it used to be on the embarcadero freeway. the swim club, which i believe has now been renamed a resort, they used to nestle right near the embarcadero freeway. this area has changed since the things were put in place. right now, the port has gone through a lengthy process after the freeway went down from 1992 to 1997 to put together the white waterfront land use planning. there is the ferry building, and they renovated several piers, and this is a different area than when there was the loma prieta. something that was not a permanent condition. it's sort of became subject of what should happen next. this is specifically contemplates that these two sides should be planned in a joint manner, and we took that to heart. we issued an rfp that asked about developing the seawall or combining the two properties, and this developer answered this and was deemed to be a responsive, qualified developer, and we have been planning with him ever since. the embarcadero steady became part of this. i originally, the developer planned on this. pu

the developer for this project has done a tremendous job on the east side of the embarcadero. they did a project that no one could have believed came out as good as it did. i do not think there is anyone in the city to has applauded their work -- who has applauded their work. providing retail that activated the waterfront. they had the primary financial backing from the california state teachers' pension group, and clearly, the teachers are not part of the 1% that people are concerned about, reaping some of the financial benefits. i am a planner. i think from an urban design point of view, a transition from the golden gate towers towards the waterfront, these projects would provide, would be a very desirable thing. the urban design plan never contemplated the removal of the freeway. my first day at the planning department, coming to the planning commission meeting, we are going to be doing something historic today. the planning commission adopted a plan that day, in the planning department has carried it forward with the northeast embarcaderos study -- embarcadero study, so for

i have gone up and down the embarcadero and measured the buildings. they are claiming to widen at the embarcadero to 15 feet in their proposal. it turns out that that is actually 16 feet, said they are widening it. that is a good step. there is one building. here is an image of it. this will not be activated. they are shoehorn in this building into the sides, and this is not what they were promising. they are taking 5 feet of this fence on the right and moving back. the image shows this. access to a pool without a fence? who has ever built a pool without a fence? it is very strong there. let's take a look at this. look at what they are offering. half of a tennis court. this already exists, but they are claiming to add all of this, but they are adding half of a tennis court. that is it. all of their imagery is just wonderful, but they do not have control over any of this, and this open space that exists. this chart alone needs a thorough examination. i do not have time. we can go around the site and do all of this. they even have their own. one with si

the height at the embarcadero was lower than 84 feet, and the high rises were taller. this step approach actually lowered the height of the overall site. the average before was 84 feet. now, not. they are cleaning spot zoning is taking place. this is really distorting the picture. after a long and collaborative planning process that i took part in, the recommendation is to actually lower the heights in some areas and raise them in others. that is exactly what 8 washington does. private tennis courts and parking, compared to the many public benefits that would be paid by the developer and future home owners, it is clear that this is an incredible deal for the port, the city, and the residents, especially the 99% like myself. i urge you to support this when it comes before you. justin amano. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is jennifer warburg. i am here representing a group which supports the seawall project. we believe that the proposed development is a significant improvement on the northern waterfront. 8 washington presents a unique opportunity to replace thes

the only place people at cash to do something with the parking lots that had on the embarcadero. the america's cup has changed everything. the port will be running over with money. they can no longer cry that they are poor. the other point i want to make has to do with parking. i run two businesses, over the past 20 years, in the embarcadero area. there is plenty of parking under the embarcadero center. there is a big parking garage under the maritime center. i believe that the owners of those parking areas will tell you that because of the lack of adequate cities signage, those garages are on those lots, so the argument that we need more parking space i believe is a spurious one. thank you. >> members of the committee, my name is charles. i am only here to say one thing. this is not a private club. i read in the newspaper about a private club being on that side. i have heard it here. members of the private club, they sit on the board of directors, and they occupy officers positions in the organization. this is a business. this is not a private club. if i had a business, if it had

