we will come to order. mr. clerk, do you have any announcements? >> clerk: yes. please make sure to silence all phones and electronic devices. completed speaker cards and

copies of any documents to be included as part of the file should be submitted to the clerk. items acted on today will appear on the february 11 board of supervisors agenda unless otherwise stated. >> chair ronen: and can you please read item number one. >> clerk: item number one is a motion to appoint catherine stefani to the transportation board for a term ending june 30, 2021. >> chair ronen: and i will excuse supervisor stefani. and is there any public comment on item number one? seeing none, wupublic comment

closed. is there a motion? >> yes. i move to appoint catherine stefani to the golden gate bridge highway and transportation district board. >> chair ronen: thank you and we can take that without objection. [gavel]. >> chair ronen: would you please read the next item? >> clerk: item 2 is a hearing to consider appointing one member, indefinite term, to the

children and families first commission. >> good morning. miss armstrong brings a wealth of information overseeing our child health program, particularly for our african american families. in the coming years, we're hoping to bring other initiatives into even greater alignment. there's also several exciting opportunities coming down from the state in home visiting so we're hoping to explore those together, so really excited about the work ahead of us, and again, just really strongly encourage you to support miss armstrong's nomination to our commission. thank you. >> chair ronen: wonderful. thank you so much. >> chair rone is there any public comment

before i hearing a motion on this? seeing none, public comment is closed. [gavel]. >> chair ronen: is there a motion on this item? >> supervisor stefani: i would like to forward this to the full board with a positive recommendation for -- let's see -- i should put my glasses on -- ellie armstrong. >> chair ronen: thank you. we can do that without objection. [gavel]. >> chair ronen: mr. clerk, would you please read the next item. >> clerk: item three is a motion approving president

norman yee's nomination of maria theresa imperial to the planning commission for a term ending july 1, 2020. >> chair ronen: okay. do we have anyone who wishes to speak on this item? >> yes. my name is maria theresa imperial, and i go by theresa. as part of my community work in 2009 as a volunteer to manila town heritage foundation, as a result, i learned the rich history of manila town and the filipino heritage in san francisco. in 2009, i also volunteered and

worked together with other community members and cofounded a housing program in order to provide tenants' rights, education, and access to affordable housing which we believe was a gap in our community and citywide. it is in my community work where my issues are deeply grounded. socioeconomic issues are always grounded in people of color communities, especially in issues of equity and access. when i look back, i always look at the elders in the filipino community and others who have affected my position. i am deeply honored to be considered for this position, and i have not told my family about this yet. >> chair ronen: thank you so

much. are there any questions? supervisor stefani? >> supervisor stefani: yes, thank you chair ron thank you, chair ronen, and thank you, miss imperial for wanting to be one of our commissioners. i just wanted to follow up with a few questions, and i wanted to make a few points before getting into the questions. as we discussed our growing homelessness issue and sky rocketing housing costs in san francisco, it is clear that we know that we are experiencing a housing shortage, and it's been my position, of course, that we must take responsibility and act locally to move the city in the right direction to provide housing for people at all levels. that's why i advocated for 3333 california, i advocated for 133 permanently affordable homes

for low-income seniors, and why i advocated recently for the lucky penny project that i recently talked about, and thank you for indulging me on talking about all of those issues. i wanted to just follow up on a few of the questions that we had discussed. i talked about the fact that there are about 72,500 units that have been entitled that have gained approval from city department and planning commission but are not being built, and it's something that i mentioned to you with regard to the lucky penny site. i'm wondering again, what do you think we should be doing to ensure that homes in the pipeline actually get built? we talked about it a little bit, and i just wanted to see if you've given that anymore thought. >> yes. in terms of the 72 housing pipeline and in terms of already entitled, we know that there is that -- there is a big

affordability crisis. definitely in terms of, like, as to where our 72,000 housing are being built, that is something i will look into, including where is this being built, in which neighborhoods? because i've seen the housing development report and there's much more happening on the eastern side than the western side, and there's much more affordable units on the eastern side being built than the western side being built. so that's something i would look into, of course. i would look in the housing report, and the balance of where housing units are actually being built. >> supervisor stefani: and these are units that have been entitled, and they go through the process and they're approved. they go through e.i.r. challenges at the board of supervisors, and yet, the time it takes to get through the planning department and the

department of building inspection, by the time they get through all that, construction costs have sky rocketed and they're not able to build. so that's something of focus that i think that you should be aware of that planning commission focus is on, as well. another focus of the planning department is to provide proposals to the board of supervisors. and again, we talked about transit-rich corridors and housing and zoning and -- when we met. i'm wondering if there are any other places in the city along transit corridors and those types of things that you believe that zoning should change to allow for greater kinds of housing. >> yeah. i'm glad we had that discussion when it comes to transit-oriented construction.

i believe before we do that, we need to look at infrastructure proposals. so if we're going to change the zoning, we need to look at the infrastructure around that area. i believe our issues in our community, the south of market community and the issues that i have seen in the mission, as well or the eastern part of the city, as well, we create these kinds of zoning amendments, but there's actually no planning when looking into not just the planning, but transit, as well. even the effects of climate change, and even the effects of it historical. so definitely in all of the zoning amendments, there will be studies, and i would look into studies, you know, sufficiently. >> supervisor stefani: okay. thank you. the charter also tells us that one of the primary responsibilities of the planning commission is to

provide the mayor with at least three qualified candidates for director of planning and we're in that search right now, selected on the basis of administrative and technical qualifications with special reference to training and knowledge in the field. again, we went through your resume, and your work has been great, but if you would go through the process that you would select as planning director. >> i would like to see a planning director that has experience in working with people of color community and has a racial and socioeconomic lens. that's how i would like to see the planning director. >> supervisor stefani: okay. and also, i wasn't extremely familiar with your organization, bishop before, and it's a great organization before meeting you last week, so i took some time to better

familiarize myself over the weekend with it, too, and i notice that bishop helps people find and stay in affordable housing, which is great. and also for advocating for and against legislation. and what -- if you could just give me some examples of your advocacy work and whether or not bishop -- i know there's a lot, and whether or not bishop opposes or supports individual projects. >> you mean, in the past, for bishop? >> supervisor stefani: in the -- continuing. >> so my work, maybe let's start with the work. i've done a lot of housing -- advocacy when it comes to housing legislation and when it comes to community development -- or community planning, as you can say it. i worked in the ellis act campaign, also in creating the

housing balance report. also in the creation of an antispeculation tax. also, the copa tax that was passed last year. also, in the loan and finance for rehabilitation for -- you know, for small sites. in terms of, like, right now, you know, bishop in the past, we have -- yes, we have -- i mean, we have advocated against a development that leasing is going to be detrimental in the south of market community. that -- one example is the shadow impact around the -- on the victoria manila park. even though the shadow will be, like, in certainly parts of the year, but it's still going to affect the youth program in the south of market.

