[roll call] >> clerk: and commissioner anderson has an excused absence. this is the recreation and park meeting of september 16th,

2021. please note due to the covid-19 health emergency city employees and the public, the meeting rooms at city hall are closed. we ask listeners to turn down your televisions and/or computers while listening on the phone. we ask for your patience if we appearance any technical issues. public comment will be available for each item on the agenda. each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. public comment is available via phone by calling (415) 655-0001. and the access code today is 24950826818. when you hear the agenda item you would like to comment on call, dial star three to be added to the queue to speak. you'll be lined up in the system. while you're waiting, the system will be silent. all callers will remain on mute

until their line is open. everyone must account for the time delays and speaking discrepancies between live coverage and streaming. alternatively, you may submit public comment in either of the following ways. by e-mailing recparkcommission@sfgov.org. if you submit public comment via e-mail it will be included in the legislative file as part of the matter. you can send written correspondence to 501 stanyan is it true street, san francisco, california. >> president: thank you. a few items. i did want to acknowledge that lorraine banford is refiring

who is our supervisor of recreation. she led a team of 35 recreation centers to emergency youth care in response to the covid-19 pandemic and i didn't want to overlook simply acknowledging that achievement and i know we'll say more about her at the next meeting. we're also losing tokes gk who has been with the department for ten years in capital and planning and oversaw the improvement of many of the facilities in the department and i know we'll be honoring tokes next month. finally, i want to read an e-mail i received only because i think it's appropriate to sing the praise of the unsung heroes of the department and the e-mail goes like this, hi, i'm not sure if this is the right place to send this but i wanted to send a message in appreciation to a golden gate park ranger. a few weeks ago, i had a crisis in the park on a field trip

with a group of seniors. ranger m. fung came to me in one of my most terrible experiences in my life. i have never lost a resident on a field trip. it happened on august 25th at stole lake. mr. fung was a god send. my resident speaks chinese and i don't. it was such an incredible experience to be assisted by someone who speaks the language. i hope he gets paid for bein bilingual. i lost an old chinese man in golden gate park who didn't speak english and had dementia. it was a super stressful experience for me but mr. fung made it bearable. with all the anti-asian hate crimes going on around in the

country right now i was super anxious and afraid for this vulnerable senior wandering away in a massive park. i just wranted to say he is a phenomenal worker and we appreciate his efforts that day. we found the resident and we all made it back safe to west oakland and i attribute that to mr. fung. so thank you, mr. fung and that concludes my president's report. >> clerk: great. if there's anyone on the line who would like to make public comment to the president's report, you can dial star three to be added to the queue. >> ashley, we have two callers and zero hands raised. >> clerk: okay. seeing no public comment. we are now on item three, general manager's report. >> good morning commissioners. i am standing in. our first item on the general

manager's report is hispanic heritage month. hispaniced off yesterday and runs through october, honors and recognizes the contributions and influences of hispanic americans including their history, culture, and achievements. over the next few weeks, we at rec and park will be highlighting some of our parks and influences from the hispanic community including presida park and the artworking murals that adorn many of our murals and sites. stay tuned for more information on that. our weekly e news and our social media channels. as many of you saw in the news this morning, jury commentry opened earlier this week following a $1.9 million renovation of the quarter acre mission district park that now features a seamless re-design with new planting, grass for dogs, and an adult exercise area with fitness equipment.

in addition to the new top play area, the renovated park included a separate nature expiration area where students can exercise their bodies and imaginations. the area designed to spark creativity is the latest work in the network of natural play spaces developed by the san francisco children in nature collaborative. and, works to ensure access to nature and its benefits to all children in the city. the renovation also payings homage an existing mural which we framed and refurbished. london breed, assembly member david chu in a neighborhood group, the jury commentors were

instrumental. and the san francisco parks alliance transferreded one of our city's most time warn program. thank you for attending the event with us. this saturday the jerry garcia amphitheater in mcclaren park will re-open to improve its pathways, entrances, accessibility, seating, and more. the ren ration also expanded the flat, paved space adjacent to the accessible lot to better support events on site as well as allow for food trucks and other event services. in celebration of these improvements, the san francisco shakespeare program will be performed after our ribbon cutting. so we hope to see you on saturday. also on saturday is coastal

clean up day as volunteers join together to pick up trash from our beaches, parks, and waterways. rec and park volunteer staff is hosting six clean up events. those interested in rolling up their sleeves on satisfy to beautify our parks can find sign ups on our website. and on sunday, you can attend xhed day from noon to 5:00 where 45 splittingly funny comedians with entertain the crowd. if comedy isn't your jam, but reggae is head over to golden

gate park. you'll enjoy free live music concerts on wednesday, fridays, and sundays and some saturdays throughout the year. and all the concerts are free at the newly refurbished. and, one of my personal favorites, flower piano is back. hosted by sunset piano and the san francisco botanical garden society in the botanical garden in golden gate park. this is after five successful years, they did not do the event last year because of the

pandemic. as i said, it is back and flower piano transforms the concert hall where everyone is invited to play. garden mission is free to all san franciscos and families receiving snap or cal fresh benefits. finally, for our last event, sun down cinema continues their season of free movie showings in san francisco parks. with three up coming showings including "the princess diary," "a league of their own," "and e.t." on october 22nd. in partnership with rec and park and for information on

that complete schedule, you can visit sfparksalliance.org. that concludes my report. >> president: thank you. >> clerk: if there's any comment on the general manager's report, you can dial star 3 to be added to the queue to speak. >> three callers and one hand raised. >> clerk: okay. you have two minutes to speak.

