Transcripts For SFGTV BOS Govt Audits And Oversight Committee 20240713

Please silence all electronic devices. Your completed speaker cards and documents you have to be submitted as part of the clerk should be submitted to the clerk. Thank you, mr. Clerk. Call item number one. An ordinance amendmenting the administrative code to require the Police Department to regularly report certain crime data, related to victims and other spi specified crimes. I wanted to ask deputy City Attorney pearson if we have the final sort of amendments, and were ready to move ahead with this item. No, i dont think you have the final amendments before you right now. My understanding is that my colleague is working to finalize them. And will let me and your aide know as soon as your ready to distribution. So you might want to hear the second item first. So since were still waiting for some lastminute final amendments from the deputy City Attorney, that has been working on this legislation, mr. Clerk, can we hold off on this one and move ahead to item two right now . I told the people who were going to give Public Comment on it that it was going to be later. We could, but i just wanted to note that. Um. Well, actually maybe we can still move ahead. I have some introductory remarks on this item. I know there are some people here from the community for Public Comment. And then if the amendments hopefully get here in time, i could introduce those. Does that sound okay . So why dont we move ahead with item number one. This legislation, which were calling the crime victim data disclosure ordinance, will require that s. F. P. D. Begin issuing quartering reports on the aggregated demographic evidence on crime victims. Take to supervisors fewer and stefei. The Lgbtq Community and others city wide, i would like to thank them. The chineseamerican citizens alliance, the chineseamerican democratic club, visitation asian alliance, lgbtq democratic club, the Jewish Community relations council, the triangle neighborhood association, Golden Gate Heights neighborhood association, Sunset Heights association of responsible people, for all submitting letters of summer for this legislation. The crime victim data disclosure ordinance will do the two things number one, require s. F. P. D. To regularly report aggravated data on the motivating factor for hate crimes, sexual orientation, gender identity or religious preference. And require s. F. P. D. To does close crime victim data, specifically race, gender, and age for victims of assault, aggregated assault, sexual assault, burglary, theft, Motor Vehicle theft, robbery, battery, vandalism, Domestic Violence and murder. The legislation does not require the s. F. P. D. To acquire any new information from victims, but to report available data that is already being collected. I first requested this data for a board of supervisors hearing that convened last month, in response to home invasions targeting the sunset district and other neighbourhoods. I was told by s. F. P. D. That the data did not exist. After a number of incidents occurred targeting chinese victims, i was joined by president yee and supervisor walton a submittal to provide the information. In september, s. F. P. D. Provided some crime information, and the information was both alarming and validating for specific communities with heightened concerns about Public Safety. For example, africanamericans were by far the most disproportionately victimized by all types of violent crime, including homicide and sexual assault. For asianamericans, the data showed increasing robbery, burglary, and theft victims year by year in recent years, validating their concerns. And, according to recent f. B. I. Figures, hate crimes jumped 58 in San Francisco last year, even as they leveled off across california. The citys surge in hate crimes was driven by an increase in incidents targeting victims by their race and ethnicity. It more than doubled from 19in 2017 to 41 in 2018, making up the majority of San Franciscos 68 reported hate crimes. While i appreciate that the s. F. P. D. Has shared with my office there are some new state requirements related to data reporting coming up, there is a level of urgency for us to start making this requirement start making this requested data transparent so we can understand how crime disproportionately affects all of our communities. And, finally, i, after some Community Feedback i am proposing some amendments that would add additional crime categories, such as child abuse, elder abuse, grand theft, manslaughter, and different types of burglary and Domestic Violence. Number two, send these reports to the office of Racial Equity and the human rights commission. And, number three, ensure that there is ensure that there is data analysis. We must ensure that we use this data responsibly and in a way that promotes interracial harmony and cooperation. With this data, we can better track these crimes, understand who is being impacted, and develop better strategies to address them. This information is just a first step to identify what our needs are. And for all of our communities to Work Together to ensure Public Safety for all in our city. So id actually like to welcome up matt dorsey from the s. F. P. D. Thank you, chair mar, vice chair peskin and supervisor haney. My name is matt dorsey with the San Francisco Police Department. The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety, with respect for all. And we measure and communicating, and thats under way, and thats part of my new role here. So i want to applaud supervisor mar and your colleagues for your leadership on this. I think we all recognize that to the extent we can be better at collecting data about crimes, we can do a better, more affective job of protecting all of our