tv BOS Rules Committee SFGTV August 22, 2020 6:00am-8:16am PDT
6:00 am
6:01 am
mr. clerk, do you have any announcements? >> yes. due to the covid-19 emergency and to protect board members, city employees and the public, the board of supervisors committee room are closed. however, members will be participating in the meeting remotely and committee members will attend the meeting through video conference and participate in the meeting to the same extent as if they were physically present. public comment will be available on each item on the agenda and both channel 26 and other cable channels and sfgov are streaming the number across the screen. you can call (415)655-0001. the meeting i.d. is
6:02 am
(416)971-4708 and then press pound and pond again. when connected, you will hear meeting discussions and be in listening hold. when your item of interest comes up, star three to be ad to the speaker line and call from a quiet location, speak clearly and slowly and turn down your television or radio. you may submit public comment in either of the following way,s email myself at eict rock.young@sfgov.org and via email to the board of supervisors. that completes my comments. >> thank you so much and can you please read item number one. >> item number one is ordinance of the administrative code to the northern california of
6:03 am
journalists as a nominating body to the board of supervisors to hold the seat on a sunshine ordinance task force from a ratio ethnic minority-owned used organization and to modify the qualifications for that seat. >> fantastic! colleagues, we've heard this item last week and don't have a rep from supervisor peskin's office. if there's to comment, we'll open to this up for public comment. >> i would like to make a statement. members who call (415)655-0001 for public statement and the meeting i.d. is (146)971-4708, pound and pound and if you haven't done so, dial star three and system prompt will indicate you have raised your hand and please wait until the system
6:04 am
indicates you have been un-muted and you may begin. are there any members of the public online? >> there are no callers in the queue. >> thank you so much. public comment is closed and i would like a motion to forward this to the full board with recommendation. if we can have a role call. (role call). >> can you read from items two , three and four together. we'll ask to keep comments under
6:05 am
five minutes and then two minutes per caller who can talk about one or several of the candidates today. >> item number two is a motion approving rejecting the nomination for the reappointment of season diamond to the planning commission for a four-year term ending july 1s july 1st, 2024 and number three, removing the nomination for the reappoint of joe kopel for a four-year term ending julr move is approving objecting the board of supervisors, norman yee for maria teresa imperial to the planning commission for a four-year term ending in 2024. >> thank you so much. and i believe -- let's start with mr. diamond. good morning.
6:06 am
good to have you and thank you for your all your service thus far and please share with us whatever you would like. >> thank you, can i just make sure you can all hear and see me? >> we can. >> wonderful. >> good morning, supervisors. last november, i was honored to be appointed to the plan commission. it's a big responsibility. i made decisions that are very tough with the best interests with covid in mind. there are underlying problem, especially communities of color related to racial and social equity, housing access, economic recovery and small business vitality and our commission is well structured to be reactive, but instead of with the status quo, the commission could be more proactive in addressing the lan-use issues related to the
6:07 am
pandemic and systemic racism. and given that our commission seizesees hundreds of cases, its uniquely situated to see the trends. for the past 40 years, lawyer representing profits for major real estate projects, volunteer board member, land use lawyer, educator and now commissioner, i had never been willing to settle for the status quo. i see my job as understanding the concerns, doing the due diligence, listening to a range of views and advancing the meaningful change. so as one idea, instead of merely responding to legislation at a time when people were already set on an approach, perhaps they could hold forums and retreats with the land's board use committee, automobile subject t.this collaboration mik
6:08 am
well for phase two of the racial and social equity and additionally, we could change the assumption, the commission is the second to last stop this the process. by the time the commission sees projects, applicants have been spending money for years pursuing an approval, generally permitted by the code and applicants and staff resist much change at this late stage and activists are left to react to make projects designed without them. we have some power to require changes if we can show nexus. this can result in those who depend those who show up to protest, undermining predictability and consistency. instead, perhaps we should insist, require that long before a submission of the ppa, applicants meet with staff, their supervisor, community groups and the commission to discuss the proposed project.
6:09 am
there's been a lot of turn-over on the planning commission in the last year and i think we can benefit from some stability. the current group has a great working relationship where we help each other to formulate suingses to tough problems. so i hope you confirm all three of us. nine months ago, the ceo's from numerous nonprofits showed up at the rule's committee to show up. i did not want to ask them to take time out to testify against so soon after the last hearing but have the submitted support letters which should be in your packet. finally, i have worked hard to develop credibility with my fellow commissioners and with the other players in the process. i have learned so much and believe i have so much more to contribute as a commissioner. if you it would be an honor and a privilege to continue to serve. thank you. >> thank you so much.
6:10 am
do either of my colleagues have any questions? chair ronen, i don't have any questions and i'll wait until after public comment. >> i would like to interrupt one moment. i believe we're having a technical issue that retrying to resolve on our public comment line. if you don't mind taking a short pause or recess, we would appreciate that. >> ok, how long would you like to recess? >> five minutes, please. >> we're going to recess for five minutes. >> sorry about that short break. we have public comment back up and running and we are on
6:11 am
iteming two, , three and four ad we're hearing all three items together. the way we will move forward, we have already heard the comments of the planning commission, suzannsusan die man diamond and, the three of us will be asking questioning or making comments and we'll hear from the next appointee and do the same and when we're doing hearing from all three appointees, we will open this up for public comment and every member will have two minutes to speak about any or all or some of the three appointments. and so with that, thanks again, miss diamond for comments and supervisor stephanie, handing it over to you. >> thank you, chair ronen and chair diamond for your remark. we discussed so many different
6:12 am
topics, including housing on the west side and how we're doing better and hope to continue to and also racial and social equity in housing and retail vacancies. we covered it all and i think our conversation was an hour. i want to thank you for what you said about being proactive instead of reactive on so many levels and how the planning commission might work with the board of supervisor. i don't have a question per say because i don't want to take a lot of time and i'm supporting your reappointment. i think you're a great addition to the planning commission. but i want you to know that your emphasis on so much of what we do, especially at the planning level is reactive, that if we could really somehow as a planning commission and board of supervisors work on po policieso address that with so many listings that come to you, i would love to participate in that.
