welcome to the april 27th, 2020 meeting of the rules committee. i'm supervisor hillary ronen, chair of the committee. with me on the video conference is rules committee vice chair catherine stefani. i'd like to thank sfgov for staffing this meeting. mr. clerk, do you have any announcements? >> clerk: yes. due to the covid-19 health emergency and protocols, board members, city employees and the public, the board room is closed. however, members will be participating remotely. this caution is taken pursuant to the statewide stay-at-home order and proceeding local, state and federal orders, and directives. sorry, guys. >> supervisor ronen: sorry, i

thought you were done. >> clerk: committee members will be attending through video conference and participating in the meeting in the same extent that they were physically present. public comment will be available on each item on the agenda, both channel 26, sfgov.org are streaming the number up. at the top of the screen. each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. comment or opportunity to speak during the public comment period are available via phone call by calling (888)204-5984. again (888)204-5984. access code 350-1008. again 350-1008. when connected, dial 10 to be added hot queue alternatively, you may submit public comment in

either of the following ways, email myself, the rules committee clerk at cictor.oyung cictor.oyung@sf.gov.org. written comments may be sent by u.s. postal service to city hall, 1 dr. carlton b., good let place, room 244, san francisco, california, 9410 #. finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the board of supervisors agenda of may 5th, unless otherwise stated. >> supervisor ronen: wonderful. can you please read item number 1. >> clerk: item number 1 -- my apologies. switching papers. item number 1 the motion approving rejecting the mayor's nomination for the reappointment

of crstina rubke to municipal transportation agency board of directors, term ending march 1, 2024. >> supervisor ronen: wonderful. and i understand that ms. rubke is on the line and ready to join us. >> clerk: go ahead. >> yeah. she is -- go ahead. >> clerk: hello, ms. rubke. >> hello. i had you bleeped out for a moment. so i couldn't hear anything. now i can hear you. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much for joining us in this remote way. we really appreciate it. we would love to hear any remarks you have on your nomination and then we'll turn it over to the supervisors to ask questions. >> thank you. thank you so much for taking the

time today to hear my nomination to serve on the sfmta board. for the last eight year, i have had the privilege of serving i'm willing to serve a third and final term, should the board of supervisors confirm the mayor's nomination. you have my rezmy and i understand that we're focused on many other important needs. i'll keep my remarks short. but, of course, i'm here to answer any questions you have. very briefly about me. i'm a trademark lawyer, an avid sailor and a huge fan of public transit. i have a disability and used a wheelchair to get around. as a result, i rely on accessible public transportation to live an active life. one of the main reasons i moved to san francisco and since moving here in 2005, i have regularly been on muni. my main lines are the t, the n, the 47, the 10 and the 82. as an sfmta board member, i have focused on the overall accessibility of our transportation system, including

physical, economic, and programmatic accessible. very quickly highlight a few of the things i have worked on, let me know if you want more details. in the last six months, i have attended several san francisco human rights commission meetings that address transit equity. i hope to continue to work with the human rights commission, and the willingness to partner with sfmta on the critically important access issues. currently serve as the chair of the sfmta board's policy and governance committee, that meets monthly to look at the strategic plan goals and how the agency is meeting or missing key performance metrics. i hope that we can take this unique opportunity and time to examine our expectation work as a whole and come out of this with a better, more equitable system. and to me that would be better prioritizing our transit, pedestrians and cyclists. i look forward to working with

the other directors. another thing i have advocated for is expanding the accessibility of emergeing mobility like car share. to me the mode shift goals we need the options to be accessible to as many people as possible, including populations that have historically been excluded from such options. one initiative is the bike share pilot that sfmta ran last fall in golden gate park. finally and probably most important to me over the last eight years, i have focused on pedestrian safety. i'm a huge advocate of automatic speed enforcement, as well as other data-proven tools. additionally, i have focused specifically on pedestrian safety for people with disabilities and seniors, who as you know are statistically more likely to be victims of traffic violence. and i hope this continue this important work. if there were public comment, i would already have been cut off. so i will stop there. i'm happy to answer any questions you have. >> supervisor ronen: okay. thank you very much. appreciate you joining us today.

and your service thus far and your willingness to serve into the future. and i'm sorry i didn't have a chance to speak with you prior to today. but i know that you spoke to my staff and i really appreciate that as well. i'm just going to start it off with one question. i was very concerned that the m.t.a. board, including you, voted to increase fares on clipper card users during this period, when so many san franciscans have lost their jobs, are struggling to put food on the table, when service cuts on m.t.a. have been extensive. i'm sure that you know that the board of supervisors voted 10-1 urging you not to increase fares. and it's -- it's really concerning to me. and i wanted to hear more of an

explanation on why you chose to vote to increase fares during this time. >> absolutely. thank you for that question. i voted without -- you know, there was much hesitation and thought and consideration that we -- that myself and i know all of us gave to both the board of supervisors' perspective on this and frankly just a lot of compelling public comment. so i voted for the budget because i really do think it balanced the needs of the agency to move forward in a sustain -- financially sustainable way to be able to provide transportation service as we come out of this. so to be clear, the increases that were -- that are part of our budget will go into effect at the earliest in november of 2020. they aren't going into effect now. one of the reasons that we chose to reduce the discount on

clipper, which has the effect of raising the fare on clipper, is because when we did an analysis of the populations that use clipper, versus cash fare, the data though that more -- with this budget we were able to maintain fee cash fare at $3 for the next two budget cycles, the for the next two fiscal years. and so we -- in doing all of those things, in fact, we deviated from the board policy, that's a fair indexing policy that i very much believe in.

financial sustainability for the agency, as well as transparent and, you know, public transparency for what fares are going to look like as we move forward. the fare policy basically increases fares on an incremental basis over time, to match the cost of providing transportation services. as you probably know about 20% of our operating budget comes from transit fares. that's not an insignificant amount of money. we as board members have a responsibility to make sure that sfmta is in a position to continue providing service into the future. row

the exact circumstances you're pointing to. we do have various -- we have -- in addition to the muni use program, we have free muni for low and moderate-income senior and people with disabilities. we do have a lifeline pass for

lower-income folks. and we do have other discounted programs. so i think the direction that our staff -- they were already working on this. but i think we're always looking for more options to better serve lower-income folks who may be in the middle zone, where basically they may not qualify for the low-income discount. so i think our focus moving forward should be trying to capture folks who may not qualify for the low-income discount programs we have in existence. i would look forward to input on those issues. because i think that's really important. >> supervisor ronen: so i serve on the m.t.c. and we recently were successful in getting 100 -- i believe it's $197 million from the care act in congress for the m.t.a.,

which almost covers the cost of the losses during the shelter-in-place and covid crisis. was that considered when making this choice to raise the clipper card fares? >> it was. and i think an important thing to note that we entered this budget cycle with already basically, as i think the citywide is experiencing, a structural deficit that we needed to close the gap on. that was before coronavirus and covid, you know, that we're seeing now. so we are very grateful for the federal funding. it's allowing us to move forward and not have to make drastic service cuts in the future, when we're not social distancing. we also have, as you know, a backlog of funding that we need to address, to ensure liability of our transportation system. so we did consider all of that

when we approved the budget. >> supervisor ronen: okay. okay. thank you. do my colleagues have any questions? >> supervisor mar: yeah. thanks, chair ronen. first of all, thank you, ms. rubke, for your service to the m.t.a. board and for your willingness to continue to serve. it's critically important role in our city and for our communities. i just had some follow-up questions, sort of i'm drawing on chair ronen's questions around how you would approach the difficult and challenging decisions that the m.t.a. board is going to have to make in light of the significant increased budget deficit. so, yeah, thank you for sharing your sort of general priorities

around equity and expanding access, particularly for the disability -- disabled community and pedestrian safety. but i was just wanting to hear a little bit more about how you're going to approach making these really difficult budget decisions, particularly to ensure equity in our transit service and transit system in our city. yeah, i guess. i'm sorry. just a little more. i'd appreciate it. >> go ahead. >> supervisor mar: a little more elaboration on how you approach these difficult decisions. >> right. sees as a we move forward in just the financial situation, that we all are facing. is that right? >> supervisor mar: yeah. >> right. i think this goes back to one of the reasons i approved the

budget, which included fare increases to make sure that we are appropriately or as appropriately as we can, under the circumstances, funding our agency, so that we're not making painful cuts to service. because we already know that in communities of concern and there's certain parts of our city that are, you know, still would benefit from more reliable transit service. and so i think, as you know, the m.t.a. has an equity strategy. i think that strategy is something that i'm really proud that our agency does. and i think that would be kind of my first starting point as far as, you know, when we're having to make difficult decisions. you know, using that as a guide to making sure that we're providing service where it's needed most, in communities that are historically, you know, left out or not, you know, have been

