that landscaping is the only thing that prevents me seeinga fence, so if you take down that landscaping that has been growing since 1991 -- and that is a fig. somebody thought it was ivey, but it is a fig. it does not sit too feet into the side walked. it needs a trim and what not, but it does not take up that much space. of course, it could be pruned. in the whole perspective of moving that fence, i will end up looking at another chain link fence for a long time. if it is landscaping that needs to be done, pruning, something else, you will lose that landscaping plus the trees to be able to make decide what wider. i appreciate that people want to have a place to walk. it is tight. it meets the basic minimum standards. i know that it is narrow because parked cars are allowed to parked diagonally, but i think it needs to be put into context of the entire -- our neighborhood is university terrace, working with usf to deal with the entire golden gate, and those cars parked diagonally is one of 123 or so issues on their radar. at our neighborhood had a meeting on november 15 to discuss the t

i'm no positive in my mind with landscaping and with the gate how it would even take one car. i would not like to park on it or try to because of the space considerations, plus in my mind it's totally ought of character with that neighborhood and most residential neighborhoods of san francisco in that manner. i feel bad in some degree because of what i consider mistake made in permitting going back. unfortunately too many years. but there's nothing i can do about that. and i have no one to call up here to ask for explanations because it went too far back unfortunately. but we have to deal with what we have now. and in my mindly go with the department's recommendation. commissioner antonini? >> i agree. although there may have been some confusion in committing all you have to do is kind of i think use zphens on this and nobody else probably has a bunch of cars parked in the front card of their homes there and it doesn't look right to me. i would say i would agree, make a motion to agree with -- take the staff recommendation, which basically gives -- take discretionary review an

put ago parking pad in front of the house that used to be a landscaped area is out of character for the neighborhood and diminishes its aesthetic appeal and value. the parking impediment were originally constructed as a permit signed by by the department of building and inspection. they never saved final inspection and permit expired. as a result complaints about the project and expire permit, the department issued notices of violation and director held in 2008. an order of abatement was issued requiring an owner to obtain the work or remove the parking pad or restore the curb. in 2009, a building permit was submitted for review to reauthorize the curb cut and parking pass and authorize a new gate and fence to screen the parking. this is the subject of today's hearing. at this time the department is recommending the commission take discretionary review and modify the project to eliminate curb cut and restore the curb, require restoration of the curb at the property line and as far as cocompliance of the fence above the curb reaching no higher than three feet. the following are the depar

i am the landscape architect. i will tell you about our urban landscapes sustainability story. will start with the sustainability philosophy, which the project -- is the framework of the project. everything was built holistic play. we did not want to proceed with a checklist. we had really lively discussions and relieved to create a synergy between the landscape in the building system. the overall goal is to provide green, urban living that incorporates sustainable design, thoughtfully considered materials, and features. as an urban info project, we are improving city systems, reducing our carbon footprint, and supporting urban fatality. ventilation produces -- reduces energy consumption but also provides a connection with nature that is needed in our city. where harvesting when water from our roof. our conservation goal is to go beyond a 75% goal for water reduction to the landscape maintenance. we promote connection with nature to people. they will filter storm water, provide habitat for native species such as the mission blue butterfly. we have an urban agricultural componen

the landscaping and the fence in the foreground is the subject of the encroachment permit. this actually gets us behind the fence and shows what is taking place inside the encroachment area. on the right is the fence that is the outfield wall, the poles holding the net, which is all on usf property. the retaining wall and the fence on the left side of the property is what is authorized by this minor encouragement. the retaining wall is about 5 feet high at the western and of the encroachment area. this is from the same spot looking the other way at the back of the encroachment. obviously, to widen the sidewalk would be a major engineering undertaking. this is not a matter of usf just appropriating this property and using it for itself. that is not part of the baseball field. it is a required transition between the height of the baseball field and the sidewalk and to protect the public from this change in grade and provide additional security adjacent to the baseball field. it is true there is a chain link fence and netting to protect from baseball's, but the second fence at

this area to be paved is landscaped. the landscaping was mostly done by the loving hands of the neighbors, a contributing plants in their own time. they are distressed but we are talking about taking it. we promised that if we did we would go back and put in new landscaping once it is done, but there is a certain distrust in the minds of the neighbors that once the parking lot is built it will never be removed. i feel compelled to in the interest of full disclosure to let you know that there is some opposition to this element of the project, although again it is a small facility that is considered very important to be exploreatorium and the presidio. a quick summary of the task budget developed by [unintelligible] park. what you are being asked to do is amend an existing mla. we issued a memorandum of agreement to allow work to start quickly. the early task was to balance at the yacht club. what we're doing now is amending mla to balance the tasks needed. the total budget amount, including an adequate contingency, is $1.