6:13 am
don't really have a question and thank you for your incredible work. you've been wonderful. thank you for reaching out to me at times and i look forward to approving your appointment again. >> supervisor mar. >> i want to thank commissioner diamond for your very thoughtful and diligent work and leadership on the planning commission thus far and it's been very impressive. yeah, just to see you step into the important role and i just have one question i'll ask of you and the other commissioners who are being reappointed or nominated for reappointment and i would like to get your thoughts on housing balance in the city and, you know, like many in the city, i think it's very important that we are more
6:14 am
6:15 am
there was 25.5% housing balance and it's a pretty extreme in favror market rate housing. and this is reflected when we look at how we're making progress towards our regional goals or the housing need's allocation and, again, i'm sure you're aware that we are needing exceeding the market rate housing, i think, by 138% and that goal is through 2022. whereas, we're far behind in meeting rena goals for affordable housing. and i just wanted to get your thoughts about housing balance or imbalance in our city.
6:16 am
>> thank you, supervisor. that is the primary topic that occupies the commission in terms of how we spend our time, not at the policy level but the implementation, but there are so many things we could talk about within that broad question, and so let me mention a few items. and the rena goals are a good place to start. we, i think, were meeting a third or less than a third of the affordable housing. and that's a really important point because while we must produce more of it, the question is where the funds will come from in order to do that. because we don't have enough money. and we also link market rate housing to affordable housing and so that market rate housing is the source of some of our fees in order to build affordable housing. and the concerns around this question also relate to, is it
6:17 am
tall dance buildings? that does produce a lot of housing and if it's on site, we get fees, but we need to be focused on increased production on adu's, particularly on the west side so that we are looking at all sources for new housing. the adu's may not be, quote affordable but less expensive than downtown luxury buildings. we also need to be giving more thought to what the impact is of where we place our dense housing. for years, most has been going into the southeast quadrant of the city with impacts on displacement.
6:18 am
i live six hours from gary boulevard and that's a prime increase for dense housing, not downtown skyscrapers, but five, six, certainly stories and many of the units need to be affordable housing. i do think we need to continue to produce all kinds of housing, but we need to be very focused on the strategies for affordable housing and how we use the dollars available to us to produce the maximum amount.
6:19 am
>> i want to thank you for all of your hard work, miss diamond and like supervisor, mar, i have one question i would like to ask all of the commissioners. in june, the san francisco planning commission adopted a strongly-worded resolution acknowledging the harm' harms to-community of color and strategies to raise equity in
6:20 am
san francisco. of course, i was excited about this and i want to ask you what this resolution means to you and how you intend to apply this commitment to change the real life impacts of communities of color on low income workers and small businesses. >> and so, maybe i'll talk first about what it means to me personally and why i felt so strongly to adopt a resolution and talk about some of the specific programs, actions that i know we're considering to include in phase two of the racial and social equity initiative, which is the primary program we are using or structure to implement change. and so for me personally, i think a few factors behind my deep-felt drive in order to address this problem. and in no particular order. the first is, i have spent much of my volunteer life as an adult
6:21 am
involved in creating and sustaining community centers. i believe that community centers are the way to help everyone in our community flourish and it is abundantly clear that we live in a society where flourish is absolutely the wrong word to describe what's happening to major elements of our population.
6:22 am
6:23 am
and the same way we do sequa analysis to understand the environmental impacts, we need racial and social equity impacts and there are some who would like to incorporate the subject under sequa. i feel like that will take a long time to accomplish and won't be caught up in the courts and we don't need to do that. as a city, we can decide that racial and social impact analysis is a requirement before we do most of the projects that we undertake and we can implement that as a commission of the board and i hope that becomes part of phase two. second, we need to give life to our cultural districts. they're an incredible device that focuses on the value of -- san francisco is this conglomeration of amazing neighborhoods and many reflect cultural heritage and if we want to preserve those, we need to understand when we're proposing
6:24 am
a project in that district or adjacent to that district, the impact of the cultural heritage. i have been on the commission since we adopted the japanese heritage district and i have seen projects that have come before us in the philippino cultural heritage district and where not enough time was spent, even by staff and or by the commission until we were called out by the neighborhood groups to say you need to pay attention to this and i agree with that and i think that's a really important device to go forward. thirdly, the two suggestions that i put forward in my remarks at the beginning, i think the pre-ppa engagement is critical. that is where we understand before anybody gets set in their ways, what the impacts are and what the activists are concerned about and even if what the developer is proposing is consistent with the law at that
6:25 am
point in time, it may be that is not the intent that people had in mind and that revisions and amendments are necessary and i would much prefer we do that at the beginning of the process than three years into the process. and finally, i would say -- and this is the other reason, the other comment that i gave is that we shouldn't be developing anything without the input of these community groups that are most affected by it. and so when i said we should be having a collaborative approach, not only should the board of supervisors and commissioners be working but the groups most affected at this need to be at the stable, working with usand forms and retreats that benefits everybody. >> i appreciate that answer. it was the offer of the cultural district legislation and it's
6:26 am
incredibly important to me and i could not agree with you more on that and thank you so much for your service. and next, we're going to call up commissioner jewel kop particular el. thank you spel.thank you for be. >> thank you so much. this has been a whirl wind of a four years and i'm still to this day honored and privileged to have gotten the nomination and appointment from late honorable mayor late and to be here four years later requesting a reappointment from the rule's committee and it's, again, also moving up the ladder from vice president to president has been completely humbling and i don't take this position for granted. it is a lot of work and a lot of responsibility and i really feel that we have a great commission as we speak.
