Transcripts For SFGTV Small Business Commission 20240712

When youre called for Public Comment, mute the device youre listening to the meeting on. When its your time to speak, you will be prompted to do so. Youre limited to three minutes a speaker unless otherwise established and speakers are requested and not required to state their name. Sf gov tv, please show the business slide. We will start with the Small Business commission this is the Business Forum to voice your opinions that affect the Economic Vitality of Small Businesses in San Francisco and this is the best place to get answers about doing business in San Francisco about the local emergency. If you need assistance with Small Business matters, you can find us online or via telephone. As always, our services are free of charge. Before item one is called, i would like to start with thanking Media Services and sf gov tv for coordinating this visual hearing and special thanks to michael for moderating the Public Comment line. Please call item number one. Item one role call . Item two, continued discussion on Small Business, refer coverrery and rebuilding, presentation on the shared Spaces Programme to help businesses transition into phase two b and navigating businesses into space 2b and phase 3, response to civil unrest, update on Recovery Task force recommendations and other activities related to Small Businesses during the state of emergency. Good, commissioners. Can everyone hear and see me . Wonderful, perfect, go ahead, ted. Thanks so much for having me this morning and just to introduce myself, ted conrad with the Workforce Development and staffing workforce. Im pleased to be able to give you a brief presentation on the shared spaces program. Ive spoken to commissioners about this in other contexts and im excited to present this program to the commission. Can everyone see the slide . This the duration of the covid19 emergency. The goal of the program is to support neighborhoods and support businesses. And we mean that broadly. So we expect for there to be quite a bit of interest from restaurants and hospitality businesses and dining and just slated to be allowed on june 15th, but shared spaces is something were hoping will be beneficial to a broader range of businesses. And so i think just as an overview, thes easiest way to think about the program is to think about the space a business might want to take advantage of, the curbside lane or parking lane, just the lane of the street adjacent to the sidewalk and the full street, theres a possibility to close this street to traffic and open it to people in winds. Business, as well as parks plazas and its designed to allow a broad range of uses, so from curbside pickup, which is something the mta is offering to Outdoor Dining when its allowed and more space for business customers to cue and other activities. So we sort of set the table in terms of making Space Available in as flexible a way as possible and as long the business is able to adhere to our safety and accessibility rules, theyre able to take advantage of that space in a flexible way as long as its in compliance with the Public Health order. Just some general provisions that apply to the program. The permits will not have any associated fees and the city and the division of labor here, that the city will establish and application process that businesses can apply to. And then, in as many spaces as possible, the city will make the Space Available. The rest we put on to the business and a lot of the work in identifying locations, determining what will work for an individual business, sort of expect the business to take the lead on that and compliance with the rules and, you know, in most cases, youre not submitting a site plan to a subsidy departmencity departmentfor a d. And the reason for that, of course, is speed and needs to allow businesses to take advantage of this more quickly and, you know, the city would expect the business or Merchants Association in some cases to provide furniture and physical barriers. And the application will be up very soon in the next day or so and so im excited about that and permits, the permit term will run through the end of the calendar year unless its extended by the city and i hate to be a downer. When i talk about this, i try to give this caveat that not all spaces will work for all businesses and, indeed, were extremely a dense city, as everyone at this meeting knows. So we have narrow sidewalks in many cases and many businesses many Retail Businesses, you know, will simply not be aplowe allowed toe situation because its too narrow or congested to allow them to set up on the situation and still maintain a still path. I would hope for the businesses that are able to take advantage of the sidewalk and i think in many cases it will be, there are businesses that arent able to take advantage of the curbside lane because theres a fire hydrant and fullstreet closures, theres a number of safety considerations, but the biggest thing, if theres a muni line thats running, most likely that street will not be able to be closed to traffic just because of the critical nature of Public Transportation and getting folks around. So the program is designed to be as flexible as possible and i hope that when we serve the different considerations, you know, commissioners will recognise that. But in terms of i want to set expectations clearly and i want businesses to be sort of fully aware of what may or may not be allowed before making plans and investment around this. And lastly, i think as youll see, because a lot of this is selfcertified and hands off from the city than constituents might be used to seeing, collaboration with neighbors is just absolutely essential to making sure this is a successful and positive program. And so, for sidewalks, its really simple. The applicant will fill out an online form well, theyll read a set of rules, describing the key requirements and so, like you see in the second point, maintaining a sixpoint path of travel, no obstruction of Fire Equipment or other kind of safety equipment. So once a business has read these rules and determined theyre able to participate, theyll fill out an online form, upload some insurance documentation which we can get to later and begin using the sidewalk two Business Days later. Theres no submitting a plan to public works, like with the current tables and chairs, permit process and no notification, nothing like that. However, you know, we will be enforcing this and the rationale between the twobusiness day delay is to give public works to check and make sure that folks who simply have to chance of being able to try to do that. Ive offered caution about certain situations not being appropriate for this. And i just wanted to share this diagram. This is from the tables and chairs permit. Permit. This sixfoot dimension that they outline, that is the sixfootwide path of travel that needs to be maintained and i think just an important thing to notice here that even though this is sort of to this six feet, this is a 12foot wide sidewalk. Many have a furniture zone, different obstacles like tree wells, parking meters, boxes, et cetera, and so even if you go to measure situation and its 12 feet wide, its very possible that it will be tough for you to set up tables and chairs in a safe way and we encourage folks to maintain accessibility to really sort of think about their layout will look like before proceeding with this. Moving on to the next group of public spaces available, ill mention the curbside lane known as the parking lane. And so generally speaking, if its just a parking use, metered or unmetered, business will generally use the parking lane in that case and will not be able to use it if its a red zone, a blue zone for handicap parking, a bus stop if its a curb ramp and if the street has high speed limits or another safety or operational conflict. Now, i will note that mta, if, say, a business wanted to participate in this and they applied and turned out when mta looked, there was a fire hydrant and red zone in front of their business, mta will sort of look to find alternatives on the block, other locations on the block that might be appropriate. And so, its not to say that a business will be totally prevented from participating, but those are the conflicts well be navigating. Outdoor dining or business, a loading zone and, thats a permit theyre offering, permanent loading stones and they havzone and thatwill be foo it will be one application process. And an important thing for either dining or business where folks are sitting or standing in the parking lane, the business will be required to install a barrier between the parking lane and the traffic lane and thats just to make sure no one gets hurt or steps out into traffic and we have a collision. And so the barrie barrier type,s really a broad range of barrier types we borrowed from the manual. We understand this wome will be another obstacle and tried to make this as flexible as possible. And so, in terms of application process, the applicant will fill out an online form, saying what space they want and self certified theyre abiding by Program Rules and that includes things like just simple things like keeping the place clean, moving furniture inside at night and maintaining an accessible table. Within three days, the city will notify the applicant if theyve been approved and if the shared spaces for Outdoor Dining, the permit holder will have to install a barrier, of course, if its a slowing zone, no barrier needed. Iin terms of opening up a full street, in every case where its appropriate where there is an overarching Merchants Association or Business Improvement district, Community Benefits district, the city would like to see that body submit an application, just to sort of so were negotiating with one point of contact that represents broadly the merchants on the street or corridor. Its been raised that there are certain corridors and kind of smaller Business Districts that arent represented by a former Merchants Association and thats something we need to figure out from the city, how well accommodate that situation and make sure the groups have an opportunity to apply for street closures, as well. But generally speaking, we would want to be dealing with the Merchants Association and were helping the bodies will drive the collaboration and consensus building if this is to be successful. A street closure, plainly speaking, it could be a disruptive thing and so, well need to make sure that a large majority of participating businesses or businesses on the block that are conflicted that are all on board with the hours of the day, days of the week and exact dimensions of the closure, et cetera. And i should also note that a key thing here and something that im just looking forward well have to navigate is ensuring that residential neighbors, folks that either live on the block or nearby are on board, as well. And so, i think and that is just the very first thing ive been telling folks, if theyre interested in a fullstreet closure, get with your colleagues and get with your neighbors and try to work something out that works with everyone before the come to the city. Ive mentioned this potential conflict, if theres a meeting group. Unfortunately, that will be really, really difficult to do, most likely not allowed. The application process, youll submit an application through an online portal and the still will do a feasibility review to say beeno way, theres a streetcar, hey, theres a fire station and they need access at all hours. Im sorry that cant work. And then, if it is feasible, i imagine it will take a few weeks of predetailed conversations with the city to sort of work out all of the different responsibilities and conditions under which this is allowed. And the association will be expected to implement, so staffing, providing furniture, barriers, as needed, et cetera. And just want to make a note that were aware that if theres land controlled by other city departments that may be appropriate for these uses and mostly port and rec park, but potentially some real state divisionowned land and well have a process by which businesses adjacent to these spaces can apply for their use and the department of jurisdiction will be the one, so meaning port, rec part and real estate will determine if its important. Many of the spaces, just because youre located near a park, you know, for example, many parks are not appropriate for this type of use because theyre used for recreation purpose. But ive been in close contact with port and rec park and they have started to identify sites that they think will be appropriate for this. So its just another option for businesses that happen to be located really close to one of those spaces. So a few more details and the insurance requirements this is lower, i believe, than the comparable existing city programs that business will be expected to maintain a Million Dollars in general commercial liability, as well as Workers Compensation and theyll need to name the city as additional insured and provide that endorsement, a waiver of su subbrogation. Commissioners, to the extent this program is rolled out, if there are businesses that want to participate and thats proving to be an insurmountable barrier, please let us know and. A pizza can occupy the situation in front of a neighboring business with the written permit of the Business Owner. There will be a simple written permission to me from that Business Owner and i would upload that in the application process and be able to apply for those spaces, as well. And so i do think its important to consider enforcement here and it will be both regular and complaintdriven, but given that this is going to be selfcertified, i do think well find cases where folks are maybe not adhering to the safety rules, unfortunately, and so, members of the public will be directed to call that into 311 and promptly investigated and well try to sort of resolve that, if that can happen. But if were not able to resolve it, the permits will be revoke. And this is just a good segway and permits are temporary and revoked at any time. Either if the permit holder is not complying or if just the evolving nature of the emergency requires it. I would like that caveat and i hope when folks install bear barriers, its attractive and pleasant and sort of appealing to the neighborhood corridor, but i do provide this caveat so folks wont make huge investments because these are temporary permits and at the end of this, emergency, theyll be expected to remove those. Thanks to much and happy to answer any questions that you have. Thank you, ted. We appreciate you coming in and thank you for the excellent presentation. Commissioners, do we have any questions . I guess i should open chat to find out. Commissioner dooley. Hi, i wanted to know, theres a lot of details in what you just presented and can that be made available to us to distribute to our merchant organizations . I would were planning to publish the formal regulations