-- have not had the service that the financial district has, for example. so i would start there. so, you know, transit improvements to the 3rd, for example. i mean that's just one obvious line that needs a lot of attention. but i would, you know, try to make sure that we are funding those -- that service appropriately, as we move forward, before cutting anything, you know, improving service all together i guess. that would be kind of where i would start. >> supervisor mar: yeah. thank you. just on that, you know, as we look at restoring service, you know, that has been so drastically cut down to the bone right now, besides you mentioned prioritizing the t-line, can you mention how you would approach prioritying -- prioritizing

which service lines to restore and if there's any other specific priorities -- specific priorities in terms of service restoration. >> yes. i mean, i think -- as you said, the equity strategy has a really good menu of the things we know we need to do. and so i would, you know, i would want to look at those particular line and get those up and running, you know, as we restore service. and as things go back to normal. we also want to -- and i know the agency is very committed to doing this, -- as we ratchet back up as a society in general, see where the riders need the service. see where people are traveling and because i would imagine that in the transition back to -- transitioning out of shelter-in-place, i would imagine transit trends would be slightly different than what we would expect before covid.

i would be kind of -- looking at those two things. and i would also be -- i think it's really important that we look at non-transit options as well. so i think some of the initiatives that we have in place right now are really exciting to me. and i hope that we can use them as a way to transition back. so, for example, making safer streets for people who are cycling and walking. those are the streets initiative that's been really successful. i'd be interested in hearing the supervisors' perspectives on that. but i think enabling those types of modes to really -- to flourish as we transition back. i think it's really important, because i don't think it's appropriate to go back to businesses a usual with traffic congestion every -- business as usual with traffic congestion everywhere. >> supervisor mar: thank you. i don't have any other questions. thank you so much.

>> supervisor ronen: supervisor stefani, do you have any questions? >> supervisor stefani: yes, thank you, chair ronen. i thank you for meeting with me last week over zoom. thank you for your eight years of service thus far. i do have one question that came up subsequent to our meeting. and one of the issues that i have had and ongoing problem with with the sfmta is communication. and it seems like at least, as far as i'm concerned, i feel like i'm always the last person to find out what's happening in my district and what the sfmta is doing in my district. for example, the most recent announcement of street closures, the streets program during the shelter-in-place was announced as we all know, without any input whatsoever from the supervisors. there were no streets that were considered in district 2 at all. and i think it's absolutely vital that when the sfmta is doing things that affect our constituents in our districts, that we be involved.

and, first of all, i want to know your opinion on -- i don't think it's just anecdotal. i think it does happen. i don't know if the other supervisors feel the same way. i know supervisor peskin made the comment about it. why does that continue to happen? it seems to be a culture of lack of communication. and whether or not you see it as an issue at all. do people really think the supervisors need to be involved in these types of decisions? and also will you commit to making sure that we are involved going forward, because i think when issues are affecting our constituents, we should not be the last to find out. so physical you can just opine on that a little bit. yes. that's pretty much it. >> okay. no, thank you for that question. you're certainly not the first supervisor i've heard that from. i think the sfmta has an

amazing, talented, skilled staff. and i know that they're committed to communicating with you. i know that me as a board member, i very much value, you know, partnerships with the board of supervisors, because i think our projects are more successful when the supervisor in the district, is not only in support, but just engaged. because you are talking to your constituents and you're able to get a fuller discussion of the issues. and i think we end up with better projects that way. so i'm personally very, very supportive and very, you know, i think it's very critical that you all are involved in what's happening in your districts. and i -- you know, like i said, this is not the first time i heard a supervisor complain about this. i know that our staff is working amazingly difficult during this time. i know that the safe streets issue -- i do think that this was -- the closed streets, sorry. the initiative i know that came out very quickly. and i did hear that from other

supervisors as well that they didn't get advanced warning. i would -- i hope to look at this as a like an emergency precaution that, you know, rolled out very quickly. and so that is why that was -- that was the case. and i hope that that is not seen as a, you know, ongoing practice and certainly i hope that you all feel free to reach out to me if you feel this is a continuing issue moving forward. >> supervisor stefani: thank you for that. i just want to make sure that -- when items become -- when we have items that are before the board of supervisors, just to take note of that and make sure that that's a question. and that's something that you ask about to make sure that we're involved. because a lot of times what happens is that we react.

and then we're pegged as is not being supportive of the sfmta or the underlying project, when we haven't even had a chance to evaluate it. so in that -- that's unfortunate as well. that we're pegged as not liking bicycles or not liking this or that, when all we're doing is actually reacting to the fact that things are rolling out without our input, without us being able to even have a conversation with our community. and so i just really think that that needs to be a priority going forward. and it sounds to me that you're committed to that. so i appreciate your answer. that's all i have. thanks, supervisor ronen. >> supervisor ronen: thank you. i just want to echo everything supervisor stefani just said. the rollout of the slow streets was pretty disastrous. and it was -- it was really shocking to all of us that the m.t.a. didn't consult with us on the streets, that it chose which were -- very strange choices. and certainly didn't have to do

with anything that anyone wanted in my district. so i couldn't agree more with supervisor stefani on that. and we would ask you, if you are reappointed, to please make sure that the staff is communicating with supervisors in a much more direct and consistent way. >> supervisor mar: chair ronen. can i just -- yeah. just wanted to add on to this. and also say that thanks to supervisor stefani for raising this issue around the sfmta's practice of moving ahead with significant decisions without adequate input from the supervisors or in other cases from neighborhood residents or businesses. and and i think for the slow streets initiative, i think

that's a good example. that i totally agree with both of you on that it was very problematic how that went forward. although i do want to add that i'm very supportive of the slow streets initiative and the fact that it was something that i had already been in conversations with sfmta staff about. and in looking at how we could implement slow streets strategy in district 4. and specifically we had already spoken earlier with the sfmta staff about 41st avenue being a good candidate for traffic calming and slow streets. and so i was happy to see that 41st avenue, you know, was one of the first two streets to be implemented, you know, as a slow street on friday. and i was actually out there this weekend on 41st avenue with my daughter bicycling on it. and it was wonderful. you know, enough space for walking and bicycling.

but i think, ms. rubke, your sort of explanation about the problematic process with slow streets and the lack of engagement with the supervisor offices around, your explanation that was mostly due to an emergency -- the need to sort of act quickly during the emergency situation, that we're facing in a city, you know, really doesn't -- you know, that's not a question adequate or even reasonable explanation, because the slow streets, you know, initiative is something that clearly, you know, wasn't an urgent emergency action that had to be taken. and could have and should have been done in more collaborative way with the district supervisor offices in our communities. thanks. i just wanted to say that. >> supervisor ronen: yeah. >> understood. i appreciate that feedback.