6:27 am
me, myself, i'm a proud paying member of electrical work for district six in san francisco and i do speak for labor, but i also represent 32 electrical contractors here in san francisco. so i also can look at the business side of things, too, and things need to be addressed equally to make sure we have businesses that employ labor and so, we can't have one without the other. and i do reside in that district currently and just am thrilled to see how we as a city are reacting to these crisies. i'm seeing businesses open up and more residents lean towards normalcy and at the same time us taking public safety and health as seriously as we can, because we have to bounce back from this and i have to give a great shout-out to our department and secretaries. i think we've had 20 hearings
6:28 am
since a small break, since the shutdown, but i'm still, i'm in amazement we're able to continue to move forward and i understand you started your hearings sooner. so thank you for allowing the city to move forward. >> supervisor stephanie. >> thank you, chair and thank you, commissioner kop particula. we had great talk last week. evacuee known each other for a long time and i so appreciate your labor roots and that's how we got to originally know each other. but i also want to appreciate your steady leadership on the planning commission during this time of so much change with the new planning director, with the four new commissioners and now with commissioner johnson retiring. and i think having your steady leadership at the helm has been really good and obviously, it's
6:29 am
not only steady leadership, i think that, you know, a lot of things that you and i discussed last week in terms of being there for the working people and the middle-class and focus on racial equity, that i'm sure we can all proud to see the planning commission pass the resolution. and when we talked about the ground-floor retail space and what we're going to do in terms of this pandemic and how it's hurting our small businesses. i appreciated our conversation around that. i don't want to prolong this, because i don't have any questions because i'm supporting you. i just think you're a great addition to the planning commission and i want to emphasize, too, that often, i've been around for awhile and i know chair ronen can attest to this, as well, is that the planning commission getting along so well like this. there are differences of opinions, but i think the respect all of you have for one another and how you're working together is something good for all of us to see and i just,
6:30 am
fen, your leadership has been great on the planning commission and thank you so much and i am thrilled to support your reappointment today. >> thank you, supervisor. >> thank you so much, supervisor stephanie. supervisor mar. >> thank you, chair ronen. i would echo supervisor stephanie's thanks to commissioner koppel, to all of your tremendous leadership and commitment to the planning commission over the past four years and really what you bring to -- the unique perspectives to the important decisions at the planning commission is very much appreciated and, yeah, i had a question, again, as i told commissioner diamond. i would be interested in your perspective on the housing balance, expect housing balance report released by the planning department shows that we're still, you know, have a pretty great imbalance between producing market rate housing versus affordable housing.
6:31 am
the figure was 21.5% in the latest housing report and the fact that on ou our arena goals, we're meeting or exceeding arena goals for market rate and that's been particularly -- it's more specifispecifically producing co buildings at the higher end of the price bracket. in local six we're leaving the city and it's alarming. every year we're losing 20% of our membership in the city. and so over ten years, if you go
6:32 am
6:33 am
>> i'm sorry, we're having a hard time hearing you. could you please repeat the last five sentences. >> we have done a good job approving lots of units. look at pier 70, the trail power plant, the giant's power plant and that alone is a huge amount of units and, you know, how are we going to equ ec equitably do.
6:34 am
i want to look at worker protections which are equally as important. and so what i've noticed over the years is that instead of, you know, forcing everyone to go eight stories and up where they don't want to, and that's an extreme case, but certain people are looking at extreme cases and what i've seen and kind of figured out, i think th richmond did it a little better, less of a single-family home model and a ground floor lobby where there are three full flats and a lot of the houses are zoned up to 4e family homes and so without raising any height limits or getting into anything too drastic, if we just looked at slightly expanding the density controls in a house of rh2,
6:35 am
maybe if they were allowed to go to their height limit and have flee fulthreefull flats and thee large enough that you can have a small family. i won't say you can have a large family in a 1400 flat. it's doable and will hit the price point need to stay here. a lot of us are from here, we live here and our kids are going to school here and we spend our money in the restaurants and we want to keep it that way. that's just an idea instead of jacking up the zoning heights.
6:36 am
we're talking commute and more carbon emissions and i'm always a big fan of staying local and using local contractors and a local workforce and keeping our money her here in the city. >> great, thank you so much, commissioner kop particulapel as for your leadership on the planning commission. chair ronen, i don't have any other questions. >> i want to echo both of my
6:37 am
colleagues in thanking you for all of your work over the years and i will ask the same question i asked miss diamond about your race and social equity resolution that i was really excited about and i'm hoping you can also explain what that means to you and how you intend to apply the commitments and the resolution to change the real life impacts of communities of color, low-wage workers, as well as small businesses. >> absolutely, this has been a point of passion for me throughout my years in the trades and i don't know of a more male-dominated field than construction and i will tell you that i know a lot of women electricians who are amazing workers and i honestly, i don't know how they do it. just in a regular workplace, there's a lot of unfair situations and i have to tell you, on job sites, it's multiplied and so, it's been a huge deal to me, very self-ishly
6:38 am
looking at my own members, my friends, my coworkers that show up to these jobs and they have to put up with a lot and so i'm proud to be a part of a union that's been paying women the same since 1895 and that's a huge deal a lot of people don't remember. and we've been exhibiting wage equality as long as we have. and also, i've been very involved -- we have an electrical worker's minority caucus within our trade and also a renewed group to stimulate a younger generation, new workers and another point of pride is that we've had our own float in the gay pride parade for three years in a row now and no other trade has pulled that together and i'm even more proud of our group to showcase -- we've been accepting a lot more women and they're amazing workers and a lot of the apprenticeship classes, i still go down every
6:39 am
semester and speak to the classrooms filled with san francisco residents for the city classes and i tell them the same thing, look at me. i was just a city kid like you trying to get into a trade and don't give up, keep after it. it took me three years, actually tub tactually, to get in. i had to apply and interview three times and i tell those kids and see them in their 49ers' hats and giant's hats and warrior hats and it's a big deal because i used to not have this opportunity and i want the kids in all of the neighborhoods all over this city to have the opportunity to become electrician or a plumber or any other trade that will give them a well-paying career for the rest of their lives and they'll be able to have the help and welfare to take care of their families and put a good meal on the table and hopefully stay here in the city.
