San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting – April 1, 2024: SFMTA Reappointments and Parklet Ordinance
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San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting – April 1, 2024
The San Francisco Rules Committee met on April 1, 2024 at 6:15 PM UTC (11:15 AM PT) under Chair Supervisor Hillary Ronan, Vice Chair Shamann Walton, and Supervisor Ahsha Safai. The committee considered mayoral reappointments to the Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board of Directors, a treasurer's appointment to the Treasury Oversight Committee, and an ordinance to allow a parklet at 1429 Mendell Street. All items were forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations.
Public Comments & Testimony
Item 2: Janet Tarlov Reappointment – Four speakers expressed strong support:
- Renee Richards, an attorney and small textile arts business owner, praised Tarlov's long commitment to San Francisco, her experience as a cyclist and parent, and her attunement to senior transportation challenges.
- Mike Zweifelhoffer, president of the North Beach Business Association and Council of District Merchants (CDMA) member, highlighted Tarlov's patience during contentious bylaw negotiations and her willingness to listen to small business frustrations.
- Mark Abus (President of Staff of Mark Abus Association and co-chair of SFPD Small Business Advisory Forum) called Tarlov a "superstar" who listens and works effectively with city departments.
- Another speaker recounted Tarlov's care for an assaulted merchant, visiting and checking in weekly after the incident.
No public speakers were present for Items 1 (Fiona Hinze), 3 (Kevin Kone), or 4 (Parklet Ordinance).
Discussion Items
1. Mayoral Reappointment of Fiona Hinze to SFMTA Board (Term ending March 1, 2028) Hinze, director of public policy at Independent Living Resource Center, outlined her goals for a second term: strengthening Vision Zero through interdepartmental collaboration, completing the biking and rolling plan (formerly active communities plan), implementing the agency's first accessibility strategy, and advocating for sustainable state funding for transit. She noted her background as a disability advocate. Supervisors Ronan, Walton, and Safai thanked her for her service and expressed support.
2. Mayoral Reappointment of Janet Tarlov to SFMTA Board (Term ending March 1, 2028) Tarlov, a former small business owner and advocate, described her intensive learning process since her initial appointment a few months prior. She emphasized listening to advocacy groups, helping them advocate effectively, and finding solutions for vulnerable communities (seniors, disabled, unhoused, families in poverty). She rejected a narrative of winners vs. losers, calling for collaboration. A lengthy discussion ensued about homelessness and vehicle dwellers, triggered by Supervisor Safai and Walton's concerns about recent RV removal from Bernal Heights. Tarlov acknowledged the need for interagency collaboration. She also shared a success story about helping a merchant by moving a bus shelter. Supervisor Ronan expressed disagreement with the mayor's removal of 15 RVs from Bernal Heights, noting that wealthier neighborhoods receive attention while working-class neighborhoods like the Mission bear the burden. Supervisors praised Tarlov's responsiveness and commitment.
3. Appointment of Kevin Kone to Treasury Oversight Committee (Term ending June 17, 2026) Kevin Kone, assistant CFO at San Francisco International Airport, noted his prior service on the committee and his expertise in capital markets and bond financing. No questions were asked.
4. Ordinance – Shared Space at 1429 Mendell Street Parklet Supervisor Walton introduced the item, explaining that Old School Cafe installed a parklet on a street segment closed to traffic. Because the parklet is not in the curbside lane, it does not qualify as curbside shared space under current law. The ordinance waives that requirement, conditional on compliance with public health, safety, and design regulations, and requires physical modifications to bring it up to code. No public testimony was given.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Hinze): Motion to amend to remove "rejecting" from the legislation and send to full board with positive recommendation. Passed unanimously (Walton aye, Safai aye, Ronan aye).
- Item 2 (Tarlov): Motion to amend similarly. Passed unanimously.
- Item 3 (Kone): Motion to amend to remove "rejecting" and add a residency waiver. Passed unanimously (Walton aye, Safai absent? Chair notes Safai absent but then later 'Safayi aye' – transcript unclear, but motion passes without objection).
- Item 4 (Parklet): Motion to send to full board with recommendation. Passed unanimously.
All items are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda on April 16, 2024, unless otherwise stated.
Meeting Transcript
The meeting will come to order. This is the April 1st, 2024 Rules Committee meeting. I'm Supervisor Hillary Renan, Chair of the Committee. I'm joined by committee vice chair Shaman Walton and committee member uh Asha Safai will be here shortly. Our clerk is Victor Young, and I would like to thank Corwin Cooley at SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes, public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda when your item of interest comes up and public comment is called. Please line up to speak on your right. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VICTOR.yo N G at SFgov.org. You may submit public comment via email. It'll be forwarded to the supervisors and included as part of the file. You may also send your comment via US mail to our office in City Hall. One Dr. Carlson Beagle, please. Room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. Please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Documents to be included as part of the file should be submitted to the clerk. Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda on April 16th, 2024, unless otherwise stated it. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you so much. Can you please read item number one? Yes, item number one is a motion approving rejecting the mayor's nomination for reappointment of Fiona Hinsey to the municipal transportation agency board of directors, term ending March 1st, 2028. Thank you. And I understand um Commissioner Hines is on Zoom or online. Yes, we will unmute her line right now. Good morning, Madam Chair and Supervisors Walton and Safai. As uh Mr. Cork mentioned, my name is Tiana Hinse. Um, and I'm speaking your uh positive recommendation today for reappointment to the SFMGA board of directors. It has been my honor to serve the city um on the board of directors since 2021. Uh in that time, I've served as ch uh chair of the policy and governance committee, as well as a member of our vision zero subcommittee. Asked me to address um some of my goals uh for a next term. Um my number one goal um will be addressing our vision zero uh goal, uh goal and policy. Uh as you all know, we've uh recommitted to vision zero as last week. Um and um particularly I'll be looking uh to strengthen uh interdepartmental communication and collaboration when it comes to vision zero, uh such as working with the fire department at public works to expedite um to expedite and make our projects a re a reality. And also um I know that there was some discussion at the TA about um our biking and rolling plan, uh formerly formally known as our active communities plan. Uh one of my priorities will be to get that done and see uh see implementation of some of that work. Additionally, um the uh ready yet agency is going to be embarking on its first uh accessibility strategy. Um look at a look at um our all of our programs and how they fit um into accessibility for people with uh for people with disabilities. Um I'll be looking into that um as a member of the disability community myself and uh will a disability advocate. Um certainly and lastly, I think my uh last goal will be to help to advocate as much as I can for a sustainable um uh funding source for us. Um whether that uh hopefully that'll come from a state regular. I think my uh my goal will be to help to advocate as much as I can for sustainable um uh funding source for us um whether or not uh hopefully that'll come from a state regulator uh but if not um advocating uh as hard as we can at the state level um for sustainable money source and in the meantime being created with our budget as we can to leverage knowledge to get uh projects done more efficiently and as well as um when it comes to transit parents making sure we uh minimize the the uh impact of any increases to uh the most uh transit independent writers um I'm not doing uh examples related work um as many of you know I'm the director of public policy at Independent Living Resource Center, which is a disability rights um an advocacy organization and I manage our public policy work, including a lot of work with the dignity fund and a service co-chair of a coalition of agency of Germany Elderly, which is a provider association for a professional organization for providers with senior and disability services. So I'm very connected um the city, and I'm very connected to the supervisors advocating for um senior and disability disability issues. So with that, I'm open to answering any of your questions. Thank you so much for that, and thank you uh for your service thus far. Uh so appreciate that you're willing to um serve again. So thanks for that.
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