as well as open the application really, really soon, like in the next day or so. And so, i would just ask that you wait for that to come out, because that will be the law of the land. Ok, thank you. Commissioner adams. I was going to ask the same thing but this is an Excellent Program and our neighborhood, we just had our sidewalks widened about ten years ago and this will work out perfect. And i know the businesses i have talked to just cant wait for you guys to ok this and get this going and this is one of the best things you could have done and i really, really appreciate everything youve done doing this. Thank you. Commissioner huey. Hi. I have a couple of questions. Is there a guidance on sanitaizatoin. Iion. It will be the restaurants nearby. So theyre kind of wondering, how do you staff . What are the guidelines . So i know the department of Public Health and City Attorney are working hard to put out detailed rules and guidance for indoor retail and Outdoor Dining, which are slated to reopen shortly and i would just have to direct you to those and we can i think im not sure later in the agenda, if that was one of the other items that other staff would present on. And shared spaces stays silent due to the evolving nature of that guidance. We dont want to be publicizing something and have that steal or outhat stale. I dont have that f the sharedspaces program. But i guess, dominica, if thats not covered later in t presentation, maybe we can connect offline. Thank you very much. Just for public safety, i think. , it would be good to have some sort of protocol so you know when youre a resident sitting down at the space, that the space has been sanitized or cleaned. Because if you go by the cleanliness, theres a wide variation, i think, in terms of how parklets are maintained and determining on the type of furniture. I think having some sort of guidance on that would also, i think, help to be proactive, i think, and, like, consequences that could happen from that. And the other thing i wanted to note was, i really love that other neighborhoods are having a positive response to shared spaces. I think its a Great Program and one thing our neighborhood is i think the merchants dont really see how it could be feasible because of questions like these, like who will be staffing this and who will be maintaining this and things like that. But we have a little group of residents there who are very interested in having more spaces. How do you kind of how do you weigh those things, like residents desires . But this is a merchantdriven piece. How as a merchant could i i mean, we have lake street open as an open area and so we have closed streets in our neighborhood and how would you suggest that i could direct somebody without telling them, like, no, we cant do it . Just because feasibility may not work in our neighborhood, but we do share the same, you know, goals of wants to have more open spaces . Well, i just want to make sure i fully understand the question. Im thinking, clement has been identified as a street that might be appropriate for certain stretches of clement, to do one of those closures if that was something the neighborhood wanted do because there was no bus running down clement now and i think so im trying to imagine what the streetscape and dimensions are. So i guess what im getting at, i think this might be quite feasible in some of the commercial corridors, at least thinking about the parking lane, which i think in many cases would be the sweet spot of getting a substantial amount of space and relative ease and time. But i think the question was about even about residents that want more open space for their recreational activities, which might be different than businesses taking shared spaces. Was that the question . Kind of. I dont want to create a situation in our neighborhood where we have residents who are upset with the merchants that may be dont find it feasible to be able to do it. Like, even if theres the space, like, oftentimes people dont have the bandwidth to bring this program to their business. I dont want it to be a situation where residents are, like, then, upset with merchants that dont feel like its possible. Yeah. So i think thats a great question and i think thats touches on something weve been thinking about a lot and ive been thinking about, which is what kind of ancillary resources and materials do we need to put together to make this as broadly available as possible . And so thats something that its a moving target and were working hard to identify if there are resources that the city can make available that would help with things like capacity or whatever those hurdles are that are preventing businesses from taking advantage that would help with those. And also, since youve mentioned you had some ideas or areas that you had highlighted or as you were working on the shared spaces program, could that be shared, also, so that i have an idea or other merchants have an idea that these are good spaces we saw . And that way it generates some ideas. I know ive talked to a couple of people who are working really hard on creating kind of shared spaces, but it would be nice to know what youre thinking in terms of an ideal shared space area. When i mentioned we thought about clement, that was me looking on a map of google, where the corridors are and which buses are running now and that was an informal thing. I dont at this time have any kind of citywide guidance on that. And i think we can try to work on that and see if thats something to put forward. As ive been thinking about this a lot over the past few weeks, well, i think that parking lane, the use of the parking lane will be broadly appropriate for the most part, to the extent merchants want to take advantage of that. On the street closures, i think it will be like the many streets are possible, but it will just require a group of merchants and neighbors that want to make it happen and can do the hard work of, you know, accommodataccommodating retailet want it to be open or closed at night. More so than technical concerns, the success or failure of this will be on groups that are able to do that kind of communication. Perfect, thank you. Awesome. Commissioner cartahena. Thank you, ted, for the presentation and thank you for working on this. I know weve been in constant contact. I had two things and one is for my constituency in the mission and a lot of cbos are concerned that the speed this is happening, theyre not being involved in the process or the perception of not being involved, theyre concerned these changes can have further gentrification and i was wondering want is your contact with the cbos and what are your thoughts on that in. Thank you so much for bringing that up. Its true that weve been moving at lightning speed on this and the goal for that, as you know, is because to provide some muchneeded relief for the shelterinplace. It hasnt been as deliberate and it hasnt included as many voices as it should have. And i hear you loud and clear and im working with colleagues that have been participating in some of the ongoing Planning Efforts and Economic Developments efforts to jumpstart that conversation. And so i appreciate you underlining that executive lookk forward to those conversations happening. My second question is, as we transition to pretty much Outdoor Dining for the foreseeable future, my concern is a problem that already existed was kind of like, its a mix of quality of life and quality experience. What assistance is the city going to provide to businesses to ensure theres not aggressive panhandling to the customers outside and the streets are clean and theres not needles all around and make it a very positive experience as opposed to something that we dont want our patrons to experience . Yeah. I think, again, thats a great question and its something ive been thinking about. I dont have an answer for you right now. But i know that homelessness, obviously, and street behaviour are such tough issues that were aware thats a problem and the success of this problem depends on some solutions. So i dont have an answer right now for you, but its on my radar and well work with partners in the city to dress that. Address that. Thank you. Commissioner dooley. Youre muted, kathleen. Kathleen. Any questions is when you returned to spaces should be like a parklet, are we talking about substantial construction on the part of the merchants or restaurants . Or is a barricade sufficient . Yes, excellent question and i apologize if i misspoke. This is very different than the Parklet Program and i try to be intentional in my language about it to make that distinction and this is way lower, some lower cost, lower design requirements than the Parklet Program and im imagining in most cases, its a barrier that would comply with the Parklet Program like barrier specifications, but probably in most cases, no real structure needed to be produced. Just tables and chairs, a safety barrier and other sort of modest furniture and items. So will those guidance be provided so that people know exactly what will satisfy the barrier requirements . Yes, those will be published along with the applications. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner ukukio. Ted, thank you for being a general in the fight to save Small Businesses. I know youve been working so hard on this program and i appreciate it. I have some questions. You said the application process will be quick, as well as approval. What are thinking on turnarounds and will they be completely online . It depends on the shared space youre wanting to get. So for sidewalk, use of sidewalk, you apply online and if you can survive anything, youll be mailed a permit and that permit is two days later, giving public works to check on insurance things and competent back if theget back ifthey find. Will Small Business owners have to print out an application, sign something, fax it and scan it back . That could be enough friction to think, i cant do this right now. Its all online and the most burdensome thing, it will be getting the insurance documents that were going to require and so thats the coi, the additional insured endorsement and waiver of subrogation and theres specific language that it has to be and i would imagine that getting the docs and uploading that is the hardest part or its a userfriendly online application. So on that, you say there might be leeway of folks having trouble with it and are you thinking about any additional costs that would come with adding the city as additionally insured or creating waivers for people that demonstrate its an undue burden to them . Great question. We have not resolved that yet and, frankly, i think waivers will be hard. Like, because the city is selfinsured, we have strict rules that the Management Team sets. What ive heard from the risk Management Team and in some of the outreach is that most businesses that have a normal lease or liquor licensed will have this level of coverage. I am aware there are probably businesses that dont and so, i think i would just ask that all of you please do share if you hear about cases where thats the burden and well try to work out a way around it. Got it. I have a couple more small questions. If people have an issue, they say theyll do something and its not like they said, is the city going to be fining them . Whats the process for correcting the way its laid out in front . So, yeah, the first step is someone will come out and help explain whats wrong and if it can fixed simply, like, hey, you have three tables and you can fit two, you have to get rid of a table . This isnt quite in the right place or you dont have diverters. If its simple things, i think we will hope that they can just fix them on the spot. If they cant be fixed on the spot, if its something tougher, like if someone was operating in the parking lane with no barrier and tables were out there, thats not safe and the city would say, your permit is revoked and you need to reapply. And so, i think theres a possibility of fines, but that would be after warnings. So diverters. So diverters are going to be required for putting tables and chairs on the sidewalk . Yes. Because the one thing i heard from a lot of Small Business owners in advance of this is that diverters can be expensive, the way that the city has asked them to be. There are substantial pieces of equipment and oftentimes custom made with the previous tables and chairs and are folks into kinds of diverters that might cost less like plants, that create a kind of barrier that dont require the same level of stringency than the previous diverters cost. Scott regso the regs will alw diverters and have to meet dimensional requirements. I will note that i understand this isnt a field of policy that i worked on before shared spaces, but i understand a lot of folks struggled with the table and chairs process and found it difficult. And ill just note for claritys sake, ive just taken the diverter requirements from the old program, but it will allow planters. Thats ok. Last question is, for the people who applied to have tables and chairs outside of their business in the months prior to this point, that came with an application fee. I think it was 600 or 900 and, as well, there are other fees associated with tables and chairs. Is the Department Going to give the money back to the Small Businesses to aemploy tapply toe tables and chairs before this became free . I dont know the answer to that. Thats a great question. Im aware that i believe there is pending legislation that would change the structure for tables and chairs and would lower or i think totally reduce it. For the question you talked about pending permits, i dont know. I dont want to make promises that the department of public works will be able to do that, but i can ask. Before shared spaces was announced, i was, like, ok, at some point ill put tables and shares out and i almost filled out the application, paid the fee and i wonder if the city is going to make this free. It really should. That would be great. So i didnt apply, but i bet there are Small Business owners that paid the 600 or 900 fee, assuming it would take weeks and weeks to get it approved and i think the right thing would be to give them their money back to have the same benefits as every other Small Business. Is that something you would be able to follow up with the Treasurers Office around. Yes, i can follow up with that. Thank you, ted. I appreciate it. Thank you. Commissioner cartahena. Hi, ted. Another question. As a Business Owner, im excited but the speed were moving in, never seen it in my life. A little concerned, i dont want the consequences of the people left behind and so add on, you t plans do we have for communities for fee mitigation or assistance . Because when we do operate at the regular speed in the city, we never translate none of these things and now that were moving at a listening speed, im concerned that all of th all ofe benefits wont be accessible to the communities of colour. So we will