San Francisco Rules Committee Approves Appointments, Surveillance Report, and Entertainment Zones - April 21, 2025
Rules Committee Regular Meeting - April 21, 2025
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee met on Monday, April 21, 2025, in the morning at City Hall. Chair Supervisor Shimon Walton presided, joined by Vice Chair Supervisor Cheryl and President Mandelman. The committee considered six agenda items: appointments to the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare, reappointments to the ABAG Executive Board, the annual surveillance report on surveillance technology, and an ordinance creating five new entertainment zones. All items were forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with positive recommendations.
Public Comments & Testimony
- On the Animal Control Commission appointments, no public comments were received.
- On the reappointments of Supervisors Mandelman and Dorsey to ABAG, no public comments were received.
- On the annual surveillance report, no public comments were received.
- On the entertainment zones ordinance, several public speakers expressed support:
- Scott Roetz (Yerba Buena Partnership) spoke in full support of the Yerba Buena Lane entertainment zone, noting it already has eight small businesses and will not require a street closure permit.
- Alex Sludlum (Soma West CBD) supported the Folsom Street entertainment zone, stating that the Soma Nights street fair was conceived out of merchant desperation and that City investment has been meaningful.
- Jill Linwood (Yerba Buena Partnership) reiterated enthusiastic support and referenced a press conference on April 7, 2025, with the Mayor and business leaders.
- Scott Gettner (President/CEO of Pier 39) supported the Pier 39 entertainment zone, stating it will create events for visitors and locals and provide relief to tourism businesses.
- Chinny Amahera (Soma West CBD) expressed elation and noted that businesses are struggling and the designation recognizes their efforts.
- John (John's Grill) supported the Ellis Street entertainment zone, stating that it will attract downtown businesses to promote and help revive struggling downtown.
Discussion Items
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Appointments to Commission of Animal Control and Welfare (Item 1)
- Ten applicants for six seats. Each applicant gave a two-minute statement. Chair Walton thanked all and noted difficulty selecting from qualified candidates.
- The committee voted to appoint: Michael Reed (Seat 1), Irina Ozernoff (Seat 2), Michaela Garfinkel (Seat 3), Nicholas Chapman (Seat 4), Dana Sherwood (Seat 5), and Michael Angelo Torres (Seat 6). Motion passed unanimously.
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Reappointment of Supervisor Rafael Mandelman to ABAG Executive Board (Item 2)
- Supervisor Mandelman recused himself. Motion to excuse passed. No public comment. Motion to forward his name with positive recommendation passed unanimously.
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Reappointment of Supervisor Matt Dorsey to ABAG Executive Board (Item 3)
- No recusal needed. No public comment. Motion to forward with positive recommendation passed unanimously.
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Annual Surveillance Report Regarding Surveillance Technology (Item 4)
- Presentation by Eddie McCaffrey (COIT Director) and Julia Cruchel (Privacy Analyst). They explained that Chapter 19B requires annual reports from departments with approved surveillance technology policies. The report covers November 1, 2023, to November 1, 2024, involving 23 departments, 11 technology categories, 46 policies for 51 technologies. Most policies saw no changes; some had shifts in authorized job titles or technology replacements. Facial recognition usage (prohibited) was reported as part of mandatory reporting. No public comment. Motion to accept resolution and forward to full board passed unanimously.
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Entertainment Zones Ordinance (Item 5)
- Ben Van Houten (Director of Nightlife Initiatives, OEWD) presented the ordinance to create five entertainment zones: Valencia Street, Pier 39, Folsom Street, Ellis Street, and Yerba Buena Lane. He described the zones as tools to activate streets and support economic recovery. He noted that the Valencia zone will support the Valencia Live night markets; Pier 39 in collaboration with the Port; Folsom Street aligns with Soma Nights; Ellis Street with John's Grill; and Yerba Buena Lane with the Yerba Buena Partnership. No questions from committee. After public comment, Chair Walton duplicated the file to allow addition of a Bayview Entertainment Zone, then moved the original file to the full board with a positive recommendation. Motion passed unanimously. The duplicated file was continued to the call of the chair.
Key Outcomes
- All six appointments to the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare were approved and forwarded to the full Board.
- Reappointments of Supervisors Mandelman and Dorsey to ABAG were approved and forwarded.
- The resolution accepting the annual surveillance report was approved and forwarded.
- The ordinance creating five entertainment zones was approved and forwarded, with a duplicated file retained for potential addition of a Bayview zone.
- All votes were unanimous without objection.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the April 21st, 2025 Rules Committee meeting. I am your chair, Supervisor Shimon Walton, joined by President Mandelman, and soon to be joined by Supervisor Cheryl. Our clerk for today's meeting is Victor Young. And I would like to thank Eugene Labadia from SFGov TV for broadcasting this meeting and making sure that it is available to the public. 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 to speak on your right. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing either 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 would be included as part of the file. You may also send your written comment to via USML to us at City Hall 1, Dr. Carleton B. Goodly Plays, room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. Please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices. Items acted upon today will are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of April 29th, 2025, unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you so much, Mr. Clerk. Would you please call item number one? Item number one is a hearing consider appointing two members' term ending April 30th, 2026, and four members' term ending April 30th, 2027 to the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare. We have six applicant uh six seats, ten applicants. Thank you so much. And first of all, I just want to welcome everyone who is applying to serve and say thank you. We appreciate you being willing to serve. I will call the names in order of how they appear on today's agenda, and you have up to two minutes to let us know why you want to serve. And so first we will go with Ashley Amy. Hi, my name is Ashley Hoffman. Uh thank you for this opportunity. I have been living in San Francisco for over two years. I have a UCLA climate science degree, but work in media. Uh I think the most relevant thing for this application is that I'm going to law school for animal law in the fall at USF. So I'll have connections to that community and hopefully legal expertise that will become relevant over the course of this tenure. And I really I just really care about the local animals. And do you have any questions? We will let everybody speak, and if we have questions, we'll let you know. Thank you so much. Got it. Well, thank you. Next, I believe is Dana Sherwood. Good morning. Uh my name's Dana Sherwood. I've been a resident of San Francisco for about 20 years. Um, eleven of those in District 10. Um I have pretty much my entire career has been an animal field. I was a zookeeper at the San Francisco Zoo for about 10 years, and then I was an animal control officer here in the city for about four. Um I recently left that to spend more time with my family and have a career that was a little more stable uh with a schedule. Um but I miss it a lot, and I feel like this is a way to kind of have my foot still in the door and be able to work with the the community in San Francisco and the animals that I care so much about. Um I've done a lot of work with rescuing the native wildlife, and then I was one of the lead investigators with animal control, um, working in different aspects of animal abuse and working with the DA's office and um submitteing those crimes.
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