Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the January 27th,

2026 regular meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Thank you, Mr. President.

Supervisor Chan.

Chan present.

Supervisor Chen.

Chen present.

Supervisor Dorsey.

Dorsey present.

Supervisor Fielder.

Fielder present.

Supervisor Mahmood.

Mahmood present.

Supervisor Mandelman?

Present.

Mandelman present.

Supervisor Melgar?

Present.

Melgar present.

Supervisor Sauter?

Present.

Sauter present.

Supervisor Cheryl?

Present.

Cheryl present.

Supervisor Walton?

Present.

Walton present.

And Supervisor Wong?

Present.

Wong present.

Mr. President, all members are present.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors acknowledges that we are on the unseated ancestral homeland

of the Ramitush Ohlone, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula.

As the indigenous stewards of this land and in accordance with their traditions,

the Ramitush Ohlone have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities

as the caretakers of this place, as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory.

As guests, we recognize that we benefit from living and working on their traditional homeland.

We wish to pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramitush Ohlone community

and by affirming their sovereign rights as First Peoples.

Colleagues, will you join me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

and to the republic for which it stands, one nation,

indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

On behalf of the board, I want to acknowledge the staff at SFGovTV.

Today that is especially Kalina Mendoza.

They record each of our meetings and make the transcripts available to the public online.

Madam Clerk, do you have any communications?

Thank you, Mr. President.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors welcomes you all to be present here in the chamber today.

We are in room 250 on the second floor of City Hall for others who'd like to join us.

When you are not able to be here, the proceeding is being aired live on SFGovTV's Channel 26,

or you may view the live stream at www.sfgovtv.org.

If you would like to submit public comment in writing, you can either send an email to bos at sfgov.org

or use the Postal Service, just address the envelope to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

The number one, Dr. Carlton, capital B, as the initial, Goodlett Place, City Hall, room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102.

If you need to make a reasonable accommodation for a future meeting under the Americans with Disability Act

or if you need to request language assistance, contact the clerk's office two business days in advance.

by calling 415-554-5184.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Let's go to the approval of our meeting minutes.

Yes, approval of the December 16th, 2025 board meeting minutes.

Colleagues, could I have a motion to approve the minutes as presented?

Moved by Cheryl, seconded by Chen.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

On the minutes as presented, Supervisor Cheryl.

Aye,",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",",","

that objection the minutes will be approved after public comment as

presented madam clerk please call our consent agenda items 1 and 2 items 1 and

2 are on consent these items are considered to be routine if a member

objects an item may be removed and considered separately please call the

roll on items 1 and 2 supervisor Cheryl Cheryl I supervisor Walton

Walton I supervisor Wong Wong I supervisor Chan Chan I supervisor Chen

Chen I supervisor Dorsey Dorsey I supervisor Fielder Fielder I supervisor

Mahmoud Mahmoud I supervisor Mandelman I Mandelman I supervisor Melgar I

Melgar aye. Supervisor I have here Supervisor Sauter. Sauter aye. There are 11

ayes. Without objection these ordinances are passed on first reading. Madam clerk

let's go to our regular agenda new business please call item number three.

Item three. This is an ordinance to appropriate approximately nine billion

of proceeds from the sale of revenue bonds or commercial paper for capital

improvement projects to the Airport Commission for fiscal year 2025 and 2026

and to place approximately 9 billion on controllers reserve pending receipt of

proceeds of indebtedness colleagues I think we can take this item same house

same call without objection the ordinance is passed on first reading

Madam Clerk, let's go to new business. Please call items four through seven together.

Items four through seven. These items pertain to a general obligation bond and capital expenditure plan.

Item four is the ordinance to amend the administrative code by changing the reporting requirement for capital expenditure plans from odd years to even years with the next report due March 1st, 2028.

Item 5, this resolution amends the city's 10-year capital expenditure plan for fiscal years 2026 through 2035 to amend the proposed government obligation bond program and consolidate funding for transportation projects.

for items six and seven pursuant to California government code section four

three six zero seven and four three six zero eight the vote threshold is two

thirds or eight votes of all members of the board to approve passage of these

two items item six this resolution determines and declares that the public

interest and necessity demand the construction acquisition improvement

rehabilitation, expansion, renovation, and seismic retrofitting of the emergency firefighting water

system, the firefighting facilities and infrastructure, police facilities and infrastructure,

transportation facilities for the municipal railway bus storage and maintenance facility

at Petraeo Yard, and other public safety facilities, and infrastructure for earthquake and public

safety and related costs necessary or convenient for the foregoing purposes, collectively known

as the ESER, E-S-E-R, facilities, to authorize landlords to pass through 50% of the resulting

property tax increase, if any, to residential tenants, and to make a finding that the estimated

cost of $535 million is and will be too great to be paid out of the ordinary annual income

and revenue of the city, and among other findings.

And item seven, this ordinance calls and provides for a special election to be held on Tuesday,

June 2nd, 2026, to submit to the San Francisco voters a proposition to incur up to $535 million

in bond debt, to finance the ESSER facilities, and to additionally to consolidate the special

election with the general election, to establish the election precincts, the voting places,

and officers for the election, to waive the word limitation on ballot propositions imposed

by the Municipal Elections Code section 510 to comply with the restrictions on

the use of bond proceeds a specified in section 53410 of the government code to

incorporate the provisions of the administrative code sections 5.30 through

5.36 and to waive the time requirements specified in section 2.34 of the

Administrative Code. Supervisor Wong. I'm proud to support these items because

together they reflect responsible planning and a real commitment to public safety across

San Francisco, including neighborhoods like the Sunset District. Updating the city's long-term

capital plan matters. This is how we make sure major infrastructure investments are

actually planned, funded, and delivered.

For the West Side, that's especially important

because public safety facilities in our neighborhood

have often been delayed or treated as lower priority.

For the Sunset District, Earthquick preparedness

is about whether emergency services

can reach our neighborhoods quickly and safely

when it matters most.

Many West Side facilities, including our fire stations

and the Terravel Police Station,

and our emergency firefighting, EFWS,

and our emergency water systems are older and more vulnerable in a major quake.

If those systems fail, response times suffer and residents are put at risk.

This bond is an important step toward making sure the sunset is not an afterthought.

It recognizes that preparedness has to be citywide

and that west side communities deserve the same level of investments

in public safety and structure as anywhere else in San Francisco.

The emergency firefighting water system is especially critical for the west side.

After a major earthquake, access to water can determine whether fires are contained or become catastrophic.

This reflects thoughtful planning and a clear willingness to act before disaster strikes rather than reacting after the fact.

Most importantly, it places the decision where it belongs with residents.

I urge my colleagues' support. Thank you.

Thank you, Supervisor Wong.

and with that I think we can take these items same house same call without objection the ordinance

is passed on first reading and the resolutions are adopted madam clerk let's go to new business

please call item number eight item eight this is an ordinance to amend the administrative code to

expand the definition of tax-exempt entities for use fees to update the process for notification

guidelines concerning film production activities that may cause parking or traffic obstructions

to update definitions for the film rebate program,

to update the film rebate amounts,

and to authorize the executive director

to enter into licensing agreements

for the use of the Film SF logo

and other film commission trademarks on merchandise.

And with congratulations to the film fans in the audience,

I think we can take this item.

Same house, same call.

Without objection, the ordinance is passed on first reading.

Madam.

Madam Clerk, please call items 9 and 10 together.

Items 9 and 10 are two resolutions that retroactively authorize gifts for the Department of Public Health.

Item 9 authorizes the acceptance and expenditure of a $77,000 monetary gift entitled 2024 EPIC for Federally Qualified Health Centers from the EPIC System Corporation

to help support federally qualified health centers and their underserved patient populations,

July 1st, 2024 through June 30th, 2025.

And Item 10 authorizes the acceptance and expenditure of an in-kind gift of COVID-19 test kits

in the total amount of approximately $528,000 for fiscal year 2024 through 2025

from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response

through the California Department of Public Health in support of the

Department of Public Health clinic patients and staff and I believe that we

can take these items same house same call without objection the resolutions are

adopted madam clerk please call items 11 and 12 together items 11 and 12 or two

resolutions that authorize grants for the Department of Public Health item 11

retroactively authorizes DPH to submit an application to continue to receive funding

for the Ryan White Act HIV AIDS Emergency Relief Grant Grant from the Health Resources

Services Administration and to request approximately $15.5 million in HIV Emergency Relief Program

funding for the San Francisco eligible metropolitan area March 1st, 2026 through February 28th,

2027. And item 12, retroactively authorizes DPH to accept and expand a grant increase from the

National Institutes of Health through the Regents of the University of California, San Francisco,

to participate in a program entitled Short Trainings on Methods for Recruiting, Sampling,

and Counting Hard-to-Reach Populations, the H2R Training Program, in the amount of $24,000

approximately for a total amount of $102,000

June 1, 2025,

from June 1, 2025

for a total term of October 1, 2022

through May 31, 2026.

And we can take these.

Same house, same call. Without objection, the resolutions are adopted.

Madam Clerk, please call item number 13.

Item 13, resolution to authorize the Recreation and Park Department to accept and expand cash and in-kind grants from the Trust for Public Land and the Theodore and Francis Jabal Philanthropic Fund of the Jewish Federation Bay Area, valued at approximately $1.62 million for the design, installation, repair, and construction of improvements to Koshland Park to approve the associated grant agreement.

Same House, same call. Without objection, the resolution is adopted.

Madam Clerk, please call items 14 and 15 together.

Items 14 and 15 are two resolutions pertaining to the Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts, also known as the EIFDs.

EIFDs. Item 14 approves the infrastructure financing plan for the San Francisco EIFD

District No. 2 for Stone's Town, and item 15 approves the infrastructure financing plan

for the EIFD District No. 3, and to include the division of taxes set forth therein and

EIFD acquisition and financing agreement and documents and actions related

thereto as defined herein and to authorize the filing of a judicial

validation action for both items. Supervisor Melgar. Thank you President. So

this is the infrastructure financing district for Stonestown. I want to thank

my colleagues in the EIFD committee supervisors at Chan and Walton for their

work I also want to thank supervisor chair of the budget committee Chan for

her remarks at the budget committee on this item and I agree that it generally

takes us too long to get to the community benefits that come with these

large projects for the community nevertheless seeing that the Belvoir

reservoir took almost 40 years to get there. Stonestown really was a fraction of that, but it

is too long to get to the senior housing and the open space and the affordable housing that this

project will deliver, but I am really glad that we're here and we also have this new tool, the

Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District, that we can use to that effect. So with that, I just

all around thank you to everyone for the collaboration and particularly thank you to

the mayor's office in OEWD for their hard work in making this happen. Thank you and I ask for your

support. Congratulations Supervisor Melgar. I think that we can take these items same house

same call without objection. The resolutions are adopted. Madam Clerk please call item 16.

Item 16 resolution to retroactively authorize the office of the district attorney to accept and

expend a $420,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety October 1st, 2025

through September 30th, 2026 to support the alcohol and drug impaired driver vertical

prosecution program activities and services.

And same house, same call.

Without objection, the resolution is adopted.

Madam Clerk, please call items 17 through 19 together.

Item 17 through 19 are three ordinances that authorize the settlements of lawsuits

Filed against the city item 17 is an ordinance to authorize settlement of the lawsuit filed by Stephanie York

James Edward Brown and Kayla briars against the city for six million this lawsuit involves alleged

Personal injury and wrongful death caused by a city tree item 18

authorizes settlement of the lawsuit filed by General Motors Company for approximately $71.1

million. This lawsuit involves a claim for refund of gross receipts taxes, homelessness gross

receipts taxes, overpaid executive gross receipts taxes, penalties and interest. Other material

terms of the settlement relate to General Motors Company filing position with respect to city taxes.

And item 19 authorizes the settlement of the lawsuit filed by Microsoft Corporation and subsidiaries against the city.

The lawsuits involve a refund of gross receipts and homelessness gross receipts taxes.

Other material terms of the settlement relate to Microsoft Corporation's filing position with respect to city taxes.

Same House, same call. Without objection, the ordinances are passed on first reading.

Madam Clerk, please call item 20.

Item 20, this is a resolution to approve a management agreement with the Nonprofit Owners Association for Administration Management of the established property-based community benefit district known as the Ocean Avenue Community Benefit District.

This is Supervisor Wong.

I'm going to recuse myself from this vote.

I used to be a representative on the board as part of my city college role, so I'll step outside.

Can I have a motion to excuse Supervisor Wong moved by Melgar seconded by Dorsey.

Madam Clerk, can you call the roll on the motion?

On the motion to excuse Supervisor Wong from item 20, Supervisor Cheryl.

Cheryl, aye.

Supervisor Walton.

Walton, aye.

Supervisor Chan.

Chan, aye.

Supervisor Chen.

Chen, aye.

Supervisor Dorsey.

Dorsey, aye.

Supervisor Fielder.

Fielder, aye.

Supervisor Mahmood.

Mahmood, aye.

Supervisor Mandelman?

Aye.

Mandelman, aye.

Supervisor Melgar?

Aye.

Melgar, aye.

And Supervisor Sauter?

Sauter, aye.

There are 10 ayes.

Without objection, the motion passes.

And on the item, we can take that same house, same call.

Without objection, the resolution is adopted.

Madam Clerk, please call item 21.

Item 21, this is an ordinance to amend the building code to create a permit and permitting process for hydrogen fueling station equipment installation and to affirm the CEQA determination.

Supervisor Fielder.

Thanks, President Mandelman.

Colleagues, environmental justice organizations oppose the state bill that brought this item to our agenda.

they've been deeply concerned about the risks of hydrogen projects prolonging fossil fuel

infrastructure. 98% of hydrogen fuel is made from fossil fuels. Only 1% is made using low carbon

energy, namely electrolysis of water. But this process is still energy intensive and depends

on abundant electricity. At the core of the hydrogen hype is the fossil fuel industry,

which has lobbied extensively for the proliferation of hydrogen, which is highly energy intensive, poorly regulated,

and because of the nature of hydrogen, risks releasing nitrogen oxide into our atmosphere.

Nitrogen oxides are 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas,

and exacerbating respiratory conditions in communities such as asthma.

hydrogen is a Trojan horse for false fuel lock-in and for this reason I'll be

voting no thank you madam clerk please call the roll on item 21

supervisor Cheryl Cheryl I supervisor Walton Walton I supervisor Wong Wong I

supervisor Chan Chan no supervisor Chen Chen I supervisor Dorsey Dorsey I

Aye.

Supervisor Fielder?

Fielder, no.

Supervisor Mahmoud?

Mahmoud, aye.

Supervisor Mandelman?

Aye.

Mandelman, aye.

Supervisor Melgar?

Aye.

Melgar, aye.

And Supervisor Sauter?

Aye.

Sauter, aye.

There are nine ayes and two noes, with Supervisors Chan and Fielder voting no.

The ordinance is passed on first reading.

Madam Clerk, please call item 22.

Item 22, this is a resolution to approve the Human Services Agency's Annual Surveillance Report for call recording technology.

And we can please call the roll.

On item 22, Supervisor Cheryl.

Aye.

Cheryl, aye.

Supervisor Walton.

Aye.

Walton, aye.

Supervisor Wong.

Wong, aye.

Supervisor Chan.

Aye.

Chan, aye.

Supervisor Chen.

Chen, aye.

Supervisor Dorsey.

Dorsey, aye.

Supervisor Fielder.

Fielder aye. Supervisor Mahmood? Mahmood aye. Supervisor Mandelman? Aye. Mandelman aye. Supervisor Melgar? Aye. Melgar aye. And Supervisor Sauter? Aye. Sauter aye. There are 11 ayes.