be translating all of the materials in terms of guidance and Application Form and so i am hoping that will help in terms of accessibility of the program. Theres no fees to waive, but just more broadly, were working hard to see what we can come up with in terms of because there will be cases where some businesses need more help to take advantage of this. And were working hard to identify what those barriers are and try to put together resources to be available, to help Small Businesses overcome that. And its not something weve completed yet and, as you know, the budget situation that the city is in makes it hard, but were committed to making it hard to find something. Hi, just a really basic question because i think i just wanted to know, so is it ok that businesses are getting their theyre applying for Outdoor Dining and you could put a plaquard up. They can limit the use of the shared spaces to their customers. Its a great question because, of course, the existing Parklet Program is different than that and those are public open space. A business that has sponsored a parklet outside of their business, they will be if its a restaurant, theyll be able to do Table Service there. Or if its a Retail Business and they wanted to set up some racks or shelves, you know, they could do those activities there. But, the the parklet would reman public and so, you would not be able to say to a member of the public not a customer, you cant sit here. Thats where the policy landed on that question. Great, thank you. Thank you. Ted, i wanted to thank you for your hard work and your thoughtfulness that youre approaching this with and to all of the oewd staff for the extraordinary amount of work and consideration that theyre putting into this. This is an extremely challenging time to launch such a comprehensive wideranging policy that will have an impact on everybody that lives here. So its a huge challenge and from my perspective, you have stepped up in a big way and i think this is going to have a massive positive impact on Small Businesses in sanfrancisco. And so, you know, first, on behalf of the Small Business community, thank you and oewd for your work. This is really important stuff and you guys have been moving quickly and thats commendable on every level. I had a couple of quick questions. First, i wanted to echo and amplify commission cartahena comments about accessibility. I know thats a priority for you, and it will be a priority for this commission, as well, soy want to second those comments. And along those lines, the insurance policy, has the city considered or priced out what the cost of a Global Insurance policy for the city might be . I dont think thats something that weve looked into yet. Ok. It may be work taking a quick gander at and then, it could, perhaps, be a passthrough cost to successful businesses or larger businesses and something that could be waived for businesses that are basing financial hardships and another opportunity might be if the city is unwill be to purchase a policy on its own, perhaps just negotiating a bulk rate with a carrier and before i go on to other comments, commissioner adams has a question on insurance and i wanted to give him a chance to weigh in on that point and commissioner adams. Thank you, president laguana. Im glad you brought that up. Thats what i was thinking about. What we have in the castro, and this is what i think other merchant groups may want to think about, we have a blanket policy that covers our entire merchant area because we had to get it when we fed into the Farmers Market and we have the rainbow flag and we wound up buying a master policy for the sidewalk, for the sidewalks, coultocover such things and thee on it with their language. And i like your thoughts on that. And thats something, like, if the city wont do it, we can get the different merchant corridors to do that. Its a couple of grand, but maybe we can work out something with the city and i like that idea. That will help a lot of businesses. I appreciate that. My only concern about that comment is that there are many businesses that dont belong or cannot afford to belong to a merchant Corridor Association and ours covers everybodys, even if theyre a mer chante merchan. Theres a master policy for the streets. Understood, but there will be businesses that wont have that access to a policy like that, and so, i would still encourage ted to explore what the city can do to either acquire a city policy or negotiate a bulk rate on behalf of all of the businesses within the city. So those are possible options. You know, ted, you made the same presentation to the economic Recovery Task force and thank you. And on that call, it was brought to my attention that there were businesses putting tables up against bike stands because the bike stands that look like a convenient place to put tables and i asked during the economic Recovery Task force presentation if the oewd would consider making sure that lifts have bice access to locking up their bikes. Would that fall so the restrictions . Its an excellent question. Im trying to think through it. Certainly if it was one of those websitbicycle parking units thau see with circular metal elements thats in the parking lane, yeah, i really cant imagine mta would allow mta will not allow that to be made into a shared space and, frankly, i dont think those are easy to move. And so, is there a different type of policy of bike parking youre thinking of . Ill email you a picture of what happened in paloalto. Its like an arch, like a single loop. I just want to make sure we dont go down that same path because that will obviously be upsetting to the biking community. And last thing we want to do is disincentivize people from using bikes if were disincentivizing from using cars. Ill email you a picture afterwards and then we can have the conversation at a later date about whether that rises to the level of being included in restrictions. I take you at your word that sfmta would have an objection to any reasonable interpretation what a bike stand is. I did want to echo commissioner ukudios comments about giving a are refund to people that may have paid for permit, an outside locked permit during the covid19 crisis and, perhaps, a bit farther back. It does seem that those folks are paying a fee where other people are getting it for free and that doesnt seem quite right. And last comment i have for you, and to me, this is one thats really important and really critical, its critical to the city is its critical to this program. And thats that in our communications around shared spaces, it is natural in the city to want to think about what are the regulations, what are the process, what are the forms and applications. But i want to take a step back and look at the 60,000foot view here. And i think what is really essential to making this program be something to be more than the sum of it parts is that we have to appeal to the inspirational element, the artistic element, that we have to encourage people to use these spaces creatively, to not just simile put tables and chairs out, but wherever possible be creative and think generously in terms of how you can decorate the space or liven it up. There was an article in the chronicle the other day that had ararchitectural renderings, thee was lettuce 20 feet up and all different colors. To me, it seems this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to create magic in San Francisco and that we will want to keep long after the virus is gone. And that should be a north star that we orient folks towards. We should be encouraging them to create something wherever possible that well want to keep and that well want afterwards, after this is all done. Well be, like, that shit looks great. Let keep it. [ laughter ] this should be appealing to the architects and have them look at San Francisco as a canvas, that this will make something magical that leaves us off better than we were before. And so, thats my feedback on that. And with that, i dont see any other commissioner comments and i want to thank you again for all of your hard work and we really appreciate you. Thank you for allowing me to present. We are very, very lucky to have ted conrad in doing this work and taking on the responsibilities of a different kind of land use during this time. And also, his very real commitment in our office of economic and Workforce Developments commitment to provide an equity frame to the work that we do. It is absolutely at the forefront of our minds and just to respond to the comments earlier, yes, we are absolutely balancing the need to move quickly for the Small Business community with an eye t towards Racial Equity and most specificallily during the times were in and its been a value of ours under my leadership and mayor breeds leadership. I knows thats a principle and practise you have all been deeply supportive of and something that the staff holds very, very dear to heart, as well. Again, most especially right now, with the sustained outcry against systemic racism and the injustices that are created because of it. And economic and Workforce Development plays a central part in doing that work. But i know im here to talk about the Additional Resources and also some of the framing around a phased reopening and im going to see if i can clumsily pull up the brief slide show that i have so i can guide us a residual bit. Let me see if this works. Can everyone see that . Yes, we can. And are you only seeing the main screen or the whole thing . The whole thing, but thats fine. Dont labor over it ill leave this for right now and thank you, commissioners, for bearing with me and in terms of the relief we have available, the Small Business community right now, i think many of you saw the press release we put out last week. Due to our givetosf fund that allowed us to relief additional dollars for our Grant Program call the San Francisco Small Business Resiliency Fund that was 1. 5 until new funding, as well as the 5 million allocation that was made or the 5 Million Program that was created because of a 1 million allocation that we made to our Additional Loan Program partner, Mission Economic Development Agency. Again, both those investments were made possible because of very, very kind philanthropic donors to the mayors give to sf program and we really do want to encourage you and others and also the public who may be watching right now to continue to share that opportunity because the need does not end. It continues during this time that allows us to provide relief in the form of Housing Stabilization funds, food security, relief for our immigrant workers and, of course, for our Small Businesses through grants and loan products. Additionally, we also have the Technical Assistance available both through our office, Small Business center and the Small Business through regina and her staff, through our staff at oewd and then our partners on the ground in community. And in addition, we have the California Department of insurance issue some fact sheets around how insurance policies can be leveraged during this time. please stand by . That focus on the neighborhoods that we have been doing deep equity work in, the bayview, the mission, chinatown and Central Market and tenderloin. To make sure that those neighborhoods where weve been doing deep work, that that work can continue in those areas. And more specifically we have begun to loosen some of the restrictions of sole proprietors could benefit from the program during this time. Thats been a priority for us as well. In addition to that, we wanted to make sure that at least 50 of the grants that are given out in this new round are supporting businesses that have been in operation five years or longer. It is a symbol of the work that we are doing right now to ensure that our longer timenesses are getting some extra guaranteed attention through this process. And then finally thinking about the phasing that well talk about a little later on. Today is the 500,000 that is being held specifically for those Small Businesses that will be opening later on in the process while they are hoping to hold on and struggling to hold on during this time, because they have not been allowed to reopen yet. That those dollars are going to be specifically tailored to businesses like those found in the later phases that will not open until the middle of july and thereafter. For the San Francisco health, the hardship emergency loan program, really is focusing on those longtime businesses as well, 25 of them, five years or longer, will be guaranteed to have access to that loan program. And also specifically gauze of f the work they do in our organizations and those who have not accessed federal or state relief programs for themselves or their workers that this loan program can go a long way in supporting them. Soar were very deeply grateful for the work of Mission Economic Development Agency and their ability to work with statewide Lending Partners in partnership with the state of california to leverage our milliondollar novemberment. And because of it expanding out to 4 million additional funds that can be made available for Small Businesses. Again in terms of our response, we talk about it again and again and i think that its important to remember, especially as were dealing with the frustrations here that we led the nation in terms of slowing the spread of covid19. Well, i think that were focused on the current moment and i think that its important to remember the context in which were operating with. Potentially thousands of lives saved in addition to a Health Care System that has been spared dealing with the ethical impacts that weve seen across the country in terms of people being turned away from hospitals or not being able to be taken care of in a humane way. That action saved lives and created a very strong condition for us to be able to manage this process moving forward. As all of us know and as ted so eloquently talked about, we have been moving towards and working vigorously around recovery while also continuing to respond and to prepare for additional Public Health concerns that could be created during this time. But we are really focused on these next steps, clear guidance, answering questions in realtime. And a working support for our businesses. The state phases are really the Building Block or what we call the ceiling to doing this work. Youre seeing as the mayor announced earlier an incremental opening that are metered around Health Indicators to make sure that we can maintain stability and management of this crisis as we begin to see more circulation of the public on the streets. And visiting our businesses, which is what we want to see them do while were being responsible about interacting in public and quite specifically supporting our Small Business community. Youre seeing that in time periods of four weeks as we look and consider the risk and mitigations. And then also our continued preference to be coordinated with our regional partners, even though at times there