what is the role in the new media landscape? journalism academies in the hyper globalism journal, it is there and the advice for nonprofit working at the new media center? >> we can give that question to barry. maybe you can give her some advice? >> there are a lot of challenges in community media right now. i have been trying to get our local station to work with us to figure out how to work together to get things going in the community. one of the challenges right now that the media landscape has is that it has been remade for lot of the other stations. these folks that are doing educational government television right now are rooted in ratings in a lot of cases. anyone can be broadcaster and no one wants access to the channel anymore. really, we are just at the beginning of this. for example, i no longer have cable. i get all of my television of the web. that is not on the -- that is not an unusual situation. >> [unintelligible] first of all, back to the question of diversity, the fact that we even have to talk about diversit

the ones about the landscaping? commissioner moore: providing the landscaping with the retailing, which is extraordinary. >> i support the project also. my only question is, i guess -- and i should have called the project sponsor, but i did not have time. i just want to ask the project sponsor -- did you contact the owners of the property adjacent to that site? i was just wondering, one of them, they actually own the property behind the site. i was curious about the sro's on either side of the building. obviously, it will be subject to the regular construction of rules and what not, but i'm just wondering if you were able to engage in any conversation with them. i know they are both residential hotels. i do not know if either have long-term residents. >> the building to the east owner was here and is now speaking for the project. we modified our structure somewhat and actually eliminated some small amount of square feet, and the building to the west we have had communication with, and they have not taken a position,

he is a photographer whose camera for 30 years focused on colorado's stunning landscapes.ocusing on the meadows and barns here. >> this is history. we can't afford to lose 150 years of the histories of the families that define the fabric of american society. >> reporter: he has raised $100,000 from sales of his latest book to help farmers combat two old foes. the tax man and the developer who subdivides into 40 acre ranchettes. >> i'm just the messengers. that is the story of my life. being able to show people what is at stake. >> reporter: 37 million acres of land has been protected by ading tax breaks in exchange covnence to never develop. as states face shortfalls, pressure is building to cut proprom programs aimed at saving moronch land. in colorado, for example, it is estimated 60,000 acres of land last year was lost to development. >> fielders donation will help a few with expenses to get their land protected. but to help many, he says, his photographs must convince many to keep protecting the scenery so the spectacular scenes of the west are not lost. roger o'neal,

from that 25, we went through and chose tend to realize in the landscape. >> including this building,ch is an amazing example of recycling. >> we are proud of this space. it was designed by a local architecture team. we said, we need something that is a temporary structure, something that can be brought onto the presidio in pieces, act as an exhibition space for one year. we came up with the notion of shipping containers. it was important for us that we made this project for the place, of the place. what i mean by that is participants would also used repurchased materials. >> we will be speaking to one of the artists that you selected. what excited you about his idea? >> have many things. first of all, i am a fan of his architecture. because of that creativity, i knew that he could come up with something unique. i love the fact that he was specifically addressing the landscape around here, and it was also about the human interaction with this place. >> what are your expectations with the people coming to presidio habitat? >> we really hope people will come with their family, dogs, and

we'll journey to the fabled aran islands and trek through the eerie landscape of the burren. then we'll head south to the forests of killarney and end up on the windswept dingle peninsula. galway has been dubbed "the gateway to the west." for hundreds of years, this was a modest fishing village. then in the 13th century, the english wised up to the area's strategic spot on the water. 14 anglo-norman families, known as the tribes of galway, settled in the area, forcing out the local irish and building a great wall around the city. you can see one of the last surviving vestiges of that wall here at the spanish arch, where incoming ships unloaded cargo. the merchant tribes grew wealthy, thanks to a strong wine and brandy trade with spain. today galway hums as a cultural center, providing a home for students, artists, and writers. in the summer, people come from all over the country to stroll the cobblestone lanes. they'll stop in pubs to listen to music or perhaps a bit of poetry. the little shops and narrow streets give the city's old quarter a kind of left bank feel, and medie

