should be here soon. commissioner halsey? >> he was present. >> chairwoman: i'll come back to her. commissioner jones? >> here. >> commissioner bellla? >> here. >> chairwoman: commissioner halsey? okay. we'll just hear from them when they get here. this is the recreation and park commission meeting of october 22, 2020. note that due to the covid-19 health emergency, city employees and the rooms at city hall are closed. but the commissioners participating in this meeting are acting the same as if they are present. we ask for your patience if we experience any technical issues.

public comment will be af available. each speaker will be aloid twallowed to speak. and the access code is 1460062303. when you hear the agenda item you would like to comment on, call, dial star 3 to be added to the cue to speak. you will be lined up in the system in the order that you dialed star 3. while you are waiting, the system will be silent. the system will notify you when you are in line and waiting. all callers will remain on mute until their line is open. everybody must account for the time delays between live coverage and streaming. you can submit public comment byiuming rec park

commissioner s.f. gov..org. written comments can be sent to s.f. recreation and park commission, 501 daniel street, san francisco, california, 94117. thirthis commission meeting labor available on sfgof.org. >> thank you very much. i will be brief. i take great joy in welcoming two new commissioners to or re recreation and park commission commission. commissioner jones. we look forward to a very, very rewarding experience being on the commission. and i want to take a moment to profoundly thank tom harris and gloria

gomia, both commissioner who served over 16 years on the commission. and at an appropriate time in a future meeting, we will be recognizing them for all of their service. but we could not have asked for two more professional and enjoyable commissioners than in tom and gloria. with that, that concludes the president's report. thank you very much. >> chairwoman: we are now in public comment for item two, president's report. please dial star 3to be added to the cue to speak. you have two minutes. >> caller: do i have time to speak? >> chairwoman: yes. please state your name. >> caller: hello, my name is tom shanik, let me

step outside where i have better reception. one second. okay, can you guys hear me okay? >> chairwoman: yes. >> caller: okay. my name is tom shanik, and i appreciate your time. [inaudible] >> over th months or so, some friends and i have been on a community beautification project over there. there is a one stretch block of sidewalk with no houses -- [audio is breaking up] >> i hate to interrupt you, but this is comments on the president's report, not general public comment. >> caller: i am sorry about that. i'm commenting on some other issue? >> under general public

comment, your comments would be appropriate. that will be happening in a few minutes. >> caller: oh. i'm sorry about that. >> no problem. >> caller: so what is the best way -- >> you can comment in a few minutes under general public comment? > >> caller: should i stay on? >> no. just call in under general public comments. help me out, ashley. >> chairwoman: ashley, you're muted. >> thank you. thank you. yes, you're going to want to call back on i3ems for general public comment, if you want to comment on anything that is not on the agenda today. paul, are there any other callers for this item? [inaudible] >> chairwoman: we're on item 3, general managers.

>> good morning, this is sarah madeline, sitting in for the general margin today. as usual, the commission president said it best: welcome to our two new commissioners, and a special thanks to our outgoing commissioners. we'll be honoring them at a future meeting when the general manager can be here. i will jump in on the general manager's report and try to deliver it with as much enthusiasm as our general manager does. the wait is over. you may have heard, the highly anticipated 150-foot illuminated observation wheel welcomed its first riders. it will provide riders with sweeping views from the ocean to downtown san francisco. for the 15 150th scenes sear. bot150thanniversary.

it is a symbol of hope and rebirth for the city during covid. the wheel is located in the music concourse, near the california academy of sciences and the japanese garden. under our health precautions in place, to reduce the risk of covid-19, you must make reservations in advance. all riders must wear masks and practice social distancing. there are 36 gondolas, and they are fully enclosed and cleaned between lightings. and the gondola can only be shared by members of the same household. and as this is a new element in golden gate park, we are welcoming backup of all kinds on the wheel at sfgof.org. and to purchase tickets, which are going quickly,

it is skywheel.com. and a special thank you to those out there hours and hours on end, making sure that the ride was both safe and getting it open as quickly as possible. in other good news, you probably have heard that san francisco welcomed our kids back to our 179 playgrounds last week. and mayor london breed joined our general manager and other city officials for a kickoff on that at the merced heights playground. all of the playgrounds have signs reminding families of capacity elements, and other city and state guidelines to prevent the spread of covid-19. we have high park rangers on site monitoring compliance and providing information to families.

and there is more information on our website about hours. because of the health guidelines and the fact that we have both community learning hubs, our emergency health and child care, as well as pre-schools on our facilities, those playgrounds are only allowed to be used while they're in session. so we have modified our hours, and we're working on an easy to use map that will help people understand when they can go to this playground. next, we have, as i mentioned, the merced heights project. and we also have some recently finished upcoming capital projects to alert you to. as health alerts change, we'll be able to do smaller celebrations. but some of the

playgrounds have opened last week, as i mentioned, and we recently renovated under the "let's play" initiative, including sergeant john mccauley in the tinde tenderloin, and what we're now calling the redwood grove playground in the claren park, which is a $2.8 million renovation. by way of reminder, "let's play" is a partnership between the rec department and the san francisco parks department, which they have 13 playgrounds for improvement. other capital projects on the way and expected to be completed before the end of the year include margaret heyward and the roe playground. a couple other interesting things going on to talk about. we had an event called the "dark side soccer

tournaments," and leonard griffin and elite black college players are offering soccer camps every saturday throughout this month, including october 24thand the 31th, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and they will soon offer grades "k" through 6 every wednesday and thursday afternoon from 4:00 to 5:05:00 p.m. and that is on our website. as part of covid, the board worked closely with the m.t.a. on different road closures, including goldengate park, both j.f.k. and m.l.k., and twin peaks has been closed. we've been receiving consistent public feedback from them and from people,

and we're working with the m.t.a. and other city departments to create a survey about twin peaks and look for alternatives that provide access while still making that area available for recreation. and the survey can be found at sfmta.org/projects. and the annual conference is going to be virtual, and it is taking place october 27th and 29th. it is taking all of the best elements of an in-person conference, including education sessions, keynote speakers and exhibiteds exhibiters and pg them in a unique online program. thank you very much. that concludes our report.

>> chairwoman: item 3, we're now in public comments. please dial star 3 for comment on general manager's report only. >> no hands raised. >> chairwoman: okay. thank you. public comment is closed. i also wanted to just make note on the record that commissioner anderson and commissioner halsey are both present. okay. we are now on item 4, general public comment, up to 15 minutes. this item will also be continued to item 9. at this time, members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public twain the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission and do not appear on the agenda. you have the opportunity to address the commission when the item is reached in the meeting. so please dial star 3 to

be added to the cue to speak for general public comments. >> okay. we've got a couple on mute. >> chairwoman: thanks. please state your name, caller. >> caller: pelo hello. my name is richard rothsman. i'm calling about two items. one is about coit tower. i don't know if the commissioners are aware there was a water leak up there a few weeks ago, which i'm very upset about. apparently it was caused by there are two water attention in the building, and nobody goes there on a regular basis, so this water for i don't know how long it was leaking did cause damage to the elevator and some of the murals. and either somebody needs to live up there, which somebody used to, or those water tanks need to be emptied because we need to