i guess maybe -- i just think that our staff is working so incredibly hard, kind of around the clock at the ever-changing needs of the transit system. so i just think that this is a very unique time. i just hope that the inadequate communication that you all very well articulated isn't seen as kind of that's business as usual and that's our trend. that is not what we're aiming for obviously. >> supervisor ronen: okay. if there's no more comments from my colleagues, questions, we'll open this item up for public comment. mr. clerk, are there any members of the public who would like to speak on this item? >> clerk: madam chair, operations is -- actually sfgov is checking to see if there are any callers in the queue. >> mr. chair, there are no callers waiting to speak. >> supervisor ronen: okay. there are no callers, that what

i heard? >> clerk: yeah. just to say, if you were on the line and wish to speak, please press 10 to be added to the uaw. -- to the queue. give them a few moments if they decide to speak. >> supervisor ronen: sure. >> clerk: it appears -- just checking in with sfgov, it appears there are no speakers for this item. if you could confirm that, please. >> i can confirm there are no speakers. >> supervisor ronen: okay. thank you very much. public comment is closed. colleagues, do either of you have a motion on this item? >> clerk: please note an amendment is required on this item. >> supervisor ronen: right. >> supervisor mar: chair ronen,

i'd be happy to move that we amend the motion to remove "reject." >> supervisor ronen: send this forward to a committee report? >> supervisor mar: yeah. so the motion states that we approve -- the mayoral appointment of crstina rubke to m.t.a. board of supervisors, recommendation to the bull forward. >> supervisor ronen: great. can we have a roll call vote. >> clerk: yes. on that motion. supervisor stefani? >> supervisor stefani: aye. >> clerk: supervisor mar? >> supervisor mar: aye. >> clerk: chair ronen? >> supervisor ronen: aye. >> clerk: this matter will be recommended as a committee report, as amended to remove the

word rejecting throughout the motion. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much, ms. rubke. congratulations. and hope to talk to you again soon. >> thank you so much for your time. take care you guys. >> supervisor ronen: bye. mr. clerk, can you please read item number 2. >> clerk: item number 2 is a hearing to consider appointing one member term ending august 1st, 2022 and two members, term ending august 1st, 2023 to the south of market community planning advisory committee. members of the public who wish to provide public comment on the item should call (888)204-5984, access code 32501008. i believe at this time we have two members -- two applicants on hold. i believe that mr. elberling has not called in.

>> supervisor ronen: okay. before we call the applicants, i was wondering if abigail from supervisor haney's office wanted to make any comments? >> clerk: give us a moment while we unmute her line. >> supervisor ronen: okay. >> good morning, chair mar, stefani and ronen. this is abigail from supervisor haney's office. today for your consideration, is the south of market community planning advisory committee nominations. supervisor haney is unable to join us this morning. but would like me to convey that our office has nominated three people for those seats. seat 4 is john elberling, seat 5 is heather phillips, seat 6 is jane weil. before we hear from the applicant, we have jessica look, a representative from the planning department here today, to briefly give some background about this c.a.c. and what the

body hopes to achieve during its time. miss look are you there? >> good morning. can you guys hear me? >> supervisor ronen: we can. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is jessica look. and i'm a series planner with the planning department. a product of the central soma plan, which was adopted in 2018. the c.a.c. was created in response to both community and planning commission desires and introduced into a legislation in 2019 by supervisor matt haney. the soma c.a.c. will be comprised of 11 members, seven appointed by the board, and four appointed by the mayor. there are also 11 alternates,

which are appointed in a same manner and these board appointees will be before this committee. the c.a.c. is charged with providing advice on not just the implementation of the central soma plan, but also the east soma area plan and the western area plan. the c.a.c. is responsible to help prioritize projects funded by the eastern neighborhood area plan impact fees, that are collected in soma, along with projects funded by new central soma funding sources. in addition, the c.a.c. is able to provide input on proposed revisions to documents, that implement the respective plans. and the c.a.c. can also provide input on individual development proposals, comprised by individual development projects and the design and programming of open spaces, including -- so once the soma c.a.c. is seated, he'll be working with the committee members to

finalize the bylaws and develop a calendar of agenda items for a monthly meeting. this concludes a really brief overview of what the soma c.a.c. is. but i'm happy to answer any questions that you might have. thank you. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much. is there any questions from my colleagues? i don't think we have any questions. but thank you so much for joining us and for that presentation. appreciate it. so now we will hear from the applicants. why don't we start with ms. phillips for seat 5. are you on the line, ms. phillips? >> good morning supervisors. >> supervisor ronen: good morning. >> yes, i'm here. >> supervisor ronen: please. >> good morning, supervisors.

thank you so much. i am heather phillips and i just want to say thank you so much to supervisor haney's office for nominating me for this opportunity to apply to serve on the south of market community planning advisory committee. a little about me, for the last 14 years i've lived and worked in the south of market. and i've had the privilege to work with many different community groups, collaboratives, neighborhood projects. currently i work full time as the director of programs at united players, where i have the opportunity to work directly with young people and their families, as well as supervise a program staff of 14 amazing people. i am also one of the founding members of the friends of jean and victoria park, a group which advocates for the only full-service public park and rec center in south of market. as well as activate these

spaces. most recently i was appointed to serve on the eastern neighborhood c.a.c. and that experience has helped me understand how community members, like myself, can influence the long-range planning that they're preparing for. ultimately the community's voice in this process is vital to understanding how to prioritize the needs of residents, stakeholders and most importantly our vulnerable populations, who often don't have the access or the resources to influence these huge systems. i do have a master's degree in urban studies and i feel that this gives me some insight. however, i think what makes me most qualified to serve on this committee is the experience that i share as a district 6 resident, a former service provider and a person committed to justice and equity. i would be proud to serve as a member of this committee and i'm happy to answer any questions that you have for me today. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much. is there any questions?

i don't think we have any questions. so thank you so much for your willingness to serve in another capacity. we really appreciate it very much. >> thank you all so much for the opportunity. >> supervisor ronen: of course. next we would love to hear from jane weil, if you are available. >> hello. can you hear me? >> supervisor ronen: yes, we can. >> okay. well, hello, supervisors. my name is jane weil. and i appreciate speaking to you today to seek your approval for my appointment to the new soma community planning c.a.c. i live in mid-market on mission, between 7th and 8th. the densest, most quickly developing part of the city. and it's essential that we try to balance the positive aspects of progress with the needs of the people who already live here. i represent several

constituencies, homeowner, seniors, spanish speaker and grandparent of public school students. and i have worked closely with members of the filipino community, who have made soma their home for decades. and are trying to preserve the family neighborhood that exists today. gentrification and the lack of open space are a real problem here. as is the concentration of supportive housing, navigation centers and poverty. making mid-market a containment zone is not healthy for anyone. it's fair that the impact fees from the rapid development in soma be plowed back into the community, to stabilize it and enhance services to the low-income family and seniors live here. the fees generated by the central soma plan are used to benefit everyone. i have worked with the other nominees on earlier c.a.c.s and we're all committed to balance the needs of soma residents and work with planning and all city departments as the construct impacts us all. i have lived around the country

and committed to making my home in the heart of san francisco. but i want our central city to be the best it can be. and i want to leave with one sentiment, housing without green space is unhealthy. we can't continue to build high-rise buildings with thousands of new units, including many for families of all incomes, and not include more green space that's open to all. we can't rely on developers to provide open spaces. they'll put it where they want on shady back corners and ask to buy it back later as the public won't use it in the case of being a continental hotel. i represent district 6 to the park and rec open space, advisory committee. and i also look forward to serving on this new c.a.c. to help manage the development of soma. thank you so much. and i'm happy to answer any questions. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much. is there any questions? i don't think there's any

questions. thank you so much for serving on yet another body to make soma even better. appreciate it. and then i just wanted to check -- thank you. with the clerk to make sure mr. elberling hasn't joined us? >> clerk: i believe that mr. elberling has not called in. can you please confirm? >> that is correct. mr. elberling has not called in. >> supervisor ronen: okay. well, i am very familiar with mr. elberling's work in soma. and it's been topnotch. so i am happy to endorse his appointment to seat 4. can we now open this up to public comment. is there any member of the public who wishes to speak on this item? >> clerk: madam chair, we're checking to see if there are any callers in the queue.

