compliance section. preservation and enhancement of these districts serves the city's interest as an abundance of cultural and recreational activities lends san francisco an advantage over other municipalities. and i think that is exactly right. i hope that the creation of this district makes the castro as sort of a mecca, even more well known so that another kid like the one i met almost 30 years ago, they know they've got a safe place to go, that the systems and the collaboration between all the different community groups will support them.

i want them to bring their smarts and their solutions and their capableness to work. i want them to bring it from wherever their hometown was, and we're going to benefit from it. so that's why i found this sentence so compelling. so i obviously strongly support this -- the creation of this. >> president hyland: commissioner pearlman? >> commissioner pearlman: thank you. i feel particularly connected to this because as i was reading through this, i have walked the -- through so many threads of my life have led through the castro, and, you know, i came to san francisco with a connection to the aids project and working on the quilt project, and i volunteered there. mr. haynes mentioned pink saturday. i was on the committee for the first pink saturday event. i was the one who managed the garden that was at 16th, noe,

and market for a decade or so that grew food for food open hand. many, man -- project open hand. many, many things in my life over the last 30 years connect me to this. so i think this is an excellent thing. one funny story was back in the early 90 ess, i was on a committee, and i don't remember what it was for. i was sitting in a room of about 20 people, and they pointed to me like i was the man, i was the white guy in the room because of the incredible diversity, everybody was lgbtq +, and i was the most regular guy in the room. and it was really a shock to me that that was the case, but it

was a real eye opener for me about the nature of san francisco, the nature of the community. somebody mentioned altoona, pennsylvania, which is harvey milk's story about the kid from altoona, pennsylvania who came out to the castro and found a home. so i appreciate the hard work, and i know that it is, and obviously, i'm extremely supportive of this. so thank you all for all the hard work and everything you do. [please stand by]

rather than an agency appointed. is that what you're referring to? >> exactly. >> i think maybe to give you some context, i can explain a bit about the most recent

r.f.p. sent out by ohcd and how the -- how the dispersement of the property funds, how that mechanism is set up currently. not all organizations are able to receive moneys, therefore most have to partner with a fiscal sponsor. and i think this aspect was to clarify clarify at the outset that there will need to be a body that is able to receive fubldss from the city. it has been clear in the practice of ohcd to date and as

you can see in the r.f.p.s last month, that fiscal sponsor has to have a relationship with a community working group. >> there isn't a clear m.o.u., a memorandum of understanding, between the members of the community who are working in a particular cultural district with that nonprofit entity, that they're just serving us a fiscal agent. is that sdmrekt >> i don't know that there is always an m.o.u. i can't speak to the legal aspects of that relationship. but i can say that the fiscal sponsor and the community working group in most cases are two separate entities and it is the fiscal sponsor that we can give the funds to with the requirement that they are working community group.

>> can we suggest that there is a clear delegation or clearer separation of responsibility at what the nonprofit entity is required to do for reporting purposes and reporting back to the city versus what the community saw? i don't want to see the community not be empowered to do the things that, you know, are important to them. rather than them to have a nonprofit entity. and i don't know, who may not be as intimately involved in community planning to speak on their behalf. and act on their behalf. that would be a concern. and then another thing, just to get back to the legislation, and i'm not sure if my fellow commissioners would be willing to do this, but to maybe stick in some language that the h.b.c. can be like a technical adviser at times when needed for this process.