preserve the murals. i did talk to the art commission's staff, and they can be fixed, but it will just take time and money to get them fixed. the second item i want to about about is the a.v.a. parking in the concourse area. rec and park staff came to the disability council, and i can say that everybody who spoke was against the plan. this plan does not offer any easy access from full fulton street. it needs to be redesigned. rec and park staff needs to reach out to the disability community and have a conversation with them, which i don't think they did. i helped try to connect the two together. and, also, i found out about the concourse authority, the mystery agency under prop "j" and 1998, and we need to get

the -- rec and park needs to get that commission up and running because they're supposed to be responsible for the traffic management plans. so before we even think about making j.f.k. permanently closed, we need to fix these a.d.a. and park issues, and get the concourse facility to start doing its job when they get it from the commissioners. thank you very much. >> chairwoman: thank you for your comments, richard. next caller, please state your name. >> caller: hi, my name is lori chan. i live on bernett north. i'm up on twin peaks. i don't know if you really have addressed this, but my neighbors and i have been inundated with trash, crime, loud, drunken partying all hours of the night, usually after 10:00, sometimes as late

as 1:00 in the morning. we called the police department, the non-emergency line almost nightly now. and they come and chase the people away. and then maybe an hour later, another set shows up. but the problem is that we, as neighbors, have picked up all of the litter, the trash, the garage. we have people coming on to our property, climbing onto our rooftops. they are using our garden to urinate in, sometimes to defecate in, and it's absolutely untenable. our neighborhood used to be safe. i can't even walk out my door in the evenings anymore because i'm afraid of being con fronte con confrony these people who are partying and carrying on. i know they have put out a survey, and i appreciate that as progress, but i hope that the mayor will respond to the many, many hundreds of letters we've

been writing to ask for relief from this unintended consequences of what has happened to our once peaceful, quiet neighborhood. shattered glass all over because the cars that do park there and the people hike up. people drive by, they smash-and-grab. they drive off and then leave the street littered with glass. and the people come back to their cars and knock on our doors to ask for help. so this is really a horrible situation that didn't need to happen. we had no input in it. it just popped up. i understand that it was supposed to be allow neighbors more open recreation space, and i have no problem with that. but we do have the parks. even during the shutdown we had the parks. at goldengate park you had to distance and wear masks and all of the protocols. the people gathering up here are not wearing masks

at all. >> chairwoman: thank you, caller, for your comments. >> caller: that is what i'm most concerned about. >> chairwoman: thank you for your comments. we have nobody else on the line, so seeing no further comment, public comment is now closed. any questions or comments from the commissioners? >> we missed the fellow who called under the president's report. so if he is listening, have him call back under public comment at the end of the meeting. >> chairwoman: okay. so we're now on item 5, the consent calendar. is there any item you would like removed from the consent calendar, commissioners? >> seeing none, the chair would entertain a motion. you're on mute, commissioner lowe. >> so moved.

>> specceded. specceded. second. >> moved and seconded. do you neat public comment? >> chairwoman: yeah, we need public comment. is there anyone? >> no raised hands. >> all those in favor? >> yea. >> yea. >> chairwoman: okay. we're on item 6, the san francisco zoo. >> hello, good morning. this is tanya peterson. can you here me, ashley? >> chairwoman: yes. >> good morning. >> we missed you this morning. >> it was on a zoom call with other responsibilities. i'm sorry i missed it. [laughter] >> well, i congratulate the new commissioners and welcome them, and it will be a pleasure to work with you both. this hearing, i'm going to try something new, since a picture is worth a

thousand words. my staff wanted to submit a video on all of the safety measures and updates we're taking at the zoo to keep folks safe, and then a brief photo or two of our 21-year-old lemur who has been returned. president, may i start the video? >> please do.

pierk>> i thought we were going to be closed for two weeks. >> but we still had to take care of the grounds and provide for the animals. >> we went from making sure we were washing our hands all of the time to staying home full-time. >> i was worried. nothing like this has ever happened before.

>> we really miss talking to the guests about our animals there. >> we miss the volunteers. >> at the current animal resource center, we missed all of our youth volunteers this summer. we missed having our entire summer season with the natural volunteers, which we have 110 of, and we missed all 90 of our junior zoologists. >> there are the rhinos here and our giraffes.

>> we had a time to do a lot of training with our goats, horses, and even giraffes. >> we still hold birthday parties for our animals, like our one-horned rine nerhinoand senior chimps. it was fun to celebrate these milestones and share on social media. >> there are many

maintenance projects, and our gardens really flourished. >> we got creative during the closure of the zoo. we did things that we never did before, like walk the penguins around and go to visit other exhibits and other animals so they could stretch their little legs. so it was fun. >> i'm so happy we were able to pivot from our very popular zoo cam program to a modified zoo play. the kids were great in social distancing, and i'm so thankful to our wonderful staff for making everything move smoothly. >> we can social distance from a lot of other staff members due to the pandemic. we spent a lot more time with the animals, and we ramped up our training program, and so we spent a lot more individualized training with the animals, like the rhinos.

with the public being around, it kind of makes that a little harder. so we really ramped up that a lot. >> to keep our public connected with us, we created a website called sfzooconnects. and we did summi some at-home safaries in our backyards. >> a few months ago, you would have been able to see salmon jumping up from pool to pool. it is really quite spectacular. >> we celebrated the birth of a new manderin. >> we took advantage of "star wars" day, may the force be with you, with avisit by v.v.h..

♪ ♪ >> mayor breed toured the zoo today to announce the reopening set for next week. >> it is so important we maintain our distance. >> the zoo will open to members on monday, and the general public on tuesday, but with plenty of modifications. ♪ [please stand by]

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>> that concludes my report. i'm available for any questions. >> thank you very much. >> we are now in public comment for item 6, san francisco zoo. please dial star 3 to be added to the queue to speak. you have two minutes. >> i don't see any hands raised. >> okay. commissioner? >> president buell: we just accept that report, we don't have to approve it? >> any comments or anything? >> president buell: no. >> okay. we are now on item 7, francisco park, donor recognition and naming. >> good morning, commissioners.

my name is lisa bransten, i'm director of partnership in the recreation and parks department and here to ask for discussion and possible action to approve a donor recognition program for francisco park and approve names for the playground, dog area, community garden and picnic area. for background, the park is a brand new park developed by a group of opportunity members that have long advocated for a park on this site. the land was purchased in the puc in 2014 with the agreement that the community group fund a design and construction of the park and support some of the ongoing park maintenance. in 2014, the community group formally became the francisco park conservancy. and they entered an agreement to

formalize the relationship regarding park design, construction and maintenance. and that would be then through 2066. park construction is now estimated to be approximately $27 million. and support for the annual maintenance is more than $150,000 a year. so this is quite a significant partnership for the department. this new 4.5 acre park will be a valuable addition to san francisco open space, restoring natural habitat and providing recreational amenities that were advocated for by community members through rigorous community engagement process. this beautiful site is deep in construction and should open early next year. i'll stop here and just take one moment to express gratitude to the f.p.c. which achieved the herculean task of raising millions of dollars for the design and construction and is continuing to fundraise for

maintenance. with that, i'm going to turn off my camera and hope my presentation works. okay. so i wanted to just start with what was approved in 2018 by the commission. and that -- the donor recognition program, the full program was originally approved -- it was designed by the f.p.c. to assist in its efforts to raise the funding for design and construction that i just talked about and -- sorry -- the plan was approved by the commission in 2018, with the condition that f.p.c. would return to the commission for approval of the named elements. so we'll do part of that today. so i just -- that plan included the name of six features of the park, which f.p.c. is looking for approval today to name four.