Without objection, the resolution is adopted. Madam Clerk, please call item 23.

Item 23 is a motion to reappoint Dimitri Terry Cornett to the Small Business Commission. Terms a term ending January 6, 2030.

and we can take this item same house same call without objection the motion is approved and

madam clerk let's go to our committee reports please call item 26 item 26 was considered by

the rules committee at a regular meeting on Monday January 26 20 26 and was referred without

recommendation item 26 is a Charter Amendment first draft to amend the

Charter of the City and County of San Francisco to change the current two

term limits for the office of mayor and the office of member of the Board of

Supervisors from consecutive term limits to lifetime term limits at an election

to be held June 2nd 2026. Supervisor Mahmoud. Thank you President and thank

you colleagues for hearing this item today for this ballot measure to be proposed on the June

ballot. I wanted to walk through a couple components of what this ballot measure will do

and what the intentions are. Firstly, it really does three simple things. One, it clarifies the

intent of a previous ballot measure which set term limits on both supervisor and mayor in San

Francisco, and it says that there should be lifetime term limits in two terms for supervisor

and for mayor, and effectively three closes the loophole, which allows politicians to run for

office again for those respective positions after they have taken a bye. We're carrying this because

this is really about the intention of allowing an opportunity for the next generation of leadership

to have an opportunity to serve in our city and county of San Francisco in these positions.

We've seen over the last year with the generational change on this board of supervisors

where we've had new ideas and new representation leading to results.

And we've passed historic legislation from the family zoning plan

to making major progress in public safety as well.

And third, this is really about sending a message around democracy.

Democracy requires change.

It's why in our Constitution we have term limits for president.

It's a democratic principle that we can all agree on.

And this is about now in this current precarious moment in our national climate,

sending a message to Washington that we in San Francisco will hold ourselves accountable

to say that the positions that we are in charge of with the supervisor and mayor,

for which there are already term limits in our charter,

we're going to close the loophole to send a message amidst this national climate

about what we stand for as a city.

In the Rules Committee, we did hear some comments from some of my colleagues

about the contention about applying term limits to other positions,

and as I mentioned there, it's an interesting exercise,

but I feel it tackles a different question than what this ballot measure is intended.

This ballot measure is about closing a loophole on the existing positions for which there are already term limits established.

It's an interesting exercise to explore it for other positions,

but I feel that proposition requires further diligence to determine which of those positions it should apply to,

as well as which of those groups need to be consulted.

Those respective positions manage thousands of employees that we do not as a mayor or board of supervisors,

and the respective organizations that represent those employees, I believe, should be consulted to determine

what is the appropriate framework for those respective ordinance.

And I feel if that's a further ballot measure people are interested in pursuing,

I'm happy to have that conversation at that time.

But really, again, the purpose of this ballot measure is in the context of a national climate

that we're seeing around a conversation about term limits and loopholes.

This is about closing a loophole to provide an opportunity for generational change to continue in our city, but also sending a message at this time.

Colleagues, I hope to have your support.

Supervisor Walton.

Thank you so much, Chair Melderman.

I think the public and everyone should know this is really an exercise in politics.

This is a proposal that is really a solution.

in search of a problem.

If it's not the case, I would love for all of you to line up

all of the former Board of Supervisors members,

all of the former mayors that have run for a term after serving eight years,

and then line up all of the former supervisors,

all the former mayors that have ran for a term after serving eight years

that have actually won.

And those numbers could fit in a small broom closet because this is actually not an issue that exists here in San Francisco.

What we do have, though, is a billion-dollar deficit projected here for the city and county of San Francisco.

We have a $300 million projected deficit for the municipal transit agency.

and this is what we're focusing on elections cost money people spend money in elections

and focusing on what one or two or three or four or maybe five six people may do

in a city of over 800,000 plus people to me this is just ludicrous but I know it's about politics

and it's not intended to allow for more people to serve in public office because if that was the

case, then I would say my colleague isn't going far enough with this legislation. And I truly feel

that since we want to allow opportunities for people to serve and make sure that people can

come on board and serve in positions that people serve in for 20, 30 years without term limits,

then we should apply this to all elected officials here in San Francisco.

Otherwise, this is nothing but a political ploy to stop people from running for office again

when this is not a problem that exists.

I have presented policy before that was not connected to data,

and I would get criticized for that.

this policy has no data connected whatsoever.

We have probably one person in the history of the city and county of San Francisco

that has decided to run for office after serving two four-year terms and won.

We have people who have attempted and lost.

But most certainly, this issue is not something that should be going on the ballot

where millions of dollars will be spent for an election.

There was also statements yesterday that one of my colleagues spoke for labor

and said that labor didn't support or had concerns with my proposed amendments.

And yet we didn't have one person from labor line up and say they had a concern with my amendments

because that was something that was created out of the blue.

I do want to add that my amendments do not hamper anyone who is currently in office.

This is not an attack on anyone currently in office.

And in fact, it allows anyone in office currently to finish their term and serve an additional four years.

because my amendments truly allow for opportunities for more young, fresh, new, different perspectives

to have the ability to serve in elected office.

So we're really trying to put something on the ballot that allows people to vote

on allowing more people to serve in office than we should include every elected office.

So just to give a little perspective, my amendments impose a lifetime two-term limit on the offices of the assessor-recorder, city attorney, district attorney, public defender, sheriff, treasurer, members of the Board of Education, and members of the City College Board of Trustees.

It provides provisions for anyone holding those offices as of the June election or elected at the June election and who would otherwise be termed out under the new term limit may complete their term of office and one additional four-year term.

Those amendments are reflected in the short and long titles and sections 6.100, 8.100, and 8.101.

one. There are also a few clarifying and confirming amendments to those sections to the long title.

So I just want to really say that I am not against term limits. Let me start there. I believe

in fresh, different leadership opportunities for everybody to serve.

and I'd be the first one to support this happening for all elected officials if

the intent is truly about allowing people the opportunity to serve and I

don't think that's the case I think this is more political so I want to move that

my amendments be accepted into this legislation

Thank you, Supervisor Walton. There is a motion on the floor seconded by Fielder.

Supervisor Chen.

Thank you, President Mendelman.

I also just want to say that I do believe in creating more opportunities for young people to serve our city.

As a millennial elect, when I look at this measure,

and if our goal is to empower more millennials and younger,

then I believe that we also need to do a more responsible evaluation

and look at every single public services position,

including commission seats and other elected offices.

Instead of potentially going to the voter multiple times

to decide on multiple batches of seats for consideration,

I really would prefer that we do it carefully and meaningfully

and do it all at once.

So for this reason, and I am voting no today for the current version without the amendment.

Thank you.

Supervisor Melgar.

Thank you so much.

I do support this legislation, and it is not for political reasons.

I think that we do have term limits for a reason.

And I do see a distinction between the Board of Supervisors and the mayor, which are offices that do not require any special qualifications.

It is the bar is actually not that high in terms of who comes into these positions.

And it is in our charter meant to do that.

It is meant to be the people's house, to allow the people to access these offices and represent a wide array.

And both in terms of generation, race, ethnic origin of our very diverse city to be into these seats.

That's why we implemented term limits. And so it is, to me, a very different animal than an office of the city attorney or a district attorney or a treasurer that requires very specialized skills in order to do that job.

And they also direct entire departments and supervise staff that have specialized skills in those areas as well.

So whereas there are some of us who could do those jobs and should, you know, after we're done here, go run for something else,

it is not anyone who can run for city attorney and supervise other attorneys.

So the pool of people who would run for those offices is already much, much smaller than the pool that would run for our jobs.

I do think that there is a very big distinction.

I also think that, you know, to support what my colleague Mahmoud had said, we are living in a time where our democracy is in trouble.

I do think that it is our responsibility not just to make these offices available to actually mentor, support, help the next generation of leaders.

Because San Francisco has always been at the forefront of leading nationally.

People who have our jobs and then move on to other positions like some of us are doing right now, running for other positions, have always had an outsized influence in our political process in the nation.

So this is about the pipeline, and I do support my younger colleagues as a Gen Xer who want to come after and represent the hopes and dreams of their generation.

And whereas not many folks have done it, I think the same argument could be, well, if not so many folks have done it, why not send this message for the next generation that we will help you and not use the power of name recognition and incumbency to help folks get higher office, represent the full diversity of our city in these offices, and also build leadership for tomorrow.

Thank you.

Supervisor Fielder.

Thank you.

Just first off, I do support this legislation,

and I also support my colleague, Supervisor Walton's amendment.

Actually, because of San Francisco's interesting history

with a revolving door of folks in city government,

although offices such as assessor recorder, city attorney, district attorney do have a high bar for qualifications

many of our

of the folks that have served in those offices in most recent decades have been appointed

and there is a power of incumbency that I would argue does keep people out

and so that is exactly why I support Supervisor Walton's amendment and and agree that we need to

do this in one fell swoop um and you know because of our charter and how it's written

the mayor has the power to appoint many of those positions and that is exactly what has happened

And so I don't understand why we wouldn't take this amendment forward along with the entire legislation regarding both the mayor and the supervisors.

And I just want to thank Supervisor Walton for bringing this amendment to us.

Thank you.

Supervisor Dorsey.

Thank you, President Mandelman.

I intend to support the original charter amendment as proposed, which I think is narrowly and appropriately tailored to the Board of Supervisors' offices, which already have term limits applied.

For citywide offices without term limits, I think that's a different debate.

and as someone who spent 14 years in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office,

I would argue that the absence of term limits for that office has enabled it to have continuity

that really has made it a more formidable force for change than it would have been otherwise.

Louise Rennie served there for 16 years, and I think the continuity that she built in that office

enabled it to pursue highly successful and years-long battles against big tobacco.

Dennis Herrera served for nearly 20 years. That continuity was instrumental in being a force in a

decade-long fight for LGBTQ plus marriage equality and the work that he did to take on the Trump

administration 1.0. And by comparison, I know David Chu is just getting started, but I think

the option for continuity in that kind of office has lent a professionalism and stature that argues

against implementing term limits here.

So the fight that he is leading, he, David Chu,

is leading against the Trump administration,

to me is why we should be grateful that we've got an office

that has had that kind of professionalism and continuity

that I don't think we would have if there was a lot of turnover at the top.

So I will oppose the amendment and support the underlying charter amendment.

Supervisor Chan.

Thank you, President Mendelman.

And I personally like would say this, that I think the way that existing charter amendment, the existing charter is just fine.

You are not allowed to serve a consecutive two terms and then you have to take a break and then you have to come back.

You could come back if you actually do want to come back.

And I also have met supervisors that did not even want to run for a second term.

It's the reason why I end up running for her seats.

So I think the truth is that voters, San Franciscans, should vote for people who qualify for their job

and that also have the vision that they could align with in the best interest of San Francisco.

So I don't see a problem as it currently exists, but clearly that is the case for Supervisor Mamou somehow.

and I would say that I then also concur if it should should we then agree that it should be

applicable for a lifetime term limit then I concur with supervisor Walton then it should

be applicable throughout for all electeds because if again the principle is to say we should have

more people getting involved and more people, and frankly, more people getting involved and more

people running for office. I also do not see this particularly really, say, in any way that has any

data that would actually encourage younger people to run. I mean, again, like anybody can run for

any office at any moment, which is the great things about democracy. And it shouldn't be an

ageism issue either for we only want younger people to run. I just find a lot of it is that

we're boxing ourselves and putting ourselves in the corner about who should qualify and that we're

limiting voters their options. I think fundamentally what I'm disagreeing with is the argument for

making a change is somehow that we need to have a younger generation when in fact are we just

limiting choices by applying a lifetime term limit. So I will be voting in support of Supervisor

Walton's amendment so that we can say this is a level of the play field and this is the approach.

Should it not work, we come back and adjust it down the roll. But if it's not adopted, the amendment

proposed by Supervisor Walton, then I will be voting against it because I do not see

the reason as a valid reason for a lifetime term limit when, in fact, voters should have

just as many options as possible at any given time for the candidates.

Supervisor Walton.

Thank you, President Mandelman.

And I do want to just clear up one thing for sure, because my proposed amendments do not take away the need for the specializations that exist for any certain office.

None of those qualifications change with the addition of my amendments.

I do want to say, though, that special qualifications for positions do not equal the ability to be good administrators just because you have a law degree or some kind of special certification that makes you fiscally qualified for positions.

But we have over 800,000 people in this city.

And surely those specialized skills exist with the 800,000 plus pool of people.

It is very large.

In fact, I know for a fact that in some of our city departments currently right now, that specialization exists.

And we have people who will never get an opportunity that work for these departments year in and year out.

will never get an opportunity to grow and serve in any of these positions.

People who we all work with on a daily basis that have those qualifications

because their boss is not termed out.

And so if this is about allowing opportunities for people to be able to serve,

even people with specialized skill sets should have those same opportunities to serve.

That is not what this legislation is about.

But we do have term limits in place right now.

And we also have appointees that get appointed to positions that have zero experience in their office when there is turnover.

And they're given the opportunity to lead and gain that experience, even over people who may have been in those departments and have done those jobs and function at a high level for a very long time.

So that complete absence of continuity exists more often than not, quite frankly, here in San Francisco.

So let's just be honest about why we propose what we propose.

Then we can have a better conversation.

This is a solution in search of a problem.

And we're sitting here having a debate on the floor when we have real issues here in this city.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Supervisor Wong.

I do support the legislation as is.

I think that there's a distinction between the Office of the Mayor, Board of Supervisors,

and some of these more specific positions, such as accessory quarter, attorney, city attorney,

adding on top of what Supervisor Mugger mentioned.

I also think in terms of the specialization,

the other thing that I see is

for the board of supervisors and the mayor

we have broad policy making

roles on behalf of the people

of San Francisco whereas some of these

other positions I see

them as more departmental

leaders that are specialized

and more of professionals

are appointed to lead city departments

in less of a broad policy making

roles and we benefit from

having people

in these positions with experience

and have that professionalism.

I do recall that in the United States,

in the past, we did have a...

For the President of the United States,

we did have a maybe a fix that was needed

in our United States Constitution

to ensure that our President of the United States

was there for only two terms

because that was the intention from the first time that was put together.

And I see this as doing something similar for our board of supervisors,

and that's why I support it.

In terms of the term limits for some of these other positions,

I think there can be open conversation for it in the future as well

because should they have the opportunity to run as many terms as they want

or should it be two terms or maybe should it be four terms

since they're more professional roles

or should they have something that is longer than that.

I think that's an open conversation at this time.

I'm supporting the legislation as is.

I think that this focuses on closing something that currently exists,

and similar to the President of the United States and the changes that were made to the United States Constitution,

I think this is similar.

Thank you.

Supervisor Mahmoud.

Thank you, colleagues, for all the comments and feedback.

I just wanted to close off by, again, reiterating what the intention of this measure is.

This is about closing a loophole for term limits that already exist.

And as a body, we have a responsibility as elected officials to send a message and a statement

in light of certain circumstances that happen that are salient in our times.

And I do believe we can walk, chew, chew gum and walk at the same time.

We can solve the problems that are addressing our city, from homelessness to public safety to budget, while also addressing issues of good governance and making statements of good governance in times of national crisis.

I think we're all capable of doing both.

This isn't going to add any money to our election process.

There's already an election in June.

It's simply going on the same ballot.

So, again, this is really about closing a loophole.

and if people are interested, and I think there's a lot to discuss about other positions and their term limits.

But it's a separate question that I hope, colleagues, you can continue after this vote,

and we're happy to discuss that going forward.