which, you know, d-6 doesn't have a lot of open spaces. in terms of right now, we are not working or talking, so it is in our -- actually in our mission is not to -- not to meet with developer, so we don't make deals with developers. we believe, you know, in community planning process. but in terms of like, you know, any kind of projects that are being put forth in planning commission, no, we are not doing that. and i have also talked to the city attorney in terms of what, like, bishop can do and what i can do. >> supervisor stefani: okay. that's great. and these are questions asked of most planning commissioners that come before us. i think we've seen other planning commissioners before us have rigorous questioning, as well. and i just want to make sure, given your advocacy work and a

lot of projects going up to the planning commission, do you think that you will be able to remain neutral when projects come up before you? this is a question i'd ask of anyone. >> you mean, neutral in terms of recusing myself? >> supervisor stefani: no, neutral in terms of projects that come before you? >> oh, yeah. you have to look at a lot of things. one is the community input. they're the expertise in the community. the second is the analysis and the reports that are being given to me by the planning, as well. so i would look into the code compliance in that neighborhood or in that corridor itself, and, you know, definitely there's going to be a lot of factors you need to weigh-in. but you know, there's the

community input and the information being given to me by the planning department. >> supervisor stefani: thank you. i have nothing else. >> chair ronen: thank you. supervisor mar? >> actually, i just wanted to thank supervisor yee for putting such a qualified individual before us for the planning commission and also for your dedication to housing and the at risk communities in our city. it's obvious that you bring a depth of knowledge in planning and housing issues, particularly in the south of market neighborhood which has been ground zero in the tech tech development boom that's been playing out here in the last decade, but also that you're a resident, and i think

that's good information that you bring to the role of a planning commissioner. i just wanted to ask your role in the west side and the role that the west side can play in addressing the housing availability crisis. on one hand, we have sb 150 which are trying to provide ke blankets, but then, on the other hand, as you mentioned, when we actually look at the data and something like our housing balance report, we see that the west side and my district, for example, has by far the worst housing balance in the city in market rate versus affordable housing development. and we're also seeing high rates of displacement and loss of rent control units in

district 4 and district 1. so -- actually, and one final point. you know, we -- recently, the board of supervisors passed legislation that -- that was sponsored by myself and supervisor fewer that expanded priority areas in the city because there is opportunity for development there, such as -- yeah, we'd like to -- actually, i'd like to hear a little bit more. >> yeah. i mean, that's -- i've been living in d-7 for the last ten years. i believe i lived there back in 2010. the -- as you have mentioned, the housing balance report, when it comes to the west side, there's actually not much or not at all when it comes to housing units being built, and that's something i would like to see.

i hope the community would like to see that, as well. but we know that there's affordable crisis in the city. i know that there's a lot of renters in the west side, and which is hard to see it in the rent board when you look at units being taken out. that's why i would like to defer a lot in terms of community people, especially on the west side, in terms of, like, how many communities are being taken out. if there is a disproportionate review on the west side being taken out, i would definitely defer to somebody living there. because we cannot afford to take a unit out, especially if it's rent control, and there is no affordable buildings being built, whether it's a renter or home ownership. so that's something i would like to see more of, as well. >> thank you. >> chair ronen: thank you so

much. i really appreciate you for being willing to take on this role. we know that it's a huge commission to be a planning commission. it's not a paid position, it's a volunteer position. and anyone who's willing to put in the countless hours per week is really -- is dedicating themselves to the city in a way that needs to be commended, so i just want to thank you for your willingness to do this job which is so important to us. so my -- one of my questions is about map 2020. it grew out of the eastern neighborhoods plan, and the fact that so many folks in the mission district were being displaced from the community and to try to figure outweig w

to impact the displacement that's occurring there. but we have sb 50 and the housing accountability laws and the state laws that are really limiting the power of local jurisdictions to play a role. so i'm just sort of wondering your vision of how you're going to deal projects that might deal with further displacement given all of these constraints that we have around us. >> i think that's when i would also get your help as supervisors, as well. yes, there are the statewide laws that limiting ours, and i heard, you know, that, you know, the state center is also pushing forward with new legislations, but that is something that i -- you know --

you know, what i see, you know, what i will bring in the planning commission is what i see in the ground and what the people says in the planning commission. and in terms of, like, you know, how to -- you know, what if a development is using a state -- you know, a state law, you know, i will speak out of my expertise and what i see, but i will also need help from your offices and how to counter that, as well. in terms of will the city be willing to go against a state legislation, so that's something i definitely would have to work with you guys on that. you guys represent the constituents, so -- and i will bring what i see in the ground, yeah. mm-hmm. >> chair ronen: and then have you had the opportunity to learn about the planning

department's racial and social equity initiative? >> no, not yet. i'm not -- i'm going to -- not yet. i would -- but the thing is, i would like to read that, yeah. >> chair ronen: okay. and then, i serve as the board's representative to the metropolitan transportation commission, the m.t.c. and i would love to see more direct interaction between the city planning department and regional planning efforts, and i'm wondering if you have any thoughts on how to make that happen? >> actually, i am aware of the m.t.c., the plan bay area 2030 -- now it's turned to 2050. i know that the city nominates, you know, a proxy at the m.t.c., as well, and if -- you know, if there's a way, you know that, you know, whoever we nominate in the m.t.c. also has

a background here in san francisco, that has worked in sfric san francisco, you know, that would be great. because in terms of -- what i'm thinking is, in terms of the transit and the housing. what i would like to bring or what i would like to envision of the planning commission is to provide -- you know, provide input or analysis or something that would be taken or considered by the m.t.c., as well. i will have to study in terms of like -- or, you know, have to study the dynamics or processes around it. and i have to admit, i am new to this, but i'm not new of, like, the way of issues that are surrounding san francisco. so i would definitely have to, of course, learn this process along the way. >> chair ronen: and then, last question before we turn it over

to public comment. it -- i know you are knew new lot of these concepts, haven't working with the nitty-gritty of the planning department, but you have unbelievable experience working in the communities and fighting for housing for residents of the city, for working people and for their families. just wondering why you think you're the best person for the planning commission at this point in time? >> yes. i believe i'm the best person -- it's kind of weird. i'm not a -- you know, i'm a pretty lay low type of person, really, and it's weird for me to be in this position, but at the same time, you know, i know i have my experience. i see what i see, i know my