before i get into the action items, and around the naming and the change to one element of the donor plan, i just wanted to go back and share a drawing of the main donor wall, which is largely the same as what was approved. this donor wall shows where f.p.c. will recognize all donors to the project who give $25,000 or more. and it's on one of the original reservoirs retaining walls. and we wanted to share with you how they'll graciously celebrate the community effort to get this project done with the following text. so on this wall will be this narrative. francisco park is a result of 70-year community effort. the park is public-private partnership between the city and a group of committed volunteers with the design and construction privately funded by the

community. we thank the many individuals who imagined and built francisco park and those whose generosity made it possible. special appreciation is given to the san francisco mayor's office, board of supervisors, public utilities commission and recreation and park department for their integral and essential support. and now i'll talk about the change to the donor plan. let's see. so i guess i'll note that in general, donor plans are presented to the commission as concept plans, just as overall park design plans are. they change slightly during design and construction. the staff and partners work to refine materials and exact placement. but in this case, however, the change was substantial enough that we're seeking renewed approval and that's around the secondary donor wall where

f.p.c. will recognize donors of $1500 to $24,999. on this slide right now, you see the initial proposal which was to create small donor tags shaped like drops of water to recognize the donors. ultimately, this plan and the backup plan turned out to be impractical in terms of installation and maintenance. and the new plan is more enticing to donors. so the new plan is to install this donor recognition on the stairways that lead up to the main lawn of the new park. this plan will consist of the concrete steps with stainless steel plaques into the risers and this will recognize donors of, again, $1500 to $24,999.

then the next action item for the commission is to approve the naming of four park elements. all of these elements were in the commission's original approval that allowed the elements to be named and we're coming back to you today with the names. in all of the cases, the donor has complied with the commission policy to contribute at least half of the construction cost of the element. the names will be in place until 2066, the same period as f.p.c.s agreement with the department. the names are as follows. so the dog play area which is b1 here on the slide, will be peggy's play dog play area. george and judy marcus provided them with the $500,000 contribution to support the construction of the dog play area and would like to name it

after their dog. next on the list is b3. that is the larson lamb playground. chris larson and lena lamb, provided the f.p.c. with a connection of $2.5 million to support playground construction. next is the b4 and that is the community garden. she and her husband provided $500,000 to support construction of the community garden. lastly, is area b5. the greg and bev james picnic area. bradley and chris james provided the f.p.c. with a contribution of $1 million to support the picnic area and seeked to name the picnic area after chris' parents. just to give you an idea of how these will look, this is an

illustration of the types of plaques that will be installed in the four areas to highlight the names of the donors who supported the project. and then i also just wanted to share with you the progress that they've made in the donor recognition plaques. these were also approved by the commission. i wanted to note there will be donor plaques in 10 of the 13 sites that were approved. and these are just signs in the park. they will not be official names reflected on that. this will be the kind of plaques for the donor recognition areas. and lastly, i did want to note that -- let's see -- that's the end of my presentation. >> president buell: thank you, lisa. >> sorry, i just wanted to end the presentation and just make a couple of last comments.

you'll note that three potential names and three donor recognition areas were not taken up by donors. staff would like to continue to work with f.p.c. on these donor elements for the year after the park opens as punch lists are completed and other things are finalized as part of the project. this will help f.p.c. raise the funds to support more than 40 years of park maintenance and has precedent other partnerships. such as the san francisco botanical garden, the foundation that supports the palace of fine arts and the ongoing relationship with the national aids memorial grove. and i just wanted to conclude one more time, because we can never do this enough, by thanking the f.p.c. for the tremendous work on this project. and their success in raising the millions of dollars needed to

support this park and their commitment to continue funding parts of the maintenance of this park. and say how wonderful it will be to open this park in a few months. and i'm happy to take any questions. thank you very much. >> president buell: thank you, lisa. >> we are now in public comment for item 7, francisco park donor naming and recognition. please dial star 3 to be added to the queue to speak. you have two minutes. >> good morning, president and commissioners. my name is bruce, i'm with the san francisco park conservancy and just wanted to celebrate this occasion. it's been many long years and we're not only thankful to the private individuals who have made this possible their through generous donations, but wanted to thank the park and recreation department for years of assistance guiding us through this difficult process. and very happy to have the park

under construction, $26 million raised. just wanted to thank the department and staff for all of the assistance through this difficult time. thank you. >> president buell: thank you. >> thank you for your comments. we have no other comments. so public comment is now closed. >> president buell: thank you. questions or comments, commissioners? i would like to say that i attended many of the fundraising meetings for this park and it really has been a remarkable joint venture between the community and the department. and unprecedented, really, for parks in san francisco.

golden gate park peacock meadow is an excellent place for this.

it will be visible from j.f.k. drive and ada accessible. exhibit will be apprised of three trees and flowering bushes as shown here in white. the artist is a local artist who has exhibited his industrial art throughout the bay area and internationally. you may be familiar with his work, squared, which was exhibited at patricia green from may 2018 to may 2019. beautiful art structures are made out of sheet metal and sealed with anti-graffiti clear

finish. the lights are diffusion cubes of molded plastic, with l.e.d. lights. the combination of steel plastic and l.e.d. lights are combined to form a grove of three metal trees and 20 flowering bushes that would tran form it into a wonderful place. ever changing lighting combinations in celebration of golden gate park's 150th anniversary. this concludes my presentation. any questions? >> president buell: thank you very much. >> we are now in public comment

for item 8, golden gate park temporary entwined meadow light art installation. please dial star 3 to be added to the queue to speak. you have two minutes. are there any commenters, paul? paul, you're on mute. do you have anyone in the queue? okay. looks like there might be somebody. there is a caller on the line, please state your name. >> hi, i'm bob hall.

>> president buell: go ahead. >> thank you. i just wanted to make a comment that i hope that you're putting this really nice art project through the lens of science, too. there is a lot of lighting projects being added to the parks, the soccer fields and the ferris wheel and now the tennis courts. so i'm sure you all heard the science before about insect collapse and this lighting has really been a challenge to damage insects and causes them to swarm around the lights and they get tired and die. insects that are important in biodiversity because they supply food for other animals, especially birds. so we have to do whatever we can with the biodiversity clash happening right now to consider science when you're doing things. i saw the academy of science

marketing person approved this project, but have you had any of their entomologists look at this? that's my comment. thank you for letting me speak. >> thank you very much. >> this is drew, san francisco parks client. good morning, commissioners. i wanted to talk about entwined meadow. the parks alliance along with the rec and park department have been co-organizing the year long celebration in honor of the park. while the festivities around our park were not the events that we planned for, we're proud the way that we've brought the joy of

the park to the people and their homes through a virtual experience, which still can be found at golden gate park 150.com. and the way the park continues to serve our community during a health emergency. they're taking advantage of the streets, and the pop-up welcome center, 150 park improvements, including dozens of large and small landscaping projects, street edge, $30 million renovation of golden gate tennis center. new stage, sound and lighting in the music concourse. and in light of the pandemic of 2020, golden gate park 150 wants to provide an appearance in physical distancing, and celebrate and find joy and light and fun during this unprecedented time. this temporary installation will close the 150th celebration by transforming the peacock meadow

with the entwined meadow. we'll be streaming a bunch of other things happening in the park, which will become a holiday destination, which we're dubbing holiday at home. since many people are spending the holidays in san francisco this year. we wanted to give them something to do. we look forward to celebrating the holidays with everyone and enjoy your day. >> thank you. >> are there any other folks on the line for public comment? okay. none. so i was on mute earlier. thank you, paul. seeing no other public comment, public comment is now closed. >> president buell: commissioners? any comments, questions? chair would entertain a motion? >> commissioner low: i do note this is a short-term agreement, so i think we can assess any adverse effects that might be posed by this within that period

prior to a longer term extension, which looks like the outside date is june 1, 2021. i think this looks fascinating. the artist is so creative and i'm looking forward to seeing this in golden gate park. i move to approve. >> president buell: thank you. moved and seconded. all those in favor? so moved. thank you very much. >> thank you, okay. we're on item 9, general public comment. continued from item 4. at this time, members of the public who were not able to address the commission on item 4, may address the commission on items that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the recreation and park commission and that do not appear on the agenda. i know we have at least one caller from before in the queue.