because we do have a little bit of knowledge and a little bit of background experience to know the kinds of things and the kinds of measures that may be supportive of cultural districts. >> i think i would allow tom to speak to those proposed amendments or recommendations. >> mr. frye, did you have something -- >> commissioners, just as a friendly suggestion and maybe for tom as well, if the commission wants to provide additional advice, you may want to do it in a recommendation to encourage that the r.f.p. include strong language that is a community-led process or something along those lines just to ensure that the roles are clear that the community should be driving the process wrather than the not-for-profit or the financial sponsor. >> how do you feel about that? >> i think that is a fine suggestion. of course, we appreciate the feedback. i will say -- so this is only

the second cultural dlaikt has been created by ordinance. the first was the african american cultural dmrikt bayview and that community chose to go with a formalized c.a.c. model that was spelled out in the legislation and they did not want that simply prescribed model in the ordinance and this allowed flexibility and flexibility to work with ohcd around what governance would look like and what the relationship between the city and city and agent would look like so there is intentional flexibility in the language here that is different from the previously created cultural district by ordinance. but i do think that that is a good suggestion for the commission to make to mohcd to

be part of the r.f.p. process if that is helpful. >> ok. commissioner -- >> very quick addition is working with the h.p.c. and planning staff because, like i don't know that much about it, but i'm sure they tell -- >> you mean about technical support that has the knowledge. >> again, if i could offer just a friendly suggestion. we certainly do rely on this commission's interest in cultural districts as a way to support the planning department's work. so, it really is just to show that they're available that they need assistance. >> the vehicle is through the staff because it's harder to come here. you have to go through the staff to get here. >> and we appreciate the desire from the commission and all the staff to be engaging in this

cultural district process so thank you for your willingness to participate and support the work that the community will be doing along with mocd to create the reports. thank you all for that. >> i think it is quite clear that the h.p.c. is available, i wonder if there is any need to amend the resolution or the ordinance. >> well, i was going to -- commissioner johnson, if i may, i was going to suggest maybe passing the motion as we have or as it's been seconded with the suggestion that potentially adding h.p.c. and staff to section 82, so it says a system from city departments if we can delineate h.p.c. as a technical adviser on page 14?

>> 14 of the back part. if we can specifically mention that it is available for technical advisement. >> i would accept that amendment. >> and then just an a*s risk to make sure that this is not to supplement or subplant the community engagement, that it is not a single organization driving this. they will be facilitating it with the support. >> i'm happy to work with commission staff on -- in the city attorney's office on language to that effect for both of those items. >> thank you. >> you got it? on page 15, item d, to have an asterisk that this is a

community-based effort that the selected organization will facilitate. >> and i would accept that amendment, too. >> great. thank you. >> seconded the motion. >> seconded. >> i accept it as well. >> do you accept those? >> i do. yes. >> very good, commissioners. there is a motion that has been seconded to adopt a recommendation for approval as has been amended with the recommendations on page 14 adding h.p.c. as a technical adviser and on page 15, adding an asterisk specifying that this be a community-based effort and that this selective organization would -- selected organization would facilitate. on that motion -- [roll call] >> so moved, commissioners.

that motion passes unanimously 7-0. commissioners, that will place us on item 7-a through f. for case numbers 2019-0004943l.d.r.-000492lbr, 2019-000495lbr, 2019-00004947lbr, 2019-000004948lbr and 2019-00004952lbr for propertieses at 354 11th street, 1490 howard street, 1263 howard street, 1367 valencia street, 1935 ocean avenue and 1698 post street respectively. these are all legacy business applications.

>> hello, commissioners. preservation staff. so, we have six applications today and it will be fairly brief in my description of each business and we have several of the businesses and organization representatives here to speak for themselves. i'll start with butter bar and restaurant. they -- butter opened in 1999 by brothers carlton and chris full who were two of san francisco's top house music promoters and leaders in the electronic music and dance industry. they developed the the concept for a cozy theme bar that would be home to the night life community and for the industry's d.j.s, promoters and producers. butter was financed through a crowd funding campaign decades before the concept of crowd

funding was coined. and in 2009, ownership interest in butter were consolidated by butter's operator and primary shareholder. the bar has operated continuously in san francisco for 20 years. staff did find that the organization is facing significant risk of displacement due to upcoming lease negotiations and so we find that they meet the exception to the 30-year rule. and we are recommending the following teachers to be safeguarded. their trashy chic style t winnebago interior decoration, the airstream trailer kitchen, the island bar layout, the overhead projections on the walls and multitude of kitch and drink memorabilia. their microwaved menu items. their signature drinks and their marquis sign. that takes us to the next applicant, california choppers.

