the end of the day, i think people see that there are some opportunities for maritime. there's a strong idea of being able to still try and get public oriented recreation on that pier, but there is now a renewed understanding about the financial challenges that that pier confronts for the port commission and for the port staff. and based on the information that we now know in terms of

updating policies to the waterfront plan, the staff assessment is that seawall lot 330's future development should not be tide exclusively to the future of pier 3032, that there might be more value and opportunity to advance that -- that site ahead and not to be used as a means for subsidizing pier 3032. that's based on an assessment that we have today not just based on the discussions that we had with the public but there was a prior staff report and presentation to the port commission, which we are proposing to also bring forth to a future port commission meeting to present for further discussion and comment by the port commission. you had requested a

presentation on 3032 specifically, so we are planning on bringing that before you in the future. that said, again, i think there is a lot of excitement over the r.f.i. that's just been released a couple of weeks ago for the embarcadero historic district here. we think this is an important market test to see what kinds of businesses respond to the opportunity to provide for public oriented uses, what are the kinds of costs and revenue uses that see themselves as part of the future of these piers, and hopefully, that information that we get from that r.f.i. will also help advance our thinking about the possibilities for pier 3032, as well. moving onto next steps, which are covered in detail in your

staff report, we have, in a quick blush, tried to give you a scope of overview of the topics that we covered in the part three meetings. largely in terms of the public comments that we got back, people were very much aligned in large part on the comments with what we heard through the working group, the recommendations. there were some further ideas that are always good to just have a conversation about, and we feel like the work that the working group has produced for us to date is solid, and the work that's been supplemented by the sea agency efforts in part three fit quite nicely so that if you approve and accept the work that's been done today, port staff will then be charged with taking the body of this information and these recommendations and going in to

actually update and draft amendments to the waterfront plan. i think that will be fairly significant because we have new topics in bold that i think will require a restructuring of the waterfront plan, but that will be released to the public for public comment and will have to go through the environmental review process before the port commission could take action on policies that affect physical changes to the waterfront. there are some procedural requirements or recommendations that came from the working group, as well, and where we can make procedural improvements and operations, that is not subject to ceqa, so i just wanted to highlight the fact that we will be able to improve our means in which we communicate and present information based on the work that the working group has provided to us.

there are some other elements that we will be doing some research on that will affect the draft elements, as well. one affects the fisherman's wharf. troy campbell will be following me, so i won't go into a lot of detail, but the fisherman's wharf community business district has done a lot of work to take a look at that whole wharf area and it provides a good feeding ground for us to be able to use to update fisherman's wharf policies on top of the work that the working group has provided to us. we are also working very actively with dcdc on amendment -- bcdc -- draft amendments that cover's the waterfront policies. those are happening on parallel

tracks, and we are taking the working group's recommendations and your direction into the negotiations with the bcdc staff to develop those amendments, as well, which will be covered under the ceqa documents. and then, of course, the seawall. there's all of the work that we're doing on the community engagement on preparing for the seawall is also being very directly integrated to the draft amendment of the waterfront plan, as well. so that's kind of a quick breeze through of a lot of work by an extraordinary group of citizens who have dedicated an amazing amount of their life to learning about the waterfront and all of the issues in a very insightful set of public

discussions that has yielded these recommendations that we think are very important for the future of the waterfront, both in terms of supporting feasible improvements, recognizing how many competing demands the port commission is trying to manage, and how you have to make choices and you can't do everything. we have also been blessed with great collaboration from the state lands commission staff as well as bcdc through the special area plans discussion and through the city family. multiple city departments have been part and parcel of the work that has been rolled up and presented to you to date. i'd like to just take a moment and recognize all of the working group and advisory team members who are here today, if they could please standup. i hope that rudy is here. i was looking for him.

oh, he did make it. good. so -- [applause] >> -- and unfortunately, or fortunately, janice lee, the cochair with rudy, is on vacation today, but you cannot -- you cannot imagine what kind of time and thought and direction that they gave to all of this. so we owe a debt of gratitude to them. we also -- my only two colleagues here from the waterfront plan core team are byron rhett and ann cook, but the rest of the team, they got to tired, and they had to go on vacation to restore themselves, so david and vlad, and mark, and dan and mark, they have all been instrumental in bringing us to this day.