truth. i know what my community says, as well, so -- and i have been at the planning commission hearings many times, and there are times that i feel like the planning commissioners don't really ask substantial questions that actually impact the every day life of people. when we look into the amendments of the codes or even if it's just discretionary review, that affects every day life. that affects a mental health of a person. so with my work in the community, and, you know, i was the first case manager in bishop. like, the every day interaction is really important, and i think it's something that needs to be heavily considered in the planning commission hearings, you know, when there's a development coming in, did the developer think about this, did they think about life in the streets? simple as that, you know, did they think about the

pedestrian? did they think about -- you know, as minuscule and really, as broad. the planning commission is a very unique position is it can go in every day life and in the bigger picture, so you have to balance the details and see in the bigger perspective, as well. so yeah, i do feel that, you know, i have that, you know, lens of background because i have deeply worked in the community. and also, i have learned about the history of, through manilatown, the history of urban development and how it impacted our community, and that's why we're here today, unfortunately, so yeah. >> chair ronen: thank you. and then, i think supervisor stefani has a question. >> supervisor stefani: yes, thank you. one last question. this is something that i talk about a lot, the fact that in san francisco, really, even on the board of supervisors, we have so much more in common

than we don't. what divides us is not as much as what, i think, unites us. and on the planning commission, things can get heated. you've been at the planning commission several times, and maybe between your colleagues on the planning commission. and for me, given what we see happening at the federal level, given what we see happening sometimes here in san francisco, i think it's so important that if we are in positions, whether or not being on elected or appointed commissions, i think we can disagree without being disagreeable. how do we deal with major conflicts and differences of opinion? honestly, i believe this because what i see going on in washington and what i see going on sometimes here is the fact that if people disagree, instead of looking at it

through our lens, it's easy to point fingers and demonize and think that because they think differently than me, that, therefore, it can cause a lot of issues. so for me, it's really important that we have people in these positions -- and you will disagree, because you have passion, which i think is great -- and i don't know you that well, but this is something that i say to everyone -- that you will be able to have cordial relationships with your planning commissioners and be able to disagree without being completely disagreeable. i wonder how you would handle that. >> yes. i've had those experiences, as well. every community has issues and, you know, not even in our own communities, we agree, you

know. i think we are all aware of that. i also -- lately, i've been taking meditation a lot, you know, and it's a way to -- it's a way for me to really reflect and also a way to -- great wisdom in all of this that's going on. i know that people have impression about me that i yell at the planning commission. i actually don't do that as much. i try to make sure that when i go to the planning commission, i'm straight to the point about housing. i'm nice, but i'm firm at the same time. there will be -- i can foresee that, and i will see that in my own communities, too, that we will be agreeing and disagreeing, but at the same time, you know, what matters the most are people's lives, and that would -- i know -- you know, that's how i would look into things. in terms of dynamics, you know, i try not to think of things

personally, you know? i do -- you know, in the buddhist philosophy, you learn how to detach and be attached at the same time, and so really balancing that, that yin and yang of life. >> supervisor stefani: no, and i understand. you can be firm and balanced at the same time. >> chair ronen: i just have to appreciate your comment for screaming but you don't think you're screaming, you just think you're being honest and straightforward and firm. often when you're honest and firm, other people interpret it as screaming. so i want to reflect back to you how much i appreciated that comment. thank you so much for your time, and we're going to open this up for public comment.

if there's any public comment, be sure to lineup to my right, your left. each member of the public will have two minutes to speak, and john, why don't you start us off. >> good morning, supervisors, madam chair, good morning. my name is john jacobo, and couple weeks ago, a group of community members that i think will be speaking today got together because we were attempting to try to have a very balanced race and socio equity lens when we look at a planning commission seat. months ago, we got together to have a similar conversation about the previous commissioner that was appointed and prior to that, for the planning director that we hope will be selected soon. it's incredibly important for us to have strong advocates that understand and have the framework that i think has been missing on the planning commission for far too long.

theresa imperial will bring that to the planning commission. she has the knowledge that we think she will not only make our coalition proud, make san francisco proud. so you will hear from many other speakers, but honestly, strongly, we are here to support our sister, theresa imperial. thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is raymond castillo. i work for the south of market neighborhood action or somcan for support. we are happy to support

theresa. she has shown she has the unique ability to understanding the planning and development issues that affect communities of concern which are often not represented equitably on the planning commission. as a filipina immigrant who works directly in the community to serve low-income individuals and families, theresa will bring much needed experience of working on the ground to the planning committees. as a member of the community on the front lines of the struggle against displacement, theresa bringing a much needed perspective to the planning commission that would help advance the goals of planning, equity, and socioeconomic justice for communities. we need someone that knows the impact of planning regulations on individuals in san

francisco. we need someone who has a strong commitment to racial and socioeconomic and gender equity in her long service, so vote in support of theresa. thank you. >> good morning, commissioners, madam chair. my name is cynthia gomez, and i am the president of local 2. we are happy to join many of our allies that are here this monday morning to support theresa's nomination to the planning commission. her work impacts san francisco and people of color. there are situations where certain individuals tend to get hit first by the strategies and policies of the planning committee. it's good to have the experience and lens that theresa brings. as someone who knows my work knows that it takes me before

the planning commission week after week. again, i'm very happy to have someone with her lens to be sitting on this body, and i'm also very happy to see someone who has community -- that is a community organizer that has such a rich history and deep roots of fighting for tenants' rights and fighting for displacement. again, as you can see by all the people lined up here to speak, that is a tremendous asset to the planning commission, and we ask that you please forward her nomination on. thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. my name's gabriel medina. i'm an officer with the latino democratic club. also, i want to speak -- first of all, thank supervisor yee for his great choice and thank

you for your consideration. theresa imperial, she's someone with such long dedication with the bishop housing project for ten years. that's hard to do, as well as working with the community on a daily basis, hearing their cases and working with them to resolve their problems. theresa has the most honesty and integrity that i can speak of. i think when it comes to those planning commission hearings, she understands what the community feels. you know, she's been there. she's testified, so i think she can help bring that with the planning commissioners, and she can help bring that forward -- she can bring that for the homeless, as well. she worked with the western regional advocacy project, and she's worked with people that have housing as well as no housing at all. one of the things that i

appreciate the most about theresa is she keeps her mind firm, and she knows all about these policies because she helped advocate for them, so please support theresa imperial. thank you. >> good morning, commissioners. my name is maya, and i am with the council of community housing organizations. i am here in support of the nomination of theresa imperial to the planning commission. i am so, so thrilled to be here in support of her. i've had the pleasure of working alongside her for the past 1.5 years, and she is just

amazing. she works alongside others, and she has the passion that we need on the commission. and she -- yeah, i could not have picked a better person to be on the commission. she sees beyond the architecture of our buildings and sees the persons who over the years created and recreated our neighborhoods. so she's extremely qualified. she cofounded a housing program, which you heard about. i am here really in support of