6:40 am
and that's just what i've been doing through my position working in the electrical industry, but also, i've just got to give some more kudos to our department, claudia florez and mariam, seeing us with both hearings we've had to date and i'm proud to say we only have four women of color but we had five and i'm confident that with the new commissioners and the existing staff and director that we'll do a good job. and we'll pretty much let people know way ahead of time thaw won't bthat youwon't be able tod and we'll want to be wowed to see how they'll handle it. it's happening all over the city. some people are a paychec paychr
6:41 am
two away from being homeless and a lot of people don't realize that. >> market rate buildings go up in the districts that are undersieged where over 10,000 latino residents have been displaced and so, the impact of these developments, you know, on communities of color in neighborhoods is nuanced in different and so the
6:42 am
one-size-fits-all laws that are coming out of the state in sacramento, they really don't allow for nuance, of impacts on communities of concern and communities that have been displaced. >> i couldn't agree more. and i'll take it one step further, sometimes the city's block is a block because within certain neighborhoods, you turn a corner and that whole block is
6:43 am
different and every single item i've ever heard, i've gone to that address and did as much of a walk-around as i could because you have to know. you have to know how much space and what you may or may not be getting blocked. you have to see what you're dealing with and be there, literally in front of that address to know what you're really talking about, to see who's walking by you on the sidewalk and what the current situation is.
6:44 am
6:45 am
you would make the resolution real. >> yes, thank you. >> first, what it means to me, as well. you know, i was thrilled when we passed the resolution. i could never thought it would pass in the planning commission coming from a community and also being a part of the philippino community with the passage as well to open a heritage district, which our community advocated on that was really -- it's just very historical, i would say. as to how it would be implemented and this is going to be a lot of discussion. it's going to be a lot of work and as i said in my letter, passing the resolution is one step, but having to implement this, it's a lot of steps more
6:46 am
and, first of all, when we're looking into -- as we're looking into the access to housing, i think we also need to look into, as well, access to parks, access to health system and into the quality of life. we need to highlight we're rebuilding for. those are the things we've been talking about from the group, as to how do we make sure that we really highlight the voices and, you know, the really paying attention to racial and social equity.
6:47 am
one point of what supervisor mar is looking into, as well as the housing balance. and we know in the arena, san francisco is behind when it comes to building low-income housing and the question is that, as well, is the revenue. as of now, the way we see revenues is through the partnership with private developments, as well, but i believe there's a hearing before into the housing by the land use community and that was the main comments about that. and so this will be, as we are going through a discussion of strategies, as to what are the revenues coming from. i mean, i'm thrilled there is a property transfer tax into the
6:48 am
ballot, but there needs to be more than that and i think there needs to be a discussion about ththe vacancy tax. there are things where rent control housing are also -- there's a lack of protection in that and sometimes, there's a disconnect with the planning commission and the board and i believe commissioner melgar proposed a budget for a liaison to the rent board and i think that's one thing, as well, that how do we also protect the rent-controlled housing units as we are talking about density and when we're talking about
6:49 am
density, i think we should look into the design equity and when we mean by design equity, the ability of people, as well, not just the number of units that we're passing. as of now, housing is like a lot of projects that comes in into the planning commission, where we also base it's on our decision. there's a lot of things that need talked about and when we're looking to the racial and social equity, it's really going down to the strategies. and how we're looking into that strategy and, again, the main question is who are we building for? >> appreciate that, thank you so
6:50 am
much. and i'm so sorry. i'll be back really soon. if vice chair captain stephanie can share the meeting and feel free to share your opening statements, but thank you for answering my question. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. >> thank you, chair r portion r. >> you wan >> good morning, superviso supe, and thank you for having me. last february, i was appointed as a planning commissioner and you also all supported me. now that i'm seeking for your support for my reappointment for the next four years. the work of the planning
6:51 am
commission has continued and land use and planning will be ever increasing as the composition and population of cities are showing signs of the significant change in the horizon. voices of the most vulnerable will be more important than ever. while my time as a commissioner has been short, i've been a conduit for voices and i have talked with community members and community organizations throughout my service. i've taken consideration comments from the public and as the executive director of the housing program, access to affordable housing has always continued to keep me in touch with the most vulnerable population. and i believe i've shown myself to be thoroughly prepared under the materials for each meeting. i paid close to the project
6:52 am
sponsor. i'm very proud that my fellow commissioners and i have passed the resolution that will submit our planning department to racial and social equity framework. and the impetus of my service with racial and service equity emphasis. while this is one great step ensuring that resolutions will be implemented, it promises several steps more. i would like to continue to serve so that i may ensure that the mandate we envision will slowly materialize and i hope that you and other commissioners, commissioner diamond and koppel will be reappointed an. >> supervisor mar, would you
6:53 am
like to start in with your comments. >> thank you. i'm really impressed by your thoughtful engagement and the important decisions you've been making and bringing such important depth of understanding and commitment to low-income communities and communities of color to the planning decisions and i think it's been appreciated that -- i really appreciated your a side resident, as well, and bringing those perspectives and my question that i posed to your colleagues was around wanting to hear your thoughts on housing balance or housing imbalance in terms of production of market rate versus affordable housing in our city. you already touched on that in your comments and i just wanted to see if you had anything else to add to that important topic. >> yeah.
6:54 am
6:56 am
income, what are strategy that's we need to implement or highlight on that. there's a lot of talks in having more rez knews for the acquisition preservation. for the city of san francisco to rethink how we he look into housing. we need to rethink how we look into the trans oriented development. i believe the city was only
6:57 am
prepared for earthquakes and fires but not this type of virus crisis. that also includes designs and transportation and raising transportation during these times as well. we had a discussion about the-when the hub was being put before us. that was a big discussion. that was something that i brought up during that passing of the hub. when we talk about the city, we need to rethink how we talk in terms of design and quality of life and in terms of transportation to look into. >> thank you, commissioner. i really appreciate and thank you to all of your commitment to the planning commission. >> thank you. >> yes, thank you. i really appreciate your
6:58 am
contributions as well. thank you for your perspective and contribution. the time you've been appointed has been remarkable. heard such good things. although you and i did not get a chance to meet in person. i did get the letter you sent. you mentioned that the voices that are the most vulnerable in san francisco will be important especially during this public health crisis and resulting economic crisis. i know we're all in agreement on that. you've answered a lot in terms of-i don't have anymore questions. i was going to ask a question around this. just to keep in mind as we look at that priority and with the understanding that the city's budgeted issue that's we're looking at even private developers and ever tightening budget and how to deliver on that goal. those are issues that come to
6:59 am
mind for me but again thank you for your service, i'm happy to support your reappointment today. with that i think we have no further questions from committee members. i believe we can go to public comment. we're going to take public comment on all three appointees at the time time. each person will have two minutes. whether clerk, if you can let us know how much are in the queue, we can then proceed. >> yes. members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item should call the number. the meeting i.d press pound and pound again. if you haven't already done so, please press star three to line up to speak. the system will indicate you have raised your hand.