>> clerk: okay. seeing no further public comment. public comment is closed. >> president: thank you. very good report. sarah, last month, phil ginsburg talked about the baseball clinics that were going to be held at the freshly renovated baseball diamond in the bay view. and i was out there for the first day. there were about 20 players, about five coaches and there were a number of parents there as well and, number one, that diamond is absolutely gorgeous. and that goes through november the 4th. maniy blackwell has organized

this. he wasn't there tuesday evening, but he does a great job. weed was running the clinic on tuesday night another apprised baseball man. so i just wanted to give a plug for what's going on at gillman and as i said, the numbers will grow as we go forward. >> clerk: thank you, commissioner. okay. we are now on item four, general public comment up to 15 minutes. this item will be continued to item eight. at this time, members of the public may address items that do not appear on the agenda. with respect to the agenda items, you will have an opportunity to address the commission when the item has reached the meeting. you can dial star 3 if you'd like to make public comment on

this item. >> ashley, we have three callers and no hands raised. >> clerk: we are now on item five, the consent calendar. >> president: is there any public comment on the consent calendar? >> clerk: thank you, commissioner. i wasn't sure. if anyone wants to remove anything from the consent calendar. >> is there any public comment on the consent calendar? paul, does anyone have their hands raised? >> 0 hands. >> president: any comments or questions by the commission? seeing none. the chair would entertain a motion to approve the consent calendar. >> so moved. >> president: moved and seconded. all those in favor.

thank you. >> clerk: we are now on item six, the san francisco zoo. >> thank you, this is tonya peterson and i believe i've got a power point, ashley, to show. >>. >> clerk: yeah. he'll pull it up. okay. >> okay. terrific. i'm tonya peterson. director of the san francisco zoo. let me show the first slide or the next slide if i could we have two of these adorable creatures at the zoo. they are in a tree house that was built by the tv show tree house tops and that's tenzing one of the first mountaineers

to climb mount everest. and then my next slide is our investment in laboratory species both pelicans, insects, and others and this month, we've invested quite a bit in the monarch butterflies and one of our gardens, the sensory garden has been planted with hopefully plants that attract the monarch butterfly but also have a bunch of signage and education items to create what we call pocket gardens at home to support the species that is at risk and just one of our iconic species here in california and just a shame to lose those. so hopefully we are hoping everybody can get together to help safe this wonderful butterfly. the next slide. with covid, the pandemic, and other things, we've noticed

that some of our seniors have felt uncomfortable with coming with big groups. so now wednesday mornings our senior members come in for free and alone. so look for those times, those wednesday mornings where seniors can come on their own and enjoy the park earlier than when most of the children are at a family show and we hope this is a safe way for our senior members to enjoy the zoo. the next slide, i just had to show you a picture. it takes a village or a zoo to move one animal and that one animal was bruce bocci, the former coach of the giants and you can see how many people it took to make sure that bruce safely got in that crate. the crate then went to s.f.o. and dhl had a chartered plane

for bruce. and his crate was 5,000 pounds. so you can imagine how heavy that load was for dhl. and then two of our staff, one of our vets and one of our senior curators traveled to cincinnati zoo where he will enjoy their new hippo habitat and the company of two femaleses, one in particular, we're hoping he will meet and breed with and will have little bruces soon. so, thank you everybody for that. have a safe departure. soon, our plan is to include two pigmee hippos. they're critical in zoos and in their native habitat. in madagasgar.

these are two snow leopards that are growing and we have finally finished construction on our snow leopard exhibits calls "expiration snow leopard." we had to quickly increase their habitat when we had twins which is unusual for snow leopards and now we're getting them acclimated to their place and it will soon be open to the public. and that finishes my report. >> thank you very much. >> clerk: is there any public comment on the san francisco zoo report? dial star three to be added to the queue. paul, does anyone have their hand raised? >> we have one hand raised. >> clerk: okay. you'll have two minutes. >> good morning. my name is richard.

i wanted to speak about whether or not the animals that we do have in san francisco, are they going to be vaccinated or do they have to be a vaccination program for zoo animals? there was an article i read online, it had to do with dear population throughout different parts of the united states that would have bands of dears that would be covid-19 infected so then they would be a reservoir of covid-19. so in the event before that kind of event ever would happen at the zoo, i would just like to bring in the possibility zoo animals and on the way to do it. i don't know where to do it and

then i talked about you had to say about pigme hip 0s. >> president: thank you, richard. >> clerk: thank you. paul, is there anyone else on? >> that is the last hand raised. >> public comment is closed. for now. item seven. i'm just going to make a brief announcement about that. the applicant and the appellant will have seven minutes toe present their position. the applicant will present first and then the department. after the presentation, there will be an opportunity for public comment. so if anyone here on the line is here to speak to item seven, you'll be asked to speak after the department.

after the close of public comment, each party will have three minutes for rebuttal. and then the appellant. then the commissioners may ask questions of either party and we'll give the opposing party an opportunity to respond. finally, there will be discussion, deliberation, and a vote. and as a reminder, we only have four commissioners today which is a quorum and so we will need it to be unanimous anyway way we go. if there aren't any questions, then we can move right into the presentation and the first is the appellant. >> good morning. i am paul canelli, a board member with the italian heritage parade committee. i'll be introducing this followed by our president and frank monte will also be speaking. we're here today on behalf of the italian heritage committee. recently, we were denied a