sfgov, please let us know if you're ready. for those already on hold, please continue to wait until you're prompted to speak. >> okay, mr. chair, i see one right now. if you want to please wait a moment to allow them to call in. otherwise there are none in the queue. >> supervisor ronen: great. we'll wait a moment. >> okay. there is one call in the queue. >> supervisor ronen: fantastic. caller -- >> announcer: you have one question remaining. >> supervisor ronen: good

morning. if the public comment is on the line, feel free to begin. has anyone called in for item number 2 to speak in public comment on the appointment of the soma community planning advisory committee? >> announcer: you have zero questions remaining. >> okay. it appears that caller has dropped the line. >> supervisor ronen: okay. so i think -- is it appropriate now to close public comment, mr. clerk? >> clerk: yes, it is. i am happy to make a motion to move these nominees forward.

john elberling for seat 4. c. heather phillips for seat 5 and jane weil for seat 6, with positive recommendation. can you please take a roll call vote. >> clerk: on that motion, supervisor stefani? >> supervisor stefani: aye. >> clerk: supervisor mar? >> supervisor mar: aye. >> clerk: chair ronen? >> supervisor ronen: aye. >> clerk: the motion passes. >> supervisor ronen: wonderful. congratulations. thanks again for your service. mr. clerk, can you please read item number 3. >> clerk: item number 3 is a hearing to consider appointing nine members term ending december 1st, 2023 to the soma community stabilization fund community advisory committee. members of the public who wish to provide public comment, should call (888)204-5984, access code 3501008 and press 10 to line up to speak.

for this item, we have two members who are not able to call in, as of this time. shannon amitin and conny ford. >> supervisor ronen: okay. i wanted to see if abby wanted to speak before we opened the floor to the applicants? is abby from supervisor haney's office still on the line with us? >> clerk: yes, she is. >> chair ronen, thank you so much. i'm here. can you folks hear me? >> supervisor ronen: yes. now we can. >> wonderful. thank you, chair ronen, and supervisors mar and stefani. i'm here again on behalf of supervisor haney. thank you for all of our applicants that have applied previously.

i know that this matter has been heard by the rules committee at a prior hearing. today, for your consideration, are two remaining members of -- two remaining applicants for the permanent seated numbers, as well as alternate seats. just a brief background and a continuation of supervisor haney's remarks from the first meeting, the soma community stabilization fund was created in 2005. the mission of this soma community stabilization fund is to stabilize the community and promote equity through funding recommendations and priorities that mitigate the impact of development. throughout the fund's history, the board of supervisors has always honored the recommendations of this e.a.c. so it has very much had a very real influence on shaping the neighborhood and prioritizing investments to stabilize residents and businesses and their expertise, history and relationships within soma, who will be critical in making

impactful decisions in allocating the public dollars. the c.a.c. will work in partnership with the soma planning c.a.c. to ensure that its investments are aligned, cohesive and strategic. i would like to thank rosario from o.c.d. for all of her hard work with the c.a.c. throughout the years. we appreciate you calling in and thank you for your dedication to the c.a.c. chair ronen, we do have some recommendations following the applicants' comments. so i would like to turn it over to you to call the applicants for seats 6 and 7. >> supervisor ronen: sure. so if we can hear from christian martin first. that would be great. is christian martin on the line? >> yes, i am.

>> supervisor ronen: wonderful. good morning. >> good morning. good morning, chair, good morning supervisors. my name is christian martin. i'm the founding executive director of the newly formed soma west benefit district. the not-for-profit entity, our mission is to improve the quality of life for all of the residents, businesses and visitors to the western part of soma, through a variety of programs. the boundaries range from mina in the north to thompson in the south and 5th in the west. all 107 blocks, this will touch the lives of many diverse constituencies and people from many walks of life. our 20-member board of supervisors has broad representation of the western soma community. and we are continuing to develop

and expand our diversity and representation currently. we launched services in march and we provide daily cleaning and maintenance to this large and diverse neighborhood. we sweep trash, remove hazardous materials from sidewalks, remove graffiti, on public and private property and work to improve the conditions in the public realm. we ploy predominantly low-income residents dad this work and -- to do this work and we engage others through programs that bring clean, green and active public spaces to our neighborhoods. we will prioritize routes to school and transit stops, which disproportionately affect low-income residents. we prioritize bike safety policies and work to bring more green, open spaces to the public realm for the benefit of all living, working and visiting the neighborhood. once the stay-at-home order is lifted and he can be with each

other again, we will activate the victoria park with free books, games and activities for all. we will sponsor and support local arts and cultural groups, highlighting our historic and vibrant filipino culture. we will also activate the newly created eagle program, help ensure the park remains clean and a neighborhood asset that celebrates our community. and all of its beauty and diversity. so all of these programs will be free of charge and designed to make -- designed to be accessible and welcoming to low-income residents. in addition, we have hired personnel to conduct outreach to our unhoused persons and link them to services, de-escalate conflicts on the street and protect the health and safety of the vulnerable population. in addition, our outreach personnel will be responsible for responding to the unique and immediate needs of very low-income people who are at

risk of becoming homeless and currently homeless as they're transitioning into housing. this is a role that i'm familiar with, since i've served in similar roles in the past, most recently at the lower pope community benefit district, where we developed a tenant landlord clinic that aims to prevent homelessness through displacement. and throughout my career, i have aimed to give employment opportunities to individuals experiencing homelessness, formerly incarcerated, folks with mental and physical disabilities. and i have aimed to empower them to participate in the community-building process. i take pride in developing people, helping them advance in life and overcoming obstacles and setbacks along the way, as i have. cleaning and outreach jobs, offering outreach, an opportunity to provide stable jobs for very low-income residents and their families. almost all of san francisco residents and representatives

offer diversity of the soma neighborhood. i thank you for the opportunity to serve this population. and i'm happy to answer any questions you may have. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much. do any of my colleagues have any questions? seeing none, we will move on to the next applicant. is janetta johnson available? >> good morning. this is janetta johnson. good morning, board of supervisors. >> supervisor ronen: good morning, janetta. >> i've been -- an organization that serves community members that are currently in the

janetta district. we have lived and worked in district 6 in the janetta area for over 20 years, providing district services, supporting members of the community and particularly working with members of the community that have been kicked out of various organizations. and have had many discipline problems, to help them stabilize and get back into access for services. supporting them to get to their next steps. and we're an organization that is very diverse in our staff. i feel like every race and culture is represented in our -- well not every but primarily.

we have a diverse group of staff, not just gender orientation and sexuality, but also various cultures that represent the city and county of san francisco. and i would like to emphasize on that we have been housing and supporting people in getting into -- we've been housing and supporting people in getting into stable, affordable housing opportunities and structures and a large part of that is through a grassroots plan. and really like using private foundation money and supporting people into getting into affordable housing opportunities and structures, that could be a little bit more sustainable for

various individuals, based on their income. or lack of income. >> supervisor ronen: thank you. >> that's it. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much, janetta. is there any questions? thank you so much for your willingness to serve and your presentation. next if we can hear from shanon amitin. >> clerk: i believe that miss amitin was not able to call in. >> supervisor ronen: okay. >> that is correct. miss amitin has not called in. >> supervisor ronen: and then carolyn caldwell. >> hi. good morning, supervisors. this is carolyn caldwell.

can you hear me? >> supervisor ronen: yes. we can hear you. >> okay. haney, good morning. thank you so much for this opportunity to speak and thank you to supervisor haney's office for the recommendation to be an alternate on this board. i am the director of operations at united players. and a co-founder along with rudy and alisha. the organization united players has the same timeline, trajectory as the fund. we incorporated in 2005. and we are a direct beneficiary of the fund. and a really great example of the impact the fund has had in stabilizing the community, by looking at the growth of our organization. and what we have been able to accomplish through the support of the fund. i do all of the grant writing for united players. so i'm deeply experienced with

the fund. and understand what it is set out to accomplish in the community, as well as all of the back end, you know, process and procedure and familiarity with how the fund operates. and so would just be so very grateful to be able to serve in -- as an alternate in helping the fund reach a greater impact across soma. >> supervisor ronen: wonderful. thank you so much. any questions? seeing none, we will move on to another applicant. christian martin on the line? wait, we heard from christian. is kris romasanta on the line?