7:00 am
7:02 am
7:03 am
imperial. it represents everything we need on the planning commission. her background, intelligence, thoughtfulness. you know, her fight for a long history of fighting for communities. i'm very excited to see the conversation today centered around racial equity and how we make that real. as you can see we're very excited. today i wanted to strongly encourage you to support the appointment to the planning commission. >> thank you, very much. can we have the next speaker, please. >> supervisors, let me bring to
7:04 am
your attention that this-the questions you ask should be very permanent and relevant. now i hope you know the difference between a resolution and ordinance. anyone can write a resolution. it cannot be enforced, it's useful at three candidates. it cannot be enforced. having said that, if you walk over san francisco you see too many camps and homelessness. none of you have mentioned that. nor have you mentioned that there are over 35 homes in san francisco that are vacant. thirty five thousand homes and sixty thousand condos.
7:05 am
i'm known all the directors. all of them have tried their best but as one of you supervisors-you had more market rate housing. these three candidates should really fight for affordable housing which should be under $80,000. afford to whom? it shouldn't compromise loans and are on the street dying. the planning commission is not aware of that. the planning commission never once mentioned about our infants, children, youth.
7:06 am
7:07 am
communities. immigrants and people of color are bearing the brunt of this pandemic and economic crisis. leading voices and push for recovery centered around the most vulnerable communities. it brings on the ground experience that traditionally lack in the planning process. we fully support for reappointment and hope you will do the same. thank you. >> thank you. can we have the next caller, please. >> hi. i'm vice president for the san francisco la latino club. we've voted several times in support for teresa. she has been a great con duit cr
7:08 am
7:09 am
7:10 am
>> thank you. next speaker, please. >> be proactive in future thinking. [indiscernible]. real change comes from the same structural change in collaboration with community views, the mayor's office nor to build a better and more equitable. i see her not only talk the talk but roll up her sleeves and including being on the racial and equity subcommittee and have ad voakating foandadvocating fol
7:11 am
7:12 am
7:13 am
>> thank you, mr. clerk. with that, public comment is closed. any additional comments? >> no, i don't. >> mr. clerk, i think we'll go ahead and i'll make a motion with regard to the three items and should chair ronan want to rescind the vote to participate in it. >> i'm sorry. thank you so much. >> no problem. we're done with public comment. you probably know. we have to move this meeting forward. >> great. do you want to make a motion. >> sure. i would like to move the mayor's reappointment to the diamond commission. move this forward to the full
7:14 am
board with positive recommendation. >> the motion offered by chair stephanie agenda item number to be amended and approving. >> (roll call) pr par >. >> madam chair, three ayes. >> i'll make a motion to reappointment joe to the planning commission. remove the word rejecting and send forward with positive recommendations. >> the motion approving and recommending the motion to the
7:15 am
7:16 am
>> madam chair, there are three ayes. >> thank you very much. thank you for all your hard work. would you please read the next item. >> members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item should call in to (415)655-0001 enter the meeting id. (146)971-4708 press pound twice. press star three if you wish to speak. >> thank you so much.
7:17 am
7:18 am
appointment to the police commission. i'm really excited. pretty much i think everyone knows that my background in the work-first and foremost for the oversight agency paramount and should be consistent. i have been on the record to call for even national oversight. i think there's value and when it comes to law enforcement agencies. you all know a little about my background. i created the prop g back in 2016 which created the accountability. most importantly in the investigations whenever there's an officer involved shooting, i think that is the most important
7:19 am
in underlining reason why-what motivated me to work to create the department with a team effort. i don't want to take all the credit like most things, they are a heavy left. work with the commission to end the restraint. other legislation i've worked on-sorry. my mom is here now. also worked on banning flavored tobacco, took to the ballot and voters supported the befe bevere and sugary tax. there was the battle back in 2015 to make sure we had neighborhood preference of
7:20 am
members of the community to be able to benefit from this new construction. finding the displacement. fair chance ordinance which was banning the box. eliminating the-on the application process for housing and jobs asking the question have you been convicted of a felony. and in 2 2011, i worked on the pregnancy disclosure a agreemen. i look forward to your questions and happy to talk about anything that is related to the police commission. thank you for your time. good morning. >> thank you so much. i want to give my colleagues the opportunity to ask questions first. do either of you have any
7:21 am
questions? >> good morning. i do not have any questions, i would like to make some opening remarks. i just wanted to say to our former supervisor, president of the board of supervisors, member of the board of equalization. i'm really am excited for the opportunity to catch up. i don't have any further questions today but i would like to make a few remarks. i went to the emerge program. i got a call and she said i'm going to be your mentor
7:22 am
throughout this process. i can only say that i hope to return that as you become a mother and a working mother and i will be here to answer all your questions on how to make that work. in addition to her current role on the state board of equalization she has shared in the budget and finance committee. she took on the tobacco companies and been a leader on criminal justice reform. we didn't always disagree or have some along the way when i first started as supervisor when issues came up. you've always been so kind a gracious. i wanted to learn from you. we had something from the market bar. we were able to have a really good discussion. i think it's so important.