permit to use washington square park for a show to be held in conjunction with the italian heritage day parade which is happening sunday, october 10th. we believe this to be an arbitrary decision and we'd like to appeal that decision. we feel the entire commission should have a chance to hear our issue and then vote on it. the italian day heritage committee has had a 20 plus year history of using the park for the annual car show. in the past, we've been allowed to have 30 to 40 cars on display and as part of that precedent, we have paid approximately $5,500 annually for the park permits. we agree to take steps to prevent any damage to the park. we believe we've been good stewards of the park and in the past, we've met with park gardeners prior to parade weekends to go over routes of the cars and to be sure sprinklers are not damaged

which are flagged. we've never had any damage to the park. so the goal of our appeal today is to give our committee the chance to hear the real concerns of the empower commission about the use of the park. we want to hear what your concerns are so we can address those concerns and work with the commission to take agreeable measures. so, together with the commission, we feel that we can conduct a suitable event for the park while not having any detrimental effect on the park and we also have more recent ideas to lessen our footprint which we'd like the entire commission to hear. we'll also be providing professional opinions of golf superintendents and other landscape professionals regarding the protection of turf and the landscaping. so the proposal includes a plan for a smaller footprint in the park combined with limited

street access adjacent to the park. our goal is to work together with the commission to show case the park with an appropriate celebratory event. which is one of the best days in the park in san francisco. and i'll turn it over to the president of the italian day heritage committee. >> thank you. thank you to ashley for all your help. we're very excited to be one of the first big events in san francisco next month as we exit out of covid and try to get back into a little bit more normal life. this would be 153rd parade that we've done in north beach it has been dubbed the christmas in october in terms of the amount of business and revenue it drives. and we're excited to be able to do this. we've taken steps. normally, we have 30 to 40 cars on each side of the park. the high side of the park near the san francisco athletic club, we've decided to reduce

our footprint to preserve the park which was redone in 2019, so two years ago and we're reducing that footprint of cars down to 12. we talked about how we would bring the cars in on the pavement and only pull them off on the pavement and only extend on the grass in the higher side of the grass. we're reducing the amount of impact on the grass. we've also been given suggestions as putting some sort of firm wood like plywood to mitigate any concerns that the park has. we've talked to people that ran the pga event here in san francisco. we've talked to people at the olympic club. frank, i'm going to hand it over to you to finish this up. >> yes. thank you, bill. and thank you to the commission for allowing us to speak on our behalf. i just wanted to kind of give you an idea of what we've done.

we've listened to the park and rec. we've had conversations with the concerns of trying to keep the park pristine as we possibly can knowing that you've done extensive work on this park a couple of years ago. we have reached out as you see to tim putnan who is the golf superintendent at la quinta. he has extensive experience with cars being parked. i know there's a little bit difference of golf courses. however, in the opinion of both tim, frank rillo sr. who is the technical engineer and the superintendent at the olympic club are also minimal damage to six to seven hours of cars on the grass. we worked with the ferari club to even minimize our exposure on any of the grass. we would come on the concrete

walkway, 90 degrees turned into the grass. the tires will not turn into the grass and putting it on plywood would spread out the load on the grass. 95% of the park is free and clear at this point with twelve cars and that's just an estimate, but we are nowhere near traversing the park. we're staying on a path and going out and giving access to the handicap behind us and still having the exposure in the park and protecting it and listening to what you're saying and i think it's a significant drop of 75% of our cars really being able to be parked in the park but still getting both and being able to protect the park with what we've reached out to our experts. >> clerk: you still have one minute left if anyone else wants to say anything. >> i think we're good. thank you very much for your

time. >> president: thank you very much. >> clerk: okay. now we will go to the department and i have a timer here in case anyone is questioning that and feel free to drop anything in the chat if you need to know how much time you have left. i'll give you a one minute warning, dana. >> don't start until i get my presentation up. >> clerk: yeah. okay. >> can you see the power point now? would you let me know. >> clerk: yes. >> okay. let me just start it as a presentation. and you're actually seeing the side notes too. >> yes. >> okay. give me a second. you don't need that.

okay. i think i have to take you through this painful thing. i think i have to share the app and not my whole screen so let me do that again. teams changed the way they did some of this so it's confusing. >> i can pull it up if you'd like, dana. >> well, then i'd have to ask you to keep moving it. i don't know it's not showing here. can you tell me how i can share it without making it -- >> so i believe if you have it up and you have the where it has both the presenter and the presented view, if you go to the share settings on teams, go down to window and you can

select which powerpoint window you want to share. >> yeah. it's just not showing. i apologize, everybody. it's showing a bunch of other power points, that's why i'm struggling here. paul, why don't you do it and we'll take it from there. >> clerk: paul is doing the public comment. david will do the presentation. >> yeah. sorry. >> clerk: okay. sorry dana, your time's up. no, i'm just kidding.

>> one second, please. screen number. it's not that one. sorry. >> it's more complicated than you think. >> yeah. i did it earlier. >> they changed the way it works on teams. apologies again. >> there we go. >> okay. >> does that look good. >> thank you. good afternoon commissioners. dana kechem and i also have with me deny kern and kelly rednick who both have collaborated with me on this presentation as the experts. so they'll be available to answer some questions. next slide. what we're doing is, as you know, hearing the appeal of the display of the denial of the display for 40 ferari cars. we had just completed a major

renovation. placement of cars on the park's grass will require airation of the ground and due to the heavy use of washington square, closure of that park for six weeks. there are alternatives for cars that don't put them on the grass and washington square is one of the only green spaces in a dense urban area. so we have to weigh a one-day event against a six-week closure of that green space. the 2019 renovation, we talked to address historic turf and drainage issue and conserve water. new soil was imported which was carefully installed in layers so that the water can percolate through it. placing heavy vehicles on it is counter productive. prior to the renovation, the organizers were told that they would not be able to continue to hold the show in the park.