so thank you very much for your attention to all of this. we hope that we've addressed all of your questions, but certainly, if you have more, you are to address them. we are asking your approval of the attached resolution which would authorize us to start the work of actually drafting the amendments to the plan. thank you. >> thank you. can i have a motion? >> so moved. >> second. >> we have public comment, christopher christiansen. >> hi. christopher christiansen, ibew loc local 10. i've spent ten years of my life on the waterfront working group, and it's a no brainer, but i hope you'll approve the resolution because the staff and the waterfront working group has tried to bring forward the best possible

working group plan and 160 ideas for you, so thank you so much. and it has been a pleasure working with all port staff on this. >> thank you. is there any other public comment? >> good afternoon, commissioners. i was on the land use subcommittee, and i just want to say that that 161 recommendations, to get the kind of agreement that the port staff and the other folks who led this effort, the ability to do that in a room full of people who you know don't agree with each other on some of the finer points, but to do that with such respect and collegiality, without rankle, it was a very kind of civilized, humane process.

speaking for folks in the chamber, we really could get behind this plan, and it was a great pleasure to serve on it -- on the -- on the working group, and we urge you to support the resolution. thank you. >> thank you. is there any other public comment? >> good afternoon, commissioners. i'm alice rogers, and i had the privilege of serving as chair of the land use subcommittee. and i just want to thank you once again for all of the resources that you invested in this long process. it was completely energyizing and humbling experience as dede just said. it was conducted with -- in such an atmosphere of collegiality and problem solving, that it was just an amazing experience. i hope that you, too, approve the recommendations. we at least in the land use

area are asking the staff to chart some new territory with bcdc, and we hope that bcdc will go along. what we're really asking them to do is follow the lead that you've already set with new and energetic used and to continue to diversefy and service as diverse a population as can be done, so thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. linda richardson. i had the privilege of not only being on the working group, but i was also one of the subcommittee chairs of the transportation. danielle oshima, she came out here, and she thank everybody, but i wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to let you know how grateful we are working with diane oshima

putting all these things together, and your esteemed director, elaine forbes. we have put together a fine document that is going to giet your development for decades to come. so we have that much confidence and also wanted to give a shout out to our overall leader, mr. rudy nothenberg for his wonderful leadership. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you for the participation. >> thank you. is there any other public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioner? >> i just want to thank the staff, i want to thank the chair, all the cochairs from land use and transportation to resiliency, as someone who is new and came to this process at the very end, i am astounded by the amount of community input. i think this is a model of how the city should work, so i just

want to thank you all for your dedication and your recommendations. they really struck a chord in me, and diane, thank you so much, you guys, for your work. >> commissioner woo ho. >> well, i was to echo what -- i want to echo what has already been said, but i want to thank janice and rudy for their tremendous leadership on the working group, and diane for her leadership and all the team that she's mentioned. i think this has been a labor of love, and when we started out, i don't think that we knew it was going to take three years, but i think we were also very concerned at the time with all the commitment of all the volunteers and the quality of the recommendations which have been pe been superb. i am flabbergasted by the

results. i've absolutely no issue with accepting the -- and supporting the resolution today. i just want to hit upon a couple points, as diane, you mentioned, and i'm very glad to see you are going to decouple pier 330 from pier 3032, so i'm hoping that you can confirm we can bring that back up on the agenda quickly if an r.f.p. or whatever process we recommend so that we get the ideas going for pier lot 330. and i do hope -- and i know it's not part of the r.f.i. that went out, that ideas for pier 3032 continue to percolate. it would be a shame if we decided that pier had to disappear because we didn't have another choice. also getting rid of the pier is going to cost a lot of money.

if we can find some way that doesn't require heavy use, a lot of infrastructure support, a lighter use of the pier that i think is more in the interest of the public and revenue generating, i think there are there ideas out there. you put that ship out there, whether it's a museum or floating hotel. i know that's not a concept that everybody agrees with. it works in long beach with queen mary, but i think that we'd hope that we'd find some ways to figure out a better use of pier 3032. and i know that was not within the scope of the historic embarcadero district, but those are two things that really stand out in the presentation today. and i think we still have it dissolved now that we're trying to figure out the r.f.i. with all the other piers.

every day you drive by, you think, what is going to happen with this? it's a great location, and i do hope we find a use for it going forward. the only other question i had was really, i know you're working with the staff of bcdc to -- on drafting amendments. i didn't need -- know -- did not notice whether there'd been a formal presentation to summarize the recommendations of the land -- the waterfront land use plan to the bcdc commission who eventually we need to be in coordination and sync with so we get at least the oversight and policy making body of bcdc to be in agreement with us, since we are asking them to be more creative and innovative in their thinking. sometimes they've been more restrictive in their thinking than we'd like. maybe you can comment on how we're trying to get all of the influences and decision makers involved. >> thank you, commissioner. good question.

