. >> president walton: good morning and welcome to the rules committee of the san francisco board of supervisors for today, march 22nd. our clerk is mr. victor young. i am the chair of the committee aaron peskin joined by supervisor rafael mandelman. >> clerk: the board of

supervisors slaltive and committee room are closed the. community members will attend the meeting as if they were present. public comment will be available on each item of the agenda. comments or opportunity to speak during public commentary are available via phone by dialling (415) 655-0001 the i.d. number is 1878969131. then press pound and pound again. when your item of interest comes up, dial starly to be added to the speaker line. speak clearly and slowly and turn down your television or radio. alternatively, you may submit

public comment to victor.young@sf.gov.org. >> supervisor peskin: thank you, mr. young. can you please read the first item. >> clerk: yes. a new rule 2.21.1. allowing for adoption and subject to approval by the full board. and a new rule 2.21.2 clarifying the process falsify direct appointments to subordinate bodies by district supervisors that are not subject to approval by the full board. >> supervisor peskin: thank you, mr. young. colleagues in the 13 years i have been a member of the board of supervisors i have never had

the pleasure of chairing the rules committee before and i have been able to undertake a number of reforms and streamline the process and this is the first of those reforms. there will be others forthcoming and this is really very simple. as you know, there are a number of different ordinances relative to appointments to various policy bodies wherein a district supervisor has the ability to appoint but that appointment is subject to the approval by the full board of supervisors. those traditionally have come before the rules committee but they are pro forma. so the new board rule 2.21.1

would provide that for district supervisor appointments pursuant to those ordinances, they would -- that are subject to approval by the full board that these appointments would bypass the rules committee and be adopted by the full board of supervisors without reference to committee agenda calendar and that would still allow for public comment and any supervisor would still be able to make a motion to send that to committee for further consideration or additional public comment. appointments in this category by example include the park recreation and open space advisory committee that we refer to as prosac. each of which are nominated by an individual supervisor and then approved by the full board. currently, those go through the committee process and are routine, but this would allow

them to go straight to the full board provided that a complete application has been submitted and a form 700s are required that those too have submitted and that the appointing supervisor has made the representation via a letter that they have met with the applicant and believe the applicant to be qualified per whatever ordinance they're being appointed to and fit to serve. new rule 2.21.2 advises direct supervisor appointments which are not currently subject to approval by the full board and after conferring with clerk calvio, we're improving this new rule primarily to distinguish this category of appointments from those in the proceeding rule. but nothing about the process would change. this just clarifies that and these direct appointments,

examples of that are behavioral health commission, the advisory board, the mteac and are not subject to approval by the full board. the words in 2.21.2 just clarified that. finally, colleagues and prior to public comment and thank you deputy city attorney pierson, i'd like to make a little amendment which really tracks with charter section 4.01 subsectionb as for the appointments subject to approval by the full board. those appointments would still be referred to by the committee. and upon consultation with ms. pearson you are required to make a small amendment.

which these would have an aid waiver which would also be referred to by committee. so page 2, i'd like to insert the words "and/or aids" in two locations directly following the word "residency" so in each case residencies and/or wage waivers would still come before this committee. i'm happy to take answers and public comment and otherwise look forward to moving this modest process improvement to the full board. are there any questions or comments from committee members? seeing none. mr. clerk, why don't we bring -- i'm sorry. supervisor mandelman. >> i just want to thank you, mr. chair, for bringing this on and i thank mr. hener in your office for his work on this. as a member of this committee, i'm grateful for this report.

>> chairman: thank you, vice chair mandelman. and part of the reason that it's going to the adoption without committee reference dall canada is not only so the public can know but so that the clerk can track these appointments in the report which will be tomorrow. i'll be introducing at the full board of supervisors a hearing in this committee with regard to how we use the state maddie act. and with that, can we please open this up to public comment. >> clerk: yes. members of the public that wish to comment on this item call (415) 655-0001 the meeting i.d. is 1878969131 press pound and

then pound again. press star 3 to be entered to speak. please wait until the system tells you you have been unmuted and you may begin your comment. we have two in line to speak p. >> chairman: first speaker, please. >> can you hear me now? >> chairman: we can hear you now. mr. pillappeal, please. >> i support this change as chair peskin indicated. more can be done to encourage people to apply for the annual madi act, but this modest change allows person appointments to avoid committee hearings thanks to supervisor peskin for their work on this.

but as was indicated there may be others that i don't track to which it applies and since the amendment i don't think has been available to the public yet, i'm just wondering if you can make clear if the age waiver that was discussed would apply on page three as well to those appointments subject to the second rule. >> chairman: and, i do not wish to engage valuetive of the brown act in a back and forth discussion and, number one, the 199-page madi act report is available online and that certainly is a clue as to which bodies these rules would apply to as to the exact places that

and/or age would be inserted page number two, line fourteen. so appointments requiring a residency and/or age waiver shall not be eligible to appear for the adoption without committee reference agenda. next at line 15 upon receipt of a nomination that requires a residency insert and/or age waiver. and then again at the last page, page three, line three, if needed, appointing district supervisor shall also include the waiver of the residency insert and/or age requirement in their letter or format testation that is submitted with the appointment package. next speaker, please. >> thank you, mr. chair. thank you, mr. chair. my name is win shapilliar.

i oppose this rule. the proposed rule 2.21.2 -- i'm sorry. the proposed rule 2.21.1 would take away the public's right to testify as to approval of the appointment being made. and would thus violate the brown act section 2549.3a and the sunshine ordinance as well as contract the whereas clause which maintains opportunities for public input. for this reason, i recommend rejection at the proposed rule. or if the problem may be split, rejection of the rule 2,.21.1. or the proposed rule 2.21.2. >> chairman: thank you. are any other members of the public here for public comment on item number 1?

>> clerk: i believe that was the last caller. waiting confirmation. >> correct. no more callers in queue. >> chairman: okay. public comment is closed and with regard of the comments of the last speaker the adoption without committee on reference calendar on the board of supervisors agenda is indeed subject to public comment. to 100% of the appointments subject to 2.21.1 will be subject to public comment at the full board of supervisors on the adoption without committee reference calendar and it is not as i've been advised by counsel valuetive of the brown act. with that, colleagues, i would like to make a motion to amend

with the aforementioned amendments relative to age. with that, mr. clerk, a roll call please. >> clerk: yes. on that motion. [roll call] >> clerk: the motion passes without objection. >> chairman: may we now -- i would now like to make a motion to send the item as amended to the full board with recommendation as a committee report. a motion on that please. >> clerk: in the motion recommended as a committee report. [roll call] >> clerk: the motion passes without objection. >> chairman: next item, please. >> clerk: next on the agenda is item number two.

ordinance amending the administrative code and campaign and governmental and to establish the vision of responsibility in the office between the executive director and the chief medical examiner. >> chairman: thank you, mr. young. colleagues if you will indulge me for a couple of minutes. i want to thank you for considering this legislation and by way of background, the office of the chief medical examiner plays a crucial role in providing unbiased timely and scientific forensic medical services to the general public and the city and county. unfortunately, the office as we all know has long been plagued with a series of -- well, let's call it like it is, scandals, miss management, lack of management of one flavor or another over quite a number of

years, probably as long as i've been here. which, ultimately, has been laid at the feet of a number of industry administerers to address given that this is one of the governmental functions of the city administrator. in march of 2014, the chief medical examiner, dr. heart stepped down amid a huge backlog of cases over half of which were over a half a year in duration which not only impacted families waiting for closure and death certificates for their loved ones, but also delayed the workings of our criminal justice system that relies on the medical examiner's office. ms. heart's successor dr. hunter came here in the year 2015 and had a limited duration of only about four

years and in june 2019 left and was recruited to lead the same office in san joaquin county, california. and, since then, there have been a number of problems. i think we all read the sad story about a medical examiner, or preng analyst who got arrested in the state of utah with stolen evidence that led to a number of high profile media stories as well as a large number of criminal justice cases being questioned and kicked out. at that time, i had several meetings with then city administrator kelly to discuss possible reforms and restructuring of this office. and, frankly, she admitted we already knew in part that i've

included as part of the firm record of this proceeding today that it is really quite difficult to attract a chief medical examiner not only to this office but offices around the country. it is a -- there are not a lot of doctors in this business. so at any rate, in september of 2020, i asked the budget of legislative analyst to conduct an analysis of comparative practices of medical examiners, core functions, general oversight, hiring and firing criteria, and funding. i held a hearing on that. and, i think ultimately, the policy direction that i'm recommending today and discussed with then city administrator kelley have now

discussed with city administrator choo that there needs to be a clear role that's tasked with performance measures and the day-to-day operation and that really serves in a more traditional department head role rather than the doctor role. so, to that end, the legislation that i've introduced that is before you which, in essence, creates a department head who is not a doctor, obviously pursuant to state law, the chief medical examiner will still be the chief medical examiner and has to be a doctor, but is not going to be under this experiment, the department head. that is the sum and substance of the legislation that is before you. i am happy, colleagues, to attempt to answer any

questions. and, if there are none, i'm happy to go to public comment. and i want to thank my chief of staff for her years of work on this issue. supervisor chan. >> supervisor chan: thank you, supervisor peskin. i do agree it is a complicated issue. in my limited capacity working at the district attorney's office between the year of 2007 or 2008 until 2010, early 2011, the medical examiner's office faced a lot of challenges and i think will continue on as you mentioned. i do think that it is good to have someone in a role that

functions more as an administrative role helping the office to integrate both integrate with the rest of the city government, but also have some type of accountability and, you know, transparency between the role as medical examiner which a lot of information is confidential but also kind of parts out some of the administrative tasks to allow transparency but efficiency to the process. i look forward to seeing how this is going to play out. i think that it would be interesting to see specifically how with this structure what kind of plan that we will have to improve the efficiency for the office. but i'm happy to support it today so that we can see how

this is going to show us at some point. i mean, in the future would love to circle back to learn more about, you know, the performance and evaluation of this new structure for the medical examiner's office. thank you. >> chairman: thank you, supervisor chan. and let me employ the first to say what i touched on earlier. this is, indeed an experiment. so if it works, god bless us. if it needs tweaking or rescission, we can deal with that in due course, but i think it's a step in the right direction. and, we will continue to monitor this as the rules committee and board of supervisors and i know city administrator choo and her staff has been looking forward to this. with that, seeing no other

names on the roster. mr. clerk, why don't we open this up to public comment. >> clerk: yes. members of the public which to provide public comment on this item should call (415) 655-0001. the meeting i.d. is 1878969131 then press pound and pound again. if you haven't already done so, please press star 3 to line up to speak. the system will indicate you have raised your hand. please wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and you may begin your comment. we have nine listeners and one caller at this time. >> chairman: first speaker, please. >> can you hear me now? >> we can hear you mr. pillpell. >> it is david pillpell again. so i was going to ask for a little bit of an explanation of who is the department head and why the chair split. as i understand it, it sounds like the administrator because

there's been a position for a long time in that office of an office administrator. it sounds like that position or a new position is created that gets upgraded to an executive director and department head much like the health director. meanwhile, the chief medical examiner becomes more like the health officer at the health department. and so, it's really more of a split between the department head and administrative functions and the chief medical officer -- chief medical examiner and medical/forensic functions. so i think that makes sense. i support this change as explained by chair peskin and if needed a future change so be it and thanks again to chair peskin and sunny angelo for

their work on this. >> chairman: thank you. are there any other members of the public who would like to comment on this item? >> clerk: that completes the queue. >> chairman: thank you. so, colleagues, if there is no objection, i would like to make a motion to send this item to the recommendation with the full board of supervisors. on that, a roll call please. >> clerk: yes. on that motion. [roll call] >> clerk: the motion passes without objection. >> chairman: thank you. can you please read the next item. >> clerk: next on the agenda is item number 3. motion approving the mayor's nomination of appointment of carol isen as the human resources director of the city and county of san francisco pursuant to charter section

