San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting: June 2, 2025 Appointments and Entertainment Zones
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San Francisco Rules Committee Regular Meeting – June 2, 2025
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Rules Committee met on June 2, 2025, at 6:15 PM UTC, chaired by Supervisor Shimon Walton, with Vice Chair Cheryl and President Mandelman. The committee considered five mayoral appointments and an ordinance to create multiple entertainment zones. Four appointments were approved for recommendation to the full board; the entertainment zone ordinance was amended to add two new zones and continued to June 9, 2025.
Public Comments & Testimony
- A public speaker (not identified by name) criticized the entertainment zone ordinance, arguing that homeless residents are not welcome under city policies and drew historical parallels to Nazi-era laws. The speaker urged the board to avoid stereotyping homeless people, cited racial disparities in homelessness (36% of homeless are Black while 7% of the population), and called for solution-based reporting.
- A representative of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association (name not given) expressed strong support for adding a Hayes Valley Entertainment Zone, noting that the neighborhood already hosts free events (tango, jazz, yard games) and that 14 local merchants have provided written support. He stated the zone would help events like the Hayes Valley Carnival and neighborhood wine walks.
Discussion Items
Appointments
- Item 1 – Sunshine Ordinance Task Force: Bruce Wolfe, reapplying for a seat reserved for a person with a disability (term ending April 27, 2027). He highlighted his long tenure (since 2005), chair experience, and commitment to government transparency. No public comment. Motion to recommend to full board passed unanimously.
- Item 2 – Sanitation and Streets Commission: Stuart Parmenter, nominated for a term ending July 1, 2028. He described his 26-year technology career, including as CTO at One Medical, and his desire to improve street cleanliness proactively. Public speakers (Kyle Mun Kittrick and Mark DeVito) praised his ability to trust frontline workers, analyze data, and persist. Approved unanimously.
- Item 3 – Port Commission: Ken McNeely, nominated for a term ending May 1, 2029. He summarized his 33-year AT&T career, $3 billion in fiber investment, board service at Sutter Health and SF arts organizations, and focus on equity and Southern Waterfront. No public comment. Approved unanimously.
- Item 4 – Historic Preservation Commission (Reappointment): Chris Foley, term ending December 31, 2028. He emphasized common sense in preservation, citing his renovation of St. Joseph’s Church. President Mandelman expressed concern that the city is not moving quickly enough to identify historic resources amid upzoning, noting the recent Sunset District survey. Foley noted staffing and budget constraints but said the commission can act quickly if resources are provided. No public comment. Approved unanimously.
- Item 5 – Historic Preservation Commission (Reappointment): Diane Matsuda, term ending December 31, 2028. She highlighted the city survey, historic context statements (African American, Chinese, American Indian), and the legacy business registry. Mandelman pressed for a completion date for the city survey; Matsuda estimated two more years, citing manpower needs. She agreed that landmarking must go beyond “pretty” buildings to include cultural significance. No public comment. Approved unanimously.
Ordinance – Entertainment Zones (Item 6)
- Supervisor Mahmood joined to present an amendment to add a Hayes Valley Entertainment Zone to the existing ordinance (which already included Valencia, Pier 39, Folsom, Ellis, and Yerba Buena Lane). He described Hayes Valley as ideal for community events and noted support from merchants, the neighborhood association, and SFPD. Chair Walton also announced an amendment to add a Bayview Entertainment Zone (Yosemite Avenue and Lane Street). The committee voted to amend the duplicated file to include both new zones.
- After public comment, the committee voted to continue the ordinance to the next Rules Committee meeting on June 9, 2025, due to the amendments.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Approved to recommend Bruce Wolfe to the full board (unanimous).
- Item 2: Approved to recommend Stuart Parmenter (unanimous).
- Item 3: Approved to recommend Ken McNeely as a committee report (unanimous).
- Item 4: Approved to recommend Chris Foley’s reappointment (unanimous).
- Item 5: Approved to recommend Diane Matsuda’s reappointment (unanimous).
- Item 6: Amended to add Hayes Valley and Bayview Entertainment Zones; continued to June 9, 2025 (unanimous).
Meeting Transcript
Good morning and welcome to this June 2nd, 2025 Rules Committee meeting. I am your Chair Supervisor Shimon Walton, joined by Vice Chair Cheryl and President Mandelman. Today's clerk is Victor Young, and I would like to thank Seuss Enos from SFGov TV for broadcasting today's meeting and making sure that information from this meeting is made to the public. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements this morning? Yes, public comment. We'll be taking 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 dot Y O U N G at SFgov.org. If you submit public comment via email, it will also be included as part of the file. You may also send your written comment via U.S. mail to our office in City Hall, one Dr. Carlton v. Goodlit 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 on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of June 10, 2025, unless otherwise stated. That completes my initial announcements. Thank you so much. Would you please call item number one? Yes, item number one is a hearing to consider appointing one member, term ending April 27, 2027 to the Sunshine Ordnance Task Force. Thank you so much. And I know we have one seat and one applicant. And I believe Bruce Wolfe is here this morning. So would you come up? He is joining us uh uh via telephone today. Got it. Do we have a thank you? Why don't you take a few minutes to tell us about yourself and why you want to serve so my name is Bruce Wolfe. I have a resident here in San Francisco over 30 years. Uh and um I've been very interested in um government transparency since I was at City College uh in the mid-90s. Uh and I was uh interested in joining the uh Sunshine Task Force around 2005. So I've been a long-term uh member uh to fill uh the seat for uh uh reserved for a person with a disability. And uh I've enjoyed it uh tremendously. I feel I uh brought a considerable amount of contribution to uh the task force. I've served as its chair uh for a number of years. Um and uh I still am very active. Uh I make every every meeting I can. Um and my attendance is very good. Um and I have a modicum of knowledge and experience that this uh uh serving audit has uh given me. I mean it's been a great education uh about city uh government. Uh it's an important uh aspect of city government. Uh and um and I think uh it's been very helpful for the general public and even for um uh members of the city family uh to use. And I would appreciate your consideration for the appointment. Thank you so much, Bruce. I don't see any comments or statements from colleagues, so we will open this item up for public comment. Yes, members of the public who wish to speak on this item should line up to speak at this time. Each speaker will be allowed two minutes. Are there any members of the public who would like to speak on item number one?
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