>> hi, i'm here on the line. >> supervisor ronen: good morning. >> good morning. good morning, supervisors. thank you so much for this opportunity. i'm here to be considered for reappointment to the soma stabilization community advisory committee. i've served on the fund for about seven years. i was the vice chair occupying the housing seat. and i previously served as a co-chair of the soma fund for the previous four years. in addition, i served as a member of the eastern neighborhoods for five years. i lived in the south of market for six years. i'm very familiar with the neighborhood. i have also volunteered my time and have been active with many of the soma groups, the non-profits, all that are related to land use, the

filipino cultural district and the affordable housing issues. my professional background is in land use and community development. as an urban planner and a community development practitioner for various local governments, including aba, city of oakland and south san francisco. i currently work for the city of south san francisco and management the kdbg program. a program geared towards serving low-income families. in addition, i work on regional and local housing policies that directly affect low-income residents. so more specific to the fund, over the last four to five years the funds made great strides beyond the original intent, investing in small sites, non-profit ownership and programming for access to affordable housing. our early purpose of the fund wasn't really to purchase property, but in 2014, me and along with others soma fund

members, thought it was time to step in and invest in the first small sites property on natoma street. and this is where we were able to stabilize five very low-income residents, some making less than $20,000 a year. and a couple of them were seniors. this first site jump started the mayor's office of housing small sites program. and we've subsequently invested in additional sites in the neighborhood. as a member of the fund, i've introduced proposals of financial empowerment, cultural public events, programming for eviction defense. and have been an advocate for non-profits to purchase their own buildings. in addition, the fund has invested in areas of the city that the city has not made a priority, such as pedestrian improvements near bessie, carmichael and acquisition -- non-profit acquisitions, mainly for united players.

the fund has a finite amount of money. and soma continues to develop, the fund will need to see more proposals for the potential acquisitions. and we definitely need this more creative financing. and i want to be able to make sure that we adapt to these needs and changes especially now, since we're in this bit of a crisis. and now with the emergence of the planning committee, there needs to be more coordination between the two bodies, since i was a member of the eastern neighborhoods. and it was a very more -- it was a more technical body. and having coordination will have more seamless dialogue if we understand the social and the technical aspects, that will -- that will be on the ground in soma. so thank you again so much for your consideration.

>> supervisor ronen: sorry, i was on mute. thank you so much. is there any questions? seeing none, thank you again for your presentation and willingness to serve. and i wanted to see if gina rosales is on the line? >> i'm here. can you hear me? >> supervisor ronen: we can hear you. thank you, gina. >> awesome. hi. thanks so much for having me speak today. my name is gina rosales. i'm an s.f. resident and a former business owner. some of you may know me as the cofounder of undiscovered s.f. creative night market, also run an event planning committee. prior to starting my company, i was also director of a

non-profit dance organization in soma, where organized dance workshops and classes at city dance, as well as annual shows at the regency ballroom. i'm also a dancer myself. i've been dancing since my high school days at shcp. of course, i'm heavily involved with soma programming. in addition to undiscovered, i also run a non-profit, which is dedicated to building strong and empowered filipino community in the bay area. i'm also a recent partner in the new creative project, which is working on building programming to build the future filipino-american arts and cultural center in soma. and through my work, i've been really excited about this important work we've been doing around trauma-informed systems. and how to address community trauma by creating organizations and programs. so i now apply the t.i.f. work into all of our events in soma.

and all of our events. dishly, we've been doing a lot of cross-cultural and collaborative work over the years. i'm an active supporter of the trevor project, fundraising for lgbtq youth work. i was a former crisis counselor for them. and i'm also the event planner for a large tech. and prior to covid happening, i was suppose to be the planner of -- building strong partnerships with cultural district. during these times of crisis, i know that ours are typically the first things to get cut. it's my strong belief that arts and culture is exactly what we need during this time, to provide hope and life. and i'm committed to doing this collaborative work in soma and throughout san francisco. and i'm sure that t.i.f. is being kept centered for all of our arts and culture work, to keep it thriving and inclusive in soma. and also to work on getting more young people to be active and

involved in this work. so thank you so much for the opportunity. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much for your willingness to serve. any questions? seeing none, i just wanted to check to see if conny ford had called in or if she had not? mr. clerk. >> clerk: i believe miss amitin has called in. >> supervisor ronen: okay. i had asked about conny ford. go ahead, shanon amitin? >> clerk: miss amitin, are you on the line?

>> give me one second. please. i believe she is. she is unmuted. is available to speak. >> supervisor ronen: shanon, are you there? >> hello, miss amitin? can you hear us? hello, ms. amitin, can you hear us? >> supervisor ronen: i believe it's mr. amitin? >> clerk: hello, caller? >> can you hear me?

>> supervisor ronen: thank you. we can hear you. >> all right. excellent. i just want to give a shout-out to jonah. we've had a chance to work together on lesbian 2 tech. and i'm a huge fan. my name is shanon amitin. i'm currently on staff with san francisco pride. and i am also a representative today for the cultural district. i am a huge fan of the cultural district being a part of both the community and working side-by-side with our city government to preserve arts, culture, small business and especially lgbtq culture. do you guys have questions for me? do you want to hear a little bit more about me?

>> supervisor ronen: any questions? >> i don't have any questions. i'm just excited to be here. >> supervisor ronen: okay. thank you so much. then last but certainly not least just checking to see if conny ford had called in. >> miss ford has not called in. >> supervisor ronen: okay. we will now open this item up for public comment. if there's any member of the public who wishes to speak, now is the time. >> madam chair, we are checking to see if there are any callers in the queue. please let us know if they are ready. if you have not already done so, please press 10 to be added to the queue. this those on hold, please wait to be prompted to begin at the beep. >> madam, there appears to be three callers on the line.

>> announcer: you have three questions remaining. >> hi. my name is kevin. i'm a resident of the castro. undeafed -- ph.d. candidate. and i just wanted to speak on behalf of shanon. shanon is a well-known advocate for the lgbtq plus community, both from the side of private enterprise and a long history of public service, too. the lgbtq community and with s.f. pride and the castro hopeful, the castro cultural association. i just wanted to say that -- to speak on his behalf that he

plays -- a lot of involvement in the lgbtq community. fully endorse shanon for this position. thank you. >> supervisor ronen: thank you. >> announcer: you have two questions remaining. >> hi. i am beth hunt. and i'm the cultural district manager for the lgbtq cultural district here inssoma. i'm a resident of 12 years of soma and active participant and community organizer of the lgbtq community. i am calling in favor of two candidates today. first would be shanon amitin, who is a wonderful advocate for the lgbtq community, as well as rather active in a lot of our local business in soma and castro. also i would like to support christian martin from the soma west. i have worked with both of these

individuals on various projects and it has been a wonderful and delightful experience. great response and they really know how to activate constituents. thank you. >> operator: you have one question remaining. >> hello. my name is bob goldfarb. i'm president of the lgbtq cultural district in soma. and i would like to speak in favor of two candidates, both christian martin, who i have worked with in my capacity with the leather district and i have found him to be well reasoned and insightful and i think he would be an excellent addition to the c.a.c. and i would also like to speak in favor of shanon amitin, who has strong community involvement as an activist, a community leader and an entrepreneur.

he has involved -- excuse me, has volunteered with the compton transgender district, the castro lgbtq cultural district, has served on the planning committee for the trans march. and done a lot of fundraising in the bay area. in soma there's lots of placement going on. i think the c.a.c. is a vital element in preventing that. and keeping san francisco unique. and a wonderful place that i think we all enjoy to live. and i think that both shanon and christian would be excellent additions to the c.a.c. to help further those goals. thank you very much. >> operator: you have zero questions remaining.