>> hello? am i on? >> yes, you are. state your name, please. >> hi, my name is tom. i'm a resident and as i mentioned earlier, friends and i have been working on a -- underused streets over there recently. we started putting in planters and were building a few skate ramps and we were getting good reception from the community, albeit without permits. everybody seemed to love it. it was a really cool thing. the other week, caltrain came by without warning or notice and tore out all the ramps and things we had built there. i was wondering what are the avenues i can endeavor on to try

to make it legit and get a permit and try to make it happen again. because it's a really good space and it seemed to be backed by a lot of the members of the community. any information you can give would be really helpful. that's it. >> president buell: i guess my comment would be that you might inquire with caltrans because it sounds like they had the authority to modify your improvement. so that would be my recommendation. >> okay. paul, anyone else on the line? >> yes, hi, can you hear me? >> yes, please state your name. >> yeah, hi, my name is brad tardy. good morning, commissioners. i'd like to address the closure of twin peaks boulevard at burnett avenue. is that okay for me to talk about that for two minutes? >> president buell: please. [please stand by]

>> our neighbor had a gun pulled on them for accidentally blocking a burglar's get-away car. and we've almost been hit by cyclist speeding down the boulevard. there is parking on bernett, and increased police presence hasn't worked. simply put, it doesn't have to be this way. one simple action can fix all of these problems. please show compassion to us. open the gate and take down the no parking signs on bernett, and thank you for allowing me to address the commissioners. >> thank you very much.

>> chairwoman: thank you. that is our last caller, and so now public comment is closed. we're now on item 10, closed session, conference with legal counsel. is there any public comment on this item? please dial star 3 to be comment on this item? okay. thank you. seeing no further callers, public comment is now closed. we will need to vote to go into closed session, so i'll need a motion and a second. >> motion. >> seconded. >> and it has been moved and seconded. all those in favor? >> yea. yea. yea. >> so moved. >> chairwoman: thank you. we are now enclosed session on october 22nd, 2020. so before you start,

ashley -- >> yes. >> s.f. gov. tv is now going to leave this part of the meeting. anybody who is on this meeting, it does not need to be enclosed sess >> moved not to report. >> moved. >> seconded. >> all those in favor? >> yea. >> yea. >> chairwoman: i need a motion on whether to disclose any or all sessions held enclosed session? >> moved. >> seconded. >> all in favor? >> yea. >> yea. >> yea. >> thank you. >> chairwoman: we are now on item 11, commissioners' matters, and it will allow the commissioners to raise issues.

there will be no discussion of these items at this time. commissioners, do you have any items you would like to bring up? >> yeah. this is commissioner lowe. i think we should give some kind of recognition to the young pre-schooler that found mati, the lemur, and we should give him and his pals a free ride on the ferris wheel. [laughter] >> excuse me, observation wheel. >> yes! >> i think that's a fine idea. we'll -- ashley, or i guess maybe sarah, will you convey that to the general manager and see that we move forward on that front? >> absolutely. we'll work with the zoo on that. >> chairwoman: commissioners, are there any other items you would like to bring up? >> i would like to -- i would like to request of the general manager's

office that we get as a commission a report on the status of the twin peaks situation. i found that somewhat alarming to hear, and it sounds like we might be able to improve matters with a little thought. so if you could ask that we get a report on that. >> absolutely. >> thank you. >> chairwoman: anything else? okay. is there any public comment on item 11, commissioners' matters? no public comment. okay. public comment is now closed. we are now on item 12, new business agenda setting. is there any public comment on item 12? seeing none, public comment is now closed. we are now on item 13,

communications. is there any public comment on item 13? seeing none, public comment is now closed. we are now on item 14, adjournment. >> the chair will entertain a motion. >> i move. >> seconded. >> all those in favor? >> yea. >> yea. >> yea. >> thank you, bye-bye. >> chairwoman: good-bye, everybody. thank you. [meeting adjourned]

>> the historic preservation hearing for wednesday, october 21, 2020. on may 29, 2020 if mayor authorized all commissions to reconvene remotely. this will be the ninth remote hearing. remote hearings require everyone's attention.

most of all your patience. if you are not speaking mute and turn off your video camera. sfgov tv is streaming this hearing live. the building inspection commission hearing is running a little long. it is not live but it is streamed live. we will receive public comment for each item on today's agenda. communities or opportunities to speak during the public comment period are available by calling (415)655-0001. and turning access code (146)088-7048. when we reach the item you are interested in submitting public comment for, press star then 3 to be added to the cue. each speaker is allowed three minutes. when you have 30 second

remaining you will hear a chime. i will announce your time is up and take the next person to speak. best practices call from a quiet location, speak clearly and slowly and please mute volume on your television or computer. we will take roll at this time. president hyland, vice president matsuda. >> here. >> commissioner black. >> yes, i am here. commissioner foley. >> yes. >> commissioner johns. >> yes.

>> commissioner pearlman. >> here. >> commissioner so. >> yes. >> thank you. first on your agenda is general public comment. at this time members of the public may address the commission within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission except agenda items. your opportunity to address the commission with respect to agenda your opportunity will be afforded when it is reached in the meeting. you may address the commission for up to three comments. this is your opportunity to get in the queue by pressing star 3. indicate you would like to submit under general public comment. i see no members of the public to speak at this time. we can speak to department matters. item 1. director's announcements.