historically, we used to have to close the park anyway due to its condition. the new renovation allows it to stay open. we waved their fee for that last event and they were told this would be the last time. next slide, please. here is some pictures. washington square before and after to give you an idea and the next slide shows a close-up of the differences. next slide. since you're being asked to adjudicate this, i'm giving you a 101 on airation and compaction of soil so you can understand what we're talking about. these pictures show the difference between compacted and noncompacted. compacted soil and water particles can't get through and air can't get through. go to the next slide, please. and this is what happens. water and dog waste accumulates on the surface. dog waste burns the grass. it becomes mud in the winter.

the root structure is week and pour and can't withstand the type of use that washington square has. what causes compaction? weight. so i found this in a document. you can see the cow is kind of like a car where all the weight comes down on a specific spot created compaction. next slide, please. this also shows the type of impact you get from placing vehicles on the grass. next slide. here is a ferari, typically 4,000 pounds. each wheel puts a 1,000 pounds of pressure in one spot. the impact doesn't show up immediately, the car drives away, it looks fine. but damage occurs and impacts over time. next slide, please. how do you mitigate compaction? compaction can only be addressed by aeration. we bring in heavy equipment, it

fractures the soil, pulls it all up. three quarters of an inch wide, this is a little dot and 10" to 12" teen. we have to add topsoil, seeding, and fertilizing. given the heavy use of washington square, we have to close the side for a minimum of six weeks and possibly longer in the winter. next slide. so we have a closed park. next slide. here's a picture of an empty washington square fenced off because it needs to be aerated. next slide. so how do you prevent compaction? yeah. you can put large sheets of plywood down. historically, this organization has not been willing to do that. unfortunately, their 2013 and 2014 contracts required them to do that. if they're willing to put a large sheet of plywood but it

had been rejected in the past. next slide, please. here is the way i went down and met with some of their representatives to kind of look at where could we place cars without putting them on the grass. we were there for over an hour. i'd be there five days before and you can see there are paved areas where just as many cars could be placed in the park without impacting the grass and causing that closure as well as creating somebody called ferari way and we were willing to increase our permit fee. i want to emphasize that washington square is different. other parks still allow cars on the grass. we require plywood under vehicles as they drive in and as they sit for events. we allow vehicles on grass where we can aerate and re-seed without requiring the closure of one of the only open green spaces in an area.

our golf courses are not comparable. they have so little foot traffic. it's possible to re-open more quickly. we have the big park picnic still in golden gate park where there are other green areas from when we close the meadows to rejuvenate. but washington square is the only green space serving a dense community. it is heavily used and the only way to repair it from this aclosure. and, since renovation, we haven't let our own vehicles on it. next slide, please. this has not been an easy decision by staff. we have been put under a lot of pressure, but staff believes that the correct decision is for the organizers to find alternative nearby locations for the cars on this day on pavement. and that the commission should not decide to allow this one-day event to require the park to be closed limiting access to the only green space adjacent to chinatown, north

beach, and other downtown neighborhoods. thank you. >> clerk: okay. thank you, dana. so now we will have time for public comment. so if there's anyone on the line who would like to comment on item seven, the washington square park permit appeal, you'll need to dial star three to be added to the queue. >> ashley, we have eight people on the line and it looks like people pressed star three again. so three hands raised currently. >> clerk: okay. so each speaker will have two minutes. first speaker. z. >> is it okay for me to speak. >> president: please do.

>> we've be doing this for 153 years. i've never seen it closed for six weeks. as she said, if we will put plywood down. we will agree to that and put the cars on the plywood as she just said would alleviate that pressure. in 2000, 2004, i attended the park that had a show as she also said that the jimmy's old car picnic was on speedway meadows and i recently attended the u.s. women's open and they put cars on the lawn for over four or five days, so there was no problem there and i see helicopters land in the marina for the fleet week. i think with our plan and i think with what dana said that it would be advantageous for all of us, we put the plywood down and we put the cars on top

of the plywood and that mitigates it. so hopefully, we can come to an agreement that if we do it that way, the way she just said that there wouldn't be any problem with the park. thank you. >> president: thank you very much. >> clerk: next speaker. >> hi. good morning. my name is richard armenino. i'm a long time supporter of the italian committee. i do realize that the park was recently renovated, but i struggle with the city spending that kind of money without considering the accommodations of all park activities which i've included the ferari show for the last 20 years. also to take place on a golf course and the i would

appreciate any reconsideration of this and i appreciate the time and support that you're giving this cause beside those attending the parade, this is also an attraction for car enthusiasts and car clubs. i do know they come from san jose, pleasanton and stockton. thank you for your time. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker. paul, i think maybe that person either was a mistake or they're not there so if there's anyone else on the line who would like

to provide public comment, you can dial star three to be added to the queue. does anyone else have their hand raised? >> yeah. the same person is still unmuted. maybe they need to unmute their phone for us to hear them. >> hello. >> president: hello. >> hello. >> clerk: you're on. >> is this the public comment? >> president: yes it is. please proceed. >> this is ken mayly with friends of washington square, long time member and 50-year resident of north beach. friends of washington square and other neighborhood organizations have worked very hard to bring this renovation to the park and we definitely do not agree or support putting the cars on the lawn with or without plywood. i really think it's a danger to the park and the infrastructure

that we worked so hard to put in place to make the park more usable. i do appreciate the commission looking at this and considering this issue, but we really cannot support adding all these cars on the lawn. it just isn't really fair to a neighborhood that works so hard to preserve the square and then to have the risk of gaj to this infrastructure and the closing of the park. >> president: thank you. >> clerk: paul, does anyone else have their hand raised? >> so now the department has three minutes for rebuttal. >> okay. can we pop my slides back up,

