Point number one, this item should not be on the agenda today for reasons everyone has already stated. Modified hours will not alleviate the adjacent home owners concerns about allday ambient noise, yet they will restrict Public Access to the park during required offpeak hours as determined by rec and parks own survey. This compromise, while understanding a way to resolve the issue, its a loselose proposition, benefits neither side, and has no evidentiary basis. Point number three, if the commissioners push forward, despite the concerns, i would suggest nothing less than 6 30 a. M. To 9 30 p. M. Operating hours is reasonable. When i commute to work in menlo wash, i have to catch my bus at 7 00 a. M. I return home no earlier than 7 00 p. M. I have to feed my family dinner, especially during summer when its light, we deserve access to this beautiful space. In any future meetings, i hope, regarding this topic, i would request the home owners provide their disclosure packages to prove they did not knowingly move to this situation. And i would like an objective neutral party to conduct a sound assessment to determine if noise from this park is any more significant than noise from any park of the city. [ applause ] also, as my addendum, please fix the restrooms. Theyve been broken over a decade. And we need to pee also. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please, and as they are coming up, i have david, andrea, and james. And then after that, anyone who hasnt filled out a blue card, come on up and you can speak. Go ahead. In doing so, they deem their own interest in a speedy resolution to be more important than the interest of the many people who actually use this park. If the department can do this at upper douglass, they can do it at any other park in the city. Our shared spaces are what make it possible to maintain a high quality of life, despite the challenges of living in a city whose cost of living far exceeds that of any other in the nation. When the city is allowed to bypass the rules governing these spaces, its unacceptable. Regardless of the outcome of the proposal, please do not repeat these tactics of secrecy and shortcuts, where the results affect so many San Francisco residents. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Hi, commissioners. Im andrea buffa. I helped start the Organization Save our recreation a few years ago when they were trying to restrict dog walking there, and i live in glenn park. Im quite close to this park, and i use it sometimes. My neighborhood park, sunnyside park, previously was an offleash area and now is an onleash area. I guess i want to change what i was planning on saying, because im one of the threatening dog people, and i understand its super hard to come to a Public Meeting and be in the minority, maybe even have people boo you, maybe have people act inappropriately in the audience, but thats part of the public process. We need to teach people on our side how to act right and be okay with people and express anger somewhere else, and the other people need to know that, yeah, its hard. Ive been in that position, too, and its hard and its part of making changes you want. You probably know the trend around the world is to keep parks open later and more hours, because of the increasing documentation of the physical health benefits, the Mental Health benefits, and the safety benefits of having parks in our neighborhoods. So i agree with what others have said about the community process. I dont know how it got this far, and theres no reason to keep it going any further. So i hope that you take this off the table or vote no on the proposal. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Hello, commissioners. My name is david emanuel. I live right at the border of glenn park and noe valley, and my dog park is the upper noe rec center. We are a dog run, decompressed granite. I do go to upper douglass occasionally. It is closed i think about four months, maybe longer, and when it is closed, our dog run and the surrounding ones do feel pressure. People are always welcome, and we dont mind it, but it does impact the smaller parks. I think theres been a little bit of a disservice the way the department has represented the resolution to you. It actually, this resolution, has three different or four different now time recommendations. One is from the department staff, one is from a friends group, one with is from a neighbors group, and the other is from your own Operations Committee, and whats missing here is more of a debate and a real communitydriven process. I know the department likes to call it a communitydriven process, but there hasnt been an opportunity for a majority of the park users and neighbors to really come and give you some feedback or meet as a group. I think there is a solution. I think youve heard today that many people are willing to do a compromise, and i think we can reach that. We should take a step back and try to look at a compromise. I think in the community there could have been one worked out, but now that youve heard all this feedback, i would hope that you reject the hours in this resolution and determine Something Different that is more accessible for people. Thank you very much. Thank you. Next speaker. Im bringing the kids with me. Yes, these are my kids. In my life i need you to speak into the mic. My name is james wright. Larry mazzola knows me from seiussww in San Francisco. Yes, i know how to organize a community, because ive been a rank and file member of sciu for 30 years. The people at the park knows me as the guy that picks up poop buckets and fills holes that are there even after wednesday after the park has been closed for a day. Somehow the buckets are still full of poop, holes are still in the park. One thing that can kill a dog, send a dog to a vet, one place we shouldnt have foxtails in all of San Francisco, weve been weeding foxtails every year that park has been open to try to get them out of there. Yes, they are native, but theres many other places that one particular native grass that kills a dog could