10.103. >> chairman: thank you, clerk young. colleagues, this is one of the very rare provisions in the charter where the board of supervisors has to concur with the mayor's nomination of a department head. the other -- the only other one i can think of is one that we dealt with quite recently which is the city administrator and here today before us is the nomination for new director of human resources in the form of one carol isen who i've known for the better part of 20 years. originally as a union representative at the international federation of professional technical engineers local 21. most of our staff, actually, come from that and later on as

a senior ranking official in the department of human resources. with that, i would like to invite ms. isen to make an opening statement and then i'll turn it over to committee members and then we'll open it up for public comment. ms. isen, if you are there, the floor it yours. >> thank you, chair peskin. members of the committee, thank you for allowing me to speak with you today. i am honored to serve the city and its officials and employees as human resources director. the nomination and i hope support and confirmation from this board of supervisors to service the city's human resources director is the culmination of a long career in public service. as a union representative and as a public servant. i am a career long advocate for

public service and for effective and equitable government operations and services. i would like to describe the qualities and strengths i believe that i bring to this position and my thoughts and plans if the board confirms my appointment. first, i commit to this board and to all employees in the city that i will set the tone from the top. i am ethical, respectful, i am direct, and i am compassionate. i bring deep knowledge to the merit system and the relationship in which these two things are intertwined. i have extensive experience and respect for the civil service union. i believe that fair, nonbias, nonpolitical ethical civil service employment is essential to the delivery of high quality

public services. the city's employees are its greatest asset as has been so clearly demonstrated over the past year during the local emergency which has been brought on by the covid-19 pandemic. i will always be their champion. i will honor their great work and i will take steps for compassionate but firm course direction when needed. as you know, i would be the first openly lgbtq employee which a key junction of my career, i would not have felt comfortable and safe to state this in such a public manner. as a worker advocate, i bring a deep and abiding commitment to the rights of all workers to provide free of psychological harm in the work place. bullied, harassed, suppressed,

not appreciated or encouraged or unfairly disciplined or intollerable. all of us have the right to earn a living and should do so with respect and discipline. our efforts are making this point forcefully. i am committed to doing everything in my power as human resources director to listen and to address head-on the demand for racial justice and equity in the workplaces. we owe this to our employees. i commit to being a full partner and champion as the human rights commission, the office of racial equity, the office of transgender initiatives and all of our city agencies including the department of human resources pursue the critical task of advancing racial and social justice in the san francisco city employment. i believe that organized labor should and must be our active partners in this work. the rights of all workers to be

treated fairly and with dignity and respect is at the core of the labor movement's mission which are the principles i have advanced throughout my career as union representative and as a city employee. i'd like to pause here for a minute just to acknowledge the recent violence against our asian american and pacific islander community. our colleagues in the aapi world are so woven into the fabric of our work. at d.h.r. we will make sure thatsen xenophobia has no place in our workplace. i urge everybody who feels the need for those services to take advantage of them. if confirmed, i will pursue the following objectives. first, to protect the integrity

and fairness in civil service. part of the oath for this position which is the only city employee to take this oath is the following: i am opposed to the public service as a reward for political activity and will execute the office of human research and director with the spirit of this declaration. i will uphold this oath to the fullest of my capacity. but this is a significant challenge. d.h.r. processes on average 125,000 applications for employment every year and over 11,000 appointments each year. we have multiple points of entry through the perm nans that will service to various appointment types permitted by charter, but exempted from the civil service system. at present, d.h.r. conducts audits only in response to allegations or complaints. i would seek to establish an

auditing function within dhr which would conduct routine and random audits and coordinate its activity with the whistle blower function, the public integrity unit of the civil service office. i think it's important to get the word out. the d. h.r. is stepping up its oversight and this is supported by the executive and legislative branches of the city. and, as you know, with the support of the mayor, i have launched an independent review of our equal employment opportunities and employment practices. we will work with all interested parties including this board once the report is issued. in addition, d.h.r. is recently initiated a collaborative effort with pacific bridge with u.s. response to evaluate and amended or business work

processes. i would like to make sure the departments are at the forefront of addressing this conduct promptly and effectively. in a well publicized incident last year, a now former employee of our e.e.o. division hid her actions and deceived supervisors and co-workers in our division. we're working with civic bridge with identified steps to systems are in place to prevent misconduct in the future. second, i will promote and inforce healthy work places. this includes everything from respect and dignity at work to robust health and safety programs. i intend to prom l gate with increase and swift consequences for misconduct and special focus on misconduct and its

discriminatory, defamatory or [inaudible] . to my worker's compensation division which has led the way to fair and processing of claims, we will takes step the to fulfill our full charter responsibility to expand in health and safety coordination with our city departments. as we have taken a leadership role throughout the local emergency in many practice areas, we have launched a citywide health and safety coordinating committee and brought in efforts to support this work and i would like to very much build this up and keep it going. i will work to promote career employment for all our employees, not just some and encourage training, education and skills development. we will strengthen our partnerships with our city agencies in community and educational partners to advance job opportunities and pathways

to them. and, i am committed to pursuing these activities through a highly focused equity lens. we will do this through the support of our newly created office of diversity, equity, and inclusion. through the diversity, equity, and inclusion office, we will immediately begin to establish city wide and department levels strategic goals for this work and examine and promote practices that support an inclusive and belonging environment in which all of our employees are treated fairly. next, i will modernize and improve merit based hiring and promotions. our civil service system is rule and process bound as you know. i am aware of the range of complaints not new that the time and complexity involved in hiring is excessive and overly

burdensome and further complaints that it adversely affects citizens of color. we have initiated a review of several aspects of city employments to understand how they are working for our employees and for our city agencies and where they're falling short including testing protocols, minimum qualifications, the use of temporary and permanent exempt appointments. outreach and recruiting and, finally, deidentification of applicants in the selection process. and, we will continue that work and look forward to reporting our work to the board of supervisors. we are looking forward to completing our first major milestone of our hiring modernization program with our tracking system. i hope this is only the first of major investments in system supporting personnel

activities. a lot is expected of d.h.r.. however, the department is badly in need of investment resources. with that, i would like to acknowledge the professionalism and dedication of the employees who comprise the department of human resources. i've heard from many corners the perception that d.h.r. has broken. not without major challenges as i've stated here, i think d.h.r. is not at all broken. with the same energy that we've poured into the covid response, we will focus on critical evaluations, process reforms and course correction as needed of our core work. i intend to reform and revitalize d.h.r. and focus on the priorities i have outlined today. thank you, chair peskin and members of the rules committee for considering my nomination.

i ask that you recommend me to the full board of supervisors as the city and county of san francisco human resources director. >> chairman: thank you for your courage and seeking this seat and having been nominated by the mayor. are there any questions or comments from members of the rules committee? seeing none at this time. why don't we -- supervisor chan. >> supervisor chan: thank you, chair peskin. and, yes, i agree and i thank ms. isen for your submission to be nominated to, you know, and to be going through this process to really manage our human resource department in this challenging time. you know, i think for the last 15 years, i have worked in

various city departments and -- and both at will and/or as a temporary position or even as a civil servant. i do agree and i really appreciate you specifically address that your intent to reform, you know, e.e.o. because, and to really hold our department heads and executives accountable for misconduct because we have seen, you know, in the last year in 2020, i want to say this on the record, be it public corruption be it sexual harassment and discrimination for either racism or for race, you know, age, all of that, when that really comes to light or any of those to come to light, we know

it's actually have gone through a pattern and quite some time that built up to those cases for lawsuits. and, as someone that's been in the city departments for the last 15 years, i really look forward to have a mechanism that's put in place in every point of our city departments to make sure that these behaviors don't go unchecked on all levels, but most definitely our city department heads and executives because at times or a lot of times we're cultured to have a diverse, safe, healthy work culture really comes from leadership from the top, from city department heads and their executives. and, so i really look forward to seeing your leadership, you know speak for the workers, making sure that they are respected and treated right for the work that they do and that,

you know, not let any of this misconduct go unchecked for far too long. so i thank you for all your comments today, you know, directly addressing racial equity and misconduct. it's really what i need to hear and it's really what i want to see for someone, you know, managing our human resources. because i also know it's very challenging. you as human resources stand alone in trying to oversee all these city departments where they -- all these city department heads and executives as appointing officers have really -- they leverage on hiring and recruiting and disciplining workers and it's going to take a lot of effort to hold them accountable and have transparency through that process or with that process. so i thank you and i look forward to supporting you today. thank you. >> chairman: thank you,

supervisor chan. seeing no other names on the roster. mr. clerk, why don't we open this up to public comment. >> clerk: yes. members of the public who wish to provide comment on this item should call (415) 655-0001. the meeting i.d. is 1878969131 then press pound and pound again. if you haven't already done so, please press star 3 to line up to speak. a system will indicate you have raised your hand. please wait until the system indicates. we currently have seven listeners and four callers in line to speak on this item. >> chairman: first speaker, please. >> yes. my name is miguel galarza with engineering. i've known carol for about 20 years. i've worked with her with work

force development when she was with p.u.c. and recently worked with her extensively with the san francisco p.o. lane negotiations that took numerous months to complete and was instrumental in bringing it home and considering all the stakeholders involved. my relationship with her has always proven to be respectful and courteous. i look forward to see all the constituents involved and has always been on top of her game. as i am not a city employee nor have a stake in the game. i just simply want to say that, as an employer, having someone on my team that would have the experience and level headedness that she would bring to the city would be an outstanding asset to the city and her appointment would bring credit to departments and bring it

full circle. so i wholeheartededly approve her appointment and look forward to seeing her in that decision now and for a long time. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. can we have the next caller, please. >> can you hear me now? >> chairman: mr. pillpell, please proceed. >> thank you. my last comment today i believe. i believe the controllers subject to approval by the board of supervisors. on this point, i strongly support carol ise n's nomination as human resources director. she is an outstanding person, caring and knowledgeable about city personnel, policy, and process as a former labor representative for local 21. city employee, supervisor employee relations director and

manager. she will not be the first woman as the city's h.r. director and hopefully not the last, but an excellent one perhaps and hopefully much like andrea gordine many years ago. she has my full support and i think she will do a fine job. thank you very much. >> chairman: next speaker, please. >> good morning san francisco board of supervisors rules committee. my name is sal cruz and i'm a native san franciscan and long time resident of bernal heights district 9. i'm calling for carol isen's nomination. i am a labor union president at b.a.r.t. and have worked with carol for years and facilitating partnerships between labor and management. carol shares the values that my

neighbors and i in bernal heights uphold. i support carol isen's nominations of appointment human resources director for the city and county of san francisco. thank you. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker. >> hello. can you hear me? >> chairman: yes, we can. >> okay. good morning chair peskin and the other members of the rules committee. i'm here to urge you to support carol's appointment to the department of human resources director. i currently work at the san francisco zoo as executive vice president of human resources. prior to this, i was with the city and served as g.s.a. and labor relations manager before promoting to human resources director. i also work for p.n.c. and chinese affirmative action. i first met carol back in 1994.