they're located at 1490 howard street. steve nelson and gary couch opened california choppers in 1975 on valencia street in the mission district as a small, locals-only store front shop under the name of frisco choppers. the shop began by mostly selling used parts for the harley-davidson motorcycle riders. the business changed names, locations, ownership several times. and through these transitions, california choppers maintained its essence while evolving into a san francisco institution. when the current owners wayne and ron purchased the shop, the business was struggling. they have spent a lot of time and effort expanding the the shop and their services. previously the business resemble add hobby shop and biker hangout and now it is a profitable enterprise. the supreme court located within the western semilight industrial and residential historic district. it is a contributing property. staff is recommending the safeguarding of the following

features -- their inventory of motorcycle parts and service, their custom bike fabrication, motor build and team services. their high-quality used bikes, riding accessories, california choppers clothing, harley-davidson repair and their sign. the third applicant today is knob hill market located at 1263 leavenworth street. it was founded in 1984 when brothers joseph and john emron formed the business. they formed a partnership upon buying the business and were joined by their younger brother. the three of them working 70 to 90 hours a week for a couple of years to build up the business. the neighborhood responded positively to all the change and helped them grow over the years. alexander, joseph's son, is now running the market with a staff of 27 employees who help keep the tradition of a community market alive.

staff is recommending support for the application and the following futures to be safeguarded. the mural on leavenworth facade, their rooftop garden, their quality organic produce and their storefront awning. i also wanted to note that planning commissioner moore is endorsing this application as well and she sent an e-mail of support which i believe the commissioners, secretary has forwarded to the commission. the next applicant is natural resources all families foundation located at 1367 valencia street. natural resources was founded by deborah jackson and chris pritchard in 1988. deborah and chris believed that pregnant women should have the natural resources to be informed, responsible and creative during this time of create personal transformation. natural resources is san francisco's oldest community pregnancy childbirth and early parenting center n.2013, jenny uzepa, mother of two, purchased the business and in 2015,

natural resources became a nonprofit organization. the sbllg considered a historic resource. it's a three-story wood frame mixed-use building designed in a style consistent with the edwardian period with classical revival influences. staff is recommending support of this application and the following futures to be safeguarded. their educational programs for parents and birth professionals, resources line of products and the retail classroom and children's play spaces. the next business is ocean's cyclery. it is an independent, familily-owned bicycle repair shop located at 1935 ocean avenue. it has been in business since november 1996 and is considered a neighborhood institution. ocean cyclery was founded by -- i don't know if it's then or

now -- 36-year-old jeffery telliafaro. when he purchased the lease and tools and existing bike shop that had been operated in the location since 1989. the business has operated continuously for the past 23 years. staff has also found that this sbiz at significant rfk of displacement due to their recent lease negotiations which require that they apply for the legacy business program. therefore, staff is recommending that they meet the exception to the 30-year rule. the property is considered a historic resource as being located within the california register engelsided district. we are supporting the application and we recommend the following futures to be safeguarded. their bicycle sales and repair services, their unique inventory, including european products, their well-trained and knowledgeable staff, the bicycle clinics, workshops and

classes, the consulting services, their bicycle racks, the 1920s commercial display case and the african american bike racing champion poster. the last applicant is sokol hardware located at 1698 post street in japan town. the founders of soko hardware were husband and wife team, masayasu ashizawa who emigrated from japan in the early 1920s. soko is the old name used to reference san francisco. soko hardware has been operated by four generations of the ashizawa family. soko hardware was the first hardware store in japan town. in addition to carrying all the general merchandise one would find in a standard hardware store, the soko hardware caser vital tools and hardwares specific to the japanese culture, such as japanese woodworking tools, cook wear