are differences. And that coordination still remains important in terms of best practices, what were seeing on the ground and what the impact of the choices that are being made are having in terms of those indicators. The roadmap is important because people are looking for guidance. Not everyone is happy, we know that, but, certainly, its important to provide at the very least some dates that people can begin planning towards so they can make the very real and hard decisions about how they move forward and manage their business and their workforce in moving into the weeks and the months ahead as we continue to reopening. That goal that is the miss right mission right now to support the Business Community and the Small Business community at large. Again the state phases as a foundation for us, the top line that you see there in terms of california laying out, again, a fourphased process which were managing and following as well, youll see in phase two that we really are talking about different phases, different timelines, in terms of what businesses, lowerrisk businesses, are allowed to open over time. Again, with the focus this week on indoor retail being allowed. Outdoor dining happening. And then some clearer guidelines around how offices can begin to come back to work. Both in terms of what we believe is a way that we can manage that reopening process, but also to reflect a very real planning thats already been underway from the Business Community in terms what were seeing around the percentages of the workforce that people want to bring back. I can answer some questions around that i think a little bit later on in terms of why that is so nuanced. And then, of course, moving into phase three and four moving forward. I know that its a lot and its a very dense process and a confusing process which is why were going out and having conversations with as many stakeholders as possible as often as possible to answer some of these very, very basic and yet very dense, dense volume of questions that we all have, the nittygritty, in terms of how the policy works. The nittygritty to what degree can my business be open. The nittygritty about my health plan and where do i where do i apply, who do i send it to, what is required of me. All of those pieces are keenly in our sights when were thinking of the Small Business community from that perspective to make this process as easy as possible in an already difficult environment. So i know that this is a lot, but it is a lot, just in terms of how much we have to manage in this process. And just know, i mean, ive had a lot of very personal and Difficult Conversations with Small Business owners who dont understand why theyre not being considered until a later date. And what i have to do and share with them as i have shared with some of you, i have very real conversations that we are an advocate for Small Businesses in a Business Community in alignment with our city priorities to manage and maintain Public Health during this time, but we are a strong advocate. And the very real phrases that people use, the very real appliance of what matters to a Small Business and what matters to a livelihood and what matters to employees livelihood and sense of safety, both at work and at home, are very real narratives that are absolutely being shared at policy table whses were having these very arduous discussions. I think that some of the movement that you have seen and some of the movement that youll continue to see, not only at state level but here at the local level, is reflective of that level of conversation to constantly push ourselves to make sure that we are managing this holistically through must pell lenses to get people up and running. And then also the very real complications around what it takes for someone to even go back to work and how to make the public feel comfortable about taking advantage of the spaces that we want to see. And in commissioner laguanas words, to continue to be relative and vibrant during this time. So just in terms of the phased and some of the indicators that were looking at surveillance, of course. A number of new cases and the number of days that are flat in terms of cases coming online and the number of hospitalized patients. Is that flat or decreasing over a period of 14 consecutive days . The number of deaths that are occurring as a very real very real indicator for us. Hospital capacity, in terms of making sure that we can have the toyota take on the surge in this way. Testing the number of tests that are being conducted. Were in a good place right now. We are over the average that you see here currently. At this time in terms of the daily the daily data points that im seeing, in terms of the number of tests that are being provided and also how that work continues to be important in making sure that our communities and our most vulnerable communities, specifically communities of color in the latin x populations and the vulnerable neighborhoods like tenderloin and for our African American and black communities and in the bayview and western edition, being able to have access to testing during this time. And, of course, Contact Tracing to make sure that once we identify people who are sick that theres the capacity in place to make sure that we can reach those individuals. And then, finally, the conversation around protective equipment, personal protective equipment, that the city has on hand to help to deal with these efforts on a consistent basis. So thats basically the work continues. I do want to shout out and i want to do a bit of congratulations that life goes on in this environment for many people. In good ways and in bad ways. The bills still come. Children are still born. And we had our director of Small Business services, angel gardoz, over the weekend have his baby girl on saturday morning in the midst of trying to develop all of these programs, on the phone on the way to the hospital with his wife. And trying to make sure that he is supporting his Small Business community during this time with the last hours that he had before he takes maternity leave. Its reflective of the real stresses that all of us are committed to addressing to make sure that were doing everything that we can for the Small Business community. I just want to make sure that i am being very clear about that, that we are not were not hitting every single mark that we can, but we are noticing when we arent and correcting immediately. The stresses that the Small Business community is facing are ones that we are internalizing. Its certainly not the same. But we are committed to addressing those issue. So i i wanted to make sure to leave this up here for a few more moments so people know where to go, if theyre a business, a worker or nonprofits to come to the website and to gain access to information, realtime information about what resources are available to you. Both as a business, Small Business, and as a worker and nonprofits who serve our community holistically. And a shoutout to reginaa and her team to consistently administer the hotline so that people can get a real person or a real voice on the phone who responds to them directly. I know that dominica has been doing a lot of that work and others. I really just wanted to continue to note the level of the staff commitment there that has really, really driven home how important this work is at this time. And then also for our workers to make sure that they know that theyre protected, that they have Resources Available to them during this time as well. Were an ecosystem and we all rise and fall together. And we need to constantly remind ourselves of that as we balance this very, very difficult time during this process of covid19 and reopening. But with that im very, very happy to answer as many questions as i can. And i think that i took that out. Okay, great. And thank you for having me. Thank you, director torres. And on behalf of the commission wed like to thank you for all of your work. I know that its nonstop. And a hearty congratulations to the birth of his daughter. Commissioner adams . Commissioner adams congratulations, angel, thats awesome. And you and your team have been incredible throughout this whole process. I just have to commend you. You guys have just been great. And i just want to bring up really quick about Office Buildings because ive been going in my office once a week now and i get and i go to my you know, in the financial district, its all mom and pop businesses that support the lunchtime crowds. Any and theres a lot of theres a lot of them that dont know, like, when things are going to get back to normal. I know that with Office Buildings the mayor has said that if you have to work from your office, you cant work remotely, thats okay. But any other guidance on Office Buildings or is that more of a phase three . More specific guidance will be coming shortly, both for the time period that were in right now, commissioner adams, as well as in the future. Again, everything is going to be managed through this phased approach to bringing people back to the workforce. And that is that has worked because its keenly on our minds because we want to make sure that people can come back to work in a safe way and making sure that people feel welcomed back to work in a safe way with a safe experience because we know how much that value is going to be created when people are back on streets. And also timed with as we see indoor retail beginning to open and timed as we begin to see Outdoor Dining begin to be embraced, which we want it to be done in a responsible way. And we know how important that is. So thats why were asking for more clarity. We should be seeing that pretty shortly later on this week. Commissioner adams my concern with Office Buildings was the mom and pop lunchtime places. Exactly. Commissioner adams and i have spoken to a few of them and they all seem to lack answers from me, which theyre all following with the city guidelines. And, again, great job with you and your team. Thank you. And well be reaching out the moment that we have any specific guidance when it goes up on the s. F. Gov site and well include it on our site and well send that to regina and the office of Small Business so she can share it all with you. President laguana commissioner huie. Commissioner huie hi, joaquin, thank you so much for being here today and for your presentation. I just really wanted to thank you for your help with so many of the i mean, obviously, the entire reopening effort but some of the sectors that you and i have worked on. And, you know, i just i think that it was quite a learning experience. And i think that, you know, the way that you supported, you know, the sector for health care and for dentistry to open up was commendable. So, thank you very much. And i noted that retail reopening went distinctly. There was more of a proactive feedback that is still being gathered, i think, up to today. So i really like i really appreciate that, you know, its been an evolution and not like a one you know, onetime kind of, like, situation. So i appreciate that you guys took the feedback and that you guys have really evolved the process to garner to get more feedback prior to directives going out. So thank you very much. Thank you so much, commissioner. Just if i may just briefly respond. I think that its indicative of the leadership of the mayor. I think that its indicative of the of the policy considerations and priorities of the board of supervisors. And also i think that its just in the d. N. A. Of our office to continually move in this direction around getting feedback, building in more time while also moving as quickly as we can to get going. I think that its just indicative of a constantly evolving process so that we can reach as many people as possible and that when weve made mistakes we own up to them. And we consistently apply common sense, logical framework for how we are reopening. When it doesnt make sense, just being honest about that. Because i think what people want to hear right now with so much confusion is just some Straight Talk about what is and is not known. Thats why its important that ted said in his previous presentation, i dont know and ill get back to you. And thats a valid response, especially in this moment, because were all juggling so much. And i think that your patience for that is really important as well. As long as we get back quickly. [laughter] thats important for us. Commissioner huie i think that the loop is almost closed on the dentistry reopening. I think that theres still one piece that needs to be addressed in the directive itself. Im not sure exactly what what the status is of that right now. But i think that we are waiting for the testing to hopefully to be to be a recommendation. Thats right, thats right. Commissioner huie go ahead. Theres no specific date that i have in terms of when that correction and adjustment will be made. But my understanding based on a conversation that were sent back to the head of the dental society is that after their conversation with the Public Health director, that that is forthcoming because of advocacy and because of those conversations. So thank you again for that. Commissioner huie for sure, thank you. And just one little thing was i think that in the last meeting about recovery and this one, you know, oftentimes you have it on the little chart where it talks about how high versus low risk. And one of the things that i was i feel like one of the little nuances that might be also adding the high versus not low need, but maybe not urgent needs. Because i think that child care is specifically like, you know, a high risk but its considered on the lowrisk kind of area. But its really a high need. And i feel that maybe sometimes the merchants are pushing for reopening or feeling impatient for reopening. If its kind of understood in terms of for sure, not low need because we need all of the businesses. But kind of wrapping our minds around just the concept of, like, Certain Industries like child care. We do need to get going in order for the other industries to get going. So allowing us to kind of being able to hold a little more complexity, i guess. Got it. I think thats helpful and i have been looking for just some very simple language to help us to articulate that. I think that is important. Thank you. Commissioner huie sure, thank you so much, joaquin. President laguana commissioner zouzounis. Vicepresident zouzounis thank you, director for being here and for giving, you know, the shoutout to all of our oewd and staff. I totally second that. And i really appreciate everybody right now, especially. I had a question regarding if theres any sunsets of the existing Health Orders that may have become irrelevant due to these new reopening phase orders . In particular the supplemental which requires a mandatory curfew for type 20 and type 21 offsale alcohol license permit holders. There is an exemption, from my understanding, for businesses over 5,000 feet. So this has become an equity issue where