david. >> okay. >> and just go to the next slide. so we found this first new compromise, unfortunately, when we met on site with the applicants, they didn't propose this idea. we saw for the first time yesterday morning based on what we saw in the proposal, we believe it should be denied. it still places cars onto grass. there are places on pavement. we expanded the paved areas at this park. it places cars on grass next to walkways which are the most heavily impacted by dogs on leash peeing. it still requires aeration and closure presented to us. over irrigation lines and heads. and also, it's not realistic to pull those cars straight on unless you're putting them on

an angle but historically, this group didn't want to do this. in 2013, 2014, they were required to do it and didn't. if they're willing to do this, i think we can end this conversation, we just need to come up with a plan that shows the plywood and then i know you want to rope off the cars so people can't get too close to them how that roping off would work. thank you. >> president: thank you, dana. >> clerk: okay. thank you. next, we have the applicants. >> dana, thank you for that. let me just clarify '13, '14, every year, we've met with your gardener and at one point, he thought it was hard enough on the surface not to, but that's

beside the point. at this point in time, we've all agreed our new proposal is cutting the cars down to 12 cars. having the plywood. we're willing to put the plywood because some of these other spots in the park for $250,000, $300,000 cars for security reasons and a bunch of others. i do believe the plan we have we can make it work with plywood. and we've cut down our cars down 75%. if you're agreeable to that, we will work with you guys and cordon them off and i promise you, they can maneuver enough on those things to go from the pathway on to the plywood with what would be the plan and the ferrari people are all over trying to accommodate as best

we can. >> president: thank you. >> commissioner, buell, if it would be okay, we could chat between ourselves in front of all of you. >> president: well, let me say. so ashley, we've gone through the process and now is it open to commission comments. >> clerk: yeah. commissioners can have a discussion. if you want to ask any questions, that would be probably the best way to have a discussion among the department and the applicant so they can respond to your questions. >> president: thank you. so let me begin and ask dana, you believe that with the plywood this could work and i'm going to assume you also want to see a plan of just where the cars would be on the plywood before we officially authorize this permit assuming the commission is prepared to

overturn the -- or grant the appeal. >> yeah. well the appeal was the denial of our permit for what they applied for. so i want to be clear, i believe that is the case. what they are now asking is if they submit a new proposal to us that involves plywood, will we approve it? and, deny is on the line and he can nod or shake his head, but i believe if we can do it and i want to be very clear that a gardener on site cannot be put under pressure to say no to plywood on the day of the event. if we agree to plywood. i understood you guys didn't like the plywood because it wasn't the look you were looking for. that, i want to make sure we understand how that's really going to work, but, frank, if we can agree, then i think we can, you know, withdraw this and move on on our own to solve this problem and not put the

commission in the middle of this. >> president: and just so i understand it, therefore, the commission wouldn't be approving the appeal they would simply going along with the applicant under the terms we've discussed. >> zack, i know you're on the line. if you understand the question, if you would advise, that would be helpful. >> sure. if the permit applicant based on the representations made today wants to on the record withdraw the appeal, the permit applicant can do that. otherwise, it's still pending before the commission and the commission has to take action to resolve it. that could be to affirm the denial or to reverse or modify. those are the three options under your policy. but, again, if the permit

applicant and the department are going to work out a compromise, the permit applicant can affirmatively withdraw the appeal at this time. >> president: okay. so let me ask zack while we have you on the line, can we negotiate a modification to the application today under this appeal? >> sure. so under the permit follows the modification is one of the options i would advise that the commission should have a discussion with the department and the permit applicant now to work out those terms so that when you're voting on has a specific terms of the modification. >> right. but we haven't denied this proposal f.y.i. so. >> president: right. all right. so i guess, dana, the ball would be in your court to tell

me what you'd like to see the commission modify the application to reflect. >> well, you know, i continue to believe that the applicant should withdraw their appeal and you direct us to go work this out. but if you want to do it some other way -- >> president: i'm inclined to want to do it some other way to give some finality. but i want to make sure that the applicant understand that this commission is very concerned that this be done appropriately and that the terms that dana has reflected can go forward are the ones that we agreed to. >> clerk: also, i just want to flag that commissioner mazzola and sarah madlin have their hands raised, you may want to call on them. >> president: absolutely. let me start with commissioner mazzola. >> commissioner: thank you.

as far as the process goes, i think, mark, president buell is correct that it would be better if we made a decision on the compromise today so that it's final and they can then there's no questions remaining there won't be any issues remaining, but i just wanted to say a few things and first thank dana and her staff for her understanding and willingness if they do put the plywood down that, you know, you're willing to go forward with this. i think, you know, that was one of the bigger issues and i think one of the reasons why they didn't have the plywood on the original appeal is because they talked to some golf courses and they said they didn't believe that they needed plywood, but they're totally willing to do that like they said today, but i just want to make a few comments on behalf of the appellant. you know, these guys are well

respected people in the community, in the city and they're not here trying to be rude or controversial or ram bunk souse nothing. what they're asking for is totally reasonable. they've been doing this for over 20 years. they've been told that a general manager, no. all the way through this thing. he didn't want to hear any compromise. so i'm glad the staff's willing to take that under consideration, you know. this is something to me that is being exaggerated as far as how it's going to affect the park like was said earlier. i don't think the park is going to need to be closed for six weeks, i think that's an exaggeration. i want to make another point here that i drove by the other day and i saw a 2,000 pound