and budduh shrines and temples. it is located in the japan town cultural district and is a contributing culturals a folk the district as identified in their community-led asset inventory. the district -- the property is associated with significant events, particularly three periods of significance as identified in the japan town historic context statement and also with significant persons. the second generation owner of soko hardware was an active member in the japan town community and became the founding president of the community development corporation. staff is recommending support of the application and safeguarding of the following features. their inventory of hardware

needs and japanese products including house wares and buddhist shrines, their sign which is in english and japanese kanji letters and the ashizawa mom and their historical panel signs. that concludes staff's presentation and i'll turn it over to open it up for questions. thank you. >> great. thank you. shall we take public comment? any member of the public wish to speak to any of these legacy businesss? please step forward. you have some -- sorry. how about alice light. if you want to go, sir. go ahead, please. feel free. >> all right. just because i'm up here. ok. good afternoon, commissioners. let me just pull up my notes real quick. all right. so i am neil ballard, i'm from the ocean avenue association and i'm speaking today on behalf of ocean cyclery. so, ocean cyclery is a true neighborhood bike shop in a classic san francisco commercial building on a block

of several neighborhoods serving small businesses. and everyone in the neighborhood knows that ocean cyclery is where you go to get bicycles, accessories, get your bike repaired and even do e-bike service. and the clientele that they have includes commuters, racers, everybody in between, which is a really considerable feat given that the e-commerce has grown so much during the time that they have been in business. jeff and sabine are the owners and they're always out on ocean avenue, very visible and active in the community. i frequently see jeff test riding a bike that he's been repairing. he goes to the fog lifter cafe. gets an espresso, chi realize paints a picture of a very relaxed pace of life on ocean avenue. we're very proud of that. and sabine, she often comes to

ocean avenue association meetings and is always happy to participate in our events and promotions that we have. so we're lucky to have them and i appreciate this commission's support of their application. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> alice? >> hi. thank you, commissioners. i'm alice light. our mission is to nurture familis from pregnancy to early childhood and while i stand here today seeking legacy status for being here for 31 years, our mission feels very immediate and new every day because there are always new families and new babies, including one right here. [laughter] to nurture and support. so the work that we're doing is every bit as important today as

it was 31 years ago when we first started and it will continue to be important 10 years, 20 years, 30 years into the future, as long as san francisco keeps having families, which hopefully will be for a long, long time. so at natural resources, we've served many tens of thousands of families over the past 30 years. just last year, we served 2500 new families and of those 1200 took classes in things like childbirth preparation, c.p.r., new parents and lactation support groups and more. so, we really work on improving outcomes for families and parents. and we have seven employees and over 50 educators. so in addition to supporting the families that we serve, we also support the birth community and professionals who are in the city.

we also complete our first spanish language doula program. and they were in the space working and there were about eight mamas hanging out. we have an area where people can sit and nurse and change their babies and talk to each other and i came over to check on them and they thought -- they said oh, we thought you were coming to kick us out because we've been here for so long. but that is exactly the time of thing we want to be able to create is to provide community and a entrees people feel really welcome and i think it is poignant this week because it is maternal mental health awareness week. in doing this application, i reached out to the community to reach out from people, how have we impacted you. and got responses like this one. natural resources saved my life. when i was struggling with postpartum depression, it was a

safe haven for me during an incredibly difficult time. i joined mother's groups weekly and found a community of women who i'm still in touch with today, almost four years later. so that is -- it's really important work, i'm really honored to be considered today and i also wanted to thank supervisor ronan and richard creelow for his help in putting this together. thank you. >> thank you. vad putt? >> good afternoon. president, distinguished commissioners. i'm here on behalf of butter. and while it seems like it is just a small bar in the south market, butter has had a major role in history and those halls of history as we're preaching to the choir on history, preservation, it's -- businesses like butter, you