But for the purposes of this ballot, for this question at this time,

I wanted to focus this on closing the loophole for existing term limits already established

on the positions that are already in the charter.

Supervisor Chan.

President Mendelman, I just want to express a strong disagreement to that sentiment of that we somehow can table this conversation and not to have a full-on discussion.

You are amending our charter.

It's a charter amendment.

It's a San Francisco Constitution.

It's a serious matter.

And without serious vetting and without in-depth conversation to ask colleagues to simply put it aside and ignore it and just to vote for it, I think that is a disservice to voters, to disservice to San Francisco, to simply to not fully vet a charter amendment and just to put it on the ballot and see what happened.

And I think oftentimes that is what is happening in our city is when supervisors simply putting policies or, in this case, even more serious, a charter amendment on ballot without fully vetting with constituents and stakeholders.

And oftentimes we look back and create a lot of tensions and division simply because we ignore each other and just put things on ballot.

for that reason, strongly going to be voting against it today.

Supervisor Mahmoud. And to reiterate, I agree that there should be diligence on amendments

that are put forward, and we did do diligence on this proposal with the respective unions

that represent the workers in the offices of mayor and supervisor, and they did not have a

problem with this ballot measure going forward. But again, there was not equivalent diligence done

on other positions. There are many other unions that we have to talk to, and when I talked to them,

they had not been consulted with yet.

Whether they oppose or not,

I think it's clear that there's other diligence to be done.

So I agree.

Diligence should be done on amendments and charter,

and there's many different nuances

of different charter amendments.

There's other parts of how many other supervisors

should we have.

That should not also be discussed

in the context of this merit

simply because we are regulating

the electoral term limits of this position.

I would not constitute that we should suddenly

add in an amendment here that says

we need 12 supervisors instead of 11.

That's also a separate question.

Similarly, in terms of term limits, should we add a third term for the supervisor?

That was discussed at the Rules Committee, and I also said that's not in the scope of this legislation.

These are all separate questions to be discussed separately with separate diligence.

We've done the diligence on this question.

Invite other supervisors to do the diligence on the separate questions

and introduce it as a separate measure if that's an interesting opportunity for them.

Supervisor Walton.

Thank you, President Mandelman.

And I'm for discussing everything that makes sense when we have a change to the charter.

But this is the second time my colleague has tried to speak for labor.

And labor is not here opposing my amendments.

And in fact, the people he tried to call to come out and speak in support of his legislation did not come.

And they are not here proposing my amendments because he cannot speak for labor, nor can I.

So I just want to make sure that that part is clear.

And if we want to just make statements about things that we know are unconstitutional, then put in a resolution.

I see no one else in the queue.

I will offer a few thoughts of my own.

I believe I disagree with all of my colleagues.

I do not believe the term limits are a positive good.

I believe they are at best a necessary evil.

I do not particularly like Supervisor Mahmoud's amendment,

but I don't like the changes that are,

it gets worse in my view if we make the changes that are being proposed today.

Term limits are inherently anti-democratic.

They also prevent us from voting for people who may,

who have gained experience in time in office.

The ancient Athenians believe that some of their offices should be filled by lottery and that any citizen could do them.

I believe that there is, and maybe this is just because I've been in this job for so damn long,

but I do think that we get better over time, that we learn things, that we pick up skills,

that we are less likely to make mistakes, and that that's a benefit for our constituents.

Now, term limits may be necessary because there is a power of incumbency.

There is a difficulty in challenging someone who is sitting in the seat you are trying to take away from them.

But in my view, the voters of San Francisco solved that problem when they enacted the term limits that we have now.

And this further change goes further in the direction of preventing people from voting for the person that they might want to vote for,

even after we've already dealt with the problem of incumbency.

So I don't feel the need for this charter amendment,

but I also won't be supporting the amendment to the amendment.

On that note, Madam Clerk,

could you call the roll on Supervisor Walton's amendment?

On the motion made to Item 26, Supervisor Cheryl.

Cheryl, no.

Supervisor Walton.

Aye.

Walton, aye.

Supervisor Wong.

Wong, no.

Supervisor Chan?

Aye.

Chan, aye.

Supervisor Chen?

Aye.

Chan, aye.

Supervisor Dorsey?

No.

Dorsey, no.

Supervisor Fielder?

Aye.

Fielder, aye.

Supervisor Mahmood?

Mahmood, no.

Supervisor Mandelman?

No.

Mandelman, no.

Supervisor Melgar?

No.

Melgar, no.

And Supervisor Sauter?

No.

Sauter, no.

There are four ayes and seven no's, with Supervisors Walton, Chan, Chen, and Fielder voting aye.

And so the amendment fails, or the motion fails.

Madam Clerk, could you call the roll on the original item?

Yes.

The question is whether to continue item 26 on first appearance to February 3rd.

So this is not on the aye.

Sorry, folks.

I got us confused. We're not voting on the item. We're voting on continuing this to February 3rd as we have to do.

And Mr. President, we don't need this, but we're just going to add it for the record on the question to continue to February 3rd.

Can we have a motion and a second?

We have a motion to continue to February 3rd, moved by Cheryl, seconded by Mahmoud.

Madam Clerk, please call the roll on that motion.

Supervisor Cheryl?

Aye.

Cheryl I supervisor Walton

Molten no supervisor Wong Wong I supervisor Chan

Chan no supervisor Chen Chen I supervisor Dorsey Dorsey Dorsey I supervisor Fielder

Fielder no supervisor of Mahmoud

Mahmoud I supervisor Mandelman I Mandelman I supervisor Melgar I Melgar I and supervisor solder solder

Sauter, aye. There are eight ayes and three no's, with Supervisors Walton, Chan, and Fielder voting no.

The charter amendment is continued to February 3rd, 2026.

All right. Madam Clerk, let's go to our 2.30 p.m. special order.

Yes, the 2.30 special order is recognition of commendations for meritorious service to the city and county of San Francisco.

District 2, Supervisor Cheryl.

Thank you, President Mandelman.

Colleagues, today I would like to call the Friends of Alta Plaza Park here to the lectern.

Where are you? Come on. Step on up.

It is an absolute honor to commend this fantastic groups of leaders and stewards of one of my favorite parks in the city, Alta Plaza.

And specifically, we are here to commend their recent certification as an official 501c3, certifying their nonprofit status and empowering their stewardship of this jewel of the city for years to come.

As longtime leader and my friend Anita Dents always says, Alta Plaza Park is truly a crown jewel of our city, and that is in large part because of the decades-long dedication by the Friends of Alta Plaza.

Starting in 2002, the founding mothers, which includes Anita, raised a million and a half dollars to install many of the playground and recreational facilities that our neighborhood children enjoy today.

And by our neighborhood children, I also mean my children.

Since then, the Friends of group has worked tirelessly to maintain and improve this park,

fundraising, cleanups, establishing a master plan for future investments.

But like many other groups citywide, the pandemic and especially the recent Parks Alliance debacle

posed existential threats to this fabulous group.

Following the dissolution of the Parks Alliance, the Friends of Alta Plaza group lost a substantial amount of their funds

and were left with no fiscal sponsor.

But now, thanks to this extremely good-looking group here in front of us,

the Friends of group has entered an exciting new chapter,

having fully reconstituted their board and becoming their own fiscal sponsor by setting up a 501c3.

And because of the many donors who stepped up in the wakes of the Parks Alliance,

the Friends of Alta Plaza group is close to getting their money back, but this group is not stopping there.

They recently launched a successful fundraising campaign and, in partnership with Rec and Park,

are working to resurface the playground and upgrade the play equipment.

And all of this is made possible by you.

You exemplify the spirit of stewardship, of perseverance, and of togetherness.

You represent what makes San Francisco special.

Now, friends, these leaders include President Anu Sharma,

Treasurer Greg Scott, Secretary Anita Dents,

and board members Ian Chadwick, Allison Kirby Drone,

David Hadley, Cynthia Trena, and Lad Martin. So on behalf of the Board of Supervisors, I thank the

friends of Alta Plaza Park, all of you and all of the other members of your community for your

resilience, for your vision, and your unwavering commitment to creating a park that all San

Franciscans can enjoy for generations to come. Congratulations, and the floor is yours.

We'd like to thank you, the Board of Supervisors, and specifically Supervisor Cheryl and your office,

specifically Mick Del Rosa and Lorenzo Rosas for this commendation,

and more importantly, for your continued advocacy and support of Alta Plaza Park and our organization.

Our mission is to maintain and improve Alta Plaza Park on behalf of our neighbors and the city.

Although the park sits in District 2, it is indeed a historic treasure for the whole city,

and members across our San Francisco community use and enjoy our park on a regular basis,

and indeed even beyond citywide.

As Supervisor Cheryl said, over the past year, we as an organization have come together,

constituted a new board, we have incorporated as a new nonprofit,

we have navigated the challenging environment that happened with the fiscal sponsorship crisis

and worked with other park community leaders as a relative to our funds.

We've gone through a brand and communications refresh and update,

and now we have launched an ambitious fundraising campaign

focused on the Friedman Family Children's Playground.

We have a lot of momentum in the community.

It is very exciting around the neighbourhood,

and all of that would also not be possible without our continued partnership

with San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department,

and specifically want to call out Abigail Mayer and Jack Avery for their continued support and partnership with us.

We as a board are very fortunate that we have members who have decades-long community advocacy,

volunteering, civic leadership, as well as members of the board who are raising young families in this city,

are driving economically, creating jobs, growing our tax base.

And with that, I'd also like to thank this Board of Supervisors and indeed the Mayor's Office

for creating an environment where those of us in the private realm also want to prioritize engaging in the public realm as well,

alongside many people who we find aspirational, who have given many, many years of service in enhancing our city and community.

And finally, I'd like to thank my fellow Board of Directors of Friends of Alta Plaza Park,

some of whom are here today, others who are not.

and specifically I do also want to call out Anita Dens.

She is far too humble to take any praise

but we owe her an immense debt of honor and gratitude

for her tireless work over many, many years.

Alta Plaza Park would not be what it is today

without her tireless leadership and service with that organization.

And so with that I will hand over to Anita.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Supervisor Cheryl, for your outreach to the Friends of Alta Plaza Park at the very start of your board appointment.

And our appreciation goes as well to your legislative aides, Mick Del Rosario and Lorenzo Rosas.

But in accepting this honor, we must pay homage to the Friends of Alta Plaza Park founding mothers, of which I am not one.

but they in 2002 envisioned a safe, fun, and challenging playground for all the city's families

and they were Elise Friedman, Molly Brown, Casey Jarman, Lauren Hall, and Rebecca Birdsall

and their mission was guided with good counsel from Lynn Newhouse-Siegel.

Long before the benefit of Facebook and Instagram and Eventbrite,

these women raised one and a half million dollars to develop one of the most loved and used playgrounds in the city.

We have families from multiple districts, from the Mission, the Sunset, the Potrero,

and all come to enjoy our recreational facilities, expansive lawns, and incomparable views.

Next, we owe a big debt of gratitude to my colleague, Janet Gamble.

Through six town hall meetings, community input resulted in a master plan

developed by Miller Company Landscape Architects,

and it was approved by the Parks Commission in 2016.

From 2015 to 2018, Janet worked closely with RPD and DPW and steered the Friends through a major water conservation project and completed the donor circle in landscaping envisioned by our founders.

Now, kudos also to supervisors Mark Farrell and Catherine Stephanie, who provided generous add-back funds during their tenures.

And the Friends are very grateful for the mentoring of Stephan Franz of Lafayette Park and Prozac,

and along with Linda and Joe Lighthizer of McLaren Park, Friends of the Amp.

Our accomplishments have been made possible by the collaborative relationship we have with the San Francisco Rec and Park staff.

And first of all, Phil Ginsberg was a very good friend to the Friends of Alta Plaza Park,

along with Sarah Madeline, Beverly Ning, Lisa Branson, Abigail Maher, Jack Avery, Joe Rodell,

Dana Ketchum, Felix Tong, Vince McAvoy, Jennifer G., Dave Burnett,

and the dedication of our PSA manager, Zach Taylor, Supervisor Tim Tyson, and Gardner Emma Toney.

Not the least, our deep gratitude to the Community Park Network Advisory Committee,

honored here just last week by Board President Mandelman for the advocacy in securing reimbursement

of the funds we lost through the San Francisco Parks Alliance bankruptcy.

And that was Rashid Zarif, Ildiko Poloni, and Matthew Blaine.

Thanks, too, to my wonderful board who have come forward to support our reinvigorated effort

and mission to make the park the best it can be.

and thanks once more, Supervisor Cheryl, for this acknowledgement and your ongoing support.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, District 3, Supervisor Sautter.

Today I have the honor of recognizing Grace Yu, the longstanding Cantonese professor at City College.

Colleagues, Professor Yu, or Yu Losey, as we call her, is truly remarkable, and let

me tell you why.

Raised in Hong Kong, Professor Yu graduated from National Taiwan University and moved

to the United States in the late 1960s.

She received her master's degree in comparative literature from UC Berkeley and a bilingual

education doctorate from New York University.

She taught Cantonese from 1978 to 1983 at San Francisco State University and taught

English to immigrants at City College.

In 1990, she began teaching Cantonese full-time at City College.

Today, she is the last and only Cantonese teacher at City College.

And as far as I can tell, no one in San Francisco has taught more students Cantonese than Professor Yu.

In a city deeply shaped and built by our Chinese communities,

Cantonese is the language that has carried stories along for generations of San Franciscans

and that is still used every single day to make our city work.

I had the pleasure of taking two semesters of Cantonese with Professor Yu at City College.

When I arrived for the first day of class, the first thing I noticed was how popular she was.

Students were lined up in the hallway and sitting on the floor on the side of the room,

and that is all because they wanted to get a spot in that class.

Class with Professor Yu is less like an academic exercise,

and it feels more like a get-together with family and friends.

She weaves in songs, stories, and history with her teaching.

And then a few more songs.

She really loves to sing with her students.

Professor Yu's love and advocacy for Cantonese is not a solo act.

In fact, her work has been championed by the emerging Save Cantonese movement.

This organization has spread across the country to fight for Cantonese classes in many schools and communities.

Here in San Francisco, we're lucky to have had incredible leaders and supporters, including Julia Kwan, who founded the group at CCSF.

We've also had strong support from elected leaders, including then City College Trustee Wong, who led a push to save the program and establish a certificate program.

Professor Yu

Professor Yu

thank you for your dedication to San Francisco

and to the incredible language of Cantonese

thank you for teaching myself

and thousands of students so much

over your nearly five decades

of teaching in San Francisco

and now I will attempt to say

a few words in Cantonese

of which I'm sure you will

you will

you will tell me

afterwards how bad my tones truly are

So here we go.

Thank you, Yulosi.

Thank you, Yulosi.

And, Professor, before you speak, a few of my colleagues would also like to briefly say a few things.

Supervisor Wang.

Thank you, Yulosi.

I knew Julia Kwan and Danny before they took some of your classes.

I would say their Cantonese has improved.

I remember listening to Julia's tones before and after your classes,

and there was a lot of improvement.

