San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting - April 29, 2024
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting - April 29, 2024
The Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on April 29, 2024, at 6:15 PM UTC (11:15 AM PDT) under Chair Hillary Ronin, Vice Chair Shaman Walton, and Supervisor Ashta Safai. The committee considered three agenda items: a mayoral appointment to the Planning Commission, an ordinance to streamline intergovernmental agreements, and a surveillance technology policy for SFMTA driver-safety video analytics. All items received unanimous approval and were forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 1 (Lydia So appointment): Four speakers testified in support.
- Tiana Hinsey (personal capacity) supported So's nomination, citing her unique skill set in historic preservation and transportation, especially for West Side transit-oriented development.
- Doug Chan (former commissioner) praised So as extraordinarily qualified, with a multidisciplinary background in design, project management, and economics, and noted her fairness and collaborative approach.
- Rosa (Director of Community Planning and Policy, Chinatown Community Development Center) supported So for being community-minded, communicative, and adept at finding joint solutions between community and city needs.
- Stephen Lee (small business owner and community leader in Chinatown) highlighted So's experience as a self-employed single mother, small business owner, and her work on public safety, transit, and historic preservation.
Item 1: Mayoral Appointment of Lydia So to the Planning Commission
- Proposal: Motion to approve Mayor's nomination of Lydia So to the Planning Commission for a term ending June 30, 2026, and to forward it to the full board with a positive recommendation.
- Discussion: Lydia So introduced herself as a Chinese American immigrant, architect, and former SFMTA board member, emphasizing her focus on housing governance, transit-oriented mixed-use development, and public safety. She committed to removing internal barriers in the Planning Department through organizational restructuring and interagency coordination. Supervisors Ronin, Safai, and Walton expressed strong support, noting her qualifications and community perspective.
- Key Outcome: Motion to amend the resolution by removing the word "rejecting" from lines 3 and 11, and to forward the appointment to the full board with a positive recommendation. Passed unanimously (3-0).
Item 2: Ordinance Amending Administrative Code - Agreements with Government Entities
- Proposal: Ordinance to allow city departments to enter into agreements with other government entities (e.g., Caltrans, UCSF, BART) without complying with usual solicitation requirements and waiving certain municipal code provisions, while retaining internal budgeting and approval controls.
- Discussion: Sponsor President Peskin described the ordinance as a long-overdue removal of bureaucratic hurdles, citing examples from public health, airport, and PUC. Jeremy Spitz (PUC) presented data: 540 intergovernmental contracts in the last five years from 29 departments, with a median value of $200,000 and total value of $2.3 million. The majority were with other California cities and counties. Supervisor Walton confirmed that the ordinance does not affect private contractor labor or community benefits requirements. No public comment was received.
- Key Outcome: Motion to send the ordinance to the full board with a positive recommendation. Passed unanimously (3-0).
Item 3: Ordinance Approving Surveillance Technology Policy - SFMTA Driver-Safety Video Analytics
- Proposal: Ordinance to approve a surveillance technology policy for SFMTA's use of driver-safety video analytics in rubber-tire vehicles (and future light-rail vehicles). The system records 12 seconds of audio and video (8 seconds before and 4 seconds after a predefined event, such as sharp turns, hard stops, or cell phone use). Data is retained for 365 days, then deleted. The policy includes use for collision investigation, passenger fall analysis, infrastructure improvements, customer complaint review, and operator training and commendation.
- Discussion: Sohail Warsi (SFMTA) presented the technology, noting it was already approved by the Privacy and Security Advisory Board (PSAB) in February 2023 and the Committee on Information Technology (COIT) in April 2023. Chair Ronin appreciated the inclusion of commendation for drivers. No public comment was received.
- Key Outcome: Motion to send the ordinance to the full board with a positive recommendation. Passed unanimously (3-0).
Key Outcomes
- All three agenda items were approved unanimously (3-0) and forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for its May 7, 2024 meeting.
- The committee recommended confirming Lydia So's appointment to the Planning Commission.
- The committee approved the ordinance to streamline intergovernmental agreements.
- The committee approved the surveillance technology policy for SFMTA driver-safety video analytics.
Meeting Transcript
It's so exciting. The meeting will come to order. This is the April 29th, 2024 Rules Committee meeting, and I'm going to start over just in case the meeting will come to order. This is the April 29th, 2024 rules committee meeting. I'm Supervisor Hillary Ronin, Chair of the Committee. I'm joined by Committee Vice Chair Shaman Walton. And believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, committee member Supervisor Ashta Safai is on time today. Don't that is messing with you? Our clerk is Victor Young, and I would like to thank Seuss Enos 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 you're item of interest comes up and public comment is called, please line up to speak. 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. If you submit public comment via email, it'll be forwarded to the supervisors and included as part of the file. You may also submit written comment via US mail to our office at City Hall when Dr. Carlton be good at place. 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 at the Board of Supervisors' agenda on May 7, 2024, unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you so much. Can you please read item number one? Item number one is motion approving rejecting the mayor's nomination for the appointment of Lydia So, term ending June 30th, 2026 to the Planning Commission. Thank you so much. And Ms. So is here joining us. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning, Chair Ronan, Supervisor Safai, and Supervisor Walton. First, I'd like to thank you for your continuous support of my public service journey over the past decade. I'm a Chinese American immigrant from Hong Kong, a native Cantonese speaker. I live in San Francisco more than half of my life. I'm raising my child here in the mission, and we love our city. As an architect, a problem solver, and a mom, I continue to build bridges and get things done on the commissions and nonprofit boards that I served. Most recently, my tenure serving on the SFMTA board of directors has been a very illuminating and humbling experience. But besides that, I have to emphasize the dire situations we're facing. The struggles we have on the streets are real. The fear of lack of public safety are real. People living at the last straw of their life before becoming homeless are super real. With all that said, I believe everyone deserved to feel safe. We deserve to have a sense of belonging and have a place called home. Simply put it this way everyone deserved to have a roof over their heads. When I become a planning commissioner, I will prioritize my focus on improving our housing governance and policies to address our immediate needs and adapt to our future population growth. I will champion transit-oriented mixed-use housing developments for affordable homes. Thank you for your leadership and consideration to my appointment. Thank you. Well, thank you so much for your willingness to serve and um everything you've already done for the city, let alone your willingness to do even more.
openpublica.com