7:23 am
7:24 am
criminal justice reform in san francisco. we had a number of qualified candidates that put their names forward to be filled. activists that received community ties. accomplished attorneys and public servants and more. stacks of information and stacks of-everything she has done, i definitely was going to listen to her perspective. there were other candidates that i felt could have done just as good a job. i really knew in that moment it was on me to respect the work. i had no trouble doing that whatsoever given her history. it's the same way i feel about
7:25 am
mayor breed on these issues. you've done so much in this regard. i can learn so much from you sm i hav.i will and will continue o so. i'm so confident that you are going to be able it lead on the police commission and lead with the grace that you always do. that formidable personality that you have. when i heard that mayor bree was appointing you, i said, that's it. it's going to be a good addition to the police commission. i'm looking forward to working with you during this time of rec oning in our city and moving forward in the best way possible. i know i went on long. you know how i feel about you. i'm so excited to see you here and excited to be able to approve your appointment today.
7:26 am
>> thank you. >> thank you, chair ronan for accommodating my remarks. >> it's a historic moment around these issues. i want to thank mayor breed for nominating you and putting you forward. as you touched on briefly in your remarks. you really bring a depth of experience-police accountable and criminal justice reform. i think-you're very much appreciated and needed.
7:27 am
what you bring to the table. my question is more about the current moment. as you know despite, it's really a historic moment right now as a city and kun ri in reall countrt these issues to systemic racism and law enforcement and criminal justice. it's quite different in 2016 when you led police accountability which was a huge importance in our city. the current moment right now and how the opportunity and the need to be boulder on these issues is going to inform your work as a leader on the police commission in our city. >> that's an incredibly thoughtful question. i appreciate it. when i was first approached with
7:28 am
the opportunity to serve, i was hesitant quite honestly. i'm a state wide elected. i thought my focus should be more on the state. we have been sheltering in place for months. i am about to deliver a baby in two weeks. i'm home, watching news, experiencing the protests, march, unrest. we're in a pri pivotal time, wed to be bold in our movement to bring more criminal justice reform to the entire system. it was the shooting of my community member mario woods
7:29 am
that spurred my actions. i've been involved in many officer involved shootings. the police officer i was in 2011 was different than in 2015 in my second term. it was dealing with uncomfortable experiences that i really began to feel the strong sense of urgency of now. that placating, pacifying, passing resolutions was just pacifying. we needed really bold action. i agree, how do you harness this time. i have a long list of ideas that we can begin to implement. i have had fan efi fantastic
7:30 am
conversations for this justice movement. working with the racial justice committee, i had a phenomenal meeting with them. i had a list of nine items of things that we can collectively work on. there are also pieces of work that i started when i was a member on the board of supervisors. i want to be able to continue. i think about the 96a collecting racial data. there's a lag from the department of justice. a very small percentage has been implemented. i think i'm unique for this particular time because i have the san francisco experience. i understand the budget.
7:31 am
i have a connection to the state. my goal is to be a seamless transition s. the reforms that are happening, the assembly woman what she is bringing on is much of the work i'm bringing here to san francisco. being able to connect these dots here in the state of california. san francisco is not the only meun is palonlymeun is palt mov. this is time that i intend to not squander.
7:32 am
looking at violations of civil rights. a lot of department general orders that the commission has in the works and has been working diligently to get in place. the police chief has been very good and very supportive on creating and changing some policies like no longer making mug shots available to stiemy
7:33 am
the racial profiling. >> thank you. i don't have any other questions. >> i know we have hard questions. there would not be karma for the tough questions you've asked over the years. first of all, as your role as a member of the san francisco democratic party central committee which both supervisor mar and i sit on as well. you voted to oppose endorsing the sheriff's oversight ballot
7:34 am
measures. since we are considering your appointment to the oversight body of the sfpd. i'm curious why you would be against having a similar body. >> i appreciate that question and giving me the opportunity to talk about it. i don't normally have that platform. my feelings about the legislation at this point is inconsequential. i support oversight. it is consistent with my overall vision when it comes to the law enforcement. i have been public about calls for independent committees and oversight nationwide. i want to put that out there. my reserves are in the co contet strictly on the budget. the short fall we're going to be
7:35 am
feeling in san francisco over the next two years is a reality. i had a chance to think about this. i think we need to seize this moment. i'm hopeful that the board of supervisors and the mayor's office will figure out these budgeting priorities. we really do need to be bold and not fearful. when i think about other bold initiatives like the san francisco bank for example. it will benefit-justice is on the ballot. i would be willing to publicly support this proposition d on ballot. at the time of the vote it was limited information and out reach that was given to me.
7:36 am
sense consequent information, i looked at the bla reports as well as some ledg legislation. if we work collectively on this oversight measure, we can get this job done. >> great. thank you. speaking budget, as you know, we're thick in the middle of it right now. there are hearings almost everyday. >> god bless you all for that. >> it's not easy, as you know. we're looking at very closely at the police department budget. i know you have been the strongest leaders on the prd
7:37 am
supervisors in and ow. out. >> there is probably agreement-for example, when we think about mental health calls. one of the things i certainly recall in dealing with my captains. how uncomfortable and ilequiped in terms of training officer rzs are in dealing with mental health. substance abuse-i don't
7:38 am
necessarily know if those are police calls. i don't know if we need police there. foot pat roll, working with the community would appreciate more foot patrol. make sure our officers are able to speak and engage culturally. i think we need to revamp the early warning system which is a visit em in place ta-if we havey should be put on desk duty until we can get them retrained. i would like to think about
7:39 am
reexamining the discipline process of rogue cop se cops. we've known about rogue cops well before 2015. i'm talking about homo phobic text messages. there's a lot of room to continue to create some good policies that is the best interest of all of san francisco. >> thank you. a question i'm wrestling with, for me, confusing power we have to do this is the extent we're
7:40 am
reducing the police budget would cause layoffs. i'm wondering your thoughts on that. would you be supportive in the reduction of the budget that would cause police layoffs. >> i don't know that much about that. >> because the vast majority of the police budget is on salary ses aniesand benefits. there's a nationwide movement to defund the police and cut these budgets. the budget that mayor breed presented the board of supervisors has approximately under three percent budget cut to sfpd whereas most other departments have taken a 10% cut. if we're going to get to the 10%
7:41 am
or more given the call of the nation at the moment. it's impossible to cut the budget at that level without there being layoffs. there's already reduced vacancies and accounted for attrition. i'm wondering your thoughts on that. >> that's an interesting question. when i think about the budget and budget costs. there was a news story that 25 officers are leaving. there's good and bad. we need to purge the system of our bad apples. perhaps those that are leaving are leaving because the climate has become uncomfortable. i don't know. when it comes to the budget there's opportunities for cuts
7:42 am
that are far more than personnel. when you think about-i would not be interested in seeing cuts in training. i would not be interested in seeing cuts on equipment. do officers need the best brand new squad cars? i don't know. i tend to say no. that is not something that i can have a lot of knowledge about. to answer your question shortly and su susshortly.it concerns me
7:43 am
officers getting a raise. you think about social workers and nurses and people on the front lines who are also putting their lives on the line and taking the life of service and they aren't getting raises. i think we need to be consistent about our service. what i remember, the state of employees have gotten a raise. i think there needs to be an overall freeze on this. i'm a little concerned about how hushed the process has been. it was a shock about the number of police officers who were una ware of this negotiation going on. they are try to go pull a fast one on us. i don't like that.
