. >> chairman: good morning. this is the rules committee. i am the chair of the committee aaron peskin joined by supervisor rafael mandelman and supervisor connie chan and our clerk is mr. victor young. do you have any announcements, mr. clerk? >> clerk: the board recognizes that public access to city is service is essential in public participation in the following ways. public comment will be available on each item of the agenda on channel 26, 99 and sfgov is streaming the public call-in number across the screen.

comments or opportunities to speak during public comment period via phone by calling (415) 655-0001. the meeting id is 24884868382 and then press pound and pound again. when connected, you will hear the meeting discussions and be muted and in listening mode only. when your item of interest comes up, dial star three to be added to the speaker line. speak clearly and slowly and turn down your television or radio. alternatively, you may submit public comment in the following ways, e-mail to the rules committee clerk at victor.young@sfgov.org. if you submit public comment via e-mail, it will be forwarded to the supervisors and be included in part of the file. or you can also submit your

public comment by mail. that completes my initial comments. >> chairman: thank you, mr. young. can you please read the first and only item on today's agenda. >> clerk: yes. item number one is to expand interested parties to compluns city officer employees, registered contract employees and to prohibit elected officials, department heads, commissioners, and designated employees from behested payments from interested parties. >> chairman: thank you, mr. young. colleagues, i know this item is familiar to you it is sponsored by supervisor haney and cosponsored by mysel in the

wake of the most an reason of which was in the middle of october and it is i have a number of which that has made this morning circulated to you and we'll also speak to a couple of additional amendments that have yet to be prepared because of the thanksgiving holiday as to the amendments let me just speak to them publicly and you are in receipt of the first of these page

three, i'd like to codify the exemption to quote attempt to influence for written and oral public comment. so that would mean that if a member of the public shows up to advocate for or against one way or another as to a piece of legislation, that would not make them an interested party for purposes of this behested payment legislation. as policy matter, we encourage members of the public to weigh in, so this exemption is designed to advance that principle. it actually is currently the interpretation by ethics, but this makes it abundantly clear. next, page three, line 17 through 18. i'd like to exempt federal government or agencies from this party. it's not our intent to make it more difficult for city officials to request relief

funds from state and federal agencies and that would make this clear. finally, on page six, i'd like to define indirect solicitation which is not defined to mean when a city officer or employee directly or otherwise urges another person to solicit a behested payments. so it would clearly define that, which would basically mean if i'm a commissioner and there are a number of contracts coming before my commission that if i tell an underling or a friend to go solicit from those identifiable persons, those eight contracts or whatever. throughout our goal to provide specificity and clarity and to

people who have concrete interest in legislative or contractual administrator administrators before this. to that end, i'm also going to have prepared additional amendments as i said that are not yet ready today that would exempt uncommon board members from the definition of parties. this is based on some comments that supervisor melgar made to me from the definition of interested parties. and also to make it clear that contracts that are not approved by the board of supervisors or the mayor would not fall into the behested payments. that would be prohibited by a member of the board of supervisors or mayor which was always our intent, but we'll clarify that. with that, colleagues, i'm

happy to hear your comments and open this up for public comment before adopting the amendments and continuing the item for one additional week. seeing no comments. let me hit the chat box, god only knows what's in that thing. supervisor chan. >> supervisor chan: thank you, chair peskin. i know you are in the process of preparing the language, so i do look forward of seeing the language itself. but also to provide an exemption for accept and expend legislation. i guess i'm trying to understand better. does that mean that for an

interested party, that donates through the city through accept and expend process. >> chairman: so the notion there is if a -- the action before the board, that the board takes is the approval of accept and expend. so in taking that action by accepting a donation from a third party, that would not prohibit a member of the board of supervisors from soliciting behested payments from a party that had made a distribution to the city that the board had to vote on to accept. does that make any sense? because the board has had to take action. so i'm differentiating that in the board, approving a contract. so if we approve a contract with the xyz corporation, it would be prohibited that a member of the board of supervisors go to the xyz

corporation to solicit a behested payment. but if the board approved and accept and expend from a third party, that in and of itself would not prohibit a member of the board of supervisors from from that party through accept and expend to be identified through a permit or contract. >> chairman: correct. >> supervisor chan: to explain further is the public appeals exemption in the legislation

for public appeal and that and along with it, it sort of striked out that, you know, for the nonprofits that we see donations at the supervisors are elected, right now, it requires them to require. but now that it will not require them to report because that assumption is with the public appeal exemption. we don't know if people are really donated at the behest of the supervisors, therefore they no longer need to report. is that question clear. >> i don't exactly understand the question. >> supervisor chan: to the question is nonprofits will

have to report at the behest of the elected. because of now the way it is, we literally spend the behest request for the interested party. so there's no reporting there because you're not even supposed to be doing it. there's no exemption for a public appeal. with that exemption for public appeal. for example if i show up to a mass e-mail or mass appeal, like public appeal, say donate to a nonprofit and whatever that nonprofit receives really because of the to the public in

general. is that correct? >> so it sounds like you're asking about the legal significance of striking the language having to do with public appeal. is that correct. >> supervisor chan: yes. so they no longer have to report it because the supervisor is asking on a social media posting. >> my recollection is that other things that are being to do with public appeals that will answer your question. i don't know if supervisor peskin recalls the origin of striking that language. >> chairman: i would have to look -- i'm looking right now.

the general thinking was public appeals are generally low dollar amount and when you send out something on social media. please contribute -- it's giving tuesday. they tend to be very small dollar thresholds and they wouldn't even rise to the level of what's a behested payment. i think that was the thinking that i can go back and look at section 035. >> i'm happy to do the same, supervisor chan, and get back to you this week since this item may be continued. >> thank you. i think that may be the reason that just so we're clear for some of especially for nonprofits and perhaps also for my own clarification in the previous process of being on an

honorary committee for nonprofit or event or things like that. i'm only asking for my own personal just making sure that i do understand about the reporting requirements. that's all. i'm not trying to change the language itself. >> chairman: yeah. and that's precisely why we're trying to nail down clarity in each and every one of these things and that's why it's taken so long and by the way, i do need to say i've traded calls with supervisor haney but not spoken to him including this morning, we traded calls, but at some point we'll catch up. >> supervisor chan: thank you. and my assumption is according to page 9, line 22, that public appeals are already not required to be reported. i know that we're trying to be super thoughtful about all the language and so my assumption is that this process can continue and that's all.

thank you so much. >> chairman: and i will get back to you with answers to those very good questions. >> supervisor chan: thank you, chair peskin. that's all i have. >> chairman: okay. i do not see supervisor mandelman's name on the screen, why don't we open this up to public comment, mr. clerk. >> 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 24884868382 then press pound and pound again. if you haven't done so, please press star three to line up to speak. please wait until the system indicates you have been unmuted and you may begin your comments. we currently have three listeners and three people in line to speak.

can we have the first caller, please. >> caller: good morning supervisors. this is debbie lurman from the san francisco human services network. i spoke previously about our concerns had some unforeseen consequences. we thank you for the amendments that address some of our concerns. we also appreciate supervisor peskin's attempt to uncompensated board members who have no economic interest in the contract and are likely to be motivated by corruptive influence. the city's database of nonprofit board members currently has over 600 nonprofits with contracts and the database with affiliates and subcontractors and board members contains over 33,000

entries. so this would be an implementation nightmare to include those folks. we do still have one concern with the legislation which is that it has an extremely broad definition of interested party which includes grass roots advocates and nonprofit volunteer board members. what happened is it includes anybody who attempts to influence legislative action. so the public official may not even know that somebody is attempting to influence, for example, if they attend a rally or send a tweet to their followers or sign a petition. so by expanding this so broadly, we get lots of people who make no sense in the context of behested payments and it will again be impossible to track. so we hope we can continue some

conversations about expanding the exceptions to include advocates who have no financial or personal connection to a matter when they do things like sign the petition. thank you for considering that and thank you again for these current set of amendments. >> chairman: thank you. next speaker, please. >> caller: linda chapman. again, i want to urge the board of supervisors, have the city attorney or the controller or both consult the federal guidelines and then consider following that model. when i worked for the army, they said it was the largest corporation in the world and other corporations followed the example. even more so, the federal government, we didn't have these kinds of problems. you know, it's very shocking because the city charter of is san francisco was designed in order to avoid corruption as you know and yet all of these practices have crept in.

they couldn't happen in the federal government because there were rules. you didn't have to get into all of these things like can i do this or that or whatever. you couldn't. you know, if you were a federal civil servant, manager, not manager, decider, not decider, you did not use your position. you did not solicit money in the office for your favorite charity. you are not prevented from soliciting money for your favorite charity outside of work. you didn't use your position to do it. it should be the same here. there was a way in which the federal government supported numerous charities. they had something like let's call it the community chest, it wasn't called that and a number of local charities were considered for giving tuesday, if you want to call it that or for the campaign, the federal campaign to raise money for charities and you can either donate to all of them on the list or you can donate select

ones. you know, i would assume also that if it was something like let's say supervisor haney's and peskin wanted to say the tndc is having its pool tossed, things like that can be allowed. as i've said before, planning commissioners asking developers to give to nonprofits before they would make their decision and then they would make their decision on that. >> clerk: time has elapsed. >> chairman: thank you, ms. chapman. next speaker, please. >> caller: can you hear me now? >> chairman: please proceed. >> caller: good morning. david pilpel. several comments on this. i think it's important to make this workable. i think ethics is absolutely critical here with regulations, forms, and examples. whether you write it into the

legislation or not, you may want to think about notice to various actors such as a notice to members of a nonprofit board if there's -- if they're prohibited from conduct for six months or whatever so that they are on notice that their certain conduct is prohibited, perhaps requiring training for those actors. certainly, you could require training or enhanced training for city department heads, members of boards and commission, city employees, on specific suggestions on page one, line 16, i believe 'and' should come back in before the deleting portion. let's see what else. on page 3, line 15, i think that should be indented on the

reference to interested party. on page 6, line 7, you just had a brief discussion about public appeal. i'm not sure if public appeal is defined in here. you may want to add that on page 4 starting online 19. when i think of the term public appeal, i think of ceqa appeals and c.u. appeals to the board of supervisors. it's not intuitive to me that public appeal is an appeal to the public by the member of supervisors. do these amendments also apply to the san francisco community college district. >> clerk: your time has elapsed. >> caller: thanks. >> chairman: are there any other members of the public for

this item number one. >> clerk: i believe that was our last public commenter. >> chairman: okay. public comment is closed and i would like to formally move the aforementioned amendments and continue this item as amended one week on that two-part motion, a roll call, please. >> clerk: yes, on the motion to amend the ordinance and continue the matter to december the 6th, [roll call] the motion passes without objection. >> chairman: we are adjourned.

>> the bicycle coalition was giving away 33 bicycles so i applied. i was happy to receive one of them.

>> the community bike build program is the san francisco coalition's way of spreading the joy of biking and freedom of biking to residents who may not have access to affordable transportation. the city has an ordinance that we worked with them on back in 2014 that requires city agency goes to give organizations like the san francisco bicycle organization a chance to take bicycles abandoned and put them to good use or find new homes for them. the partnerships with organizations generally with organizations that are working with low income individuals or families or people who are transportation dependent. we ask them to identify individuals who would greatly benefit from a bicycle. we make a list of people and their heights to match them to a

bicycle that would suit their lifestyle and age and height. >> bicycle i received has impacted my life so greatly. it is not only a form of recreation. it is also a means of getting connected with the community through bike rides and it is also just a feeling of freedom. i really appreciate it. i am very thankful. >> we teach a class. they have to attend a one hour class. things like how to change lanes, how to make a left turn, right turn, how to ride around cars. after that class, then we would give everyone a test chance -- chance to test ride. >> we are giving them as a way

to get around the city. >> just the joy of like seeing people test drive the bicycles in the small area, there is no real word. i guess enjoyable is a word i could use. that doesn't describe the kind of warm feelings you feel in your heart giving someone that sense of freedom and maybe they haven't ridden a bike in years. these folks are older than the normal crowd of people we give bicycles away to. take my picture on my bike. that was a great experience. there were smiles all around. the recipients, myself, supervisor, everyone was happy to be a part of this joyous occasion. at the end we normally do a group ride to see people ride off with these huge smiles on their faces is a great experience. >> if someone is interested in

volunteering, we have a special section on the website sf bike.org/volunteer you can sign up for both events. we have given away 855 bicycles, 376 last year. we are growing each and every year. i hope to top that 376 this year. we frequently do events in bayview. the spaces are for people to come and work on their own bikes or learn skills and give them access to something that they may not have had access to. >> for me this is a fun way to get outside and be active. most of the time the kids will be in the house. this is a fun way to do something. >> you get fresh air and you don't just stay in the house all day.

it is a good way to exercise. >> the bicycle coalition has a bicycle program for every community in san francisco. it is connecting the young, older community. it is a wonderful outlet for the community to come together to have some good clean fun. it has opened to many doors to the young people that will usually might not have a bicycle. i have seen them and they are thankful and i am thankful for this program.

>> my name is marcia conraers and i'm with mission housing development. one of the co-developers for the balboa upper yard, alongside related companies. i would like to welcome everyone to the groundbreaking ceremony for the balboa park upper yard. we are excited that you have set time aside to join us and to alongside related companies. i would like to welcome everyone to the groundbreaking ceremony for the balboa park upper yard. we are excited that you have set time aside to join us and to celebrate along with us. we're standing on the ground where in about approximately two years from now, about 130 units of affordable housing will rise -- yes, thank you. thank you for the signal. are we excited about that? 130 units are coming to this wonderful space. the balboa upper yard has truly

been a community effort. for well over a decade, members of the san francisco diverse district 11, my personal district that i'm so proud of, have come together and organized to ensure this plot of land here would one day become affordable housing. and today we celebrate together the efforts of numerous advocates, leaders, financial partners, countless people who have touched this project and shown what happens when we -- and i'm going to repeat -- when we, all of us, come together and put the land in the community's hands. isn't that true? yes, where is our community? [applause] we have a lot to celebrate today so let's get started. one of our first speakers is one that i know very well. and i have the opportunity to work very closely these past 10

years. we have worked tirelessly, along with our team, to see that this dream became a reality. which is basically to build affordable housing in my district, district 11. can you please help me to welcome our executive director sam moss to the podium. [applause] >> thanks, everybody, i'll keep it short. we are standing on a parking lot right now that will be 130 units of affordable housing in under 10 years and i want everyone to take a moment to think about that. we have space in san francisco to build affordable housing for our low-income communities. we have lots of space. there are a lot of parking lots just like this all over the city. and there's undeveloped land all over the city. so whenever someone tells you that people just need to move away, that there isn't enough room, just point them to this place, because we are proving that the highest and best use for land in the city is probably housing our most needing citizens. i want to thank related california, bill witty and

sylvia. without you, mission housing would never have been able to take a lead like we have in this project. we have rebuilt ourselves over the last 10 years and it is exciting to take the next step. i'd like to thank senator scott wiener and sb-35, with which we would not be where we are in the time that we are. but more important i would like to thank the district 11 community, cusj, and omi, everyone. without you, we wouldn't be here today. since 2008 you have been pushing for affordable housing at this spot and i'm just really excited for everyone to get a chance to celebrate. because affordable housing is the best. so thank you very much. and with that i'd like to introduce jamie from the ymca. >> hello, everybody. what a great day. i want to center my comments on a powerful word that you're going to hear hopefully over and over again today. and that word is "yes." so many times we hear in this

city about, no, no we can't do it, no, we can't dream big enough. but today is about a yes. and imagine the hope and optimism of that day. think in your head of the many times that you said yes to something and you opened yourself up to, yes, we can have community input, yes, we can do this. we can take a land that needs to be brought back to affordable housing, and really make it powerful. thank you for making that happen. and so let's center on one word and that is "yes." and thank you for that. and it matters. why does yes ma effort? the soul of the city depends how we treat our most vulnerable and this is a site that's going to be a treasure for the most vulnerable in our community. 100% affordable housing. can we say that -- 100% affordable housing on this site access to transit. and the balboa mission terrace neighborhood, incredible work to the power of yes. and also youth development. we'll have over 6,000-square-foot youth development center in this site

so that every child that walks through the threshold of those doors understands the power of yes and how we came together and how the community came together, elected officials came together, partners, our faith-based ministry, and pastor ralph. we came together to say yes, yes, yes, over and over again and we have more yes to go. and i am proud of the partnership and the community input to make it happen. the future is bright here today i want to thank mayor breed for her vision. senator as well for his vision to allow us to come together on behalf of the ymca, and thank you for your work and your support. and, sam moss, thank you for your words earlier today. so today is all about yes. thank you all. [applause] >> thank you, jamie. and that is a yes for me. the community partners like the ymca are going to be able to provide strong programming here for our residents at the balboa park upper yard and we're excited about that.

but now i want you to bring to the front an amazing group of folks. and i am going to make sure that i pronounce this correctly because i was trained earlier today. this district is very diverse and we have a lot of different cultures in district 11. and today we're going to be welcoming a dialect to the front. and it places indigenous music from the southern philippines as well as their own compositions. they are a homegrown group here in district 11, and they are going to be providing some entertainment so that we can learn more about their culture. so welcome. (♪♪)

(♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪)

(♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪)

(♪♪) (♪♪) [applause]

>> a pattern of leading, with what we are wearing today. we're going to play one more song. this song is a composition right here in san francisco. let's do it.

(♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪)

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[applause] >> [indiscernible] thank you. [applause] >> wasn't that wonderful? can we give them another round of applause? [applause] thank you, thank you for joining

us today and allowing us to enjoy this wonderful music. so now to lead us in a prayer and a blessing, i would like to welcome pastor ralph howard of the baptist church. pastor howard and his family have been a religious pillar in this community for the past 50 years. helping us to lead with gratitude, pastor howard will lead us with a few words and a blessing for us today. >> surely, it is an honor for us to be able to join in this occasion, for the work that has been done and what we are all about to witness and take part

in will be a legacy that will stand for the generations. as pastor of paradise baptist missionary church our congregation has been privileged to serve this community for now over 70 years. we've been located right here on san jose avenue for 55 years. and the changes that have occurred over that period of time have helped to strengthen our community and to bring us together, recognizing that god has created us, not only to be equal, but also to grow, prosper, and to care for one another. one of the great commandments which was asked of the lord by a person who wanted to know how can you please god -- the lord responded, there is a great commandment, thou shall love thy lord thy god with all of thy

soul and all thy might. and thou shall love thy neighbor like thyself. he said on these two hinge all of the laws and the prophets. truly the things that we are able to do to help to provide for housing meets that challenge. i have been asked to share a prayer, a prayer of blessing, for not only those who are soon to reside here, but a blessing on our community for what is taking place here is truly a reminder that we all have common needs. a need for food, a need for shelter and a need for love. in the book of hebrews in the 3rd chapter the words of the bible declare, "for every house is built by someone, but god is

the builder of every thing." with that let us pray. lord god, as we come to this appointed time, we are eternally grateful that you have provided for us the resources, the wisdom, the means, by which to care for our fellow man. lord, you have provided every one of us, dear god, with resources and to please you, you have required that we share with those who have need. so, dear god, we pray that this building, this house, which will house many families, will be a refuge of safety. we pray, dear god that, in this place those who reside here and those who pass through here and those who come to be served by the various activities here will

grow into the persons that they are meant to be. persons of dignity. persons of integrity. persons who have your favor. so we thank you today for this the result of a job well done. god we thank you and give you honor. bless this land and this place. amen. [applause] >> amen. thank you, pastor howard, for your wonderful words and also for your blessing and prayer today. we would like to welcome melissa reyes, with a coalition that arose here and came together to lead the community advocacy effort to make sure that the

balboa upper yard was secured and that affordable housing could be developed here. so please help me to welcome melissa reyes. [applause] >> good morning. hi, everyone. i'm so happy to be here. this is truly a victory for our community. again, my name is melissa reyes and i live and work in the 11. i live on mission street. so, again, it is very exciting to be here and to see everyone out here today. i was actually active in communities united for health and justice, which is, you know, the community organization and alliance that really helped to make this possible. i was actually active in the alliance after, you know, securing this land and this project, but in the work that i

have done, i really want to highlight and lift up the role that our communities have played. and the community movement that really ensured this victory and i want to continue to highlight that this wouldn't be possible without our community members who were active every step of the way to come together and to have alternatives to harmful development in our neighborhood. and continue to highlight the actual hard work that went into, you know, making this possible. and so when i was active in cuhj, we we collaborated with many stakeholders in our community. so i was able to see the development of the housing action team that met monthly and we were able to bring together our multilingual and multi-generational community every month to talk about what was happening in the community.

and really to think about how we could make sure that we were engaging folks in the neighborhood and in our communities who don't typically -- are engaged -- or aren't typically -- you know, they don't typically have a seat at the table. so some of those examples of the work that we did at cuhj is that we collaborated with school. so balboa high school, and we were able to engage staff, the administration, teachers, students. we were able to bring really -- to allow the youth to have a walking tour with planning commissioners to talk about the importance of our neighborhood and the importance of ensuring that the youth who were born in this neighborhood were able to continue to live here, 10, 20 years down the line. we were able to -- again, to also meet monthly with, you know, our community members to ensure that their voices were heard.

we engaged in different meetings with developers and we were at the table when we were choosing a developer for this site which is very unique, you know, that the community really demanded to be a part of that process. and i think that i just wanted to continue to highlight that the work that cuhj has done and the work that our community has done as part of this victory, is that we didn't accept top-down decisions. we didn't accept whatever coming from city hall, but we actually -- we were proactive in cultivating and shaping what we wanted to see in this community, what we wanted to see in this project. and ensure that the needs of our community was reflected in that and i also wanted to -- yeah, to just say that this victory is, again, a testament to what happens when a community is empowered, when a community unites around a community. and demands a seat at the decision-making table.

it is really an example of how we should continue to move forward in projects like this in the city. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, melissa, for your words and thank you cuhj, for all of the work that did you in this neighborhood, but also the work that you did to make this project happen. well, another important part of this development is not only its proximity to one of the busiest mass transit hubs in the bay area, but it is also going to display a new plaza that we're very excited. so we're excited to welcome two members of the bart board of directors, bev and dusty and janice lee. >> good morning. as i start i just want to acknowledge that we have a local official who actually lives in

this neighborhood that i wanted to introduce. a member of the board of education here in san francisco, the first samoan-pacific islander to serve on the school board and doing a lot of important work. i'm bevin duffy and i'm so honored to be here with my colleague janice lee. i want to reflect on what marcia said. i loved district 11. i had a 25-year career in the city, government, and five years at bart. and i can tell you that district 11 is unlike many other parts of this city. d11 has come together time and time again to say, you know what, we deserve more attention from the city and county of san francisco. we deserve the opportunity to do things like build affordable housing. and so while many of us who are elected are getting the opportunity to stand here, i just want to say clearly that i went to so many events that the community was part of. and there was a vision in this community that we could do this, that we could take this barren

parking lot and make something that has real meaning and to knit together a community that does have a lot of traffic. no way to deny it, right. but it is also one of the busiest bart stations. so transit-oriented development is what bart is focused on and it means to bring together opportunities for individuals and families to go places and to go to school and to go to museums because of having a rich bart system here and also the muni system as well. i want to say that this groundbreaking -- first of all, sometimes you go to groundbreaking and there's like a couple of bushels of sand over there and that's all that is happening. like, this is for real. and i am watching marcia and i see the stuff going back and forth and the horns blowing, so this is also a testament to d11 about getting it done and not standing on ceremony. so i would like to acknowledge

senator wiener because sb25 is the real deal. it says if you build enough affordable housing as part of your project, we won't let your project be tied down, we won't let it to be delayed for years and years as we have seen. so i think that is something that is very significant and it is something they really appreciate about what scott has done in sacramento. and then i just have to give sam a shout out. he very politely said that the past 10 years have been good years for the mission house and development corporation. they have been fantastic years. and they followed years that were foul and not a hell of a lot was happening around here and i said to mission housing and sam, could we give them a round of applause and say that they have really stepped up and they have so many things to be proud of. so now i'd like to introduce my colleague, and i want to say that one of the great things about balboa park station is that you campaign there. and janice and i stood there, day after day, morning after morning, and to see people

flying through that station and trying to get to work or school on time was absolutely inspiring. but i want to thank d11 that we both share for electing a wonderful, fierce, smart, queer, young asian american woman to be on the bart board of directors and to change the direction of the future. janice lee. >> good morning, everyone. so i do pay director duffy here to be my man at every event, so if you need to hire him. but, hi, everyone, i am janice lee and i'm proud to be elected to be the representative of district 8 on the bart board of directors, to share this space with director bevin duffy. so we get to celebrate this as elected officials, you know, the fancy posts and carry the golden shovel. this is an easy job. but the hard work is cuhj and this community turning out and saying that we deserve more. and what we are getting is more

and it is 131 units of affordable housing. and for me affordable housing is a really personal issue. i am a renter and i have absolutely no pathway to owning a home in this city. it is out of -- it is out of my price range and it's never going to be possible and i think that is true for a lot of people, especially young people here. i have often said that i'll get priced out before i get voted out of my district. that's how darned expensive it is in this city. and these 131 units will give wealth for people to keep them in the community. on top of that, folks living here in this community, and all of the housing that is in this community, they deserve high quality transwit a great plaza as an entrance to our balboa park station and not this concrete block. we deserve something that looks great, you feel great as you enter. so we are really, really proud of bart to have partnered with the mayor's office, mayor london

breed's office, and with s.f. county transportation authority, to really bring the dollars in and to make this into a beautiful high-quality transit system that we can all be proud of. so thank you, everyone, for being here today. >> thank you, director duffy and lee. and thank you for investing in district 11. i was one of those individuals that probably ran into that bart station many, many times with my kids, running to go to work. and i am very appreciative of the fact that there is going to be a new bart plaza for our fellow workers that are going to be able to enjoy. and also our kids. believe it or not, a lot of young adults are taking bart these days and it's not just the working class. so thank you for that investment. i'm personally very appreciative of that. and we would not be here without the financial support of various institutions. so continuing to invest in affordable housing.

our gratitude goes out to san francisco mayor office of housing and community development, wells fargo, the california community reinvestment corporation and the debt limit allocation committee, and the california tax credit allocation committee and the california department of housing and community development. let me take a moment to rest. that was a lot. but this is what it takes to build affordable housing. we have to all come together in order for it to happen. so i'm glad to be able to present today pedro galval, with the housing and community development department, and he has a few words to say today. so please come over and help me to welcome him today. [applause] >> good morning, everybody, and thank you so much for that kind introduction and thank you for

having me. i want to also thank senator wiener for being a tireless housing advocate and making this project a reality. on behalf of the department, i'm here to congratulate you for this community's tremendous achievement. it really is the community's victory today. balboa park upper yard represents the kind of development that you have fought hard to make a reality, but that california desperately needs more of -- affordable, transient-oriented development that is here, that the community advocated for, that serves the community, and that will enable hundreds of san francisco families who are currently wondering how they'll put an affordable roof over their head and an affordable place to call home. this is what happens when a community demands more affordable housing for their neighborhood. so that the neighbors can stay in the area and prosper. this is what happens when you have a city like san francisco that said yes to more affordable

housing. and dedicated land, public land, for the public good. as well as millions of dollars and thousands of staff hours to make this a reality. this is what happens when you have bart directors who care about affordable housing and want more of it. you know, their station area that i have been to director meetings and i know how hard you have to fight. this is what happens when you have talented, affordable housing developers who are willing to put in the hundreds of hours to put together tons of applications, tens of thousands of hours of meetings to get this project off the ground. we're here today because none of you gave up -- none of you gave up the vision that san francisco needs to be a place where everyone has an affordable and a stable place to call home. and that public land should be used for the public good. and it shouldn't be this hard, but you did it. so the state is really proud to be here and have invested $15

million in this project through the affordable housing and sustainable communities program because not only do we want -- but we desperately need more of this kind of affordable housing that can get more residents affordably housed while combating climate change and helping to build a strong prosperous community for generations to come. and for all of these accomplishments, i'm proud to stand alongside you today and to thank you for not giving up, for continuing to support your beloved community. because this is an amazing accomplishment and there's so much to celebrate. thank you so much. >> thank you, deputy director, for your kind words and the continuing support for affordable housing that we still need in san tran. we would like to honor the original owners of this land,

the chicago institute [speaking spanish] for a ceremonial blessing. >> it is an honor to be here to do the blessing. and we will thank our ancestors for this day. and the original people of this land for allowing us to do this ceremony. we will do our traditional dance from mexico city. so i hope that you enjoy this blessing that we are doing for all of you. thank you so much for inviting us. (♪♪) (♪♪)

(♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪) (♪♪)

(♪♪) (♪♪)

[applause] >> thank you so much again. and now we'll finish the way that we began. we'll face four directions, the

east where the sun rises and the west where the sun goes down. and then the north and then the south and back to the center, to our creator and mother earth. thank you to all of you. thank you so much.

(♪♪) (♪♪) [applause] >> thank you. thank you for joining us today and receiving the blessing for this site. once again on behalf of mission housing and related california, i would like to welcome everyone to land and community hands. the groundbreaking ceremony for

the balboa park upper yard development. ever since 2016, when we were awarded the rights to build affordable housing here on the corner of geneva and san jose avenues, we committed to a community-based process. this process involved countless hours of community-based organizations, but also a strong, unwavering support of elected officials. and today i would like to welcome someone that is an advocate as well as a supporter of affordable house, our own may mayor of san francisco, mayor london breed. >> good morning, everyone, and thank you so much for being here for this groundbreaking of 131 new affordable units, right here at balboa park upper yard, but also in the heart somewhat of lakeview. i want to say i send a shout out to the lake view community that is here, al and mary harris, i

see you in the back. maurice. and i don't see gwen here today but i know that there's a whole host of people from this community that have been here for generations and when we build affordable housing in san francisco, well, when we did it back then when i was growing up, the people in these communities did not always have access to the units that were built in their communities. and this is why even before i was mayor i fought so hard for neighborhood preference, because i do believe that people who are a part of these communities deserve to continue to be a part of these communities. when i talk about housing and affordability and the need to build more, people talk about coming to san francisco for better opportunities and being able to find a place to stay. and then making a better life for themselves and raising their children in san francisco. but once their children are

adults, they no longer can afford to live here. and that is why this is so important. pedro, i want to have you send a message that, yes, we appreciate the 25% neighborhood preference, but he knows that i want 40%. at least. [applause] so next time -- next project -- fingers crossed. but i want to thank the state for the $30 million investment in this project because it does take a village. and working with bill witty at related and sam moss at mission housing and partnering and working with various community-based organizations to reach out and to make sure that they are a part of the fabric of what makes this affordable housing so special has been instrumental in the success of not just the groundbreaking here today that will develop the units but before we were even ready for construction, your superior safai led the effort to make this a triage location for

people who were homeless living in their cars. they were here and getting the services and resources they need. and i pray commissioner howard that there is a direct connection between those people who were living on this site and were homeless and access to the housing that we're going to build on this site. we have to do better. we have to make sure that people who are unhoused have a direct connection. the application process is something, sam that, you know that we have to change. because not everyone has access to a computer to fill out an application and apply for every single thing they may qualify for. we have to make it easier. we have to make sure that we make those connections. and i'm going to continue to push eric shaw, the mayor's office of housing, who is in the back there to make sure that when we talk about access to affordable housing, we're talking about equity, we're talking about direct connections between community, between

homeless and all of the people that we know that deserve an affordable safe place to call home. that's what this project represents. and so we are glad to be here today to break ground. i want to really thank senator scott wiener for his advocacy on pushing to build and to have more density in places like where we are next to a bart station. in places where it is transit rich, that save not only commute time but it also helps the environment. this project is going to do so much with the childcare center, a bicycle shop, so many great things for the community. health and wellness. because we know that this pandemic has been very challenging on our mental health, especially our children who have not been in school. we got work to do in san francisco. having safe, affordable places with resources and services in community together is going to be instrumental and moving this city forward and making sure that we are successful in our

housing goals, so that we can continue to address the challenges that exist with affordability and homelessness. so i'm so grateful that you're all joining us here today. i want to break this ground like right now, almost, but i know that we have other speakers because i want to come back right away, bill, for this ribbon cutting because we want it nice, we want it great, and we want the community to continue to live and to thrive here. so thank you all so much for being here today. [applause] [horn blowing] >> thank you, mayor london breed, for your words and thank you for supporting us today and being here. i would like to introduce senator scott wiener to the podium. i would like him to add a few words, you know, for support in regards to this project. thank you.

>> thank you, marcia. first of all, i want to thank and congratulate the entire district 11 community for this amazing addition. we know that when it comes to building affordable housing in san francisco we haven't always built it in every part of this city and it's been concentrated in certain areas which is a good thing for those communities, but we need to spread it out more and we need to make sure that we're building housing, including a lot of affordable housing in every single neighborhood in san francisco. we need to move away from the stratification where we only built it in certain places. and district 11 definitely needs this housing and a lot more. so thank you to everyone who made this a reality. as you have heard earlier we have done a lot of work at the state level to grapple with our multimillion home shortage in california. we are short housing in every

income level, particularly at our low-income level and we have been passing laws to make sure that all communities are contributing to our housing needs and that we're speeding up the permitting of housing, that we're zoning for more housing, so we can actually meet our needs, just making all of these important changes. and it is very, very gratifying when you see those laws that we have passed in sacramento translate. and as you heard this project was streamlined and expedited under a law that i passed, senate bill 35, that is -- [applause] thank you. that has streamlined over 2,000 units of affordable housing in san francisco alone, and many thousands of affordable housing all across the state. but it is always important to keep in mind, you know, we have all of these fights about housing and is ceqa and zoning

districts and terms that we fight about a lot. but we have to always remember that behind these very technical terms, behind all of these laws, it is about real live people. it is about human beings in our communities who are struggling. we know people who are not homeless and became homeless and lost their homes and have nowhere to go. people pushed into poverty because of the crushing cost of housing. people who have to leave their communities and move hours away or out of the state entirely. kids who can't afford to live in the community where they grew up. and a huge number of low-income workers in the san francisco and the whole bay area who are at risk of being the next wave of homeless. so we need to always remember as

we have these fight it's at neighborhood meetings, and planning meetings and at the state legislature and at the board of supervisors, these fights and discussions that we have about housing, it is always about people and making sure that people can live with dignity in our community. so congratulations, everyone. [applause] >> thank you, senator wiener, for being here today with us to celebrate this achievement and thank you for all of your support. our next speaker is our supervisor for district 11, supervisor asha safai, we would like to welcome her to the podium to say a few words. >> supervisor safai: well, i don't know left there is to say, but i just want to point at something. look at that crane. you drive around san francisco right now and you count how many cranes are in the sky.

the majority of those cranes are in district 11. go down the street to 4840 mission and there's a crane in the sky. go down to the corner and home s.f. project, crane in the sky. right here at the upper yard, crane in the sky. we need to build housing. this city is facing a housing crisis. and because of the great work of so many people that are here today that you have heard from, thank you to bart for being a partner and working on the plaza. and thank you for mission housing. sam and i -- when i first got elected to office we had one of our very first meetings together with mayor lee. and i said is there childcare on-site? and sam looked the other way and mayor lee said make sure that there's childcare on site. but they didn't even have to hesitate, they made it happen the next day. thank you to bill witty and related for taking my calls and

working us through this process, bringing everyone back together and keeping us focused. and let's give it up one more time for sb35, and senator wiener, for the great work that he did. thank you. because, guess what, there were a lot of people that were not supportive of that in the beginning. they did not believe that it was necessary. they said that affordable housing will be okay, but, guess what, it speeds up the process. the quicker that we can get people housed, the quicker that we can get them on the right path to a better life. thank you, senator wiener. and thank you to cuhj and the community folks for advocating for this site since the beginning and all of my neighbors in action for advocating for this site in the beginning. this is lakeview. thank you, mayor breed, for recognizing this. this is a gateway to a community

that is a forgotten, forgotten part and had been for a very long time. so thank you for the tremendous work and for all of the community leaders. thank you to former supervisor availos to working with the community to get site control on this site and making sure that this would actually be able to be affordable housing. i want to give a special thanks to my friend and our mayor london breed, because when this project was stalling, when this project was facing a funding gap -- and i'm not talking about $100,000, i'm talking about over $20 million. mayor breed did not even hesitate and said we're going to put housing in a part of san francisco that has not had affordable housing in decades. this will be the first 100% family affordable housing ever in this district.

ever funded by tax credits and working with our non-profits. mayor breed, you referenced our safe parking site. that's another thing that we did that was a first for this part of town. we've -- not even for this part of town but our city -- we have never done safe parking, but she didn't hesitate. i went into her office and i used to say i marched, but she didn't like that. i walked into her office respectfully -- [laughter] -- and i asked her for money to do something special with those living in vehicles. and then here we are again about a month ago working with her office and we bought the mission hotel and we'll have a pathway for those living in vehicles to be able to be housed. so the 4840 site and the upper yard site and the mission housing innings mission inn -- not mission housing -- the mission inn site will be affordable housing in this part of town that has not seen any

supportive housing ever. so mayor breed has been a champion for affordable housing and she's been a champion for this part of town. thank you. one last person they want to recognize is treasurer fiona mau. when we were in a bind, when it looked like we might not get the tax credit allocation because that now has become a competitive process, we were able to work with and to advocate for with bill witty, with the mayor's office and with mission housing and to get that allocation which was the last piece on making sure that the funding would line up for this site. so i am so thrilled to be here today. and i'm thrilled to be your supervisor. and i'm so happy to know that residents from sunnydale will be living here. 40% plus neighborhood preference will be living here. and we will be working diligently, mayor breed, with mission housing and the community, to ensure that we do the outreach, to ensure that

residents of this district -- all of my lakeview excelsior will be housed in this part of town and in this district and remain a vital part of this community. one last thing that i want to underscore and i think that it is an important part to underscore and it is something that the mayor and i see eye-to-eye on and i know that it is something that senator wiener has been fighting for for years this will be a very diverse site. it will have incomes that are 35% a.m.i. up to 109% a.m.i. and that means teachers, nurses, laborerrers, janitors, working people that in the past have been forgotten as part of our affordable housing conversation they will be able to live here. along with those struggling to make ends meet at the minimum wage level. all families can access this and

it's something that i'm proud to have championed. so thank you, everyone, for being here today and thank you, marcia and thank you sam moss, , and thank you mission housing, for all of your tremendous work and we'll be breaking the ground soon. and the folks will be moving in thank you, everyone. [applause] >> thank you, supervisor safai, for your kind words. and for remembering district 11, that we are still here on the map. and that we are part of san francisco. so thank you so much. i would like to introduce our next presenters, bill witty is the chairman and the c.e.o. of related california, one of the state's largest developers of affordable housing and it's based here in san francisco. since he founded related california more than 30 years ago, bill was overseeing the development of 16,000 residences, completed over 12,000 affordable units.

his counterpart anne silverberg is the chief executive officer for related california, and northern california affordable and northwest division. she's responsible for the strategic direction, overall management, and daily operations of the company's $2 billion affordable portfolio. in just over three years, anne has grown the northern california and oregon affordable pipelines to approximately 4,000 units under construction and in pre-development. that's a lot of work. that's a lot of work that our partners related california is doing. so please help me to welcome bill witty and later on anne as well. >> thank you. first, i want to thank sam for inviting us in to partner with them. it's been a great partnership. we are long-term partners with them. we look forward to being stakeholders in this community,

so you haven't heard the last of us. but i have to tell you that we developed affordable housing all over california. i have never seen or had the support from the elected officials here that we have here and that you have heard today. i mean, i know that sounds sort of generic, but i'm telling you, you heard mayor breed, supervisor safai, scott -- this is the sixth sb35 deal that we have done for affordable housing. that is just in a few years. it is pretty amazing with this team of elected officials, what they have been able to accomplish because it is not easy. you hear about transit oriented development, how about transit in the development? i mean, this is really unique. so i'm very pleased to be here. and i want to turn it over to anne who she and her team and my partner who did all of the heavy lifting to get this project to where we are today.

