any eir that doesn't include maps is not a good eir but it doesn't provide the decision markers mta and the planning department with the ability to make effective decisions because i don't assume i know every block in the city by t you have to when you make those decisions and i'm talking to mta to zls is the planning department. and the information should be in the eir and should be given to decision-makers the blocks that lengthen the city are all over is place. and it's different in chinatown and the blocks south of marketing are enormous and the planning department is looking at the blokes as a scope of distance. every time you use the term block it disenpowers the folks. by the time this eir comes back but if the tools are not provided shame on environmental view and shame on mta and the consultant as well. thank you >> is there any additional public comment? >> good afternoon, members of the commission peter cowen with the housing organization. i realize our scope today is very narrowly around the eir and you have a responsibility to review the eirs but i want to talk about the tr

eir and overriding considerations and mitigation monitoring and reporting plans. directors, staff would like to offer an amendment to your resolution for several areas and i would like to read those to you at this point. >> so, in the 7th whereas clause. the language would be eis,eir, the right side platforms and single and medium terms. in the new language in performance attributes of a center running brt, faster more reliable services to require left and right door to quickly rebuild the median. that's new language. as environmentally superior build alternative and the only fully funding alternative. new language and is therefore the preferred alternative for project implementation. the 9th whereas clause is a new whereas clause, where as the vallejo northbound station variant for the northern park of the project corridor. moving on to the next whereas clause, the 10 where as you clause would say the sfmta certified and adequate objective and reflecting the judgment of sfmta adding new language now including amendment to include the vallejo northbound station va

that is not an answer, wi want some preliminary legitimate testing submitted in a complete eir. the shadows, there is a letter that states that the shadow report does not pass how come when it was redone it was passing? what is the problem there? there needs to be more, more, please, looking at this. and they say that there are no specimen trees and there are two trees. how can you miss two specimen trees? and it is amazing how many problems have been with this development with the community, and we never asked for a postponement and it is only the developer and the planning commission and we want the planning commission to follow the letter of the law, please we imp lore you to request a complete and terminal impact report. >> i am an american italian and i have two pass ports to prove it but i am not here to talk about iethnicity and i am here to talk about the jobs that this project will provide and the commitment that this sponsor has made towards local 22. and for local 22, for the apprentices and the journey men and the men and women who build the buildings here in san fra

so that whereas clause would read "whereas the final, eis; eir platform. new language in the term that it that is adequate performance of the brt, faster more reliable service while avoiding the need to require left right door vehicles and completely rebuild the median. the following phrase will be struck." as the environmentally superior build alternative and the only fully funded alternative "and then you add the project implementation. >> thank you, members have any comments or questions before we go to the member of the public. if not, members of the public can come forward to talk about the amendment. >> george philly. michelle rembrandt van rijn. >> good afternoon, my name is george sierra. we have lived at the corridor for 25 years. i have spoken to the group about this. i want to summarize briefly for the record what some of the facts are for the program and our concerns. first the 30 percent saving or with the 40 percent of reduction and stops. nearly half of the time savings can be limited with these stops. you can achieve this without the negati

the eir plans to expand buses on the number 2 and 22 and 34. if 50 percent of our riders go over to their buses they would have to add considerable 76 percent of the eliminated buses would have to add and that's a case of robbing he peter to help paul. we'll be hurting those who cannot afford cars and the elderly and hurt those people who can't afford to hire taxis and sealed it will push those people who are doing the right thing for the environment by taking the bus thank you. >> thank you. good afternoon, commissioners i live on jackson street. isn't there a positive fix to this? rather than cutting service and forcing more use of private transportation can't we work to take muni in and out of our neighborhood. there are 7 schools in our neighborhood. this would possibly reduce the congestion during pickup and drop off. i don't know if you've been through our neighborhood but there's long lines of cars at the 3 o'clock waiting to pick up their kids and filling the air with greenhouse gases. we can coordinate with culture centers. and during

i strongly support of this eir and hope that you support it as well. thank you very much. >> thank you. if there are any other speakers, please come forward. if not, i will be closing ing public comment. anyone else who'd like to comment, if you can please line up along by this television set by the windows. thank you. >> my name's robin and i'm a member of san francisco transit riders union. i'm a resident of san francisco and van ness has always been a big part of my life because my parents work along van ness and i go to school there so i've used van ness avenue to get to school. i'm really glad that this project is coming along and i hope that the consideration to transit riders are being taken into consideration so this will be a sustainable project. i'm glad we're making the step forward for a project that would help people feel more proud of san francisco transit. thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker. >> hi good afternoon, my name is jeffrey johnson. i'm with transform. i used to be a former open city council member staffer. i'm here