So this is, for Professor Yu, I'm so glad that we're able to honor Yu.

today, your work has been so vital to ensuring that the next generation of public safety

workers, health care workers, social workers, non-profit workers, and other folks that have

public contact are able to serve our communities. My own parents are originally from Hong Kong,

and I was born and raised over here. And growing up, there were many times, like many of the other

folks in the audience, we had to help our parents translate to help them be able to

fill out forms or get access to services. And that's the experience of ABC. For those that

don't know what that is, it's American-born Chinese. And so many people have gone through

the halls of City College to learn Cantonese because they want to improve their Cantonese

skills and be able to serve their community. I've met police officers, firefighters, healthcare

workers like Julia that have attended a class because they want to talk to the people that they

serve. And it's so important that we continue our advocacy to develop a Cantonese program at City

College. Originally, there was a intent to cut all of our Cantonese classes, even though other

than English and Spanish, Cantonese is the other big language in the city. It did not make sense

at all that we would not have a class for this major language in our city when we had

other classes for so many other languages, but Cantonese did not make sense at all.

And the reason is that the classes didn't have the same value as other classes, whereas

other classes had different programs and certificates that counted towards state requirements.

Cantonese never had that.

And we were able to establish a nine-unit certificate program,

and at the same time, there's still more work to do

to develop a 16, 18-unit certificate program

so that it does count towards state requirements

and there is value in the classes

so that administrators don't see it as just a class

that doesn't have value in terms of those metrics,

but value for meeting those state requirements.

But on its own, though, there is plenty of value.

People just are looking at these metrics,

but the value that our Kentese classes that Professor Yu teaches,

that it provides true value to our community

in ensuring that our seniors and our immigrants are able to access services,

are able to talk to their health care workers.

So I want to thank you for all your work supporting our communities

and your decades of leadership being there for all of us.

Our community is so thankful for you,

And I want to recognize, obviously, a supervisor, Sauter, thank you for bringing this forward.

And being a student of Cantonese and being able to represent that big part of your community by really putting yourself into the culture and language.

And for the Save Cantonese movement, especially Julia, for stepping up and being a real leader with your charisma and your advocacy, bringing people together so that we do have this local movement.

I'm happy to be able to be there to be a part of this journey and be able to support

and looking forward to continuing the effort to save Kentese.

Thank you, Professor Yu.

Please continue your work.

We need you as instructors.

Stay at City College.

Thank you.

Supervisor Chen.

Yulosi.

Oh, okay.

All right.

But they already said whatever I wrote in my speech.

Yulosi, you haven't talked yet?

Thank you.

Thank you, Mishii. What you teach

is not just language, but you preserve

heritage. Thank you for all

of you to continue to preserve Cantonese.

I also want to thank you

for your lifetime dedication to

cultural and education and

advocacy work. Thank you so much.

Supervisor Mahmoud.

Real honor to meet you,

Professor Yu. While I don't know you,

I've seen so many in the community talk

about what you've done for them for generational change,

but also just for passing down the language.

I've known Supervisor Sauter for many years,

and I've seen his Cantonese get a little bit better over the time.

So I wanted to thank you for helping him and helping so many people

and really appreciative of what you're doing in the community.

I do hope that as one final question for you,

I think we're all very curious.

What grade did you give Supervisor Sauter in class?

I gave you my A.

A? Oh, wow.

Thank you again.

Professor Yu, the floor is yours.

Okay, but everybody already said what I wrote in this picture.

Okay, I'll read it.

Good afternoon, supervisors, ladies, and gentlemen.

First, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks

to Supervisor Danny Salter

for the honor of this commendation. I feel humbled. I have been privileged to teach Cantonese for many

years. It has never been just a job to me. It is truly my calling. I am proud of my Chinese heritage

and I cherish every opportunity to share my culture and my native language with anyone who

wishes to learn. I received my education in Hong Kong and Taiwan. After graduating from college,

I came to the United States to study comparative literature at UC Berkeley and later bilingual

education at New York University. I am deeply grateful to my Alma majors for broadening my

understanding of English and Western cultures. While I was a graduate student at UC Berkeley,

I was given the opportunity to teach Cantonese in the Asian American Studies Department there,

as well as in the Linguistics Department at UC San Diego.

Those early teaching experiences sparked my lifelong passion for Cantonese education.

After completing my studies at NYU, I began my career teaching Cantonese

at San Francisco State University and later at City College of San Francisco.

My canteen classes are like big families.

Students share laughter and joy through activities such as role plays, skits,

singing cantilever songs, discussions, and delivering speeches on a variety of subjects.

Through these speeches, we learned that Australians celebrate Christmas at the beach with barbecues

and that lion dance has deep roots in martial arts.

Students have shared stories of climbing the Himalayas, running marathons, traveling through Xinjiang and Beijing, and many other remarkable experiences.

One student, a yoga teacher, Bernice, even led 10-minute yoga breaks for two semesters.

We also visited restaurants together to explore Cantonese cuisine.

These lively, interactive experiences help students form friendships that last far beyond the classroom.

I have also learned from my students.

In closing, I want to thank the President of the Board of Trustees of City College, Alan Wong,

for passing a resolution to protect Cantonese classes and the members of Save Cantonese

for their dedication to preserving Cantonese as an essential part of San Francisco's cultural heritage.

Thank you again for this honor.

Thank you.

Yes.

Yeah, yeah.

Yes.

You're down.

You're down.

Thank you, y'all.

Hi.

And these are for you.

Can we just stand by the other side?

Yeah, yeah, I can see you.

Exactly.

Margaret, Myron, come to the front.

Come on in.

Hey, Myron.

Jared, come to the front.

Angela.

Yeah, some folks come in.

Don't be blocking me.

You'll need to kneel.

Angela, come to the front.

Come on in. Come on in.

Come on in. You have to come in closer.

Two or three lines, please.

Some more here. Here we go.

Come on in tight.

Tight. Sideways.

All right.

You can come.

You can come.

,"

,"

Thank you.

All right.

Next up, District 9, Supervisor Fielder.

Thanks, President Mandelman.

Colleagues, last month in the mission,

our community suddenly lost a true pillar.

So today I am posthumously commending Ricardo Pena, whose presence shaped the Mission District for more than two decades.

And at this time, I would like to invite his wife, Connie, to the podium.

him. For over 20 years, Ricardo was a familiar and welcoming face on 24th Street at Mishkoat.

He was an artist, a business owner, and above all, a friend to everyone who crossed his path.

His commitment to the mission was constant and hands-on.

Year after year, he volunteered with Cayo 24, helping to beautify the corridor and keep its spirit alive.

He shared his gifts freely, teaching danza classes at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts,

ensuring that culture was not only preserved, but lived and felt.

Ricardo was more than a community member. He was our guardian.

a spiritual warrior. Many of us came to see him as an Aztec warrior of love. Through his danza

and the steady rhythm of his drum, he carried medicine, prayer, and healing. His presence was

grounding. His energy was protective. He became the heartbeat of the community, offering strength

and calm in moments when the community needed it most.

Deeply proud of his Nahuatl indigenous roots,

Ricardo devoted his life to preserving and sharing Danza Azteca.

Alongside his wife, Connie,

he led Grupo Mishkawat Anahuac,

passing ancestral knowledge to generations of mission youth.

Together they blessed countless ceremonies throughout the neighborhood,

reminding us that tradition is not something of the past.

It is something we carry forward.

Ricardo's life was defined by service and generosity.

He was known as wise, kind, humble, calm, and deeply peaceful.

He never hesitated to be of service.

During the pandemic, he stood shoulder to shoulder with community members at the Mission Food Hub,

helping distribute thousands of food boxes and offering dignity, presence, and care

during some of our most vulnerable moments.

Above all, Ricardo was a loving family man, a devoted husband, father, tío, teacher, and friend.

He leaves behind a beautiful family of Don Santos, his wife Connie, his children, Sochi, and Guatemala, as well as a community forever shaped by his love.

Ricardo's legacy lives on in every drumbeat, every dance step, every ceremony, and every act of service inspired by his example.

He taught us how to listen with our hearts, how to serve with humility, and how to walk together in unity.

Though he is no longer with us in body, his actions continue to guide our community,

reminding us that true leadership is rooted in love, service, and shared humanity.

Thank you to Connie for sharing him with us.

Please, and I want to pass to my colleague, Supervisor Melgar.

Thank you so much, Supervisor Fielder, for that really moving tribute.

To Connie, Xochitl, Cuauhtemoc, I'm so sorry for your loss to the rest of the Danza family.

We lost, you know, a friend, a leader, somebody who embodied the concept of la cultura cura

and gave so much to us, is leaving so much to all of us.

So may his memory be a blessing.

We deeply honor him today,

and thank you for having shared him with us.

Thank you.

Supervisor Chen.

Honey, I also want to say I'm deeply sorry

to learn the laws, and my deepest condolence goes to you

and all the loved ones.

Thank you.

The floor is yours.

First, I wanted to thank God and our mother

for

being here today.

I wanted to thank

all the supervisors.

Thank you.

Especially

to the supervisor

Jackie Field

and Milger

and

I forgot your name.

Sorry.

I know all of you think

I don't have words to say a lot, but I just wanted to say in honor of him, it's an honor for me.

I wanted to thank

from behalf of my family, everybody

for the record

given to my

lovely husband

he was such a great man

he is

he always will be

he is

he always take care

of us, but not only us

the whole community

no matter what color or what age you were,

he was always there for everybody,

trying to give and help each other and help everybody.

And I'm just going to say something that he loves to say all the time,

and especially to me and all his community

and families and friends.

He always says,

less talk and more actions.

Show me.

Show me that you can do it.

Don't just tell me what you're going to do.

Just do it.

And also, he always says,

he loves everybody.

He lost all of us.

And thank you.

I have no words to say, but in honor of his legacy,

we will continue, me, my family, my kids,

and my family dancing group,

and my family, all my community family

who not let me down until now.

I wanted to thank

for holding me

since they hear that he passed

thank you

gracias

Thank you.

And from District 8, Aaron Starr.

Come on up.

I don't like this one at all.

Today, colleagues, I'm presenting a special commendation to Aaron Starr,

who recently retired after two decades of service in the city's planning department.

Aaron first joined the department as an intern in June of 2001.

He later became a planner on the Northwest Quadrant team of the Neighborhood Planning

Division, where he reviewed development proposals.

In 2013, he joined the Legislative Affairs team before being promoted to Manager of Legislative

Affairs in 2014.

In this role, he regularly represented the Planning Commission at the Board of Supervisors

and Land Use Committee hearings and provided weekly legislative reports to the Planning

Commission.

Among Aaron's many achievements is the Code Reorganization Project, which standardized

definitions across the planning code and introduced a unified zoning control table for all zoning

districts, streamlining interpretation and application for planners, developers, and the

public. He authored the cannabis land use controls, helping to steer a regulatory framework for

cannabis businesses in the city. He drafted the Restaurant Rationalization Ordinance,

which reduced the number of eating and drinking establishment definitions from 13 to 3,

significantly simplifying the permitting process.

He also played a key role in drafting Proposition H and the Constraints Reduction Ordinance,

aimed at reducing barriers to economic development and housing.

Beyond all that, he has, over the course of his career, completed nearly 700 individual planning department cases.

Aaron holds a master's degree in city and regional planning from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

and a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from San Francisco State with concentrations in

architectural and art history. The Planning Commission's December 18th proclamation

honoring Aaron on the occasion of his retirement celebrated him as a planning polymath who wields

a deep knowledge of the Planning Code, a deft approach to policy, and a keen understanding

of land use legislation.

Indeed.

Erin, the City has been fortunate to have you these last 20 years, and I feel fortunate

to have been able to work with you these last seven and a half, and to have been able to

represent you as a constituent.

Thank you for your service to the City and County of San Francisco.

And before you speak, I also have colleagues who want to say nice things about you.

And we will start with Supervisor Mahmoud.

Thank you, Aaron.

I'm really sorry to see you go.

I just wanted to comment on working with you has been really amazing over the last year

because you taught me so much on what I thought was the simplest legislation to ever work

on, the Shared Housing Reform Act, about making it legal for more than five people to live

together.

what you showed me and helped us on our first legislation

end up being the last legislation we ended up passing

was that there are a lot of unintended consequences

and our housing code is complex.

It's like a game of Jenga.

We try to change one thing and it ends up changing many others

and that to be responsible legislators,

we have to account for all those potential externalities.

And I think really appreciated your patience

over that entire year process of walking us through

how to minimize those unintended consequences

and work through a framework

that is both governable but also does the original intent of the law.

So I think in partnering with you on that end through the rezoning process

and so many other pieces of legislation,

really appreciated you always figuring out the intent of what we're trying to accomplish

and then also seeing how we can make sure that it's actually possible to administer

and being in compliance with our components of our law as well.

So you've been a great partner to our office and really sad to see you go,

But really, thank you for helping us through this year and wishing you the best in the next steps as well.

Supervisor Melgar.

Thank you.

So Mr. Starr knows he's like my favorite.

I'm so sorry to see you go.

I have had the great pleasure and honor of working with you for so many years from the time I was on the Planning Commission and now at Land Use and Transportation.

and aside from the things that people say about you, your keen intellect, your deep knowledge of

the planning code, your didactic process and you know just deep contribution to our city, I have

always just really admired your sense of humor. You are one of the funniest people I've ever met

and something that I said in my remarks at the planning commission that I heard your co-workers

teased you about all day was, you know, that you are the master of subtle shade. And that has helped

you in the political process, which is not about the deep knowledge of the code, but actually being

able to navigate, you know, all of these personalities and being able to do the right

thing and do it with grace and elegance. And so I am so deeply grateful that you have been

in this position and helped us do all of the great progress that we've done in terms of land use

here in the city. I'm so sorry to hear you go, but I know you'll still be around and hopefully

we'll run into each other on the street somewhere in District 8 and you will be around our city

still being you, still being funny and wonderful. So thank you, friend, for all the time you've

spend with us and your deep contributions to our city. Supervisor Dorsey. Thank you,

President Mandelman. Aaron, congratulations on a well-deserved retirement and his distinguished

career in city service. I know you've been an incredibly valuable asset to the planning

department, but you've also been a truly valuable partner to our offices in helping us

navigate to the legislative process. My legislative staff has learned so much from your expertise,

as have I on all of our efforts.

And my team wanted me to express their appreciation in addition to my own.

You've been a great thought partner, and I really appreciate the guidance that you have offered,

particularly on some of my office's earliest projects,

including the nighttime entertainment zone in SOMA and the Article 8 code reorganization.

So thank you so much, and congratulations.

Thank you.

Aaron Starr, the floor is yours.

Thank you, especially Supervisor Mandelman for sponsoring the commendation.

This is a real honor.

So some of you may be wondering how I can retire at the young age of 50 with only 20 years of service.

The answer is simple.

I'm a good planner.

Truly, though, thank you for this recognition.

over the years. I spent countless hours sitting in that box waiting for an appeal while this board

recognized extraordinary people and community leaders. To now be standing here joining that

group is deeply meaningful to me. I grew up in Mountain View and San Francisco was always the

city. It had a mystique, an energy, and a sense of possibility that suburban life, as good as it was,

just didn't have. Mountain View is a wonderful place to grow up. It's got great weather, like

really good weather, parks and schools, but suburbs can be isolating. Cars and detached homes

create distance, both physical and social. San Francisco has taught me something different. This

is where I fell in love with cities, where I learned that the built environment shapes how we live

together, how we meet, how we connect, how culture forms, the importance of public space

and third places, the simple joy of walking to meet your daily needs and running into

your neighbor or a friend along the way.

Because of that, being able to not only live here but to serve this city has been both

a privilege and an honor.

I've worked on more ordinances than I can count, some better than others, but if I can

claim one accomplishment from my time here it's this that I helped in some

small way make a city I love very deeply a little better I can't leave this

podium without thanking my colleagues at the Planning Department many of whom are

here thank you and I also want to thank my husband Bill Weber who's here today

he's been with me through a lot when I went to grad school and my entire tenure

here at the Planning Department, so thank you very much, Bill.