four-wheel lawn mower back and forth all over that grass. that's okay but it's not okay to put a car with plywood. these guys are not rookies. they're city guys that care about the city. they're not going to try and do something to ruin a park. that's not what they're about. what they're about is they've been doing this for 20 years and all of a sudden they got told no because the park was redone. i know there was an issue with drainage problems after the park was done. and let me say something about that. azul works was the company that did that job. and i complained about that in the beginning. and everybody knows the track record of azul and they've been banned for five years doing work here. aside from that, i complained early on that azul works was not using the proper classification to do this drainage. they should have used plumbers, they used workers. i had to go to the office of

labor standards within the city and they deemed that, in fact, the zone works used the wrong classifications. they used people that were not trained to do irrigation piping and plumbing and drainage. they underpaid those workers and they got fined $25,000 for using people they were not supposed to use to do this type of work. so that is one of the main reasons why there was a drainage problem. these guys are not even considering parking cars anywhere near that drainage problem. but i just want to share my frustration with the fact that these workers were underpaid and the company got fined and there was a problem afterward because they used people that weren't skilled to do the job. so i just needed to get that all off my chest and the commission to understand where i'm coming from. these guys are great guys in the community and they deserve

a chance to be listened to and not just turned away. so i'm glad that the commission is taking the approach and is willing to do a compromise because these guys are upstanding citizens of the city and they deserved to be recognized. so thank you. >> president: thank you, commissioner mazzola. sarah. >> i just wanted to say on behalf of the general manager that the department would support issuing this permit with the plywood in place to protect the grass. on behalf of the general manager and also to address commissioner mazzola's points about the construction project, we absolutely share your frustrations. it was very difficult for all of us to get through and just by way of a reminder to the commission, public works actually does all of our construction management, so kelly who's on the line here is the one dogging them to do all the things that commissioner mazzola pointed out, but there are often challenges with our

contracts. unfortunately, we don't directly supervisor them, public works does. so we continue to try to monitor it, but absolutely hear you, commissioner, and share your frustrations. >> president: okay. thank you, sarah. so i want to be sure then that it sounds like we have an understanding and so i want to be clear that we would be affirming the appeal or denying the appeal. ashley, weigh in and tell me what document you want to see officially done. >> clerk: from what i understand, owen, please make sure to mute because i'm hearing a little feedback. zack, is it fine if i explain this the way that you sent it to me. >> yeah. absolutely. i can explain it for you.

>> president: zack, go ahead. you answer the question. you're the lawyer. >> sure. procedurally, it's a little, you know, secure here. the commission, one option is to affirm the denial of the appeal with -- affirm the denial of the permit with the understanding that the department and the permit applicant are going to work together consistent with the representations today and the department will grant a new permit again with the new terms that will be put on the record today. the second option is to reverse the denial of the permit and then affirmatively grant the permit. i would suggest that the first option leave it puts it back to the department to work with the applicant to grant the permit so they can work out all the

terms consistent with what's articulated today. you get to the same place, but it's up to the commission and how they want to articulate that. >> isn't it possible for them just to withdraw so the commission doesn't have to deny it? just to withdraw it because of the representations that we've made here and then the commission doesn't have to act at all and then the commission can advise us strongly to work with them to find a solution with the plywood? because i think we have a good answer here, but it does need development. it's not ready. i'm not saying we can't get there and i'm ready to meet out with them on monday morning first thing and walk the site and we'll finalize this. so hoping we can get there. anyway. just my suggestion. >> i would suggest that's also a possibility, but my role is to advise the commission on its

options. one other option is both to continue for another week, but then the commission would have to reconvene if something happened and you would have to get the quorum to decide on it. >> is it also possible to continue to the call of the chair so that if it does come to conclusion, it doesn't need to be heard and if it does not come to conclusion, they can calendar it? >> again, you would have to reconvene because of the time line within the next few weeks in order to take action on it. >> only if we didn't come to conclusion if it was in need of the commission's intervention again. >> if the applicant and the department was able to work it out, you would still need some letter to the commission affirmatively withdrawing the appeal because it would technically still be pending

under the commission. >> president: commissioner mazzola. >> commissioner: so after hearing all of that, i have a motion. the motion i would make is to grant the appeal with the caveat of them working with dana and her team to come up with the appropriate compromise as far as where the cars are parked and the plywood underneath the tires. so, like you said earlier, president buell, i think we should finalize this today because the thing's coming up in less than a month. we need to move on this so there's no ambiguity and no back and forth. i'm against pushing this off for another meeting. we need to act on it today knowing that staff and the italian committee are going to work this out. everyone's on the same page here.

so that's my motion. >> president: dana, do you want to weigh in on that motion? >> you're on mute, dana. >> you approve the appeal, then you approve the issuance of the permit for what they originally applied for and that just doesn't work. i think sarah's idea that you, you know, table this and direct us to work it out and they withdraw it because we solved it. i think we're going to solve this, but if you act to approve the appeal, then you've just approved the permit for 40 cars that they originally asked for with no plywood. >> no we're not. on the record -- >> president: let me suggest this. commissioner mozzola, i understand your concern. i think it does make sense we continue this matter to the call of the chair because for commissioner mazolla's concern if the permit, if they can't

work it out, we call a meeting and we work it out. if they do work it out, they withdraw the appeal and we don't have to have another meeting and i think that's what i hear they're going to be able to work this out. and i just want to get everybody kind of agreeing to that procedure because we're not losing control over this appeal. we will call another meeting on short order if we have to. and if we don't have to, we'd saved ourselves and we're giving the confidence that both parties are going to work in good faith to resolve it. >> commissioner: that's different from what you said earlier. >> president: i understand, but i think the sentiment, commissioner, is that we want to see this go forward under the compromise. and we're all in agreement on that. so it's really just a procedure of what we need to do from a