we were on staff for 10 to 14 years before carol decided to take a position in leadership. i got to know her very well as a colleague and i consider her as a life long friend. i'm happy to share a secret with you and that is her character, her core values and her strong ethics have not waivered over the years. she's a compassionate person and furthers the lead in inclusion, equity, and access, diversity and a consensus builder sometimes to a fault. carol's task mainly to diversify -- >> chairman: thank you. mr. young, i concur with all of your comments and we're sorry to cut you off. i share your opinions and experience with ms. isen. mr. clerk, are there any other members of the public for this

item three? >> clerk: i believe there may be one mr. speaker. >> chairman: next speaker, please. >> good morning. my name is dante king and i represent a group called the black employees alliance. and we had maybe over between 50 and 70 of our members contact each of you to not support this confirmation. there are many employees who believe that director isen will carry on some of the woes that the human resources will continue. so i'm not speaking on behalf of myself but on behalf of a group that consists of over 400 members. so please take that under strong advisement and consideration. >> chairman: thank you, mr. king. are there any other members of the public for public comment? >> clerk: yes. we have additional people get in line. i believe we have three

additional callers. >> chairman: next speaker, please. >> hi, my name is elia hernandez and i'm with [inaudible] san francisco. and we would like to have [inaudible] to come back. >> chairman: i'm sorry. that's item number 4. the next item. >> oh, i'm sorry. >> chairman: yeah. so if you get back in line, we will hear you for item number 4. >> clerk: can we have the next caller, please. >> good morning, mr. chair and members of the committee. rudy gonzalez with the construction trades. in that capacity, we have several thousand frontline public workers at the city and county. they deserve fair and transparent leadership with the head of this agency and we believe carol isen's

appointment will bring just that. she not only has the experience necessary for this important role, but for those of us who've had to deal with her directly, sometimes in difficult circumstances and in opposite ends of an argument. she also brings the credibility that's necessary to be effective in this role. not only the management side of the city as an institution, but also the workers and importantly the community. so we appreciate her appointment is timely and not lost on us as an lgbtq leader. this also stands as an important statement with this appointment of inclusion and diversity which she represents, embodies and promotes with her own teams. so the building trades are in strong support of moving this forward and supporting carol isen. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker >> kim cavaloni, san francisco

labor department. i want to say we support carol isen, she and her no-nonsense to [inaudible] -- perpetuated through human resources over last decade and she's willing to tackle it as best she can. [inaudible] -- with her and we know that she's going to make some changes that are deeply needed within the department and we look forward to that. thank you. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker. >> hi, this is jessica brown with the black employee alliance. i'm here on behalf of the b.e.a. to represent us not supporting carol isen's appointment as dante king mentioned earlier, we do not

believe that carol isen will be able to impact the change that is necessary for black employees particularly black and latinx employees. unfortunately, we feel she will maintain the same status quo that has led to higher disciplinary actions of black and brown employees, salary gaps, and unfair rules for the civil service examine. while this is not an attack on carol isen on a personal note, at the same time, our h.r. needs reform. >>. we need someone to come in with the social justice to amongst black and brown employees across the city and we need somebody to adhere to the mayor's racial ordinance in order to bring inclusion and true diversity in social justice. so the b.e.a. does not support

carol isen and we ask the city to reconsider appointing her. >> clerk: i believe that completes our queue of callers. >> chairman: okay. with that, public comment is now closed and i will turn it back over to the committee. any comments from committee members? seeing no names on the roster. let me, first, for my own personal experience say that what we've heard from many of the public commenters and what we heard in ms. isen herself is just right. she has experience within the department of human resources, within other city positions, within labor on the other side

and most importantly as i think we all experience in her opening statement, she is humble, she is real, she is compassionate and i, for one absolutely concur with the mayor's appointment and am ready to hear a motion from a member of this committee and would suggest that that motion include that this be sent as a committee report. >> supervisor: so moved. >> chairman: mr. clerk, on that motion, a roll call please. >> clerk: yes. [roll call]

>> clerk: the motion is adopted without objection to recommend the matter as a committee report. >> chairman: ms. isen, we will see you tomorrow afternoon. mr. clerk, could you please call the next item. >> clerk: yes. next on the agenda is the hearing to consider appointing one member, term ending may 1,two thousand twenty-two and two members terms ending may 1,2023 to the office of early care and education citizens' advisory committee. >> chairman: thank you. colleagues, as part of the mission i'm on as chairman of the rules committee is to address the backlog of appointments and reappointments and vacancies that are under the jurisdiction of the board of supervisors, to streamline that process as you saw in item

number one earlier. you will recall last week that the board of supervisors unanimously passed a resolution encouraging the speeding up of appointments to this body, the office of early care and education c.a.c. which was established back in 2014 to make recommendations to the office of early care and education regarding their mission of providing those services for children ages zero to five in san francisco as well as to other city departments involved in early education matters. when that resolution introduced by supervisor melgar came up at the full boards, i noted i would schedule it at our next possible meeting, which is today. some of those seats seemed

ready to go and another seat, seat 7 seemed less ready to go and i will schedule that at the next meeting. since that time, i want to point out a few sticky wickets for this committee to think about that i have discussed with counsel ms. pierson who is available to speak on them a little bit more. interestingly gnu and if you look at the maddie accurate report or that agenda for this hearing or the underlying documents, you will see that the seat 6 position actually expired in 2019 and was not heard by the previous rules committee for whatever reasons. albeit, ms. sullivan, the current occupant of that seat reapplied timely but it was never heard.

the reason i bring this up is because the enabling legislation passed from seven years ago said that there was a two-term limit for any individuals serving on this body and each term of two years. the interesting thing here is ms. sullivan has now served for almost four years, but two of those years were in the holdover capacity wherein she was not reappointed. counsel advises that that may not or probably does not trigger the four year, two-term limit, but i wanted to be very transparent, colleagues, with that. there's only one applicant for seat 9 which applicant would require residency waiver. there were five applicants for seat number eight. one of those individuals

jessica campos has withdrawn. so there are now four applicants for that seat. three of them would require a residency waiver and we did discuss at our last meeting section 4.101 subsection b of the charter which certainly encourages that where there's a qualified applicant, we seek a resident of the city and county of san francisco. so those are the thorny issues before us. i also want to point out and we can hear from staff to this body and to the department that there are an additional five seats that are mayoral seats. so the original enabling legislation created a nine-seat body. four of which are appointed by the board, five of which are

appointed by the mayor. i have not had an opportunity to discuss with the mayor whether there can be some balancing and whether the mayor may be interested in accommodating some of the remarkably qualified individuals that are before us today. we have a number of options. we can consider these today. we can move -- we can continue this item in whole or in part to the next meeting of the rules committee where it will be also considering seat number 7. so i just wanted to throw that all out to you, colleagues. are there any questions or comments from members of the committee? if not, i suggest that we go in order with the applicants as listed on the agenda. so why don't we start with ms. sullivan. ms. sullivan, if you would like to make a statement, i have read all of the applications

and i'm sure my colleagues have as well for the 14 or however many individuals that are left that are before us. ms. sullivan, the floor is yours. >> thank you very much. >> chairman: i'm sorry. seven applicants for three seats >> thank you, very much, supervisor peskin. i want to thank all of you for moving forward on seating the o.e.c.e.c. and it has been kind of lonely in that room with all the seats being filled so i'm so grateful you're moving forward with this. and, i wasn't aware there was a problem with my seat until just now. so, if there's a problem that i need to find someone that's also in family child care to

serve if i can't, let me know. >> chairman: thank you, ms. sullivan. and it may or may not be a problem. we can hear a little bit more from the city attorney. i don't want to put words in the city attorney's mouth, it's kind of a line call. does that conclude your initial remarks? >> yes. thank you very much. >> chairman: thank you. seeing no questions for ms. sullivan. why don't we move on to seat 8, ms. fromer. >> good morning. can you hear me? >> chairman: yes, we can. >> good morning chair peskin and rules committee. happy wonderful spring day in san francisco. my name is gina fromer and i'm at childrens counsel of san francisco. we provide resources for child care providers. as a sixth generation black san

franciscan born and raised in bayview point with deep roots and ties to my community, through my work and experience i am uniquely qualified for the c.a.c. seat 8 position. san francisco's local planning counsel for child care and the public policy chair for alternative payment public program associations. public policy committee where we advocate for additional resources for child care, and i also stayed on the southeast community commission as a member working to improve social and economic outcomes for citizens of our community. very connected to our city. i'm running for c.a.c. because there is more work that needs to be done. and, as an individual deeply involved in my community, i won't have time -- you know, i won't take too much time playing catch-up if appointed.

i will be immediately be able to meet the needs of our community and get to work. right now, our city of san francisco is in dyer need of two representations. every day, we have more families become ineligible with less child care spots available in the city. if you remember, prop c ruling is, working with the community in the office of early education to see how spending happens from those dollars. and, if appointed, i will do everything in my power to expand c.a.c. involvement as well as the impact across this great city. one of the things i wanted to mention and i know there's a rule around out of residency, but i want the body to know that in 2000, i was gentrified out of san francisco with my three sons but since then, and for 40 years i've been committed -- i've committed my life work to this city and

children and families across ymca work. community on top of the hill trying to get some work done. he wanted to get some work done in his community and now children's counsel of san francisco. i am a life-long san franciscan. i just live outside of our city and i really believe that when you spend twelve hours in the city you really do live there, you sleep somewhere else. but i really do appreciate your consideration. i thank you for this work. overall, the city needs legs and true support to work across the child care needs of our community. and, i do want to say one thing about the diversity of this group which is really important. we talk about true representation. i believe we need true representation across the c.a.c. group. thank you so much supervisor chan, and supervisor mandelman

and supervisor peskin for the work in our city. >> chairman: thank you for invoking the name of my 1980s and i do

thorny a year ago, but i do believe that more than ever early childhood education does need proper representation and also support as we have been up ended through this covid-19 crisis, and we are feeling it

on all levels and so i have been very thoughtful and watching how i can contribute and it was ms. fromer's predecessor who recommended a few years ago that this is where i would start to dip my toe in and use my experience with g.s.a. and the federal side of the work that i've done to contribute to san francisco as a whole. so i just want to thank everyone for considering my application at this time. thank you. >> chairman: thank you. seeing no questions from committee members. the next applicant jessica campos has withdrawn. so why don't we go to jennifer curran. >> good morning. thank you chair peskin and members of the rules committee to allow me to speak today. citizens advisory committee seat 8. my name is jennifer curran and i am the executive director a family private foundation in

the city. for over 30 years, the peter hoss fund has worked in partnership with the city to strengthen the quality of education in the city. particularly those living in underserved communities. i have enthusiastically dedicated my career to addressing inequities and challenges that young children and families living in poverty face. for the past 16 years, i have worked in a variety of capacities in the city that further this mission including 13 years spent in direct service to san francisco's young children and families through my work with jump start a national literacy organization. in my current role, i direct early education grant making which reaches all corners of the early education field in the city including early education work force leadership development and early

leadership in child development. funding key initiatives in innovative strategies. i feel that i would bring a unique perspective to the citizens' advisory committee strengthening the city's commitment to public private partnerships. i am an alumni of san francisco state university and mills college and a proud mother of two young daughters who were actually born in the city and a former resident of san francisco for 18 years. i have been a regular attendee of the citizens' advisory committee for the last five years. thank you so much for your consideration today. >> chairman: thank you for appearing before us and for your application. with that, why don't we move on to june lin-arlow. >> okay. hi everyone. good morning. my name is june lin-arlow and i

am an american woman living in district 5 of san francisco. i am a child and family therapist and early childhood mental health consultant working in the bayview. children in san francisco have struggled over the past year through collective trauma but also displacement and racism. as a therapist, i work closely with children and families. very young children have absorbed the anxiety of their care givers and have experienced an unprecedented level of isolation during the pandemic. as a mental health consultant, i work in three preschools in san francisco and a domestic violence shelter and in my role, i work with staff to strengthen their capacity to support the social emotional, behavioral, and relational health of children ages zero through five. by working in person and in my

experience, there's been high staff turnover this year at all schools and staff are stretched incredibly thin because early education and child care system absorbs the stressors that children and families experience at home, everything is especially heightened at this time. almost all of the children who get referred to me in mental health consultation are black boys and i spend a lot of time working with staff and administration on being trauma-informed, understanding the meaning behind behavior, having a strength-based approach and addressing racial bias when working with young children of color. when staff feel supported in their work, i've also seen these child care and education sites provide a place of stability and nurture during this difficult time. i'm very concerned about the long-term mental health and social development impacts for children over the last year which will be a priority for me if i were appointed to the seat.