>> i am here to note that we forwarded to all of you a one page document that we thought would be handy to have that outlined our preservation management duties and programs we have throughout the department in current planning, long-range planning, community equity as well as environmental planning with the key manager running on that. if you have any questions about those programs over the coming months, that should give you a one stop shop for the manager to reach out. before i turn it over to rich, i did want to introduce two planners you have not had before you. first up we have melanie bishop. she is a planner on the designation team.

she started as intern in 2019 working on city-wide survey. before joining the department she completed fellowships with the national park service in d.c. and chicago planning and department. the seconded is gg on the northwest quadrant. she is an intern with the city-wide survey team in june last year. she became a full-time planner joining current planning in june of this year. gg has a bachelor of arts in geography and san francisco native. i will turn it over to rick with a few legislative and policy up updates for you. >> good afternoon. i want to give you a quick update on some items that occurred at the board of

supervisors. lion martin house was passed recommending and initiating the landmark designation. within 90 days of tuesday the department staff will bring forward the nomination. the seconded item update is tomorrow. planning commission will be reviewing one of the first phases of the power station project. you will remember that you reviewed this through environmental review document last year. the developer is moving forward with an office allocation and rehab project for the station a building the large power plant structure. they have engaged with hertzog to create a new office piece for the project. if you are interested please stay tuned. that is all of our announcements. thank you. >> thank you, rich. commissioners, if there are no questions of staff, we can move

on to item 2. review of past events at the planning commission, staff report announcements. i believe those have been made. we will move to item 3. president's report and announcements. >> no report or announcement today. >> very good. item 4. commissionments and questions. >> seeing no requests from commissioners, we will move to consideration for items proposed for continuance. item 5. 2020-003248 m.c.a. state mandated accessory dwelling unit controls to november 4, 2020.

would anyone like to make a motion? >> shall we take public comment on this? >> i apologize. we should take public comment. members of the public this is your opportunity to speak to the item for continuance by pressing star and three. there is no public comment. it is closed. >> i move we continue to november 4th. >> second. >> thank you. on that motion to continue item 3 as proposed commissioner bla black. >> yes. >> foley. >> yes. >> johns. >> yes. >> pearlman. >> yes. >> so. >> yes. >> matsuda. >> yes. >> commission president hyland.

>> yes. >> so moved commissioners. that is 7-0. regular calendar 6 a, b, c, d, e afternoon f. 2020-008542lbr, 008543lbr, 008540lbr, 008541lbr and 0008538lbr foresee sar chavez. 2025jerrold avenue, 2201 sutter and 412 valencia street. these are all legacy.

is staff prepared for presentations. >> yes. >> katie with planning staff. we have six legacy businesses to present today. three planners to present. each planner will present two and after the business representatives will have an opportunity to speak on their own behalf during public comment. is i will begin with secret studios. 38-year-old music recording in district 10. because of the san francisco dense housing stock, musicians are afforded the same grand band spaces. the bay area needed a space for artists to rehearse and record. they have filled this gap for 40 years. it has been used by many musicians from jerry garcia and mac fleetwood. as important the studio served the local community from the bay

area legends to enthusiastic hobbyists. they have been there to serve them all. the studio is active in the community provided space for neighborhood meetings, rehearsals and jazz and donated equipment to mission district festival for over 30 years. owner is committed to safeguarded the business use as music rehearsal so the bay area music community can continue to work on their craft and cultivate musical creativity. we recommend the business be added to the legacy business registry. next is for washington vegetable. wholesale produce founded in 1931 on washington street. after almost 90 years washington vegetable is no longer located on washington street. it is now on jerrold avenue.

the values and dedication are strong. four generations after founding the business is still family owned and operatedded. san francisco's close proximity to the most productive produce helped form identities of culinary capital of the world and cutting edge of healthy food trends. one of the oldest individuals of the produce market. it provides edible fuel to the cultural heritage. washington vegetables has a century worth of dedication to the high end culinary tradition of the food scene. it also voices food as a vital resource that not everyone has access to. washington vegetable feels strongly about giving back to

the community and donates to the variety of charities and food banks. staff is supportive of this application and the historical traditions. these are the name, location, operations, related to the business' history and philanthropic ventures. next planner. >> good afternoon, commissioners. melanie bishop, planning staff. next business for the association of northern california, lyengar yoga in district 5. originally founded in 1975. it was created to promote yoga education in northern california in an accordance with techniques

the recognized figure of yoga. the association has been located at the current building at 2201 sutter street since 2014 where they provide teacher training and community classes for all level including seniors class. they also offer scholarships each year to continue making yoga accessible to the community despite financial constraints. the association is committed to safeguarding the business use of the studio and mission to provide the range of yoga classes and opportunity for teacher education to the public. the staff supports this application and resolution recommending the business be added to the legacy business registry. >> the next business application is for monroe motors incorporated, motorcycle sales

and service in district 8. the business is operated in san francisco for 62 years and is located at 412 valencia street. it is the oldest motorcycle dealership in san francisco. the history is referred to as motor row due to the presence of several motorcycle related accidents there throughout history. it is an active member of the community supporting italian days. the patrons of the motors include daredevil evil kinneyval and jim marshall and actor nicholas cage. they are committed to safeguarding use as motorcycle sales and service establishment. original triumph lighted flames, participation in community events and customer business

model. staff supports the application and resolution recommending it be added. that concludes my recommendation. i will turn it over to gg. >> good afternoon, commissione commissioners. this legacy application for the 38-year-old mexican sit down restaurant and bar. popular with everyone from politicians to residents. it has been a gathering place for eating and getting together since 1982. they have been owned and operated by the family since it first opened serving traditional food from mexico including tammalis,en which law does and salsa in the traditional dining room and interior designed by the family.

not only have they remained a staple in the neighborhood but also a consistent employer of marginalized groups such at lbgq and latin x population. they were one of the trailblazers for the restaurant movement providing legal workshops for business owners and employees about legal rights. they have been a longstanding donortor dbgq plus and institutions and events in the soma neighborhood. staff supports this application and resolution recommending the business be added to legacy business registry. >> the final is in district 3 north beach. the san francisco fifth oldest existing restaurant in is noter beach neighborhood for the 134

year history. it reflects the rescities of northern itally. pasta, soups, fruits and meats and cream-based dishes. they have occupied five locations in north beach since 1886. it is located in the sanramo hotel. it operated out of a tent in 1906 serving soup. they have been a culinary staple throughout the history. countless patrons of cultural significance bank of america founder, former president richard nixon. tony bennett and robin williams and other musics and politicians. while fior italia served many it

has given back to its neighborhood participating in events and hosting and donating food to local organizations. staff is supportive of this application and resolution recommending the business be added to the business registry. this concludes staff presentations. we are available to answer any questions. thank you. >> that concludes staff presentations. we should take public comment. members of the public call the 415 number and enter access code and press star and three. we have several callers. >> i am karen woods, executive

director of the yoda association of northern california. thank you for the opportunity to become included. we are part of the history and culture since 1975. during these challenging times we are working hard to remain so for another 45 years and beyond. we were the first yoga teacher training program in the country instrumental in spreading yoga. we are acknowledged for bringing yoga that we provide is focused on accessibility and therapeutics. he published over 30 books on the subject of yoga translated to many languages and was recognized by "time magazine" in 2004 as one of the most infromential in the world. we have a loyal community of volunteers and donors within san francisco and those who travel from all over the bay area,

country and world t to visit our center which is beautiful and welcoming. we offer classes, wok shops and free community programs. classes for the elderly or those with physical injuries. in response to the pandemic we went virtual with all classes. a community was grateful to stay together virtually during shelter-in-place. our classes for those who live alone provided a lifeline. we have been able to secure wages for teachers and staff with ppp loan and donor support tto to ensure yoga was availab. we created a hardship fund aphadded two $10 classes each week. we wanted to ensure members would have the support of yoga to get through the difficult times. these are a blessing.

we have a history in san francisco. we continuously operated since 1975 out of several locations throughout the city from marina, sunsets to the current location in lower pacific heights on the western addition. we are a member of the filmore merchants. we are adjacent to medical -- adjacent to medical centers and using yoga as an important tool in the treatment and recovery of ms, parkinson's, cancer, depression. hypertension and other conditions. it is our hope with the legacy designation we will distinguish ourselves as valuable asset of san francisco and give needed assurance to our donors regardless of future challenges we are committed to our mission and doing whatever we can to continue to be a vibrant part of the great city of san francisco for many years to come. thank you for your time and

consideration.

my father's favorite food was a hot dog and i said i needed to find a place to take my uncle and my aunt to celebrate and remember my father and eat a hotdog. and he said, don't worry, i will find you the place.

i spike to the grounding that the city has in its people and celebrating its culture between.

test test test test test test test test test test test compliance for egress purposes. next slide, please.

this slide takes the proposed front railing detail and as an example that the project strives to maintain and preserve the architectural features of the building. at this point i'd like to introduce the property owners. thank you. >> here we go. hold on. i'll try this. does this work? >> yes, we're here. >> we can get them now.