>> no more calls, madam. >> supervisor ronen: i'm sorry, i was on mute. and with that i will close public comment. and we'll invite abigail from supervisor haney's office back to express supervisor haney's recommendations for this body. >> thank you, chair ronen. this is abby, supervisor haney's recommendations for the following seats are as follows. for seat 6, christian martin. for seat 7, janetta johnson. for seat 9, which is the alternate to seat 2, carolyn caldwell. seat 10, which is the alternate to seat 3, gina rosales. seat 11, which is the alternate

to seat 4, conny ford. seat 13 -- excuse me, seat 14, which is the alternate to seat 7, is kris romasanta. supervisor haney would also like to express that there are still some remaining seats open. unfortunately our office hasn't -- wasn't able to connect with everyone. if there are still some remaining applicants, that were not seated, we will connect with you at a future meeting, since there are still some open seats. and we thank everyone that has applied. and we appreciate all of your support and hard work to make soma a thriving community. >> supervisor ronen: okay. thank you so much. do any of my colleagues have any questions or comments? >> supervisor mar: chair ronen, i would like to -- well, i just want to thank all of the

applicants. you're an amazingly talented and diverse and committed group of activists and leaders working to support the soma community, which has been ground zero of the sort of tech-driven development, despite the boom. so thank you all for all that you do. and, yeah, i'm inclined to support supervisor haney's recommendations for the appointments today. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much. supervisor stefani, do you have any comments before -- i'm happy to make the motion. >> supervisor stefani: yeah, i'm supportive of supervisor haney's recommendations as well. and thank you everyone for coming out. or for being on the line. >> supervisor ronen: yes. thank you. i think it's appropriate given

that this community advisory committee is in supervisor haney's district, that we follow his recommendations. so with that i will make a motion to move to the full board, with recommendation for seat 6, christian martin, with a residency waiver. seat 7, janetta johnson. seat 9, carolyn caldwell. seat 10, gina rosales. seat 11 conny ford. and seat 14, kris romasanta. mr. clerk, can you please take a roll call vote on that motion. >> clerk: on that motion, supervisor stefani? >> supervisor stefani: aye. >> clerk: supervisor mar? >> supervisor mar: aye. >> clerk: chair ronen? >> supervisor ronen: aye. >> clerk: the motion passes. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much to all of those who applied and were here today. mr. clerk, is there any other

items? >> clerk: that completes the agenda for today. >> supervisor ronen: thank you so much. the meeting is adjourned. >> thank you all again for

joining us this afternoon. as of today, w we have a total f 1,332 cases coronavirus in our city. if you want more information, specific data around zip code and race and the number of people tested, you can check out our website, data sf.org/covid19. whenever we have accurate information and can provide it to the public, we provide it on our tracker and we made a number of announcements about the expansion of our tracker to include a zip code and to look at some of the despairties that exist in our city. the tracker is helpful in that regard and helpful in making sure that we are allocating resources in the places that

need it the most. i want to be clear from the very beginning in our emergency operation's center, we have embedded the office of equity, which is focused on making sure that all of the decisions that we make are looked at through a lense of equity in the communities disadvantaged or left out the larger city-wide response, they get the resources and the support that they need. this past monday, cheryl davis here was to talk about an extensive list of things they're doing for outreach and i want to thank all and all of the city staff that continue to support our most vulnerable residents. i've just a few updates that i want to talk about and i really want to start give to sf. we have been talking about give

to sf from the very beginning because we knew that when this pandemic hit, that it was going to impact people financially. and the city was not going to be able to do it alone. although we've done a tremendous job, many of our city agencies with reshifting resources that they already have in order to meet needs that we did not anticipate, we know it will be important to get assistance from private contributors. and give to sf, we announced over a month ago and as of today, we've raised over $10 million in private resources to help with give to sf and i want to be clear about the focus of this program. number one, food security. number two, housing security. and number three, small business support. and in particular, we knew that

a few things would happen as a result of this pandemic. there would be people who lost their jobs, but also didn't qualify for unemployment or had no access to resources whatsoever. we knew that food would be a challenge and although we've been able to invest more in programs and also a rent moratorium, an eviction moratorium and a number of other things we've put into place, people would need resources directly to ensure that they had food on their tables and that they had access to resources that pay their bills. and again, the spirit of the people of the city has been absolutely outstanding. it just really reminds me of how important it is that we look out for one another and this program, give to sf does exactly that. and i want to just take this opportunity to just talk about what the program has already done.

as i said, we've raised over $10 million for this program and already, we've allocated about 5.35 million to nonprofit organizations and other groups that have distributed the money directly to people that would need it the most, including providing grocery store gift cards to low income and non-documented residents because, again, we know people who are a part of our immigrant community would have the most challenging time getting access to food and we wanted to make sure we prioritize this community as recipients of gift cards so organizations that serve or immigrant community, as well as organizations that serve various low-income populations throughout the city have been the people that we've counted on to work with us to distribute access to gift cards for grocery

shopping. we're providing, as we did early on, grants to small businesses, as well as a no-interest loan with flexible repayment schedules because we want to provide not only money that people need in these small businesses immediately, but we want to make sure that they have a sufficient revenue to cover their expenses. when i think about the businesses who i know will need help the most and will most likely not be able to recover the cost that -- the amount of resources that they are losing as a result of these pandemics, i think about the people who do hair, the people who do nails, masseuse, the people who cut your hair, those kinds of services and i know that after we're able to move back into a place we can open up those businesses, they're still going to have some real challenges with meeting the needs of their

back rent and other financial issues, as well as their es. employees. we want to make sure those businesses that do not traditionally qualify for the resources that qualify for the state, that we provide them with some relief directly here in the city. and so, we are also providing funding for people who are at risk of losing their housing. although we have issued a moratorium on evictions within,w there other challenges besides what's happening with this pandemic that could lead to housing and security and concern about losing not only your housing but your business. so we wanted to make sure that we had a well-rounded network of support as a result to give to sf and we did just that, with the goals of getting the money into the hand os of the people o

need it the most. i want to reiterate, for example, if you are someone who has access to other resources, please make sure that you are not reaching out to this fund because there are so many people in need and the fact is, no matter how much money we raise, it's going to be difficult to help everybody. so if you need help, we are here to help you, but please don't take advantage of these resources if you don't need them. i want to neighboring this opportunity to also really highlight some of our major contributors to this fund who have been labor been incredibley one, the gershin baker foundation, dr. erica lawson and jeff lawson, google and stumsky

foundation. these organizations have contributed a significant amount of money, not only to give to sf but they also continue to support other nonprofit organizations throughout san francisco and have been really an important part of the fabric of philanthropic giving. you don't have to have a lot money to give to sf. we have received contributions between $10.1.5 million. if this is something you're able to do to help others, please look at our website or call 3-1-1.