legislative standpoint or administrative standpoint to move this forward and i think if we continue it from sarah's standpoint, it allows us to ultimately work it out at this legislative body or this commission if we have to, but it sounds like we don't have to. it sounds like the parties can agree and they'll withdraw their appeal because they'll have a permit they've all agreed on. soy don't see a problem with that. and i appreciate, commissioner, that it doesn't exactly solve your problem, but it does get us to where we want to go. >> commissioner: well, through the chair, then, if everybody's on the same page with that and we trust that the department and the italian committee are going to do the right thing on this, then i'll pull my motion. i just want to make sure on the record that this gets worked out and it doesn't fall by the

waist side or something happens. if we can retain jurisdiction over this and you can call a meeting in a week, then i feel better about it. >> president: okay. well, then, thank you, commissioner. before i ask for a motion to continue this matter, i do want to acknowledge and thank commissioner mazzola because this wouldn't be resolved had he not taken a very active role in helping do this. and so, for that, i say thank you and for the applicant, i say thank you for your understanding and trying to work with us to solve these problems because i have received e-mails from people in north beach who've spent an enormous amount of time from a volunteer standpoint to make sure that that park got restored to the condition the community wanted so if it sounds like we're being overbearing and concerned about drainage and they've put in a system that's very sensitive.

having said that, 95% of the grass isn't going to be used in this and you're using plywood and you're sensitive to it then we can make this work. and so i want to thank everybody for being genuine in their desire to find a solution to. with that, the chair would entertain a motion to continue this matter to the call of the chair. >> commissioner: so moved. >> president: is there a second. >> commissioner: second. >> president: it's been moved and seconded all those in favor. it is unanimous. thank you. >> commissioner, i would ask if the folks would be willing to hop on another call. >> president: i'm sure they would. thank you very much. >> thank you to the commission. thank you very much for your understanding and thanks to staff as well. >> president: you bet. >> thank you for hearing us. >> president: okay. >> clerk: okay. >> president: ashleys, where are we?

>> clerk: we are now on item eight, general public comment. if there's anyone on the line that would like to comment on an item that is not on the agenda today, you can dial star three to make your comment. >> ashley, we have five members of the public on the call and two hands raised. >> clerk: okay.

speaker. speaker, you're unmuted. if you'd like to make a comment, your time is now. >> if i'm able to speak all i would say is i'm in agreement with what dana kechima said as well as the staffing department operations. as well as the comments that weren't included that phil ginsburg, the general manager has included. thanks. bye. >> clerk: next speaker. >> hello, my name is gina tovar. i just want to make sure this is not commenting on the last agenda item. >> president: yes. thank you. >> okay. thank you. so i reside in visitation valley and i am a single parent and i have a son who attends arts and tech charter school in

san francisco unified. he takes the bus 9r which ends at 2055 avenue at the gold eagles parking lot on sunnidale for the golf course parking lot and so he has to walk from that spot up to manzel and sunnidale where sunnydale ends and that's exactly where the school is. in the evenings, he's not the only one walking that route because there's a lot of people who live along sunnydale and this valley that will take the bus there and there's no lighting from the terminal end of sunnydale where it meets san feld and so i wanted to bring it to the attention of the commission that public safety

especially for children going to and from school at balboa park and taking the bus line there or going to city arts and tech high school, i would like to find out what the process is to propose lights along there. i mean maybe even just path lights along the sidewalk, it doesn't have to be a major street lamp, solar powered lights along the sidewalk area. >> president: thank you. i believe staff is taking note of this and, if you would contact sarah madlin at the department, she will follow up with you. >> sarah madlin. thank you very kindly. >> president: okay. thank you. >> clerk: okay. paul, does anyone else have their hand raised? >> that was the last raised hand. >> clerk: okay. thank you. so seeing no further callers,

public comment is closed. we're now on item nine, commissioners' matters. commissioners. >> president: i don't see any. >> clerk: is there any public comment on this item? >> president: that was public comment. >> clerk: paul? >> there are no hands raised. >> clerk: we're now on item 10, new business, ayend canada setting. commissioners. >> clerk: okay. paul, is there any public comment on this item? >> 0 hands raised. >> clerk: okay. seeing no callers, public comment is closed. we're now on item 11, communications. is there any public comment on item 11? >> zero hands raised. >> clerk: seeing no callers, public comment is closed.

we're now on item twelve, adjournment. >> president: the chair would entertain a motion to adjourn. >> commissioner: so moved. >> president: moved, seconded. all those in favor. >> ayes. >> president: thank you one and all. >> thank you everyone. >> thanks ashley. >> president: thanks.

[♪♪♪] >> i really believe that art should be available to people for free, and it should be part of our world, you shouldn't just be something in museums, and i love that the people can just go there and it is there for everyone. [♪♪♪] >> i would say i am a multidimensional artist. i came out of painting, but have also really enjoyed tactile properties of artwork and tile work. i always have an interest in public art. i really believe that art should be available to people for free, and it should be part of our

world. you shouldn't just be something in museums. i love that people can just go there, and it is there for everyone. public art is art with a job to do. it is a place where the architecture meets the public. where the artist takes the meaning of the site, and gives a voice to its. we commission culture, murals, mosaics, black pieces, cut to mental, different types of material. it is not just downtown, or the big sculptures you see, we are in the neighborhood. those are some of the most beloved kinds of projects that really give our libraries and recreation centers a sense of uniqueness, and being specific to that neighborhood. colette test on a number of those projects for its. one of my favorites is the oceanview library, as well as several parks, and the steps.