(not seeing captions on live stream). (distortion) >> you've got a really bad echo, kate. (distortion) >> you've just got to put your phone on speaker next to your microphone on your computer. >> maybe i'll have them call in to the public comment line. >> your five minutes is -- i've paused your time so you have 30

seconds. >> we will wave our time. >> great. thank you. appreciate that commissioners may have question for you. that concludes the sponsor's presentation, we should open up for public comment. members of the public, again, this is your opportunity to speak to this item by pressing star and 3 to get into the queue. commissioners, i see no members of the public requesting to speak at this time, so we will close public comment and let you take up the matter. >> commissioners, anyone?

commissioner pearlman. >> commissioner pearlman: sure, i'll take it on. i think this project is very well-developed. obviously an incredibly difficult problem to solve with a building that is so wedged in on three sides, but the changes to the building are almost invisible. certainly when this is done, there will be no visible change, so i think we should approve this project with conditions. i would move to approve this project with conditions. >> second? >> great, commissioners. thank you. if there are no other comments, there's a motion that has been seconded to approve this matter with conditions. on that motion, commissioner black. >> commissioner black: yes. >> commissioner foley: yes.

>> commissioner johns: yes. >> commissioner pearlman: yes. >> commissioner so: yes. >> vice president matsuda: yes. >> president hyland: yes. >> so move commissioners. that motion passes unanimously 7-0. if the administrator could opine on the variance? >> thank you. to close the public hearing and grant the requested variances noting non-compliance conditions justifying that variance. thank you. >> thank you, mr. sanchez. commissioners, that places us at item number 8. 2020-008,490des? commissioner, you'd like to be recused? >> yes, i'd like to be recused, please. >> i move that the commissioner be recused? >> second. >> recuse commissioner matsuda.

>> commissioner foley: yes. >> commissioner johns: yes. >> commissioner pearlman: yes. >> commissioner so: yes. >> vice president matsuda: yes. >> president hyland: yes. >> so moved, commissioners, and commissioner matsuda, you are hereby recused. i will take this opportunity to remind you and the other members of the commission that when you do need to recuse yourself, even if you are not present at the hearing, is the new law that's been in effect for almost two years now, you need to still submit written documentation to the ethics commission within 15 days, i believe it is. commissioners, we should hear from staff. ms. mcmillen, are you prepared to make your presentation. >> yes. can you hear me? >> we can, yes.

>> okay. and is my presentation up on the screen? >> not yet. >> not yet? okay. i'll try it again. how is it now? >> no. >> no? all right. >> there it is. >> there we go. apologies for the delay. good afternoon, commissioners. i'm with planning department staff. before you today is the department's recommendation regarding landmark of the ymca located at 1830 sutter street in japantown. in 2030 the property was added to the landmark program as part

of the endorsement of the japan cultural heritage and economic sustainability strategy. most recently, in 2019, the hpc reviewed. the nomination was prepared as part of a national park service underrepresented communities grant awarded to the department. the property was listed on the national register in january of this year. as noted in the executive summary and detailed in the national register nomination included in your packet, the japanese ywca/issei women's building was and with lgbtq history and with lgbtq civil rights movement. the building is significant as an excellent example of the architect julie morgan. in 1912, san francisco ywca was the first independent japanese ywca in the united states. japanese women were barred by

segregationist policies from the use of the facilities of the city's main ywca building. in response, issei established the ywca to address the needs of the community. completed in 1932, 1830 sutter was funded through donations from ywcas around the country and san francisco. according to the national register nomination, the property appears to be the only building purpose-built for issei women in the united states. during world war ii, people of japanese descent were incarcerated. the building was turned over to the ywca and leased from 1942 to 1959. during this period, the building was the location of the san francisco chapter of the committee on racial equality and the site of meetings, gatherings, and events to advance african-american and lgbtq rights -- excuse me, lgbtq civil rights and other political

and social causes. they were developing non-violent strategies in the seven-week course of the building and used the property as the center of its organizing activities while in the bay area. the building's association is what the nomination characterizes as two powerful connections to lgbtq history. it has been reclaimed as an important figure in lgbtq history and the apartment he lived in from 1962 until his death in 1987 is listed on the national register of historic places for his work on important campaigns and non-violence, activism, civil rights, human rights and lgbtq civil rights. the japanese ywca building is further connected to lgbtq history through the building's ties to the pioneering lgbtq

rights organizations. in 1954, the society's first convention was held at 1830 sutter. finally, the building is significant as an excellent example of the work of the architect. of the more than 700 buildings she designed during her prolific career, 30 were for the ywca and located throughout the country. the period of significance 1932 to 1959 encompasses the date of the building's construction through the american friends service committee's relocation to another site. the designation addresses one of the historic preservation's four priority areas for designation which includes the designation of properties associated with underrepresented racial, ethnic and social groups. currently landmark 288 is the only other city landmark specifically related to japanese american history. several properties associated with african american and lgbtq history and culture and buildings associated with women's history are among the city's landmarks but they remain

underrepresented among designated buildings and sites. the property owner has been notified and is supportive of the landmark. there is no opposition as an article 10 landmark. this concludes my presentation and i'm happy to answer any questions. we have a representative of the owner and would like to speak to the designation. >> are you prepared to make your presentation? >> yes. >> okay. you will have five minutes. >> thank you very much. my name is karen ky and i am here on behalf of the owner of 1830 sutter street, also known as the japanese ywca or issei women's building. this has been a really long path. the owner became the owner of

the building in 2002 after community effort to regain it, and actually i noticed from the designation report became added to the landmark program in december 2013. and i don't know if that's really long to you as the process, but for us, it seems like it's been a long time but it's been very fruitful and productive, one that has taught us a great deal about our building and our community and our ties to other communities, and it's also one that has been eventful, as ms. mcmillen noted, achieving national landmark status, or register status, i should say, before achieving san francisco landmark status. and to us, though, this is very

important and significant. being recognized in one's own hometown is always very meaningful, and i'm also very pleased to see that the commission included in the official title the issei women's building because the national register did not. and to us, this landmarking is truly a recognition of our issei women, the first generation who came, who faced incredible racism, who raised funds at the height of the great depression in order to build this building, and who then faced internment and diaspora, and on their return were not even able to reform their organization. they found friends in the

buchanan ymca who said come and

then to celebrate the opening and making a steady landmark of a building that has all women artists in the building. we've just come up with a proposal to reuse the building. and if the city landmark

commission wants to be involved, fine, but you know, we want to move forward. i think it should be a city landmark. i'm puzzled why when i ask specific questions about the project, staff does not give me answers to this question. these questions. and i don't understand why. i'm happy to give the people the right to landmark report, but it's hard to do when you don't get answers from staff. so i hope they move this to the top of the list. thank you. >> sorry, i was on mute. members of the public, last call for public comment. seeing no request to speak,