Diverse Communities here in San Francisco. One of the things that you mentioned about a timing issue coming up with the state, and i just wanted to the department wants to just raise this. You correctly identified that there are some limitations in the collection of crime data. And a lot of that goes to the fact that since i think 1930, the United States has had uniform crime reports, and it is relatively limited in what it is reportedly. I believe in the most serious crimes, what it calls, like, section 1 crimes or unit 1 crimes, and it is only about eight categories. That is in the process of being replaced nationwide with a more detailed reporting system, called the national incidentbased reportedly system, and it has five categories among the most serious eight parts. That process is under way and it will be completed in 2022. At the same time, states have the ability to both comply with the national standards, but also have their own. So california has its version of nibers, and it is called cybers. And were in the process of just waiting to see what that is going to be. The reason that matters is last week we found out that this is coming up just in april. Were going to have were right now flying blind on what the state is going to require of us. So because were in a situation of reinventing one wheel to comply with state requirements, while were considering this, i just want to raise it, and this is a policy decision and a use of financial decision. Just to be aware in april, we will have better information on what the reporting requirements will be for the state cybers, and it is possible that some of what the state is going to be doing from the department of justice could solve some of this, to the extent it doesnt, then it would be a policy question for the city. There is nothing to prevent the city from going above and beyond, in much the way that california is go above and beyond what the nation is doing, and San Francisco can go beyond what the state is doing. But we dont know. There was a precedent for Something Like this, when the city was enacting 96a, reporting requirements, at the same time the state was enacting legislation that was, i think, ab953, and i think this was in 2015, where we got started on one thing and then it ended up being squandered resources because we had to redo it for the state. So it is really just a kind of consideration that we all have an obligation to be responsible stewards of the public fisk. And i wanted to present that to you as a public policy, although i understand there is urgency. Thank you so much, mr. Dorsey. Just a few questions on that. I appreciate the point youre raising here about the change in our crime data reporting thats going to happen with the federal guidelines. And thats really the timeline for that is 2022. And then youre saying that there might be some changes to the state crime data reporting that could happen. Whats the timeline for that again . So the standards are going to be issued in april 2020. So in a couple of months, we will know what we need to be collecting for the state level. And this is where its sort of the none, unknown, in this is we dont know what the state is going to do. I think we do have a clear picture although i would defer to more knowledgeable people than i in the department. But it isny my it is my understg while nibers is pretty clear, the state has to weigh in on what the states requirements will be. This may solve what youre seeking to solve with your leadership. It may also be something that not unlike ab953 and 96a may be similar but different, so the department is actually grappling with two requirements that are a little different, but it is important and resource intensive for us. And one last question do you have is there any indication that the new state reporting requirements that are being worked on would possibly include reporting requirements about crime victims and the demographics of crime victims, which is really what the focus so when we worked with the budget and legislative analyst, we were particular in saying it could accomplish this, but it really is something we dont know. It might be a situation in two months again, this is a policy consideration for you where in the sense were flying blind and youre asking a question thats a good one, and that none of us can answer, but in two months we will be able to answer that. Great. Thank you. Thank you. Next id like to invite sevrin campbell to present on the fiscal impact of this item. Good morning. Yes, in response to sort of the presentation, our understanding is that there is a new system that will be implemented to meet the federal and state requirements in march of 2022. There is Grant Funding to cover the costs of planning and implementing developing that system. But in terms of the current reporting standards and the current system, there would be some limitations in what the system can currently do. Our understanding is especially when there are multiple crimes or multiple victims, the system doesnt currently aggregate that information. It reports it as the highest crime level. So you might not get the level of detail that this legislation is requesting. We did talk to the public the Police Department to really think through what it would take to modify the existing oraclebased system. There is a cost to it. They thought it would be two fulltime oracle consultants, at a cost of about 235 an hour. So it would be a onetime cost of over 900,000. We did talk to the Department Also about alternatives. We dont have good information at this point, but we think that there would be some potential where there would actually be a manual accounting of the incidents that are actually hard to pull out of the system to meet this requirement. There would