>> thank you, bill, and thank you, everyone. i know that i'm standing in between the shovels here so i'll try to make that quick, but i have been given a long list to thanks, and i want to thank you all individually but i won't be able to do that today. i want to say one thing -- this project is near and dear to my heart for a couple of reasons. one, an amazing team that you will hear about in a second. two, it is housing in the community where people live, where people work and it's next to transit. not just transit but high quality transit that is so important in what we need to be doing more of to solve our housing crisis. i want to say thank you, just echo bill's comments and to say thank you to the supervisor and to the mayor. you have been true champions of this project. and like everyone here, i want to say thank you to the senator, thank you very much for sb35. this was approved in months, rather than years, and it is really significant and what we need to do. i want to also say thank you to

sam and the entire mission housing team. you are amazing partners and we couldn't have asked for anyone better to work with. pedro had mentioned millions of dollars and thousands of hours and i think that it might be millions of hours on everyone's part, really, really making this happen, so thank you. and i want to also say thank you to the staff who worked tirelessly on this project and moving it forward. and then as has already been mentioned, bart. there are a lot of details that go into the plaza improvements and coordinating with bart. and, again, millions and millions of hours it feels like in just making sure that every detail is right. a lot of funding comes into a project like this. we have already talked about ecb and you'll hear from the treasurer's office in a second, sue lac, and also wells fargo who is not here, invested just a mere $57 million in an $80 million construction loan, so they're a very important part of

this development as well. and with that i wanted to just say one quick thing to the related team -- i couldn't be more proud to be with you all through this process. you have done an amazing job and i am really, really pleased that we are all here. kay hill, thank you -- they have taken to heart the on-time, on-budget, they did not even stop for this event and making this beautiful project come to life, designed by them. thank you all very much. >> i'm sorry, not to direct things but two quick points. i talked about the support of the elected officials and it sounds general but i'll give you two examples. we had a lot of issues in getting funding from the state, new regs, etc. i called the mayor's office to see if mayor breed could talk to the treasurer and they said oh, she's already done that. that never happened. and, asha -- usually we're calling the elected official, and would you do this -- he

would call me every week -- every month, is this done yet, what can i do? is that enough units? i have never had that experience before. so just thank you to everybody, to mission, and this is a project that as you have heard of, by, and for the community. thank you. [applause] >> okay, we have one additional speaker that represents the uhj, maria medino. can you please join us to the front. [applause] >> [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] >> my name is maria dell ruby and i'm a member of the housing justice team with communities united for health and justice. when i was going through difficult situations in my eviction case, i got involved

with the action team and joined the fight. in san francisco, we have a lottery for affordable housing. i participated in the lottery and i was selected. i was asked for a lot of documentation. according to them i did not qualify because the income was too high. but we did not earn even $50,000 a year for my entire family of five. sometimes the programs made to help us put many obstacles in our way. >> [speaking spanish]

>> to face these challenges, we've had to struggle and organize. the action team includes grandmothers, dads, moms, and our neighbors.

many years ago we started organizing to create more healthy development in our neighborhood. the community has taken a lot of the leadership in securing this piece of land here at the balboa upper yard. youth and june jordan high school collaborated with the department of health to protect the community's health and projects located along a heavily polluted highway. we became scientists. we took to the streets to survey our neighbors in english, spanish, filipino and chinese, and organized several summits to bring the community together. we became the planners. >> [speaking spanish]

>> our youth demanded that the city release this land where we are and dedicate it to affordable housing. as you can see we've won. [applause] we became organizers. and i can say that it is a community that hired the developer, mission housing. to realize our vision, not the other way around.

so mission housing, you can't forget. >> [speaking spanish] spanish] speakingspanish]

gracias. >> our community -- our community -- we are the experts in conditions that impact us. i was one of the participants who attended the series of public meetings with mission housing. the solutions we need to build are affordable housing has to be truly accessible. without too many barriers to best serve the people who need it. we should also include the community in planning and developing solutions. we do not accept top-down solutions. above all, we should come together as a community and continue to advocate for the change that serves and improves our community, working together

and fighting. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> gracias, maria. to end the remarks for today please help me to welcome another vital financial partner of ours, our executive director nancy roles of california tax credit allocation and the california tax debt limit allocation to the front. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. i am nancy roles, the executive director of the tax credit allocation committee and the debt limit allocation committee as i was sitting out in the audience watching these amazing dancers and the musicians, let's give them another hand -- they were fantastic -- i thought, oh, gosh, i sure hope they don't have to speak after them because i'm sure not going to dance for you guys.

so i'm just so very proud of this community and i am here representing treasurer mau who couldn't be here today and i know that she'd be extremely proud to listen to all of these speakers today. everyone was amazing. and it is just so heartwarming. and i also want to say that we said yes to this project in an extremely competitive situation that we're in right now with our scarce resources. i am just so happy that we could say yes to this project and i want to thank all of my partners and everyone who made this possible. and like the mayor said, she's ready to get her hands on these shovels. so let's get to it. thank you. [applause] >> okay, well, thank you, nancy, for your words. and at this time i'd like to

thank a few additional partners of ours, methune architects, and k. hill contractors to put this event together while they are moving around behind us. and to thank a few other folks, mission housing would like to thank our board of directors which is provided support and trust in our team to keep this project moving along. and last but not least, we'd like to thank all of our mission housing team that worked on the project and all of our staff here today that were able to make this celebration happen, even after a couple of days of rain. so can we please give them a round of applause. [applause] i also want to thank related companies and their team for their collaboration and support i would like to invite everyone to the front to get our picture taken and to start breaking the ground. (♪♪)

(♪♪) >> one, two, three... (♪♪) >> after my fire in my apartment and losing everything, the red cross gave us a list of agencies in the city to reach out to and i signed up for the below-market rate program. i got my certificate and started applying and won the housing lottery. [♪♪♪]

>> the current lottery program began in 2016. but there have been lot rows that have happened for affordable housing in the city for much longer than that. it was -- there was no standard practice. for non-profit organizations that were providing affordable housing with low in the city, they all did their lotteries on their own. private developers that include in their buildings affordable units, those are the city we've been monitoring for some time since 1992. we did it with something like this. where people were given circus tickets. we game into 291st century in 2016 and started doing electronic lotteries. at the same time, we started electronic applications systems. called dalia. the lottery is completely free.

you can apply two ways. you can submit a paper application, which you can download from the listing itself. if you apply online, it will take five minutes. you can make it easier creating an account. to get to dalia, you log on to housing.sfgov.org. >> i have lived in san francisco for almost 42 years. i was born here in the hayes valley. >> i applied for the san francisco affordable housing lottery three times. >> since 2016, we've had about 265 electronic lotteries and almost 2,000 people have got their home through the lottery system. if you go into the listing, you can actually just press lottery results and you put in your

lottery number and it will tell you exactly how you ranked. >> for some people, signing up for it was going to be a challenge. there is a digital divide here and especially when you are trying to help low and very low income people. so we began providing digital assistance for folks to go in and get help. >> along with the income and the residency requirements, we also required someone who is trying to buy the home to be a first time home buyer and there's also an educational component that consists of an orientation that they need to attend, a first-time home buyer workshop and a one-on-one counseling session with the housing councilor. >> sometimes we have to go through 10 applicants before

they shouldn't be discouraged if they have a low lottery number. they still might get a value for an available, affordable housing unit. >> we have a variety of lottery programs. the four that you will most often see are what we call c.o.p., the certificate of preference program, the dthp which is the displaced penance housing preference program. the neighborhood resident housing program and the live worth preference. >> i moved in my new home february 25th and 2019. the neighborhood preference program really helped me achieve that goal and that dream was with eventually wind up staying in san francisco. >> the next steps, after finding out how well you did in the lottery and especially if you ranked really well you will be contacted by the leasing agent. you have to submit those document and income and asset

qualify and you have to pass the credit and rental screening and the background and when you qualify for the unit, you can chose the unit and hopefully sign that lease. all city sponsored affordable housing comes through the system and has an electronic lottery. every week there's a listing on dalia. something that people can apply for. >> it's a bit hard to predict how long it will take for someone to be able to move into a unit. let's say the lottery has happened. several factors go into that and mainly how many units are in the project, right. and how well you ranked and what preference bucket you were in. >> this particular building was brand new and really this is the one that i wanted out of everything i applied for. in my mind, i was like how am i going to win this? i did and when you get that

notice that you won, it's like at first, it's surreal and you don't believe it and it sinks in, yeah, it happened. >> some of our buildings are pretty spectacular. they have key less entry now. they have a court yard where they play movies during the weekends, they have another master kitchen and space where people can throw parties. >> mayor breed has a plan for over 10,000 new units between now and 2025. we will start construction on about 2,000 new units just in 2020. >> we also have a very big portfolio like over 25,000 units across the city. and life happens to people. people move. so we have a very large number of rerentals and resales of units every year.

>> best thing about working for the affordable housing program is that we know that we're making a difference and we actually see that difference on a day-to-day basis. >> being back in the neighborhood i grew up in, it's a wonderful experience. >> it's a long process to get through. well worth it when you get to the other side. i could not be happier. i could not be happier. >> he is a real leader that listens and knows how to bring people together. brought this department together like never before. i am so excited to be swearing in the next chief of the san francisco fire department, ladies and gentlemen, let's

welcome, jeanine nicholson. (applause). >> i grew up total tomboy, athlete. i loved a good crisis, a good challenge. i grew up across the street from the fire station. my dad used to take me there to vote. i never saw any female firefighters because there weren't any in the 1970s. i didn't know i could be a fire fighter. when i moved to san francisco in 1990, some things opened up. i saw women doing things they hadn't been doing when i was growing up. one thing was firefighting. a woman recruited me at the

gay-pride parade in 1991. it was a perfect fit. i liked using my brain, body, working as a team, figuring things out, troubleshooting and coming up with different ways to solve a problem. in terms of coming in after another female chief, i don't think anybody says that about men. you are coming in after another man, chief, what is that like. i understand why it is asked. it is unusual to have a woman in this position. i think san francisco is a trailblazer in that way in terms of showing the world what can happen and what other people who may not look like what you think the fire chief should look like how they can be successful. be asked me about being the first lbgq i have an understands because there are little queer

kids that see me. i worked my way up. i came in january of 1994. i built relationships over the years, and i spent 24 years in the field, as we call it. working out of firehouses. the fire department is a family. we live together, eat together, sleep in the same dorm together, go to crazy calls together, dangerous calls and we have to look out for one another. when i was burned in a fire years ago and i felt responsible, i felt awful. i didn't want to talk to any of my civilian friends. they couldn't understand what i was going through. the firefighters knew, they understood. they had been there. it is a different relationship. we have to rely on one another. in terms of me being the chief of the department, i am really trying to maintain an open

relationship with all of our members in the field so myself and my deputy chiefs, one of the priorities i had was for each of us to go around to different fire stations to make sure we hit all within the first three or four months to start a conversation. that hasn't been there for a while. part of the reason that i am getting along well with the field now is because i was there. i worked there. people know me and because i know what we need. i know what they need to be successful. >> i have known jeanine nicholson since we worked together at station 15. i have always held her in the highest regard. since she is the chief she has infused the department with optimism. she is easy to approach and is

concerned with the firefighters and paramedics. i appreciate that she is concerned with the issues relevant to the fire department today. >> there is a retired captain who started the cancer prevention foundation 10 years ago because he had cancer and he noticed fellow firefighters were getting cancer. he started looking into it. in 2012 i was diagnosed with breast canner, and some of my fellow firefighters noticed there are a lot of women in the san francisco fire department, premenopausal in their 40s getting breast cancer. it was a higher rate than the general population. we were working with workers comp to make it flow more easily for our members so they didn't have to worry about the paper

work when they go through chemo. the turnout gear was covered with suit. it was a badge to have that all over your coat and face and helmet. the dirtier you were the harder you worked. that is a cancer causeser. it -- casser. it is not -- cancer causer. there islassic everywhere. we had to reduce our exposure. we washed our gear more often, we didn't take gear where we were eating or sleeping. we started decontaminating ourselves at the fire scene after the fire was out. going back to the fire station and then taking a shower. i have taught, worked on the decontamination policy to be sure that gets through. it is not if or when.

it is who is the next person. it is like a cancer sniper out there. who is going to get it next. one of the things i love about the fire department. it is always a team effort. you are my family. i love the city and department and i love being of service. i vow to work hard -- to work hard to carry out the vision of the san francisco fire department and to move us forward in a positive way. if i were to give a little advice to women and queer kids, find people to support you. keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trying. you never know what door is going to open next. you really don't.

[cheers and >> they were early. i'm on time. well, it's great to be here and portrayal hills somewhat dog patch at the bottom of the hill, one of the iconic night life venues in san francisco celebrating 30 years in business. this is absolutely extraordinary for night life venue. when i think about all the places i went to growing up. the one-up, the glass cat and all these other venues, they're not even open anymore.

so growing up in san francisco, live music, entertainment, events happening in the day and events happening in places like bottom of the hill were just apart of our culture. it's where so many people got their start. and when you think about it, can you imagine back in the day, if you had an opportunity to come to bottom of the hill and actually see santana perform. those kinds of iconic artists performed or got their start in places like this. and when i think about the fact that that pandemic, we have had to all sacrifice and we've had to sacrifice because we've not been able to not only be around 1 another, but we weren't able to enjoy live music. from performing artists, those who dj, those who entertain, play musical instruments, those who sing, it was very hard. can you imagine it being hard on us not being able to see it,

but being hard on the artists who weren't getting paid. hard on the venues who weren't making money and had to lay off staff. it was a tough almost two years we've experienced this pandemic and although we're in a much better place, we still know that many of these venues continue to have challenges. so in san francisco, what we've been able to do which i'm very proud of is our entertainment fund which i work with supervisor haney to establish, we actually invested over $3 million to help night life businesses and i want to thank a lot of folks here from the entertainment industry to make sure we carve out resources specifically for night life entertainment businesses in san francisco. our jams permits, providing opportunities for restaurants in places that normally don't have live entertainment to have live entertainment for their customers especially with all the new park lites and open

space and the outdoor dining. san franciscans know how to adapt. it was challenging, but we adapted, we opened up a lot of great open spaces and provided opportunities for artists. in addition to that waiving over $15 million in fees for light bottom of the hill and other places. and we know there are a lot of state and federal programs and our office of economic workforce development. they have been working hard to make sure everyone who qualifies for any of those resources helping them through the application process to make sure no money is left on the table. because what we don't want is to see more businesses close in san francisco. before this pandemic, it was already challenging and since this pandemic we know it has been extremely brutal. and that's why having resources and programs and things like what we're announcing today are so important. and everyone is probably wondering, why is the city attorney at a press conference?

well, the city attorney just became our city attorney and normally, you probably won't see it at a press conference. but former city attorney david chiu and many of those things were finally starting to feel in some cases the fruits of his labor. a $2.5 million investment from the state thanks to our city attorney former assembly member david chiu that will invest in entertainment venues and parks and plazas and open spaces all over san francisco to support not just paying our artists, our local artists to perform, but also the production costs and all of the things that go into setting up these venues to

entertain you cost a lot of money. and we want to make sure we're supporting this industry and keeping night life and entertainment alive in san francisco. that we're all when you think about it, the city starts to re-open and all of a sudden, you hear music, there's something about that that makes you smile. all of a sudden, you see someone dancing in the streets. but, it's something about seeing people out in the public performing and entertaining the public. the shakespeares in the parks and all the things that we know make san francisco such a great place not just for the people who live here but also who visit here. i remember one of my first concerts as a kid, it was at the fill more and ice cube was performing.

i'll be honest, i snuck in. i didn't have money to buy a ticket and i was probably under age at the time because i was still in junior high. but the fact is, it was like nothing i've ever seen before. but having someone live on stage going to a concert and having a good time and listening to music and feeling good and everyone feeling good and everyone singing the words, there's just nothing like that feeling. it brings people together. it is apart of the fabric of what makes san francisco such a wonderful city it's about our health and well being because entertainment, music, fun, night life is the heart beat of why san francisco is so special. i'm grateful to be here today and at this time, i'd like to introduce city attorney david chiu who is really the champion of this program and the reason why we're here today.