safeway can be open past 8 00 p. M. , whereas small Corner Stores and residential and our opportunity neighborhoods as you have called them are forced to close and not sell other goods because of their alcohol license and their limited square footage. So that has been consistently confusing order where we havent gotten clarity on if theres, you know, restaurants inside. Does that change . Can they only not sell alcohol after 8 00 or do they have to close their doors . The police dont understand whatever nuance we have been provided on that as a sector. The police dont get the memo. So theyre just shutting people down. And so if that is if that supplemental in particular, that type 20 and type 21 order of curfew, is irrelevant now that everything is reopening, i think that we need some outreach around it. Both to the agencies and to the sector. And then also, like, a public announcement of that 8 00 p. M. Curfew being sunset. And also if theres going to be any d. O. C. Or any type of outreach around any new d. P. H. Guidance for businesses, because, yeah, thats always a need. You know, as the new guidance comes online, especially for our immigrant and hardertoreach food service businesses. Outreach and an understanding of compliance is huge. So i had a question about that plan as well. Thank you. Certainly. Thank you, commissioner. My understanding as of this moment, things can change so dont hold me to this, is that that order is still in effect. I have not heard about an amendment being made to that order, but i will follow up and i will get you an answer as quickly as i can this week in terms of the standing and the status of the conversation with regards to that discrepancy between the Corner Stores and larger businesses and the hours of operations and what spaces may be available there from an equity lens perspective, okay . So i will i will work on that piece together with regina regin that. And secondly to the d. P. H. Guidance, as you know that many of the people that are assigned to the Community Engagement team at the Emergency Operations center are employees that are usually on twoweek terms. Were having conversations this week about how that workforce is being maintained, sustained, and or changed expanded to deal with these outreach efforts. And then where we are not able to do that were also talking about right now about what existing communitybased partnerships we can leverage to help us with doing this outreach as well. It would be great to hear if there are specific hotspots or specific community where is there might be other ways that we can bring people together based on hours that are most beneficial to the Business Community. And the immigrant Business Community or the bilingual business communities, how to get that guidance to them in a different way that might be useful as well. I think that it would be worth looking into. If there are specific like i mentioned the areas for or populations that need to be that need to be reached out to, that would be helpful for us to know so we can prioritize. I for one have been pretty amazed, especially among i live in the southern part of the city, heavily immigrant, diverse population here in the outer, outer, Outer Mission of geneva. And i always bring this up but my market, Spanish Language owned, immigrant owned, business and market one of the moments they received the information and the turnaround time was like that. And so people need guidance and it changes. The same thing is true for specific spectaculars that we have down here on almanie so the same thing applies with the amount of work. When people are given the information, commissioner, compliance happens. And so if we contact directed to the right place and community, i think that will go a long way. Thank you. President laguana great. Thank you. Commissioner dooley. Commissioner dooley hi, joaquin. Hi, commissioner dooley. Commissioner dooley so we have been working in mission with the supervisor and getting this rolled out for using the using the parking lane. What my question is weve been told that they already sent in an application for via the merchant source association. Is that all just thrown out now . And they have to start over . No, i dont think there should be any starting over thats going on, based on what my understanding is of the nittygritty, commissioner. But let me make sure of that. So just in terms this is more like an administrative question of if anything has to be repeated begin the new program that we have in place . Yeah no, there shouldnt have to be a replication of issues. So let me check in with ted and the team on that. Im talking about them right after this. Commissioner dooley thats perfect, thank you. Absolutely. Great. Ill let her know that im late. So give me one second. Okay. President laguana underscoring how much is being juggled here. So joaquin, not seeing any other commissioner questions, i wanted to, you know, to once again commend and thank the oewd, and the mayor, and the board of supervisors. The professionalism exhibited during this unprecedented crisis has been by and large extraordinary. And i think that we can look at other cities to understand just how well San Francisco has done and how fortunate we are to have the leadership that we do. And i in particular wanted to highlight, you know, what you said about ted being clear about what he knew and what he didnt know. I noticed that too. And that candor is deeply appreciated in this moment because it lets everybody know where we are, and it lets us concentrate on what we dont know and Work Together to resolving those questions. So, thank you for that. I dont think that they have received as much credit as it should, and its been an extraordinarily successful program. Its allowed a lot of private contributions to help make up the difference where the city, which is facing a budget shortfall, would struggle to do so. So that program has been really been successful. And its good to start to see the program roll out and deliver Measurable Results to people that are hurting. Also i wanted to thank your office for coordinating with s. P. A. On the i. E. D. L. For businesses affected by damage due to the protests, to be able to access the iedl. Thats the kind of second level, thirdlevel thinking, that is were just continuing to exhibit of trying to get in front of things and make it easier for the businesses to respond. As a concern from these business groups is how were going to process these outlier situations and how do businesses communicate, whether its appeal or request, you know, what they feel are their reasonable exceptions and if you can help them understand what that process looks like from your end. Certainly. I think it will be useful to continue to utilize the sfosb or 5546134. Again, thats 5546134 or sgosb sfgov. Org as an email address. Some folks have been reaching out directly and i encourage people to do, because it helps me to work with my staff and the office on getting questions answered to these nittygritty things and how were going to work out some of these issues. The again, the same concern exists around the respiratory activity to take place in a closed environment, irrespective of a number of people in a space and can that move sooner. Im looking for any activity that we can see that can be well managed of people coming into a small space and maintaining space between individuals and so were asking Public Health for that guidance, too, and commissioner hueys rat respons, the rate we do that is while understanding for every Small Business that has this question, there is an urgent need in terms of revenue desperately needed in as quick a time as possible that allows this to have something coming in while dealing with this issue. But in those areas, please utilize the email, the phone number for those reaching out to me to continue to reach out to me is all of you commissioners have my cell phone and do not hesitate. Its how i know i dont have a blind spot because there is so much going ton and having your input and your voices, your considerations, concerns is deeply important because we cant manage everything just through our own thinking. And certainly, as much as i would like to be on the street a lot more often as i normally do my job, in this environment being bloo glued to this chair d screen makes it different, right . And so youre my connection. The merchants are my connection on the block in a much deeper way just than here at my table in my livingroom and i do appreciate that and dont hesitate to reach out on questions like these. Its very helpful. Commissioner ukudio. Director torez, thank you for your presentation. This is such an important moment were living in and that were having this conversation. I was appointed to this commission a couple of months before all of this and was not expecting this commission to be as involved in the Economic Future of our city as its become. So first of all, thank you for your service and all of the har work. Of your hard work. Youre kind of like an octopus head with all of these tentacles. I wanted a reality check. What should we be expecting in terms of permanent closures of our businesses . Do you feel this will have done irreprable damage and how bad to you think this is . I want to answer what is possible and always possible for people in San Francisco and San Francisco Small Businesses across divertty, across industry. Theres to denying there has been an absolute traumatic shock, absolute traumatic shock to our Small Business community and the workers that they employ and their holistic families and communities. That cannot go unnoticed or unrecognised. Its just real. The reports that we see, the stories that we read about closures that are already happening, not only in San Francisco but across the country, across the bay area as a whole are maybe just the tip of the iceberg. We dont know yet. We dont know to what degree this is going to be devastating as a Small Community and industry and entire economy or if it will be a sustained blow and bruise that needs time to heel. Again, its very real whats happening right now, which i why i think so many of these moments of Silver Lining of relief provided, the reality and the real true en efficacy and valuef hope thats being provided to Small Businesses as we open during this time, sometimes allows us to move forward. In very difficult times. Poulthats all been the San Francisco way and thats always been the San Francisco ethos. Whats empowering is that some of the work thats necessary has already been underway and this just now a bit more air behind it, to make sure it happens in this moment. And issues of how we deal with our public spaces, of how we deal with shared paces, o spacet were willing to see or not see, especially when it comes to Racial Injustice and systemic racism, theres a correlation to what we need to see in this moment. And during this movement, as im constantly reminded of people here in San Francisco but elsewhere. I think we have to wait and see what the impact of our actions right now will have. So i think its too early to call the game and i dont think were there yet and i think youre seeing studies that have been disproven in terms of how quickly how Small Businesses, certainly, a restaurants, certainly, have been in this moment. And surprisingly, how fast government has been in this moment, which i think redefined what a government is during times like these. I think thats real, as well. A lot more work to be done, commissioner, and were not there to call the game yet and were here to continue playing it and continue the metaphor and were in it to win. If i could be a little cheesy for a moment, but i really think having a game mentality right now with such high stakes is important and it really will take a lot ofs rising to the occasion. I just want to say, i know that this weighs on all of you the way that it weighs on so many of us because we have a collective responsibility to serve people right now and people are hurting. In ways that we cant even truly fathom. Certainly looking across the screen right now, when we talk about race and the pain simply based on the history and color of our skin. There is so much economic injustice were working collectively on. I think that work needs to continue as we go on through these days and weeks and months ahead. So for this opportunity im very grateful is i think well be very, very proud as we already should be in terms of the work were doing right now. Thank you, director torez. Dr. Torez, that was beautiful and well said. Thank you. We appreciate you and we appreciate the oewd and this is just such an incredible moment and, in particular, i appreciate what you said about hope. I think we have to focus. We have to open up for Public Comment. Is anyone on the line for Public Comment . Dominica, sf gov. Great. Youre free to go, directo, dirr torez. Thank you. Next item. Discussion on draft statement in support of black lives matter and the view of the office of mall Business Mission statement, discussion and possible action item. This is item 3 and sf gov tv, i have a slide to present. So obviously events have been fastmoving, seems to be the tenor of the times and we drafted a statement over the weekend on behalf of the commission in support of the protests and black lives matter. The San Francisco Small Business commission wishes to express its strong support for in solidarity with protesters in San Francisco and all over our country and the world who seek an end to racism and prejudice. We believe everyone should have an opportunity to build a Better Future and skin color should never be a barrier to doing so. As Small Business owners, we recognise we have power, however modest, to help create the equity that protesters are seeking. We commit ourselves as a commission to using this power to do so. And in recognition of the efforts of protesters, we will be amending our Mission Statement to reflect this commitment and establish it as a core principle guiding our commission. We commend the efforts of mayor breed and the board of supervisors who have used this moment to advance the goals of equity and justice to both words is action. We are your allies and will do everything in our power to make San Francisco a better city for all. We wish to thank and commend the team organizers who organize the mission at the high school last weekend, bringing 18,000 people together in peace and solidarity. You give us joy, hope and inspiration for the future. We are humbled by your leadership. Finally, we want to acknowledge the Small Business owners all over San Francisco who have expressed local support in solidarity with protesters, even though in some cases, their own businesses were damaged during the demonstrations and despite already struggling due to the global pandemic. Weve never been prouder of this community and are grateful for the kindness and leadership San Francisco Small Businesses are exhibiting. I open this up to commissioner comment. And i will click