San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting – June 10, 2024
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San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting – June 10, 2024
The San Francisco Rules Committee convened on June 10, 2024, chaired by Supervisor Hillary Ronen, with Vice Chair Shamann Walton and Supervisor Ahsha Safaí. The committee reviewed eight agenda items, including appointments, streamlining Vision Zero contracting, vending enforcement, election code amendments, entertainment zones, and cooperative purchasing. Public comment was taken on each item. All votes were unanimous unless noted.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 3 (Vision Zero): Trisha Gregory (co-owner Heavyweight Trekking, micro LBE) opposed waiving LBE requirements without data and community input. Lasonia Mansfield (Mansfield Construction) opposed, citing lack of outreach to micro LBEs. John Tresvinia (District 11 resident) opposed, arguing the bill waives civil rights protections and should not be expedited. Tequisha Alicia (QA Consulting) urged inclusion of CMD and small business representatives.
- Item 7 (Entertainment Zones): Ben Bleiman (president of Entertainment Commission, owner of Harrington’s) supported, citing positive feedback loops for downtown. Laurie Thomas (Golden Gate Restaurant Association) supported, noting 2.4 restaurant closures per opening. Che Walton (manager of Schroeder’s) supported, emphasizing employee retention and foot traffic.
- Item 8 (Cooperative Purchasing): Renard Monroe (executive director, Youth First) supported, citing successful park renovations in District 11.
Discussion Items
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Item 3 – Administrative Code: Streamlined Contracting for Vision Zero Projects Supervisor Ronen introduced an amendment on behalf of Supervisor Chan requiring annual reporting by August 15, 2025. Supervisor Safaí proposed a further amendment to create a qualified vendor list via an RFQ process before expediting contracts. SFMTA’s Hoy Ramos clarified the legislation authorizes (not requires) expediting for eligible projects. Public Works’ Bruce Robertson noted 86% of recent Vision Zero projects had LBE primes. The committee voted to adopt the reporting amendment and continued the item to June 17 to finalize the RFQ amendment.
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Item 4 – Public Works Code: Vending Requirements and Restrictions Supervisor Safaí presented a hostile amendment (held for one week) closing a loophole: once a vendor is given notice of illegal vending, that notice remains valid for 120 days without re-noticing. The item passed to the full board.
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Item 5 – Municipal Elections Code: Chinese Character-Based Names Director John Arns presented amendments aligning local rules with state law, requiring two years of public use and declarations for birth names. Passed to full board.
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Item 6 – Municipal Elections Code: Supporters and Opponents on Ballot Questions Director Arns recommended opting out of listing supporters/opponents for local measures to avoid exceeding six ballot cards in November 2024. Each additional card costs $800,000–$850,000. The committee passed the ordinance to opt out conditionally.
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Item 7 – Administrative, Police, Transportation Codes: Entertainment Zones Ben Van Houten (OEWD) presented the framework and first zone on Front Street (California to Sacramento). Businesses (Harrington’s, Schroeder’s, Royal Exchange) will drive programming with music and games, targeting a post-Labor Day launch. The committee added supervisors as co-sponsors and passed the item.
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Item 8 – Administrative Code: Cooperative Purchasing Kelly Rednick (Rec & Park) presented projected 25% cost savings and faster delivery for small projects (e.g., playgrounds). 37 playgrounds are past useful life. The committee added Supervisor Ronen as co-sponsor and passed the item.
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Items 1 & 2 – Appointments: Item 1: Aaron Yin reappointed to the Children, Youth, and Their Families Oversight and Advisory Committee. Item 2: Seven appointees (Jen Chang, Roland Pickens, Joseph Wu, Stephen Fugaro, Norlisa Cooper, Abigail Lawrence Alderson, Jutaporn Chellajaroen) approved for the Health Authority. Both passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Motion to appoint Aaron Yin passed unanimously.
- Item 2: Motion to appoint seven members passed unanimously.
- Item 3: Amendment (reporting requirement) adopted; item continued to June 17, 2024.
- Item 4: Motion to send to full board with positive recommendation passed unanimously.
- Item 5: Motion to send to full board passed unanimously.
- Item 6: Motion to send to full board passed unanimously.
- Item 7: Motion to send to full board with positive recommendation (adding co-sponsors) passed unanimously.
- Item 8: Motion to send to full board with positive recommendation (adding co-sponsor) passed unanimously.
Meeting Transcript
It has to go on the ballot. The meeting will come to order. This is the June 10th, 2024 rules committee meeting. I'm Supervisor Hilary Ronin, Chair of the Committee. I'm joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Shimon Walton and committee member supervisor supervisor Asha Safayi. My uh the 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 your item of interest comes up and public comment is called. Please line up 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 BICTOR dot Yo U N G at SFgov.org. If you submit public comment via email, it'll be forwarded to the supervisors and included in the file. You may also send your comments via US mail to our office in City Hall, one Dr. Carlton B. Goodlit Place, room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. Please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda on June 18th, 2024, unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you so much. And can you please read item number one? Item number one hearing to consider appointing one member term ending July 1st, 2025 to the children's youth and their families oversight and advisory committee. Thank you. Um if uh Aaron Yen is here. Good morning. Thank you so much for applying. And we're looking forward to hearing from you. For sure. So good morning, supervisors. Thank you for your time and presence today. My name is Aaron Yin, and I'm here in hopes of being reappointed to seat 10 for DCYF's oversight advisory committee. Um it's been an honor to have served this in this seat for the past two years. As a very proud um born and raised San Francisco native and passionate youth worker for close to 20 years. I have a great understanding and reverence for the mission that this seat holds. Um I've dedicated the core of my professional experience towards providing pivotal and foundational opportunities that address social and racial inequities while uplifting the voices of San Francisco's most marginalized youth and families. I devoted my collegiate studies to earning a BA in uh child adolescent development with a focus on youth and family services from SF State and my work experience reflects my devotion towards building community investment that emphasizes education and human connection. If given this opportunity to remain in this seat, I will continue to exemplify the character, accountability, and leadership that the community expects from a dedicated civil servant. Thank you again for your time and consideration. I'm I'll be happy to answer any questions around my experience and desire to remain in this seat. Thank you guys so much. Well, thank you so much for your service thus far and for your willingness to continue to serve. It's greatly, greatly appreciated. I don't see any questions from my colleagues. I think uh we're all aware of your excellent work and just excited you're willing to continue. So I'm gonna open this up um item. Oh, wait. We can do it after public comment. Okay, I'm gonna open this item up to public comment. For sure. Thank you guys so much.
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