>> thank you so much, madam mayor. thank you for your leadership. do we have any fans of live music here. thank you, madam mayor and reminding me while i am the city attorney, i'm here really as a former assembly member who has been a bit obsessed by live music. i've been asked by a couple folks this morning how i got involved in all this. it started for me when i was in junior high school. and i wrote my first paper on the festival known as wood stock. i am a musician in a past life and the violin is actually what got me through high school and college. it's what allowed me to make some pocket money in orchestras and weddings. and some of you may know that i carry that on here in san francisco. if you google apparently david

chiu and electric violin, i might have been known but let's fast forward. when i first moved to san francisco, i fell in love with the live music scene in our city. and it's not just about the music and the arts and the culture. but it's about what this scene means for our city when it comes to our economic vitality. when it comes to attracting tourists and the rest of the world that wants to come here and have a good time and enjoy the scene that we have. and the men and women behind me have been responsible for that scene represent literally thousands of folks would are part of what makes san francisco great. and we're here in part because the last couple of years, the pandemic and the recession have been catastrophic to this world, to this community. and so a few years ago when a

number of folks, when kc from the san francisco venue coalition, when some of our small business commissioners, i know when ben blyman and sharky laguana and others came. and representing the independent venue association. they came to us and said what more can the state do to assist this. that was when mayor came and said can you help us and figure out how to get some state support for this struggling industry that needs to continue and that is where this idea for sf live was born. what we're talking about is being able to support outdoor performances in and around these incredible live music venues to really remind folks of the magic of music and to ensure that we are keeping folks employed and bringing people back to these incredible establishments like the one that we're in front of right now which rolling stone said is

one of the very best live music venues in the united states. i'm just so delighted to have an opportunity to work with everyone here. i'm looking forward to coming to all these performances. i'll tell you this, my five-year-old son took his first tap dancing class on saturday. when he moves. as the mayor said, he won't be caught dancing on the streets. he likely will be found dancing in front of these venues when we get these performances going and because of that, i'm just so grateful to all the work by everyone here to make this happen. with that, i want to invite up someone who's going to make sure that it all happens. the woman who is now the new head of oewd building on the good work of our former ahead joaquin torres. take it away. >> well, it seems we all have a personal story about music and the arts, so i'll share mine. i'm the daughter of two

professional musicians. from day one until the day they passed four years ago. in classical music. and, for me, that's really informed so much of what i have done in my life and my professional life because i remember how much they struggled and as i carried that forward in my life and my previous incarnation which is about makers and artisans and helping them grow and sustain themselves here in the city to now in my role here at oewd a lot of what drives me is wanting to make sure that musicians and artists and performers and really the cultural trusts of our city have a way to make it for themselves, for their families and to earn a decent respectable life-sustaining living. so, from that, and you look at what is the infrastructure you

need to make that happen? so there are the musicians themselves are artists. there are these cherished venues. when i came here to san francisco 30 plus years ago, i actually was amazed at the new wave and the punk scene and that was what i was personally into and so some of the clubs i started at were more about electronica and this whole mash-up of what has flourished into live music and house and hip hop. we have it all here. but it needs tending like a flower so when i look at something like this investment, thank you as some former assembly member chiu and my team ben laurel for helping

really bring this to culmination these wonderful precious jewels will grow here in the city. at the highest level of economic recovery. this is also i believe the way that we get our city back. we get to reimagine and reinfuse san francisco with what makes us special, what makes us only here in san francisco and i fully believe that our arts and music and cultural assets need to lead the economic recovery front and center. they are the reason people move here. they are the reason people are starting to return back to their offices in downtown and they are certainly the reason why our visitors international and domestic are going to continue to come back here to san francisco. so with that, enough of us government folks.

let's hear from somebody who actually knows how to do this, please. [ applause ] >> wow. we feel really supported. oh, my gosh, i need notes. i'm not good at this. for our venue, bottom of the hill, we were closed for 17 silent months. it seems pretty excruciating and that was the first time that we ever considered the possibility that we might not open again. we prided ourselves on being scrappy and resourceful and survivors, but i think everyone here and across the country and the world realized for the first time that live music venues are fragile and need to be supported. that created change though which is good. we were pushed to forge friendships and alliances and the san francisco venue coalition which were and still

are working hard for positive change and adaptation. and adaptation is definitely needed because there's a lot of continuing hardships in this field. we have a lot of band camp cancellations. people are not showing up because they're so afraid. supply chain issues, rising costs. somehow it's a rebirth and it's been completely joyful and we've had seven sell-outs in the past two weeks. so that's fantastic. and other days, it kind of seems like we're never going to be out of the grip of covid and its continuing challenges. so this initiative is incredibly exciting for me and many venues. it allows a venue like ours that's very intimate to go to larger arenas and reach the

people that don't feel safe going inside to a live show and without all the red tape and the prohibitive price tags that putting on a live music outside once entailed and it allows us to bring our individual venue styles to different spaces across the city to show visitors and locals what we're all about. i think most importantly, in marks a historic time where our leaders are taking music seriously and making a choice to invest in it. there's no reason why cities like norlz, nashville, and austin get to be a music city. music drives tourism and music runs through our veins in san francisco. it's the best city in the

world. we need to show it off and now we can. but i want to thank a few people. everyone here, i want to thank -- he didn't want to be thanked, but ben van houghton. this guy actually listens to people in venues and since well before covid and makes change happen. he didn't want to be thanked, but i had to. and city attorney david chiu and mayor london breed, you all are amazing. thank you for stepping up to the plate for us. and we really look forward to partnering with you on this, for innovative initiative. it's the right move. it's very san francisco and we hope not only to survive but to thrive in the near future.

that's it. now i have the distinct pleasure of introducing casey who has worked hard for the music industry and he's fabulous and he works for the san francisco alliance as well as many other hats. take it away. [ applause ] >> thank you city attorney chiu and mayor breed for your support and engagement throughout the pandemic. i'm the assistant general manager at bill graham civic auditorium as well as the co-founder of the san francisco coalition. and during the pandemic provided an opportunity for over 40 independent venues in san francisco to share ideas, commiserate together and most importantly to engage our elected officials. we are thrilled to see this effort and look forward to developing these plans along with the office of economic work force and development.

live music in san francisco is synonymous. thank you >> thank you casey and thank you to everyone that's joining here today and i just want to take an opportunity to recognize our entertainment commissioners. ben blyman and starkey are all here. can you guys do a little wave. these are true night life and entertainment advocates in san francisco and just to be clear. i'm not just doing this because

i like to party. i also think that it is needed at a time like this. nothing has made me more happy than to be out and about watching live performances, plays, and sees events. some of you also know that i used to run a nonprofit organization and just to see kids from not even looking you in the eye. like who is that kid, like who is that person. the arts and entertainment in san francisco, it does so much and i remember when i served as a member of the board of supervisors and there were a number of new housing developments going up and there was some threats of places like even bottom of the hill being closed because of complaints from neighbors who had just

moved here in some of the new developments. and so i remember some of the legislation to say you basically have to sign and know that a night life exists within a certain range because i just think that it's sad and unfortunate and unfair for a place like this that's been around for 30 years to be able to be sued or to be closed or to be, you know, taken away from our city in that way and so i think i want people to know in general, you know, san francisco's a major city. it's a great city. there's a lot of noise everywhere and what we are going to continue to do is make sure that we protect our venues like bottom of the hill. they've been around for 30 years. it's a great venue. there's just something about being in an intimate space and listening to live music and also walking into a place where people know who you are. where you feel like you're connected to the bartenders and

the staff. it just makes you feel good and so part of what i wanted to do today to recognize bottom of the hill for their resiliency, for staying here, for working with us, for providing the input in the changes to policies and resources that we needed to provide as a city, i wanted to take this opportunity and recognize you and bottom of the hill on your 30th anniversary and come on up. and just present you with a certificate of honor because we know that bottom of the hill is now eligible to be a legacy business. so we need to be well on our way to protecting this institution in san francisco because we want to see the next santanas and other incredible musicians continue to come out of here. this is a real jewel. you're a real jewel for doing all the hard work to make it happen and continuing this great work. i know you started working in the kitchen at this location

and now you're in charge of it and running the show. it's pretty remarkable and it is truly what makes san francisco a wonderful place. congratulations on 30 years. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> and, i noticed your lovely vintage attire as well. you can tell she's very artsy. i love that about san francisco. with that, without further adieu before i open it up to questions, valley brown is joining us as well as our assessor recorder and i've mentioned the other commissioners and others. so, you know, this is really a team effort. it's something that we all care about and something we're going to continue to push and as you know, grants for the arts presents a lot of funding for the festivals and the parades and the other activities that we do. and so we're going to beef it up because we want our streets to be fun and live with

entertainment. so thank you all so much for joining us. and then i'll just hope it up for a few quick questions. >> in addition to the $2.5 million in state money, are there any rule changes coming with this initiative to make it easier to do these live performances? and if i could ask a second question. talk about that old mcdonald site. i'm wondering if you can give an explanation about your administration would not move forward. what was the first one? >> those are two questions. >> anything to make it change. >> so i think what we tried to do specifically the jams permit during the closure was to make it easier for not just night life venues to have entertainment, but also for some of our restaurants and other places that traditionally don't have that. we are definitely looking at ways to make it easier to get

permits and to have these things occur in san francisco. i think we did that during the pandemic and i'm hoping that it will continue and, clearly, ben is doing his job. so, ben, you get to stay at oewd because, you know, that's an indication that he is doing his job. the office of economic and work force development. we are of the business of getting to yes to support our businesses in san francisco, to make sure they have the resources and support they need to cut the bureaucracy. so whatever we can do policy wise or resource wise, we're going to do it. before i move on to your next question, i need to answer any other questions related to this. >> i'm just confused as to how this is going to work. how is it going to work? >> yeah. the way it's going to work.' there's a lot of people also who may not own brick and mortars, but promoters who are going to use a lot of our

plazas, like downtown holiday plaza, u.n. plaza, various plazas and parks and open space, civic center. all over san francisco and various neighborhoods i forget what this new location is called over here. we also need to look at geographic equity. we can't just have it in the center of the city or the downtown area, we want to have it in neighborhood activities, festivals and other events and so the plan is to work with the entertainment community. many have already expressed interest, but concern because of the cost related to it. there's definitely a market to do this and the goal is to make sure it's spread throughout the city and ultimately, we want to make sure that local artists are prioritized and paid for this program as well.

>> [inaudible] >> i don't know. i just showed up here. does anybody know why we came here? why not here? >> yeah. why not here? i'm like, i don't know why did we hold it here? >> okay. you can quote me on that. >> [inaudible] >> and, i'm sorry, are we finished with the questions related to this night life venue related stuff? okay. >> reporter: okay. so members are calling on the city to donate to the if fillmore area nonprofit for reparations. what do you think of that? >> we haven't made a decision

about that. it's a lot more complicated because the property is under redevelopment disposition laws so it's not as if it's as simple l as donating without making sure there's some financial -- i don't know how to explain it exactly, but there's things that we are obligated to do as a city which will require money and so until we have a clear understanding of what that would entail and what it would mean, we don't know if that's going to be possible. so we're going to do everything we can to work with the community which we have from the very beginning, but at this point, the state law will super cede what we're able to do here locally. >> i've not made a decision on that yet. >> going back to the same -- >> i'm sorry. i'm going to go back to him. >> i think your administration's going to be asked again the rationale for not going forward. >> i think i made my answer clear when i talked at the

board of supervisors meeting. the supervisors put money in the budget to pay for a drop-in center. it went out to bid and the only organization that bid on it basically asked for a lot more money in order to do it and we were not willing to provide any additional resources to do it nor were we willing to use the amount of money just to cover their staff expenses. so how is that going to work? part of it was money. the other challenge is, you know, just the challenges of what has existed in the hate ashbury community and needing to make sure that we have an organization or group or program that's going to help to eliminate some of the problems that have existed with this population for a very long time. clearly, what's happening there now is not working and i'm not 100% certain that adding this additional resource is going to make a difference. >> [inaudible] >> i don't know yet.

because again we have an obligation under state redevelopment disposition law and that's what's made it way more complicated. we would have done something already, but there's certain obligations that we have to meet under state law. and so i'm not sure if the ability to provide it to the community is even an option without financial support being attached to it in some capacity. so i don't know. we are working on it and it's more complicated than that and as a member myself of the black community, not everyone is in agreement. at the end of the day, you know, the work that we do with the city is going to be responsible and ultimately hopefully be of benefit to the community and we're going to try to work on that and we'll see what happens. >> would you like to see this happen? i would like to see the venue open. i would like to see the venue become a huge success. i don't want to see the venue continue to be a financial drain on the city. and so that's one of the things that we need to work towards,

but ultimately, a lot of the guiden principles for how we make decisions with that venue have everything to do with state law. thank you. >> san francisco is coming back for real. the weather is all right. hi everybody. i'm san francisco mayor london breed and i'm glad to be here with all of you today at city hall. i know we come and we gather for so many different things, but today is an opportunity for us to recognize some unsung heroes in our city.

and let me tell you it has been a very challenging 18 months when the decision to shelter in place was made and we had to communicate to the public. we had a very challenging time. so many people said what are we going to do. there are people who need to be fed. there are people who don't have a roof over their heads. their folks who need support. we don't even know what this virus is. how are we going to get ppe? it was a very tough time and not only did san francisco do an incredible job, the people standing up here with me today. they rolled up their sleeves.

they didn't shy away and they put themselves at risk in order to help other people. and so today, we are honoring them you saw us as the faces of the challenges of the pandemic and people throughout the city, but a lot of folks don't realize when we first were dealing with this pandemic, we embedded an equity team in our response. and part of that was to make sure we got resources to places that traditionally would be left out had we not made those investments who were apart of the fabric of the community. they were already on the ground doing the work and when we needed additional help to

provide additional resources. they didn't hesitate. they didn't hesitate and it was tough because there was so much uncertainty. it was tough because in some cases, you know, outbreaks happened, uncertainty, concern about friends and families, but they still showed up every single day with the people that were apart of their teams that were dedicated to doing the work to take care of people and the reason why we're here today is because we need the entire city to know what they did. we need the entire city to recognize they took care of our kids in chinatown. they took at the forefront of

reason and i could not have done it without them and so i want to thank them for raising their hands to do testing and setting up makeshift testing sites. to i want to to get people in the community who had concerns about the vaccine. to go out and educate and support and answer questions all of these things that's why san francisco is so amazing and so special. because these people represent.

they represent what is so amazing and so good about our city. yes. we have our challenges like any other we have compassionate people who believe in service, who believe in the very best of other people and believe in making sure that everyone deserves an opportunity to get resources, to get support. to have a roof over their heads and whether this pandemic hit or not. they would still be out there doing that work. so today we honor them and they would call them up individually. i want to bring back dr. grant colfax. i was not very happy with the news that he was reporting to me because i know what it meant for me to go out there and have

to tell members of the public who were going to be upset with me and the decisions we had to make. but we did it and what we saw in san francisco, one of the lowest death rates in the country although we're one of the most dense cities in the country. what we saw or what we continue to see one of the highest vaccination rates. so say what you want about san francisco. we're trying to be safe. we're trying to be healthy and we're trying to live and we're trying to thrive in this city and public health is at the forefront of this city and the person who helps make those decisions is dr. grant colfax. [ applause ]

>> well, thank you, mayor breed and a heart felt thank you to our 9 leaders here today and then the testing questions that came and then the vaccine questions and i want to thank you for everything that you've done. because of your work and equity based approach, we have kept hospitalizations and deaths low. we have re-opened the city. schools are back in session and we resume so many of these activities that make us feel whole again and it really is because of you. the results show for instance with vaccines, our vaccination rates. our vaccinations among people of color are highest in the

nation and lead our vaccination rates in the city. and it's no accident. it's because of your work that vaccines and testing are readily available. we have 100 vaccine sites. and san franciscans are within a 10 minute walk of a site and that's why we managed to get 80% of our eligible population. and i was just talking to several of you before the event, needles are going to kids' arms. they're getting the shot and we're doing over a 1,000 a day great progress. now, that is one thing, but i think one of the key things in our responses is they're only one thing. they are so important. they're key to getting out of this pandemic, but there's so many other key issues that are of importance for us to

address. the wide ranging emotional and social well being of ourselves, our family and our community. you all saw this early on. we had conversations. you led the department in our response from providing diapers, food, masks, digital support. families struggling with remote learning. this is about the whole city, the many city departments and the community coming together to help with education and helping people understand and abide by our health orders. helping seniors get to medical appointments and reaching our most vulnerable who are unhouseded. we have so much to be proud of and the challenges ahead. i am confident we will meet them together. thank you for your dedication and partnership with the city. let's keep it going and let's get our boosters.

all right. so we are now going to recognize our vaccine heroes and i will read the name of the recipient and the mayor will present. correct? okay. bay point advocates. bayview. we're doing a photograph with each one and then a group. correct? >> i didn't even know i was supposed to speak. i'm honored to receive this

award. representing the folks in bayview hunter's point. through the pandemic, it has been such a life lesson learning and just an experience because i experience and got covid myself. so that was just, you know, an eye opener for me just one of those things. i'm in the community. when it came down to me, i'm like, now, what do i do. that life experience and hesitancy, i know what folks and residents are experiencingment you lose someone in the community. thank you to everyone getting the vaccine. if you're not doing them if you're not thinking about getting the vaccine, find different approaches, wholistic approaches and thank you all

for this awesome experience and award. [ applause ] >> so our next honoree is father moses agud of the parishes. father organized the safe spaces and set up vaccine clinics and helped conduct online masses during shelter-in-place to help people stay connected. thank you. >> actually, i haven't prepared anything. when i used to prepare things i'd talk for two or three hours. so i just want to say thank you to the mayor and the people they are working with. i think it's important for us

for the city of san francisco as much as possible receive these and collaborate and be responsible. and i think if we can work together the benefit for the people. [ applause ] >> our next honoree is annie chung from self-help for the elderly. during a time where our seniors were struggling to get access. annie and her team stepped up to help and to get them vaccinated. annie, thank you so much for your work. [ applause ] >> thank you, mayor. and thank you dr. colfax. i accept this on behalf of our

community. l all american medical group to do all the vaccination for our home bound seniors and the seniors that couldn't come out and get vaccinated. so thank you, mayor, for all the resources that you give us as well as all the help that department of public health gave us. thank you very much. >> next up is earnest jones for the southwest community corporation. >> happy birthday! >> it's your birthday too? well, happy birthday. earnest led in areas where we needed to set up testing and vaccine clinics for people who could not make it all the way down to mosconi and other sites. thank you for being an unsung hero. [ applause ]

>> just to be really brief and quick, i want to give a shout-out and thank you to the covid command center and the leadership of our city. aaron geoffrey at the time did an amazing job at the time. beyond that, it was a supportive effort. this is for all of lakeview. the community came together and worked together to make sure everyone was safe and that was because of the love that everybody has for their community. thank you for your leadership and thank you for the work. [ applause ] >> next up is berta hernandez with dph, department of public health. berta was with a local nonprofit that helped our latino families get access to what they needed. berta, thank you for being there and everywhere and thank

you for being an unsung hero. [ applause ] >> thank you everybody. i am very proud of my community. the community i belong to was more hard hit in the beginning of the pandemic. we lost people, many were sick. many lose their jobs and even had the resources to be quarantined. so it's at the same time, i'm so proud of the community because everybody was able to come together and to look for each other and not let anyone behind, so we were able to survive. i'm so thankful to my newco

workers at d.p.s. and i'm so proud of them. thank you. [ applause ] >> all right. our next honoree is felicia thibedeau. she has helped get more than a 1,000 people vaccinated by referring them to vaccine clinics. thank you for being an unsung hero. [ applause ] >> thank you to mayor breed, dr. colfax, the dph staff and to the wellness hub. the we rock. that would be i.c.y., win, mary harris omicpp our kids first

and african american early childhood educators. together, we partner with our resources. they work hard, they bust, they rock. thank you everyone. [ applause ] . >> next up is isabella ventura with ryan martin health services. isabella's been on the front lines as a primary care provider and helps support our lgbtqi communities and especially our transgender residents to help get access to covid resources. thank you for your work. [ applause ] >> on behalf of my team, i'd like to thank dr. colfax and mayor breed for your amazing work. thank you for your dedication

and your dedication to provide health -- quality health services to our marginalized and underserved population here in san francisco. and thank you dph for this recognition. thank you. [ applause ] >> our next honoree is monica worked on street outreach medical teams to help people experiencing homelessness. monica, thank you for your work. >> so i'm so grateful to the city of san francisco and especially to you, mayor breed because you guys believed in science, you put that first and put everybody's well being in priority and i'm so grateful for that because we were able to go to the streets and help

the misunderstood populations and we were able to take this head-on. so thank you so much and thank you for this award. [ applause ] >> and our final honoree today is gwendelyn westbrook. i think as so many people know here to address food induring the pandemic. emblem attic of our wholistic approach. congratulations and thank you. >> everybody knows how much i love them especially people at united council.

i want to thank everybody who helped me, even the ones i had to chase down to make you get your shots. it's all good. the mayor, she knows how much i love her. we've got a girls group and we're all so proud of you. this has been a very difficult task, but without the team that we built that united council which includes maestro curtis and the c-notes. helping us get the word out. making sure people in the community knew we were out there to give food. he did all that. him and his wife and dhirn supported united council and i have so much love for all of them. my staff, you guys are the most remarkable people in san francisco. you never took a day off. you worked your tails off, we stepped up and we worked as a

team. we know the team work makes the dream work and that's what we did in bayview hunter's point. that not having any cases of covid at united council with as many people we serve is because of you. it's because you guys were diligent to the cause. we knew what we had to do and i'll be darned if we didn't get it done. i am so proud of all of you. this award is for us, for all of us, not just me because like i have always told you, i couldn't do it alone. so i'm up here accept. thank you, mayor.