know, they have a real cherished legacy in san francisco for being there, you know, pioneering at times when it was really difficult to get ahead in entertainment in this town and unlike, i think, any -- while the educational process of learning about the legacy business registry has been extremely interesting. i've read so many different reports on all the different legacy businesses that were just so informative. i didn't come across any of it reflected anything about the cultural attributings of what house music and the electronic dance music has contributed to san francisco and where it all started. you know, a lot of people don't really realize how much of a role san francisco has played in that and the people who were involved in the early days of the ground breaking of electronic dance music and house and techno were involved in that and their association to butter, you know, as kind of

a nauk lee you of where things have started. you know, the preservation of butter and other bars that will hopefully follow in its footsteps to attain this legacy status, i hope, will preserve that. such as the castro cultural district. you know, butter on its own is a small little cultural district in itself when it comes to the preservation of the house music that's been such a part of it and continues to be such a part of it. not just kitchy fun stuff that we do there to draw an audience, but also the essence of the cultural movement that was behind butter that shaped the foundation of the entertainment commission through different protests against the san francisco police department at the time, you know, and when the war on dance was a major thing. and butter's contribution to drinks such as the creation of the vodka red bull.

you know, the starter butter is a global beverage that people take for granted. believe it or not, it started here and we created it. that's part of what we did. i wanted to thank you for your support and thank you to supervisor haney's office for their sponsorship and, of course, rich who i have yet to meet for polishing up my proposal. >> right here. >> oh, this guy. thank you. he's awesome. so thank you very much again. and i appreciate your support. >> thank you. >> for everything you do here. >> great. thank you. i have two more. >> my name is ron. i'm one of the owners of california choppers. we've been in business for approximately 44 years. we're probably the last harley shop in the city, even the dealerships moved to south san francisco. we do all we can to help the motorcycle industry and, like i say, we've been around for a long time and we built the business from nothing to what

it is now. and we're in a really high rent district. we're down on 11th and howard and our rent doubled from last year and went from 9,000 to 20,000 in one year. that's a big jump. so it's tough down here, but we've been hanging on for over 40 years. and plan on going another ho -- 40 years so we wanded to thank you for the opportunity of becoming part of this program and we'll do the best we can. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> nikki yoshikawa and phil ashiza wax. >> hi, commissioners. again, my name is nikki. i'm a long-time san francisco resident and part of the japan town task force. as mentioned, soko -- and i wanted to say a few words of support for soko hardware, which is 94 years old. pretty incredible. and run through one family, the

ashizawas. and as shelly mentioned in her presentation, soko hardware is more than just a hardware store. it carries -- you can find hard-to-find japanese woodworking tools, shrines, japanese cabinetry, knives, painted screens, paper lanterns, teapots and more. and interesting historical fact that you might have seen in the narrative is that soko hardware, you know, during world war ii, during the imprisonment years, the ashizawas had a friend who was able to help them store a lot of their merchandise and goods in the back of an old car dealership or a car dealership on van ness where it used to be located. when they returned from imprisonment camps, they were able to get that merchandise and open up within a good

reasonable amount of time and so we're able to then supply a lot of the community in japan town with a lot of the goods to rebuild again. and continue with the business. so, you know, that is a really important historical fact that should be noted as well. right now the business is run by the third generation of the ashizawas who you'll hear from soon. just taking a quick look at some online reviews of soko hardware, i found some of these comments. i swear, if you are looking for a certain japanese item, look here first. or felt like a child in a candy store when i first visited soko hardware. soko hardware is one of my favorite places to shop in san francisco. we can't go to san francisco without coming here. some of the great reviews on a hardware store.