i. >> do something different. >> we wanted to do something different. >> by 9:30 the embarcadero started filling up, waiting for the fireworks show. the police were there in force with a new tool, called sobering tens, parties can spend the night here sobering up instead of getting arrested and going to jail, jive if hey have no medical issues they will by monitored by health workers and then once they sober up, they can go home. >> 5,000 devices will be launched from this barge in the bay. new this year will be display right at water level. >> look like little ducky race on the water. depending on the current. there's a little strobe device that just kind of pulsate in the water. fun. >> for a lot of couples, ringing in the new year started with a quiet dinner. >> listening to music for the evening, and going to walk down market street and hopefully catch the tail end of the fireworks. >> well, like last year, the show is expected to run 15 minutes and cost thens -- tens of thousands of dollars and people are expected to run into possible san francisco police dui checkpoints, live on th

all located along the embarcadero waterfront, located along the north side of islet creek. request development of this position agreement and related actions to implement the 34th america's cup project of, involving use of peers and adjacent water areas, water basins between peers 32 and 38, 14 and 22.5, all located along the embarcadero waterfront, seawall lot 330, and a portion of peer 80, located along the north side of islais creek, east of illinois street. >> good afternoon, commissioners. special projects manager here representing the very large port and city team who has been working on this project for the last year. we are very grateful to be here today after a lot of long nights. it really has been an amazing experience. including last night's experience at the planning commission for the certification of the eir. the work that planning staff did on that environmental impact report was truly incredible. we are here today to present to you ceqa findings and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program related to the america's cup project, as well as the proposed d

it shows the view from the embarcadero and not from the park. there is a big misunderstanding there. the irony is that the neighbors are going to be major beneficiaries of the project. this will be a significant environmental benefits to everyone. it is a small project. 12 stories is not a high-rise building up against a building that is much higher. please vote to initiate the general plan amendment with all deliberate speed. thank you. >> any additional public comment? >> good morning. my name is pete jones. i am one of the founders of western athletic clubs and currently the senior vice president of development. i am here as an interested party. for the last 20 years, we have been the operators of the golden gate swimming and tennis club. we are not sponsors of this amendment. we have been invited by the developer to express our opinion as to what would be the best use of the square footage that was available to us as expressed in the development. unfortunately, in our opinion, it did require the total elimination of the tennis courts. i do n

such as the arrest and heads along the embarcadero. the abraham lincoln brigade monument at justin herman plaza. the our urban that stretches for 2 miles. there are many historical interpreter features along the embarcadero. of those pieces were installed as part of that project and they were sponsored an accord needed by the city arts commission. there are several sites that would tie in well with the america's cup. a shot of pier 14. in case you are not a familiar with that side. the rocket will be there until october 2012. replaced with another interim part. this is designated shore temporary public art. it has been very positive. there is at the foot of powell street across from the pier 43 promenade project which brings the promenade to blocks further into fisherman's wharf. this is another space for public art. this is the brandon street wharf project. it is adjacent to what will be one of the most fascinating pieces of the america's cup. the port went out to bid for the construction on friday. that is a list to be in time for the

walking back and forth to the embarcadero does not help anybody get healthy. thank you very much. >> i live in the richmond district. i am a member of the golden gate waco. i am an avid supporter of this project. that is primarily because of the middle-class residents, i am so happy to have access to the golden gateway club. i am very excited about the equipment they are doubling. the fitness facilities, and quadrupling the pool opportunities. a lot of people will be very excited about that. i really enjoy getting out of the richmond heading over. i appreciate the green roofs that will be there. right now for swimming, we change in one room with two showers and two bathrooms. we're climbing over each other. we are waiting for pools and time to exercise. this is going to provide ample space for lounge, deck, swimming, kins --kids. there are cafes an important part in that will be next door. right now, we have 15 spaces. it is prohibitive. do you have to plan a perfectly to be able to go in and enjoy the club. the green roof is an amazing resource. it will be a b