be. Functioning restroom would be nice for the humans. The dogs have a threeacre restroom, a place for the humans to pee would be nice. They are all trimmed up, thats probably not best to do, but the restroom thats there, thats a historic restroom could be open for people to use it. If San Francisco, were not going to be specific, but come on. Why not . Even if we take out the water fountain and put a handicap restroom. We finally got a parking spot next to the park, so one place if youre handicap, you can let your dogs off leash, exercise, socialize. Humans can socialize, dogs can socialize. We can actually start trying to get along with each other. I know, shocking. But come on. This is San Francisco. Thank you. And im opposed. Is there anyone else that would like to make comment . Come on up. Its okay, as soon as shes done, you can come up. Hi, my name is mary williams. I live at the apartments right at the top i live at the apartments right at the top of 27th street. I can see the park from my window. I can hear it, and i can tell you that its never bothered me at all. Its very minor, ambient noise, and certainly in the evenings, i never hear any barking. Never heard barking in the early mornings. Also, i was not even aware of this survey that supposedly went out to the neighbors. I dont know how i missed it, but i wasnt given any survey. My partner works in menlo park. Hes gone from 7 00 a. M. To 8 00 p. M. Five days a week, so if these changes are made, he would not be able to spend this time with our dog at all during the week. And so, yeah, i just wanted to offer my experience as a very close neighbor, as a counterpart to anything else you may have heard. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon, my name is brian edwards. Longtime resident of San Francisco. Pretty spirited debate and conversation about the dog park. Can you speak into the microphone . Sure. Thank you for your time. The reality of the situation is, its a good dog park. Its kind of a gem in San Francisco. Three acres, fenced in, youve heard it all. Youve heard the conversation about airplanes and airports and moving into the area. Fact of the matter is, there needs to be a community area, and this upper douglass provides that. People can talk, dogs can play. Youve heard all this. From 7 00 to 9 00 is not on this particular issue, we formally here have a Dog Committee, and we would meet out at the state, at the county fairgrounds. A long while ago, before it was even a dog park there or officially so. So right now im just trying to say that i like dog runs. I like dog parks. I like the social activities for dogs and of humans, but theres a problem here that seems that needs to be addressed thats structural. Its more or less dealing with what can be done to this given area. There are a lot of flaws of the area. People going up along the side, theres a slope down, the dog can slip down and break their limbs. Thats what dr. Michael had talked about before. And he was a chair of the Dog Committee at the time, so theres been a lot of hashing back and forth. So i would recommend seriously have a look at that hole that some people talk about, the grass is not mowed down, and we heard from dan mower about the artificial turf. Im usually against artificial turf, but in this case, the possibility, as other facilities, i think we can do it. So the hours themselves, i would say until 8 00. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Good afternoon, thank you. Im a home owner, taxpayer, munibart rider, and i work for the state. By the time i get home and get my dog to the park, and i live two ballot blocks away, its 6 6 30. I have a wig cog, she needs to run. This is one of the only places she can get out and have the freedom to run. Its a good group of folks. I want to reiterate we should have had the full meeting and time for Public Comment, et cetera. Its a great place. Im not, you know, unsympathetic to the neighbors there. However, you know, its not that bad. Its not that loud. Its, you know, most of us love our dogs dearly and we respect the park, you know, thats why were pulling foxtails, thats why i pick up extra poop, you know, its a good bunch of people, and we need this park, and by the time i get up there and i let my big dog run, its going to be past 7 30, and so i would just urge the committee or you to please have the open meeting so that everyone can talk, or at least listen to us. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to make Public Comment . Okay, seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Commissioners . Commissioner mazzola. Thank you. Id first like to thank everybody for coming out and your testimony today. As far as the process that people are complaining about, i think sarah laid it out that, you know, 67 other parks have the same process, you know, that the commission did not initiate this, the community did, so this happens to be the process. But with that being said, from everything ive heard today, i dont see a really good enough reason to change the hours of the park. You know, its not like theres unsafe issues, not like kids are throwing keggers out there and noisy all night. Its dog barking. Thats what a dog park is. To me, if theres going to be a change, shouldnt close it any earlier than 9 00. I think parks are there to be open, and if its not a reason for being unsafe, i dont think theres a good enough reason that ive heard to change it. So i would vote to keep it the same. Id go against the staffs recommendation and operating committee to keep it open till 10 00, but if there was a middle ground to be reached, i would vote yes on 9 00, but nothing earlier than that. Those are my comments. Thank you. Commissioner anderson . Commissioner anderson hello, everyone. I want to thank everybody for coming out, and i also want to acknowledge those who cant make it. I understand how difficult it is, and i want you to know that i have read the materials. Weve gotten myriad of emails and reports, comments, and videos, and i hear you, so i went out to the park last week and i