And especially, I want to thank Angela Cavillo and the Clerk of the Board's Office,

without which I would not have been able to do my job successfully.

This board is fortunate in many ways, but the Clerk staff truly tops the list.

Angela, Elisa, Erica, and John, and many others, thank you for your kindness,

your professionalism, and your extraordinary patience.

Thank you again for this honor and for the grace you've shown me over the years.

Whatever comes next for me, I know this.

I will always be grateful to this city, and I hope to continue finding ways, big or small,

to be of service to my community and to San Francisco.

Thank you.

Aaron, come on into the well.

I'm gonna go first. Ready? One, two, three.

I'm gonna go first.

Ready? One, two, three.

Smile Aaron.

Thank you.

call items 24 and 25 together.

Items 24 and 25

combined were scheduled

pursuant to a motion number M25

dash 131

contained in file

number 251221

approved by the board on December

16th, 2025

for the board of supervisors

to convene in a committee of the whole for a public

hearing today, January 27th,

2026

for this special order at 3pm

to consider an

ordinance item 25 to approve amendments to the redevelopment plan for the mission bay south

redevelopment project to increase the maximum building height from 160 feet to 250 feet 250

feet and to increase the number of dwelling units permitted on the northern one half of block four

east assessors parcel block number 8711 lot number 029 capital b for the development of an affordable

housing project and to make the appropriate findings.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

So we're now sitting as a committee of the whole to consider the amendment to the redevelopment

plan for the Mission Bay South Redevelopment Project, Block 4 East, and it looks, Supervisor

Dorsey, like you might have some opening comments.

Sure.

Thank you, President Mandelman.

Colleagues, any time the city seeks to amend a master plan for one of our redevelopment

areas, we must sit as a committee of the whole for a hearing on it, and so I appreciate your

indulgence for this hearing on today's requested amendment to increase our capacity for affordable

housing in Mission Bay. The amendment before us today would increase the height on block

four and increase the number of allowable affordable units. This area is just across

the street from the San Francisco Police Department headquarters where I once worked,

so I'm excited to see the continuing progress for the neighborhood, and I'm incredibly proud

to represent Mission Bay generally.

It has become a thriving, transit-oriented, mixed-use,

socioeconomically diverse neighborhood.

In my view, it's a neighborhood that's not solely important

for the 31% surge in sales tax revenue.

It has been delivering to our balance sheet

as one of only four city neighborhoods

to exceed pre-pandemic retail spending levels.

It's also important because it's a template

for a truly inclusive 21st century urbanism.

The changes we'll be hearing about today will further that vision and advance the city's affordability and housing goals

And I hope to have your support and I will now I guess through the chair

Turn it over to Philip Wong from OCII

Thank you very much Supervisor

Dorsey

Board President Mandelman and members of the board. My name is Philip Wong

I am a development specialist with the housing team at the Office of Community Investment and Infrastructure and

And the request before you today is to approve an amendment to the Mission Bay South redevelopment plan to increase unit count and building height, to make consistency findings with the general plan and the eight priority policies of the planning code, actions that will facilitate the development of 100% affordable housing in Phase 2 of Mission Bay South Block 4 East.

This next slide is just a bit of background on the project area and the project site within its context.

Block 4 East is located in the Mission Bay South redevelopment project area and was created in 1998 to expand affordable housing development and address blights.

Envisioned as a mixed income and mixed use community, it's nearly complete with Block 4 East being one of two remaining housing development sites.

Of the 1,218 affordable units allowed in the project area, 1,053 are complete, and the remaining 165 will be constructed in the first phase of the project.

OCI issued a request for qualifications in November of 2023 and selected Curtis Development and Bayview Senior Services as the developers, owners, and operators of the projects.

and on November 18th of 2025 OCI's Commission provided major approvals for

the phase 1 and phase 2 projects including basic concept and schematic

designs in addition to amendments to the mission based out design for development

major phase redevelopment plan and owner participation agreement to again

facilitate both projects on December 11th of 2025 the Planning Commission also

recommended approval of the redevelopment plan amendment and provided

general plan consistency findings as part of these project approvals OCI

determined the projects exempt from CEQA under Assembly Bill 1449 AB 1440 not

went into effect in January of 2024 exempting 100% affordable housing

projects from CEQA including those with plan amendments this slide details the

amendment to the redevelopment plan the amendment is limited to the phase 2

project site or the northern half of block 4 East the first amendment is

increasing the number of allowable affordable dwelling units by 250. The second is increasing

the maximum tower height from 160 feet to 250 feet to accommodate the increased number of

affordable housing units with a range of larger family-sized units. This slide shows the Block

4 East project in context with the well-developed Mission Bay South redevelopment area and in close

proximity to the development and progress at Mission Rock. Four Easts is within a 15-minute

walk of local and regional transit. The new Mission Bay School, which is opening later this

summer, Mission Bay Parks Entertainment and Retail. This slide is a rendering of the project

highlighting the Phase 1 project, looking to the northwest. And this rendering highlights the

phase 2 projects this slide shows renderings demonstrating the view of the

lobby entrances of each of the projects at the corners with high visibility and

ground floor activation the overall projects will provide a total of 398

units of which 80 units will be set aside for families experiencing

homelessness anticipated to be supported by the local operating subsidy program

or loss for East will serve households at a range of income levels to accommodate

our priority certificate of preference holders the unit mix is roughly 25% one

bedroom 50% two-bedroom and 25% three-bedroom units notably phase two

will also have larger family size units with five four-bedroom units and two

five-bedroom units both projects will also provide secured class one bicycle

parking as well as on-site vehicular parking and this last slide is an

overview of our schedule concurrent with approval of the redevelopment plan

amendment ordinance for phase two the developers will pursue financing

through out this year for phase one with the goal of starting construction in

early 2027 with completion in 2029 and phase 2 will pursue financing in 2027

with construction starting in early 2028 and completion in 2030 so I am joined by

our wonderful developers OCI city staff for any questions that you may have

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you.

And I do not see any comments or questions from colleagues.

So, Madam Clerk, let's call for public comment on this matter.

If you are here to provide general public, excuse me, public comment on this matter,

please step over to your right-hand side of the chamber.

Hi.

Is this going to be long, this meeting here, because of public comments?

I'm waiting.

okay so you are building you want to build more rabbit cages it's a black rock

okay look it's absolute incompetence but go for it i mean take the money it's

we will find you we'll find everyone when the time comes let's hear from our next speaker

we're setting the timer for two minutes thank you good afternoon commissioners my name is

Demetrius Williams I'm the president of the San Francisco hyper local building trades contractors

collective and we've been monitoring this project along with going to OCII and talking to the owners

and the developers here.

We support the project, but we also want to encourage the developers

to include community contractors on the development phases.

We over here have been axing and debating and trying to get the senior citizen

to understand how important it is to keep contractors from the community

invested and involved in the community especially when we develop in in our

neighborhood this is supposed to be something affordable for the community

so you should be using community contractors especially knowing this

impact that it'd do for the city we're trying to insource our resources and

keep it in the city not outsourcing unless somebody else developer get rich

and we stay poor in our own community thank you thank you for your comments

Mr. DaCosta, welcome.

Board of Supervisors, this is a time when we use affordable housing in a very funny way.

Affordable to whom?

Affordable to whom?

Now besides having these tricky things where you have to get into a lottery

and God alone knows how they do that and distribute the housing

we are not taking care of our people in the southeast sector of this city.

we should be ashamed of ourselves

that we have young people sitting down

and watching others come from Colorado

from Phoenix

from God alone knows where

and working in our community

and once in a way your supervisors

should go into the community

and see for yourselves

how our community is suffering.

It's a shame that we have so many diseases in our area.

They take surveys, they get millions of dollars,

the Department of Health,

but they don't invest in our community.

Mr. President, I know you for a long time, and it is time that we do right.

Our people cannot suffer anymore.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr. DaCosta, for your comments.

Hold your applause, please.

There is no sounds of applause either for or against a speaker.

Let's hear from our next speaker.

Welcome.

Hi, my name is Ariane Harrison.

I'm here from District 10.

I'm in full support of the contractors that you may need to be a part of the

solution and a part of the affordability and the economics that are currently

being that are coming into our district which is district 10 also I would like

to to plead with you guys to also revisit to be our tax credit unit model

affordable housing because that program is dead program is designed to get you

to market rate rent individually pricing you pricing families out and what

happens is that you create more homelessness among single parent homes

and just families in general because they have to start all over and the

waiting process in between that part that time when you are priced priced out

to find another unit there's another waiting list and then it's that long

stretch of time so what happened to the low income housing unit model the 30

percentage for our low income earners that when your income drops drops are

you losing job because you're working working two jobs and got a hustle nine

times out of ten just to afford to live in this city so what we are doing is

creating more homelessness we are pushing people out of the city in the

30 percentile housing model from the San Francisco Housing Authority when it was

in existence and it's getting that's getting taken away there were people

that were either young parents and people that were coming up are finding

their way in this in this world as far as economic growth and there when they

big income dropped their rent dropped to accommodate their rent when a rent

increased their rent their rent increased but it kept people stabilized

and people housed until they figured out their life path so that's something I

would want you to take into consideration and also think about we

have an under segment of our communities that meet these that meet these income

ranges but don't necessarily meet the BMR tax credit credit standards for it

for income you understand what I'm saying so we got a got a huge part of our

communities that are being left out of that process as far as being able to

afford to live in the city stand this city and be fluid in the city thank you

for your comments welcome to our next speaker good afternoon supervisors my

name is Dennis Williams jr. executive director of the Fillmore Community

Development Corporation and a local San Francisco real estate developer I stood

today in the rally with the labor unions I support. I also am a member of the SF Hyperlocal

Building Trades Contractors Collective. San Francisco has repeatedly committed to equity

and I support OCI project. San Francisco has repeatedly committed to equity and public

infrastructure investment. However, developer level participation, ownership, co-development,

Authority and local term economic participation remain largely absent from major capital projects,

especially those located in impacted historical black neighborhoods around the city,

particularly in the Freedom West.

This has become common practice even when we have been involved for years in the planning and entitlement processes.

San Francisco should require clear enforceable pathways for local minority-led developers and construction firms to participate in development, rehabilitation, and seismic retrofit scopes.

Also, ownership development partners where appropriate.

we must align acquisitions and renovation decisions with community

stabilization goals so public investment does not

unintentionally accelerate displacement or exclude

communities rooted entities. Thank you.

Thank you. If you are here to provide comments on the amendments

to the redevelopment plan for Mission Bay South Redevelopment Project

Please this is your opportunity to address the board step over to your right

Are there any other speakers?

Okay, mr. President. Thank you madam clerk public comment is now closed

And this matter has been heard and is now filed and we can consider item

25

Madam clerk, can you call the roll on item 25 on item 25?

Supervisor Cheryl

Aye,",",","

Sauter, aye. There are 11 ayes.

Without objection, the ordinance is passed on first reading.

And with that, Madam Clerk, let's go to roll call.

Yes, Supervisor Cheryl is first up to introduce new business.

Colleagues, today I'd like to adjourn this meeting in memory of Cho Chang Yao Hun,

who passed away last week at the age of 107.

In November, we commended Mrs. Chu at the Board of Supervisors here for her and her family's contributions to the city.

And as one of the oldest San Franciscans to have lived, she held generations of her family together with grace, wisdom, and devotion.

Mrs. Chu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on June 9, 1918, the fourth of nine siblings.

Together with her husband, Dr. Chu Lang Cheung, they built a beautiful life in Macau, raising seven children and later becoming grandparents and great-grandparents many times over.

Sixteen grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren with a family continuing to grow here in San Francisco.

A matriarch, a world traveler, and a force of love, her legacy will carry on through her numerous family members,

including District 2 residents Therese and Howard Hu and Leslie Hu, founder of Pierce's Pledge.

The courage and compassion that define her family are a reflection of the same strength that has carried Mrs. Chu through more than a century of life.

On behalf of the Board of Supervisors, we extend our deepest condolences to her family and all who mourn her passing.

May we all remember her, her legacy, and the life she beautifully lived.

And the rest I submit.

Thank you, Supervisor Cheryl.

Supervisor Walton.

Thank you so much, Madam Clerk.

Colleagues, today I have an in-memoriam for Ms. Ruth Verlin Davis.

Ruth Verlin Davis, born Verlin Tross, was born October 21, 1932, in New Orleans.

She was raised in Gretna, Louisiana, as the seventh child of Wilbert and Lillian Tross.

Verlin attended elementary school in Gretna and graduated from L.B. Landry High School in 1951.

In February of that year, she accepted Christ as her personal savior.

This marked the beginning of a lifelong journey of faith and service.

After graduating from high school and deepening her spiritual commitment,

Verlin moved to San Francisco, California in May of 1953.

There she reunited with Providence Baptist Church, where Reverend Clinton Rogers served as pastor.

On June 19, 1954, she wed her high school sweetheart, Curtis Cornelius Davis.

Together, they had three children, Juanita Ann, Denise Odette, and Kirk Cornelius David.

Verlin went to school to become a nurse and worked as a licensed vocational nurse for 34 years.

She worked in the medical intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital,

where she cared for patients with compassion and skill at their most vulnerable times.

Verlin became a dedicated and active member of Providence Baptist Church

where she worked hard in many areas of church life and ministry,

including serving as a Sunday school superintendent and teacher,

a youth director, and a participant in the women's ministry,

always willing to serve wherever needed.

Beyond Verlin's home and profession, she and Curtis lived out their faith through action.

They began by serving hot meals to unhoused individuals on 6th Street from the back of an old camper truck.

That grew into a larger ministry when Providence Baptist Church launched its homeless shelter program.

This effort soon involved and transformed the entire congregation.

Ruth Verlin Davis left a permanent mark on the lives she touched.

Her legacy of faith, prayer, service, and love endures through her family, church, her patients, and her community.

Though time moves forward, nothing can erase the imprint she made.

Through her work, her service, and her personal relationships, she made others feel seen, valued, and cared for,

creating an everlasting example of faith lived through love and action.

Her life continues to speak, her prayers still echo, and her legacy remains forever in our hearts.

The rest I submit.

Thank you, Supervisor Walton.

Supervisor Wong.

Thank you, Supervisor.

Supervisor Chan.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Colleagues, I am introducing a resolution to reaffirm San Francisco's commitment to the rights of our transgender, gender nonconforming, intersex, and two-spirit San Franciscans and their access to medically necessary health care, including gender-affirming care.

In December 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, CMS, announced two proposed rules that would restrict access to gender-affirming care for youth by attacking hospitals' participation in Medicare and Medicaid, and federal government reimbursements for youth in need of medical care.

Let us be clear. Legal scholars have confirmed that there is no current federal law that prohibits gender-affirming care for children and adolescents.

And even our Attorney General, Rob Bonta, confirmed that gender-affirming health care services and gender-affirming mental health care services are rights secured by the Constitution and laws of California.

Meanwhile, as these rules are still being contemplated, some insurance carriers and health care providers, like Kaiser, have already announced halting gender-affirming youth surgeries.

This is a clear attack on one of our most vulnerable populations in our communities.

We know that continuity of care is critical for both the physical and mental well-being of TGNCI 2S children and youth.

This uncertainty of care will cause lasting harm to them and their families and our entire community.

This resolution demands that health care providers and insurance carriers must prioritize people.

They must adhere to state and local laws and stop practices that would preemptively cancel patients' access to medically necessary care.

