The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on April 27, 2026, at 9:45 AM. Chair Miranda Melgar presided, joined by Vice Chair Cheyenne Chen and Member Balam Mahmood. The committee considered seven agenda items: a commemorative street naming, a plaque for Carlos Santana (continued), acceptance of street infrastructure, PUC electric facility purchase authority, temporary street use permits, structural maintenance inspections, and a hearing on Market Street corridor. All votes were unanimous.
Okay, good afternoon, everyone. This meeting will come to order. Welcome to the April 27, 2026 regular meeting of the Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I'm Supervisor Miranda Melgar, Chair of this committee, joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Cheyenne Chen and Supervisor Balam Mahmud. The committee clerk today is Mr. John Carroll. I would also like to acknowledge Eugene Libaria at SFGov TV for staffing us during this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Please ensure that you send us your cell phones and electronic devices that you've brought with you into the chamber today. If you have any documents to be included as part of any of today's files, you may submit them directly to me. Public comment will be taken on each item on today's agenda. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, please sign up to speak along your right-hand side of this room. Alternatively, you may submit public comment and writing in either of the following ways. First, you may email your comments to me at J-O-H-N period C-A-R-R-O-L-L at SFGOV.org. Or you may send your written comments via U.S. Postal Service to our office in City Hall, and that is room 244, City Hall 1, Dr. Carlton B. Goodlick Place, San Francisco, California, 94102. If you submit public comment in writing, I will forward your comments to the members of this committee and also include your comments as part of the official file on which you were commenting. Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of May 5th, 2026 in this otherwise stated. Thank you. Agenda item number one is a resolution adding the commemorative street name Helen Wakazo Way to Julian Avenue in recognition of Helen Wakazo's legacy as the founder of Friendship House and her contributions to the Native American community in the city and county. Hey Sasha, please come on up. We have Supervisor Fielder's office here to present. Good afternoon. Thank you, Chair Malgar and committee members. My name is Sasha Gaona. I am the Chief of Staff for District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder. I am proud to be here on behalf of Supervisor Fielder to honor the life and legacy of Helen Wakazoo with a commemorative street naming of Helen Wakasu Way to Julian Avenue, located in the American Indian Cultural District, and a part of the mission district. Helen DeVore Wakazoo was born and raised on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico. At age 13, she was forcibly separated from her family and sent to a federal boarding school in Utah. Part of a systematic effort to strip Native children of their cultural identity and community. Helen arrived in San Francisco at the age of 19 as a part of an Indian relocation act, a federal policy that relocated Native Americans to urban centers under false premises of promises of housing and employment. Here in San Francisco, Helen quickly learned that her Native American siblings were facing a spectrum of challenges from discrimination and poverty to substance use disorders. So in 1963, Helen founded the French and Friendship House Association of American Indians as a place for people to reconnect with their culture and join a community of other natives looking for healing. Under Helen's leadership, the Friendship House grew from a drop-in center to a nationally recognized model for substance use disorder treatment by integrating traditional Native healing practices with evidence-based treatment. Helen was a savvy leader, walking these very halls to meet with supervisors and mayors, ensuring institutional visibility for the needs of local American Indian community. Today, Friendship House has served more than 6,500 clients through their multi-bed treatment programs here in San Francisco and Oakland, providing a path to recovery rooted in cultural identity and dignity, including cultural programming, advocacy, and vital community support for the Bay Area's native community. And Friendship House is working hard to continue Helen's legacy with their expansion of Village SF, Helen's long-held dream of a native-led wellness cultural and economic center for San Francisco-wide Indigenous community. Supervisor Fielder and our office want to thank the Friendship House staff and leadership and their full community for their advocacy and for being here today. We hope that you can send this item to the full board with a positive recommendation. And thank you. Thank you so much, Ms. Galina, for that wonderful summary of your actions. Please add me as a co-sponsor at Mr. Clerk. Supervisor Chen. Thank you, Chair Malga.