walked around, and first i want to thank and commend the community that helps rec and park take care of that space. I noticed the dog poop buckets and extra baggies, the signs about foxtails. Clearly, the individual users are not a problem. The dog walkers are very professional. I just want to preface that i read the noise ordinances, too. Thats one of the reasons why i as chair of the Operations Committee requested a start time of 7 00 a. M. , because thats sort of when the noise ordinance says, okay, its not quiet time anymore, we can start getting busy. Thats how i came up with 7 00 a. M. We came up with 7 00 a. M. It wasnt arbitrary. In the beginning of the noise ordinance, its prefaced that noise is very subjective and different people experience it differently, and sort of those sudden noises are really the things that get people excited, usually, and in the preface it suggested that people who are dealing with the issue deal directly with one another. And that was something i suggested when i went out in the hallway on june 6th. I asked if people could come together and talk about this. My friend on the prozac, i want you to know that i take our responsibilities to find a pathway where everyone is happy. This is not something everyone is happy. Doesnt matter how Many Community processes we have beyond today. Not everyone is going to be happy. So were trying to find something that seems sort of fair. And we have to make tough decisions, and we dont take anything lightly. So i do think that people still need to continue to talk with one another about this. And the thing i want to say that i observed about dog walkers, which i would hope that the community would keep talking about was they are allowed to take up to eight dogs on a leash. Nothing we can do. Almost an insoluble problem. Having said that, im also someone that does not run away from tough decisions or from making mistakes, so i am willing to say that maybe it would be better if we did change the hours that it be 7 00 a. M. , because again, that dove tails with the noise ordinance, until 9 00 p. M. , which i heard a lot of people suggest. Again, though, i dont really think it solves the problem so much, because i think its the sudden awful noises that are bothering people. Thats where the Community Comes in. We also dont have there used to be sort of a, you know, barking dog neighborhood committee. Those were dissolved a few years ago. So maybe you guys should work on getting it reupped or maybe ask the people on prozac to fill that role. Thats what they are there for. And then finally, after Walking Around the park that day, and by the way, you all did a pretty good job, but i still stepped in poo, but that wasnt okay, wasnt too major, but then i needed to go to the bathroom. There was no place to go to the bathroom, so i would really like to suggest a porta potty or something in the interim and fix the bathrooms and they will be all gendered and then everyone can go to the bathroom. Finally, i would just like to comment on something i think we all feel about public discourse. Its really easy to sit at your computer and say things, and some people get really mean spirited and think because, you know, they are sitting at their desk that somehow people dont understand the emotion thats getting darted at them through email and social media. Ive seen it, you know, ive been misrepresented. Thats fine. Its all part of the sort of, you know, deal here. But i really think that we should think about our public discourse. I like to think of san franciscans as being the most progressive, compassionate people in the world. We should show that to one another. So to accuse Property Owners by being evil just because of being Property Owners is wrong, and accusing dog owners as evil because they love furry children is wrong. Were all right here. We just have to figure out how to get along. So my recommendation is work harder to work together, talk to the dog walkers about not parking in front of these homes, and i would recommend that we amend the hours to 7 00 a. M. To 9 00 p. M. Thank you, commissioner. Commissioner mcdonnell. Commissioner mc donnell thank you. So i have a couple of concerns. One, in reading the staff memo and report, at least as it lands on me, it seems to presume someone was concerned about the hours, the hours should be changed, and so it goes from someone expresses concern to lets figure out what the new hours need to be, versus what it should have triggered rightfully, in my opinion, would have been a community process. I would disagree slightly with my colleague, commissioner mazzola, because what, as madeleine said, what is consistent across all of our parks and consideration of changing hours is a community process. Whats missing in this moment is a community process. The memo says guidelines a Community Must follow when following, support from a district supervisor, rpd staff, operations managers, and Community Meetings must be held to gather feedback on the proposed change. When you race to the conclusion, the summary of who is in favor and who is opposed, doesnt represent the supervisor, and it certainly doesnt represent the engagement of Community Meetings. Certainly, can understand anyone having concerns about whether or not a Community Meeting would be civil or not. Thats a reasonable concern, but it shouldnt prevent, in my opinion, the holding of said meeting, need to put in ways to mitigate Police Presence or other means to ensure it is a safe and civil place to have discourse. This is the city of saint francis, this is the peoples republic of San Francisco. Thats just how we do it, and we have to figure out how to do it in ways that we all feel comfortable, no matter what our views are, even when they are opposing. So all of that said, im not in favor of in this moment changing the proposal. Sorry, changing the hours from what is recommended, because we didnt do what we said as a department we should do, which is a community process. So my point of view is, we need to go back to the beginning, have a community process, land