I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the Chan's caucus of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club and

Rainbow Families for creating the solution resolution with me and my team and

Colleagues, I also want to thank you for your early co-sponsorship. I'm very grateful and the rest I submit. Thank you Supervisor Chan

Supervisor Chen. Thank you, Madam Clerk

Colleague, today I am introducing a resolution to condemn the imminent closure of the San

Francisco Immigration Court.

San Francisco is one of the biggest courts in the entire immigration court system, and

it's for many immigrants, the first real contact they have with our nation's justice system

to pursue asylum and fight deportation.

The Executive Office of Immigration Review has reported that San Francisco's Montgomery Street Court will not renew its lease and is set to shutter by January 2027.

This court, which began 2025 with 21 judges, now has just four remaining after 13 were fired and four more retire at the end of this year.

And there are 120,000 cases still pending.

The forced departure of so many immigrant judges combined with the closure of the San Francisco court

will have a chilling effect on the fair adjudication of cases and ability of people to pursue asylum.

Immigration law experts contend that if cases are reassigned out of San Francisco,

asylum seekers could not be

wrapped

asylum seekers could be wrapped

of the critical services the city's

legal aid community provides

I want to thank my early co-sponsors

Supervisor Walton, Chen

Fielder, Malga, and Mahmoud

I look forward to your support of this

important resolution at a time

where it is as critical as

ever to protect dual process

and access for our nation's

immigrants to our justice system

And the rest I submit. Thank you. Thank you, Supervisor Chen. Supervisor Dorsey.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Colleagues, I am today calling for a hearing before the Board of Supervisors,

Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee to explore issues that may be undermining the effectiveness of our city's drug court program.

This comes in response to a recent investigation by the San Francisco Chronicle, which published its findings earlier this month.

The Chronicle's investigation found that drug court cases have more than tripled since 2023

and that defendants charged with violent crimes, including attempted murder, armed robbery,

and assault with a deadly weapon, have been increasingly diverted into a program that

was originally designed to serve low-level and nonviolent offenses.

The Chronicle's investigation identified other troubling issues relating to drug court,

which I think merit our further exploration as lawmakers.

That includes that terminations from drug treatment programs significantly outpaced graduations,

with 259 participants sent back to criminal court compared to only 134 who successfully completed the program,

and that our drug treatment capacity is presenting severe bottlenecks,

with some defendants accepted into drug court waiting up to four months in jail for a treatment slot to open.

I will be inviting District Attorney Brooke Jenkins' office to present her perspective

on these issues and whether she believes the scale of drug court diversions is warranted

given the facts of the cases that she handles.

As well, I will invite a representative from the Department of Public Health to discuss

what we as a city are doing, or perhaps should be doing better, to expand capacity to meet

the growing need.

Although not directly relevant to diversion, I think it would also be helpful for us to

be apprised of the non-diversionary custodial treatment and recovery options that our Sheriff's

Office offers in San Francisco's jails.

So I will be inviting Sheriff Paul Miyamoto or his representative to present on that as

well.

I have visited and interacted with participants from the Sheriff's Roads to Recovery program

at San Bruno, and I think that together with its sisters and care coordinator programs are

doing very impressive work to help those who are just involved get on the other side of their

addictions. And finally, while we can't compel anyone from San Francisco's Superior Court to

attend, I will certainly invite the presiding judge or her representative to offer their

perspective if they would like. As someone in recovery from addiction myself, I yield to no one

in the strength of my belief in the life-changing and even life-saving possibilities of drug

treatment and recovery. I am, however, unaware of any recovery tradition for

which accountability and taking responsibility aren't foundational

elements. Drug court diversion is not and should not be a get-out-of-jail-free

card. Still, done right, it's perhaps the best and most important intervention we

could offer in many circumstances, and that may well include circumstances for

violent offenders. A recently published 2025 review by researchers at the other

USF, the University of Southern Florida, entitled Drug Court for Violent Offenders, a Review

of Recidivism Outcomes, found that some drug courts can be effective in reducing recidivism

for both violent and nonviolent offenders.

Some of the studies analyzed found no significant differences in recidivism rate between violent

and nonviolent offenders.

And at least one suggested that violent offenders with two or more prior convictions may have

higher recidivism rates suggesting that some eligibility restrictions may be appropriate.

My office will be reaching out to the researchers of that paper to invite their perspective for

this hearing as well.

I do want to thank the San Francisco Chronicle and its lead journalist for their enterprise

reporting on that investigation, David Hernandez.

I also want to thank those from the district attorney's office, the sheriff's office, the

Department of Public Health, and recovery community members with whom I have spoken

about this hearing.

I very much look forward to hearing their perspectives.

Whatever disagreements we may have from time to time on drug policy, I'm sure we all agree

that San Franciscans deserve a drug court that works and that succeeds simultaneously

in protecting public safety and providing the help all justice-involved people deserve

to seek and maintain their recovery from addiction.

And the rest I submit.

Thank you, Supervisor Dorsey.

Supervisor Fielder.

Submit.

Submit.

Thank you so much.

Supervisor Mahmood.

Thank you, Madam Clerk and colleagues.

Ever since it was first surveyed by Jasper O'Farrell in 1847,

Market Street has been an integral part of getting around San Francisco.

Hundreds of thousands of commuters a day use this corridor,

whether underground, on Muni Metro or BART,

or up on the surface where buses, streetcars, bikes, scooters and taxis all vie for space.

But it's more than just the backbone of the city's transportation network.

It's the soul of the Bay Area.

Whether it's the Pride Parade, a Warriors championship celebration, or a protest for our rights,

Market Street is the backdrop of our region's most powerful moments.

It's also long been a commercial engine of the city, with offices downtown, landmark retail near Union Square,

and arts and culture in the mid-market area.

All of this is why I'm calling today for a hearing on the city's vision of Market Street.

This corridor has been at the center of civic conversations for decades, including the Better Market Street plan that began under Mayor Newsom and culminated in most of Market Street east of Van Ness going car-free in 2020.

Since private traffic has been removed from the corridor, injury collisions are down 40%, and bikes and buses move smoothly and on time.

Even with the success, the financial climate in the city has meant a major scaling back of the infrastructure planned for Market Street,

with what was to be a transformative project featuring separated bicycle lanes reduced to a minor set of maintenance changes and accessibility improvements.

Instead of a future focus on transit and bikes, two major events point towards a different direction on Market Street.

Recently, as part of muni cuts, the 6 was pulled off of Market Street entirely, and the 5 and 9 buses no longer run the length of Market Street when their rapid counterparts are running.

Additionally, the mayoral administration opened up Market Street to Waymo vehicles and certain other rideshare vehicles for pickups and drop-offs.

We've heard in our community and our district concerns regarding this decision from residents who note this was done without approval from the SFMTA board or this board.

For many constituents who rely on Market Street for transit, this opaque shift has raised concerns for the future of the corridor.

Those of us who move by transit, bike, or scooter on the corridor deserve to know how these changes affect safely and quickly we can get around and what challenges can be expected.

While we wait for the transportation vision to come together, the world is changing around Market Street.

The old Westfield Mall is closing down,

commute patterns are shifting,

city initiatives aim to fill vacant storefronts

and build housing.

When I walk down Market Street,

I see the present difficulties.

The drug crisis on our streets,

the shuttering of business,

but I see that even through the difficulties,

it's still a vital part of how we get around our city

and a key asset of the neighborhoods that it connects,

like the Tenderloin.

Last year, the Urban Land Institute and the Civic Joy Fund

invited the public to come up with ideas

to reimagine Market Street.

These ideas from a never-ending bench to an urban forest

show that there's so much energy and creativity

behind making this street as great as we can.

We all want Market Street to be vibrant and welcoming,

but the question remains, how do we get there?

So today, for the hearing we're calling for on Market Street,

we want it because we need to hear from the departments

and the mayor's office on how they plan to keep Market Street moving

and what steps will be taken to ensure the public is informed.

We are a fantastic city, and San Franciscans deserve to have a positive, holistic vision of what Market Street can be.

It's too far and too important to be defined by piecemeal measures, and our residents are far too important to be kept in the dark.

We need to be clear in our commitment to transit, sustainable transportation, and a robust economic environment on our city's most important street.

The rest I submit.

Thank you, Supervisor Mahmood.

Supervisor Mandelman.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Colleagues, it was two weeks ago that this board adjourned in memory of Renee Good, who was killed on January 7th at age 37 by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Today, I'm asking that we adjourn our meeting in memory of Alex Jeffrey Preti, who was killed on January 24th, 2026, also at the age of 37 by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.

He was killed less than two miles away from the site where Good had been killed.

Alex was born in Illinois and graduated from Preble High School in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 2006.

He went on to graduate from the University of Minnesota in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in biology, society, and the environment.

After graduating, he briefly worked as a research assistant before returning to school for nursing.

At the time of his death, he was an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Friends, colleagues, and patients have remembered him as an excellent nurse who loved being able to help people.

His family has described him as a kind-hearted soul who cared deeply about his family and friends and the American veterans he cared for.

In his free time, Alex of mountain biking and spending time with his dog, Jewel.

Alex is survived by his parents, Michael and Susan.

the city and county of San Francisco mourns the loss of Alex

Pretti and extends our deepest condolences to his family

his loved ones and the city of Minneapolis rest in peace and power

Alex Pretti may your memory be a blessing and colleagues as we did for

Renee Good I would ask that we do this on behalf of the full board

so we will have that on behalf

of the full board

and the rest I submit.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Supervisor Milgar.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Colleagues, today

I am introducing the Clean Streets

and Fair Wages Act.

Because

hold your applause, everyone.

Hold your applause, everyone.

Please, thank you.

Because something in our current system is not working, and San Franciscans know it.

For years, we have been told that outsourcing street cleaning would be cheaper and more efficient.

But instead, our streets are as dirty as ever.

But we have seen the rise of private contractors billing the city nearly $200 an hour.

while paying workers poverty wages, cutting corners on safety, failing to provide basic payroll transparency.

And that's not efficiency. Funded by taxpayer dollars, this is exploitation.

This ordinance does something very simple and fair.

It applies prevailing wage and payroll tax transparency rules to street cleaning contracts,

just like we already do for city construction projects.

People who do this thankless, essential work that we all rely on deserve a living wage and a chance to afford to live in the city they maintain.

If you take public money, you pay fair wages.

If you take public money, show your books.

It also prioritizes our nearly 400 trained, accountable,

public street cleaning workers, represented by Laborers Local 261. Workers who already do this

job safely, efficiently, and with pride. The result is better outcomes. Cleaner streets, fair pay,

real accountability, and millions saved. Our city dollars will not be used to undermine collective

bargaining agreements with our most vulnerable workers. Our city will not be a right-to-work

city. This is about protecting workers, respecting taxpayers, and restoring trust in how City

Hall does business. I hope to have all of your support for this ordinance to make our

streets cleaner, our workers respected, treated with dignity, and fairly compensated.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Today also, along with Supervisors Chen, Chan, Fielder, and Wong,

I am introducing a resolution calling on the governor and state legislature

to fully invest in our public education system.

While the governor's proposed budget is promising,

we need long-term financial stability

to ensure that we do not come back to this crisis situation time and time again.

Right now, the proposal includes withholding $5.6 billion in Prop 98 funds.

Across California, there are at least 18 educator units

who are at an impasse with their respective school districts over contract negotiations,

including our own here in San Francisco, UESF.

This alarm bell was rung many, many months ago with a statewide

We Cannot Wait, We Can't Wait campaign by the California Teachers Association

calling for fully staffed schools, smaller class sizes, smaller caseloads,

competitive wages and benefits for educators and staff.

While I am hopeful that our local union and district will come to a resolution, we cannot continue going on like this without significant plans from the state, especially as our federal government is undercutting funding.

This resolution puts on the record our support amplifying the call to action addressing the root causes of the educator shortage crisis and the divestment in public education.

On a local level, I'm also urging our city departments to support SFUSD in developing joint solutions to support our unhouse family population and provide additional resources for families at risk of immigration enforcement.

These are demands that the union has requested, which I feel are under our city's ability to support.

The talks of a possible strike is unsettling for students, for families and staff,

but we need to do the right thing by our community to public education by fully funding it.

And finally, Madam Clerk, I have an in memoriam,

and I would like to re-refer after I'm done talking to my colleague, Supervisor Fielder.

I am heartbroken colleagues by the passing of my dear friend, Jose Cuellar,

known to many of us as Dr. Loco.

Dr. Loco's life embodied the power of culture, education, and joy.

Jose inspired generations as a professor emeritus of Latina and Latino Studies at San Francisco State University,

where he taught students to honor Chicano music, history, culture, and identity.

He was a scholar, a veteran, an anthropologist, and an author who served Chicano culture.

He was also the band leader of Dr. Loco's rockin' jalapeño band.

He created a sound that blended New Orleans R&B, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, Mexican rancheras, and Tex-Mex soul,

a musical expression that captured the richness, resilience, and creativity of Mexican-American life.

Jose didn't just study culture.

He lived it. He created it. He celebrated it.

And he shared it with everyone so generously.

KQED wrote that Guella hasn't just studied and documented Chicano culture.

He embodied the creative frisson generated by cultural evolution as a leader of Rockin' Jalapeno Band,

a vehicle through which he explored the verdant possibilities of Mexican-American life and identity.

Jose was active as a researcher and performant of ancient Mesoamerican native wind instruments,

especially ocarinas, through his collaboration with Harvard University's Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology.

They needed to be heard, David Carrasco described Guellar as an anthropologist and musician,

who sought to breathe life into instruments by playing them again, centuries after silence.

Harvard Magazine reports that a performance by Guellar led curators to reconnect the instruments

he was playing with hundreds of similar ocarinas stored in the museum's vaults.

His work contributed so much, and his performances helped reintroduce ancient Mesoamerican soundscapes

to modern audiences.

His legacy lives on in the classrooms he shaped, the stages he energized, the countless lives

he touched through his generosity of spirit.

My heart goes out to his widow, Stacy Power Cuellar, his daughter, Ichel, and the thousands

of students and music lovers that have the pleasure of knowing Dr. Loco. The rest I submit.

Thank you, Supervisor Melgar. Supervisor Fielder.

I just wanted to thank my colleagues, Supervisor Melgar, for your beautiful tribute,

and my condolences to the family. You know, the Mission District is going to deeply miss

Mr. Jose Guayar and his work has

shaped a lot of the mission communities, Latin jazz,

dance, and the next generation

of people who take pride in their Chicano heritage.

So he'll be deeply missed and his music and legacy live on

every day in the heart of the mission. So thank you so much. Supervisor Milgar.

Thank you, Supervisor Fielder.

Supervisor Chen you wanted to be re-referred to speak on Melgar's item.

Thank you Madam Clerk and also I want to thank Supervisor Melgar again for your

work on urging the state funding for our public school. Today I'm also joining

you as a public school mom because our students, families, and teachers need

action now. Our public schools have faced chronic underfunding leading to

larger class size, staffing shortage, and stagnant wages that make it very hard to

attract and retain our educators. These conditions directly

impact student learning, safety, and well-being. The governor and state

legislators must increase the budget for public education, and we need stable

funding and fully resources schools for our kids. Thank you. Thank you, Supervisor

Supervisor Chien. Supervisor Sauter, thank you for your patience.

Thank you. Colleagues, today I have the honor of introducing a resolution to add a commemorative street name, Tianfu Wu Wei,

to celebrate a hero of San Francisco's Chinatown that often gets overlooked.

Tianfu Wu Wei will be added to Joyce Street between Clay Street and Sacramento Street.

This alley sits next to Cameron House, which I consider to be among the most important community institutions,

not only in District 3, but in all of San Francisco.