as the year 2011 was fading away, people gathered along the embarcadero to kiss it off and welcome in 2012. with 2012 expecting, it's a good party. the orchestra was rehearsing today. the program to begin at 8, the concert at 9, and folks could get on stage and dance. the director oliver tile says not really. >> everything in the symphony is for everybody. it's our centennial season and we were founded a hundred years ago as an orchestra for the entire community and this is one of the events where people come out to celebrate the new year in style. it's one of the more elegant events. >> reporter: back here on the embarcadero we asked those waiting for the fireworks their hopes for the new year. >> good health, great new year, and just the best for my family. >> for people who are unemployed to find a job, for the economy to improve, for people to be able to care for their family. >> better economy. better -- more jobs for people. >> reporter: and this man says he hopes everyone gets home safely. in fact he says his law firm will pay up to $35 for your cab ride from your bar and resta

in addition, this will be a hub of interest along that beautiful stretch of the embarcadero. we're working hard to make sure the different modes of transport in this area are appropriately reconciled for safety and also for ease of transportation issues. we will get into more of that later. i think the final kia bin location is pier 30 and pier 32. south of the bay bridge. this is the location they will do structural out -- operates -- upgrades. what they found is this is a real attraction for people to see behind the scenes. basically you can see all the work that makes this possible. this will be under construction. just south of this diagram is the war for which is part of the open space project that was on the books that we will try to bring forward and create another viewing area for this exciting piece of the event activities. this next slide shows a number of implementation plans. the city's obligation to get this event moving forward really centered around a couple of key pillars. the first was to move a ceqa document or environmental review document through the proces

. >> is getting closer to 2012 charles clifford is at the embarcadero. is just a few hours away. >> chuck? >>reporter: 3.5 hours away. we are looking at this live picture. it is a very nice night out. you can see if the moon right in front of the screen with no fog, just a little bit of lint. but calm winds -- a little bit of cool temperatures but the crowds are expected to grow. the reason why i am back here in the dark is that this is partitioned off for a private party. however, they are going to let us stay because the bay bridge and the skyline will have a front row seat coming up at midnight. when you are watching kron 4 at midnight you will see this. right on the embarcadero. >> quite a few and catherine heenan and karen radnick are standing by for the 11:30 and it is hands down the best new year's live show in the bay area. >> catherine: it really is and it is the only of local countdown show and it really is. chuck had a nice perch and so do we. dean, show the viewers that this is the centennial, the huge party. people are getting their masks it

>> along the embarcadero, chain-link fences have gone along the bay to prevent any accidents and also chain-link fences around the art exhibits here on the embarcadero, where thousands of people are expected in the coming hours. live in san francisco, abc-7 news. >> a lot of excitement. thank you, job. muni, cal train, and santa clara valley transportation authorities will be offering free ride tonight through the early morning hours of january 1st. trips on b.a.r.t. will not be free. >> nearly hit an officer at the beginning of the chase. i talked with a neighbor who described how this chase ended. >> heard a crash. we both look up the street and saw the car roll into the brewer's car with the door open, and then the guy jumped out and went to this green house, jumped on the stairs like he was trying to get in, and then the police just jumped on him and got him. >> two people are in custody. they're faced with serious charges. police tell us those charges include attempted robbery and kidnapping and aggravated assault on a police officer. reporting live in san francisco, abc-7 news.

folks in san francisco are heading to the embarcadero, pier 14. clear skies, 48 degrees as the fireworks go off. alameda, 45 degrees this evening. and discovery kingdom, shooting off the fireworks ex-around 40 degrees, so bundle us and the kids up. so he's a look the lows. the clouds thin out so temperatures will drop. 36, santa rosa. 46 for san francisco. 36 for livermore. 38 for morgan hill. we're actually on the back side of a cold front. you may have noted a little cooler, north to northeasterly winds picking up. they will be with us tonight and tomorrow as high pressure starts to build in. so mostly clear, a little colder overnight, and as we head into the rest of the holiday weekend, we'll definitely see a little patchy fog tonight, followed by sunshine, mild afternoons and chilly nights the next couple of days. there's a weak weather system that will brush the extreme north bay communities on monday. that's why i put a chance of a sprinkle on your forecast. highs sunday, 63 degrees. a "spare the air" day. 62, san mateo. san francisco, high c