commissioners, the matter is now before you. >> great. thank you. do you want to start? matter >> commissioner matsuda: i know this is not something that has been ignored by the planning department, but i -- and i think one of the reasons may be because this particular building involves a number of different city entities, is that correct? >> hi, marcel, can you hear me? >> yes. >> thanks, yes. i want to acknowledge that we have received comment from

richard rothman. so there were a lot of -- that 10 years ago the department gave us a letter to informing them that the building had been added. there are also other properties on the work program so that over the time, we have been working on moving through the work programs. so, the structure of the ownership is that recreation and parks and the zoo have oversight. the zoo is under jurisdiction of rec and park and the zoo is operating a lease. so there are two oversight bodies. the department has been in recent communication with rec and park to some degree remind them there is interest, there is

public interest. so although i don't have a response yet about moving forward with the landmark nomination, i can say that we are engaged in a conversation. i would also like to note that richard rothman, if he has additional information, it would be great if he could share. it's the first time i'm learning of that. i would be really appreciative. i had another thought but have forgotten. sorry. any more questions? >> commissioner matsuda: thank you. i was just going to say that i don't think this is the only property that is in the works, the landmark designation program, that we are dealing with other city agencies. and sometimes those city agencies may not -- i don't know -- understand and appreciate the importance of why we would like to highlight a building. so maybe what we can do as the

commission and as -- and me as liaison for the commission is to make contact with some of the city agencies to let them know or remind them that this project has been on the list. this one, as well as others for a long time. and that projects like this do take a priority because of what the property represents. so i'm happy to do that. i know that president and i have talked about this and the others can chime in, but i'm -- please feel free to use those services if you feel it's appropriate. >> i would say, as we talk about prioritizing the landmarks, this is definitely one property that continues to be on our landmark. i would like to see some significant progress and to get it to be forwarded, loaded and

forwarded to the board as soon as possible. and we can talk a little more today about the rest of the program. but this is definitely, i believe, the majority of the work has already been done. it's just more of a procedural thing in making sure that the property owners are in sync with us on doing that. so i would move that -- i would propose, not move, let's get you connected with rec and park and marcel, if you can facilitate that. let's see if -- what i'd like is by the march 2021 meeting to have this kind of behind us if that's possible. >> this is marcel. i'm happy to follow up on that. >> great, thank you. commissioner pearlman, i have other comments, but i'll come back. >> commissioner pearlman: thank

you. i did want to ask that you be proactive and get in touch with mr. rothman. because you know, he has been in front of our commission many times. and this building does, i think that two of our priorities with geography and women, you know, something related to women, and women history. [please stand by]

in the level of detail that it appeared the board of ed had done, their naming committee had done, was just going to be an enormous amount of time. so i appreciate your answer and certainly i'm happy to wait until march and find out where the staff is on all of this. thank you. >> right. thank you.

commissioner so. >> commissioner so: i am actually having a similar concern or actually appreciation from what commissioner pearlman mentioned. i really appreciate the report you have created and also giving me the overview of all the efforts that are happening or have been happening. but then i am concerned about the resources that we have and how do we prioritize and continue to keep all the relevant and necessary things to move forward -- not overly exhausting our staff and if we need some extra resources and how do we better position ourselves to identify them, i see that you stated there was this new fact sheet and you anticipate this upcoming fiscal

year we can take on 12 projects for landmark destinations, and i just wasn't clear -- i was really curious whether it is 12, 20% more than what we have been doing, or if it's half -- it looks like we will be able to do more. but then if we're able to do more in that particular element, what happens to the city-wide survey? what happens to other -- review. i just want to make sure we really are aware that we're all asked to cut our budgets and then our resources are limited and also with the racial and cultural equity lens that we definitely need to do something about and i want to make sure that maybe by march or somewhere between now and then, we have -- we know really clearly what are the priorities and what our resources are to align them together, and then when some of

them we wish we can do, unless we have a really good reason and methods of how to take care of them when we do have the resources. a quick answer, is 12 more than what we have been doing or is 12 projects increasing the number of landmark destinations we are able to do? >> can you hear me? great. twelve is slightly more than what has been done in the past. years have varied based on staffing assignments and ftes. i can say that at this point we do have dedicated staff for landmark designation within the department who don't -- who primarily focus on landmark designations. we also will be utilizing other

resources within current planning. there are staff who have background experience in landmark designation and other preservation planners who will be taking on a landmark designation as part of their professional development, benefiting the department as well as themselves, and they're able to balance that with their, as you note, other work or other current planning work, so it's part of their professional development plan. so we've been i think creative and finding fte in the staff to be able to work towards the goal of 12. >> commissioner so: thank you. i just don't want to overexhaust you guys. >> if i can add one thing very quickly. staff generally really enjoys doing these, so i think many of them see it as a fun thing, an alternative to maybe some other

tasks. so hopefully they don't get exhausted but they do find it very rewarding. >> great, thank you. commissioner johns? >> commissioner johns: thank you. i don't want to open a pandora's box, a can of worms,, but i've been listening to various people talking about prioritizing things, and it does occur to me that we have never, i don't believe, listed the potential landmarks that are already in the pipeline in order of priority. we like to prioritize this one or that one, but it does seem to me that sometimes what becomes the priority is what was mentioned by perhaps a member of the public or a commissioner

recently. now, how many landmarks are lined up in the pipeline? you're on mute. >> how many are lined up in the pipeline? i guess -- are you asking how many may have substantially complete reports and we're working through procedure, or those that we need to begin to research and begin the document drafting? >> commissioner johns: let's just focus on the former now, the ones where a lot of work has been done and they're pretty much ready to go? >> just one second. let's see. so there are six that staff have

been actively working on, engaged with the owner, and we have documentation, whether that be a landmark report that we have drafted, national register nomination, et cetera. so those six are listed, they're the second category -- third category listed in the memo. so that would include -- >> commissioner johns: you don't have to go through them. >> okay. >> commissioner johns: but my point is that -- i think it might be useful for us to have in that category as well as the other category you mentioned, those that were not a lot of work has been done. let's have a list of the priority of those, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. i think that might -- if we had something like that and we had

some reasons for selecting this one as number one and this one as number 18, then that might provide a guide. otherwise, i get the uneasy feeling that our analysis of what should go first is maybe a little hazy sometimes. that's my -- a suggestion. >> may i make a quick comment? >> commissioner johns: of course. >> thank you. with regards to that, maybe i could suggest -- i think we -- we agree that we should prioritize them. i think what staff has been having trouble doing is making the priority. so we were considering kind of reaching out to the community groups that speak to different topical areas or themes, such as lgbtq-associated sites, african american associated sites,

architecture, some around the new deal, and working with the community to help define the priorities. so that is something that we are actually in conversation with some of the lgbtq strategy working group, there's a subset that is focused on preservation and land use. and so we started that conversation with them to, number one, make sure we have the right sites on our work program, and then also public prioritize what we should move through, recognizing that we may only get to a handful each year. so if that would help, that's something that we're interested in doing. we haven't fully worked with all the communities yet. but that's something that we wanted to work through and bring back to the commission as a list of priorities. >> commissioner johns: well, i think that could be very helpful, but the public's perception, while very, very