>> mosaics are created with tile that is either broken or cut in some way, and rearranged to make a pattern. you need to use a tool, nippers, as they are called, to actually shape the tiles of it so you can get them to fit incorrectly. i glued them to mash, and then they are taken, now usually installed by someone who is not to me, and they put cement on the wall, and they pick up the mash with the tiles attached to it, and they stick it to the wall, and then they groped it afterwards. [♪♪♪]

>> we had never really seen artwork done on a stairway of the kinds that we were thinking of because our idea was very just barely pictorial, and to have a picture broken up like that, we were not sure if it would visually work. so we just took paper that size and drew what our idea was, and cut it into strips, and took it down there and taped it to the steps, and stepped back and looked around, and walked up and down and figured out how it would really work visually. [♪♪♪] >> my theme was chinese heights because i find them very beautiful. and also because mosaic is such a heavy, dens, static medium, and i always like to try and incorporate movement into its, and i work with the theme of water a lot, with wind, with

clouds, just because i like movements and lightness, so i liked the contrast of making kites out of very heavy, hard material. so one side is a dragon kite, and then there are several different kites in the sky with the clouds, and a little girl below flying it. [♪♪♪] >> there are pieces that are particularly meaningful to me. during the time that we were working on it, my son was a disaffected, unhappy high school student. there was a day where i was on the way to take them to school, and he was looking glum, as usual, and so halfway to school,

i turned around and said, how about if i tell the school you are sick and you come make tiles with us, so there is a tile that he made to. it is a little bird. the relationship with a work of art is something that develops over time, and if you have memories connected with a place from when you are a child, and you come back and you see it again with the eyes of an adult, it is a different thing, and is just part of what makes the city an exciting place. [♪♪♪] >> shop and dine in the 49 promotes local businesses, and challenges residents to do their shopping within the 49 square miles of san francisco. by supporting local services in our neighborhood, we help san francisco remain unique, successful, and vibrant.

so where will you shop and dine in the 49? >> i am the owner of this restaurant. we have been here in north beach over 100 years. [speaking foreign language] [♪♪♪] [speaking foreign language] [♪♪♪] [speaking foreign language]

[speaking foreign language] [♪♪♪] [♪♪♪]

>> manufacturing in cities creates this perfect platform for people to earn livelihoods and for people to create more

economic prosperity. i'm kate sosa. i'm cofounder and ceo of sf made. sf made is a public private partnership in the city of san francisco to help manufacturers start, grow, and stay right here in san francisco. sf made really provides wraparound resources for manufacturers that sets us apart from other small business support organizations who provide more generalized support. everything we do has really been developed over time by listening and thinking about what manufacturer needs grow. for example, it would be traditional things like helping them find capital, provide assistance loans, help to

provide small business owners with education. we have had some great experience doing what you might call pop ups or temporary selling events, and maybe the most recent example was one that we did as part of sf made week in partnership with the city seas partnership with small business, creating a 100 company selling day right here at city hall, in partnership with mayor lee and the board of supervisors, and it was just a wonderful opportunity for many of our smaller manufacturers who may be one or two-person shop, and who don't have the wherewithal to have their own dedicated retail store to show their products and it comes back to how do we help companies set more money into arthur businesses and develop more customers and their relationships, so that they can continue to grow and continue

to stay here in san francisco. i'm amy kascel, and i'm the owner of amy kaschel san francisco. we started our line with wedding gowns, and about a year ago, we launched a ready to wear collection. san francisco's a great place to do business in terms of clientele. we have wonderful brides from all walks of life and doing really interesting things: architects, doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists, other like minded entrepreneurs, so really fantastic women to work with. i think it's important for them to know where their clothes are made and how they're made. >> my name is jefferson mccarly, and i'm the general manager of the mission bicycle company. we sell bikes made here for people that ride here. essentially, we sell city bikes made for riding in urban

environments. our core business really is to build bikes specifically for each individual. we care a lot about craftsmanship, we care a lot about quality, we care about good design, and people like that. when people come in, we spend a lot of time going to the design wall, and we can talk about handle bars, we can see the riding position, and we take notes all over the wall. it's a pretty fun shopping experience. paragraph. >> for me as a designer, i love the control. i can see what's going on, talk to my cutter, my pattern maker, looking at the designs. going through the suing room, i'm looking at it, everyone on the team is kind of getting involved, is this what that drape look? is this what she's

expecting, maybe if we've made a customization to a dress, which we can do because we're making everything here locally. over the last few years, we've been more technical. it's a great place to be, but you know, you have to concentrate and focus on where things are going and what the right decisions are as a small business owner. >> sometimes it's appropriate to bring in an expert to offer suggestions and guidance in coaching and counseling, and other times, we just need to talk to each other. we need to talk to other manufacturers that are facing similar problems, other people that are in the trenches, just like us, so that i can share with them a solution that we came up with to manage our inventory, and they can share with me an idea that they had about how to

overcome another problem. >> moving forward, where we see ourselves down the road, maybe five and ten years, is really looking at a business from a little bit more of a ready to wear perspective and making things that are really thoughtful and mindful, mindful of the end user, how they're going to use it, whether it's the end piece or a wedding gown, are they going to use it again, and incorporating that into the end collection, and so that's the direction i hear at this point. >> the reason we are so enamored with the work we do is we really do see it as a platform for changing and making the city something that it has always been and making sure that we're sharing the opportunities that we've been blessed with economically and socially as possible,

broadening that . >> chairman: good morning and welcome to the rules committee of the san francisco board of supervisors for today, september 20th, 2021. i am the chair of the committee, aaron peskin joined by vice chair rafael mandelman and connie chan. your clerk is mr. victor young. do you have any announcements? >> clerk: yes.