we have made one introductory presentation to the bcdc commission when we filed an application to formally let them know that we're planning on proposing amendments to their plan, but that was last year, so we were not ready to advance something formalized as the recommendations that the working group has since produced. we have been, though, meeting with the bcdc staff over the last few months now that we've got the recommendations, and we were confidently able to extend that to them. and they have been very receptive. so i'm very confident and positive at this point that they are seeing that in the last 20 years, to see where the waterfront was in 2000 and where it is now. and how actually bcdc had a roll in the creation of the embarcadero historic district, that the -- and that they like

the projects that have taken place, the exploratorium, the ferry building. so we have not found them to be concerned or resistant, per se, to the objectives of what the recommendations they're trying to drive towards. we will, i think, have to look closely at maritime birthing and operation needs versus desire for public access along the edges of our piers. those may be some pointed discussions. we will be looking for more different types of public oriented uses that break outside the traditional public use trust interpretations of the past. perhaps that might be something where we'll have to spend sometime to convince them as to why that's a good idea >> yeah, i'm talking a little bit more about the higher strategy kind of overall picture level, the landscape of what we see, so that their commission gets an idea so that when they are asked on specific

issues, they'll be able to reference why we're coming to them on this process. so i think it's sort of more of an overall presentation. i would say the same things for the state lands commission, because obviously this is totally under their jurisdiction. the waterfront in san francisco is governed by so many agencies. it just seems that every agency touches the waterfront should have an understanding of what this plan is heading toward. it's not us -- we have a strategic plan, which is different, but we also have this plan which says how we're specifically going to use the real estate on the waterfront, and any agency that touches it should understand where we're coming from, and that they have that as a reference and background. >> we will definitely do that. i would say that state lands has actually spent a little bit more time with us. i feel like they have that broader big picture understanding, but you're right, we do need to spend some time with bcdc to bring them to

the right. [inaudible] >> when we publish or advice for our environmental review, does it make sense to combine all of the issues or should the seawall issue be separated and the distinct issue, particularly when it comes to a p.o., there's engagement that may take place. i think it may be beneficial for us to look at the seawall as a stand-alone issue because it will stand stronger than 162 recommendations and lots of development and changing development over time may put the city in a better position to separate them out. >> for the record, eileen

mally, deputy city attorney. that makes sense, and the port is pursuing environmental review of the two projects, that there will be separate ceqa documents, and i think you are soliciting environmental consultants at this point separately for the two present. >> right. >> is that it? diane, thank you so much for your presentation -- for all four of your presentations. this is -- this is just exciting. this is wonderful. i just can't tell you how wonderful it is to have had such a great team to -- to bring this to us in half the time the original document. >> only you and i know that. >> and we were so fortunate to have you leading the team, along with rudy and janice and

our subcommittee cochairs and just the phenomenal group of people that came together to come up with 161 recommendations of which they agreed on 160 of them. that is just unheard of in effect sfr. so i just want to thank everybody for all of the time that they've spent because of their love for the waterfront and their love for san francisco, and all that this beautiful waterfront has to offer. and so it's only going to get better, and so we really appreciate all that everyone does. thank you. with that, all in favor? [voting] >> resolution 18-45 has been approved. >> clerk: item 11-b, informationate presentation on the fisherman's wharf community benefit district retail strategy presentation on

the fisherman's wharf community benefit district retail strate presentation on the fisherman's wharf community benefit district retail stratel presentation on the fisherman's wharf community benefit district retail strategy report. >> diane oshima to introduce troy campbell who's also a member of the waterfront plan working group. so we are very happy to have him and his team to present on the scope of their work, which again, will be taken into account in updating the fisherman's wharf policies and the waterfront plan, as well. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. thank you for having me here today. i'm going to fore warn you, i'm a bit of a fast talker, so hold on. but i'm here today to talk to you about the fisherman's wharf retail strategy that was brought to you in april of this year. the idea was driven by the need to evolve and elevate the district's overall presence in the marketplace to become an

increasingly top of the line destination for the local customer base, and to improve upon its retail strengths and opportunities. the retail strategy document serves as a long-term road map to align property owners, developers, retailer and to generate retailers and investment in the neighborhood. we gathered data through community outreach across a broad range of categories and disciplines. local residents, businesses, property owners, brokers and visitors who present the largest customer base for the wharf. the report was also informed by ongoing data collection done by the cbd, previous pedestrian studies. we knew that with the exception of downtown san francisco, the wharf is the city's most dynamic commercial center with

approximately 400 retail establishments, 3200 hotel rooms, and 20 attractions. previously gathered information also gave us insight of how people arrive at fisherman's wharf, their demographic and how they spend their money and interact with the district. and four, the purposes of this report, retail is defined not only as the goods and services sold as fisherman's wharf but also the physical and experimental requirement accompanying businesses. [inaudible] >> so armed with a consultant, a task force information and a vision, we then looked at the differing needs of the district and how patterns, focus group feedback, capital improvements and evolving needs and trends have affected this.