important, is only one piece of the whole equation, as i see it. the staff certainly should have some insight on what, from its point of view, it sees as the big priorities, and finally i think that the commissioners definitely have a role in all of this in deciding what should be the priority. and i think if we get everybody involved, then we will probably come out with a pretty good result. >> thank you, commissioner johns. i do have several comments. i just wanted to make sure that all the commissioners have the opportunity to speak. i think that commissioner foley is needing to depart, so thank you for letting us know. i do want to kind of go down my

list. understanding that we have many, many legislative changes happening at the state level that may impact some of our eligible listed or non-listed but eligible properties and districts, understanding that, i think that we need to be very aware of where that legislation -- and we are aware. we've been following it now for several years. but there will be new legislation come january, and it's potential that that new legislation will only protect properties that are actually listed, and understanding that, i think it may help us focus on getting the properties that we need listed, either individual properties or districts, listed asap. and so understanding where and

so the minimal amount of effort to get that done is going to be very important. i think the community sponsored designations have been a priority for us because we want to encourage our community associations to take this and do the heavy lifting for us, and so getting those community sponsored designations processed asap and not spending -- i think when we had this a few years ago, we averaged 150 hours, i believe, of designation. so somehow spending 75 hours to process a community sponsored one, i think we need to figure

we should get those so they're not sitting on our desks. we need to get them and move them along. in your first memo, you outlined a cadence for our reviewing the various programs. we do have a lot of programs going on. and because of all the various programs, the cultural heritage, the city-wide survey, the context statement, you know, there's a lot of stuff going on. article 10 and 11 are adding properties and districts to article 10 or 11, seem to become the least priority because we do them as we can get to them. and as i said with this pending legislation, we may have to really re-think that. so on the cadence of the review for the designation program, in your memo you said yearly. i'm glad we're going to get another update in march, so

that's not going to be quite a year. i think we can kind of think about that cadence, so [indiscernible] seems to be a long time, but if in march we identify 12 properties that our staff is going to take on in the coming year, 12 is more than we have been doing, is my understanding, if we can identify those 12 properties and prioritize them, maybe we can have quarterly updates on those 12. and then whatever other community sponsored ones or board sponsored initiations that come along. i know that the mother's building -- i don't want to be flippant, but i'm actually tired of talking about it because we've talked about every time we've reviewed in the last eight years i've been there.

i want to get that behind us. i know the golden gate library is a new one, but that is one, the ball was dropped when the other six or five or seven carnegie libraries were landmarked. so that's another very important -- both those projects require interactions with other departments. so we really need to make sure that that happens, and diane and i are very willing to help participate and move that along. i think with our context statements, african american context, lgbtq+, and then of course our city-wide survey. so we're going to have a longer list and it's going to be, you know, 10 years' worth of work. so come march, hopefully we'll have a better picture, but i would like to see more than a yearly annual review, so maybe in march if we identify what we're going to be working on, then we just focus on those

designations and the notion is, let's get them done and behind us. our previous reporting, which i appreciate the staff letting us know how much effort goes in to creating those reports, the one piece of information that i found the most useful was the graphic progress diagram for each. just gives us a snapshot of where we are in the process. so at least on the 12 that we identify or the ones that are in process, if we can have that as a minimum for the reporting, i think that that's just a really helpful tool. and i think that covers pretty much all of what i meant to say. but we do appreciate all your effort. we know that we keep adding and adding more and more requests with fewer and fewer budgets to

accomplish them. so thank you. is there any -- so i see commissioner so, do you want to ask your question for the commission area benefit? -- commission's benefit? >> commissioner so: sure. i sent a private message to you, but i think we could make it -- if you don't mind if you would enlighten me a little bit? >> would you like to ask your question? >> commissioner so: i'd like to ask, if you don't mind, make a reference to what legislation you are referring to that is about to really drastically going to impact the -- >> yes, sure, sure. there are several -- marcel, you can add on if i forget them. but 330, which is already in law. there's another one, sb-25 or something like that. i i believe those are actually in their laws now. there was sb-50, which didn't

survive. there was the predecessor to sb-50. and then i think whatever incarnation that will take coming up in january, it'll come out again at the state level. i know just this past december, whichever version of that particular legislation, i think it was skinner and wiener were the sponsors of those, that was, i believe, passed but didn't quite make it into the legislative closure, so it wasn't actually enacted. but these are all in the context of building more housing around, you know, high density areas like transit corridors and whatnot, and working within that legislation, we've been very involved, but working within that legislation to, as of

right, approve these projects. and hidden in some of that there was language that said the properties need to be listed, and all historic properties are protected if they're eligible, and so that's where the challenge is going to be before us if we don't -- you know, with our city-wide survey, we can at least identify our districts and our contributors, and then get that listed and that will provide some level of protection. so that's what we just need to pay attention to. do you want to add on to that? okay. anything else, commissioners? i just want to thank staff for all the hard work they're doing on this as well as all the other programs. all right. jonas, i think that was our last

item. >> indeed it is. >> so we're adjourned. stay safe and well, everyone. thank you. >> thank you, everybody. take care.

>> we have private and public gardens throughout the garden tour. all of the gardens are volunteers. the only requirement is you're willing to show your garden for a day. so we have gardens that vary from all stages of development and all gardens, family gardens, private gardens, some of them as small as postage stamps and others pretty expansive. it's a variety -- all of the world is represented in our gardens here in the portola. >> i have been coming to the portola garden tour for the past seven or eight years ever since i learned about it because it is the most important event of the neighborhood, and the reason it is so important is because it links this neighborhood back to its history. in the early 1800s the portola

was farmland. the region's flowers were grown in this neighborhood. if you wanted flowers anywhere future bay area, you would come to this area to get them. in the past decade, the area has tried to reclaim its roots as the garden district. one of the ways it has done that is through the portola garden tour, where neighbors open their gardens open their gardens to people of san francisco so they can share that history. >> when i started meeting with the neighbors and seeing their gardens, i came up with this idea that it would be a great idea to fundraise. we started doing this as a fund-raiser. since we established it, we

awarded 23 scholarships and six work projects for the students. >> the scholarship programs that we have developed in association with the portola is just a win-win-win situation all around. >> the scholarship program is important because it helps people to be able to tin in their situation and afford to take classes. >> i was not sure how i would stay in san francisco. it is so expensive here. i prayed so i would receive enough so i could stay in san francisco and finish my school, which is fantastic, because i don't know where else i would have gone to finish. >> the scholarships make the difference between students being able to stay here in the city and take classes and having to go somewhere else. [♪] [♪] >> you come into someone's home

and it's they're private and personal space. it's all about them and really their garden and in the city and urban environment, the garden is the extension of their indoor environment, their outdoor living room. >> why are you here at this garden core? it's amazing and i volunteer here every year. this is fantastic. it's a beautiful day. you walk around and look at gardens. you meet people that love gardens. it's fantastic. >> the portola garden tour is the last saturday in september every year. mark your calendars every year. you can see us on the website

>> commissioner green? >> present. >> commissioner guillermo. >> present. >> clerk: commissioner christian. >> present. >> commissioner chow. >> present. >> and commissioner chung. >> present. >> i'll do the approval of the october 6, 2020 minutes. >> the gang is all here. the commissioners have any edits or if not we can entertain a motion to approve. >> motion to approve. >> second. >> second. there's no one on the public comment line so far today. >> president bernal: all right. >> clerk: [roll call]