>> well, gwenyth and maestro and the c-notes. i'm sure you caught them on america's got talent. the world i had to tell shamman, not the bayview. we even served the whole city, but they were born and raised in the fillmore. they're doing great things we have all these incredible people. just saying thank you. we are here to appreciate them and recognize them. we're grateful for their service and i'll tell you, whether there was a pandemic or not, whether there was an award

or not, these are the people still on the ground doing the hard work every day and so we appreciate them so much and grateful that they came out and we're here to celebrate and uplift you and thank you all so much. it's a true blessing to the people of san francisco. [ applause ] >> i personally love the mega jobs. i think they're a lot of fun. i like being part of a build that is bigger than myself and outlast me and make a mark on a landscape or industry. ♪♪♪

we do a lot of the big sexy jobs, the stacked towers, transit center, a lot of the note worthy projects. i'm second generation construction. my dad was in it and for me it just felt right. i was about 16 when i first started drafting home plans for people and working my way through college. in college i became a project engineer on the job, replacing others who were there previously and took over for them. the transit center project is about a million square feet. the entire floor is for commuter buses to come in and drop off, there will be five and a half acre city park accessible to everyone. it has an amputheater and water

marsh that will filter it through to use it for landscaping. bay area council is big here in the area, and they have a gender equity group. i love going to the workshops. it's where i met jessica. >> we hit it off, we were both in the same field and the only two women in the same. >> through that friendship did we discover that our projects are interrelated. >> the projects provide the power from san jose to san francisco and end in the trans bay terminal where amanda was in charge of construction. >> without her project basically i have a fancy bus stop. she has headed up the women's

network and i do, too. we have exchanged a lot of ideas on how to get groups to work together. it's been a good partnership for us. >> women can play leadership role in this field. >> i tell him that the schedule is behind, his work is crappy. he starts dropping f-bombs and i say if you're going to talk to me like that, the meeting is over. so these are the challenges that we face over and over again. the reality, okay, but it is getting better i think. >> it has been great to bond with other women in the field. we lack diversity and so we have to support each other and change the culture a bit so more women see it as a great field that they can succeed in. >> what drew me in, i could use

more of my mind than my body to get the work done. >> it's important for women to network with each other, especially in construction. the percentage of women and men in construction is so different. it's hard to feel a part of something and you feel alone. >> it's fun to play a leadership role in an important project, this is important for the transportation of the entire peninsula. >> to have that person -- of women coming into construction, returning to construction from family leave and creating the network of women that can rely on each other. >> women are the main source of income in your household. show of hands. >> people are very charmed with the idea of the reverse role, that there's a dad at home instead of a mom. you won't have gender equity in the office until it's at home. >> whatever you do, be the best

you can be. don't say i can't do it, you can excel and do whatever you want. just put your mind into it. >> this meeting will come to order. welcome to the november 29, 2021 regular committee of land use and transportation of is san francisco board of supervisors. i am supervisor melgar joined by supervisor preston and peskin. erica major is our clerk. i would acknowledge sfgovtv for staffing this meeting. do you have any announcements? >> committee members participated through video conference to the same extent as if present. the board recognizes that public access is essential and invites public participation in the following ways. public comment will be available on each item on the agenda

channel 26, 78 or 99 and sfgovtv are streaming the call-in number on the screen. each speaker is allowed two minutes. comments or opportunities to speak are available by calling the number on the screen. 415-655-0001 id today 24944111140. press pound and pound again. you will hear the discussions and be muted and in listening mode only. when your item comes up dial star 3 to be added to the speaker line. call from quiet location, speak clearly and slowly. turn down your television or radio. you may submit public comment to

myself land use and transportation clerk. if you submit public comment via e-mail it will be made part of the official file. written comments may be sent through the u.s. postal service through city hall room 244. finally items acted today will appear on december 7th agenda unless otherwise stated. madam chair. >> thank you very much, madam clerk. call item 1, please. item one ordinance submitting the planning code to add seoul

tracktitioner massage establishments to the definition of health services in article 7. regulate massage establishments consistent with health services. dial 415-655-0001 to speak. madam chair. >> supervisor melgar: i understand that the sponsor has amendments to introduce. the city attorney has not quite had time to get through the amendments. colleagues, i want to alert us after we hear this before we make a motion we may have to go on to item 2 and then come back to this item if the city attorney has not quite gotten to

where he needs to be. with that, we have three presenters for this item. first is amy with supervisor ronen's office. then veronica flores from planning and regina the outgoing director for the office of small business. thank you. the floor is yours. >> thank you so much, chair melgar and committee members preston and peskin. thank you for making time to hear this item today. legislative aid to supervisor hillary ronen. a brief overview before planning presents the details. i was unaware of the notification from the city attorney. hopefully we can clear this tup.

in april supervisor ronan introduced this legislation to make it easier for small business owners to operate massage establishes to permit where other health services operate. they face zoning controls that may being it impossible to open and survive in san francisco. this is based on outdated thoughts about the small businesses associate with human trafficking. compared with other health services actupuncture and choir practer there are insurmountable oktacles to work outside the city or leave the industry. they were hard-hit and are now

struggling to reestablish themselves the changes in this legislation serve law full business owners to prevent human trafficking. this would amend the planning code to allow the businesses to satisfy all other permitting and public health requirements to open in a zoning district where health services are permitted to operate. importantly, this proposes a new legislation to prohibit health spa, salons and grooming services for three years for anyplace where massage was closed due to violation of health codings. then if they re-open with different branding with personal service and ensure continued abatement of illicit human

trafficking. i am requesting the following actions on supervisor ronan. first, we are asking for a motion to accept the amendments proposed by the planning commission. those were distributed to you and the clerk. e-mail this morning. essentially, those provide an exception to permit massage establishments as accessory to personal service. replaces within in the tables with accessory more standard terminology. clerical amendment to copy the footnote reference to aplycable within the file there. are further amendments we would like to follow-through with on trailing legislation and those would require to december 6th

land-use committee. we hope to move it at that point. grateful to supervisor mandelman as the cosponsor on this and partner thinking through the details. outgoing office of small business director has been supportive. my understanding she is not able to be here today. she sept a letter of -- sent a letter of support. veronica flores will present the details. jennifer from dph provided guidance as well. grateful to candace and christine from the san francisco massage council.

veronica is next. >> thank you. welcome. the floor is yours. >> thank you, chair melgar. good afternoon, supervisors. planning department staff. i want to reiterate this item appeared in front of the planning commission on june 3rd at which time they unanimously recommended approval with modification. these have all been incorporated in the version in front of you today. i will provide a general overview of the ordinance and really this will regulate massage establishments with health services. unless they are on the second floor and above in which case massage establishments would be permitted on the second floor. the only exception includes massage establishments on any floor in a hotel. the resulting effect is that massage establishments would be

in more zoning districts city-wide and in locations not currently allowed. the code would classify sole practitioner and health services. extend the conditional use to all hotels regardless of the number of rooms. just briefly, the planning commission had the three recommended modifications. i will go over them. first related to extending an exception for personal services like hotels. second recommended modification related to ensuring zoning controls stay the same or more permissive than today. last is a clerical amendment to ensure appropriate footnotes were there as needed.

these have been incorporated. this concludes the commission report. we are available for any questions. thank you. >> i appreciate that very much. next we have ms. andresey. are you here. >> she is unavailable for this meeting. she sent a statement if you would like me to read it. >> no, we got it. >> supervisor melgar: do we have any questions for ms. flores or fineart. >> i thank supervisor ronen for leadership on this. i know folks have been patiently

waiting. that is quite a bit of history on this and a lot of unintended consequences from some well intended legislation that put these business owners and practitioners in an extremely difficult situation for a long time. i would like to be added as a cosponsor to the item. i express my appreciation to all of the advocates working on this and to supervisor ronan for leading the effort to get it changed. thank you. >> thank you so much. i have heard from the city attorney that they need more time. why don't be we go ahead and take public comment on this item. then hold off on voting the amended version forward and the duplicated version to december 6 until after we hear from the city attorney, if that is okay.

madam clerk. public comment on this item, please. >> thank you. we are checking to see if there are caller in the queue. press star 3 to be added to the queue. press it once. if you are on hold continue to weight. the system will indicate you are unmuted to begin your comments. we have nine listeners today for this item. three in the queue. we have matthew assisting us. unmute the first caller, please. >> hello. i am eric stein with investment properties. we own 450 sutter in union square a medical professional building. i thank you for considering my input back in june, i believe. we have had many massage businesses legitimate in the business in the original

proposal would have precluded them from being hosted in our facility. i appreciate the current changes allowing personal service is the accommodation that we would be able to fall under. that would be my input. thank you so much. >> thank you. next speaker. >> i am christine do. i am a board certified stricttural integratetor. regulated under massage therapy. 2500 of training. i practice in the medical building. it is time to change the zoning law impacting those regulated under massage therapy. we are women and minorities making only $40,000 per year.

the intent to curb human traffic is admirable. the dph regulations already control bad actors. at the state level it is a division ii. the easing of the zoning laws in the appropriate health service zoning. support the growth of as a of smallbusinesses as we rebuilr economy. >> next speaker. >> linda chapman. speaking for what happened in the neighborhood commercial district of nob hill when they turnid into entertainment district this. is a terrible mistake. 450 sutter is a medical building. i would expect anything in there is controlled and at 5:00 or

6:00 it closes and there are guards. in my neighborhood when the bars took over and the chief shut down some of that operation. we were flooded with massage parlors. they call themselves foot massage that didn't require conditional use. at 2:00 in the morning when i heard the loud music around the corner and not a bar, what was it? massage parlor, right? big van full of men to get inside. i have no objection to women selling their bodies on their own terms. i worked in welfare rights. friends in the legal secretaries were in the export business. that is different. when you say hotels, you are talking about a commercial

hotel. what about residential hotels. on van ness there was a brothel in the residential hotel there. all of these women one night when it rained were coming out in flower pants. that is all they were rain with rain gear on their heads going in there on my corner as well. these foot massage places. how many foot massages do you think the people of nob hill or other people need. there are blocks and blocks of them. when i walk around trying to find the locations that i do see advertised. there is less advertising. they are still there. >> your time is elapsed. next speaker this. is the last caller in the queue. >> thank you very much, madam

clerk. i have no word from the city attorney. >> madam chair there is one more speaker. >> next caller, please. >> greetings. i am for number 2. i apologize. >> no worries. that completes the queue. >> supervisor melgar: supervisor peskin. >> supervisor peskin: thank you to the last speaker. i did actually and didn't have a chance to speak to ms. fine art this weekend. i want to ask a question of the project sponsor. let me concur with supervisor preston. i will adopt his words. i did have the question about the delition of the word tourist

from hotel on page 10 at line 11. there is a difference between a residential hotel and a tourist hotel. i think what the industry wants. i have not spoken to the industry. to be able to have massage in visitor serving hotels. maybe the right thing to do. i understand the difference and there is a proposal to deletes that contains 100 rooms. if we replace tourists with visitor serving. we would not implicate residential hotels. those words should be run by the city attorney. i am seeing ms. fine art nodding in affirmative that will take care of it and be good public policy. i support this whole heartedly.

>> ms. fine art did you want to respond. >> only that i understand the intent and agree with the intent. i am sure supervisor ronan would as well. i would defer then to see if veronica flores from her knowledge of the planning code and the city attorney who is staffing today. >> ms. flores. >> thank you. just to elaborate on that change removing the word tourist from section 303. tourist hotel is not officially listed under our definition section. that was part of the clarification associated with containing 100 rooms or more. there is a separate land use

definition for residential hotel. that would be a residential use. that would not be impacted by the changes in this ordinance. again two separate definitions. does that clarify for you a little bit, supervisor peskin? >> i am quickly going to definitions in section 102, which is not in what is before us. i will pull it up as we are continuing this conversation. i don't know if it makes sense to just say hotel as defined in section 102 or to say on page 10 excluding capital rh residential hotels. so it is abundantly clear and there is no confusion. i will defer to the city

attorney. i hear you that hotel is defined as a tourist defined in 102 and residential hotel is defined. that might not be clear to the reader in these sections. let me look it up real quick. >> while we do that. i am waiting for the city attorney. why don't we pause on this item. there she is. >> hello. >> i believe we just got confirmation the committee is looking at the current be draft. the amendments we are looking at are substantive. since we know we have substantive amendments before us that gives us time to work out the right language for the concept that supervisor peskin proposed so we are not stepping on defined terms in the planning code. it does sound like we have a

proposal from planning staff that would probably work. we want to make sure we are not usurping terms that have other meanings in the planning code. >> supervisor preston: i assume that would not be a substantive thing for next week? >> it is not different from the language in there. using different words to mean the same thing. my sense is that is correct. if we come up with different words than we are proposing now that might change the picture. i do not think it would be substantive. >> supervisor preston: i am looking at the code. hotel is residential as chapter 41 definition as set forth in the admin code. i just don't be want anybody to get the sense that hotel encompasses hotel, residential

as further define understand the code. if there is a way to make that abundantly clear, that is what everybody is cool with. >> i can work with my colleague who drafted these amendments to work on that language between now and next week. >> supervisor melgar: we will go ahead. would you please move the amendment. >> so moved. >> so moved. >> madam clerk. >> on the motion to amend item 1. supervisor peskin. >> aye. >> supervisor preston. >> aye. >> supervisor melgar. >> aye. >> you have three ayes. >> motion to duplicate the file

and continue the file to the call of the chair and schedule the original file as amended for hearing next week, december 6th. is that right, ms. fine art? >> yes, although we would be happy to have the duplicated file also heard next week because the substantive amendments that rerequire to planning. >> let's make our decision next week and duplicate the file next week. i withdraw the motion and make a motion to continue the item as amended for one week. >> thank you so much. madam clerk. call the roll, please. >> on the motion to continue as amended made by supervisor peskin. supervisor peskin.

>> aye. >> supervisor preston. >> aye. >> supervisor melgar. >> aye. >> you have three ayes. >> thank you so much. thank you, ms. fine art. please call item 2. >> ordinance directing the mayor's office of housing and community development to conduct an impact analysis on granting a priority for veterans who qualify for an affordable housing preference under administrative code, chapter 47. call the number on the screen. 415-655-0001. meeting id24944111140. pound twice. if you have not done so, press star 3 to speak. the system will indicate you have raised your hand.

madam chair. >> supervisor melgar: we have the sponsor of the legislation here today. supervisor mar. >> welcome, supervisor mar. >> thank you, chair melgar and supervisors preston and peskin for the opportunity to consider the legislation to take an important step to extending access to affordable housing for veterans in our city. as we conclude veterans month this is a time to give thanks to veterans for service and sacrifice to our country. for me this includes my father who served in the army and veterans in the family and friends. i would like to thank and acknowledge the veteran organizations who worked with my office on this legislation.

there are approximately 24,000 veterans in our city, all of whom have made significant personal and professional sacrifices to serve our country. that makes veterans deserving of consideration of public support and preferences. this is especially true for affordable housing. affordable rental housing and homeless housing. veterans face challenges when they come home. along with employment and mental health services. affordable housing is key to successful society reintegration. really it is necessary to support a long term success of veterans. many have slipped into poverty and homelessness when affordable housing and support is not available.

in 2019 the count was 600 chronically homeless. 9% of the total count. in 2017 study by university of southern california. over 40% post-911 veterans were homeless in the previous year. not just struggling with homelessness but i have heard from vets with stable jobs who are low to middle income who face barriers accessing the city's programs. the city's existing rental housing programs for veterans through the housing authority are only be available to veterans up to 50% a.m.i. many with income but 50% a.m.i. are not eligible for the programs are at risk of housing

insecurity. over the past year i have been working with veteran organizations and leader to develop this proposal to increase access to affordable housing for veterans to prevent homelessness and support self-sufficient efficiency and reintegration in the community. the legislative proposal will grant priority for veterans that qualify for one of the four programs in the affordable housing programs. we have a number of preferences applicants for affordable housing can qualify for to increase chances of being selected in the lottery. under the code section 47.3. applicant receives preference to occupy affordable housing if they are eligible assertive cat

of preference holder, displaced tenant or neighborhood resident or household who lives or works in the city. the legislative proposal working with the veteran community on would give veterans who meet the qualifications for these existing preferences priority within that category. for example, a veteran would like to apfor a unit in affordable housing at 2550 serving who meets income guidelines would be given priority over eligible nonveteran applicant this is that category. the ordinance today is not the actual legislative proposal but ordinance directing ocd to complete analysis of district impact and discriminatory effect

of granting the priority for veterans to occupy avoiderrable housing over other applicant in the same preference. it requires such analysis to be submitted to the board of supervisors by no later than february 28, 2022. the need for this first step ordinance requiring ocd to conduct the analysis came through our work with ocd and the city attorney on the legislative proposal. they made it clear that we needed to conduct the analysis to assess any potential discriminator reeffect of the proposal on the housing laws. i want to ask the deputy city attorney to explain better about the need for impact analysis for

the first step. >> i would welcome that, supervisor mar. i wholeheartedly support what you are trying to do. i did not add my name as cosponsor because i think it is wacky we require the analysis when hud recognizes veterans as a class of folks. they would be the ones to come after us. if you could explain your thinking i would appreciate it. supervisor mar, somebody from a family of folks who served in the military and continue to serve. i thank you for providing these opportunities to folks who are at high risk of homelessness and all kinds of other things in our city. it is great that you are doing this. thank you. thanks for being here. i would love to hear the

explanation. >> i will clarify. i am not the city attorney given the background advice leading to this legislation. i will provide a couple high level comments. our office is available to give one-on-one confidential legal advice if there are more in the weeds questions anybody on the committee or board would like to go into. as supervisor melgar as you and the committee knows the fair housing act prohibits housing policies with members of the protected class. atic race -- a particular race or ethnicity. if it might have the impact as you might know the department will prepare such an analysis as the one described here. there is no legal requirement that one be prepared on a

certain timeframe or that one be prepared generally separate from the piece of legislation or adoption of policy that could have such an impact. my understanding and supervisor mar can correct me if i am wrong. the point of the legislation is to prioritize the preparation of analysis so that the policy considered can move forward on a schedule that everybody can agree to. much more that i can't add because i wasn't the city attorney who did provide the advice. if you have questions i can access the lawyer and get details from him. >> supervisor melgar: we can do it one-on-one. i will go forward because i want to go forward. in fact having the analysis of

the impact may be helpful for our areas. we know that veterans tend to suffer from mental health issues, substance abuse. we want to make sure that we help them in those ways as well. i would be happy to vote for it. it seems wacky and over the top to me to do something that hud already recognizes is a class of folks with the impact already. maybe supervisor preston wants to weigh in. >> i want to make sure i understand this. my understanding was not that this is calling for ocd to study whether veterans are impacted. i would agree with the point you are making, chair melgar.

i would love to know. you are right. if federal government said there are impacts on veterans. my understanding of the legislation, supervisor mar's legislation, doing what we agree on prioritizing veterans and recognizing the impacts the federal government has on veterans. we need to make sure that does not affect our groups and that is what this legislation would make sure that ocd prioritizes moving forward to flail that down. -- to nail that down. making sure we are not doing harm when we are trying to do good. not that we are asking them to revisit the issue. that is my understanding of it.