theresa. >> hello, supervisors. my name is honey lau, and i work for the office of civic and immigrant affairs, doing interpretation work during the day. i also want to echo the fact of theresa being in the filipino community. i have shared space with her in more contentious planning commission meetings, but i have also shared spaces with her in other events, and i can personally attest to theresa's leadership, which is something we need here now and in the planning commission. i just want to express support for -- i want to echo the comment about her equitiability and sound decision. i know she will make decisions

about her most impacts communities at heart. i feel like she's a leader that we needed a couple of decades ago, but yeah, we're moving forward, so thank you so much. >> good morning. my name is paul. i'm with the soma filipino heritage in the south of market. it's 100 years of history. unfortunately, part of that story -- a significant part of that story is unisex displacement, displacement of our ways, so it's great for our community that somebody like theresa would receive this nomination. we're proud of san francisco,

we're proud of theresa, and we ask you to support this nomination. thank you. >> hello, supervisors. david wu with soma filipinas. soma filipinas is excited to support the appointment of one of our community leaders, theresa imperial, to the planning commission. as a filipina immigrant who works directly in the community to support low-income individuals and families, she will bring experience of working on the ground to the planning commission. theresa's experience gives her the understanding of the challenges around housing rights, displacement, and the impact that inequitable has on working class families in san francisco. as someone who has done the advocacy work and is working with people on the ground day-to-day, theresa bringing a

much needed perspective to the planning commission in the process that is largely lacking that would help advance the goals of social and economic justice for san francisco's historic communities. we need commissioners that know the real impacts that land use decisions have on every day people in san francisco. again, thank you so much for considering theresa, and we really look forward to seeing her on the commission. thank you. >> good morning, commissioners. i'm joseph, chair of the somcan organization. having worked alongside her for many years, i hold her in high

regard and always keeps in mind the needs of the residents and communities she represents. it is always important to bring the perspective of being an immigrant and somebody who supports housing rights and immigrant policies. hopefully, she receives a recommendation today and looking forward to working with her as a new planning commissioner. thank you. >> chair ronen, commissioners, i think it's a very important time for san francisco. we, as i know, a few of you, when you look at specialized boards, you wonder what's missing?

women, women of color, women able to lead with a strong, bold voice. you have a woman of color able to lead with a strong, bold voice today. as many of you have said before, you have an immigrant, exciting because it's somebody who came here, had to navigate all of the strange customs and interesting conventions that american life brings to those of us that weren't born here. you have somebody who's dedicated her life to service by working with the folks that even though we try very hard to build affordable housing as quickly as we can and in every district, as was mentioned here, it still often is a really challenging opportunity for many to access. and we know it in the chinatown community where i work, we know is in the soma town community, we know it in your communities

where these efforts result sometimes in not a lot of folks from our communities or neighborhoods are able to access affordable housing. so i think you have somebody with an incredible perspective, with a bold voice, and with the -- with the experience we need on the commission, an experience of being in front of the commission. i was, you know, reminded that oftentimes, we try to find the perfect person who appeals to everyone, and that's challenging. but i think theresa is fair and smart, and she'll do well. thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i'm here as a proponent of theresa imperial and also to make a point sometimes as young folks having representation at the next level is something that, you know, is key

characters, and i guess the land use dialect of san francisco politics is not often -- the knowledge is often not there, and so i'm here for those folks. so yeah. it's interesting how many people my age can come to a rules committee at 10:00 a.m., so i'm here for those guys, and i ask you to support the nomination. thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is charlie, and i'm a district 11 resident, and i'm here on behalf of poder. and this board of supervisors has heard about the need to have equity champions on the planning commission. theresa imperial is one of those equity champions, and i hope the first of many more. she really has these kind of triple super powers. i've known her for many years and see her as someone with a high level of integrity, extremely principled, really

strong community based relationships. she also has the second super power, which is a lot of know-how. she knows policy, she can navigate it, community policy, community relationships, experiences is something she will do. and the third is really just a high level of leadership. and when she comes to the planning commission with your blessing and the board's blessing, i believe she will not just ask the right questions and say the right things, she will really have the right conversation and move the conversation in the right direction, so i hope you support her. thank you very much. >> good morning. my name's krista. so first of all, thank you, norman yee, for selecting theresa for planning

commissioner. i agree, i don't know of a better candidate to show racial equity in this year of 2020. it's amazing. theresa, i think i can speak more to what affects theresa. she has done a lot of this work. bishop was actually not staffed. she volunteered and would do that after work every day and make it happen until we finally were able to raise money for it. and bishop, i know you're not familiar with it, but it is one of the only organizations that helps residents get into b.m.r., below market rate housing. i actually see it as her implementation. she looked at the policy and figured out how to make it work when things didn't fit.

we have these great ideas, but we don't know how to do that. i think it's important to have someone like her for all people in san francisco. whether you're a business, whether you're a senior, whether you're a parent. she also has a great big view picture. i sometimes get caught in the weeds and she would pull me out and check me because there's a bigger picture, and her wisdom -- for being as young as she is, she's old, an old soul. and i would imagine everyone can see that. and i think just the quality of people who support her, it speaks testaments to who you see on the day-to-day, and who came out here and is giving honest testimony about what she can do, who she can speak to, who she's going to listen to, which is everybody, but also make sure that some people are not going to be thrown off to the side because it's not business as usual, and this is something -- this is like one of your -- one of the greatest

all time honest public servant candidates we've seen in a long time, and i'm really proud of all of you for doing this. actually, i think uncle bill would be really proud of you all supporting her, so thank you very much. >> good morning. my name is jessie fernandez. i'm a district 11 resident, and i'm here with communities united for health and justice in support of theresa imperial who has demonstrated an ability to wrestle with issues that affect our communities. oftentimes, when i am in a meeting wrestling with the small sites acquisition program, with the dalia program, issues on tenants'

rights, development or design, i can count on theresa to be a voice of authority both because of her hands-on work directly with stakeholders. also because of her analytical rigor and her holistic approach. i just want to say on the heels of our racial and socioeconomic equities, i'm pleased to support theresa for the planning commission. >> good morning, commissioners. peter papadopolous with the economic planning committee, and i'm here to support theresa for the role of planning commissioner. i've known her for sometime. she is a passionate advocate

for housing protections and legislative work, as well. [please stand by]

advisor, my name is rena tolo, i'm a direct 7 resident, and i also work in d-11. i'm here in strong support of teresa. i would like to tell you that while she has all of the qualifications that satisfy the technical requirements, i think we should see she also has a strong community connection that we have asked you for, and she has a lot of in tegrity. thank you. >> buenas días.