be staff costs, and it could potentially be a lot less than the modification of the system. In terms of our recommendation, we do actually consider this to be a policy matter for the board. Thank you, ms. Campbell. Colleagues, if you have no questions for comments, maybe we can move to Public Comment. Be have some members of the public here who have filled out speaker cards. If you could please step up on the right side of the room and step up to the mic. Benjamin chung, mina young, marlene tran. Good morning, city supervisors and members of the government audit. My name is benjamin chung. Im an associate pastor of San Francisco Chinese Baptist Church in the sus sussex district at 34th. I want to let you know youre all in my prayers to make good and sound decisions for the residents and the city of San Francisco. I know this is not an easy task. Im here today to voice my concerns about the uptake in crimes, and feel there should be better reporting, especially as an asian american. Im in favour of this. Im also thankful for the s. F. P. D. And their hard work. I had my house burglarized just seven weeks ago many and my neighbor was burglarized just over a years agyear ago. Both burglaries were through forced entry through the front doors, and both in the middle of the day. And my neighbor even has an iron gate and they broke through that. Due to my neighbors burglary, i updated my front door, and it took the burglars more time to breakthrough. My neighbor is also filipino. Thanks to the s. F. P. D. , their quick response, the burglars dropped my property, and as they were exiting, the s. F. P. D. Showed up, and they the burglars crashed their car shortly after leaving my house, and i got my two dogs back. And im thankful they did not harm my wife, and my two sons, 4 and 2. And they ran into my tenant, who also lived in the house, and his girlfriend, but thankfully upon seeing them, they left the house, and i praise the lord for all of this stuff. I do understand there is a bigger picture, looking at the time, and i think we need better data. [buzzer] thank you. Ms. Tran. Good morning, supervisors. Im marlene tran, a longtime volunteer, community activist, retired teacher of newly immigrant students in our public schools, and the spokesperson for the visitation valley alliance. Im here to support the transparency legislation, especially needed in light of the recent and increasingly brutal crimes against our elderly asian citizens. Unfortunately, some of these victims were my former students. This quarterly data will help to guide budget and resource priorities, police staffing, and Crime Prevention programs to keep our communities safe. In the 1980s, when i moved t to visitation valley, asians were victims, but they couldnt make Police Reports because of lack of language. I organized Monthly Police meetings, initiated bilingual service, and provided victims with translations in courts and police matters. I even offered for free the use of my leland Avenue Property to have direct communications with law enforcements. While the ethnic media has reported many of the crimes, the English Community is only starting to write about the serious cases. I grieve for the many victims who suffered greatly because they did not get the services and resources they deserve. With your full support of supervisor mars legislation to bring muchneeded data and the Public Services to a diverse San Francisco, the year of the rat will make San Francisco a safer city for all. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is mina young. Im a member of the bay area homeowners network. We have hundreds of members in San Francisco. We chat, and i see a lot of fear among our members. Recently because they themselves or their neighbors got robbed, and theyre telling people how they would do different measures to try to avoid being targeted. Like new years, not putting stuff outside to celebrate, to make it look like youre chinese. And not put shoes outside, or certain kinds of plants you dont want to put outside. These are the fears i didnt see before. Myself, inside my own house, my plants were stolen a few times, and then they were rearranged right in front of the house, where usually it is on the side. You know, people do all kinds of stuff. We dont know whether we are being targeted, but by having the data, if that helps to reduce that kind of crimes and make us safer, thats we would applaud for it. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Hi, my name is eva chow, and ive been a longtime resident here in San Francisco. The crime situation has gotten so bad that my mom and her friends, maja people, they all talked about not going to chinatown anymore, which is really bad for the community. They feel that having gone to chinatown once or twice every two or three weeks for doctors visits and all of that is due to this lack of concern that is not being devoted to the chinese community, is actually oppressing their communities because theyre not able to feel safe in their own communities. There is something wrong with that. So i really want to thank supervisor mar for brings bringing this to light. We need data transparency so we can allocate resources for the communities in need. And that is the first step. So this needs to be broadcasted to everyone so that my parents and her friends and families can feel safe going to chinatown. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Good morning. Im pastor megan roy. Im a chaplain with the San Francisco Police Department. Although because i provide Mental Health care for both officers and victims of crimes, i remain neutral in this issue. But today i wanted to speak you in the hat of being the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in the sunset. Prior to that, i worked for 12 years working with the chronically homeless, who have seen some of the worst hate crimes one could imagine. I remember one night encountering a homeless man in a wheelchair who was tied to his chair with a coat hanger and set on fire with his feet. I knew three individuals who were burned to death here in San Francisco. When i moved to the sunset, you would think because it is kind of a quiet neighborhood, things would calm down, but being a transgender pastor, you can imagine my experience might be a little bit different. After having a transrelated double mastectomy, i had boxes sent to me before church that include falsies to insert breasts, and hair removal supplies sent to the church, and received Death Threats because of my partnerships working with the San Francisco Police Department. In the past, i thought reporting the crimes meant i was weak. But sharing this information was something i was meant to endure. Growing up in south dakota, i thought this is just how people are treated. So when i was hit in the head with a cane, by a moomanwho later kicked the dog, i didnt report it. But every time i did, the San Francisco Police Department acted professionally, provided me with some of the most diverse employees who could take my report. And just the simple act of saying i had reported it to the Police Department ended every instance of hate i was experiencing. So i stand here to encourage others to report when they can, and to care for others. [buzzer] thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning, supervisors. My name is wendy wong from San Francisco coalition for Good Neighborhoods. We have to do something correct and simple. Lets drop political correctness. All of this information for the police is very complete. We should disclose to the public which neighborhoods are in need. As a matter of fact, we have a lot of misleading information, such as proposition 47, that is petty theft, 950. Even when you go to the police, they wont take your cases. This is totally misleading information. When were seeing the police chief saying that our crime rate drops, i think this is very pathetic data. As a matter of fact, i have a lot of neighbors who thought that home invasions if they take their laptop, less than 950, they dont even want to report it to the police because they thought that the cases are not going to be in their report, or they would not be interviewed, or it would cause them a lot of hassle. So my neighborhood has a lot of misleading information in the sunset area. I would like to have the supervisor Pay Attention to the in othe neighborhoods who are in need. When we have that information, we will get the resources from the city. We can have outreach in the neighborhood, and we can have bilingual information to share with the neighbors. 311, i hope we have the bilingual language that we can report, if the police has been overloaded in their work. Thank you very much. Thank you. Is there anyone else that would like t to speak on this item . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. Actually, i just wanted to thank all of the Community Members that have provided complic comment oPublic Commente Community Members that have really pushed us and worked with my office to develop this crime victim closure. Including the asian community, the Lgbtq Community, the africanamerican communist, and different faith communities as well, who are feeling particularly concerned about Public Safety, including the Jewish Community and the Muslim Community here in our city. So, colleagues, i think we do have the amendmented versioamendmentedversion ofameni referred to in my remarks. Do you guys have any questions or comments . I do. Thank you, chair mar. I just wanted to appreciate your leadership on this. And i also wanted to thank everybody who came out and who shared your experiences, and to thank you for sharing and to apologize for those of you who have been victims of crime. I think that there is no more important thing that we can do as a city than keep people safe. And we know that in particular there are some communities who are more often victims of crime, and it is critical that we have the information, that we have the data. Thats an essential first step, but that were also using that data and being transparent about it, and were changing these realities that so many folks have experienced. And making sure that we have, culturally and linguistically accessible information. That has to be a big part of how this data is used. I wanted to be added as a cosponsors on it. Thank you. Thank you. Please add me as a cosponsor as well. Thank you. Colleagues, can i move that we accept the amendments . Can we take that without objection . Great. Can we send this item as amended with positive recommendation to the full board without objection . Great. [gavel] thank you, everyone. Mr. Clerk, please call item number two. Item number two requires the department of homelessness and Supportive Housing to open a navigation centr center where no Navigation Center currently exists, and to open at least one Navigation Center within 30 months where no Navigation Center currently exists. To revise the operational standards by among other thing, allowing them to serve up to 130 residents. And each session must allow residents to reside at the center for at least 90 day and to continue in residence as long as theyre participating in assigned services. To develop a Good Neighbor policy and plan to conduct outreach to people experiencing homelessness in the neighborhood surrounding the center. To require h. S. H. To inform the selection of sites for Navigation Centers, to provide the shelter monitoring committee, in addition to shelters and affirming the appropriate findings. Thank you. Supervisor haney . Thank you, chair mar. I want to thank the coauthorities of this measure, supervisors preston, ronen, mar, and walton. I also want to recognize the leadership of supervisor peskin, who most recently was able to have an announcement of a Navigation Center for transitional age use in this district. I know that is something he has been working on and fighting for for some time. I want to thank him for that. And also the department of homelessness, who i know is here, who has offered feedback and amendments, that im sure we are going to discuss, and i want to thank them for their partnership and their hard work on Navigation Centers more broadly and on working to end homelessness. There are more than 8,000 people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. 