7:44 am
i don't appreciate that. i want to be aggressive and ask these types of questions. you asked me a question about my independence to the mayor's office. being able to talk to the mayor's office and work with the more productive voices in the city. really being a bridge and connen conduit. i don't know about the salary increases. but it left a bad taste in my month and made me uncomfortable. i also want to make sure we're inkreetion and maintaining
7:45 am
increasing and maintaining a level of transparency. there are things i'd like to structurally change. i don't want people to lose faith in our criminal justice. i want them to feel emboldened and excited. here is an example of a group of people working in our best interest. and being able to have the difficult questions and answer. stand up for the decisions that we make. also being humble and saying, i made a mistake. it takes a big person to be able to did that. all over, i've been able to recognize my mistakes and atone to them.
7:46 am
and rectify them and correct them. take that hard line stance and i've been bullied-i understand the pressures. i would not succumb to that level of pressure sm when i think p budget, i think about serving with sandy. thz a tougthat's a tough job. when you think about state funding and supervisor mar, i worked really closely with your brother when it came to state dollars.
7:47 am
there's a lot of oversight and interwoven relationships when it comes to this entire body of work. i'll stop. do you have another question? >> my last question is-i think you'll appreciate this. there are four mair mayoral appointees. the president of the commission ee iis almost always a mayoral appointee. would you be willing to support a mayoral appointee for vice
7:48 am
president so there is a balance in the leadership for who is appointed. what often happen sz that is ise board's appointments never get into leadership positions. i find that problematic. as a former member of this body, i know you're acutely aware that happens every time. i'm wondering if you find the shared- >> would that be a charter amendment change? >> the police commissioner, themselves, end up voting for who they want their president and vice president. the way it works out is it's one of the four of them. because they have the majority. one of them, you for example, i
7:49 am
think if shared leadership is what you want to do- >> that's really interesting. i'm been thinking about that in the context of the democratic party. it really has to do with the distribution of power. in this particular context when i think about the commission, i probably have more of a neutral position. my fil philosophy is we're all leaders- >> just fyi that's not what i've heard about board appointed commissioners. they get pushed out. it's only president, vice president. >> i did not know that. >> i've been hearing from board
7:50 am
of supervisors it's extremely important it to them. they have brought this up many times and been silenced. they are not asking for the presidency. they are saying look, we're all colleagues on this body. there hasn't been a board appointed president or vice president on this body for a long time. we're asking for shared leadership here. i think that's something that's very important to me. it's very important to john-i would ask that you make a commitment to supporting that chair leadership structure. >> i can't commit to you online right here. in my recollection, he was a board appointee and served
7:51 am
diligently as president and really was instrumental in issuing in change. >> he was amazing. this dynamic has not allowed that. there's been a lot of controversy within the police commission about that. you are open to this and willing to consider it and work with them for the shared leadership. >> i can't give you a hard commitment. this is is the first i've heard of this. i've had some tight relationships. i've voted and fought john. i would appreciate if he had the tun to get on brd and bring that
7:52 am
opportunity- >> i would ask you to be open to that. >> i would definitely tell you i'm open to it. absolutely. >> thank you for answering my questions. with that i'll open this item up for public comment. every member of the public will have two minutes to speak. >> yeah. members of the public who would like to speak should call the number. the meeting i.d. press pound and pound again. if you haven't done so press star three to line up to speak. the system will prompt you to raise your hand. you may begin your comments.
7:53 am
we have ten listeners and four people queued up to speak. can we have the first caller, please. >> hi. congratulations on having a baby. i'm fully about safety. when it comes to safety. i believe malia is about safety. she is not scared to make decisions that are tough. with that said, i hope you appoint her on this police commission. thank you for the opportunity to speak. >> thank you. can we have the next caller, please. >> thank you. can we have the next caller
7:54 am
7:56 am
>> speaker: i'm angela jenkins and today, miss cohen has brought the facts i recall a meeting directly following the poa storming one of the community meetings and miss cohen took the board of supervisors through illustrious information on policing that just blew my mind. i barely had any comment because she did so well this getting her research. and the way the poa stormed the police commission meeting in 2016 following mario wood's
7:57 am
killing was so intimidating. i have to say on friday night, during the budget meeting, when many of our black voices are trying to get in there, i was taken aback and felt intimidated again when many ardent allies attempted to speak by proxy for black people and i trust melia cohen to raise true black voices. true black voices come from black people and even though people are sympathetic to this new era of george floyd killing, only our voices who are impacted speak for us and i trust melia cohen when she is appointed to the police commission. thank you. >> thank you.