on to the next page which has the Mission Statement up. So i am proposing that we amend the Mission Statement to include equity as a core principle and value and i see commissioner cartahena, you are recognised. President , i just wanted to thank you personally for taking the lead in this and to everybody. This was something that sharky actually brought up and honestly, were all with it, but i just want to show everybody the unity that we have on this commission and the mindfulness of the needs of our various cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds and that were united and that were here. Our purview is to protect Small Businesses but we stand in Small Businesses and stand in solidarity with all of the protesting. And were so proud of our youth, organizing in such a capacity and also doing it so peacefully and that shows the world what city we have in San Francisco and im proud to be a part of this moment and i unfortunately, it has to take something to heinous of the injustice that goes on daily for people of co color in this country. Commissioner dooley. Thank you for putting this together so recalledl rapidly as part of our duty as a city family to move forward with carrying this work on. Thank you. Thank you, i agree, as well. So that everybody understands what is in front of us, domincia put up the flag there of our Mission Statement. We may not be able to draft the language during this meeting, but what we would be proposing is to amend the language to include equity as a concept excuse me, as a core principle. And i think between this meeting expect next meeting, we can come up with draft language. There wasnt enough time to do it with the level of thoughtfulness that i thought was necessary. And so, perhaps, working with communities and input from others, to come up with language that would identify that as a core principle guiding this commission and i see several commissioners have comments and ill continue to recognise you. Commissioner ukudio. Thank you, commissioner laguan. Laguana. I want to say how appropriate it is the small commission take this up. I remember going through the process of figuring out how to even start a Small Business and what was involved and i would go to the sba and take the free or lowcost courses on second and market. And i remember going into the rooms and thinking how diverse the rooms were and how all ages and all genders and all races and ethnicities were represented in this community of folks who wanted to strike out on their own and live their dream. And i was lucky enough to receive Small Business of the year from the state senate. I remember going to the state senate and seeing all of the Small Business awards this past year and being so proud of how much of a representative sample Small Business owners seem to be in our city. I dont know the exact figures, but im pretty sure familyowned in small industries. So opening up a Small Business, especially if its promoted and facilitated by a city can be one way to actually create equity in a society. And i see that as definitely something that we should be fighting for. And just taking my own example, i moved to San Francisco with no money in my pocket. I knew no one in the city. I never could have dreamed of owning my on Small Business and now i have the privilege of having my own spot and i can support myself through a Small Business that i had the ability to create and, you know, i dont come from a wealthy family. My business was not paid for by anyone. I had a lot of help to make it happen, but now i can stand on my own two feet. That means a lot for me and i think it can be a mechanism to lift people up out of poverty and give them power and support their families. Im glad were doing this. Thank you, commissioner l aragua for taking this on. I think a lot of us participated in the marches and i was proud to see how Small Businesses stepped up to support the protesters, the marches, whether through delivering water and masks and food, opening up their space for shelter for bathrooms and putting signs up in their boards and windows and using the physical space that we have as one of the few things that we can contribute, the actual physicality to amplify the message of support and allegiance and community and its been really beautiful to see our community, the Small Business community do our part and support the moment of fire that we see in our country and in our city. So im proud of the Small Business community and city and how it has shown up for this movement and im looking forward to continuing to do so. So thank you, sharky. Commissioner adams . I want to echo what everybody said with william and manny have said and i think we need to do this. I was just looking if you listen to our conversation on the item beforehand, you know, equity came up a lot and in we make things happen and work, we need to have that in our Mission Statement and i would totally support changing that. Thank you. Commissioner huey. Yes, i mean, i totally agree and i think this is a really good piece to add to our Mission Statement. I think its important. I think that this has been something weve been striving for and to be able to say it publically is really important. One little piece that i that was the first time i think i had seen the draft of what you had written and i thought it was really good. One little thing was just the piece about however modest and i dont know if i i just think the Small Business community has been such leaders in this whole space and they do have such an opportunity. I would like to empower Small Business leaders and Small Business owners to really be engaged in their communities and understand the power that they do embody just by owning a business there. And think, you know, that Small Business ownership can be a huge shift for not only somebodys future but also for communities. And so i just want to not be too humble in our stance, but i think were really important in all of our communities and i think that this is where people connect and this is where people share ideals and are going to be communitcommunicating and i thie an important part of this conversation. I totally agree, also, that my hope for joining this commission when i joined was to be able to give opportunities for mom and pop kind of businesses, new immigrant opportunities, like, people who never thought they could do something for themselves but wanted to or had a desire to. People who just want to hustle. I just wanted that to be possible in sanfrancisco and for people to be able to feel empowered by that and then hopefully spread that sense of empowerment. And so i do love the statement and i just want us to really share that sense of, like ive seen it across the board. Were all leaders. Im really honored to be working with you all in this body and i think that every time we meet, i feel like we become more of a proactive body and we embody the sentiment of our greater Business Community and try to advance the goals of making this city more equitable for all. I fully support a change to our Mission Statement and charter. I know we talked about bringing the equity lense is working with the office of Racial Equity prior to this recent surge of protests and demands. I like that the shawwe see a lor voice is being used as a wedge and a tool to be legitimatized, the Greater Movement thats happening right now. The tenderloin prior to this has experienced a lack of response to damage, property destruction and this is common in lowincome communities, where the police are not responding at an appropriate rate and this is an issue that remains to be the case. In terms of some of the action items that i know, the industry and merchant groups im part of will be taking up is increasing our mutual aid and response networks. Well be partnering with groups who have resources and training for alternatives to calling the police or lean looking at talking to the department of Public Health and having some training with how do you deal with someone who has Mental Health issues and doing something in front of your business that is affecting customers, and whatnot. I think we need to expand the resources in the Small Business community and i think this is a very appropriate time to call on our city to end and get off the books all of our broken window era spoils and fees policies an. We talked about this before but i think this is more important now, fees that are preemptive pupunishments that incriminal businesses for loitering, gra graffiti and those sorts of things that are used as a tool for the criminalized communities around these Small Businesses, especially ones in the lower income areas. So those are tangible demands that the Small Business community and i know the sector im in will be taking up and im really proud to be support this statement, as well. So thanks, everybody. Thank you, commissioner. Commissioner ukudio. I just forgot that i wanted to mention the potential idea for us in addition to changing the Mission Statement, there is, of course, a National Movement to identify blackowned businesses in cities and to file support to those businesses as a way of altering the systems of power and, of course, we have only about 3 of San Francisco is africanamerican, Something Like that. This is happening to cities all over the country and show we want to walk the walk and not just talk the talk. Director, do we identify businesses and would we collate a list that commissioner ukudio recommends . Director, the city does not gather Demographic Data in relationship to Business Ownership in that manner. That said, there is already a development of blackowned restaurants and i can work with oewd who does in our neighborhood, in the investment Neighborhoods Program and we can work to identify businesses, blackowned businesses in the city. Commissioner dooley. indiscernible . Blackowned businesses and restaurants that is being gathered and sent out regularly. And so, the next time it comes up on my facebook feed, i will send it to agenda. Thank you. This is regina. And so, director actually, director rebas just texted me to say theyre ar working on it no. So well get it to you. That would be fantastic. And so seeing no other commission i guess i should move to the amendment. I am moving that we amend our Mission Statement to include equity as a core principle guiding this commission. Do i have a second . Hold on one second dominica, i see youre saying Public Comment, but shouldnt i move on this before Public Comment . Or do i take Public Comment . You take Public Comment before the motion. Before the motion, great. Any Public Comment . No callers. Great, seeing none, Public Comment is closed. And i move that we whatever i just said. [ laughter ] can you say it again . Ok, i think i said it better last time. Ill try to do my best. I move that we amend our Mission Statement to include the principle of equity as a core value guiding this commission. Ill second. Motion by commissioner laguana to amend the Small Business Mission Statement, to include the core value to the commission. Seconded by commission adams. Role call. Im sorry core principle guiding this commission. Great. Role call vote. role call . Motion passes 70. Thank you. And thank you, everyone. Its an honor and privilege to serve with all of you. The next item, please. So before we move on to the next item, the statement, i believe, if we want to make it an official statement of the commission, then we do need to take action on this statement, as well. And so, i would move that we post this statement to our website as the commissions statement in support of black lives matter. Ill second. Motion by commissioner laguana to pose the aforementioned statement to the commissions website and seconded by commission adams. And role call vote role call . Motion passes 70. Thank you. Next item, please. Item 4 continued discussion update on the city budget and budget adjustment required of the office of Small Business, fiscal year 2021 and possible action item is the director of the office of Small Business. Thank you, commissioners. Im tanill take a moment to she screen with the budget information that was provided with the agenda. I wanted to give you background of the office since we have a good number of commissioners who are relatively new to the commission. So the Small Business commission as an official commission started in may of the year 2,000. One fte is assigned to the commission and we havent had an increase in staffing support since the year 2000. The current fte, which i has two funnings. Onfunctions. Charter commission, nearly all charter commissions have a dedicated Commission Secretary and the Small Business commission is a chartered commission and it became a chartered commission in 2003 and at to time, you do not have a dedicated Commission Secretary. Charter commissions have policy staffs that do not fulfill commission secretarial duties. So they may be staff that works in different areas of a department, but theres never a sharing of secretarial duties and policy staff duties. And the funding that supports the commission comes from general funds. The office of Small Business is also general funded and it has the Small Business Assistance Center. That came into being in may of 2008 and through a ballot measure. Its assigned it opened with three ftes and currently we have three ftes with the office of Small Business and we have one person who speaks spanish, one who speaks chinese. We have one temporary position that i would say to recently get but the temporary positions are not permanent positions as the three ftes. And so it is a position for three years. And we have 19 months remaining and the individual who fills that position speaks spanish. Our Client Services in the First Six Months this fiscal year of 2020 increased over the fiscal year. We have my staff and dominica has responded to 2,380 requests for assistance. And varying degrees in terms of assisting them through varying degrees and navigating the process, access to what financial assistance, how to best handle dealing with their staff and now at least 80 in the last week and a half are inquiries are around where does my business fit into the phasing conscience the phase schedule as there are a lot of businesses that are not specifically identified in that phase schedule. Our Client Services since the office of Small Business opened has seen a 77 increase from the year 2008 to 2009 to the end of the last fiscal year that ended in june of 2019. The temporary position started in the fiscal year 20182019 and i think our stats show that this temporary position allows the office of Small Businesses to serve and so, it demonstrates the need that the amount of staff that we have, that there is a demand for our services and our ability to be able to respond to that demand a really predicated on the number of individuals that we have to serve the Business Community. The San Francisco business portal was up until this last year was being managed through Digital