i would also make it a priority to advocate for working and ways condition that allow for people who do the incredibly important work of caring and educating our children to be able to work and live in san francisco which has gotten increasingly unaffordable over time. and, finally, i would advocate for any efforts to make early child care more affordable for working families in san francisco. thank you. >> chairman: thank you, ms. lin-arlow. can we move on to liz cortez >> good morning. thank you for the opportunity to speak about my qualifications today. my name is liz cortez and i'm the associate director for the mission promisers initiative, a collective impact prenatal and college initiative that supports families in the mission district. i have worked for eight years with many early learning to align our efforts and support

children and families to improve outcomes around school readiness. i worked in various capacities implementing early head start and head start programs. i have years in experience in the education field. i come from an immigrant family and i'm the first person in my family to attend and graduate from college. i'm applying for seat number 8 as a community member with expertise in early care and education that provides families and child care providers with support around financial istanbul, business development, affordable housing and connection to supportive services. i believe all children in san francisco should have access to the best early care and education possible. additionally, when we dissect the data, we consistently see that black and brown children and families are not doing as

well as other families across the city. i believe that these families need specific strategies and we should invest in this support. we also need to understand what's not working for families at the systems level and address those systemic barriers. we need to have a deeper relationship with families and partner with them to cocreate strategies with them. they know what's best for their families and we should support that. i also agree with the rights to the applicants that representation is very important for this community. thank you again for allowing me to share a little bit about myself. >> chairman: thank you, so much. and, why don't we move on to the one applicant for seat 9, sara hicks-kilday. >> good morning, chair peskin, and supervisor mandelman and chan. i'm an applicant for the child

care planning and advisory counsel seat which is seat 9. i first want to also appreciate your passing of the legislation and strengthening the oversight bodies last tuesday and moving this process forward. currently, i'm an appointed member of san francisco's local plan and counsel known as c.p.a.c.. i also sit on c.p.a.c.'s executive body and the members of c.p.a.c. elected me to a member a year ago and i've been waiting for the seat back appointment to move forward. last week the policy and legislative committee. as a member of cpac i bring the board of educators to the advisory body.

holds convenings with center and family child care educators focused on identifying issues and needs to support their work and livelihood. bringing educators and expertise into policies. i bring to my work with ecsf my own experience as past educator focused primarily on infants and toddlers, a parent who ran a home-based co-op and expanse for early care and education. i cochaired the ad hoc committee and worked with the committee to identify the cost parody with educators as well as to identify priority benefits and barriers.

i am committed to continued work expanding community engagement in planning including every applicant not appointed here today and strengthening the information and community input. we need every person involved in the discussion and we need to stir up more interest to get at what we really need. since the ad hoc community planning committees and in my work with early educators of san francisco, our focus is ensuring the least at the table are included, specifically on site educators, black educators, educators whose first language is spanish, lgbtqi educators and others under represented. we also work to identify and advocate program solutions and i want to thank those of you who are here with prop f to release the prop c funds

greatly needed during the pandemic needed already before that. i will bring my work as an oececac. found a place in the east bay but have worked in the city since that time. up until now and i'm pleased to be considered for this position and offer my experience and knowledge as part of the oversight committee and thank you all for your time here today. >> chairman: thank you, ms. hicks-kilday. before we discuss this at the committee, why don't we go to general public comment, mr. young. >> clerk: yes. members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item should call (415) 655-0001. the meeting i.d. is 1878969131,

then press pound and pound again. if you haven't already done so, please dial star 3 to line up to speak. a system prompt will indicate you have raised your hand. please wait until you are unmuted and you may begin your public comment. we have 17 people in line for public comment at this time. >> chairman: first speaker, please. >> hi, good morning to all. my name is elia fernandez. i'm with parent voices of san francisco. i just want to say gina is a wonderful person and i'm speaking to support gina as executive director of childrens counsel. she's also a strong supported parent of community voices and decision making in supportive as children's counsel. thank you so much. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker, please.

>> good morning chair peskin and fellow rules committee chair members. i'm the cochair of the sf early care and education advocacy coalition and cpac coalition. we are proud and thankful to see c.a.c. seats being filled. and at the advocacy coalition as follows. seat 6, pat sullivan. seat 8, gina fromer. seat 9, sara hicks-kilday. as a member of the southeast community commission. gina is greatly involved in the sfece community and has improved outcomes for black children in san francisco. she has expanded our work in

addressing mental health among young children. we appreciate the resolution approved by the board supervisors on march 16th ensuring that the commercial tax for early care and education dollars and our city funds has strengthened community oversight. the c.a.c. needs applicants who can jump into community and department planning already under way. thank you for your time and consideration. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker. >> hi. i'm beverly baloochin. and i'm represented children and i am here today to support seat number 6, patricia sullivan. seat number 8, gina fromer. and seat number nine, sara

hicks-kilday. all three of these candidates are very active and knowledgeable and are really supporting and have been for a number of years working early care and education. i just want to say also that we really appreciate the resolution approved by the board of supervisors on 3/16 for bringing these positions, the appointments to make them active and we really look forward to people being able to just pick up where we are and go right ahead with this important work. so thank you very much for today. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker >> hi. good morning, supervisors. my name is maria. i'm the organizer of parent

voices for the last 25 years. i was also a cpac member for 23 years and supervisor of the legislative committee. i have attended oece meetings. and i expect that gina fromer would also bring. as a community person and as ceo of children's counsel, i know that gina is strongly supportive of parent voices and community voices and as someone who has experienced giving subsidized care herself, she is very well versed and experienced the issues of early care and child care firsthand other than the fact [inaudible] she would also have access to a lot of very useful information that the o.e.c.e. would need. we are expecting the biggest

infusion from prop c and i believe that gina has the best knowledge and information and energy and the spirit to hear from parents and the community and that is what we need at the oece. we support her appointment for seat 8. patricia sullivan for seat 6 and also sara. please appoint her. thank you very much. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. good morning everyone. i am from parents voices in san francisco. for over six years. i'm calling to support gina fromer for the incredible work she does with families and communities of color in addition to education as a leader and director of the

children's counsel. thank you so much. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker. >> hello. i'm here. i'm in support of gina fromer for becoming the c.a.c. president. and i want to say that i had many -- i know her through childrens' counsel because parent voices is an agency that is home at the childrens counsel and as a parent and gina as advocated for my family and she's very approachable. she truly can bring the voices of parents in need of child care to the c.a.c.. so i really highly recommend her because she not only represents the african american community, but also the

immigrant community in many levels. she's been leading childrens' counsel in a very wonderful way. so i'm really happy to recommend her because she really would be great for our community too. thank you very much. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker. >> hi, good morning. my name is lee marquez and i am -- i have 10 years of higher education administration experience and then i had to become an active full-time parent with two little ones back to back. i'm currently a san francisco resident and very active in san francisco community with regards to child care and parent advocacy and i wanted to call in today to support the following seat 6 patricia

sullivan, seat 9 sara kilday and seat 8 gina fromer. i felt gina's passion and dedication through her experience and that's really something that resinates to me. so i think it's really strong. it's important to get candidates and advocates that are passionate, have experience and can be an asset to our and i think those three can definitely do that. thank you for your time. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker. >> clerk: i believe that may have been our last caller. >> yes. we have no more callers in queue. >> chairman: okay. public comment is closed. thank you to all of the applicants and to all of the members of the public who testified on this item number 4. colleagues, before we discuss

this, i would like to give maya castleman and the staff in the office specifically as it relates to the mayor's five seats. i understand there are vacancies there who are individuals who like what who are sitting on expired seats as this community grapples with making sure that we have a diverse set of representatives on this body. so, with that, if you're available, the floor's yours. >> hi everyone. thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak and as all of the applicants said, we really appreciate the efforts to move all of these appointments forward. at the body is half appointed

by the board. under the mayor's per view, there are several seats with specific requirements and a seat that represents a parent or guardian of a child care and services. seat two is a representative of the school district who is recommended by the school superintendent. that recommendation to succeed the current person who fills that seat was committed in 2019 and we've just been waiting and pending approval by the mayor's office. the parent seat that i mentioned, seat number 1, the previous parent representative resigned in 2019. we're waiting for the mayor's office to post a vacancy notice and we are, you know, on stand by and ready to get the message out to the community to have

parents apply. seat number 3 is currently filled by sanda davidson and must be an early education provider that serves infants and toddlers ages zero to three. fonda has officially served one term. similar to the issue that you guys talked about with patricia sullivan. you know, her term expired and so she's been acting in the body of the holdover since then and if she is allowed would reapply as an encumbent. seat number 4 must be -- it's a very similar requirement to the seat number 8 that we've been talking about today. basically, it has a pretty broad requirement. must be a family support provider, provider or educator who working with children of special needs, a community

member with expertise in early education, a member of the mental health community. so the same requirements as seat 8. that seat is filled by jerry yang whose first term expired in may 2019. we just haven't gotten approval of that application from the mayor's office. so this would then again bring up this issue about the length of holdovers. i will mention he has served as the member of the committee for the past three years. and then, seat number 5 must be a representative of the institution of higher education. and it is currently filled by [inaudible] who's final term expired may 2020. and, again, we are waiting for

the mayor's office to post a vacancy application for that seat. so i hope that covers your questions. >> chairman: thank you, ms. castleman. that was super helpful and i think the community identified and your chair identified that we need to reappoint people and appoint people to vacancy and so this now has our attention and so we are doing it in real time. thank you, ms. castleman. if there are no questions for ms. castleman, and i see supervisor mandelman's name on the roster. i would like to make this high level suggestion that we have coming our next meeting which is april the 5th which is that perhaps we can, the community

and the providers and this chairperson work with the mayor's office and mayor breed's appointments staff to see whether or not we can accommodate some of the embarrassment of rich that is we. that may not be the case with seat number 9. given the hold overand the two-term limit around seat 6 and given the number of applicants some of whom clearly can be accommodated by the mayor's appointments, all of whom seem to be qualified.

perhaps colleagues, we might want to consider continuing this file to the 5th and sending it to the full board as a committee report. and, by the way, given there's no board meeting next week, it would get there at the exact same time. so there's really no delay. so i just want to throw that idea out there. and, with that, vice chairman mandelman, the floor is yours. >> supervisor mandelman: thank you. i know it's particular to have these extraordinarily well-qualified people for this one seat is an embarrassment of riches and great and also kind of a problem. i do happen to know two of these applicants and i think quite highly of them. they both work but do not live

in district 8. gina fromer who a number of folks who called in to support began her current division of children's counsel just before the pandemic so i haven't gotten to know her as well as i would have liked but have seen some of her excellent work and then heather morado who i do know quite well and am a big fan of and who does tremendous work both in the community and at that institution. and so i imagine that i'm not saying similarly excellent things about the others because i have not happened to cross paths with them. so we have some hard choices and some truly excellent candidates. >> chairman: thank you, vice chair mandelman. member chan. >> supervisor chan: thank you, chair peskin. i agree.

i am in support of continuance and just really look forward to seeing folks especially those that actually have institutional knowledge in the intent of prop c that was passed about, you know, how can we provide affordable, quality child care service in san francisco. i, for one, as a mom that really was struggling years ago when my son was still a toddler, you know, to try to find quality, but really affordable child care service. and so i appreciate everybody's work and knowledge and experience on this. and, again, i do see in the coming months that we're going to hear more and more of those who have lived here for a long time and worked here for a long time in san francisco. and, unfortunately, gentrified or priced out of san francisco

in need of a residency waiver, but their hearts are still left behind in san francisco. and i am just -- i think that eventually, we should come to have a conversation really about how do we address residency waiver in the long-term especially for those we know that really qualify and have worked and dedicated their time in san francisco. so thank you. >> chairman: thank you, supervisor chan. and, let me just state my own personal bias. i'm super into ms. fromer and ms. june lin-arlow, but everybody is qualified and committed. with that, colleagues, you have my promise that in the intervening two weeks together with the providers and the community will reach out to the mayor's office and ms.