our driving tour turns southwest now, through the rugged landscape. nowhere do the greek gods feel closer than the valley of the temples in argigento along the southern coast of sicily. called akragas in ancient times, this greek city flourished in the fifth century b.c., growing quite wealthy from the abundant crops. the greek poet pindar declared akragas "the loveliest of the cities of mortals." the most stunning and fully preserved temple at agrigento is the temple of concord. the columns are tapered and slightly curved... so the temple appears straight when seen from a distance. near the reconstructed temple of castor and pollux is a sacrificial altar where all-women fertility rites called the thesmophoria took place. scholars believe the women ate anti-aphrodisiac plants, then camped for 3 days at the temple, fasting and reenacting demeter's grief at her daughter's abduction by hades. the rite ensured fertility and a good crop. on the glorious terrace of the nearby hotel athena, i happened on a performance of the agrigento folk band dioscuri. [up

the landscape ordinance has to go through the department of public works. it is a different program. it is going to be similar to -- we will be plan checking and mounting civil drawings were we have not in the past. commissioner murphy: have we had any discussion with them, what that process is going to be? is this going to be another black hole for plans? >> no, it is not. we have had several discussions with them. in fact, we are ready to roll out their new plan check. they have a list, when the project sponsor will be filling out in the beginning of the project, notifying us whether they will be disturbing more than 1000 square feet of ground. we have and we are working with them almost weekly to get the programming completed in time for the rollout on july 1. commissioner murphy: public comments? seeing none. >> item 6c, update on the permit tracking system. >> deputy director, administrative services. we are ending our long marathon on putting the rfp together. we will be talking to the city tomorrow for the final review along with the controller's off

all of those areas either have -- in total, there is the six- foot sidewalk, 3 feet of landscaping, so there is 9 feet. this area is unusual and there is only 6 feet. in terms of the context of the objective of this appeal, i just wanted to draw your attention to the better streets policy as part of san francisco, which is a city-wide policy promulgated in 2006 with the objective to make sure that public rights of way, that they become public access corridors, the idea that the public right-of-way should be preserved for public access and not be taken by private party for their sole and exclusive use. that is what is at issue. in terms of the better streets policy, i would also like to note, pursuant to that, the better streets plan has ben implemented and is not yet official laws in san francisco, but it is in the process of being implemented. it has objectives for improving the pedestrian experience, including sidewalk lighting, minimum sidewalks width. even though i am not asserting that is binding law upon the commission, it sort of shows the direction san francisco is going and th

we support the preservation of the historic landscape, low density occupation. i rise dead city is in human and there are plenty of studies about that. we are aware of the mission amounts of water to minimize water use. >> thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. thank you for your time. ibm manager of the shopping center in san francisco. we have this plan that they proposed which is fine. we did not know that we were the only commercial there. the problem lies very simply that a major shopping center against a small 25,000 square foot shopping center will probably put us out of business. they're trying to put in a road from us from 19th avenue and we really thanked them for that and appreciated that. if the state agencies to not go along with putting in a road for our survival, that is our lifeline. 40% of our business is walking in traffic that comes from san francisco state. this will be right across the street from san francisco state. power shopping center is unique and the reason is that it is individual family found businesses, this is not corporate am

almost as much so as cable cars, the towers, we are a part of the cultural landscape. that is what brings me to my outrage at the decision of the university of san francisco to virtually singlehandedly changed that landscape. this is tantamount to one person deciding that cable cars should not exist anymore because no one really writes them anyway. i encourage you to get behind saving the radio station and the resolutions to do so and also follow us up to the sec and lend your way to our argument and support community radio. thank you. >> i am an attorney here in san francisco. i host a cultural show on kusf. it deals with the issues of ordinary people here in san francisco. as we move forward with this fight, we take to their sense of justice with them and we ask more than anything for you to join us in this fight as we move forward to the sec and to state courts in san francisco. with that, i asked you to stand with us today, tomorrow, stand with this moving forward. >> i was watching a documentary related to world war ii and was reminded of how an entire nation an e