[speaking spanish] >> prime minister trudeau[speaking throughinterpr] hi, i have worked at the cause for the past nine years. [speaking spanish][speaking thrh interpreter] i'm here in support of teresa because she knows the community. and the work that she has done at bishop gives her the capacity to be able to make strong decisions. and i ask for your support in appointing her to the planning commission because she has a really

strong ear to the community. mucho gracias.[speaking through interpreter] thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i've been politically schooled in the mission, and i have a deep, deep love for our city. i'm with a group of community organizers, racial equity activists, and neighbourhood activists, to support him for commissioner. i thank -- and i thank so much supervisor yee for selecting her. he had a lengthy list of qualified candidates, who

are steeped and versed in our communities, and teresa just floated to the top because she is so amazing. i can't even -- i'm not going to add what folks have already said. i think, for me, it is so refreshing to have a young, brown, and down woman to serve on the planning commission. i think that young javier said it best in terms of, like, i've been around for a minute, grinding myself around planning issues and affordable housing, and to have a new generation lie like javier -- when i first started coming here, javier was like this, maybe. so it is beautiful to see this resurge nce of young people of color. hook who she rolls withlook who.

those are the people who will be counselling her and lifting her up so she will be successful. so i thank you and i hope you move her recommendation forward. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. is there any member of the public who still wishes to speak who hasn't? seeing none, public comment is closed. [gavel] >> chairwoman: i just wanted to thank everyone so much for coming out today. this is why i love split appointments to commission because we get candidates that represent different communities, that are appointed to these positions of power, that really make a difference and change the history of our city. and the planning commission is one of the most important commissions in the city and county of

san francisco. and having an appointment like teresa imperial representing voices that are so often here to say that working folks, communities of color are not being prioritized, and their needs are not being met by the development in the city. and that something needs to change in order to make that happen, that it is the job of policy-makers to write laws to lift up these communities and to make sure that everyone's interests and needs are protected and lifted up in the city. and to me, what's been made clear today by ms. imperial and her supporters is that she will be a champion of those needs and those voices. it is exactly the type of

leader we need on the planning commission at this point in time in our city. and so i will -- i want to thank president yee for having put in ms. imperial. i am extremely supportive of this appointment and just really excited for you, hopefully, once your hopefully appointed by the full board of supervisors, excited for you to get to work. i wanted to see if any of my colleagues had any comments or wanted to make a motion, or i'm happy to make it myself? i did get a call from president yee asking not to move this item forward as a committee report -- the reason that he originally asked that i schedule it as a committee report was because they're having core issues at the planning commission, and

there is the urgent need of appointing a director -- or moving forward three names to the mayor to appoint a director to the department, but he said that, you know, this is such an important appointment that he wanted to give the regular time. so we will -- i will be following his wishes and moving this forward not as a committee report, but as a regular item, to not this tuesday's board of supervisors' meet, but the following. but -- sure, i will make a motion. let me just go ahead and do that. i would make a motion to approve -- to amend this item to move forward the nomination of teresa imperial with positive recommendation, to approve the nomination, and move it forward with positive recommendation to the full board of supervisors. did i say that correctly? >> yes. so, in essence, we're deleting the word "rejecting "--

>> chairwoman: yes, to remove the word "rejecting," and keep the word "approving" with strong recommendation to the full board of supervisors. if i can take that without objection, that motion passes unanimously. >> recommended as mentioned. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. mr. clerk, is there any other items on the agenda? >> that completes the agenda for today. >> chairwoman: then the meeting is adjourned. thank you. [meeting adjourned at 11:

sustainability mission, even though the bikes are very minimal energy use. it still matters where the energy comes from and also part of the mission in sustainability is how we run everything, run our business. so having the lights come on with clean energy is important to us as well. we heard about cleanpowersf and learned they had commercial rates and signed up for that. it was super easy to sign up. our bookkeeper signed up online, it was like 15 minutes. nothing has changed, except now

we have cleaner energy. it's an easy way to align your environmental proclivities and goals around climate change and it's so easy that it's hard to not want to do it, and it doesn't really add anything to the bill. shop and dine on the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco by supporting local services within neighborhood. we help san francisco remain unique, successful and vibrant. where will you shop and dine in the 49? san francisco owes the charm to the unique character of the neighborhood comer hall district. each corridor has its own personality. our neighborhoods are the engine of the city.

>> you are putting money and support back to the community you live in and you are helping small businesses grow. >> it is more environmentally friendly. >> shopping local is very important. i have had relationships with my local growers for 30 years. by shopping here and supporting us locally, you are also supporting the growers of the flowers, they are fresh and they have a price point that is not imported. it is really good for everybody. >> shopping locally is crucial. without that support, small business can't survive, and if we lose small business, that diversity goes away, and, you know, it would be a shame to see

that become a thing of the past. >> it is important to dine and shop locally. it allows us to maintain traditions. it makes the neighborhood. >> i think san francisco should shop local as much as they can. the retail marketplace is changes. we are trying to have people on the floor who can talk to you and help you with products you are interested in buying, and help you with exploration to try things you have never had before. >> the fish business, you think it is a piece of fish and fisherman. there are a lot of people working in the fish business, between wholesalers and fishermen and bait and tackle. at the retail end, we about a

lot of people and it is good for everybody. >> shopping and dining locally is so important to the community becae a tighter fabric to the cnity and allows the business owners to thrive in the community. we see more small businesses going away. we need to shop locally to keep the small business alive in san francisco. >> shop and dine in the 49 is a cool initiative. you can see the banners in the streets around town. it is great. anything that can showcase and legitimize small businesses is a wonderful thing. >> hello everyone. welcome to the bayview bistro.

>> it is just time to bring the community together by deliciou deliciousness. i am excited to be here today because nothing brings the community together like food. having amazing food options for and by the people of this community is critical to the success, the long-term success and stability of the bayview-hunters point community. >> i am nima romney.

this is a mobile cafe. we do soul food with a latin twist. i wanted to open a truck to son nor the soul food, my african heritage as well as mylas continuas my latindescent. >> i have been at this for 15 years. i have been cooking all my life pretty much, you know. i like cooking ribs, chicken, links. my favorite is oysters on the grill. >> i am the owner. it all started with banana pudding, the mother of them all. now what i do is take on traditional desserts and pair

them with pudding so that is my ultimate goal of the business. >> our goal with the bayview bristow is to bring in businesses so they can really use this as a launching off point to grow as a single business. we want to use this as the opportunity to support business owners of color and those who have contributed a lot to the community and are looking for opportunities to grow their business. >> these are the things that the san francisco public utilities commission is doing. they are doing it because they feel they have a responsibility to san franciscans and to people in this community. >> i had a grandmother who lived in bayview. she never moved, never wavered. it was a house of security answer entity where we went for holidays. i was a part of bayview most of

my life. i can't remember not being a part of bayview. >> i have been here for several years. this space used to be unoccupied. it was used as a dump. to repurpose it for something like this with the bistro to give an opportunity for the local vendors and food people to come out and showcase their work. that is a great way to give back to the community. >> this is a great example of a public-private community partnership. they have been supporting this including the san francisco public utilities commission and mayor's office of workforce department. >> working with the joint venture partners we got resources for the space, that the businesses were able to thrive because of all of the opportunities on the way to this community.