castleman to see whether or not we can have some of our cake and eat some of it too. with that, i would like to make a motion to continue this item number 4 to our next meeting of april, the 5th. mr. clerk, on that motion, a roll call please. >> clerk: yes. on that motion [roll call] >> clerk: the motion to continue passes without objection. >> chairman: next item, please. >> clerk: next on the agenda is a motion approving the mayor's nomination for appointment of lashgs shawndra price-breston to the treasure island development authority. >> chairman: let me just say she comes highly recommended from any number of individuals

that i hold in high esteem. the application speaks for itself. she has support of the district 6 supervisor whose district encompasses treasure island. and, with that introduction, mrs. price-breston, the floor is yours. >> thank you supervisors. i've been a san francisco resident all my life. i've been on the frontline in many areas. i'm a hazardous waste [inaudible] i'm a recurring certified medical assistant. i've worked in the c.l. as a services counselor. i've held lots of votes in the employment office [inaudible] and i'm really happy to be active in that.

obviously recommendations for [inaudible] -- which i think is very important. [inaudible] -- i've taken many classes on violence. i love my community and i see a lot of changes coming. there's going to be a lot of changes coming and, you know, i'm pleased to say when the quarantine hit, i think the island residents were more secured than anybody in san francisco. [inaudible] -- navigating. i look forward to being a voice of of the residents. i look forward to the changes to help anything that the residents out here need. thank you. >> chairman: thank you. why don't we open this up to public comment. are there any members of the public who would like to speak to the mayoral nomination of

ms. price-breston to the treasure island development board. >> clerk: members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item call 1 (415) 655-0001 i.d. number 1878969131. press pound and then pound again. at this time, we only have one listener and nobody in the queue to speak at this time. >> chairman: okay. then public comment is closed. colleagues, i would like to make an amendment to the item before us which is to remove in the long title at line 3, the word "rejecting" and to remove in the body of the motion at line 8, the word "reject".

on that motion, a roll call please. >> clerk: yes. on the motion to amend. [roll call] >> clerk: the motion to amended passes without objection. >> chairman: and, then, colleagues, if there is no objection. i would like to send the item as amended to the full board with recommendation. on that motion, mr. clerk. >> clerk: on that motion to recommend as amended. [roll call] >> clerk: the motion to recommend as amended is adopted without objection. >> chairman: ms. price-breston

you'll be before the full board of supervisors on april 5th. and we are adjourned. >> thank you so much, supervisors. i'll see you then. >> chairman: see you next week after next.

. >> you're watching coping with

covid-19 with chris manners. >> hi. i'm chris manners, and you're watching coping with covid-19. today, my guest is phil ginsburg. he's the director of the san francisco rec and parks, and he's a national rec and park ranger. thank you for being here. >> hi, chris. thank you for having me. >> i've heard you have an exciting new exhibit that features social distancing and is outside, so it's safer. can you tell us a little bit about it? >> the golden gate 50 anniversary wasn't the celebration that we hoped for, but when life deals you lemons, you hope to make lemonade, and

we tried to engage people in the park in different ways. behind me is what we did. it's a public exhibit which has transformed peacock meadows into an enchanted forest of other worldly shapes and lights. it's to close out golden gate park's 150 years and to allow people to have outdoors socially distant fun. >> great. and what are the hours, and when can people go see it, and are there access for wheelchairs and strollers? >> well, it will run until february 27, and the ways are

wheelchair accessible. it will close in time to make the city's curfew. we're not supposed to be gathering. we're not supposed to be celebrating out there, unfortunately. it is a beautiful exhibit and is one that can be seen from the sidewalk or you can wander into the meadow, but we ask that people be really mindful of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. the most important thing for us is to be safe and healthy. do not show up with other households. come and see it, get a little taste of the holidays and leave so other people can enjoy it. if it's too crowded, comeback because it's going to be around for a while.

>> how long does it take to walk around the exhibit? >> well, you could be there for five minutes or 15 minutes or longer if it's not crowded. it's about in an acre of meadow, but it's very visible even from a fully accessible sidewalk. you'll get a sense of it. basically, there are sculpted trees, and it's gorgeous. i got an opportunity to visit it over the weekend. the conservatory of flowers is there, and then, we have our amazing spreckels temple of

music which was recently renovated and lit up in lights. >> i have information that it was created by a local artist. what can you tell us about it? >> well, it's a new concept, but the lights were previously installed in a park in toronto and also in las vegas. the installation has been paid for through private donations to the golden gate park's san francisco 150 campaign. it reflects a culture steeped in science and history and

culture. >> i can't wait to visit it. safely, of course. >> wear masks, distance, sanitize, and don't gather. >> well, thank you for coming on the show today, mr. ginsburg. i appreciate the time you've given us today. >> thank you, and thank you for giving so much attention to golden gate park which has been so wonderful for us during covid and deserves a lot of extra love and attention on its 150 anniversary. >> and that's it for this episode. we'll be back with more information shortly. thank you for watching coping with . >> for tuesday march 16th 2021.

i would like to welcome members of the public streaming live or listening to us as well as to the staff who will be participating in today's meeting. i also would like to provide a special welcome to our newest commissioner, a mission bay resident and has an extensive background in urban planning. we would like to welcome you to this incredible organization and we are lucky to have you join us. following the guidelines set forth by local and state officials during this health emergency, the members of this commission are meeting remotely to ensure the safety of everyone, including members of the public. we thank you for joining us. madam secretary, please call the first item. >> the first order of business is item one roll call. please respond when i call your

names. (roll call) all members of the commission are present. item two, announcements. the next regularly scheduled meeting remotely tuesday april 6th, 2021, at 1:00 p.m. announcement of public comment procedures. up to three minutes to make pertinent public comments on any item. unless the commission adopts a shorter period on these items. during each public comment period, viewers will be instructed to dial 415-655-0001 and enter the access 187 828

5624. press the pound sign and then the pound sign again to enter the call. when prompted, press star 3 to submit request to speak. when you dial star 3, you will hear the following message. you have raised your hand to ask a question, please wait to speak until the host calls on you. when you hear your line has been unmuted, this is your opportunity to provide public comment. you will have three minutes. please speak clearly and slowly and you will be placed back on mute once you are done speaking. you may stay on the line to continue to listen to the meeting or choose to hang up. if you are planning to provide a public comment on any items it is recommended you call the public comment line listed on the agenda to allow you to listen to the meeting live and prevent you from experiencing a potential delay caused by live streaming. today's meeting materials are available on our website. under commission and then the

public meeting's tab. item 3, report on actions taken at a previous closed session meeting if any. there are no reportable actions. item 4, unfinished business. there are no matters. the next order of business is matters of new business consisting of consent and regular agenda. first is consent agenda, approval of minutes. regular meetings of february 2nd and 16th, 2021. mr. chair. >> madam secretary, do we have anyone from the public who wishes to provide comment? >> at this time members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item should contact 415-655-0001. please enter the access 187 828 5624. press the pound sign and then the pound sign again and then press star 3 to submit your request. we will allow the public just a few moments to call in. if you're already on the phone

with us and would like to provide a public comment, please press star 3. push mr. chair, there are no members of the public on the phone or online wishing to comment on this item. >> hearing no request to speak on the item, i will close public comment. commissioners, may i get a motion for the minutes? >> i approve the minutes as read with any necessary corrections. >> thank you. can i get a second? >> i second the minutes. >> thank you commissioner. madam secretary, please call the roll. >> (roll call)

mr. chair, the vote is 5 ayes. >> motion carriers. madam secretary, please call -- i was going to say madam speaker. madam secretary, please call the next item. >> next is the regular agenda. there are no regular agenda items for today. the next order of business is item 6 which is public comment on non agenda items. mr. chair. >> do we have any speaker cards for this item? >> at this time, members of the public who wish to provide public comment on item 6 please call 415-655-0001.

please enter the access 187 828 5624. press the pound sign and then pound sign again and then press star 3 to submit your request to speak. if you are on the phone and wish to provide public comment, press star 3 to raise your hand. and again, we'll give the public a few moments to call in. mr. chair at this time there are no members of the public wishing to comment on this item. >> hearing no requests to speak on this item, i close public comment. madam secretary, please call the next item. >> the next order of business is item 7 report of the chair. mr. chair. >> thank you. i don't necessarily have a report but i wanted to reiterate to the members of the public

that are listening or watching, especially those who live within our area of the former redevelopment and now ocii project areas, first of all, we want to thank everybody for being so diligent in providing safe distancing and wearing your masks. now that we have vaccines, i know our mayor has been very vigilant to try to make sure everyone gets vaccinated. so ocii project area constituents, please get your vaccine. we all are counting on it to be able to go back to some sense of normal. but it's a social obligation and social contract we should have with one another to take care of each other. that's all i want to say. please get vaccinated and would like to thank you in advance on behalf of our commission that

cares deeply about the residents of san francisco but in particular, those who live within the project areas of oci. thank you. madam secretary, please call the next item. >> the next order of business is item 8, report of the executive director. item 8a, marketing outcomes report from 500 folson, a mixed income rental tower with 108 inclusionary affordable units and one staff unit in transbay redevelopment area. discussion. madam interim director. >> thank you madam secretary and good afternoon commissioners. my report today is just again to highlight in the packets you received the marketing outcomes report for the transbay block 9 project at 500 folson street and just wanted to note a couple of things about this project and the lease-up. one of which, a lot of work was

done during the pandemic, they had originally -- the project sponsors had originally hoped that marketing and lease-up would be complete before we all went into shelter in place, but that wasn't the case. bridge worked very well with applicants gathering information in a very new way of doing business and we appreciate that flexibility and their willingness to accommodate applicant needs in that very difficult time. but they were successful and the project has been leased up at 100%. you know, as madam secretary noted, there were 108 inclusionary affordable units offered through the lottery. there were over 6800 applicants for the 408 units and there were 12 certificate of preference

applicants, however it was interesting to note that unfortunately none of them ultimately moved into the project and i wanted to highlight a couple of reasons why that happened. four of the applicants ended up withdrawing from the process due to a variety of reasons, seeking housing in a different type of housing or having a change in their household composition that they weren't interested in moving at that time. six of the applicants of the applicants were over income. they were offered at 50% of median area income. two of the six had incomes that were more in line with moderate income housing and the other four were just over the 50% and so would be in line for other opportunities that might be at the 60% a mi level. ocii and staff are aware of this and tracking these cop preference holders and so we'll make sure to inform them of

other units that may come on line to meet their income needs. one applicant was under income and unfortunately there was no rental subsidy available to assist them and one other applicant never responded to inquiries. that's been a topic of conversation around certificate of preference, efforts we're doing and oci staff are being very diligent in following up and trying to understand what is leading to people applying, moving in, etc cetera. we'll continue to monitor that and report back to you. they're here as well if you have questions about this. i also wanted to note that eight of the units were -- went to those under the displaced tenant housing preference and 43 under the neighborhood housing preference. so far we have heard great feedback from the residents

enjoying their new housing and that concludes my report. but again, we have staff here if you have questions. thank you. >> great. thank you. madam secretary, do we have speaker cards for the item? >> at this time, members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this item should call 415-655-0001. interact session 187 828 5624. press the pound sign and then the pound sign again and then press star 3 once on the call to submit your request. if you are already on the phone with us and would like to provide public comment, press star 3 to raise your hand and provide a public comment. we'll give them a few moments.

mr. chair, it doesn't look like we have members of the public wishing to comment on this item. >> okay. no requests to speak on this item. i will close public comment. madam secretary, please call the next item. >> the next order of business is item 9 commissioners questions and matters. mr. chair. >> commissioners, are there any questions or matters that you would like to bring up at this time? seeing none -- madam secretary, please call the next item. >> thank you. the next order of business is item 10, closed session. item 10a conference with legal council anticipated litigation, initiation of paragraph 4 of the california government code. one case. mr. chair. >> madam secretary, do we have

speaker cards for this item? >> again members of the public who wish to provide public comment should call 415-655-0001. interact session 187 828 5624. press the pound sign and pound sign again and then star 3. if you're on the phone with us or online, press star 3 to submit your request to speak. we'll allow a few moments again. mr. chair it doesn't look like we have members of the public wish together comment on the item. >> seeing no request, i will close public comment. we're now going to go into closed session. i would like to ask fellow commissioners and participating

staff members to log on to the separate link e-mailed to you. we will return to this session once it is concluded. thank you.