what happened to the landscape and character of the city that we have? are we going to lose it, throw it away? let somebody clean the slate and start from scratch. i don't think that's appropriate. >> thank you. barney larsen, cynthia, car roeschy. >> good evening commissioners. i'm artie larsen. i lived at park merced for 14 years. i support this project. i noticed in the consultant's report that it indicates this project will have a significant positive economic impact throughout san francisco and that includes 1600 new permanent jobs and 159 million in subsidies for rent controlled replacement apartments. these are real benefits for real people. there have been over four years of meetings on this project, the land lord made 250 presentations to residents, residents of other neighborhoods and other interested parties. i haven't been to all, but i seen the project change over time. i been listened to by the land lord and the architects and some of my ideas have been included in the current plan. in chicago they say vote early and often. i -- you have li

can you tell us about the 2 landscape audit and the ambassad') program. >> landscape audits. 2 a lot incorrectly at thewrong times or over wúáer. and a landscape audit lets you know how to water your lawn based on the type of plants and e size of your yard and maybe you can make adjustments. our energy ambassador program $i specific to a resid"gce. there's three ways to change 2energy efficiency. change your behaviors, turn off the lights. there's the appliances and getting energy star apfiances and that's behavior -- doing your laudery at night rather than in the middle of the day. but the building envelope is the grand puba. 2ud that entails adding insulation, sealing ducts, taking a look at your heating and air-conditioning systems. and making sj)e that all té air pumping into the house to make it comfortable is not goincstraight out the window. so with this program. +"'re helping to educate people by having what we call tupperware parties. 2> i love this idea. it's really fun. what we asking eople to do is get a home energy audit. and through the process you )arn about it yoursel

. >> what kinds of landscape company offers job training and even legal services. company run by the nonprofit east bay social services agency rubacon. >> it's based in berkeley and serves about 4,000 people a year, many newly homeless. last year about 10% of their clients went straight from job training to a new job but it can be a challenge. >> we help people who have limited literacy, substance abuse problems. who may have had a prior involvement with the criminal justice system. who are really trying to make a contribution to the community. >> like this client, juanita, a young mom who has had her run-ins with the law. >> i was charged with selling drugs and in the process of that i was using. >> a ten-month transition program and then a new baby kept her out of the work force. but now she's learning new skills in landscape maintenance and more. >> i was referred to rubacon, got me into the training program. they fixed up my resume. it was great. it looks like i've been employed during my whole life doing a lot of stuff. >> they reached the bottom. only one way

the horizon, a black line against brilliant white landscape, pale blue sky above it, empty except for heat devil blur, a raindrop sound hits a wooden post against cloudless light, another, the lamb, his children, wife, then he drenched in bullet rain. blue. the final moment of night passing, exposes limbs, torsos, heads, breasts, humans, cows, goats, curved and knotted heaps, lays blue against bitten grass. final piece, the title is the headline for a newspaper. anti-war activist immoh lates along kennedy's express way near giant flame of the millennium skull up tour 4 days before november 2006 elections and no one pays attention. everything but the heart reduced to ash. thank you. . >> i just want to thank george for bringing to bear some of the numbers, some of the horrific things that are happening in iraq right now. this poem was drawn from my experiences in iraq from the culture, from the music and from its traditions. so i have dedicated this poem to iraq. i think it will be helpful for you to know el kubenchi, along with el watanabi. el kubenchi is famous for music, a great his

, if you simply play a sort of a thought experiment which my coleague mike has done here for the landscape of the united states, and what he's done is taken a census of precipitation, day by day every event that's occurred over along period, and he's cataloged how many of those events occurred where temperatures were in the range of minus 3 degrees celsius, just below freezing and freezing and what's shaded on here is the fraction of time for a given location in which the precipitation has occurred in that temperature range. that's a range of what we might call vulnerability because if temperature rises by three degrees celsius, all of the sudden we're not snowing anymore we're raining. you can think of this as a flood vulnerability map or a potential loss of snowstorm or the western problem as you can see and particularly areas like the west slope of the sierras and the cascades and part of the rockies are especially vulnerable to this. we in california have a huge stake in this sort of - this kind of vulnerability to warming. you can see there's some in the northeast but not to the degre