>> bayview has changed. it is growing. a lot of things is different from when i was a kid. you have the t train. you have a lot of new business. i am looking forward to being a business owner in my neighborhood. >> i love my city. you know, i went to city college and fourth and mission in san francisco under the chefs ria, marlene and betsy. they are proud of me. i don't want to leave them out of the journey. everyone works hard. they are very supportive and passionate about what they do, and they all have one goal in mind for the bayview to survive. >> all right. it is time to eat, people.

>> we have private and public gardens throughout the garden tour. all of the gardens are volunteers. the only requirement is you're willing to show your garden for a day. so we have gardens that vary from all stages of development and all gardens, family gardens, private gardens, some of them as small as postage stamps and others pretty expansive. it's a variety -- all of the world is represented in our gardens here in the portola. >> i have been coming to the portola garden tour for the past

seven or eight years ever since i learned about it because it is the most important event of the neighborhood, and the reason it is so important is because it links this neighborhood back to its history. in the early 1800s the portola was farmland. the region's flowers were grown in this neighborhood. if you wanted flowers anywhere future bay area, you would come to this area to get them. in the past decade, the area has tried to reclaim its roots as the garden district. one of the ways it has done that is through the portola garden tour, where neighbors open their gardens open their gardens to people of san francisco so they can share that history. >> when i started meeting with the neighbors and seeing their

gardens, i came up with this idea that it would be a great idea to fundraise. we started doing this as a fund-raiser. since we established it, we awarded 23 scholarships and six work projects for the students. >> the scholarship programs that we have developed in association with the portola is just a win-win-win situation all around. >> the scholarship program is important because it helps people to be able to tin in their situation and afford to take classes. >> i was not sure how i would stay in san francisco. it is so expensive here. i prayed so i would receive enough so i could stay in san francisco and finish my school, which is fantastic, because i don't know where else i would have gone to finish. >> the scholarships make the

difference between students being able to stay here in the city and take classes and having to go somewhere else. [♪] [♪] >> you come into someone's home and it's they're private and personal space. it's all about them and really their garden and in the city and urban environment, the garden is the extension of their indoor environment, their outdoor living room. >> why are you here at this garden core? it's amazing and i volunteer here every year. this is fantastic. it's a beautiful day. you walk around and look at gardens. you meet people that love gardens. it's fantastic. >> the portola garden tour is the last saturday in september every year. mark your calendars every year.

>> good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. or good afternoon, rather. and we're glad to show you a picture of how our city did this past year on public safety. in particular our crime numbers, our crime statistics. we have a lot of good news to announce and we're going to share with you the good news and some of the challenges and strategies that we have ahead for this year 2020. but i want to begin by welcoming our mayor here, mayor london breed. she's been incredibly supportive of the men and women of our police department, and the work that we're doing to make our city safer. so wowght further adieu i'd like to introduce mayor london breed. >> mayor london breed: thank you, thank you, chief and to the command staff that are joining

us here today as well as all of the members of the san francisco police department who serve our city every single day. i think that they do an amazing job. and it's one that needs to be acknowledged and today we want to talk about some of the great work they've been able to do over the past year that has gotten our city to a better place. but i do want to take it back just a little bit because i always talk about growing up in the city to give people a perspective of how things used to be. and where we are now. and many of you know that the community that i grew up in was very challenging community and there was a lot of violence. and, sadly, a lot of loss of life to gun violence in particular. when we think about what used to happen in the 1980s and the early 1990s and how things escalated and the number of homicides that happened all over the city, especially in

neighborhoods that are in the western edition and in the mission, the fact that we are at an all-time low in homicides in our city is absolutely incredible. 41 homicides, of course, are 41 too many. but the fact is that this is the lowest number of homicides that we've seen since 1961. it is unbelievable, but we didn't get there by accident. we worked hard to achieve the success that we've been able to achieve. ultimately we want to ensure public safety of all residents of san francisco, and that involves, yes, police presence, but it also involves working together with the community. and so during the time when i worked in the community at the african american art and culture complex, in fact, many of the

command staff served as the captain of a northern police station, including the captain mcgekrin and captain ann maddox who are now deputy chiefs for this department. we worked together on those issues to try and to address not only the public safety challenge, but also how do we do more to serve the community and to give back so that that never happens in the first place. and it's a very well-rounded approach and it's very necessary and we are seeing the results in the numbers that i know that the chief is going to talk about later on today. it does take a lot of hard work, it does -- as they say, take a village. and it does require a relationship with our police officers. and i will say that what i do appreciate about san francisco police department in comparison to any other department in this country is how hard they work to

develop relationships with the community. and oftentimes it's not always acknowledged for things they do to go above and beyond which builds the bridge necessary in order to cop keep the communitis safe, not just around the challenges of what we deal with with violent crimes, but we know that san francisco's largest challenge is homelessness. and we have many officers often times who are the first to encounter people out on the streets. what you don't hear about is when they're spending their own money to pay for hotel rooms or socks or food or a number of other things, when they are providing services which are outside of the scope of what their responsibilities are. they care about the work that they do to keep the public safe. they care about the people of san francisco. and they have a responsibility, of course, to ensure all residents are safe. but they are compassionate. they work hard. and many of the policies that we

put into place here in san francisco, including our policies around deescalation and anti-bias training and a number of other things have really set the stage for so many other departments all over this country to follow. and so i am proud of the work that they have done and they'll continue to do for the residents of this city. it is getting us to a better place as we can see with the statistics. but i know that these statistics don't matter when, sadly, you or your family are a victim of violence or any other crime that exists, which is why we're working hard every single day to ensure that this department is fully staffed. and that continues to be a challenge. but the fact is that we are not fully staffed. and when we are being asked for support for beat officers and more traffic control officers and other things, you know, we

don't always have the capacity to meet the need. and i am definitely committed to continuing to fund more police academy classes and to work harder on recruitment efforts, but this is going to be necessary providing additional officers, especially as the officers retire. it's going to be critical to the success of the future of this city and in keeping people safe. and we have added beat officers where we know that they're needed and the things to help to deal with the challenges that we know that a growing city like san francisco has. and we also are aware -- we're not naive -- that there is definitely more that we need to do and can do to ensure safety for all of us. so i'm grateful and to the men and women of the department for everything that they have done to get us to this point.