>> we are ready to go. i will go ahead and get started. thank you. we are back. the closed session has concluded and there is nothing to report. mr. chair, the next order of business is item 11, adjournment. >> thank you secretary. my fellow commissioners, it has been a long meeting -- (laughing) if i could have a motion to adjourn our meeting and a second. >> i move -- >> we can be adjourned. >> already commissioner scott moves it. commissioner brackett is that you seconding? >> i will second the motion. >> thank you commissioners. we have a first motion and seconded. so our meeting is adjourned at

1:45 p.m. thank you all. >> there's a new holiday shopping tradition, and shop and dine in the 49 is inviting everyone to join and buy black friday. now more than ever, ever dollar that you spend locally supports small businesses and helps entrepreneurs and the community to thrive. this holiday season and year-round, make your dollar matter and buy black.

>> the hon. london breed: i'm glad to be joined today by our state senator scott wiener, your district 8 supervisor, raphael mandelman, district 11 supervisor, ahsha safai, your new city administrator, carmen chu, and so many other people who are dedicated to making

things happen. now all of you know, from the beginning, i want to cut bureaucracy. i want to cut red tape across san francisco. i want us to be vibrant, i was us to be great. but this pandemic hit, and it changed our lives like nothing could have ever anticipated. as a result, we had to make changes. we had to distance ourselves from one another, when our natural instinct, when we see someone that we know, we want to give them a hug, and our city's favorite restaurants shutdown. as we began to see our numbers increase, we started doing things outdoor because it was safer for each and every one of

us. one of the other great adjustments we made was our shared spaces program. one of the things that senator scott wiener did when he was supervisor was created the parklet program. we stole his idea of parklets, and we turned it into shared spaces. and all of a sudden, people are looking around san francisco, and seeing we have parklets everywhere. we have safe spaced where people can come and congregate. the reason we were able to get these programs up and runs was

because we declared a state of emergency. so a lot of the things we would have had to have done in the past, we basically got all of that and pivoted and did what we had to do. you know what this emergency showed me, as hard as it was? that this city knows how to act quickly. when we remove the barriers for small businesses, we can make magical things happen. we can do incredible things, and i am determined to make sure that these shared spaces that we all know and love stay here in san francisco, even when this pandemic is over, and that's why we're here today. [applause] >> the hon. london breed: so what i'd prefer to do is to just say oh, just leave them be. let's not do the process that

makes them more complicated than they have to be. but unfortunately, this is the city and county of san francisco, and there has to be. there has to be a system and process in place so that not only can we make sure these shared spaces continue, we want to make sure that other businesses who have an interest in having a shared space can continue to do so after the pandemic. we've made it easy, but we want to continue to make it easy. thanks to the voters, last november, we passed proposition h, and i think i told you all about the story about a nail salon that was struggling and had to pivot. normally, it would take months to get a permit, but in one day, they were able to make a change to pivot to be able to

continue to support themselves and their family. the same thing is true for this shared spaces program. we've got to make it easier for businesses to open in san francisco. it shouldn't take two years to open an ice cream bar. it shouldn't take two years to open a drugstore or amenities that so many of us rely on. we have so many small businesses in our city, and the only way we're going to make it is by making the hard decisions around the shared spaces programs so that they can conduct business, we can get people back to work and get our economy going again because san francisco needs this. we need this now, we'll need this in the future, and i'm super excited that we're able to make this program, which i think has been a huge success

and one of the best things to come out of this pandemic, we've made this permanent. so with that, i want to take this opportunity to introduce state senator scott wiener, who is working on a number of pieces of legislation. he's always on top of things. not just because he's so tall, that he's on top of us, but he's making sure that we have the right legislation from the state to deal with all of the challenges that we deal with in san francisco. so, ladies and gentlemen, state senator scott wiener. [applause] >> thank you, madam mayor, and first of all, i want to thank the mayor for her tremendous leadership throughout this pandemic. san francisco, under mayor breed's leadership, acted quickly and decisively, and as

a result, many lives were saved in san francisco, so thank you, madam chair, for your incredible leadership. [applause] >> and also, madam mayor, for your leadership not just through these last few years, but also during the pandemic because we know we have to be intentional in terms of what comes out of this pandemic. if there's a business that you support, we need to make sure that it's still here when it's over. the shared spaces program has been an absolute lifeline. the number of restaurants and bars that would not be here, would not be here today if it weren't for this program, is significant. we've seen far too many of our restaurants and bars

dramatically, but it would have been significantly higher without this program. it's been a problem to hold on for dear life and survive until this pandemic is over. we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's getting here faster and faster as the vaccines roll out faster and faster. but the other piece of this program that's been so amazing, with very little fighting, we were able to, and the city was able to show people what's possible because if you imagine prepandemic, we had said, we want to do all of this -- we want to let restaurants and bars put out these parklets to serve -- it would have been typical san francisco politics and fighting, and when people would have thought of something, it would have been

the worst possible things that can happen. but all of a sudden, people love it, and they want it to remove. i talk to people who said, i never, ever would have supported this had it been proposed prepandemic, but now, i want it to stay. it's amazing what people have learned what is possible. and we need to make sure that , as we come out of the pandemic, we don't just revert back to the old ways. it's very easy to slide back into the old ways, and we need to make sure that the good things that we piloted during the pandemic, we don't slide back into. we don't want to use streets for just cars. we know that streets can be used for a lot of thing. we don't want to fallback into

the same bad thing that drinking and dining can only be inside. i'm introducing legislation, senate bill 314, to make these things permanent. we know how they've operated, and they should be able to stay, and we also have some other parts of that bill just to make it easier for bars in particular to share space and to be able to have that efficiency, to be able to have live music venues, and just ways to support our hospitality sector. so i'm really excited about what's going to happen during this pandemic, and again, thank you, madam mayor, for your leadership. [applause] >> so this is my neighborhood. i live 1.5 blocks from here and have for about 23 years. it was such an honor to

represent this community on the board of supervisors, but i'm very proud that my successor on the board of supervisors, my supervisor, is doing an amazing job, so rafael mandelman. [applause] >> supervisor mandelman: this is such a beautiful day and such an exciting announcement, and of course, i want to start by thanking the previous speaker, senator wiener, for his foresight and working with the program and andres, when he was back in your office locally, for recognizing the changes in state law that need -- that was needed for the parklets to continue. the parklets as we know them

can only survive with a little bit of an assist from the state, and we're very grateful for that. of course, i want to thank the mayor, as well. as i was -- exactly. as i was walking down here, one of my constituents stopped me and said to thank the mayor for saving his life, which got me a little reclempt. he said he had lung breathing issues, and he needed medication to be alive, and he was because of the strong action we took at the start. if you recall, a year ago march, all of us were terrified, and we had no idea

what san francisco would look like in a year, and how many people we would have lost. we have lost too many people, but we have saved many people because of the actions of the mayor and the department of public health as i am grateful for the support of the mayor for things like proposition h and your dedication of getting rid of regulations that are unnecessary and impede economic development and thriving neighborhoods, and particularly for your dedication to this neighborhood, the castro. the mayor spends a fair amount of time here. she's got her eye on what's going on, and when we make progress in this neighborhood, it's as a result of the mayor actually making phone calls to make things happen, so thank you, mayor, for that. my first notion of the shared spaces program was about a year

ago. i got a call from lori from the golden gate restaurant association. lori and i were worried about what the future would look like in terms of lives lost, but also what the future would look like in terms of entrepreneurs and businesses crushed, and what would be a challenging time. lori had seen other communities around the world, confronted with the same problems, were looking at how they could more effectively use sidewalks, spaces, and streets; could we allow businesses to get out in the right-of-way and meet in space outdoors and continue to meet the needs of the community and meet the economic needs of employers and employees. it was not easy. there are a lot of unsung heroes in all of this. one of the most -- she's not the most unsung, but she's one of the most heroic is our city

administrator, carmen chu. one of the things that she really helped move forward was this shared spaces program. we were on different calls with different department heads. here we are. m.t.a. is pretty important in all of this, and what would have to happen to roll this program out, to meet the concern of neighbors and of businesses who might be negatively impacted by it, and to make this work. and so thank you, thank you, thank you, carmen chu, as well as to other folks like joaquin torres, our new

assessor-recorder, and planning commission staff. another unsung hero is robin abad at the planning department, and robin is here somewhere. robin had to be extraordinary, you know, show creativity and a tireless work ethic over the last year to make this work. and then, working with andres power, in the mayor's office, who remember, had been with scott back in the original version of the parklets program. i'm a big fan, and i want to thank all the people who got us to this day and to have a framework to make this program permanent. i'm proud to sponsor this legislation. i think we're starting a conversation at the board of supervisors, and i'm hoping that it will be one that realize that we're not alone, that we want this program to

continue. here in the castro, you know, manny yekutiel, who is not here, but is who the new m.t.a. commissioner from the mayor, had done a lot to set up our shared spaces from 18 and mission, and andrea ajello and andrea nieman from noe valley and the castro had been instrumental in getting this done. and now, i'm going to introduce my colleague, another big fan of shared spaces, ahsha safai. [applause] >> supervisor safai: all right. well, this is a special day for san francisco. i want to thank our mayor, i want to thank senator scott wiener, my colleague,

supervisor mandelman, but let me underscore something. 1700 permits have been issued for shared spaces in this short amount of time. just look at this street alone. look how many additional shared spaces have been added just to this one street. this program, this initiative, is transforming san francisco. you can't often say that an initiative or a new program is transforming the land add of our city, but we often have to take a step back and say why. why was this crisis or this pandemic has forced us to take a step back and look at how we utilize public space? why is it that so many layers of public bureaucracy exist that stops businesses from wanting to do some of their

core functions? in a lot of other cities around the world, this is a natural part of the city's landscape. but in san francisco, what's part of our landscape are barriers for expansion and supporting small businesses, so i really want to thank the mayor for taking the initiative very early on, listening to the small business commission, listening to the small business networks that are out there, like the council of district merchants, listening to the golden gate restaurant association. these businesses are predominantly family run mom-and-pop shops that have put their entire family savings on the line, and if not for some of the programs that we've let onto provide grants and supports and lifelines, many of these businesses would be gone, and these businesses are what

make san francisco special. people come from all over the world to the castro. they want to experience the castro. they want to experience the businesses that are here. they want to experience the businesses all over our city because they're unique. so this is an extension of our ability to ensure that we're taking a negative, that we're taking one of the most unintended consequences, something that never would been able to happen -- and when i say never, this never would have been able to happen if not for this crisis. so we're turning it on its head, just like prop h. i was very proud, when i first became supervisor. we removed, we started a pilot for helping businesses and neighborhood notifications, and

the mayor took that citywide, and that was prop h. there's people that are going to say, are they accessible to the disability community? is this something that's going to be open to the public? but i really want to credit the mayor and her team, andres, robin abbad, all the folks from the small business community that have given their input, we're going to have parklets, we're going to have commercial space, we're going to have hybrids of in between, and the on going costs will be manageable, and this will be something that will help the city continue to thrive and grow. so i'm happy to lead the initiative with my colleagues, rafael and others at the board. thank you, mayor, for giving us this. thank you, senator, for giving us this at the state level, and

of course, thank you, for our city administrator, carmen chu, for initiating this process. >> the hon. london breed: and i want to introduce solage and maurice of the mission. thank you so much for joining us today. [applause] >> good afternoon. mayor breed, senator wiener, supervisor mandelman, supervisor safai, and director abad, thank you for choosing the castro for your press conference. we want to thank you for your leadership in acting swiftly and decisively in creating the shared spaces program. this program allows restaurants and bars to team up which gave us a fighting chance to survive this pandemic. because of your vision and dedication in seeing this

through, here we are exactly one year later. this june, it'll be 50 years that the covant castro have been family owned. maurice and i have been part of the castro for over 30 years. our family has endured an epidemic that has taken too many people too young. people have been with us, supporting us through good times and bad, and we want to thank them for being part of our family. thank you, and thank you all. [applause] >> i just wanted to add a couple of words, thank the team at 440 castro for teaming with us and helping us survive this very difficult moment. thank you.