65 are unsheltered, which is hundreds more than than in 2017. The city is leading more than 5,000 people unhoused and unsheltered, without a safe place to sleep at night. The number of people who are chronically homeless continues to rise, meaning theyve been homeless for at least a year. This crisis impacts every neighborhood and every person in San Francisco. Unhoused san franciscans are forced to sleep in parks, under freeways, on sidewalks, in their vehicles, and on doorsteps. I think we all agree we have to do better. There is no denying we must expand housing and shelter. The goal of this legislation is to directly address street homelessness and create a clear mandate for Citywide Solutions to this citywide shelter crisis. The city is investing heavily in permanent Supportive Housing for people existing services, with over 1200 units in the pipeline to add to the housing currently existing. Most of the budget is earmarked for housing and keeping people housed. With the number of people without homes steadily growing, we need to invest heavily in new housing and subsidies to get people into vacant units, but we also know we cannot rely on building new housing to solve the homeless crisis alone. We cannot leave 5,000 people on the street while we are working to get the housing built. While our shelter system serves more than 2800 individuals a night, through 1200 Emergency Shelter beds, and hundreds of beds for families and transitional youth, nearly a thousand single adults experiencing homelessness remain on the shelter wait list, with thousands more who have given up on wait lists. The beds are almost 100 full every night, and people have nowhere to go. We need a system equipped to triage each person based on their needs and assign them to their level of support. According to the controller and practice, it takes roughly three months to achieve permanent housing, and for many clients, it takes much longer. Many people who are getting into housing are first stating at a Navigation Center to get assessed, complete their application, and wait for an opening. We can either provide people who are uncentimetreed with uunshelteredsheltered. The mayor has called for a thousand beds by 2020, and is on track to meet that goal. But the plan has lacked significant input from the community, and the narrow concentration of the beds has ignored the needs of the 25 of the Homeless Population, and the vast majority of neighborhoods in the city, leaving them with few solutions. The goal is simply to clear the shelter wait list. And while the number has dipped slightly below 1,000, it has not changed significantly. We need to set clear mandates for ourselves, for the department of homelessness, to build a shelter in every district. The legislation, one, sets a policy for the department of homelessness and Supportive Housing, to build a Navigation Center in every district. It establishes a new site, including a standardized Community Engagement process. Third, it strengthens the program by setting base line standards. The legislation is not a onesizefitsall approach. It does not impose sweeping new problematic requirements that dont currently exist or create a new model. The ordinance generally reflects current practices in our Navigation Centers, which has helped 46 of clients achieve a stable exit, while allowing for some flexibility. It specifics assessment by a case manager, allowing pets, partners, and possessions, and having 24hour access. It is not a new thing for Navigation Centers to be mandated by this board. A similar mandate passed the board in 2016, calling for six Navigation Centers in 26 months, which led to 2,000 people getting in permanent housing, temporary housing, or being reunited with friends or family. Since that mandate ended, the nature of this problem has not been met with the same level of urgency necessary to provide adequate solutions. Despite the board and mayor affirming were in the middle of a shelter crisis, we do not yet have a neighborhood by neighborhood plan to address homelessness. Most folks know what navigations are, but let me be clear what were talking about here. One, the Navigation Center is a name for a highservice, lowbarrier shelter that meets minimum criteria, like unsite services, allowing pets, partners, and possessions, and prioritizes Homeless Individuals getting houses. It is to offer a respite from live lif life on the stree. Secondly, Navigation Centers look different in different neighborhoods and are designed to and an asset. Some are comprised of tentlike structures on empty parking lots. Some are bungalows. Some sites occupy a vacant city college building. Another will have commercial activity. Many are interim uses, while some are for predevelopment. There is no onesizefitsall. Of the existing naf Navigation Centers, the capacity ranges from 60 to 100. There are restrictive rules, and the fact that many people cannot bring partners, pets, and possessions, they do not use them. Navigation centers