>> is that right? they want to look at the broader impact. any potential impact not on folks we are trying to protect through legislation but broadly on any protected categories of folks. >> i assume that is directed to me. i will take a stab at it. supervisor mar, you may have something to add. an example if we had a preference for a neighborhood preference. the neighborhood in which the project is being built is the neighborhood already populated by a protected class. atic racial or ethnic group. you want to make sure by applying a preference you are north going to then disproportionately affect that or some other protected class. same concept here.

we recognize that veterans are disproportionately impacted we want to make sure by prioritizing veterans you are not then disproportionately impacting other groups that are also protected. >> thank you. >> supervisor melgar: thank you. vice chair preston. do we have any other comments or questions for supervisor mar? >> i just want to thank supervisor mar for his leadership. we discussed this one-on-one when you were introducing this. i know my last comment was fairly in the weeds. just to back out of those weeds and as we discussed in our one-on-one conversation as

someone who for 20 years was represents folks struggling with evictions and trying to prevent homelessness. i just represented so many. i know we have so many constituents. so many veterans are struggling in the city with housing. it is overdue to be having this conversation and i appreciate your leadership. thank you, supervisor mar. >> thank you for the comments, supervisor preston. >> supervisor mar. >> final remark. thank you, supervisor preston for cosponsorship. i want to acknowledge supervisor stefani. thank you for the policy proposal. it was frustrating running into this issue around the need for the disparate impact analysis.

we have the legislative proposal drafted ready to produce. we were advised we couldn't introduce it until the analysis was conducted. never the less this will be important analysis to have. thanks, supervisor preston for clarifying what the analysis is going to look at and the impact of the protected classes, particularly people of color. that will be important information. thanks to all of the veteran leaders and some of them might be here to speak during public comment. i want to acknowledge ellen wong, my legislative aid. she is a veteran herself and only elected official in san francisco that is a veteran. this is important to him.

thank you, chair melgar. >> supervisor melgar: with that, madam clerk, please go to public comment. >> we are checking for callers. press star 3 to be added the queue to speak. for those on hold continue to wait until the system indicates you are unmuted. we have 12 listeners with seven in the queue. first caller, please. >> greetings. don mcgrain. i would like to express how i wanted to live in the san francisco bay area. i was sworn in the marine corps. after the pandemic i lost

housing. i lost security deposit on our house. we have a couch surf sleep anything the car. i turned to va for help. i didn't have much options. i had to resort to non-profit to get housed in mission inn which wasn't a great place for my family. if you were a veteran and maybe that would be a good place but not for young kids. through jenna at 401 third street on the va she came through after staying three months at the mission inn which was not appropriate we got down to some housing in men io park. we had to get out of san francisco to get housing. too much police activity and drugs and crime. we are waiting to get housed.

we had to relinquish our voucher in the city because we were only approved for two bedroom for a limited amount of money and it wouldn't get us close to school. i have to pull my family out of san francisco to search for housing further south. i am having an operation right now on a military service disability. it is tough finding housing. really appreciate everyone's time listening to me and everyone's concern on veteran housing in san francisco. thank you very much. >> next speaker, please. hello. jenny perez. call inning support of impact analysis. prioritizing a veteran in the

lottery will not impact the program. it is helping other groups and they have not impacted the program f.the supervisors vote for this to pass in months coming it will help the vet dranwith -- veteran with mental barriers. as caregiver i have seen negative impact this process has on the veteran. it took a long time to recover. i wish not to see another veteran going through a public housing program. i want to clarify that the phase of the lottery is a preliminary process. they are not given a home this. is for people to provide documentation and be approved by the city to be chosen for a home. we are requesting priority within the four preferences so they have more time. we know the housing program is

an incredible tool for the community. we need it to be veteran friendly. thank you for taking time to listen to me. have a great weekend. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. i am alfred simms, county veteran services officer for san francisco. i enthusiastically support impact analysis as combat veteran myself and former va employee working with homeless veteran population in the bay area. i am aware of the adverse impact the housing crisis and situation in san francisco and the bay area has on the veteran population. many people don't know. back in 2014, with the two categories you were more likely to be homeless people with

mental health and drug addiction. that shouldn't be the case. please, please help get housing for our veterans. >> next speaker. >> hello. i am nicholas veterans affairs commissioner. i would like to say i absolutely am grateful for the supervisors for supporting veterans during veterans month. supervisor mar is outstanding in spearheading the veterans rights in san francisco. i would like to echo some of the things that have been said earlier. this proposal is a tool directly related to helping homelessness in the veteran population and general population. we as community shouldn't be homeless veterans on the streets. they have served the country. their children will serve our city. their children's children will

contribute to the country. these are people who want to work and live and provide in san francisco. we as a group have been trying to work withmostd and have hit roadblocks this. is the final chance to make a change. the majority of veterans serviced at the county veterans service office are children. they are 20. below 30. young kids. the wars are over. they are coming home. if you support this and get veterans off the streets you are taking the veteran often tennal and substance use and making them feel like they belong in this community. i am grateful recipient to this program. it has gotten me a home, off the couch, off the streets, off the

garage and given me a chance to help other vets and other people in our community. i ask for your continued support in this matter. i am very grateful to the city and to your leadership. i hope you adopt this legislative proposal. thank you very much for your time. >> thank you so much. next speaker. 11 listening with four in queue. next speaker. >> linda chapman. i am part of the anti closure hotel coalition. the fact anybody is sleeping on the street is a disgrace to the city. now speaking as one who worked for army reserve as civilian for the sixth army which was the reserve army i was thesive vit l

rights commander. veterans are sleeping on the streets. in the federal service there is a program for veterans for disabled. there are two classes disabled get higher preference and that is something to consider, too, whether or not the disability is one that just happened. they are a veteran and disabled or mentality disabled as opposed to the discharge as disabled. it does have an impact on women because there aren't so much in the federal. it doesn't apply to everything but it applies to getting into the service in the first place. as to racial impacts, well, being the civil rights adviser i happen to know that the -- who

is disproportionately represented in the service, military is guess what? indians, hispanics, black people and in the enlisted service a lot of people not minorities are people who come from parts of the country where it is an advantage for young white people who can't afford to go to college and don't have a job. i wouldn't be too concerned that you are going to have racial impacts or whatever in that respect. i am grateful you are considering this. these people make tremendous sacrifices. i am from the anti-war generation. >> your time has elapsed. next speaker. if you would like to be added the queue press star 3.

>> good afternoon. deputy sheriff's association. as you probably know, within our department our deputy sheriffs are veterans. we are very supportive of this. we support the analysis and housing for veterans. if there are veterans impacted and homeless, we should be taking care of them. i feel we have a responsibility to do that. we are very supportive of this. we want to take care of our veterans. i would like to thank supervisor mar for all of his work on this. allen wong, co-chair, supervisor melgar for sponsoring, supervisor preston, stefani and walton for also sponsoring this

as well. >> next speaker, please. >> disabled american veteran. i am one of the lot to -- i didn't get it. i was part of 2019, i applied for the lot to system. i haven't gotten it yet. i support it. it is a good thing for san francisco to support the veterans community. i hope you guys pass it and fully support our veterans, especially disabled veterans. thank you. >> next speaker. three are in the queue. >> hello. i am james mcconkey.

i am a volunteer educator for the legion of honor. this action is important to bringing equity antiking housing and mental health together for the veterans community. this is one of the big separations that exist when veterans like the speakers you have heard on the call already are having. i support the idea of creating equal access, especially to a group like veterans community who has put forth the services. i commend the supervisors. i am resident of district 5. i thank you all for putting this on the table and helping resolve the issue of housing crisis in

our great city. >> thank you so much for your comments. next speaker, please. >> i am charles baker. i am a veteran, native of san francisco, born and raised here. i wanted to say that i am grateful for the programs that are available for veterans. more housing and support is needed. it has made a huge difference in my life where i was able to stay in a hotel for a while until i was able to find a place of my observe. i have been able to live there for a year now. i am trying to figure out now what to do and where to go. that support is up. it is a difficult thing, but, you know, i am very grateful for the time i have had that support. at a point now what to do next, you know. support in that field is huge.

it gives folks a foundation to get on their feet. i am doing that and working with veterans and helping and giving back. that is huge. that is where i want to be. building that foundation and allowing people to have a place to stay and some stability. it makes a big difference. thank you for the organizing out there doing such things and speaking up for veterans such as myself and making change in our lives. it is very important. i am very grateful for that. thank you. i appreciate your time. >> thank you so much, mr. baker. one caller left in queue. if you would like to speak press star 3. last caller. >> hello. i am courtney ellington.

executive director of veterans success center in war memorial building and c.e.o. of. [indiscernable] we help veterans get employed and get jobs. these are hard working citizens. let me correct myself. we are hardworking citizens who have served our country and we deserve affordable housing. here is the best think about this. veterans love to serve and protect the community. imagine if you made the housing affordable for the veterans how they cannot only be in these neighborhoods but protect our community as well. i support it. i think it is a great thing. to all of the board of supervisors, we really need this

bill. lately i have been listening to some of the speeches. i feel as if the veterans are forgotten about. this is a great way to rebuild that community and veterans relationship by making it affordable so veterans can continue to live in this great city of san francisco. this organization is definitely in support of the bill. thank you. >> we have one more caller in the queue. take the last caller. >> good afternoon, supervisors. bill. commissioner for veterans affairs for the city and county of san francisco. retired 29 years. we have never had any major

legislation approved for veterans. never in 30 years. now we have the opportunity to pass legislation for below market rates. that is fantastic. we need to do this. it is as the previous caller said the vets have not been really recognize the. i want to thank supervisor mar. my district four supervisor for taking the lead on this. i know it is difficult. you have been working on this a year and a half. supervisor melgar foreign dorceing this and all supervisors for this. this means a lot to me. i spent 29 years. i have the passion and drive to help my veterans. thank you so much. move on and help our veterans out. thank you so much. >> we have one other caller.

>> hello. i am veterans affair commissioner in san francisco and coordinatetor for veterans for justice. working with students and veterans where veterans returning home have major challenges in high cost living of san francisco. it is unfortunate that when veterans return home they do not have economic ability to afford living space. this analysis will help put the veterans with an opportunity to ease the transition and to offer to alleviate the homeless struggles struggling to transition with the support and service programs. veterans have fallen back to the homeless shelter because of high cost of living in san francisco. i want to thank you and

supervisor mar for helping the veteran community. thank you. >> that was the last caller in the queue, madam chair. >> thank you very much, madam clerk. thank you, supervisor mar for all of your efforts. i want to thank allen wong, your staff and commissioner for city college. he is always so thoughtful about how to involve the community in serving the community needs. i know that is supervisor important to him and is reflected in all efforts. thank you. to commissioners barnacle for coming and commenting and courtney ellington for her work on behalf of veterans and the community of veterans in san francisco. many of them live in your

district, supervisor mar. did you want to add closing words before we vote on this? >> i want to thank all of the folks that called in for public comment in support of this legislation. in particular, bill and jason, courtney, nick and jenny who are part of the core group of leaders that we have been working with for over a year now on this. thanks to all of you for your service to our country. colleagues, i thank you for your support and urge you to send this to the full board with positive recommendations. >> thank you, supervisor. i failed to close public comment. we are closing it now. thank you for everyone who came to give us feedback. colleagues is there a motion to send with positive recommendation to the full

board? >> so moved. >> thank you. madam clerk, call the roll, please. >> motion to recommend item 2. moved by press kin. supervisor peskin. >> aye. >> preston. >> aye. >> melgar. >> aye. >> you have three ayes. thank you so much. do we have any other business before the committee today? >> that completes the business for today. >> thank you so much. we are adjourned.

[gavel]. >> president walton: good afternoon and welcome to the november 16, 2021 meeting of the san francisco board of supervisors. madam clerk, would you please call the roll. >> clerk: yes, mr. president. [roll call]

>> clerk: mr. president, you have a quorum. >> president walton: thank you so much, madam clerk, and colleagues, can i get a motion to excuse supervisor ronen from today's meeting as she is out of town attending a family emergency and is unable to participate. motion made by supervisor chan, seconded by supervisor peskin. >> clerk: on the motion to excuse supervisor ronen -- [roll call]

>> president walton: thank you. the motion to excuse supervisor ronen is approved.

colleagues, please stand with me to recite the pledge of allegiance. [pledge of allegiance] >> president walton: on behalf of the board of supervisors, i would like to acknowledge the staff at sfgovtv. today, we have kalina mendoza and matthew ignejo who record the proceedings and make the

transcripts available on-line. madam clerk, do we have any communications? >> clerk: thank you, president walton. as you have already stated, supervisor ronen issued a communication to the board asking to be excused from today's proceedings. the board has already voted to excuse her absence from today's proceedings. in order to provide public comment during the appropriate times, please call in to the public comment telephone line where you will be in live synch to the meeting. the telephone number is streaming across your screen. it is 415-655-0001. when you hear the prompt, entering meeting i.d. 2494-341-0938, then press pound and pound again, and you will

enter the meeting. when you hear the item that you wish to provide comment on, press star, three to enter the queue and begin speaking when you hear that your line has been unmuted. you may speak on any items that are not on the agenda today but are within the jurisdiction of the board of supervisors. all other subject matter content has had their public comment requirement fulfilled and you may not comment on those items. the san francisco board of supervisors also accepts public comment by mail. you may send public comment to san francisco board of supervisors, 1 dr. carlton b. goodlett place, room 204, san francisco, california, 94102.

spanish interpretation will be provided to members of the public who wish to utilize those needs. if you have any trouble accessing the meeting remotely, call your office at 415-554-5144, and a live person is standing by to assist you with the proceedings. that concludes my announcement, mr. president. >> president walton: thank you, and i'd like to remind all members to please mute your microphone when you're not speaking. madam clerk, can we go to the consent calendar, please. >> clerk: thank you. the consent calendar is items 1 through 3. all matters listed hereunder constitute a consent agenda and are considered to be routine.

>> president walton: thank you. hearing no requests to speak, madam clerk, please call the roll. >> clerk: thank you. on the consent calendar -- [roll call] >> clerk: there are ten ayes. >> president walton: thank you. without objection, these items are passed unanimously. madam clerk, please call item 4. >> clerk: item 4 is an ordinance amending the administrative code to authorize the sheriff to contract with private individuals and private entities to provide supplemental law enforcement services. >> president walton: thank you. supervisor safai? >> supervisor safai: yes. due to a meet-and-confer on this item, i'm requesting this item be continued until the next meeting. >> president walton: thank you. is that a motion, supervisor? >> supervisor safai: yes, sir. >> president walton: motion to continue this item to next week's november 23 meeting.

>> president walton: oh, i'm sorry, to november 30 meeting. do we have a second? supervisor stefani seconds. madam clerk, on the motion. >> clerk: on the motion to continue item 4 to the next meeting, the november 30, 2021 meeting -- [roll call] >> clerk: there are ten ayes. >> president walton: without objection, this item is passed on first reading unanimously. madam clerk, please call item number 5. >> clerk: item number 5 is an ordinance authorizing the municipal transportation agency to set parking rates at the

kezar stadium parking lot and golden gate park underground parking facility in accord oens with park code provisions -- accordance with park code and affirming the ceqa determination. >> president walton: thank you, madam clerk. supervisor chan? >> supervisor chan: thank you, president walton. colleagues, first, i want to thank supervisor safai for his leadership. we know at the golden gate park underground parking, it's critical piece to j.f.k. drive conditions to allow folks that are low-income and with

disabilities and in different zip codes that live in the area have challenges accessing golden gate park and j.f.k. drive. in the event that if they don't have free parking on j.f.k. drive, they should be able to have free parking in the garage. we've been working with city departments to come up with language and ways to be able to make that work, and yet, we have come to an agreement. but thanks to supervisor peskin's amendment to the piece of legislation, that this conversation will continue to be able to come back to the board of supervisors when we talk about rate and adjustment for these parking garages. so with that, i will be supporting for this legislation to move forward today so we can make the budget whole. this is part of the budget that we approved earlier this year. i just wanted to [indiscernible] all of you that the conversation about the

parking garage in golden gate park still has not been resolved that, so just please keep that in mind when we continue the conversation around j.f.k. drive, that very critical piece around parking garage has not been resolved. thank you. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor chan. seeing no one else on the roster, we can take this item same house, same call. without objection, this item is passed on first reading unanimously. madam clerk, can you please call item number 6. >> clerk: item 6 is an ordinance to deprepare approximately 71,000 previously appropriated to the department of work public's and approximately 69,000 previously appropriated to the city planning department and reappropriating 140,000 to the department of public works for a safety needs assessment at buena vista horace mann school in fiscal year 2021-22.