we want to ensure it's reaching people who need it the most and thank you all for stepping up to support people in our city to make sure no one is left behind. i want to talk a little bit about testing expansion. from the very beginning, we announced a number of test sites to help some of our first responders and city employees, in particular. and as many of you know, testing is very, very challenging to do because we have limited test capabilities available and so, we want to be very strategic about how we make testing available. of course, anyone exhibiting symptoms should be tested, whether they have insurance or not and the fact that here in san francisco, we've not only extended our capacities to meet the need of many of our first

responders and healthcare professionals and muni drivers and others, but we are today taking it even a step further. the selma location that we opened is available to anyone in san francisco who exhibits any type of symptoms as it relates to the covid-19 virus. again, your immigration status, your lack of insurance, nothing should be a barrier to being able to get tested and we want to make sure that if you think that you have symptoms, then we're able to test you and this will be used for covid-19 testing and data. but we wanted to take it a step further and the location we're testing first responders and people who work in our healthcare industry that it was limited to that particular group of people, we know there are a lot of other people on the frontlines and when we talk about essential workers,

essential workers doesn't only mean people who work in the healthcare industry or those public safety folks who work for the police and fire departments. it also means our grocery store clerks. it also means our janitors and our in-home support services, people who we need to continue to work to support other folks throughout the city and so, if you are in a category of an essential worker, the location where we are testing our first responders and our healthcare professionals, we are extending the ability to test you at this particular site. dr. colfax will talk a lot more about the specifics of that, but again, we do not want anything to be a barrier to making sure you're able to get a test now, especially if you exhibit the symptoms. dr. colfax will also talk a little bit more about how we're limiting the number of symptoms that would allow for testing, p

you think you've been in touch with someone with covid-19 or in some way, you're infected, we want to expand the number of people that we can test and he will talk a little bit more about that as resources come ind as we evaluate on a daily basis, we will expand our ability to test more people. last week talked about contact tracing and trying to identify not only the person, family members who have contracted covid-19, but also others that they've come in contact with. our goal is to do everything we can to enhance contact tracing, expand testing capacities. because as we talk about reopening our city and oh region, these tools are going to be critical to our ability to move forward in this direction.

so if you are someone who needs tested, please give us a call at 3--311 and we will get you to a location to get test results. dr. colfax will talk about this more, if you're an essential worker and you think you have symptoms and you get tested today and you find out tomorrow that you're negative and you're back at work and you're working and later on, a week later, you significanexhibit symptoms agait you to get tested again if you think there's a possibility that you may have the virus because you are out there working and being exposed the virus because of your interactions with the public. and so, we want to keep that in mind as we move on about our lives, but especially as we look at the possibility of reopening our city, and these are the

things we'll need to pay attention to in the future. i want to thank color, carbon health and one medical who are collaborating with us to help provide these additional resources for testing and i want to thank the port of san francisco and the department of public health, as well, because it does take a lot of people and resources to put together any of these testing sites and the goal is to, again, to try to test as many people as we possibly can. if you have questions and you need to be tested, please call 311 or visit sfgov/citytest. hope flehopefully we are gettina point we can get back to our daily lives. we're not there yet and we're

hoping to get there. a couple of weeks ago, i, along with the president of board of supervisors, norman yee, to start a economic recovery task force. that is being cochaired by our recorder carmen choo, the labor council, executive director, rudy gonzalez, and the director of the san francisco chamber of commerce, rotney fong. and the goal of this economic recovery task force is to work with a number of stakeholders throughout san francisco and when i say stakeholders that's from the nonprofit community and business areas. so, again, i go back to the folks who do hair and nails and

making sure they're represented in this economic recovery plan and organizations that serve the community, people who are community stakeholders, we want to make sure that we are thinking about what happens after we start to get back to our daily lives. what happens with our restaurants and tourism? what happens with our hospitals and our hotels? what happens with job opportunities that may no longer be available and what other industries will be coming increasingly available as a result of this pandemic. how do we repurpose our educational institutions and other resources that we have available to fit the needs of what is our new normal? how do we shift our focus so that those who have lost their jobs and have no access to other opportunities or have limited skillsets, how do we reshift our

focus to make sure that they have opportunities? this economic recovery task force is about the future. and just so you know where we stan as istand, as of april 4th0 people in san francisco have filed for unemployment and we anticipated that another 40,000 people in san francisco will file for unemployment. the recession that happened in 2008 and 2009, 45,000 people applied for unemployment. and today, in 2020, we're already at over 60,000 which means that we're going to have some real challenges with our economy and that will not just be the economy here in san francisco. it will be all over the country and all over the world.

and how are we going to redirect our focus on recovery so that people are able to get jobs and take care of themselves and their families? and this economic recovery task force is critical to the success of our future. i mentioned last week or maybe the week before -- i don't think i can keep up with the days -- that we anticipate a 1.1 to $1.7 billion budget deficit. so the city's budget deficit, a number of companies might be going out of business, restaurants, small businesses and we have some real challenges ahead which is why this economic recovery task force and the work they do to help with plan for our future is so important. so i just want to appreciate all of the work that they are doing and just remind everyone that

this will be a very challenging time. one in which i know that because we are here to work together, that we will get through it. and in that regard, there's a lot that we're going to need to do to support our small businesses and our business community in general. because of the real challenges that they face. from the beginning, we provided grants to small businesses that, basically, were quickly swallowed up and we have deferred the payment of your business tax until february of 2020. we actually deferred the payment of certain fees for a few months with the commitment to defer those fees to a longer period of time and, also, i think it's important as a city that we look at all of the fees that we charge our businesses and make

some decisions to eliminate fees in general that have a negative impact on the ability for our small business community to return and that is something we're going to continue to work on. and i want to just talk a little bit about the announcement that was made yesterday by myself and treasurer cysneros to delay the fee for four months until september 30th. this business registration fee that businesses pay, the fact that we're delaying it until september will be helpful to our business community. this will lead up to $49 million in deferrals for at least 90,000 businesses in the city. and we're also extending the deadline again for the unified license fee, which is a fee we had initially extended for three

months. this fee that includes charges to restaurants, bars, small retailers, hotels, tour operators and other businesses and it has been especially hit hard by the pandemic. we're extending that to ensure that we support our small business community and with an opportunity to try to reevaluate what fees we can eliminate entirely. so i want to express the need to continue to make sure that not only are we dealing with the health impacts of the coronavirus here in the city. at the same time, there are other challenges and other needs that need to be met and so part of what we have to do in addition to our physical and mental health and well-being, we have to focus on our economic health. and so that will be a critical focus for us over the next couple of weeks.

and so, for my business that needs any support or has any questions or there's any way we can help you, please reach out at oewd.org/covid-19 or call 311. for any of the announcements that you hear today, if you don't have access to the internet, you can call 311 and you will be transferred to the right location or provided a phone number or information on how you get access on what we talked about here. and if you have access to the internet and you can't remember all of these websites, because i definitely can't, please just go to sfgov.org and you should able to find information about any city services. there's a tracker for the information on the number of people who have the virus in the city with details and there's information about food and access to food.