i know that working together we will be able to improve upon these numbers for next year and with that i'd like to take this opportunity to ask the chief to come back to the podium and to talk more in detail about where we are with our statistics here in san francisco as it relates to violence and property crime. thank you. >> mayor, thank you. okay, again, i want to emphasize the mayor's leadership and how important it is to have a city leader that really takes a stand on public safety that she does. so thank you again, mayor, for your leadership and for your support. as i said we're pleased with the way that our statistics trended in 2019, particularly with violent crime. the mayor mentioned our homicide

rate being the lowest since 1961. but as most of you probably know, there's a monthly report that provides a snapshot of where we are at any point in time, month-to-month. and you can see on the poster board that we have to my right, your left, highlights from our year end 2019 report. and what it will show you is that homicides which are down 11% as the mayor said, 41 homicides, the lowest since 1961, and the rates down 15%. and robberies and aggravated assaults each dropped 4%. all of this is thanks to the hard work of the men and women of the san francisco police department which includes our investigation bureau and the units and our plainclothes officers and our foot beat officers and also in partnership with many diverse communities that we serve around our city. our officers put themselves at great risk protecting the people of our city, oftentimes without recognition. and i want to thank them

publicly today for the work that they do. none of this could be accomplished without the work of the men and women of the san francisco police department. violent crime is always going to be a top priority. and we think that what you see from our statistics is that we're making steady progress to reduce violent crime in our city. as i said 41 homicide says the lowest since 1961, but to illustrate the point even more emphatically, since 2017 our city had a steady decrease in violent crime as we have shifted resources to impact the areas of the city, of our city that are impacted the most. now this is at the same time that we had tremendous challenges with property crime as well. and as you will hear in a minute we have reduced property crime this past year and we're pleased with the two-year reduction and car break-ins. but the mayor illustrated this and i'll reemphasize this, when you are a victim of a violent

crime really the stats and the statistics really don't matter when it happens to you. and we understand that. and that's why building relationships are so important. that's why our strategies focus on prevention, rather than reaction. and that's why we work so hard to deter these crimes before they happen. we want you to know that for the people of san francisco that we will do everything that we can to prevent you from being a victim of crime. at any event that you are, our job is to solve the crime, to catch the perpetrators so that person can be held to account for what he or she might have done. in that regard, you know, we've had a number of high-profile cases in 2019, and we have solved many of them. and now it's up to the criminal justice system and our jury system that we believe in and our court system to take it from there. but i want to reemphasize when those crime does occur, we will

do everything in our power to solve these crimes and to bring these individuals to justice. and we have done just that. we don't solve them all. we work to solve them all. but we are going to work very hard to make sure that people who can commit crimes in our city are held to answer. with that our homicide rate this past year was 71% deterrence, which is a good thing for us because we do believe that not everybody is committing homicides in our city. there's a small amount of people. and we could solve these crimes and get those people off of our streets, it will make our city safer. we want to be more visible. we want to have more officers on the street. we know that when officers are present, people think twice before they commit crimes. so it's really important and we had a non-profit or an academic researcher that came in and to study our foot beat strategies and what they told us is that there was significant reductions

in both larceny and assaults when we deployed foot beats and we upped our foot beats in late 2017. we continue that strategy and we want that to continue. and that's why it's so important that we're able to recruit and get the finest in our police department to fill our ranks so we can continue these strategies and make them more robust. with that, we are boosting our policing efforts. we all know in 2017 that we took a stand in the u.n. plaza area and we put out a mobile command post there. and we increased our foot beat patrol there is, and it made a difference. we'll continue that with our mid-market foot beats and thanks to mayor breed and her emphasis on community policing with the men and the women that i'll introduce in a minute, our leadership teams, we'll further increase our foot patrols and focus continually on the mid-market area. i talked to many people,

business owners, residents and visitors, who have told me personally they have noticed a difference when our officers are out there. that's why we need our officers out there and we need them engaged and to do the job of preventing and deterring crime. this will also support our deployment to other issues that we have to respond to throughout the downtown area to make the place safer for all to enjoy. the next thing that i want to talk about is education. which is a key part of our crime prevention efforts and we've had our smart campaign for a number of years now, a couple years now, anyway. and we really do believe that that made a difference. but i want to go into detail on how that came about. and we'll have the chief there along the wall and we had many campaigns to reduce property crimes but the point is, number one, it was a collaborative effort. when it was assigned the deputy chief was captain lazar and with

the community members it came from the community and we all helped to foster that but it came from the community. what we intend to do with that message is to be vigilant and be resilient. don't leave your property to make it easy for somebody to make you a victim. lock your doors and don't leave things visible in your car, because you have more of a likelihood of being a victim of property crime. those public education campaigns work, they're effective and we have to do them to work in partnership with our community. this is a community effort, a drop in property crime is a collaborative effort and we have to have that continue. next i want to talk about our gun-related violence. as we know the majority of the homicides in the city traditionally have been firearm related. in 2018 -- or 2017, actually, under the leadership of the then commander greg mccapern we had

a crime gun investigation center with. that our focus is really on two things -- first of all, identifying those guns that are used repeatedly in crimes in our city, not only in our city but in the region. and the second is to identifying the individuals that use those guns so that we can hold them to account for their crimes. last year our crimes gun investigation center led to the seizure of 96 firearms, not 96 in total but 96 from this investigation center. some of which you see on the table to my right. these include unregistered machine guns, short billed rifles and silencers, and their efforts helped to bring about 90 federal and state arrests and indictments and generated over 300 leads to multiple firearm incidents. this has been a game changer in terms of building strong cases to get people who are willing to use firearms against another human being off of our streets which in turn makes our city safer. now this is a key component of

our strategic plan and our strategic initiatives which emphasize the collaboration with other city agencies and community members. in october we also hosted our first gun violence summit which is led by our director of crime strategies director tiffany sutton who is also to my left. in that summit we sat down with the community members to reduce strategies and to reduce gun violence, particularly in the bay view direct that is hard hit by gun violence. each district has specific challenges and we have to be nimble and to work with community-based organizations and community members to address our strategies to each neighborhood across our city. our crime strategy division, they're really doing the work of crunching the data and providing officers with the feedback on how to deploy resources to best meet the needs of our city. ultimately we want to do all that we can to improve our responsiveness and to make our city a safer city. we have a lot more work ahead,

