Good morning.

This uh meeting will come to order.

Welcome to the April 20th, 2023 regular meeting of the Government Audit and Oversight Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

I'm Supervisor Dean Preston, Chair of the Committee.

I am joined by Vice Chair Catherine Stephanie and Supervisor Connie Chan, our committee clerk today is John Carroll in for Stephanie Cabrera, and our thanks to the team at SFGov TV for staffing this meeting.

Mr.

Clerk, any announcements?

Yes, thank you, Mr.

Chair.

The Board of Supervisors and its committees convene hybrid meetings that allow in-person attendance and public comment while still providing remote access and public comment via telephone.

The board recognizes that equitable public access is essential, and we will be taking public comment as follows.

First, public comment will be taken on each item on today's agenda.

Those attending in person will be allowed to speak first, and then we'll hear from those who are waiting on the telephonic public comment call in line.

If you wish to provide public comment, please dial 415 655000.

Then enter today's meeting ID.

That meeting ID is 2498 7340614.

Then dial the pound symbol twice.

When you're connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but your line will be muted and in listening mode.

When your item of interest comes up on today's agenda and public comment is called.

Those joining us in person should line up to speak on your right hand side here in the chamber, room 250.

And then those who wish to speak on the public comment telephone line should dial star three to be added to the speaker queue.

If you're on your telephone, please remember to turn down your television, your radio, what your listening devices, your streaming devices, whatever you may be using to access today's proceedings.

Alternatively, you may submit written public comment by email to the government audit and oversight committee clerk, who is Stephanie Cabrera.

Stephanie's email address is S T E P H A N I E dot Cabrera, C A B R E R A at S F G-O-V dot O R G.

You may also send your written comments via US U.S.

Postal Service to our office in City Hall.

That's the clerk's office.

One, Dr.

Carlton B.

Goodlit Place, room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102.

If you submit public comment in writing, we will forward your comment to the supervisors and include your comments as part of the official file on the matter on which you're commenting.

Of course, all this contact information can be consulted on the front page of any agenda for our committee if you need to see it there if we're going too fast.

And finally, Mr.

Chair, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of May 2nd, 2023, unless otherwise stated.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

Uh, please call item one.

Agenda item one is a resolution declaring the intention of the Board of Supervisors to establish a property-based business improvement district known as the Excelsior Community Benefit District and levy a multi-year assessment on all parcels in the district.

Approving the management district plan and engineers report and proposed boundaries map for the district.

Ordering and setting a time and place for public hearing of the Board of Supervisors, sitting as a committee of the whole on July 11th, 2023 at 3 p.m.

Approving the form of the notice of public hearing and assessment ballot proceeding and the assessment ballot.

Directing environmental findings and directing the clerk of the board of supervisors to give notice.

Mr.

Chair.

Thank you.

So this item is sponsored by Supervisor Asha Safai, and I understand that his chief of staff, Bill Barnes, who is here, uh, will speak on his behalf on this item, and then we will uh hear from uh Diana Ponce de Leon from uh uh OEWD.

So um Mr.

Barnes, welcome.

Floor is yours.

Uh thank you and good morning, Chair Preston and members of the GAO committee.

Uh this has been a long time uh coming.

In 2017, uh Supervisor Safai worked with OEWD to develop an economic strategy for the Excelsior neighborhood uh in the outer mission, and people are rightfully concerned about street cleanliness around business attraction and retention, around uh activation of the corridor.

Uh and a CBD was identified as one of the ways uh that we could build additional community cohesion, that property owners, uh local small businesses, the city could work in partnership uh to enhance and improve the area.

Um, as members of this committee know, uh 30% of property owners need to subscribe uh in order to call an election.

Uh and so it has been uh an effort to get that accomplished.

Uh hampered in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Uh, but here we are.

So we've reached the threshold uh to uh have that election.

I will defer to my colleague uh Diana Ponce de Leon from OEWD to talk more about uh the specifics, but we are uh extraordinarily grateful to those property owners who have uh subscribed, including uh the Jewish home uh and other uh folks in the community who are 100% behind this effort and would ask for your support.

Thank you.