there's information about housing and other things. there's just a lot of great information if you're looking for it or if it's confusing and you want to just get straight to the point, you can either do a search our sfgov.org or call 311. we will continue to work with our federal and state partners to get even more resources for the people here in san francisco. but we also know the challenges of how long it can take to not only get legislation passed but to get it through the doors where the resources actually hit the public and we want to make sure that we're doing all we can here loyal to support the residents of the city. yes, the city government plays an important part in doing just that, but also, the incredible people of san francisco, so many folks who have been really kind they're neighbors and others and provided resources, spending money out their own pockets or

running errands or the things you've done, that is impactful, as well, and we appreciate all that you continue to do to make sure that we are really looking out for each other because as we continue to say, yes, we are all in this together, what impacts one person impacts us all. and if someone in the city isn't doing well, then it has a tremendous impact on each and everyone of us. so the fact we have so many people in san francisco that are extending their hands and helping out, it means a lot, so i want to express my appreciation and just end it quickly with a story about my grandmother. you know, when you are at home a lot, it gives you a time to not only clean up and do the kinds of house chores that you probably put off for a really long time. it gives you time to reflect about the people in your life

and the value of experiencing you've had. experiences you've had. i grew up in public housing and we didn't have a lot and a lot of the food we received came from the free food program. if any of you receive this food, you know it was a white box of powdered milk or the silver cans of beef or the juice, the grapefruit joyc juice and so ond so forth. we got a lot of the free government cheese and my grandmother was a really good cook. so she would take this free government food and make magic happen. and what i appreciate the most, because people would come to our house, especially when they know dinner was ready, and we knew that they were always coming there to eat. and so i remember one time, i said, mama, why are we always feeding everybody? we don't have anything

ourselves. my grandmother said shutup, girl. she was just like, that's what you do. be quiet. and this what you're supposed to do to take care of your community. you never know what whe when the you. you never know when you'll be in that same situation. so just remember to be good to people. and so, she always had a way -- she said a lot less diplomatic than what i just said, but the fact is, i got the message. and i think that so many people in our city, they have probably at some point in their life have gotten the same message as they grew up to learn that it is definitely a blessing to give and to be supportive of one another and that's the spirit of what this city represents and so, i just want to express my appreciation to all of you for your continuous leadership and

support and your compliance with this order. i know it's been a long time and everyone is ready to get back to their lives, but trust me, this is for the best. and we are in the process of reevaluating some of the health orders and looking at ways in which we can get back to that point safely. and so, as soon as we are able to evaluate that and make good decisions to protect public health, you will all be the first to know as i've committed to every step of the way of this process, to ensuring that we are providing you with information and doing what's best and making sure we're keeping people safe and that's exactly what we'll do when it's time to reopen our doors and to allow us to begin to gradually get back to the life we all know and miss. so thank you for your cooperation and i want to ask dr. grant colfax to come up and

provide an update at this time. >> thank you, mayor breed. good afternoon. today, there are 1233 san francisco residents with confirmed cases of coronavirus. i start out my remarks with this

fact to remind you that the data and science continue to tell the story here in san francisco and will continue to guide a response. now 21 people in san francisco have died from coronavirus. this is a loss to our community and i send my condolences to their loved ones. we know that 20 of the people who have died were over 60 years old and all 21 had underlying health conditions. this is consistent with what we know about who is most at risk. our hospitalization numbers for covid-positive patients have been holding relatively steady for the past two weeks. if you look at the graph on the data tracker, you can see that

the curve is flat. san francisco, you made that happen. it is an incredible achievement and i thank you. and we must continue to flatten the curve. i remain very concerned about outbreaks that are occurring in the homeless population, long-term care facilities and other congregate living settings. as we have known and as i have said from the beginning, that this is where the virus presents the greatest threat. if people affected by these outbreaks get very sick, it could still overwhelm our healthcare system. that is why we have prioritized vulnerable populations in these settings from the very start. and now, i want to talk in some

detail about testing. as you've heard the mayor say, we have made a major stride in offering testing to every healthcare workers, first responder and essential worker which has symptoms in the expansion of city test sf. this expansion applies to public and private sector workers and also to any san francisco essential worker with symptoms who do not have other access to testing. it is critical to test people with symptoms so that swift action can follow to provide care, contact investigation and isolation and quarantine. these steps reduce the risk of further exposure and slow the spread of the virus.

there have been many bumps on this road with getting the right test, a reliable test and a persistent shortage of supplies needed to conduct the test. let me be clear, our vision, my vision is that everyone in san francisco has universal access to testing. let me repeat that. the vision is that everyone in san francisco has universal access to testing. we cannot get there overnight. but we are certainly headed in

that direction. today people with any symptoms consistent with covid-19 will be able to get tested. today people who have had close contact with a confirmed covid-19 case, even if they do not have symptoms will be eligible for testing. as we move towards this vision of universal access for testing, this will be a step-wise process consistent with our public health priorities in fighting the pandemic. our values to promote equity and the feasibility based on testing capacity and supplies. and these challenges will

continue, but we will iterate and improve and respond. i want to remind you of priorities to litigate outbreaks, protect vulnerable populations, protect healthcare workers, frontline workers, essential workers, including first responders. test people as a result of contact investigations that include all close contacts and test people with symptoms who hey nomay not be covered by thee other criteria. we base these priorities on the facts about coronavirus. and by keeping to them, we have been able to test everyone in those groups with symptoms, even in the face of scarce supplies and other challenges.

we have been expanding testing capacity ever since we started in our public health lab on march 2nd. and that lab alone, thanks to the hard work of our public lab staff and director dr. susan philip. we are committed to continuing to expand that testing capacity, both in that lab and other partners across the city. as of today, 12,054 people in san francisco have been tested and an average of 12% have tested positive. here are some examples of our commitment to expanding and growing testing capacity to date. we have opened two city test sf

sites for healthcare workers, front-line workers, essential el workers and other people in san francisco with symptoms. the health department, in addicts taddition to expanding r capacity has opened multiple test sites in the city, including the castro mission health center and southeast health center. and i am happy to report that another community-based testing site will open tomorrow in the western addition next to the maxine hall test center. these community sites give patients the opportunity to be tested without leaving their own neighborhood, keeping themselves and others safer. these health department test sites are part of a growing capacity across the city to test people. , including 26 sites

across the city at ucsf, one medical, kaiser, fedder, chinese hospital and dignity help. health. in addition, we are testing all people coming so the jail who will be housed in the jail, and we will begin to test all close contacts of people with confirmed covid-19 regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. as we look forward to our goal of universal access, the next steps will be the testing of more people who do not have symptoms. the focus must be on congregate settings, workers and we must do this work through an equity lense. i want to expand on this a bit, because it's very important to understand the connection between testing expansion and

the unwavering commitment to our priorities that, again, are based on data, science and facts. the next phase of testing people without symptoms will include testing in congregate settings such as shelters, long-term care facilities and sros. testing of healthcare workers, frontline workers and other essential workers, testing in geographic and cultural communities that are affected by despairties and the spread of the coronavirus. and in reaching toward our as as spir racial goal of universal testing, we must recognise several points. question will rely on those in

the healthcare sector. the timeline for these next steps is dependent on several factors, multiple factors, including the ability to meet the demands of current work, managing new outbreaks, a growing number of positives, as well as testing capacity and supplies. and supplies continue to remain a challenge. we recognise and we all must recognise that not every positive test result can be met with full wrap-around supportive services. we will continue to work with our partners as a human service agency and supportive housing department. but we must take a harm reduction approach.

we know from experience that most people who know they are positive will take steps to protect themselves and others. and even with the efforts of the human service agency and the department of homelessness and supportive housing, we must ask people to protect themselves and others. we will take the harm reduction approach which has always been a foundation of our public health system and an effective approach based on science, data and facts, that most people who test positive will do everything they can to protect themselves, to protect others and to protect the community. and it is very important that we realize that negative tests are only a point-in-time finding and should not be cannot be a signal

to forego or relax the use of precautions. therefore, universal testing for people in san francisco will mean that all individuals have a responsibility to act on the basis of their results to the to the best of their ability, they must take this responsibility by self-isolating, seeking care, taking precautions and continuing to protect themselves, their family and community members. and, of course, our systems will do everything that we can to support individuals, their families and the community in this work. we also recognise that science and technology is rapidly evolving and will continue to inform our response and testing strategy. as more rapid tests become available, as we have a better

understanding of what antibody tests really mean and whether neutralizing antibodies confirm long-term, medium term or short-term protection, our toolbox of testing options will likely grow and be implemented as quickly and as effectively as possible. again, supplies continue to be a challenge, but we are making progress and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that people in san francisco have what we need. and it is very important that we recognise the testing is an important piece, but it just one piece of an overall approach to fighting the coronavirus. the mayor emphasized the importance of contact tracing and this is a vital component and