7:58 am
the next caller, please. >> speaker: this is critical condition, i'm a district nine resident and i'm calling to strongly urge you to support sherwin cohen for the police commission appointment. the police commission has proven itself incapable of pushing through the doj reforms with a sense of urgency demands, despite their constant lip service to reform. miss cohen has been a leader and consistent voice for change on holding the police accountable in this city. from her work in creating the dta, to requiring 96a reports on race and traffic stops, miss cohen has been paying attention to race, racial equi equity, police oversight, before it became the hot political
7:59 am
issue. miss cohen knows the issues and is outspoken on the issues and she gets the work done. so we need miss cohen to hold the police not just accountable but the commission itself accountable and she will bring the energy and expertise to push through the remaining doj reforms. >> thank you. the next caller, please. >> good morning, everyone. i live in district eight and i am a parent here in san francisco and an immigrant and i am also black. and i'm not calling into speak for or against the appointment of supervisor cohen specifically, but i did want to say something to, you know,
8:00 am
address and frame one of the former supervisor and the candidate mentioned this morning, which is the possibility of things like, if there are, you know, quote, unquote, bad cops, rogue cops, that they can be on desk duty until their retrained. that doesn't go far enough in my opinion and in the opinions of a lot of people in the community, i think. i think that if you are a cop who sends racist texts or have had complaints against you for x, y and z reasons, the quote, unquote consequence shouldn't be you're on desk duty for a month or until you complete this online training or all of this, whatever the process is. it should be you don't get to carry a gun around any more.
8:02 am
>> i'm here to support miss cohen. if a cop has had negative spikes against him or her, they do not -- we do not hire them in san francisco. we absolutely need someone and that was -- i know leah cohen would help the people, especially out for american citizens in san francisco and especially african-american young men who find themselves on the wrong side of the law. we need someone to speak up for the people and i whole heartedly believe that a she be appointedo this position. thank you. >> next caller, please.
8:03 am
>> speaker: good morning or good afternoon, i'm britney and i'm calling in as a member of the san francisco community, born and raised here in san francisco, where the majority of my family still leaves and as a former staff member from when she served as president and member of the board of supervisors and i'm very enthusiastic to support her candidacy for the san francisco police commission because i have worked incidentally with chair cohen for over five years, including criminal justice and i've come to know her professionally as a skillful and magnificent leader. she refuses to be labeled, despite the imposition of her other politicos and her record speaks for herself, not only her many policies regarding law enforcement but more broadly across racial and social justice. her record represents, i think, the most exciting aspect of this opportunity to approve this appointment.
8:04 am
melia is the added benefit, really, the added spark that the police commission needs, she's an unapologetic and unsung champion of marginalized communities, not just in her words but actions and she's a bold leader and i think most importantly, she's a student of the work. melia never wanted to shoot from the hip. she wanted to learn more from her and even if on paper, it seems they may be on different sides of the proverbial aisle. whashe's unafraid to directly engage people that disagree with her. chair cohen has a humble quality when it comes to learning from a diversity of stakeholders and grows and develops her own positions before taking them publically. so please support chair cohen's appointment to the police commission. thank you. >> thank you. next caller, please.
8:05 am
>> we've always had a great working relationship when melia cohen was supervisor and she as a unique perspective that had to deal with a lot of community violence and all of the different constituencies that are impacted in and affected by that violence, including sfpd and the mothers of murder victims. i think that unique perspective can serve this in making sure that fantastics ar folks are wor with creating safety communities and feeling the harm and has occurred in neighborhoods. we are really excited for change
8:06 am
and we know that so much is kind of on the precedence of that and i think that's important we have leaders that are strong and dedicated and have experience in these areas to get to the san francisco that we can all love and be proud of. thank you so much. >> are there any additional callers? >> madam chair, that completes the queue. >> i will make a motion to remove the word reject and send this item forward with positive recommendation. supervisor cohen, i wish you so much luck in the birth of your first child. >> thank you. >> i know you'll be an amazing mother and we're all routing for you and i don't know how you feel about the public thing, but
8:07 am
i hope you'll share pictures with us because we're all excited. thank you. and with that, can we take a role call vote? (role call). >> enjoy your last few days of rest. [ laughter ] >> thank you to the members of the public that have voiced their vote of confidence. i appreciate that. >> mr. clerk, can you read item number six. >> a reenactment to temporary
8:08 am
require private employers with 500 or mo employees to provide public health emergency leave during the public health emergency related to covid-19. >> supervisor mar, any comments. >> yes, thank you, chair ronen. this emergency ordinance is a second reenactment to help keep this in place for an additional 260 days. the original ordinance was adopted bit board and signed on april 19th with mayor breed and this second reason actment will ensure this remains in place. we prepared an amendment and this amendment would not require a continuance and simply
8:09 am
clarified that this reenactment ordinance would apply retroactively to the date the prior reenactment expired and this amendment avoids any potential gaps in coverage for this crucial benefit for essential workers. >> unless supervisor stephanie has any comments or questions, we can open this item up for public comment. >> members of the public who wish to provide public comment should call (415)655-0001 and the meeting i.d. is (146)971-4708 and press pound and pound again. if you have not done so, press star three and a system prompt will indicate you have raised your hand and please wait until the system indicates you have been un-muted and you may begin your comments. any members online to speak.
8:10 am
>> no callers in the queue. >> then public comment is closed. >> i do have one caller that just popped in. >> ok, if we can hear if the caller. >> yes, i think it's a little bit silly to just have a law specific for covid-19. you know, if you're just going to keep on having to renew this, why not extend it to any pandemic affecting a certain number of people?
8:11 am
>> that completes the queue. >> public comment is closed. on the motion to amend, can we have a role call? (role call). >> the motion passes. >> and then, supervisor mar, would you like to make the motion? >> yes, thank you, chair ronen. i would like to move we recommend this as a committee report to the august 8th to the board of supervisors. >> and can we have a role call vote? >> yes, on the motion to recommend it as a committee report as amended, supervisor stephanie.
8:12 am
35 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
SFGTV: San Francisco Government Television Television Archive Television Archive News Search ServiceUploaded by TV Archive on