>> president walton: thank you, madam clerk. supervisor mandelman? >> supervisor mandelman: thank you, president walton. i am within 500 feet of this district, and because of that, there is a presumption of a conflict of interest, and so because of that, i would ask to be excused. >> president walton: thank you. supervisor melgar? >> supervisor melgar: i make a motion that we recuse supervisor mandelman. >> president walton: thank you. motion to excuse supervisor mandelman made by supervisor melgar. madam. >> clerk: clerk on the motion to recuse supervisor mandelman -- [roll call]

>> clerk: there are nine ayes. >> president walton: thank you. without objection, the motion to approve supervisor mandelman is approved. supervisor melgar? >> supervisor melgar: thank you, president walton. so i spent many years working at the school. i want to thank supervisor ronen for her leadership in advancing the conversation of how to support the school and take care of the multiple building code violations and also the issues that exist in the school that don't support the learning of kids. i do believe, as supervisor ronen has stated, that this is an issue of systemic racism.

this school serves mostly migrant and multilingual families who have for years complained about the conditions at the school, and i am glad that we are finally making this appropriation. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor melgar. madam clerk, would you please call the roll. >> clerk: on item 6 -- [roll call] >> president walton: thank you. without objection, this ordinance is passed on first reading unanimously with supervisor mandelman excused.

welcome back, supervisor mandelman. madam clerk, would you please read item 7. >> clerk: item 7 is an ordinance retroactively authorizing the office of the mayor to accept and expend a grant in the amount of 3.4 million from bloomberg philanthropies and amending ordinance number 109-21 to provide for the addition of one grant funded mayoral staff and other positions for the period of october 1, 2021 through august 31, 2024. >> president walton: thank you. supervisor preston? >> supervisor preston: thank you. i have a number of questions on

these ordinances. this is an unusual ordinance, and i'd like to get some questions on the record through to the mayor's office, mr. paulino or whatever is here. first office, i'm trying to propose here why use bloomberg money to establish a department department rather than an accept and expend resolution? >> president walton: thank you. do we have a representative from the mayor's office for

this? >> yes, president walton. supervisor preston, i'd be happy to get your information to you later in the meeting. >> ms. pearson: deputy city attorney ann pearson, this is because it's an expenditure because it amends the annual salary ordinance. >> supervisor preston: thank you. i'm trying to understand why it would be done that way. this is structured as the creation of an entirely new department with entirely new positions, so i'm trying to understand why it's being done like that. >> tom paulino with the mayor's office. supervisor, i'll get you a

question and get back to you on that. >> supervisor preston: thank you, mr. paulino. next question is what is the amount of the city match with these funds from bloomberg? >> president walton: i believe you should give him the list, supervisor preston, so he can go get answers. >> supervisor preston: okay. the questions are the amount of the city match, again, the rationale for creating a new office here, and the plan for what happens after this grant period, particularly what happens to the positions being created. if any one of them can be

addressed by the b.l.a., that would be appropriate. >> supervisor preston, the fund matching is $1.1 million. as we point out in our report, the positions are permanent, so they will ultimately be a general fund cost. they're not time limited positions, and so they'll have to be funded at the end of the grant term. >> supervisor preston: so thank you, mr. menard. so it's $1.1 million right now, unless the mayor's office is able to fundraise that from another source, and then after the period of the grant, these become funded by the general fund. do i have that right? >> correct.

>> supervisor preston: thank you. and to mr. paulino to add to the list, a description around the work and accountability for funds would also be helpful, as well. and then lastly, i think some confirmation on the record around what i assume is the complete separation of any political endorsements or political endorsements of a pretty major award from mr. bloomberg. i have some additional comments, but maybe it makes sense if mr. paulino wants to

gather the information, to come back later in the agenda? >> president walton: certainly, supervisor preston. supervisor peskin? >> supervisor peskin: thank you, president walton. i'm not speaking to the merit or lack thereof of the purpose of the grant, but these are gifts that keep on costing. if these were slated as temporary positions in the budget, we could talk about the periods. but i remember something like this happened several years ago where the feds offered a grant to the airport provided that when the grant period was done, the city would pay for these positions, and the board of supervisors rightfully said no, and this is basically growing

government -- we can have a debate as to whether we want to encumber the present fund going forward. i have no intention of voting for this. like i said, this is the gift that keeps on costing. >> president walton: thank you so much, supervisor peskin. we will come back to item 7 when mr. paulino lets us know he has some answers to the questions that supervisor preston has posed. madam clerk, would you please call item 8. >> clerk: would you like me to call items 8 and 9 together? >> president walton: yes. >> clerk: item 8 and a resolution authorizing the human services agency to apply for and accept a county child welfare agency allocation for

an amount up to 573,000 from the california department of housing and community development under the transitional housing program to help young adults secure and maintain housing, and item 9 is a resolution authorizing the human services agency to apply for and accept a county child welfare agency allocation for an opt up to 183,000 from the california department of housing and community development under the housing navigator program to help young adults secure and maintain housing. >> president walton: thank you, madam clerk. on items 8 and 9, please. >> clerk: on items 8 and 9 -- [roll call]

>> clerk: there are ten ayes. >> president walton: thank you. without objection, these ordinances are adopted unanimously. madam clerk, please call item number 10. >> clerk: item 10 is a resolution approving an emergency declaration of the san francisco public utilities commission pursuant to administrative code, to contract resources for tree removal, slope repair, and debris removal in stern stove, which was damaged by vladding caused by a failed air valve on a water transmission pipeline, with a total estimated cost not to exceed $4 million. >> president walton: thank you. colleagues, seeing no

objection, we can take this same house, same call. madam clerk, please call item 11. >> clerk: item 11 is a resolution authorizing the office of contract ad station to enter into a second amendment to the agreement between the city and county and sunset scavenjer company d.b.a. recology. >> president walton: thank you, madam clerk. supervisor chan? >> supervisor chan: thank you, president walton. because the city has been contracting with recology, it prevents the business from

meeting the fair bidding process. today, i am in support of this extension just so we can get the fair bidding process right for the entire city. thank you. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor chan. seeing no one else on the roster we can take this item same house, same call, and this resolution is. >> supervisor peskin: wait, wait. hold on. >> president walton: supervisor peskin? >> supervisor peskin: i want to hear about the $461,000 from

the controller. >> president walton: controller rosenfield? >> thank you, president walton. ben rosenfield, controller board. our office received a check from recology in the middle of september for $461,000. in discussion with the city attorney's office, we plan a billing review to determine what to do with it. until then, we have not cashed it. we want to ensure that we understand the calculus how recology has determined the amount owed to the city and that we determined that we agreed to it, and lastly, we

want to make sure that this is money owed to the city and not another rate payer. we've requested that information from recology, but we have not yet received it, and we'll report back to the board as we have answered on it. >> president walton: thank you. supervisor peskin? >> supervisor peskin: thank you. so, mr. rosenfield, they sent you or the city a check with $461,000 with no explanation as to how they calculated it? >> part of the reason why we're being careful is because this is money that the city has not requested. it was a check in an envelope with no information behind it. >> supervisor peskin: and how long did they send this? >> this was middle of september that they received the check.

we requested information from recology within a week, which as of yet we have not received. >> supervisor peskin: in the past, has recology ever sent anybody in the city unexplained unrequested refund checks? >> not that i'm aware of, supervisor. >> president walton: and supervisor safai -- oh, go ahead, supervisor peskin. >> supervisor peskin: mr. rosenfield, i know that the city is pretty expeditious when i send my property tax check in. they cash it quite quickly. is there a rehabilitate why we didn't cash the -- is there a reason why we didn't cash the check? >> yes. we want to ensure that we concur with the calculus and

the information. >> supervisor peskin: thank you, mr. rosenfield, for your answers, and i hope that recology provides the information that you request they repose. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor peskin. supervisor safai? >> supervisor safai: thank you, supervisor peskin, for your attention to this project. the 1932 resolution talked about doing business with our city. the city administrator gave us

assurances that they intend to be ready to go out to bid in a much more accelerated fashion, so we don't anticipate there will be a significant number of extensions before this goes out. we might end up with the same contractor, but at least it'll go through the same process, and i think that's right for our city at that time. thank you, mr. president. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor safai. do we have anyone else who wants to make a statement? seeing no one, we can take this item same house, same call. without objection, this item is passed unanimously. madam clerk, please call items 12 and 13 together. >> clerk: item 12 is to receive

the annual report for the tourism improvement district and moscone expansion district for fiscal year 2019-2020, and item 13 is a resolution receiving and approving an annual report for the japantown community benefit district for fiscal year 2019-2020. >> president walton: thank you, madam clerk. seeing no objections, we can take this same house, same call. madam clerk, let's go to our 230 special commendations. >> clerk: special commendations, i believe we have one from supervisor stefani. >> president walton: supervisor stefani, you're on. >> supervisor stefani: thank you so much, president walton. as you know, november is a time we honor our veterans, and i

want to take this time to thank swords to plowshares for the work they do in the veteran area. i recently went there, and i was amazed with all the work that thif ae been -- that they've been doing, especially during the pandemic, and i've come to understand some of the things that they've been doing during the pandemic, that people don't realize how much hard work that they've been putting in. they help bay area veterans. they're dedicated to help 3,000 veterans in the bay area and

throughout the year. when i was there, i asked if there was anyone that i could honor, and they sent over a list of names, and i couldn't decide which one, so i'm so glad that we can recognize all five. [indiscernible] grant worked tirelessly at the start of the pandemic to create a food system and what is now their emergency housing team. grant is always finding services for veterans exiting to housing, and i want to thank you so much, grant. also, we have rab reel -- i'm going to have to put my glasses

on. when the pandemic and shut -- gabriel -- i'm going to have to put on my glasses on. gabe assisted with packaging and delivery of food packages to veterans from the swords to plowshares sites: blake is a u.s. army special forces group veteran. blake has now transitioned into a mobile case manager roll with the emergency health management

routine. thank you so blake. lejeune has worked relentlessly during the pandemic to ensure that veterans were able to and continue to receive services during the pandemic and to celebrate pride month with a celebratory mood with music. she created a true communititor anyone coming into the -- community for anyone coming into the center, veterans and nonveterans i like. and finally, to shay, who is

laser focused on making sure that veterans who exit to housing exit to the next best steps. just want to thank all the staff at swords to plowshares for helping our veterans this month. >> president walton: thank you so much, supervisor stefani, for recognizing their service, and i want to say thank you for your service to the honoree. and with that, we are done with our special commendations, and appreciate you, supervisor stefani. madam clerk, let's go back to item 14. >> clerk: item 14 is an ordinance amending the planning code to repeal article 12, which contains regulations governing land use activities

associated with oil and gas exploration, development, and processing, amending the definitions of heavy manufacturing two and heavy manufacturing three to exclude oil and gas production or processing for fuel purposes as allowable industrial uses, affirming the planning department's determination and making the appropriate findings. >> president walton: thank you. supervisor chan? >> supervisor chan: thank you. we're making this amendment to prohibit any land use concerning oil and gas. it is my honor and privilege to urge you, colleagues, for your support to pass this ordinance and acknowledge that they are on the unceded ramaytush ohlone land. this legislation has also

received support from climate emergency coalition, and save the bay, and i thank them for their support, as well. the intent of this ordinance was introduced this past april, which it's taken us a while to get here, when governor newsom announced his intention to ban fracking across the state. last month, his administration announced that the state would ban drill within 3200 feet of schools, homes, and hospitals to protect the environment, and i'm really pleased that we will be -- with your support that we pass this legislation to continue to be a leader with

california. so i'm proud to support this ordinance with supervisor mandelman and preston. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor chan. seeing no objection, we can take this same house, same call. madam clerk, please call item 15. >> president walton: thank you, madam clerk, seeing no one on

the roster, we can take should same house, same call, and without objection, this ordinance is passed on first reading unanimously. madam clerk, please call item 16. >> clerk: item 16 is a motion approving the mayor's nomination for the appointment of max carteroberstone to the police commission, for a term ending april 30, 2022. >> president walton: thank you. colleagues, seeing no names on the roster, we can take this same house, same call. i believe item 17 was tabled by the mayor and is going to the committee, so let's call item 18. >> clerk: item number 18 was amended in committee with a new title, which is a motion to approve the mayor's nomination for the appointment of julie

soo to the sheriff's department oversight board, term ending march 1, 2025. >> president walton: thank you, madam clerk. i don't see anyone else on the roster. we will take this same house, same call. without objection, this item is approved unanimously. madam clerk, let's call item 19. >> clerk: item 19 is a motion approving the mayor's nomination for the appointment of deann-jay brookter to the sheriff's department oversight board, term ending march 1, 2025. >> president walton: thank you. seeing no names on the roster, we can take this same house, same call. thank you. madam clerk, can we please call

item 20, roll call for introductions. >> clerk: thank you. supervisor mandelman? >> supervisor mandelman: submit. >> clerk: thank you. supervisor mar? >> supervisor mar: thank you. it goes to say we are in a housing affordability crisis. last week, we had a new report that showed only 7% of union workers could afford home ownership in san francisco. we've met only 27% of our rhna housing goal for moderate income households, earning 80 to 120% of a.m.i., and this'll be even more challenging, with a 250% increase of our rhna goal in the next cycle.

building traditional 100% affordable housing is often cost prohibitive due to costs. in district 4, we've consistently had the worst balance in the city's annual balancing report due to the removal of units from the market. we need to build more housing to meet our affordable housing needs. we know that the unregulated markets driven by profit and speculation will never build enough workforce housing. we also know that mohcd housing is not built for moderate

housing or small sites. that's why i'm proposing to protect the small sites housing in san francisco. it will allow more family housing in residential or r.h. neighborhoods. it'll provide incentives for individuals to build this housing. in addition to the market rate units currently allowed, homeowners would have the new opportunity to build additional bonus units as long as they have at least two bedrooms. if they choose to rent them, the bonus units must be rented at a rent affordable to or sold as ownership units to households at 100% area median income. secondly, i'm proposing a companion resolution to establish the boardance intent to create a technical and

financial assistance program for homeowner's to build affordable housing. given the extreme run-up in housing costs in the sunset and

other single-family neighborhoods, working and middle class families and people of color have been increasingly pushed out, so our housing development incentives program, which is centered on homeowners, aims to protect and build homes to meet our unmet housing needs and provides public resources to make it happen. colleagues, i understand that we will debate this proposal and alternatives as we enter the new year as well as consider the impacts of s.b. 9 and s.b. 10, and as we move forward with a healthy robust discussion, my hope is we begin with the right framework and a framework to preserve and grow the middle class, the hall mark of a prospering city.

and finally, he have an -- i have an in memoriam.

joan marie attended san francisco public schools and then to stanford university and to france on a fulbright. she started teaching in 1955 before putting down roots at lincoln and then to lowell. in her inspiring legacy of rank-and-file union activism and leadership, she helped integrate the virtually all mail outpost of the san francisco federation of teachers, a.f.t. local 61.

she had been among a leadership crew who had taken over the superintendent's conference room and lived there for several days. joan marie was among the leaders who also brought collective bargaining act to san francisco that gave san francisco teachers collective bargaining rights. in 1964, she was elected the president of the teachers union and one of the first women to lead any major union in san francisco. when she became president of local 61, the union did not any

longer represent the teachers. only paraprofessionals stayed on and preserved the local, but in 1989, joan led her union to victory over the rival san francisco classroom teachers association, and making good on campaign promises, she merged into one cohesive union. the new united educators of san francisco formal merger had all the advantages of a.f.t. and n.e.a., and importantly, they could face the administration as a unified force.

in 1994, joan marie had the great honor of traveling to south africa to monitor the historic election that allowed people of all races to vote for the first time, ending aparteid, and ending with the election of nelson mandela. throughout her career, she was honored and recognized widely both as a civic and educational leader. joan marie shelley spent her uesf presidency trying to bring

the san francisco teacher's corps into one body her legacy is the leadership of grace and intelligence, an approach to unionism that's true to the roots of labor. joan marie lived the last ten years of her life at cypress on 19 avenue and law ton, and she continued her organizing and leadership to the very end. she is survived by her brother, kevin shelley, and sister, indicate shelley, and on behalf of the board of supervisors of san francisco, i express my condolences to her family. may she rest in peace.

>> president walton: madam clerk, before we go on, let's go back to item 7 since we have [indiscernible]. >> clerk: yes, and item 7 is an ordinance receipt low actively authorizing the office of the mayor to accept and expend a grant from bloomberg philanthropies. >> president walton: supervisor preston, did you have any questions? >> supervisor preston: thank you, president walton. if miss kitler could respond why we're creating a new department rather than put it go in an existing department.

>> certainly. sophia kitler with the mayor's office. so i'm going to push back. we're not really creating a new department, we're creating a position in an existing department. the office of digital services, which is also the city administrator's office tends to work on a work order basis, so they get hired by individual contract to solve a specific problem. and what we find is while they do a tremendous job, it gets very siloed, and we get -- lose a lot of things in particularly the cross departmental sense? so for example, when we look at

something like permitting, digital services is set up to look at something like d.b.i., how do they look at their infrastructure to bring the model on-line, but that model doesn't work as well when we're trying to have a comprehensive understanding of planning, d.b.i., fire, and what have you. so one of the things that we proposed with this grant is we have a single staff in the mayor's office whose job is to work across departments, and then, we have a grant that would fund these positions for three years so that we can have a more holistic and cross departmental approach that is a little bit more strategy, and

then office of civic engagement would expand on what they're doing. does that answer your question? >> supervisor preston: thank you, miss kitler. so whose idea was it to create this new department? >> so bloomberg philanthropies has an on going donation program. they work with approximately 40 cities. we applied last november through their competitive grant november, and we're one of six cities selected? so we applied through that and kind of created this modelling, this internal in the mayor's office, working with digital services and the department of technology to create this cross

departmental services. it's something that's been discussed at coit and the department of technology for a very long time, and i think it's never really been kay funding priority, so this was an opportunity to kind of lift that up and experiment with that without drawing on the general fund unless we have some serious [indiscernible]. >> supervisor preston: thank you. and through the president to miss kitler, was it required by bloomberg philanthropies that you apply to create a new department as opposed to funding any existing departments or services? >> again, i guess i'm a little confused. so this will fit in the mayor's office, and it's not creating a new department. the basis of it is -- is that you have an office that works

very closely with the mayor or in cities where they have a city manager. we're calling it a new office. it's a team, and it's a cross departmental team that pulls from new resources. they ask that you not repurpose existing positions because that is what their grant is trying to fund but i don't know that they require nor do i believe we are creating a new one. >> thank you. so how many of the new positions proposed here are to be union positions? >> four of the five. the one in the mayor's office,

i think it is 0904 is not, but the other that are more i.t. positions, i believe they are. we have to kwie probably half of it by next october, and the other by the next [indiscernible] in june of next year, but we do hope that that

would be philanthropically done or working with the bridge program, for example. >> supervisor preston: but at this point, there's no commitment of that some or all 1.1 million. >> that's correct. i think [indiscernible]. >> supervisor preston: i think my question is different. do you have commitments -- obviously, we are being warned that the general fund could be on the hook. we could be needing to review a request for $1.1 million. >> got it, supervisor. it is not a commitment that it comes from the general fund, and we do not anticipate or hope that it will come from the general fund, but that is a possibility that is contemplated in the grant agreement.

