chu: thank you. item #3. >> item #3. ordinance amending public works code section 184.78 to allow city neighborhood banners, as defined in section 184.78, to be posted on the path of gold lamp posts lining market street, and adopting environmental findings. supervisor chu: thank you. i know [unintelligible] that] is there and has -- i know that nick is here to provide comments. >> my understanding is that this item needs to be referred to the historic preservation commission. this item needs to be referred to the historic preservation commission for a 30 day review. i would like to make that motion. supervisor chu: all right. let's open this item for public comment. and members of the public? >> good morning, supervisors. my name is douglas. i have lived here for my entire life. i would like to speak out on behalf of this idea. publicizing worthy causes along market street is going to make market street more interesting. if we are lucky, it will attract more tourists. one of the suggestions i would l

supervisor chu: thank you. general manager ginsburg, did you have any additional comments you wanted to make? >> no, thank you, supervisor. supervisor chu: is there any department of public health representative from the homeless of reach a team available? --outreach team available? no. was there court to be any comment from nicholas king on best practices? would that be a no? do you know, phil? >> supervisors, director of policy affairs for the department of parks. we worked with mr. king and he presented us with a little bit of research about the largest cities in the country, and their best practices around parks safety, particularly in the evening and through the night. my understanding is san francisco is the 12th largest city in the country in terms of population and the 11th larger cities all employee hours of operation for their parks that close in the evening. they vary by city to city. of the 12 largest, we are the only city that does not close the parks overnight. supervisor chu: have there been any

supervisor chu: thank you very much. we have representatives from the department of the environment. >> in implementing the healthy homes project we are trying to work with housing developments we performed a service with, finding that 38% have mold, 40% cockroaches, 18% rodents. there is a hidden use with toxic products and indoor air quality. this grant will fund existing staff and community groups to educate on less toxic cleaning products. supervisor chu: a grant that would not require additional positions at the department? >> correct. supervisor chu: this is to address alternative to toxins for control of mold? >> absolutely. supervisor chu: let's open this up for public comment. are there any members of the public that wish to speak? seeing no one, public comment is closed. supervisor avalos: motion to approve supervisor chu:chu without a budget -- motion to approve. supervisor chu: without objection. item number four, please. >> item #4. hearing on park safety within golden gate park including lighting of paths a

supervisor chu: supervisor avalos? supervisor avalos: i think it activation is the most cost- effective way to create safety in the parks. it has had a dramatic impact on safety. looking, even at the east end of the park, where you have the carrousel, fields, playgrounds, it would be interesting to see how that plays could be activated in the evening hours. it could have a ripple effect throughout the park. we cannot have a police presence everywhere, parked patrol and every section. i know you are hamstrung on maintenance staff. that is definitely something to talk about, but activation is the way to go. >> it is cyclical, actually. there are multiple advantages to having a greater presence in the park, not only to improve sightlines, which, from a landscaping perspective is complicated. we are not about clear-cutting golden gate park. that is not what it is about. we want a park that is well maintained, a design that is consistent with the parameters set forth in our master plan and park founders. but, i think, havin

supervisor chu: no.mirkarimi: since this is just a resolution that is before us, has there been any request for resolution to do a cost benefit analysis? >> no. supervisor mirkarimi: right, thank you. who from the task force would like to speak? please come forward. >> good ann, supervisors, my name is pat gerber. i served on the task force. this resolution is a positive step toward preparing san francisco for the coming consequences of our shared future in the era of declining availability of oil and other fossil fuels. as supervisor mirkarimi mentioned, this will be huge. this issue is not yet well known or widely discussed, but its low profile is not an indication of low impact of the living with less energy will cause massive changes to our lives. the earlier we begin to prepare and the more we prepare, the better our collective future will be. therefore, i urge you to adopt this resolution today. thank you. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. is bernie myerson here? ok, benjamin lowe? woody hastings an

supervisor chu: thank you. other members of the public that wish to speak on this item? item number five? seeing no one, public comment is closed. any last comments? supervisor dufty: if we could incorporate the amendments, i would like to announce that there is a facebook page where i get contacted regularly from people that would like to see the banners maintained to the quality of 18th street. that is what we are looking to do. given the history of the rainbow flag to san francisco, it is appropriate in the context of the preservation for maintaining the historic context of what a neighborhood should be. supervisor chu: thank you. we have amendments to the legislation that are substantive in nature on pages 1, 4, and five. supervisor chu: move to accept and move forward. let's take that one at a time to accept the amendment. without objection. from my understanding, we are not able to move this item forward with recommendation at this time, but it can be moved out of committee pending analysis, correct? all

supervisor chu: thank you. next speaker please. >> supervisors, good morning. chair of the steering committee of the blood of this the neighborhood association. we serve been neighbors around the park, near golden gate park. we have over 400 members and serve 45 under households. i am honored to be a member of the park police stations community advisory board. thank you for calling this hearing, especially supervisor chu and mar. we fully support the remarks of the general manager, investor kern, police captains, and commend the work you have been doing cover due to consider safety issues not only in golden gate park, but in parks throughout the city, especially in today's tough budget times you are facing, we urge you to consider adequate budgets for part patrol, police department resources, and the park's capital needs to make them safer. we urge further common rules for all parks that will include late night, early morning closing hours. as you consider that, you will hear people object. the truth is, illega