>> the hon. london breed: thank you so much, and i just want to acknowledge the president of the small business commission, sharky laguana. thank you so much for being here, and thank you for the chair of the castro business commission, massoud. it does take a village to do anything so incredible and significant, and we are so grateful and excited about the future of san francisco. we are still in a pandemic. we still need to do our part. wear our mask, socially distance, and be as responsible as we can. today, over 200,000 san franciscans have received at least their first dose of the vaccine. 68% of those over the age of 65 have been vaccinated in this city, and 25% of those over the age of 16 have been vaccinated.

i'm really proud of the work we're doing in this city. i see our covid rate going down, i see our case rate going down. i see people smiling in the city. i know this has been a hard year for us. the thing is, we've been through challenging situations in the past. many of us were here during the 89 earthquake. i was in high school at galileo high school where devastation in that neighborhood and the marina was significant. i was here during the aids crisis where the city was almost left on its own to deal with the challenge. the reason why san francisco has gotten through this pandemic has everything to do with the challenges we've been through in the past and how

resilient our city is as we move towards the future. if it can't be done in san francisco, it probably can't be done anywhere. we are the second densest city in the country, and we have the lowest infection rate and the lowest death rate of any major city because -- [applause] >> the hon. london breed: -- because when it matters, we know how to roll up our sleeves and get it done. we know we're almost at that orange tier. we expect to be there, based on what we see. with our numbers, we expect to be there on march 24. we want to get to yellow. we want to get to that point, but we don't want to get complacent. we don't want to get too comfortable, because we want to get out of this safely. we want to get out of this intact. we want to get people back to work. we want to keep the small businesses that are still open, we want to make sure they

thrive. we want to uplift and protect our young ones and loved ones. we want to get our kids back in school, and this program, let me tell you something, it brings life and vibrancy and excitement to san francisco, and that gives me hope for a better future. thank you all so much for being here, and thank you all for staying so strong through this past year through this pandemic. [applause]

>> san francisco parks, golden gate park transforms into one of the greatest music festivals of all time, let's journey, inside, outside land. ♪♪

>> to this, our 6th year doing the outside lands and our relationship with san francisco, rec and park. and we work very closely with them in the planning and working very closely with the neighborhood organizations and with the city supervisors and with the city organizations and with the local police department, and i think that the outside lands is one of the unique festivals in the world and we have san francisco and we have golden gate park and we have the greatest oasis, in the world. and it has the people hiking up hills and down hills and a lot of people between stages. >> i love that it is all outside, the fresh air is great. >> they have the providers out here that are 72 local restaurants out here.

>> celebrating, and that is really hot. >> 36 local winerries in northern california and 16 brewers out here. >> and you have seen a lot of people out here having a good time and we have no idea, how much work and planning has gone into this to make it the most sustainable festival in the united states. >> and literally, in the force, and yeah, unlike any other concept. and come and follow, and the field make-up the blueprint of the outside land here in golden gate park and in the future events and please visit sffresh parks.org.

. >> president yee: of the 26 neighborhoods we have in west portal, it's probably the most unique in terms of a small little town. you can walk around here, and it feels different from the rest of san francisco. people know each other. they shop here, they drink wine here. what makes it different is not only the people that live here, but the businesses, and without

all these establishments, you wouldn't know one neighborhood from the other. el toreador is a unique restaurant. it's my favorite restaurant in san francisco, but when you look around, there's nowhere else that you'll see decorations like this, and it makes you feel like you're in a different world, which is very symbolic of west portal itself. >> well, the restaurant has been here since 1957, so we're going on 63 years in the neighborhood. my family came into it in 1987, with me coming in in 1988. >> my husband was a designer, and he knew a lot about art, and he loved color, so that's what inspired him to do the

decorations. the few times we went to mexico, we tried to get as many things as we can, and we'd bring it in. even though we don't have no space, we try to make more space for everything else. >> president yee: juan of the reasons we came up with the legacy business concept, man eel businesses were closing down for a variety of reasons. it was a reaction to trying to keep our older businesses continuing in the city, and i think we've had some success, and i think this restaurant itself is probably proof that it works. >> having the legacy business experience has helped us a lot, too because it makes it good for us because we have been in

business so long and stayed here so long. >> we get to know people by name, and they bring their children, so we get to know them, also. it's a great experience to get to know them. supervisor yee comes to eat at the restaurant, so he's a wonderful customer, and he's very loyal to us. >> president yee: my favorite dish is the chile rellenos. i almost never from the same things. my owner's son comes out, you want the same thing again? >> well, we are known for our mole, and we do three different types of mole. in the beginning, i wasn't too familiar with the whole legacy program, but san francisco, being committed to preserve a

lot of the old-time businesses, it's important to preserve a lot of the old time flavor of these neighborhoods, and in that capacity, it was great to be recognized by the city and county of san francisco. >> i've been here 40 years, and i hope it will be another 40 years. >> today's special guest is sherisse dorsey smith. she's the director of program grants for the department of children, youth, and families, and she's here to talk about the learning grants, and she's

the project lead. miss dorsey smith, well come to the show. >> thank you, chris, for having me. >> can we talk about the learning hubs in general. what it is, who it's designed for, and why it's so important during this pandemic. >> yes, definitely. so the community hub initiative was created to offer support for distance learning. we wanted to ensure that young people, their basic nutrition needs were met, that they had access to wifi and digital devices, and they were able to engage with their peers in a safe environment. the community hub initiative or c.h.i., as we like to refer to it, supports our most vulnerable youth. our priority population was to focus on youth that lived in public housing, youth in s.r.o.s or in foster care or

homeless, and maria su, our director, likes to say to give kids the golden key, but to focus on our african american, pacific islander, latino, and people of color. it's the ones after receiving data on early in the process were identified as the ones needing the most support. a lot of our students, after we went to shelter in place in spring, in march, by summertime, so many were suffering academically, but they were also suffering from a lack of social interaction and their social and mental support. so we wanted to make sure when we developed these hubs, we offered those needs and supports to the youth. >> how successful have the community hubs been? how many have opened and how many students have been helped?

i'm sure there were some challenges, too. issues such as staffing come to mind. >> well, we've been able to open 80 hubs across the city, ranging from one pod, which is about 12 kids, to five pods, which is there's up to 15 kids in a pod, there's 70 kids at a site. we've served about 7,000 kids, but there's been some challenges. it hasn't been all smooth sailing. right off the bat, we had a huge hurdle that we had to overcome. we knew that there would be a higher demand than we were able to supply, and we needed to figure out a way to meet it as much as possible. so initially, can he designed the hub -- we designed the hubs to serve up to 20 kids in a pod with two adults.

but then, here comes the state of california who had much more conservative health and safety ordinance than even what we have locally because typically, d.p.h., our san francisco department of public health was a lot more conservative than the state. they came in and said okay, no more than 12 to 14 youth in a pod, maximum of two adults. so those staffings, and c.b.o.s having to meet the capacity was a constraint. it's a challenge, it's been rough, but it's been so fulfilling to see the smiles on the faces of our youth, seeing that the staff say we had to make this work no matter what. we were still able to launch successfully in september with,

like, opening 42 hubs to start but now, like, we're at 80, and it's hopefully still increasing. i'm bringing on a couple more in a few weeks. >> that's great. now you just mentioned c.b.o.s, community-based organizations, and i understand that the city is partnering with nonprofits and c.b.o.s. do they provide space? how does it work? >> in partnership with rec and parks and the libraries, and that's where we get a lot of c.b.o.s brick and mortar spaces. we provide the staffing. we have rec and park who are standing up hubs. we have lifeguards and other folks coming in, transition to being able to provide this all day support and care, which is similar to what they do in the summer. they're the ones who, you know,

have been able to step in and really stabilize a lot of young people and support families. they bring in -- or they have access to, you know, mental health and behavior services. they bring in their enrichment activities. they bring in just the sense of family and community, which a lot of our youth and families definitely appreciate, so we're in constant communication with each other, we're in constant communication with our city partners, the department of technology has been superstars in this whole hub initiative. they've gone out and done all the tech assessments on all these sites in addition to our comcast partners. everyone has been phenomenal. i've been in government for 13 years now, and to see how everyone was able to come together, the red tape was gone, all the barriers that we typically have just working in government, that all just,

like, went away, and everyone was so focused on making sure that this could be successful, that it just turned out to a beautiful thing. and i think that opened up the door for even stronger partnerships and alignment even beyond this pandemic, so i'm super appreciative of everyone who's been involved in this project. >> finally, how long do you think the hubs will be operating? i know the session ended in february and a new one's already begun, but do you think they will be expanded during the summer to help kids who had trouble with distance learning during the pandemic? >> yes. i anticipate the learning hubs operating through the summer and even into the fall. they're on going, so even as the school district works to reopen, there's going to be a place for hubs for a while. i think this is a -- an opportunity or a model to change the way we view education and how we educate or

kids, and so i definitely see the hubs being a part for a long-term. hopefully not ten years from now, but definitely in the next 18 months, the hubs will be up and running and thriving. >> fantastic. you know, the work you and your team have done on this project has been phenomenal. i want to thank you for coming on the show today. this has been really informative, miss dorsey smith. thank you for your time. >> thank you so much for having me. >> for more on the learning hubs, visit dcyf.org or dial 311 and speak to an operator. and that's it for this show. we'll be watching with more covid related information shortly. you've been watching coping with covid-19. for sfgovtv, i'm chris manners. thanks for watching. [♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

listen, your story line, it makes for incredible tv drama. thing is, your drug use is too adult for the kids, so i'm going to have to block you. oh, man. yeah. [inhales] well, have a good one. you're a nice lady.

>> good afternoon. this meeting will come to order. welcome to the mar22, 2021 meeting of the land use committee of the san francisco board of supervisors. i am joined by dean preston and aaron peskin. i am myrna melgar. do you have any announcements? >> yes, due to the covid-19 health emergency and to protect board members city employees, the committee room are closed. members will participate remotely. this is taken pursuant to statewide stay-at-home order and all local state and local directives. committee members will attend through video and participate as

if they are physically present. public comment will be available on each item on the agenda. channel 26, 78 or 99. we are streaming the number on the screen. each speaker is allowed two minutes to speak. opportunities to speak are via by calling 415-655-0001. the meeting id is (187)859-1223. then pound and pound again. when kecked you will hear the discussions -- when connected you will hear the discussion but in listening mode only. dial star 3 to be added to the

speaker line. call from a quite el location, speak slowly and turndown your television or radio. alternatively you may submit public comment by e-mailing the land use and transportation clerk. if you submit public comment via e-mail it will be forwarded to the haves and made part of the file. comments may be sent to city hall. finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the board of supervisors agenda of april 6 medicals otherwise stated. madam chair. >> thank you very much.

will you please call items one and two together. >> yes, item 1. resolution extending zoning controls for six months and findings for proposed change from residential care facility and affirming appropriate findings. 2. hearing to receive six month report on interim zoning controls for removal of residential care facilities. call 415-655-0001. if id (187)859-1223. press pound pound. if you have not done so already. dial star 3 to line up to speak for these items. the system prompt will indicate you have raised your hand. madam chair.