people are very passionate about this store. from these current times of where it's harder and harder for small business to exist in the city, i really appreciate the efforts that these the long-time family-run businesses make to continue the business here. i really want to thank rick creelow and thank you for your consideration in putting soko hardware into the local legacy registry. thank you. >> hi. good afternoon. my name is phillip ashizawa, the owner of soko hardware. i want to thank the commission for considering soko for the legacy registry. i'm honored that members of the community felt highly enough about the hardware store to convince me to come in and apply for this registry. to me, soko is just what i do. i remember playing with my toys on the floor of the office to

coming in to work after school and during summer vacations, after graduating college, working full time and then finally taking over the business. i'm actually very grateful to my parents and my grandparents who really did all the hard work. especially after the war when they were forced to abandon the store. but they were able to come back, start it up again and give me a livelihood. i want to thank you again and that is all i have to say. thank you. >> any other member of the public wish to speak? closed public comment. bring it back to the commission. commissioner john. >> first of all, i'd like to thank everyone who came to tell us your stories. they are extremely important to

san francisco. they're really some of the things that tie the community together and here we have stories that go back almost a century. it's extremely important to all of us. once again, though, commissioners, we have really an astonishing variety of businesses and it is so thrilling to read the reports and to see what we have in this community that we might not immediately be aware of. so i really appreciate everything and move that these businesses be recommended for legacy status. >> commissioner pearlman? >> this is the warm and fuzzy part of our job here today. for those of you who are here

from your businesses, this is the best part of what we do because we have listened to all the stories. we're up to 150 or so or more -- 250, rick? do you know what number we're at? >> 18 -- ok. close to 200 and we heard the 200 stories and they're all wonderful. and adding winnebago decorations to the story of san francisco is fantastic. all of these are worthy of support and just one quick story. i have shopped at the le beau knob hill market and i walked by it on sunday and for the first time we were walking up the street and noticed the roof garden and, you know, i drive up and down leavenworth street. i've been in the shop and never noticed it. and the next day we got the

letter from commissioner moore, from catherine moore who talked about the roof garden. it was just like i've been looking at this for years and years and years, and there's always something new to learn about san francisco. thank you all. thank you all. >> commissioner? >> i learned some new things today. butter? what a story! who knew? that's fascinating, thank you. that's terrific. and alice, that neighborhood has changed so much. and i'm so heartened to hear about the existence of the natural resources. i wish i thought about it, of course my kids are 45 and over! but years ago. anyway, it is wonderful that you're there and california choppers, thank you for your courage and hanging in there. yeah. this is tough, but i'm glad [inaudible].

and, you know, soko hardware, i took my dad there, who's now deceased, many, many years ago and to show him japan town, to show him around and talk about the japanese presence in san francisco and their history and we went into soko hardware and we found a clock. it was the most beautiful clock with the little bamboo on the rim and the framing and i still have it in my [inaudible]. [laughter] heartily endorse the support of all the businesses and thank you, richard. i know you've been doing a lot of outreach. >> commissioner? >> i also want to thank all of you for applying for the legacy business and i think shelly, did you mention two of the six applicants are being considered even though they have not met their 30-year mark because of

situations that -- >> yes. >> are very fra sdwroil their business? >> that's right. they're both involved in upcoming or recent lease negotiations that have put their businesses at risk of displacement. >> i hope that being considered for legacy business status can help those two particular businesses in particular and just all businesseses that rick and shelly have brought forward today and the other 180 businesses that you have shared with us. and i am disclosing that i cannot vote on one of the businesses, although i shop there often. it is the conflict of interest 500-feet rule. but i am in support of all the rest. thank you. >> commissioner black? >> so, we were talking earlier about how important diversity is in the city and here we have this really diverse, fabulous

group of businesses. two completely different forms of transportation, but both of which are really necessary. a local market. a unique bar and restaurant. and i went on your website and your menu was a hoot. it's just great. the important health and child services is a critical need in this city and a 94-year-old store run by the same family. each of you has figured out a way to make your business provide goods and services to people in your neighborhood and the greater city and that is something that we love celebrating here. this is our happy time. of each hearing and congratulationss to all of you and good luck with lease negotiations and i hope that you can provide your goods and

services for another 94 years. >> i have one comment or one question. and -- shall we? on the le beau market, the rooftop garden. so , as a space, how is the legacy -- how are we -- what happens as it evolves and the rooftop garden twoeer go away, what happens to the significance of the business and -- >> so, the program -- the legacy business registry program does not set any requirements that the business maintain the futures in any particular way. the program only requires a commitment to safeguard them. we don't have our city attorney here to speak to more