Services and we are not going to be doing any more Technology Enhancements to the business portal. Much of what was being planned, it will now be service through the Onestop Center at 49 south venice. Were talking about equity and the individuals that our business councillors serve. The highest percentage of who we counsel are businesses in their prestartup mode, which is very critical because this really helps the businesses know what is ahead of them so that theyre planning early in advance of what are the citys requirements, connecting them to resources, so if they have not drafted a business plan, were connecting them to one of our Economic Development organizations. To help them with that. If theres a need for access to capital and financing, we connect them there. And then, the next kind of too high categories are then startups which are businesses that are in their first theyre just about to open up into their first year and need some additional help and then, also, we do work with existing businesses. The demographics i think this speaks to who were serving. So i think commissione there waf africanamericans in San Francisco and it definitely it is definitely under the 5 that i think is the last analysis around 2015. Were at 7 and this is 7 . So i think were able to serve our percentages of who were serving in terms of the community, i think, speaks to the importance of our office. The local business registry is general funded and it started in 2015 when the registry was established by legislation. The Historic Preservation grants was established by voters. It has one fte program manage expert then we have one fte Technical Assistance coordinators that is housed in the center. October 16 working with the mayors budget office, there was a commitment t commitment to doe for the Historic Preservation grant at a Million Dollars per yearly allocation or that Grant Program. Last year i fiscal year 2019, wd two addbacks, added to the Business Assistance grant and then one fte added, as well. And that funding was 54,000 added to the firefighte fte so d startothe last half of the fiscr and then another 75,000 for moving into fiscal year 2021. And in was funding that was already allocated for this position. But funding allocated in the position, but interestingly enough, the funding went into the Legacy Business Program and not necessarily into the line item for salaries. As of now, knowing the directives that have been presented to all of the departments, that is likely a position that may not able to fill. Some key also budget items is key considerations in terms of budget items their bega items tg discussions with the president and we would have had a different presentation had covid19 not occurred. But the new legacy business position would have helped us to elevate on a marketing to help market the program and this is something that both rick and i have seen that is much needed for the program. It definitely would help with Grant Management and then would also take on Additional Communications for the office. So again, where we have business counselors who will be handling the upkeep of the business portal, they deal with our communications in the eblasts were sending out so social media, taking that responsibility off of them and again, it allows more Client Service time. So that was some important components of that important position that i was hoping that we would able to have. In addition, we were hoping to be able to work on creating a new position that would take on the administrative duties of the Small Business commission. And then for the Business Assistance grant, again, the budgeting for that, we are almost for the 1 million, were close, over 700,000 of it is now, allocated for the rent stabilization grant for the Commission Direction and we have maintained that as the priority grant to fund. And if we are to receive any additional funding to support the Business Assistance grant, we will need a new Grant Program because the new Grant Program, we cannot administer it without additional staff. So moving into what the budget locks liklooks like and i did hl presentation. Our fiscal year with all of the positions and our fringe benefits, health insurance, pension, all of that, is 1,007,000. If we did Cost Increases only for this next fiscal year and im just going to really work on the next fiscal year 2021, in this presentation, it would increase roughly by 63,000. With the enhancements of including the legacy business position and the Commission Secretary position, then its 1. 300 and 6,000. With the proposed budget cuts and in early preliminary discussion, while still challenging, the Office Asking to take a look at cutting its budget by 111,000, which is almost 5 . So its much less than the initial 10 that is being asked by most departments. So working on cutting by that amount, this means the fiscal year Salary Budget would be 980,900, roughly and that definitely reflects not having the legacy business position or an additional Commission Secretary or a position for Commission Secretary. And its being done by offsetting some salary savings by allocating funding from the Disability Access fund to one of the Current Business counselors who is administering that program and then another 30 of offsetting the staff in sbdc who provides Technical Assistance to the legacy businesses. And then in the category of overhead, the overhead is our rent and its paying for sharing costs for hr and Financial Support those who entities that support the larger oewd, entities that are lumped under that category. Ill move over to the far right and im proposing we cut about 11,000 out of that because we do not really process grants and if the legacy Business Assistance Grant Program is not funded, which does take up some time with the finance team in oewd, then we will not be needing that support. Our operational expenses increased a little bit for the fiscal year 2021 from 89,000 to 93,000 and with the budget allocation, i am proposing a 10,000 cut there. For the Legacy Business Program, our budget al lets case in this fiscal year was 1,921 and so that was a combination o and wel see it broken out but thats the one million grant allocation, the 5 million addback, the annual 20,400 that is allocated for operations and promotions and then there was additional there was additional money not used in the Previous Year that we looked over and in addition, 150,000 that was allocated to help with Disability Access, ada improvements. We took those things and added those to the Business Assistant grant because we felt it was important to try to fund that grant as much as possible, at least, for this fiscal year in light of the covid crisis. With no budget enhancements, the Legacy Business Program will return back to its one Million Dollars grant allocation and then the 20,400 for us to work on operational expenses for that program. If we are to for the Business Assistance grant, if theres going to be any funding for it, we really rick and i feel strongly it does need to move into its new program, particularly if we are not going to have a physical body helping manage the Grant Program. Rick has developed a new type of Business Assistance grant. For it to have any substantive meaning, it would need to be additional funding would need to be there for it to have any substantive meaning. What i am proposing is that in dealing with the budget cuts is that we keep the Legacy Business Program at one million 95,000, almost 96,000. So the 75,000 that was allocated for that position, because it wasnt specifically allocated into salaries, but allocated into the program that we maintain that so that we can continue to work on tornad wn contract out working on doing more marketing and development of that program. And the Disability Access fund, this is not a general funded. That fund is collected through h 4 so when you register each year, the city collects an additional 4. This is a statement requirement and i am anticipating a reduction in this is somewhat of a projection of a reduction n in reduction in the number of businesses. So in total, and i have presented this fiscal year, the total budget is 2,588,000. Ed this ther2,588,000had there , there would be 2,000,522, almost 23,000. With the enhancements, it would be 2,000,758 or o 59,000. How we have such a big increase for this particular year and our baseline grant is one million, Program Expense allocations is consistent. We had the addback for the grants at 500,000 and the addback for the position position at 54,000. The Carry Forward of grants the Carry Forward of unused grant amounts or the unused one million grant amount from the fiscal year 1819 was 179,000 and there were reserves that were relieved as a part of an initial reserve package back in 2016 and that was 25,000. And then, there was money on reserves for doing the accessibility work for the legacy businesses at 143,000 and so thats how we got to the total of the 1,900,000. And then, we outlined the expense, the rent stabilization grant expense is at 728,000. I think that i will and so on. We have our contracts out with our contract out so that we can start putting up slack and we hope to have that ready to go by the end of june. Again, there was a delay in the issuing of the contracts just because of the covid situation. And so moving into 2021, our baseline grants will be a Million Dollars and our baseline Program Expenses 20,400 and then, i will be working very hard to maintain this 75,000. If were not able to have that in a position that we are able to utilize in relationship to a be able to do a contract. And the reason perhaps, just to give more explanation. It not being put into a position means that this funding is here for, essentially, a year and if it were to go into a position, then that position is there for continued obligated funding. This is why i think it may be more challenging to get that position funded, so thats what its original intention is for excuse me, not funded by allocated into as a continual position into the office. Our rent stabilization grant, we are budgeting for 800,000 and so, meeting the current obligations and then based on the average number of grants we get the year. And we will have a Carry Forward of 196,000 from last year and then well use 15,000 for continued use of putting up slack and the 75 for our marketing which one of the key components is developing a very interactive and userface website for our legacy businesses so that it takes them easy to search, find. Right now, you have to scroll through a very stagnant long list. So with that, thats the end of the budget presentation and im happy to take questions. Thank you. Any commissioner comment . Commissioner ukudio. So i wanted to see if i can simplify it, to make the budget reductions work, basically how youre doing it is cutting some of the programs budget . Is that the short answer . Is it the way youll make it happen, the programs will get cut a little bit . To a certain degree, yes. If youre taking a look at one of our key programs is the Business Assistant centers and cutting some of that salary and trying to offset it in different ways. Though, the person who is in the sbdc program, it would definitely be a salary reduction. And then, trying to offset some through our operational expenses and then through the program cut wouldnt that we would not be at this particular point in time asking for additional funding for the Business Assistance grant at this particular time. And other than the Small Business development center, will there be any proposals for salary or wage cuts in any other parts of the department . No. Thank you. Any other commissioner questions or comments . A couple quick questions, director. One, it sounds like one stop is potentially on the bubble and i know that thats something that a lot of people have had some interest in. How on the edge are we with respect to that . You know, if you had to put some odds on whether we could pull that off or not, where are you . It will be i think one of the key elements going back to the position that was allocated by the board of supervisors, taking some of the responsibility of the communications side of the Small Business Assistance Center and having that position help do that add that communication as part of not only marketing for the legacy business but the marketing of the office, right . So that frees up more business councillor time for us to then be able to have a greater flexibility of being able to rotate and have that time at the onestop. Not, the one thing that i just to make very clear, is we are as a city going into when we begin to open up in our covid phase, well need to be mindful of how many people are there and in that onestop. Again on, with the social distancing. And so there is the possibility that even our presence there may need to be delayed, but i still may be delayed just because of the social distancing and were not social to permitting. And so, the city does feel that its very important to have our presence there. And so, i think that is my answer to your question. We may be able to facilitate some of it. The number of individuals coming in through city hall is reduced, then allocating staff to the onestop because we are having a reduction in the number coming into city hall. So tbd, essentially. Correct. And then, at a top level, it sounds like theres a pretty big question about whether there will be enhancements or cuts or neutral. Do you have a sense of what way the wind is blowing there . Is there something the commission can do to help . Well, i think the commission yes, the commission can definitely provide some help. Our department is going to be an essential department ensuring as part of the economic rebuilding of this city in terms of providing support to the businesses and you as a commission being able to have a fulltime policy person who can help develop and do research and policy for you, i think is also critical and right now, you do not have that. I agree. So if you can come up with or help us identify tangible things that the commission can do that would be constructive and helpful to that regard, please let us know because im sure all interested, we have all have an interest in having well researched and well thought out positions on policy and particularly in the past year, just because the situation demands it, weve taken a proactive stance and having that fire power from perspective of research and policy has been super helpful, but we also recognise that our resources are stretched very thin. And so any tangible advice you could give us, were all ears. Will do and thank you. Is there any other commissioner comment before i move to Public Comment . Are there an there any members e public who would like to make comment on public 4 . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Next item, please. Item number 5, action item. Commissioners, any questions . No. Any members of the public who would like to make comments . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed and i move that what do we do with my motion to approve the minutes. How h abou about that . I second it. [ laughter ] motion by commissioner adams to approve the draft Meeting Minutes and seconded by commissioner dooley. Role call vote. role call motion passes 60. Next item, please. Item 6, directors report, update on the office of Small Business and Small Business Assistance Center. Department programs, policies and legislative matters, announcements from the mayor and announcements regarding Small Business activities. Thank you, commissioners. To provide some quick updates. So to date, our staff has assisted just over 2400 businesses in and i know my budget presentation said 23, but then i took a quick look at the Business Records and were now over 2400. We did an additional six eblasts since we last spoke and director torez went over the phasing in and i noted at our last meeting, the office of business staff is assisting the guidance and engagement with the Business Community around hair salons, business shops, accupun accupuncturists. This is from Business Engagement developing those protocols, i will say that the recommendations that the commission put forward to the Economic Development or the economic Recovery Task force indicated outreach and engagement as we are bringing businesses back on. And so i also want to underscore again, the recommendations that you submitted to the task force are being taken into consideration. The other element that i also want to add in relationship to the phasing in as were talking about the current light of the situation around black lives matter and businesses and our statement around equity and the phasing in of some of the businesses when were looking at, like, hair salons and barber shops and nail salons, some of these types of businesses are very intrical into our communities of color. And often are businesses where the business formation is sole proprietors in terms of loss and not just businesses that employ one or more individuals. Thats very intrical in terms of an equity perspective. Im almost extremely appreciative that director torez and his team also really took into consideration about these businesses are going to need a particular im going to say a satisfied but of that funding to ensure that some is there to support them as those businesses in that industry are very important to our communities and because right now, theyre slated for a july 13th to a midaugust phasein and again, the delay of those businesses being able to open can have significant impacts to not only the businesses but those communities. We were going to hear about code codifying the business prospect, certain classes of businesses right now as it stands are eligible to go in the cb3 program which is once the application is complete, theyre on the Consent Agenda within 90 days. They were to be routed through the cbd3 process. In a very simplified way, ill just say, they recommended that these businesses just be exempt from the conditional use process. I think there may be a little more nuancing to that and so, supervisor peskins office is needing more time based on the planning commissions recommendation and so we anticipate having that legislation back before you on the 22nd and, again, the land use component is thats one of the elements in your land use section of the business tracker. And then, tentatively is scheduled on june 22nd, supervisor peskins fee for delivery apps and that is another item on your economic Recovery Task force list of recommendation. And also, ive been in conversation with supervisor mandelmans office and shes hel introduce the soft story ordinance by a year to two years. And so that there is more time for Property Owners to be able to get that work done. And because the deadline was september and so, we do have 4 roughly 450 properties which consist of one or more commercial tenants in each of those properties that are still theyre in various stages right now of the soft story but they have not completed that process. And so, the next step that i would like to work with director torez on is a means of us being able to identify those properties that have not started their soft story and if there is a bar or a place of entertainment and or if a restaurant is interested that we try to fasttrack those soft story permits now so that we can get at least that soft story work done while the businesses close. But for a retailer, seawant we o extend the sometime because soft story work takes less time than in a place like a bar, a restaurant or a place of entertainment and so, at least that will give another year to two years out for the property other than to complete that work unless, of course, the business and the property other than come to an agreement to do it sooner than later. And so that was on your list as well. And then i think the last sort of element in terms of as thank you commissioner laguana for your statement and the urging of the commission for the commission and the office adding equity into our Mission Statement. This will be an important component to help with a guiding element in terms of taking a look at legislation because often within the city, i hear about economic and equity in relationship to our equity and economic in relationship to jobs but not Business Ownership. And so, you know, mayor lee created the lbe program which is the local Business Enterprise program because we cant identify businesses as minority women, lgbt, so we have the lbe program. And, you know, there are theres been legislation in the last couple of years that have actually reduced participation of the lbe program and mayor lee set that up, specifically, so that particularly minority womenowned businesses were able to get more of the share of the citys contracts and to do business with the city. And thats an important component, also, in the development of equity and Economic Equity for businesses. So i appreciate the commission in making the statement and its interest in adding equity to our Mission Statement. With that, those are the key elements that i wanted to provide for you today. Thank you. And any commissioner questions or comments . Seeing none, director, thank you for your comments and i appreciate your support and i also appreciate i think its a good time to acknowledge the extraordinary work that osb is doing. It seems like just one thing after another, global pandemics and protests and budget cuts and all of the stuff, but were i think doing a far better job than what could be expected under the circumstances to make sure were serving or Small Business community and i think so far, at least, were fulfilling our mission so thank you and thank osb staff for everything youre doing. And so with that, is there any Public Comment on the directors report, item number 6 . No. Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. And next item, please. Item 7, commissioners reports, allows, president , Vice President and commissioners to make announcements of interest to the Small Business Community Discussion items. Commissioners, any reports . Commissioner dooley. I sent a lengthy letter composed and sent to many people by the north Beach Business Association just outlining again what were all dealing with and, you know, reminding those who are higher than us, like our Congress People that we are out here and we need help and if they want us to not have empty corridors in the future, they need to really put their mind to it. So we just wanted to put that out there as a statement. I know that the Council District merchants will be doing their own statements, but we just felt it was important to put it out there for people to see that were watching and were listening and we have needs. Commissioner dooley, i got that report and i wanted to, again, thank you for forwarding this to us and also encourage other commissioners as they receive letters or any formal communication from the business communities that they interact with regularly, to please forward them to director dikandrizy or dominica so that we candie can all be better infd about what the Small Business community needs. I think it is important and good that we advocate for ourselves and talk amongst ourselves to work to accomplish these goals. Thank you. Commissioner ukudio. Thank you. We are trying to illuminate have valencia corridor. Were jealous of 24th street and the philmore and parts of north beach and i have received a quote from the vendor that did philmore to illuminate valencia permanently and were looking at the 14th to the 24th and i got quote for all the way from chavez and it will cost 20,000 to no 30,000 to have it professionally installed and were trying to figure out a kickstarter to crowd fund this money, but there are a chunk of businesses that have reopened on valencia and its unfortunately pretty anemic out here on valencia and very little street traffic and most of the businesses are boarded up. Even the ones opened, you would barely be able to tell. Im nervous about the longterm health of this corridor, this proportionate amount of food and businesses and a lot of bars slated to be opened in the process and we have a couple of venues between stage works, the marsh and the chapel and we have a lot of venues, a lot of bars and a lot of indoor restaurants and nervous about valencia and hoping to come up to attract as one tool to support our local businesses in the mission and on valencia specifically. Thank you. Thank you. I look forward to valencia street being the envy of all of the other Business Districts and i hope you have successful in your mission because i, for one, would be delighted to see beautiful lights and more artistry in our commercial districts. Im a huge advocate of that and i hope we can have a lot of it moving forward. And so, if theres any way the commission can support other than just helping to get the word out and amplify your message, dont hesitate to let us know. 30,000. [ laughter ] thats how. Well, perhaps we should lobby the director to reallocate a portion of her budget. [ laughter ] so i would say that offer i just made, of course, goes out to any district or any commercial corridor. If theres anything anything thl Business Commission to make your corridor look better and more beautiful, to help make the city more magical, we are your ally and we will support you 100 and we will do anything that is within the commissions power to amplify that message. And is there any other commissioner comment . So with that, ill go to my brief report. Theres been a few economic Recovery Task force meetings. We did get pretty much the exact same report that you all received from ted conrad on shared spaces. And ive been vocal in advocating, as i just did and as i will continue to do for shared spaces to be soon as an artistic opportunity for the city. I did last weekend meet with the coalition of online and zoom meeting with the coalition of gym owners who approached me, looking for assistance, navigating the current Health Orders and the opening of the various spaces. Im very interested because it does seem in the personal Services Sector its a complex area and theres a lot of considerations and so, i want to commend them for reaching out and thank them for organizing and i also want to encourage other business sectors to organize likewise and i advocate for your interest as a group to the extent that you can because i think that one voice can speak loud but many voices will always speak louder in thats the best, i think, way to be heard at oewd and dph is to organize and i want to commend the gym owners. Theyve done a really good job of organizing not just their strategy of how to deal with this, but also best practices and standards for the gym industry is really interesting learning about that. And i think thats the end of my report. Is there any members of the public who would like to comment on item number 7 . No. Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Item number 8, new business. Any new business, commissioners . Ok, im going to introduce a little bit of new business here. While i was vocally advocating for beautiful spaces online about shared spaces, director tumlin, sf director tumlin replied to a comment and encouraged Business Owners to sign up for notices on shared spaces and i noticed he was using some software called air table. And i did some asking around and apparently, the city has a contract with air table. As i think many of you will recall, when i was elected president , one of the things i was real big priority for me was improving our communication with the Small Business community in giving them and opportunity to sign up for either emails or text messages, particularly about subjects that may be germane or relevant to their business. And so, what i hope to do is to have osb be able to take advantage of this air table form and begin to collect that information from the Small Business community so that we can community kate with them. And i will be following up conversations with the director about this, but wanted to let you all know this is something that may come up before us in the future. I think it will be helpful to our mission because i think a lot of times, theres a lot of Business Owners out there that dont realize how important a forum the commission can be for advancing their interests with policy makers. And so, is there any other comment on new business . Any Public Comment on new business . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Next item, please. Sf gov tv, issue of Small Business slide. We will close. Go ahead. Im sorry. President laguana, i request we close in memory of george floyd and shawn monterosa and all of the support with the active protesters across america to let them know that the office of San Francisco Small Businesses across america stabbestandwith you that all cof color endure and wont rest until thats not a case any more. Yes. And with all of my heart. Is the slide showing, dominica. Yes. We start with a reminder the Small Business commission we close with the reminder that the Small Business commission is the official public forum to voice your. S anconcerns about the economicn San Francisco and that the office of Small Businesses is the best place to get answer about doing business in San Francisco during local emergency. If you need assistance, particularly at this time, find us online or via telephone. As always, our services are free of charge and i dont have the language in closing. But do we have a motion to ajourn . Motion to ajourn. Second. Role call vote. Pai. role call . The meeting is chair peskin good afternoon and welcome to the land use and transportation meeting for june 8, 2020. I am the chair of the committee, aaron peskin, joined by vice chair ahsha safai and dean preston. Our clerk is miss erica major. Miss major, do you have any announcements . Clerk yes. Because of the covid19 pandemic, the board of supervisors and legislative chamber are closed. However, members will be participating in the meeting