Tianfu Wu courageously worked with Donald Dina Cameron,

after whom Cameron House is named,

to rescue hundreds of Asian women and girls

from sex and human trafficking in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Born into indentured servitude in 1886,

Wu was herself rescued by Cameron House workers as a young girl.

Instead of leaving the trauma of her own experience behind,

she chose to dedicate her life to ensuring that other girls would never again face such exploitation.

Fluence in Cantonese and deeply trusted by the women who arrived at the doors of Cameron House,

she worked tirelessly day and night teaching, accompanying survivors to court,

advocating publicly for their rights, and offering reassurance at every moment that they sought refuge.

Wu would go on to be a lifelong friend and assistant to Donaldini Cameron.

When Cameron retired in the 1930s, Wu led the work even more so,

making public appearance to raise funds and awareness,

acting as a guardian for the women who had testified against their slave dealers.

Wu never married, turning down many suitors.

Men are very useful, she once said, when it comes to moving furniture.

In historical accounts of Cameron House residents, including those of Wu herself,

the alleyway of Joy Street between Clay and Sacramento,

was one where the girls would play, laugh, and reclaim the moments of childhood that had been taken from them.

Our street naming will honor Tianfu Wu on this very street

and seek to restore her memory to the landscape of Chinatown

and give visibility to a woman whose legacy deserves more public recognition.

I want to thank the incredible team at Cameron House for bringing this idea to my office,

particularly Leani Ma and their CEO, Scott Land.

Thank you as well to the Department of Public Works for their support on this

and to Michelle Andrews in my office for preparing this resolution.

And the rest I submit.

Thank you, Supervisor Sautter.

Mr. President, seeing no names on the roster, that concludes the introduction of new business.

Let's go to public comment.

All right, if you are here to provide general public comment,

you obviously know what to do.

Line up on the right-hand side of the chamber.

We are setting the timer for two minutes, and you may speak two minutes as presented,

items 29 through 58 on the adoption without committee reference calendar,

and other general matters that are not on the board agenda.

All right.

Welcome to our first speaker.

You have two minutes.

Go.

I got to go.

Number six, I like your new reading glasses.

it makes you look more like Kaha in the 1967 Jungle Book. Number seven, forget it. Okay,

this is my last in English ever. So since it's now absolutely plain to test here, touch,

smell, see

that absolute incompetence

mistakenly

mechanically called AI

is now in full gloom

that

since you never listened to me

explaining you ought not to get there

in this trap

by focusing on beauty

emotionally in order to be

happy, therefore justify your

reason for being

now I'm going to take care of my country

so next time I'll speak only in French

no translation

you don't deserve translation

now you can do the job

at least maybe you're going to raise your level

since the future is French

you have to understand something

it's all connected to the French Revolution

indeed

biggest mistake in history

to get the head of the king

Louis XVI.

It was already clearly a code.

Anyway, 30 seconds.

I'm glad to inform you that now there is a song coming,

Break the Silence Against Institutionalized Child Trafficking.

It's coming.

It's going to be available online very soon under my name,

so you can check it out.

I don't know if it will help much,

because everybody is so afraid of the subject.

But that's it. Au revoir.

Merci beaucoup. Let's hear from our next speaker.

Shalom to you. My name is Salah Akwia Chandler, abolitionist and social justice fighter for my people and for my nation to make a better humanity.

The reason I'm here today is that my spirit is very distraught.

I'm very concerned about what's happening in the United States of America at this time.

And I think the unfortunate situation that's happening in Minneapolis.

You're not aware that during the time of the George Floyd riot that happened here in San Francisco

when multi-thousands arrived during the reign of former Mayor London Breed,

there was hundreds of police officers with their shields on,

on these city hall steps that you sit here and represent.

It was thousands of people who had came to set this building on fire.

It was myself who stopped it.

You can look it up.

It's in the stories, in the newspapers.

A black woman with a blowhorn, they wrote the story.

I preceded all of those protesters from Mission High to go back to Valencia Police Department.

It was hundreds of police officers with shields there.

There was a Caucasian girl dressed in black with a backpack on her back who tried to jump over the barrier gates at the Valencia Police Department that was getting ready to start a riot where these officers would have to shoot these protesters.

How I stopped thousands from being shot in San Francisco and this building from being set on fire.

I say it to every one of those protesters, every one of you who feel that you are the chosen ones, I need you to get in position right now.

And I need you to escort all of these protesters out of here.

And everyone who heard my voice, they assisted me of getting thousands of people to avoid burning San Francisco.

Ms. Acquia Chandler, thank you for your comments.

Thank you.

Thank you.

we'll hear from our next speaker now miss Chandler we'll hear from our next

speaker now miss Chandler miss Chandler thank you for your comments next speaker

Welcome. Good afternoon, President, Supervisors. Thank you for your time. My name is Ben, and I live here in San Francisco in District 5, just down the street.

And I'm the CEO of a local public safety technology company called Hyper, AI that handles non-emergency 911 and 311 calls.

I'm here because San Francisco faces a structural problem, not a personnel problem.

We have more calls than humans can realistically answer fast enough.

Every day, thousands of calls come into 911 and 311 in the city,

but a large share of those calls are not life-threatening emergencies.

They're service requests, questions, accidental dials,

or situations that don't require immediate dispatch,

yet they still take up time,

and the same phone lines where highly trained staff could be answering people who need help with heart attacks or violent emergencies.

So the result is predictable. Longer wait times, dispatcher burnout, residence, losing trust in the system.

Hiring helps, but training takes months. Staffing alone cannot keep up.

So today, technology like voice AI can act as a first layer for non-emergency calls,

instantly answering, gathering information,

escalating to humans when needed.

It means no more hold times for routine calls.

Call takers can be freed up for real emergencies,

less overtime and operational strain,

and better performance for the staff we already have.

This is exactly what my company, Hyper, and others

are working on in the city.

And we're already partnering with major public agencies

like San Diego and Toronto.

We are prepared to offer a free pilot to prove the capabilities of these types of technologies

because this isn't about replacing dispatchers.

It's about protecting their time and the moments that really matter

because this technology can reduce wait times, overtime costs, and save money,

but more importantly, it can save lives.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Welcome to our next speaker.

Hello, my name is Barbara Bella and I'm a long-time resident of San Francisco.

And I'm here today to talk about the biggest little illegally dumped item in San Francisco,

the plastic cigarette butt.

If you have children, or if any of your constituents have children, I want you to really take a

look at this.

Many people think it's cotton.

It's not.

It's cellulose acetate.

It's a form of plastic.

and just this one little cigarette butt, besides being incredibly stinky,

will break down into up to 15,000 microplastic fibers.

Those microplastics do not decompose or disappear.

They end up in our sidewalks, our parks, our beaches, our waterways.

They enter the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe.

Children, pets, wildlife are exposed to this toxic waste every single day.

Cigarette filters are consistently the most common form of litter in San Francisco,

making up to 50% of observed litter.

They don't biodegrade, they fragment,

and they leach toxic chemicals like nicotine, arsenic, and lead.

But let's be clear.

This is not a filter.

These filters do not protect human health.

The Surgeon General has reported they provide no health benefit

and may even contribute to a more aggressive form of lung cancer.

The term filter itself is nothing more than a marketing gimmick from big tobacco that we've known about since the 1960s.

That's why today we are submitting a letter to each of you, Vince, Ewan, and I,

that is a request for an amendment to the San Francisco Health Code 19Q

to prohibit the sale of partially inconsumable tobacco products, plastic cigarette filters.

This is not about regulating behavior.

This is about regulating toxic product like lead.

San Francisco already regulates lead in paint, water, toys, consumer products

because it's toxic and persistent in the environment.

Plastic cigarette filters deserve the same treatment.

This is about holding manufacturers accountable, not retailers.

Thank you for your comments.

We have 12 copies, one for the supervisors and one for the clerk.

May I leave it here?

If you could please place it over to the side and we'll have somebody come get it.

I don't know where the voice is coming from.

Just go ahead and put it right there.

We will come get it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker, please.

I'm Vince Ewan.

I founded and lead Refuse Refuse, a volunteer group cleaning up litter in San Francisco.

And everyone is always shocked at how many cigarette butts they picked up.

This was six volunteers in an hour right outside City Hall today.

And if you multiply that by all the blocks around the city, you can see what we're dealing with.

And again, like Barbara said, these are made out of plastic.

It's the number one littered single-use plastic item in the world and in San Francisco as well.

About 35% by count is cigarettes.

If you pick up 100 pieces of trash, very consistently, 35 of those will be cigarette butts.

We've banned plastic bags in grocery stores, and that's a drop in the ocean compared to this plastic litter solution.

So we know we can do it.

And I know all of you supervisors have been longtime supporters of the cleanups.

I have seen all of you out at the cleanups individually,

And I hope you'll continue to support this.

And so I know you guys know how many cigarette butts are out there.

And if we're talking about clean and safe streets and protecting our frontline workers,

these are toxic plastic products that we're making our frontline workers pick up every single day,

affecting their health and in addition to our environment and all the other people and community that live here.

And there's a pathway.

Santa Cruz County and Santa Cruz and Capitole have already figured out a pathway.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously passed the bill to ban the sale of these plastic cigarette butts.

It will go into effect in 2027.

They have the playbook for it, and I know that San Francisco can do it as well.

We're leaders in the environment, so at least we're supposed to be.

So hopefully we can continue that tradition, and hopefully we'll have the support of the supervisors here

that we, as San Francisco, can unanimously ban the sale of these in our city.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

I won't leave these for you.

Thank you.

Hi.

My name is Richard Johnson, and I'm here today to talk about the Hayes Street closure.

And the reason I'm here is because we as a group, I'm with HVSAFE, and I helped co-found it,

and we've done our due diligence in writing letters, doing petitions,

and outreaching to both our supervisor's office and to the mayors and to the SFMTA.

To this date, it's been two years of a permit where there's been 59 weeks of violations,

and we have brought this to the attention of the SFMTA board on several occasions,

consistently advocate that they do their job of enforcing the permits.

To date, they have not, and they've chosen not to, and it's because of politics.

And we found that out very clearly last week at the ISCOT meeting,

where it was stated by Brian Yu that it was both the pressure of our supervisor and our mayor

that was preventing this permit from being revoked.

And what we're doing now is we're doing our due diligence

because the Board of Supervisors is a process to appeal to for an injustice.

And in this case, it's an injustice in the fact of where it's not only violations of the permit,

but it's also escalated to the point where our group has been legally threatened to silence us

from doing a job that the SFMTA is not doing, and we have been forced to do documentation.

I would actually ask you to look towards Supervisor Wong, who recently held a meeting about the closed highway,

where he eloquently advocated for both sides of the issue.

Today, we do not see that we see a one-sided issue where it's being run by the majority that's dictating to a minority.

And to me, it's like we're, it's gone a step too far with the escalation of legal threat.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker, please.

Hi, good afternoon.

My name is Max Wexler.

I'm a new father, a local business owner, and the author of the 137 USF Master's Project,

137-page project, Policy Options to Mitigate Cigarette Filter Litter in California.

I'll save you the time.

Spoiler alert.

Banning them is the best option, and Santa Cruz County deserves a lot of recognition

and celebration for recently doing so.

So did you know that in 1950, only 5% of cigarettes sold in the U.S. had so-called filters?

The word itself is an Orwellian misnomer invented by Big Tobacco in the 1960s when scientific literature started to link smoking cigarettes with cancer.

The lie has been sold ever since that cellulose acetate plastic filters are a benefit to human health,

despite numerous studies and statements from the Surgeon General stating otherwise.

That's how you know you're really in trouble when the right language doesn't exist to label a problem

because the message has been controlled by the perpetrators.

I'd like to take a moment to let that sink in, but I'm on the clock, so for now let's just call them butts.

So allow me to provide you with some butt facts.

A 2014 San Francisco litter audit found that cigarette butts comprise 53% of all observed litter in the city, measured by quantity, not weight or volume.

I was going to provide some public works street sweeping data, and it was great that they were here.

Work for clean streets.

You know, we want to make their jobs easier.

What street sweeping is capturing is just a fraction of a fraction of the butts.

I mean, some more recent data is I just picked up 178 butts like an hour ago.

It only took me a half hour, and that was with a bunch of other people doing the same thing.

So what makes this problem so difficult is that it is both so minuscule and so enormous at the same time.

Hashtag no filter.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Before I speak, someone left their laptop.

I just want to make sure they...

Hold on, you got cigarette butts up here.

I'm sorry.

It's hard to get at.

I'm allergic to cigarettes.

Good afternoon, supervisors.

My name is Dennis Williams, Jr.

I'm a San Francisco resident, local community-rooted developer, and the principal of D.C. Williams Development Company.

I'm here today because the clerk has formally acknowledged receipt of four written submissions from me, which are being distributed to this board today.

These letters raise a narrow but critical policy issue.

Developer-level exclusion in city-supported redevelopment projects, including projects funded by voter-approved bonds.

San Francisco has made progress on contractor and workforce inclusion.

However, developer-level participation, ownership, co-development authority,

and local long-term economic participation remain structural

and accessible to local community-rooted and emerging developers,

even when we have been involved for years in planning and entitlement processes.

This is not a request for preferential treatment

and is not inconsistent with Proposition 209.

It is a request for lawful, race-neutral, place-based standards that define what developer inclusion actually means,

require transparency and procurement, and establish accountability when public land or public dollars are involved.

I have prepared a supervisor-ready draft resolution and a one-page staff summary

aligned with the earthquake safety and emergency response bonds specifically focused on implementation,

oversight and reporting not mandates today I am formally requesting that this matter be

calendared for hearing before the appropriate committee so that these issues can be discussed

publicly on record with departments MOHCD OEWD real estate division OCII and a controller's office

be directed to participate and provide data and responses on the record and city attorney present

The board has the authority to ensure public investment, advance public benefit, including transparency, fairness, and long-term community stability.

I respect.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker, please.

Good afternoon, Board of Supervisors.

Sorry I haven't been here in a while.

I was in the Amazon rainforest for a few months.

Good to be back.

see your faces. You know, I don't want to call the kettle black. I'm not a perfect person. I made a

lot of poor decisions in my life. You could say I learned the hard way for a living. All I know is

making mistakes. And I got to say, I feel like a saint standing here in front of this board.

I don't want to come here today, yell at you guys, use bad language or anything like that. So I'll

just say this. You don't just represent all the San Franciscans that are alive today. You represent

every San Franciscan that came before you, the generations of Americans of all races and

religions who poured out their blood, sweat, and tears building our great, beautiful city.

And so far, you guys have done a great job of screwing that up. Walking around downtown today,

once again, I saw numerous people utilizing fentanyl next to the playground. Fentanyl is

not family-friendly. It's a form of chemical warfare on the American people. 5,000 San

Franciscans of all races and religions have died from fentanyl between the years 2019-2026,

including many of my family and friends. I don't want to talk about how many times I've had to

fight off burglars who've kicked in my doors or how many restaurant robberies I've stopped

or all the tourists and families I've had to defend from violent, drugged-out lunatics who

otherwise should have already been compelled to an asylum. Looks like I'm running out of time on

the clock. I forgot what I was going to say. Look, we can't be shepherding hordes of fentanyl addicts

right before the big Super Bowl. I think that's having a negative impact on surrounding communities.

You guys are trying to crack down on the south market area and the Tenderloin. The surrounding

neighborhoods are doing really bad this morning. There is a humanitarian crisis happening in our

community, and so far you guys have done nothing but enable chaos and lawlessness for financial

Thank you for your comments.

Thank you.

Next speaker.

Good afternoon, Board President Mandelman and supervisors.

My name is Richard S.D. Peterson.