>> supervisor mandelman: we are joined by jacob to share remarks. welcome. >> thank you, their melgar. good afternoon supervisors. supervisor mandelman was not able to join you today. the items before you today are resolution to extend existing zoning rolls that require a conditional use for proposed change of use away from residential care facility to other use and required hearing on the planning department report for those controls. with respect to the controls supervisor mandelman original originallyproposed these in reso the long-term care crisis in the report from the city long-term care coordinating council assisting living working group.

that report documented the alarming rate at which we are losing these facilities. as of 2018, san francisco had 43 fewer than in 2012 t.242 critically living builds were lost in those six years. the trend has continued since then with an additional loss of 11 facilities including 226 beds in the two years since that report was issued. the intent of these controls is to discourage the further closure and conversion of facilities and slow loss and and dress the challenge. when the supervisor put forward the 18 month controls we did not participate the covid pandemic to divert attention and resources from efforts including this one. today's resolution would extend

by additional six months to the 24 month period for an entire rim control as we consider making the conditional use permanent and also look at responses that may go beyond land use controls. operating subsidies or identifying ways to match existing operators with interested buyer that may revisit the city policies on looking for acquisition as well. these conversations are underway and we look forward to discussing those solutions that may be available to us with you all in the coming months. on the controls themselves i want to note that it is important to know we are only just beginning to see the first projects come through to the planning commission that triggered the conditional use requirement. first one was heard this month. another one in april. we feel like it is useful to

keep the controls in place to look at how the projects turn-out as we consider permanent planning code requirements. we understand there are other projects in the pipeline or out there being considered for conversion. those are all the more reason to keep the additional scrutiny that comes with these controls. as you will recall i was here last week. that was to request a continuance on this item. the reason was we needed time to prepare amendments necessary to properly reference modifications to these controls that had been made in december 2019. they were omitted in the extension resolution before you today. i have circulated the amendments to you all and to your staff. let me just briefly summarize for your consideration. first, there is amendment to the long title of the resolution as

well as to the finding on page 2 line 24-inch concluding reference to resolution 539-19 which was that resolution that modified the original controls in december 2019. second set of amendments is non substantive changes to rear to another refer to zoning districts called out in the monitoring report and incorporated in the findings page 3, lines 22-25. the amendments to clarify the resolution today is extending and modifying the original controls. the extension retaining language of the original resolution from october 2019 rather than the language that had been added subsequently in resolution 53919. this is achieved with proposed amendment to the resolved clause which would read resolved that

this interim controls imposed by resolution 430-19 and modified by 539-19 are here by extended and modified to revert to the controls by resolution 430-19 and shall remain in effect until october 11, 2021. supervisors for the record the operative control extended by this resolution is the language you find in the following resolve clause on page 5 line 21-23. that language reads as drafted. further resolved any proposed change of use from residential care facility as defined in 102 and 890.50e of the planning code shall require conditional use authorization while the controls are in effect. that remains the language for clarity. supervisors while these will have the effect of continuing

the controls they do not carry the language from the modifying resolution. we are no longer requesting this as committee report but do appreciate your consideration and ask that you consider moving these amends forward so the resolution can be considered for recommendation at the april 5th meeting after recess and so that the controls can be extended prior to their current expiration date april 11 of this year. chair, melgar, we have susie smith of the deputy director of policy and planning at hsa available to provide background on the loss of facilities and answer any questions. aaron starr of the planning department is here for item 2, required report on the controls. with that thank you so much. i am available for any questions. thank you. >> thank you so much. we do have susie smith here from

the human services agency who i believe is prepared to make a brief presentation. ms. smith, welcome. >> good afternoon, supervisors. thank you for having me today. jacob asked me to provide context to the 2019 report and update the data to share with you. are you going to share the pdf? thank you so much. i am deputy director for policy and planning at the human services agency. we developed a report in 2019 that provided context. in the next slide is the name of the report supporting affordable assisted living in san francisco. next slide we talk about the background for the initiation of

this report which was the long-term care coordinating council which many of you know is advisory to the mayor on planning and delivery to look at the integrated and acceptable long-term care delivery. this particular study was sponsors by those needing assisted living were not able to access it. it has an impact on low income residents. the next slide we just share is the findings between what is known and the documents and data. we see a steady decline in assisted living across the residential care facilities for the elderly as well as the adult residential facilities and the impact is particularly with smaller boarding care homes and

those adult residents. >> are we missing ms. smith? >> for example -- >> susie, maybe if you turnoff your camera. you are cutting in and out. >> i am sorry. can you hear me? >> yes, we can. >> i must we having internet issues. decline in both residential care facilities for elderly as well as adult residential facilities. since 2012 the city has seen 9% decline in assisted living beds. we have seen 5% decline in

rcfds, 22% decline in the adult residential facilities. this is being driven primarily by small facilities which have been more affordable for low income residents and community members. since 2012 we have seen a staggering 40% decrease in number of beds available in small board and care homes. then on the next slide shows the information about the residential care facilities for the elderly. looking across the facilities and beds. here we see between 2012 and 2018, san francisco lost 21rcfes which represents 26% decline in number of facilities.

most of this was in the smaller homes. the bed capacity has decline add much as 5%. impact is disproportional. on the next slide we look at adult residential facilities which have been more pronounced trend. we had 22 fewer arps since 2018 than we did in 2012. most of these are small facilities. out of the 42 licensed arp, 27 were actually board and care homes with six or fewer residents. we are talking about very small facilities more home like and more appropriate for certain members of our community. for this hearing, supervisor mandelman's office asked to update trends since 2019 study. we provide that data on the next

slide. we have about 2300 beds in the residential care facilities for the elderly. we have about 440 beds for adults under 60. we see the change since the last report. we have seen some losses pan some gains. facilities lost driven by board and care home closures. we had five of these smaller facilities compared to 2018 report. most closures predate this zoning policy. closures occurred prior to october 2019, four. two closures on the mission and two in sunset and one in inc. el

side. there is expansion of larger facilities over 100 beds. this is mainly due to opening of the new frank resident memory care at sf campus for jewish living and launch of the gardens at the home. switching to the arp. we have seen a net loss of four arp and 40arp beds since 2018. this is driven by the closure of four boarding care homes operated by one company. the closure of aurora residential care homes which is a series of four universities in the excelsior area. the losses were offset by one

board and care opening. then we saw the closure of a larger 24 bed facility in the mission which closed in august 2008. the larger policy issues with the ability to actually financially make these facilities viability is getting increasingly difficult as property values increased and costs to run the facilities increased. we can't spread the staffing costs out accordingly. i am happy to talk about the solutions beyond zoning if that is of interest and answer questions for the committee. thank you for the opportunity to share the updated data. >> thank you, susie. if there are no questions for ms. smith or my colleagues. supervisor preston, go ahead.

>> sorry i was muted. i want to ask ms. smith on the demand and the need side. what the trends on? we see the concerning picture with so many beds and facilities lost. i don't be know if we have data on the need. is the need flat, rising or changing in any way we are tracking? >> yeah, we are seeing the demand has not flattened. it is increasing as the population continues to age. on the prior report we haven't updated numbers on demand. we see in terms of mental health behavioral health beds and it is helpful for homelessness. we are trying to get support as well as older adult population

aging. we haven't seen a decline in the demand. i can provide updated data if interested on that side as well. >> thank you. i don't think from my perspective it is necessary with this zoning. moving forward to look at the bigger policy issues, it would be great to have that as part of the presentation so we know what we are doing with terms of up met demand. i appreciate supervisor mandelman's office work on this crucial issue when the time is right after public comment i would be happy to move the amendments which supervisor mandelman has offered and appreciate your time in walking our office through the fairly technical and complicated interaction between the original resolution and the changes and

now getting this right to paysicly back to the extension of what was the original purposes of this ordinance. this resolution is essential and just appreciate all of the work on it. thank you. >> thank you, supervisor preston. thank you, susie. for last presenter we have mr. aaron starr of the planning department to discuss the interim controls. >> good afternoon, supervisors. aaron starrs, legislative affairs. they were adopted october 1, 2019. they were in effect for 18 months which expires april 11th. it requires conditional use authorizes from residential care to any other use. in addition to standard c.u.

findings they outlined four other findings that we must consider in reviewing this application. those are outline understand the report. when the packet was published there were none. this facility was a residential care facility in what was previously single family home that accommodated about 12 patients. opened in 20,000 and closed april 2019. it was sold to the current owner in -- sorry 2020. the new owners seeked to change from residential care to single family home. staff recommendation to approve conversion. condition on selling two units instead of one since the property is zoned rh-2.

during the hearing the financial feasibility was called into question by commissioners. planning commission voted to approve conversion with only requiring one unit which is what the applicant had wanted. vote was 3-4. this is a split vote not over the conversion over whether or not to require two units per staff recommendation or just one. in addition to this application there is another one pending before the commission. that is located 628 shot well street. this is similar to 801 in that it would convert closed have been care facility to two. it is calendared in planning but continued. there are two other applications to create new residential care facility also. 1535 van dyke and 5500 mission street. they are to increase capacity of

existing residential care facilities. those were at 1301 bacon and 658 shot well. department is aware of three sites to delicense out of residential care and operate as group housing facility. 141ly land, 128 highland street and 220 delores street. they are through the housing and community development and h.i.v. age related care facilities. because of advancements they month longer need medical care required in the early days of the epidemic. that concludes my report. i am available for questions should you have them. thank you. >> colleagues, any questions for mr. star? i have a question. that is about the staff recommendation for the conversion that you just talked

about. i know that this issue of losing beds and facilities is something that we have put in the medical services master plan. we all worry about it. you know we have created this interim control process of coming before the planning commission. it puzzles me as to why the staff recommended this. could you talk about that decision how we weigh the policy of needing to preserve facilities against other uses and things we need like housing. >> yes, it is a difficult one. in this case staff was looking at the fact that the facility had already closed and the believe had already been sold. the interim controls didn't have an impact on the sale or closing of the facility. i think they were just saying

balancing the need for housing and wanted to turn into a housing unit and the fact the residential care facility was long gone at this point. it wasn't coming back. >> i don't mean to give you a hard time. i don't think you were the staff who recommended it. that is exactly what the interim controls were for to give any buyers pause that they have to go through this process if they intend to do something besides the facility. >> yes. i think that when this happens they probably weren't aware of that at the time. one problem is that a lot of people aren't aware the interim controls are there and not part of it and it should be identified by the seller. i am not sure if there is a solution to that. it is also difficult for us if we tint let the conversion go and there was no buyer for it,

it would be sitting empty. it is a difficult decision for the planning department. >> thank you. supervisor peskin. >> madam chair, if i may venture to speculate. i suspect that if you were on the planning commission you would have voted in the disisn't. we just had a case at 424 francisco street, very old. the board voted unanimously granted it wasn't about residential care but it was about a history. the idea that the successor interest is lost of all sins -- washed of all sins of the previous owner does not meet the policy goals supervisor mandelman and we are trying to advance.

no disrespect to staff or the planning department in this recommendation or the 4-3 vote by the commission, but ultimately this is a policy of the lawmakers and c.u.s are appealable to this board of supervisors. sorry for speculating, madam chair, as to how you might have voted. >> thank you, supervisor. okay. if there are no other questions or comments. madam clerk. let's take public comment on this item. >> we are checking for callers. if you have not done so, press star 3 to be added to the queue to speak for items 1 and 2. if you are on hold continue to wait until the system indicates you are unmuted. it looking like we have one person in queue. unmute the first caller, please.

>> hi. thanks everybody. i amnate. with national union of healthcare workers. i am calling to support this item about conditional use for residential care facilities. we represent mental health clinics for the eph contractor and operate an adult residential care facility. 33 bed facility on broderick street. we were recently involved in some negotiations involving their lease, which was renewed recently. i just wanted to add that it is our experience that this policy has created additional protections that helpe