to bet target retail planning, four neighborhood nodes were identifies at fisherman's wharf. [inaudible] >> the jefferson street corridor contains long time tenants and low occupancy rates, and the south side which has seen many tenants go over the last few decades. the hotel and neighborhood service core contains the majority of the hotels in the district. pier 39 makes up the gateway west and due to its size, corporate support and strong brand identity in the area of the wharf that has the strongest aesthetic and consistently high occupancy rate. we also looked at investments, and the study examined this,

and since 2010, we determined that more than 300 million in public and private investments have been committed to the wharf, and the mix of treasured businesses, destinations as well as the public realm. this current map illustrates all of those locations of these investments where these investments have been made which are also listed by company in the report if you are curious to know more. some of note, the removal of the parking lot at pier 43 with a new seawall promenade connecting pier 43 to pier 45. the first phase of the jefferson street, in the first six months of opening saw an increase in monthly sales for those businesses on the street

by ten to 20%. and then also on the horizon is jefferson street phase two. shortly after this report was published in april, the city was awarded a $7 million grant from the state that has now been matched by city departments and -- by the city, sorry, and the city departments are now gearing up for construction that is expected to start in 2019. we also looked at private investments and how that can affect the public realm and the potential for new retail offerings. two of the projects in this slide have actually already come to fruition, beach street property and the hotel zephyr. we had visitors, local groups, stakeholders shared what they most like about the wharf, which includes the waterfront location, its walkability and people watching, the wonderful variety seafoods, restaurant, attractions, particularcally crab and chowder calls.

it is a working waterfront with strong ties to the fishing industry. issues that they collected they feel the district should address are the wharf's lack of established night life, poor lighting in places and lack sufficient public rest rooms and seating areas. although the intensity of the crowds is what they enjoy the most, they also highlighted that as something that makes it difficult for the wharf to over come as the labelling of a tourist trap. finally, the report looked at retail opportunities and challenging. one of the district's biggest retail challenges includes an abundance of specialty retail.

[inaudible] >> -- particularly in the off season, however in many locations outside the north paths of travel at the wharf and even with 16.4 million visitors a year, many retailers have learned that foot traffic on the sidewalk is not enough to sustain and maintain a profitable business. that brings me to the recommendations, which is the crux and heart and soul of the entire retail strategy. all of the meetings outreached to business, residents, property owners, and others, culminated into the recommendation of five core objectives which incidentally were adopted by the board of the fisherman's wharf community benefit district. these five core retail objectives will enhance the wharf and strengthen its reputation as a local retail

destination. it begins with a five year time plan but has two year priorities. the first is improve wharf appearance and connectivity by implementing existing plans for urban design improvements for the public realm plan, leveraging public investments to stimulate private investment, improve transit service to the wharf and making more efficient use of parking. the second is curating retail through targeted information to the brokerage community, expanding night time activity, a strategy on addressing cannabis in the district, strengthening the growing art subdistrict, actively recruiting specific types of businesses that fit the retail needs of the district nodes and expanding outreach to develop a bigger business base.

next is promoting our uniqueness by increasing visibility of fishing activities, improving awareness of the wharf's unique character, and to better celebrate the wharf and to provide a sense of arrival. [inaudible] >> as stated before, more detail can be found in the report which i've brought copies of all of you. i thank you again for letting me present to ayou for your consideration because participation in all of these collective strategies is the only way this will happen. thank you. >> thank you.

mr. christiansen. >> hello. christopher christiansen, ibew local 10. i am one of the fisherman's wharf community benefit board of directors. i just want to speak very highly of troy campbell here. he dedicates every ounce of his time to better the fisherman's wharf district for the public safety, environment -- just the all around experience and i want to thank him very much when he brought this retail strategy to our board of directors meeting. it is beyond what we expected from him. and i hope that as you read it, you could understand how we want fisherman's wharf to grow and be part of the port. >> thank you.