>> supervisor preston: thank you. and iptd to ask you just to give you a chance to explain this -- and i want to ask you just to give you a chance to explain this on the record. i want you to dispel any misunderstanding that i or the public may have -- [indiscernible] and if you could just talk about the timeline and give us whatever assurances appropriate and those two things were never related or discussed together. >> i can give you those assurances to the best of my ability in that we were notified of the opportunity to

apply for this grant in august of last year, it was an open -- an open posting to all cities. i was in no way involved or includes -- included in the -- [indiscernible] and went through a series of interviews with staff from bloomberg philanthropies. we did not interact with mr. bloomberg himself or even senior leadership until after we had been selected. you know, i can't really speak to their decision making process, but i can say it was a

competitive process, and there were a number of cities open. >> supervisor preston: can you tell me what happens after the grant period? is there a commitment to keep the position open? >> there is a chance that bloomberg believes this is a viable model and something that they want to do and that it has brought results for the city. there is a hope from bloomberg, and they have expressed this very strongly, that the mayor would continue to put this forward, but there is no legal requirements that it continue to exist after the grant.

and so in theory, if the mayor believes that it is doing a good job, i believe she would put that in the then-mayor's budget for fiscal year 25, three years from now, but that would be subject to appropriation. >> supervisor preston: thank you for that. appreciate the additional information and clarification on this. let me just say as more of a comment, and then, i will wrap up, supervisor walton. i appreciate the budget committee's priority to it and the time here. this is a highly unusual proposal that essentially allows bloomberg and bloomberg

philanthropies to staff a new office in our city government. it's very unclear what the work is after listening to the testimony in budget committee and here today, what the work is, what the accountability is. i'm struck by the inability to fund things in certain city government, but then, this kind of thing comes along, and we are asked to embrace it. we are being asked to commit $1.1 million to a department that's not clear to me what it will even do, and that seems premature without that additional funding secured.

i think it's very hard to look at this kind of grant, not just at our mayor, but mr. bloomberg's seeking endorsements while he's speaking to city mayors. that's the elephant in the room, and maybe i mean that to his past political affiliations. we should be taxing

billionaires like michael bloomberg, and i don't feel that it's right to have michael bloomberg be an arm of this government, so i will be voting no. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor preston. supervisor chan? >> supervisor chan: thank you, president walton. i disagree with supervisor preston. i believe this is happening in city government quite often, given that when supervisor peskin said when earlier discussing this item, that that's how city government grows all the time. not too long ago, $2.5 billion,

and now, blink of an eye, we're at a $13.2 billion city budget. even though i will support this item, colleagues, it raised some things, as well. this is going to be the first time and only time that i will be voting for something like this. these types of city practice, that instead of being able to go through this civil service process to be hired, now, we have these temporary hires through grant, and eventually, they become permanent positions that we have to continue to

carry the financial burden. the grants may be limited in time, but the grant that each of the positions [indiscernible] we are short changing our civil service system when we continue to create and fund grant positions like this. i concur with the positions that my colleagues, supervisor peskin and preston raised. it is unfortunately, but it is something that we really need to think through next time when this come around, yes. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor chan. supervisor safai? >> supervisor safai: yeah, i just want to add a couple of comments on this. i think as someone who sits on the budget committee, we accept

and expend grants all the time. often, that money comes from the private sector. we're doing the s.f. rise, which is a significant amount of private philanthropy. many of our institutions in the city have public private partnerships. i think this is a good example of an innovative grant. respectfully, supervisor preston, i'm not sure what the comments of political quid pro quo is. the man lost, and i think he can say, i'm not doing anything for the city, but it is good comments from supervisor chan, preston, and peskin to say if we are funding something paid for by the taxpayers, that is

one thing i think it would be within the purview of the mayor to put things in his or her budget, and if she needed to make that commitment, then i think there has to be a conversation about that. but i think it's legitimate to say if we have that grant and we have an on going funding conversation, let's have that conversation. we have some phenomenal examples of public private partnership, and i think it makes our see a best place and a model for the rest of the city. thank you, supervisor --

>> president walton: thank you. supervisor melgar?

i don't -- i'm not worried about that part, but i do worry about our discourse in terms of private fill anthropy because i am leading this effort with supervisor ronen to raise a bunch of money for community schools and other things that we try to raise money for, and i think that the private sector can have a role in things. thank you. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor melgar. supervisor preston? >> supervisor preston: thank you, president walton, and thank you, colleagues.

i just wanted to comment on the comments of my colleagues. i don't think that questioning this bloomberg creation of an office funded by bloomberg on the heels of endorsement, like, that raises a whole different level of concern. i didn't hear from miss kitler a statement saying she's not in

the room and a party to endorsements. fair enough. i think that the mayor's office can come forward so soon after endorsements with a big chunk of money from mr. bloomberg to create new positions to be matched by the city and to put us on the hook potentially long-term for this department, i mean, some kind of statement on the record, something, saying very clearly we never discussed these two things together. these things are not related. take my word for it, or they're not connected. and it's fascinating to me that we've never heard that. that's not part of the record or any discussions. we're just about to assume that and assume that someone who is actively seeking the endorsement of big city mayors did not in any way relate any of those discussions to what now appears to be the

commitment to fund a new office in our city government. thank you. >> president walton: thank you, supervisor preston, and i did want to say, first of all, thank you for your line of questioning. it is important to ask clarifying questions. we have partnerships in the city of this size. we do have the opportunity to bring this office back, and i am satisfied with what miss kitler had to say in terms of the process, which is how this funding was secured.

i'm glad that we had this opportunity, and in fact, i wish that president biden would provide for funding to san francisco and let us have more opportunities. i do understand your concern, supervisor preston, and i think we need to bring this back in a few months and find out to see how they're doing. certainly, we're going to get more information on this, but i definite liam -- definitely am in support of this. supervisor, your questioning is what gave me the insight on whether or not i'm going to support, so thank you for that line of questioning. with that, i don't see any other names on the roster, so,

madam clerk, can we have a roll call on item 7. >> clerk: on item 7 -- [roll call] >> clerk: there are eight ayes and two noes, with supervisors peskin and preston in the dissent. >> president walton: thank you. and by a vote of 8-2, this ordinance is passed on first reading. madam clerk, we are back at roll call for introductions. >> clerk: next up on roll call for introductions is supervisor melgar. >> supervisor melgar: submit. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. supervisor peskin? >> supervisor peskin: submit.

>> clerk: thank you. supervisor preston? >> supervisor preston: thank you. two items and then in memoriam. first, i am introducing an ordinance to increase police records transparency. i want to thank my early cosponsors, president walton, and supervisors ronen and chan. in 2018, california passed senator skinner's senate 1421 to begin lifting what was referred to as a veil of secrecy surrounding police use of force and conduct records. the bill made four types of records accessible through public record request,

including officer shootings, officer use of deadly physical force, sexual abuse by officers, and dishonesty. since the law passed, the need to increase police department transparency and accountability has only increased. although police misconduct is generally unreported, in san francisco, the department of police accountability's numbers also increased to nearly 800 in 2020, despite the relative decrease in most crimes during the same period. unfortunately, nearly three years after the passage of s.b. 1421, san francisco police department and s.b. 1421 continue to lag.

they cite staffing shortages and technological records as a reason why they are unable to comply. sfpd estimated it could get through its backlog of requests, not including new requests, within five to ten years. in a presentation, the police commission, d.p.a., presented it could get through its backlog by five to 30 years. there's simply no universe,

colleagues, where five, ten, 30, or 35 years are acceptable where a release of police records is satisfying to the public. it has become clear that the board of supervisors needs to step in to promote transparency and to make sure the city meets its disclosure obligations, and that's why i'm introducing this ordinance today, requiring sfpd, d.p.a., and police commission to report crucial metrics regarding their compliance with state public information laws directly to the board of supervisors. together with the especially forcement provisions of california's public records act, this ordinance will provide a powerful incentive to meet the requirement of state police records laws. our city must rise to the occasion. the state legislature has twice taken bold action to ensure

that people have access to these records because people deserve to know whether police in their communities deserve to know whether police have [indiscernible] i want to thank chief scott and d.p.a. director henderson for their engagement on this issue. also want to thank the san francisco public defender ease office and -- public defender's office and to thank deputy city attorney ann pearson and jeanette clark as well as my aide, melissa hernandez, for their help in drafting this. second item, colleagues, i'm urging the drafting of a resolution for sfmta to develop and implement a plan for successful boarding transit.

my office recently learned that nearly one-third of the 3,000 city and bus stops in san francisco are not painted red and allow vehicle parking in the butt stop, there by preventing pedestrian access to the bus and preventing a bus from pulling into the bus stop. a report was recently published, our shelters in place, a bus stoppen ses of san francisco. the writer surveyed 2,964 sfmta bus stops across san francisco. through his research, he found that 32% of bus stops were obstructed by on street parking, forcing riders to step into the street to board and

often navigate through parked cars. allowing parking in bus stops and failing to provide unobstructed access to public transit undermines san francisco's transit first policy and poses specific hardship for seniors and persons with disabilities. through the resolution today, i'm urging sfmta to promptly develop and implement a plan to promote unobstructed muni access and to consult with minority communities, including communities of color and underserved communities to promote unobstructed muni access. it directs the sfmta to report back to the board of

supervisors within 90 days with a plan. and finally, colleagues, i'd like to offer an in memoriam for brian edwards, a tenacious advocate for san francisco's homeless, he passed away on november 4, 2021, at the age of 46. he spent the first year of his life in germany until his family relocated to gainesville, florida. from a very young age, brian was a voracious reader. as a teen, he fell in love with golfing, a sport that both he

and his father enjoyed. he was a talented golfer, played for his high school golf team, and won many awards. brian graduated from the international baccalaureate program from gainesville in 1992. in 1999, brian and his family moved to san francisco. shortly after, brian started volunteering with the stonewall project, part of the san francisco aids foundation. it was during this work that brian began incident facing daily with the city's unhoused population, which led to the work that he devoted himself to for the rest of his life. brian was a tireless champion for san francisco's homeless. he experienced homelessness himself and had a deep

understanding of the issues. his reach across the city was expansive as he fought for lasting solutions. he spent the last three years of his life organizing with the coalition on homelessness. brian was a regular presence here in this chambers, combining in his public comment directness, wit, compassion, and sheer brilliance. really, some of the most impactful two minutes of public comment that i've ever seen at this board. he was a fantastic advocate. brian lives in district 5 on hayes street. i would see him often as i walked to city hall. without fail, every time, he'd greet me with a beaming smile,

infectious optimism, and some question, always thanking me for what i was doing, and pushing me for more action to address homelessness in our city. his brilliant oratory and analysis, his nonstop advocacy, his compassion and wit, pushed everyone around him to be better, to do better, to do more. on november 2 of this year, just after the massive storms and rain, brian published a detailed piece in street sheet, called gimme shelter. this was just a couple days before he died.

he laid out exactly what needed to happen to support homeless people in our city. he did it with tangible solutions. he wrote about the city's outreach effort to shelter homeless people in the storm, and after acknowledging the hard workers of the advocates, he would, for thousands more, though, last weekend was just like any other during the last 18 months, and they were screwed. left outside to freeze and soak. dozens of beds at the city's regular congregate shelter sites were empty on each night of the storm and weren't available to be filled, and unless the city makes major change to the way they allot and fill shelter beds

[indiscernible] to the night of the storm. most things aren't this simple, he wrote, but this is. let folks call 311 or walk back into glide or mother brown's to get on it and start filling those vacant bed, and give them shelter like the rolling stones advise. let service providers and sfhot do the same thing that they are best at, so they can function together as true community partnerships.

colleagues, it's hard to imagine that brian won't be back when in-person public comment resumes, but he, his friends, and colleagues, will speak for him in these public chambers, and all of us would do well to remember his moral clarity while we address homelessness in our city. i extend my condolences to his family, his friends, and all of those who brian inspired. we miss you dearly, brian. rest in power. the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor preston. supervisor safai? >> supervisor safai: thank you, madam clerk. mr. president, colleagues, i have two items today.

one is an in memoriam, one is a request for a hearing. the first is to expand the san francisco's school modelling similar to other schools in california. -- and buena vista, but they're not fully recognized in the community school model that the state has put forward, and none

of the schools in the san francisco unified school district have put forth a plan. we need to plan for this opportunity, and there is no opportunity put in front of us now.

[please stand by]

. >> supervisor safai: miss beeler was a presence in hur students' lives, was a comforting ear to hear them out. it was common to see former students run to her, whether at st. john's, where she provided tremendous support for them, and may she rest in peace. the rest i submit, mr. president. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor safai. supervisor stefani?

>> supervisor stefani: thank you, madam clerk. colleagues, i'd like to close today's meeting in memory of andrew zeeman. last week, he was tragically killed when a vehicle struck him on the way to work. he was just 30 years old. andrew was a third generation san francisco and he grew up in cow hollow. he worked as an educator at sherman elementary. he worked with their after school programs and provided additional support for students with special needs. he's remembered as being incredibly kind and patients. student who sometimes didn't respond well to others responded incredibly well to andrew. he was always able to help students address any problems

they were having in such a positive way. i was devastated when i learned of his tragic death. as an educator, andrew had chosen to dedicate his career to public service. he had every right to get to work safely last week. andrew's death marks the 12 pedestrian death this year at one of the most dangerous intersections in my districts. since last week, i've been in contact with the m.t.a., regarding the rapid response effort to improve safety at this intersection, and i've been encouraging them to consider every possible intervention to reduce traffic speeds along this corridor. i've been assured by m.t.a. that there will be improved made in the next two weeks, and i'm awaiting details to see what those measures will be

there will be a hearing on safety around all schools of san francisco. if this incident has taught us anything, it's that we cannot wait until a death to address areas of concern. to andrew's family and loved ones, i offer my deepest condolences, and i will do everything i can to make sure the city is safe. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor stefani. president walton? >> president walton: thank you,

madam clerk. today, i'm requiring the san francisco department of elections to submit a plan to the secretary of state no later than february 8, 2022. in the united states and california, we rely on a for-profit model from elections equipment security, and one that is costly and lacks transparency. open source voting will allow the city's i.t. teams to work on voting equipment software because it uses publicly available computer code. the proposed pilot will give voters in city hall voting cancer the option of using voting works accessible kbalt marking device. -- access ballot marking device. earlier this month, i sent a

letter to the president of the san mateo county board of supervisors, to the california secretary of state, requesting her office adopt voting requirement regulations as required by senate bill 360, passed in 2013. it was also supported by former secretary of state alex padilla. san francisco has a long history of advocating for an open source voting system, starting with former supervisor tom ammiano, and a resolution from former supervisor scott wiener supporting the creation of an open source voting system in 2014. open source voting will allow the public to own these voting systems and ensure our voting systems are fair, honest, and secure.

the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, mr. president. supervisor chan? thank you. supervisor haney? >> supervisor haney: thank you. i have one item. i'm calling a hearing with supervisor safai on on going staffing shortages at san francisco general. understaffing can lead to dangerous situations for patients and staff. i know this is not a new issue, and i want to thank supervisor safai for his bringing forward a hearing on a similar issue two years ago, and there has been some progress in some areas around staffing, but there were significant challenges that were exacerbated by the pandemic. as we continue to fight against the covid-19 pandemic and come out of that, these staffing challenges continue. we have to ensure that our hospitals, particularly at san

francisco general, is well staffed, and that our doctors, nurses, and staff can serve our patients and our city. so i'll be calling the department of health, the department of human resources, and san francisco general to report. the rest i submit. >> clerk: thank you, supervisor. mr. president, that concludes roll call for introduction does. >> president walton: thank you, madam clerk. let's go to public comment, please. >> clerk: at this time, this is the opportunity for public comment. to do so, call 415-655-0001, then enter meeting code

2494-341-0938. then press pound and pound again. press star, three to enter the queue and wait for the system to indicate your line has been unmuted. as stated earlier, the spanish interpreter is on stand by and ready to jump in and assist with public interpretation. mr. interpreter, could you please provide some comments? >> interpreter: yes. [speaking spanish language]

[end of translation]. >> interpreter: thank you. >> clerk: thank you. operations, let's hear from our first caller, please. >> hi. my name is alison bernard, and i support the resolution supervisor haney has sponsored for san francisco to support a moratorium on the expansion of animal feeding operations, factory farms, and slaughter houses in california. this is an important resolution because factory farms are harmful to workers, animals, and the environment, and stopping the creation of animal farms is the first step in creating a nonanimal

agriculture. factory farm animal production accounts for 33% of agricultural methane emissions, and due in part to the expansion of factory farming, the e.p.a. reports a 14.4% increase in methane emission since 1990. methane has 80 times more heat trapping power than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after its release, so it has a more devastating impact on climate change. in factory farms, animals are housed in close congregation, which can lead to fast transmission of bacteria between animals. 80% of all antibiotics in the

u.s. are [indiscernible] there is growing evidence that antibiotic resistance in humans is promoted by the widespread use of nontherapeutic antibiotics in animals. please pass this resolution as a recognition that the government needs to step in and address the devastations caused by industrial animal agriculture. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. may we have the next caller, please. >> hello. my name is rocky [indiscernible], and i'm a lifelong resident of district 6. as i speak, myself and constituents are in front of city hall, and we're calling on the state to place a moratorium on factory farms in the state. this state are building more of

these animal feeding operations that they don't even need using our tax dollars, and this is a dire situation, so dire, i almost lost myself in front of a foster farms chicken facility. each and every day land animals are dieing by the millions -- dying by the millions from the animal feeding industry. i put my freedom on the line and will continue to do so because i know we can do better. we can create a sustainable, compassionate food system where the animals and people's interests are considered. i want to thank matt haney for introducing this resolution in support of no more factually farms campaign, and i look forward to supporting the rest

of the supervisors when this item not only passes but passes unanimously. i yield my time. >> clerk: we have nine listeners and four in the queue. if you have not already done so, please press star, three to lineup to speak. mr. atkins, can we have the next caller, please? >> i am calling tonight to [indiscernible] put it this way. the harder the enforcement, the harder the drugs. the wall is an application of the ester allen effect, noting it's a powerful argument for the legalization of drugs.

there are -- the degraded added costs of sales are [indiscernible] for instance, with coke users, buying coca leaves which they can convert to opium. popular switch from beer to wine has a parallel to the narcotics trade in the 1920s.

marijuana was also found too bulky and troublesome to smuggle across borders, so people turned to cocaine. in the 2010s, heroin has been displaced by fentanyl and other stronger synthetic opiates like carfentanyl. >> clerk: your time is up. thank you for joining us today. may we have the next caller. >> hello. as a san francisco native, i propose a permanent monument be erected in front of city hall honoring and tabulating the exact number of unsheltered lives lost on the streets of san francisco, past, present,

and future. astonishingly less merciful than death row, facing cruel and unusual punishment via death in public spaces without more than nominal advocacy from any law professional. that very same committee -- sorry. oh, i got lost. shoot. well, this is a terrible first little speecher. every social worker and outreach worker i speak to is incredulous and alarmed at the stale mate. well, i might have to do this one next meeting because i have a lot of -- here we go. a committee must be formed by neutral third party participants to evaluate what

are unreachable leaders are doing with the money intendedtor immediate placement -- intended for immediate placement of americans in shelter. the very same committee must explain and account for the exact number of lives lost in between when funds were afforded san francisco and when made available to the intended recipients. make the findings public so that those benefiting from withheld funds leading to cruel and unnecessary public deaths of the unsheltered, or if not arrested, then at least allow the judgment of the court of public opinion such that democracy once again work its sacred magic in san francisco and formally permanently evict the bad act -- >> clerk: thank you for your comments. we have two left in the queue, so if you have not already done

so, please press star, three to enter the queue. mr. atkins, can you put the next caller through? >> my name is [indiscernible] and my pronouns are she and her. thank you for honoring brian edwards. he always appreciated when i stirred up a fucking storm before this board. now for some other shit. you know that there are people facing prison time, who are facing fucking felony charges for doing open rescue, rescuing animals, and this is not just about animal rights, this is about pandemic prevention, this is about saving lives. you can