I just wanted to comment a little about taxation

without representation, which I think 250 years we fought a war

about, and it's happening now.

And right now, I would like to see that the muni be funded,

but not doubly funded.

Apparently, there is a state proposition that is to fund muni with a substantial amount of money,

and there is a city proposition to fund muni through parcel taxes.

I believe in parcel taxes. I've got parcels. I'll pay my parcel tax.

But the interesting thing that occurred today is when I was taking Muni, the streetcar, I went down to pickups down to Patrick's further down, and three men dressed in black clothing and with black jackets and a black hat boarded the train.

and they had been talking amongst themselves for a while.

And those men then proceeded to virtually terrorize many of the passengers

who simply boarded the trains without showing or without clicking on the entry.

And they said that they were in a new enforcement program.

They have black jackets with a badge on the jacket,

and that's simply all that they have.

And they said they're going to continue to enforce it

by ticketing people.

But you've got to figure out that most of the people

that board the muni aren't paying.

So you've got to figure out a way to embarrass them

to pay maybe a ka-ching for a payment.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

I'm Brian Davis, co-chair of the San Francisco Tobacco Free Coalition, retired project director

of LGBTQ minus tobacco, and District 5 resident.

San Francisco has been a leader in the fight against big tobacco as the first to stop all

tobacco sales in pharmacies, the first major city to end the sale of all non-FDA approved

vapes, and one of the first to end flavored tobacco sales.

But lately, the city has been losing its edge.

Over 50 Bay Area cities protect their bar workers and patrons from deadly secondhand

smoke by requiring all bar patios to be smoke-free. That is a low poll that is long overdue to be

closed. Tiburon and Ross have ended the sale of all tobacco products, the primary goal of the

California Department of Public Health. But if you're not ready for that yet, Santa Cruz City

and County and Capitola have voted to stop the sale of so-called filtered cigarettes and cigars.

That law won't take effect until next January, so San Francisco has the opportunity to be the first

to pass and enact an ordinance stopping so-called filter sales.

Over 4.5 trillion of these so-called filters, as has been described earlier,

end up in the environment worldwide every year,

contributing massively to plastic pollution

and adding these 7,000 chemicals in tobacco to the ecosystem, killing wildlife.

People will be able to continue to buy cigarettes and cigars without so-called filters,

so businesses that sell them will continue to profit from the sale of the number one cause of preventable disease in the nation

until the city is ready to follow the lead of others that have stopped all tobacco sales.

Twenty-three non-profits around the city have signed on to the letter that Barbara and Vince have shared,

and they have over 5,400 petition signatures from the community.

The San Francisco Tobacco-Free Coalition urges you to vote this year to close the bar patio smoking loophole

and regain tobacco prevention legislation leadership by becoming the first major city to stop the sale of so-called filtered tobacco.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Next speaker.

Hi, Supervisors.

My name is Sydney Simpson.

I'm a registered nurse here in San Francisco, and I'm here in strong support of Supervisor Chan's resolution.

Huge thank you to Supervisor Chan for her leadership in this campaign to protect these kids.

I also want to thank the co-sponsors Mandelman, Fielder, Dorsey, Chin, and Walton.

And I ask the full board for your unanimous support of this resolution and of the transgender community.

At a time when we are, especially our youth, being targeted, I think unanimity really matters.

It tells these kids, their families, and health care workers that the city still believes in science and care without discrimination.

As nurses, we know that gender-affirming care is not ideological.

It's evidence-based and life-saving.

And when access to this care is threatened, our kids suffer.

This resolution is especially significant given that roughly 35,000 city workers and their families receive health care through Kaiser under a major city contract.

San Francisco has a moral obligation to ensure that contracted health care systems provide care that aligns with medical science and the city's stated values.

I would also note respectfully that while this board has shown consistent leadership on this issue, there is plenty of room for stronger and clearer support from the mayor's office.

I hope this resolution helps encourage that alignment.

Through this organizing, we have proven that when community members and leaders speak with one voice, health care systems can listen.

So again, thank you to Supervisor Chan, the board, for standing up for evidence-based care,

and I look forward to celebrating with you all the passing of this rezo next week.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Let's hear from our next speaker, please.

Welcome.

Hello.

Thank you all for being here.

My name is Calista Stone, and I'm a senior at the Bay School of San Francisco.

I care deeply about the issue of homelessness.

Growing up in San Francisco in District 8, I've seen it on nearly every street corner,

and it saddens me that more than 8,000 of my fellow San Franciscans don't have a safe place to go home at night,

particularly on cold and rainy nights like tonight.

San Francisco has one of the highest rates of homelessness per capita of any city in the United States,

and it's the responsibility of local government to create effective programs and safe shelter options to support our fellow San Franciscans.

Currently, there's a focus on relocating unhoused people out of residential areas,

often prioritizing the appearance of a cleaner city over the needs of the most vulnerable members of our society.

So I wanted to come here today as a young person and as a San Franciscan to urge you all to continue working towards new and innovative solutions.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Welcome to the next speaker.

Hello.

My name is Arne Johnson.

I represent Rainbow Families Action, a large group of families and allies of transgender kids and non-binary kids.

I want to first thank Supervisor Chen for bringing this to the board,

and also Supervisors Mandelman, Fielder, Dorsey Chen, and Walton for co-sponsoring.

This is a long resolution, and it's a long resolution because the federal government

is strangely obsessed with my children.

It should be a simple question.

The big question here is, can the federal government,

can an authoritarian government tell us

how to take care of our children in San Francisco?

In San Francisco, we live by different values.

They're powerful values and they're strong.

We take care of our children.

We take care of our LGBTQ community.

And I know that this is something that all of us agree on here

and that we don't need anybody from a terrible government telling us what to do.

I would say with this health care, we are always asking to ourselves,

what is it that we want to give to our children?

We all want the ability to give our children care of any kind that a doctor says that we should get.

Do we want the federal government getting between us and doctors?

No, we do not want that.

San Francisco has fought too long and too hard for everyone to have health care and to be a bastion of LGBTQ rights to allow a few corporate leaders to decide which children are thrown out of care.

There are hospitals considering this right now.

So I ask you all to please pass this resolution to send a strong message to all of the health care workers and all of the people that get health care from San Francisco, both as residents and employees, that you support their kids and you support them getting whatever health care they need.

No matter what the federal government says,

hospitals have to provide this care.

It is the law in California.

It is no law that prevents them from providing this care.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Welcome to our next speaker.

Good afternoon, Board of Supervisors.

My name is Rosario Cervantes, and I'm here on agenda item

number 29 on condemning eyes for loss of life,

urging accountability measures, and corrective action

to prevent further loss of life and reaffirming commitment to Sanctuary City.

We live in the land of immigrants, and we are a sanctuary city.

And I support the sponsors, thank the sponsors, Chen, Walton, Filder, Mahmood, Chen, and Melger,

and urge all to vote yes on it.

And I also heard the new business, Supervisor Chen, protecting the transgender community.

Supervisor Chen on the keeping immigration open after 2027, and then Myrna Melgar's increased the budget for public education.

So I hope you can support that. Thank you so much.

Thank you for your comments. Welcome to our next speaker.

hello my name is Lisa King I am an activist just a community member who's really concerned about

ICE coming to our town and doing what has happened in Minnesota I am here to support the

number 29, the condemning of ice and loss of life and reaffirming the commitment to sanctuary city.

Appreciate you for bringing this up. I also wanted to make a comment about point number 31

around the state assembly bill 1537. I think it's a half measure. I would support it,

but I also hear that Scott Wiener is introducing something around providing civil rights and civil ability to go after ICE for any loss of life and violence that is unnecessary.

And if that isn't passed in the state, I would like to see some sort of resolution and some sort of bill passed here in the city of San Francisco.

Thank you all.

Appreciate you.

Thank you for your comments.

Welcome to our next speaker.

Let us know if you need assistance grabbing that microphone for you.

Oh, you got it.

This doesn't count as my time.

Okay.

Good afternoon, supervisors.

My name is Carol Brownson.

I'm a longtime resident of San Francisco,

and I'm here today to talk about a planning code, something rather,

permitted parking and driveways report that's coming to you next week, I understand.

And when we arrived in our neighborhood, there were three Victorians, side by side, much of the same,

with front gardens, small front gardens. It was essence of San Francisco.

But many of those front garden, two of the three of those front gardens disappeared pretty quickly.

And what was left was a trackway into what was apparently a garage that was not permeable by water.

So a lot of water went out into the sewers from those two.

And, of course, cuts in the curb, which privatized public parking.

Now, there are here some complex rules that I have tried to read

that will need to be enforced in order to allow this parking of vehicles in the

driveway into what is apparently a garage. Now enforcing these complex rules

should be interesting. You know those stop signs? Very few drivers actually stop at

them but the rules are very clear they're very simple. Stop. But I don't

see them being enforced so those aren't enforced but this is all going to be

enforced right well one of the things that isn't enforced now is that the cars

that park in those driveways tend to park mostly on the sidewalk

past trying to get here today thank you thank you ma'am for your comments

Welcome to the next speaker.

Thank you.

And if that overhead could be used.

Hi, my name is Paul Wormer, and I'm commenting on the same issue

that doesn't really show up very well.

Let's see if that does better.

Nope.

Okay.

So walking down here, passed on Buchanan, a block.

And on that block, there are two cars projecting out on the sidewalk.

That was a very unusual block, because that sidewalk is wide enough that Carroll could get by them with no problem.

It's a wide, flat sidewalk. It's not sloped. It doesn't drop off steeply on either side.

That's unusual.

It's not enforced.

Yesterday, I was walking somewhere and was watching an interesting ballet at an intersection.

Traffic light, garage, car stopped at the intersection, waiting for another car to come back out of the garage.

Meanwhile, the light's changing, traffic is coming, cars are going around, cars are coming down the hill.

And this is on a relatively low traffic cross street where people are rushing to get through that intersection.

When you set up a situation where people back out onto the street and wait and block traffic, you create frustrated drivers.

That's a safety hazard.

If you do that on streets where there are bus lines, that delays the buses.

That increases the operating cost for Muni.

That makes people frustrated with Muni because they're delayed.

So I understand that this legislation solves some very real problems.

But absent enforcement and absent of thinking about how this plays at certain intersections

is making things worse for other people.

Thank you.

Thank you, Paul Warmer, for your comments.

Welcome.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Richard Segovia, and I am the proud owner of the Latin Rock Mural House on 25th

in York.

I was approached with a beautiful certificate of honor from the supervisors for all the

work and everything that I've done.

I have proclamations from Mayor Lee making September 17th Richard Segovia Day.

So what I'd like to see happen is to move forward to make my house a landmark.

I am aware a lot of people today has been a really hard day for me.

My good friend Mingo Lewis, who played with Carlos Santana, had passed away today.

And Chewy from KPFA Radio, I mean from KCSM Radio, came over the house.

And yes, we are going to put Dr. Loco on my house this year.

I have over 180 people on my home.

You have to remember one thing.

Latin rock music was created in San Francisco's Mission District, just like Motown and Detroit.

So I feel that my home should be protected by the city and the state.

They gave me the funding to get this mural done.

We have to make this part of San Francisco's history.

Latin rock music is in my veins.

I've been a professional musician for 57 years.

I played the opportunity to sit in with Santana, to play with Eddie Money, to work with the Doobie Brothers and some of the greatest musicians like Greg Alman all over the world.

So I ask you and I plead with you, let's make Casa Bandido the house of Latin rock and be proud to be a part of San Francisco's Mission history.

My mother was born in the Mission District in 1919.

So I ask you, please, as I talk to Ms. Philger about this,

let's make my house a part of San Francisco's history.

I want to thank you for your time.

God bless you and take care.

Thank you for your comments.

Welcome to the next speaker.

Call me, Jackie.

Bye-bye.

Board of Supervisors and Mayor's Office of San Francisco.

The title of this is Auditioning Call for National Anthem of Lady Gaga.

Two years ago, while working on the floor of Six Flags,

I mastered and acclimated the platform to speak on behalf of seals,

butterflies, penguins, and finally the beast, Dolphin Sage.

Today, I'm going to take full advantage of the acoustics of this chamber

to record an auditioning call for the National Anthem

and submit it to the San Francisco 49ers.

I'm not going to make it to the Super Bowl,

but it's a process, and hopefully Lady Gaga will join me on stage

and anybody from the public office will join me.

And it goes like this.

Oh, say can't you see by the dawn's early light

what so proudly we hail at the twilight's last gleaming

Who's brought stripes and bright stars

Through the pearliest fight

O'er the rampart we watched

Was so gallantly speaking

And the rocket's red flare

The bomb bursting in air

Gave proof through the night

That a flag was still there

O'er say that star-spangled banner yet

way over the land of the free and the home of the brave. I hope to see everyone at a stadium.

Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Welcome the next speaker.

President and members of the board, supervisors, thank you. I'm Dante Vickers, business rep for

the local 1414 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

I'm speaking about the SFMTA budget deficit and the changes management is discussing to work conditions and benefits.

We recognize the benefits is real, but balancing the budget on the backs of front line workers

is not the long-term interest of San Francisco SFMTA or the public.

First, our members provided essential service throughout the pandemic,

off in the field and on-site, helping keep the city running during a historic public health emergency.

Those sacrifices and the risks taken by our members and their families have never been properly acknowledged.

Second, Local 1414 performs critical work when the modes are unavailable or inadequate.

We support the system with maintenance and reliable diesel hybrid service when electrified service is disrupted.

With the Petraero Yard project beginning soon, diesel hybrid buses will be needed to cover runs that can't be sent from Petraero.

Once again, our members are stepping up to keep the city moving.

Third, we understand management is considering cutting early morning shifts as a cost of saving measure, but many of those shifts exist to meet real operation needs.

removing them will reduce efficiency and reliability,

and it unfairly places a disproportionate share of cuts on our members.

We urge you push for solutions that balance physical responsibility with safety,

reliability, and respect for the workforce that keeps San Francisco moving.

Thank you.

Thank you for your comments.

Welcome to the next speaker.

If you are here to provide general public comment,

please come on over to the right-hand side of the chamber.

Otherwise, this may be our last speaker.

Welcome, sir.

Supervisors, my name is Scott Feeney.

I'm a San Francisco resident, and I'm here to talk about housing

and particularly a very misguided op-ed that was published today

by a UC Berkeley professor who suggested that lowering San Francisco's real estate transfer tax

would increase housing production.

But that tax is on sales of existing high-valued properties, not on development,

and it tops out at only 6% for the highest valued properties over $25 million.

That's lower than the sales tax that students pay on used textbooks.

Any impact that would have on development is a drop in the bucket

compared to what's really holding housing back,

which is high interest rates, high materials, costs,

and greater returns available to investors elsewhere, including in the AI boom.

Those macroeconomic realities are not things that we're going to be able to tax cut our way out of,

And if we're not thoughtful about this, we could end up in a worst-of-both-worlds situation

where we not only don't have a lot of private housing production,

but we've also removed the revenue that was going to fund affordable housing production.

Instead of cutting the transfer tax, this board should work with the mayor

to devote transfer tax revenue to its intended purpose of building social housing.

2020's Proposition I, which raised the tax on sales of high-valued properties,

was intended to fund social housing,

but a legal loophole allowed former Mayor Breed

to ignore that voter intent

and spend the funds on other purposes

instead of building badly needed affordable housing.

The board can now work with the mayor

to correct this mistake.

Direct public investment in social housing

will get construction moving again

and build homes affordable to San Franciscans

at all income levels.

If we want to see cranes on the skyline

and ultimately a more affordable city,