we request the eir documents be promptly approved and that work begin as soon as possible. thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker please. >> thank you for having this meeting. my name is [inaudible] and i'm here to represent san francisco beautiful and non profit organization en[inaudible]. i would like to extend our support for the van ness brt proposal as it will make the commute faster, easier and much more reliable. brt projects in brazil [inaudible] improved the we look forward to experience [inaudible] of van ness brt project that will be enjoyed by residentses and business owners. i would like to bring to focus [inaudible] as this will create unique identity for van ness avenue by installs treelines. we are glad that the proposal will replace trees, but replace [inaudible] we're excited to see the design of the project transform and enhance the street scape and give it a unique and unified entity. thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker please. >> yeah, jeff cinco. i wanted to put some facts here out of the papers i was provided here for this project

first of all, according to the eir, goth street is the main route north south, not van ness. that's ridiculous. go to vallejo and goth, you'll see that. the double parking, which obviously is a biggish show. you got three lanes, cut it the to two. if you have to double park anything, you're down to one. they did the study for one hour, from 5:00 to 6:00 and said there wasn't significant double parking. that it only occurred once on one block. you would think they would do a complete study on double parking. there's taxicabs, garbage there trucks. that right lane is basically a throw away lane. we've suggested that they make the 47 unlimbed. you don't need two buses stopping every corner. they haven't done it, no plans to do. this project basically does that. it takes away half the stock. now you won't have the option of taking a slower bus that stops at every stop, especially if you're disabled. what you gain in the five minutes in the transit you might lose walking ten /pheutsd minutes to get to the stop. we also suggested they paint a bus only lane. give it a try. if it doe

i want to recognize the good work that went into the eir. this is a well written and informative document that allows us to make a measured decision about approval and modification. it makes it much easier than a standard document of this size and nature. i want to recognize the large amount of work in outreach that staff have done on this project. it's always good if we can do more, as it seems inevitable we can do more, but we've done very good with 17,000 mail that went out to inform people of this work. i want to thank the effort of the van ness bus rapid transit system advisor committee for their work as well. we can go on to staff presentations unless staff have any comments they'd like to make. and i believe we have michael shorts will be presenting from staff. >> good morning, maria lombardo. the i want to echo the chair's remark, but also to thank the ta and mta board, including mta director. this is something the city and these two bodies should be very proud of it this is the highest ranked small start project in the nation. it wi

impair the adjacent building, the proposed project lies on the impact analysis of the eastern neighbors eir and does not identify the damage to the historic resources of the significant had arranging anything and we looked at the building, and one thing that, one diagram that i would like to show you if i may have the overhead. lighter gray is the approximately location of the foundation. and this is where our building would go and we are hoping to put the foundation next to the club and as you can see we don't have substantial excavation and our driveway is where it is today and as the previous building was located. we have changes from the club and i am going to have brad talk to you more about that. and so, this changes that we have done on this has resulted in the loss of about 500 square feet and two levels. and loss of two units and height, next to the club, and then, i want to talk to you more in depth. and in regards to that design aspect. >> my name is brad (inaudible) with the senior design staff. we prepared provision and we met with the planning staff and we met with them a coup

the eir may include the program analysis such as a the service policy framework. it's appropriate for the proposals for which designed details has not been developed as shown on the map. the corridors in black are the ones for which the mta has designed specific designs and the gray ones are needing more processes pr

so how do you get from a 2008 eir and a scoping document from december to this project? thank you >> there imply additional public comment? okay public comment is closed. commissioner >> i think this is an excellent project i'll tell you some of the reasons why i do have some questions but first it's perfect the knowledge sector area and the board plates it's creating are ideal for this city. and the bay windows will help with the class a business type it's trying to build. i think we've talked about the parking what's lout and a lot of it is car share. some of it we'll deal with accessibility issues there's parking for retail and it's not within what's allowed. i really appreciate the confidence and in addition to the pack come cast is in that area, too, and they do all the broadcasts out of there. we talked about the environmental parts of this project. i really like the brick and timer look it rims me of the new building like cbs. one of the best examples of contemporary art is the architecture around it. i have some questions for the project sponsor. >> okay. the fir

the eir may include the program analysis such as a the service policy framework. it's appropriate for the proposals for which designed details has not been developed as shown on the map. the corridors in black are the ones for which the mta has designed specific designs and the gray ones are needing more processes pr the their involvin others processes. so the culminate effects are known those program level components have gone through research. to the extent that specific information is known to a specific environmental topic for both components it's been addressed in the initial study in its

the language would be eis,eir, the right side platforms and single and medium terms. in the new language in performance attributes of a center running brt, faster more reliable