we know that. it's been said, and the mayor said it, and i said it and you will hear us say time and time again, one homicide is too many and we know that we have challenges, but with that we intend to work with the community, we intend to continue to reinvent ourselves and to make the adjustments that we need to make in order to make our city the safest city that we can make. with that i thank you for joining us today. mayor breed is on a very tight schedule and we'll take a few questions and she'll have to depart in a moment but we're glad to answer a few questions before she has to depart. thank you. >> (indiscernible) how many do you need? >> we want to put them in the streets and our charter number is 1,971 and we're about a hundred away but let me explain a bit of detail and that number does include our airport and it doesn't include other issues that have to keep the officers off the street so we're about a

hundred away and we're doing to recruit and to put the people in the academy and to get them on the streets because that's where they're going to go and and the bodies are needed and the officers are needed in the streets and so that's where we plan to put them. >> (indiscernible). >> i know that in previous years we saw something less than 2% of the break-ins. >> if you are talking about car break-ins, that is hovering around 2% and that's a difficult crime to solve. however, what we have done in the last couple years and we have said this publicly is that we try to focus on those crews and individuals who we know are prolific and i think that our officers do a good job of that and we track who we arrest and we also track when they get out and if we get evidence or receive evidence that those individuals are involved in

further car break-ins we try to devise strategies to kept tiewfer them -- capture them again. but the numbers are important in terms of holding people to account. but here's another thing that we all need to try to remember. ultimately, you know, our leaders and our city and in our state and our voters have decided how they want to see things play out in terms of incarceration. the prison population is way too big and everybody has been working to reduce that, including our city leaders, so we have to be strategic and focused on those people that are doing most harm to our city and that's what we try to do and that's what we'll continue to do and we have had success with that so we'll continue that strategy and, you know, even if we were to solve 100% of those crimes, if we're having 25,000, 26,000 car break-ins every year and some are repeat offenders, we know that, we don't have the

space in our jails for that type of population. so we have to think past just arresting people. that's why prevention is so important and the backside of what type of programs they get involved in is so important. and the mayor's programs and the jobs for all and those things to keep people out of harm's way in the beginning, they all come together and they are presenting a strategy. so we need to support that. >> (indiscernible) the practices going forward and looking towards 2020, in other words, working with them. >> number one, it tells us where we need to focus and we always assess what is working and not working. for instance, we made it definite to michael's question about the enforcement strategies

a few years ago, we were arresting a lot of people. but the part that was missing is that we didn't complement that with the presence and the foot beat presence that we know that works. so now we're trying to balance that and when we look back at 2019 and see what works and what we need to work on, we'll make those assessments again but it's the balance of the enforcement side and the preventative side and making sure as much as we can that we focus on the preventative side. that's our job, really to prevent crimes from happening in the first place. so we'll continue to do that and to focus on that. >> a follow-up. looking forward then, and working with the new district attorney, how does that work in templeterms of making sure thate arrests that you make are then prosecuted? >> well, a few things that we have to do -- and i want to -- i want to, you know, to call out and thank my leadership team and our leadership team, and the assistant chief mosher and

mcchecker rercen. and we're all on the same page, we need to provide the best cases that we can provide the district attorney so that his prosecutors -- when it's appropriate to charge these cases can charge these cases. we have to stay focused on our jobs, our job is not to prosecute cases but to -- when those crimes do occur we do our investigation thoroughly and we make sure that we get the evidence there and we give the district attorney and his team the good cases to prosecute. and we need to be open to new ideas. we have to be open to new ideas. and there's been a call for changes in the criminal justice system. and we're one piece of that system but we have to be open to strategies that hold people to account but past that as i said, what next. what happens after they do their jailtime, are they going to come back to our city and be assets and good for our city, or come

back and victimize people and harm our city? so there's a lot that goes into that and it's not just about policing and we have to support those programs that help us to do that. and equity is an issue in policing and we have to be equitable with how we approach our jobs and all of that matters. so it's a lot to look at and very complex but we're up to the test and we're going to continue to push on. >> getting back to auto burglaries. you have talked about prevention. is there more that could be done there, particularly with people from out of town and rent cars and go to places where tourists go. >> there is, and we're questioning -- questioning that and i know that when the mayor was on the board of supervisors they crafted legislation for the rental car companies to make it less obvious by the markings and

that on the rental cars. they are big steps in the right direction and we can't control what happens outside of our city and county but we have been working with the rental car companies on safety messaging. you will see the park smart campaign, posted in the rental cars, and the offices, those things help. working with our consular officers so when they have their constituents coming in from their respective countries that the message is consistent about prevention. people come here to visit our city and their cars get broken into or their luggage is stolen and their passports and all of their papers are gone, that's a big problem for people. so we have to spread that message anyway that we can and those things are continuing. we're always looking to improve them and to evolve in that regard. but there is more -- always more that can be done. >> a couple more questions or one more question and then smaller groups.

>> chief... (indiscernible) this is a national emergency with the break-ins. (indiscernible). >> for car break-ins, there is not a whole lot of -- well, as far as i know there's not any federal prosecutions directly related to car break-ins. and some of the side issues that come from car break-ins and guns are stolen and that type of thing, sometimes it's appropriate to pursue federal -- pursue those relationships with our federal partners to hold to account those type of violations and somebody gets caught with a gun and they're they're a convicted felon and those issues, that it could be appropriate to pursue federal charges on those. which car break-ins, many times that happen.

and we will pursue federal charges when it's appropriate to do so, when we want to use every opportunity, every resource and every partnership to make our city a safer city. (♪) (♪) >> it is a ranger. it has the same responsibilities as a ranger, security of the watershed, assisting the public.

providing interpretation when necessarily and protecting water quality. i love to help people in many waves. path has that experience and training. his professionalism is there when there is danger. we hope there isn't. i know accidents can happen. when they do, it is important to have someone like path -- like pat available. they were treating weeds using the utv. it is an off road vehicle seating two peak. they rolled the utv in a remote area. pat was first on the scene. >> i was 100% relieved that pat was there to calm the situation down, to know what to do for the injuries we had and to make sure the right people were on the

way. i think that in that moment, pat shined as he would in that type of situation. >> it is important for us. we are a small staff with a large area to patrol. if we don't have the support of the public we will not have their eyes on our watershed. we work closely with the neighboring organizations, whether they be east bay regional parks or the garden club. we try to involve them in protecting the watershed. >> there is a lot of ways pat engages the community and stakeholders in every case. i would say pat does it in a professional and uplifting way because of his personality. >> it is a team effort. that is what i like best is that we have successfully created a team to work well together, play well together and they do a good

job on the watershed. >> pat the wore she of the -- worthy of the award. he cares about the community that engages the land and fellow employees. pat is about the team. always willing to lend a hand when somebody needs a hand. i have worked with him for three years and witnessed firsthand the benefits of the professionalism, commitment and passion. he is wore these of the golden pride award inmize mind. >> i am pat jones the watershed keeper for san francisco water.