interpretation around the language and the administrative code. and i didn't want to guess at what we would do if one feature were to be removed but the historic preservation commission did not have the same regulatory role in maintaining those features as the s.p.c. does in maintaining the the features of a landmark, for instance. we are actually currently seeking more advice from the city attorneys on how to identify and what the legal implications are of aye fiing these features which are both physical and tangible and intangible features. so does that answer your question? >> yes. it is safe to say, though, now that it's identified in the future over the evolution of the business and/or the property that it occupies

happens, this would be identified as something that is of value to incorporate into any other future changes. >> yes. yes. that is true. we would be supportive of continuation of that activity in the space. yeah. mm-hmm. >> i second commissioner jonckh's motion. >> let's take all of these on exempt the one on which you can't vote. >> i will first call items 7a through e together and then recuse commissioner matsuda and take up the matter of 7f. >> thank you. >> commissioners, on the motion to adopt recommendations for approval for items 7a through e -- [roll call]

that motion passes 6-0. and if we could have a motion to recuse commissioner matsuda from item 7f. >> i make a motion to excuse commissioner matsuda. >> second. >> thank you. on that motion to recuse commissioner matsuda -- [roll call] so moved, commissioners. that motions pas unanimously 6-0. if i could have a motion for item 7f. >> oh. i make a motion to recommend soko hardware for legacy status. >> second. >> very good, commissioners. on that motion to adopt recommendation for item 7f -- [roll call] so moved, commissioners. that motion passes unanimously. >> congratulations. >> thank you, everybody. >> after that, we're adjourned.

shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do their shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services within our neighborhoods, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant. so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> my name is ray behr. i am the owner of chief plus.

it's a destination specialty foods store, and it's also a corner grocery store, as well. we call it cheese plus because there's a lot of additions in addition to cheese here. from fresh flowers, to wine, past a, chocolate, our dining area and espresso bar. you can have a casual meeting if you want to. it's a real community gathering place. what makes little polk unique, i think, first of all, it's a great pedestrian street. there's people out and about all day, meeting this neighbor and coming out and supporting the businesses. the businesses here are almost all exclusively independent owned small businesses. it harkens back to supporting local. polk street doesn't look like anywhere u.s.a.

it has its own businesses and personality. we have clothing stores to gallerys, to personal service stores, where you can get your hsus repaired, luggage repaired. there's a music studio across the street. it's raily a diverse and unique offering on this really great street. i think san franciscans should shop local as much as they can because they can discover things that they may not be familiar with. again, the marketplace is changing, and, you know, you look at a screen, and you click a mouse, and you order something, and it shows up, but to have a tangible experience, to be able to come in to taste things, to see things, to smell things, all those things, it's very important that you do so.

>> the renovation of balboa park, the oldest in the city of san francisco, and now it is the newest part in the city of san francisco. through our partnership, and because of public investment from the two thousand eight fund, we are celebrating a renewal and an awakening of this park. we have it safer, happier, more joyous.

>> 3, 2, 1, [laughter] =--[applause] >> it is a great resource for families, to have fun in the city, recreation. >> this is an amazing park. we have not revitalized it without public and private investment. the critical piece of the process of this renovation was that it was all about the community. we reached out to everyone in this community. we love this park dearly and they all had thoughts and ideas and they wanted to bring their own creativity and their personality to bear on the design. what you see is what the community wanted. these ideas all came from the residents of this community.

as a result, there is a sense of ownership, pride and responsibility that goes along with what is going to be an exciting park. the meeting will come to order. welcome to the thursday, may 2nd meeting of the government audit and oversight committee. i'm gordon mar, the chair of the committee and i'm joined by vallie brown and aaron peskin. i'd like to thank corwin sfgovtv for staffing the meeting. mr. clerk, any announcements? >> clerk: please ensure u