the language would be eis,eir, the right side platforms and single and medium terms. in the new language in performance attributes of a center running brt, faster more reliable services to require left and right door to quickly rebuild the median. that's new language. as enn

plan and the judge ruled it had to be back for an vial report and the city lost the housing element eir so it's not also the case the city makes the correct distressing. tim

i look forward to support, certify this eir and then move on to so many of our other priority projects. i just wanted to thank the ta and sfmta. i'm really excited to support and ride the brt when it's finally implemented. >> thank you. commissioner campos. >> thank you. i won't repeat the comments that have been made. i want to take this opportunity to thank the ta staff as well as all the other say general is, the mta in particular as who have been working on this matter when we saw where this was a couple years ago when /sph-pl some of the new members to this body had been elected there were a number of questions that remain. i appreciate that in a very short /poerd of time the various agencies were able to engage this commission and the constituents that are represented to get to this point and i think it took a great deal of creativity of the ta staff to come up with a solution that brought people together and i do support consideration for addressing the needs of seniors with respect to this project. i'm very prod that we are where we are and, you know, just again, thank you to e

first is the certification of the eir pursuant to seqa. have we disclosed the appropriate impacts and mitigations? the second is the [inaudible] summarizing this process and the findings within that document. approval of statement of overriding consideration so this is where we have significant and unavoidable impacts you would be approving a statement of override to implement the project. approval of the mitigation and monitoring program. and finally is the product approval, which would be the brt right side boarding single median left turn as the preferred alternative. just a quick summary of cost, we're at $126 million. 75 million of that would come from the sta small starts program, as well as cal-trans has highway maintenance funds to repair the roadway and the [inaudible] is willing to make a contribution to the project. it'll leave a funding gap of about $18 million. we can find finding for that and i think the goal is to be able to close that gap in the near future. so the timeline right where the abc red bar is where finishing up

looking forward to supporting the approval of the alternatives that are presented today, along with the eir. thank you. >> thank you. commissioner breed. >> thank you. i know this project has been underway for some time. i personally would have preferred to see an approach towards underground opportunities and i know again, it's too late to turn back the clock, but my biggest concerns about moving this project forward, although i of course support this as an option, are the loading for some of the small businesses. i know that was briefly mentioned and hopefully that would be taken into consideration. i know this we don't have the kind of alleys that maybe other places have to load and unload into certain businesses, but i know that's a continual problem with our businesses. parking will be a challenge, and also with the significant number of tickets that many of the delivery trucks are receiving as a result of double parking and everything. it's a challenge to our city, especially when we make significant changes and put in bike lanes and take out parking, but i want to make sure we are ta

i think that we are supposed to be seeing the draft eir in january and that is what i have heard. there was an article discussing the timing moving forward and i never heard that anything has been declayed as far as the eir was concerned, and it seemed like it has been the date that i fully served that we were supposed to be considering it and so i am not sure what else he may be speaking to in the article. >> i am not sure. but we do have that calendared at least for now. >> commissioner antonini, sorry to interrupt you, could you lower your microphone. >> i better speak up a little bit and otherwise, the secretary search subcommittee will continue to meet and will meet again on the 11th of september. commissioner sugaya. >> yes. i ran into former commissioner yesterday, and he reminded me that i promise that i would do something about the academy of art. and i promised his wife and so i thought about it and so could we get a status report on the future memo or something? it would be fine. >> typically on it. >> no just on the academy. >> yeah. >> commissioner borden? >> yeah, th

not a fine grained residential area and so what i am supportive of the project and i think that the eir, meets all of the requirements. >> and commissioner wu? >> so, i also think that the deck is fine, i have a couple of comments on the project itself. i heard some concern about transportation and open space, and i think that there are buses on potrero and on 16th. and there is a new part going in at 17th and fulsom and i wanted to make a comment about the garden's residents and they were here to speak for themselfs in support of the project. it might be one sampling of the tenants and not all. to the public speakers who cited them, i think that we really want to give them the report to speak for themselves and so i move on 1 3a to up hold the pm and d. >> second. >> >> okay, and if you would with the conditions i think that we are advise will be that the conditions if you want to add those conditions that he mentioned they would be added to the project approval. >> that is correct. >> i believe that was commissioner sugaya's intent. >> on the motion to up hold the negative deck kla ra