supervisor chu: thank you. the speaker please. >> supervisors, my name is greg silar. i just want to voice my concern about thgolden gate park. everyone should be doing their part to make this icon of the city safe and accessible to everyone. like everyone, i use this part, at minimum, of which were times a week. increasingly, i have become afraid to bring my family because of all of the activity occurring in the park lately. especially at night, but also during the day. i continue to see graffiti, violence against homelessness, or alcohol and drug abuse through a park. as a citizen, i do not want the part to decline to a point where i no longer use it. i would urge rec and parks, please department, board of supervisors, to do everything to preserve this icon of the city. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i in the community manager of the grove festival. as one of the largest parks in your district, you have always been a supporter of the festival and a supporter of stern grove

supervisor mar: supervisor chu. supervisor chu: the benches with the planter boxes, they look great. the question on logistics. was that on the property owner's property, did it require encroachment? >> no, nick from dpw to care of it. it did not encroach on their property at all, but we asked. supervisor chu: in terms of annual cost, are you paying an encroachment feet? >> sure. are you kidding? nick is very good. who is the person i work with on trees? i am planning on her name. carla shorts. we love her. supervisor chu: we are exploring in our own areas where, if you can put in a bench, it might be a place for people to gather. you have to convince people that it is worth putting in. there is an annual increase in fee, it becomes a hindrance for a lot of folks. >> it is $300 a year, which is not a lot of money, and not only do you have to install it, you have to maintain it. people graffiti on them, they carve in there, and they take plants. you need an infrastructure in place, which is why cbd is so great. >> wi

supervisor chu: thank you for your presentation.ld you please speak about the conversations you had within the department regarding who the users of pesticides parks. we just had an extensive hearing about how the parks department has very limited staff to accomplish the work they need to do. dpw is another department that comes to mind when it regards utilizing these materials. >> one of the most striking parts of the ordinance is that it was implemented with declining resources. there was great concern that we might see increased hazard as a result of not being able to use the chemicals but we have found the opposite. departments that you mentioned have been very creative in finding alternatives to getting the job done. i am not sure when you call them high users, if you look at the use is dropping dramatically we have not heard from them that the lack of ability to use pesticides is a limiting factor. speaking to this better than i can, sarah can talk about the volunteer corporation. >> supervisors, a couple of things to add woul

chu aye daly aye aye chu aye aye -- chu aye. daly aye. dufty aye. elsbernd aye. mar aye. maxwell aye. mirkarimi aye. the next item authorizes the planning department to accept and expend a grant in the amount of $250,000 from the california department of transportation for the chinatown broadway streetscape improvement program designed plan and amending the budget to add for the planning department. commissioner chiu: same house, same call? this ordinance is passed on first reading. >> item 26 is an ordinance authorizing the planning department to accept and expend a grant in the amount of $250,000 from the california department of transportation for the central corridor of growth strategy and design plan and amending the annual salary ordinance fiscal year 2010-2011 to add a limited duration planner in the department. commissioner chiu: same house, call? the ordinances passed on first reading. >> item 27 is a resolution authorizing the master lease of the windsor hotel at 238 ne street for the department of public health. commissioner chiu: the resolution is adopted. nex

supervisor chu: for the recreation and parks department -- thank you. supervisor avalos: a lot of the same question that i would have asked. i think you covered it, thank you. supervisor chu: for the recreation and parks department, could you speak about the options for lighting some areas, where you think there might be ways to assist with the police department as they are doing their patrol? >> i think most of our drives are lit. the park is 1,017 acres, and by design, has elements that are intended to be more open, more urban, institutional areas of the park, which, by design, are intended to be urban forest. so it kind of depends on what area of the part you're talking about. i do think there is a strong [no audio] with the captains of both of the stations in particular. we talked about environmental design. lighting is also a capital issue. our ability to actually redesign the part is more of a complicated design challenge. from a maintenance standpoint, i think it is our responsibility to make sure where we have lighting in the park, that it is fu

commissioner carmen chu? commissioner chu: just a question about the regional small starts project. what does that mean? >> mtc has included this project in their expansion plan, which identifies in the region transportation plan, a trans expansion strategy. it identifies the region's priorities for these key federal funding programs, new starts being one of them, small starts, a federal fta program designed for these cost-effective quick to implement projects. we are one of two regional priorities for small starts. commissioner chu: what is the other one? >> the other is an ac transit project in alameda county. commissioner chu: so this provides us with a better position to apply for federal grant money? ok. in terms of the federal commitment, nothing yet from the federal government. >> the $15 million has been recommended. we have been given a high rating each year, but not yet. we are working with gta and mta to identify at what point we should apply. commissioner chu: on page five you go through what the timeline will look like. where do we begin to apply for the small starts fu