in their lawsuit...gun rights advocates contend that the maryland firearm safety act...violates...th eir second amendment right...to bear arms. "there is an affirmed right to self defense using a firearm." patrick shomo...is president of a gun rights group...called "maryland shall issue." (shomo) "and i understand social policy considerations that people have, i understand the opinions that folks may have contrary to that social policy, but whenever we get close to a fundamental right, you really have to tread carefully." the law bans the sale of 45 types of semi- automatic weapons...and limits magazines...to no more than ten rounds. but supporters...say that law balances the rights of gun owners...while enhancing public safety. a view...echoed by governor o'malley. (governor) "but there's been a lot of thought and a lot of consideration put into this sensible legislation so that it passes constitutional muster and i'm not terribly worried about the ultimate outcome of the suit." (rydell) "gun groups are hoping a hearing will be held here at federal court sometime soon, but they say ther

plan and the judge ruled it had to be back for an vial report and the city lost the housing element eir so it's not also the case the city makes the correct distressing. tim collins said i don't know if you read the newspaper in his other life he's a geologist and on another argument this was too costly and too time consuming and would eat up the resources of the planning staff. that argument was made previously and i think that this commission should not take into account if it's something 3 needs to be done the mayor's office will make it happen >> thank you any other member of the public wish to speak. seeing none, we'll close and bring it back to commission. i'll leadoff. at first blush i was hesitating on adding the process, however, thinking about it and the length of time to get to the board of appeals and the amen of time between a project starting and finishing the board of appeals - i mean, i think they would not be experts in the field to make sdergsz i think it might go sideways. bringing it back to the eshthsz r o strengthens the case and would cause folks hesitation on goi

a vote was expected tonight, but the board hadn't looked at the eir. the bovote has been tabled. people who live near there aren't pleased about this plan. >> lighting, we could live with it. but pa system? play by play? i can hear it in here. >> they say it would be okay if it was only used for friday night football games, but they say the school wants to rent the feet for other events. >>> is it an empty promise or a call for action? some rare comments from selig. he's talking about the proposed move. >> it's a pit. it reminds me of old shay stadium. we need to deal with that. it's a very complicated situation that the more we've gotten into it, the more difficult it is. but before i leave, i'm satisfied we'll work out something. >> selig talking to cbs sports radio there. the difficulties he's referring to is the giants' opposition to the a's in moving to the south bay. by the way, selig plans to retire in january of 2015. >>> molly? g, x, k, d? do you know what they have in odds are many of the people that will be here know what they are. growing concern about a big weekend e

it's ridiculous the way it's stated that eir is not complete and i think if you guys accept this as it's written, it's really questionable why. >> thank you. >> next speaker please. >> jeff simco. >> thank you. i just, this is not a point for me to reiterate the points made earlier about the problems with this program. i will make a few of them real quick and talk about a few alternatives to the project. i don't have all the pages here, the 800 pages. but, the project as it stands you are going to displace thousands of automobiles and they are going to plug up streets. the access to this brt in the first place at the south end at mission and south van ness avenue. it's going to create longer transit times actually in the end. how did you get the savings? the savings is seven men's for the trip, 30 percent time. that's still not rapid transit. i can still walk it and you got that by removing stops. a lot of people here talking about please don't remove my stops, i need my stops to access your facilities. this plan gets a savings by removing stops that people that ride the bus need. so the

like the seniors, the poor attemptedto oanize, but eir effos were not . the senior citizen movement, in terms of participation, has been a more effective movement than the poor. the poor are not organized. they vote less than others. they joigroups less than others. the poor aren't like the organized workers. even the organized worker had in new york,ping up. first the sanitation workersstr. shortly afterwards, firemen and police went out. en came the transitanteach. each group, fighting to hold on to a decent living. wesked victor gottbaum, who represents new york public employees, to recall those turbulent days. i present workers. if they're taking a beating, i hear about it. they don't make unfounded or loud demas. a sewer laborer says, "mary goes into atarket.vic, ite that's what i hear. a hospital worker says, "it's becomi awful." at's what i hear.r. woers wonhigher settlem, but that raised costs and boosted prices. in all ecomic sectors all over the country but that raised costs ination became entrenched. it was hard to keep up. it was harder to fee

with an appreciation for eir cultural differences...and the richness it has brought to their lives. sure, you can have your fights you can have your arguments, you can have your good times but it's the emphasis on family. for our children they have a richness that they can reach into. maybe the point in life that they're ready to get married i would have the same concern as my folks did. but regardless of who they are, i think the most imptant thing is... they're being treated well just like my husband does to me. i see they're repainting the lines in the parking lot. they're doing what ? rearranging the spaces. making them diagonal rather than straight. who's doing that ? it looks like two of the workers from next door. the gypsy lady ! she's not a gypsy. no, she's a thief ! taking some of my parking spaces away from me. if i have fewer spaces i end up with fewer customers ! - can she do that ? - you'd have to check the lease to find out for sure. sara, pass some more potatoes to henry. you think the cowboys will win the super bowl thi