serve neighborhoods first and foremost, and we have a citywide challenge related to homelessness. Other cities, like las vegas and d. C. , have mandated that every district open a shelter or their version of a Navigation Center to get people off the streets. I have yet to see a plan to address street homelessness in every district and every neighborhood. And i hear a lot not fruft frojustfrom my own residents, bt from my colleagues who are working hard to find a site in their respective districts and who are told no. We need to work harder, and have the full support of the department of homelessness and the mayor to make that happen. This legislation is about saying yes. Yes, we can create more places for people to navigate to. Yes, we can invest in housing and subsidies and services. And, yes, we can find a way to make a site for every neighborhood at the same time we address the immediate shelter needs of the 5,000 Homeless People on our streets. I know we have a representative from supervisor peskins office, and i want to thank my coauthorities and really believe we can get to a place where the entire board board hopefully is united behind this, and we can see a citywide plan to address this citywide crisis. Thank you, supervisor haney. I would like to welcome jen schneider, district 5 legislative aide, who is here to stair a statement for supervisor preston. Thank you. Happy late morning. Im jen schneider, from supervisor prestons office. Thank you, supervisor haney, for sponsoring this proposal. This is the first piece of legislation that our office agreed to cosponsor. Thousands of neighbors are sleeping on our streets every night. We know 69 of them say they became homeless while they were living here. This means many of our neighbors on the streets were once our next door neighbors who lost the only housing they could afford. Our greedfueled housing crisis squeezes out families, students, people of color, artists, or classmates and friends, and it forces those of us who are most vulnerable into a situation where there is increasingly no place to turn. The longterm solution is Affordable Housing for all. But the reality is that we are years away from that. Even at assuming the political will to get there. In the meantime, our homeless neighbors deserve 24hour shelter with their pets, their partners, and their possessions, where they can access the services they need. It is the very least we can do, and it will help avoid the downward spiral that homelessness creates. In San Francisco, homelessness is the most grotesque symptom of unbrideled capitalism. The bay area has the largest income gap in california, and the Vice President said in a recent interview that economists think there are incentives to move up the economic ladder, but when the disparities or so large, does that incentive tiff we have allowed a situation where it is virtually impossible to lift yourself out of poverty. As government officials, we have an absolute moral obligation to help as actively as we can. The very least we can do is make sure that all districts share the load and house our unhoused neighbors. District 5 is not immune to the homelessness crisis, and despite the demand for a Navigation Center, we failed to provide one. It is something our office is working on to change. Count district 5 as one district that wholeheartedly embraces the mandate in this proposed legislation. Thanks. Thank you, ms. Schneider. And thanks, again, supervisor haney for bringing forth this legislation and spearheading the conversation on our shelter crisis. We must address homelessness citywide, which is why i was the first supervisor with out cityfunded shelter beds in my district to cosponsor this legislation when it was first introduced. My district is also not immune to homelessness. Ive been working directly with homeless residents and housed neighbors in the sunset to determine effective solutions. When i came into office, there were no district 4 Homeless Services. Since then, i personally connecteconnected to individuals living in their cars, and checked in regularly with the familiar faces of people who sleep outside, in our parks, streets, and bus shelters. We cannot forget these individuals. Which is why i included to bring project care van to sunset. And i partnered with sunset Mental Health services to expand outreach to include people experiencing homelessness. As supervisors, we need to think creatively. We need to invite people inside by expanding our shelter bed capacity citywide. A new homeless facility in the sunset would support our shared goals and alleviate our citywide shelter crisis. There are unique opportunities in my district to pilot new models for shelters, or other forms of transitional and permanent housing. We know there exists a population of unsheltered people who would benefit from the unique characteristics of the sunset, who need this sort of environment and distance from downtown in order to permanently move into stable housing. We are not meeting or investing in these needs. And i am committed to addressing the service gap. I have already identified potential sites, and im working with h. S. H. To expand shelter and services into the sunset. We are looking at every piece of public land, but also private parcels, such as missionaligned churches. I am receiving feedback directly from the Homeless Community in district 4, who are seeking daily respite and permanent housing options, in addition to shelter beds. Especially for women, veterans, and seniors. Since learning more about the challenges of establishing a Navigation Center through this process, it is clear that we need to be flexible and have adequate resources so we can quickly get more beds online. To meaningfully address the shelter crisis, i believe we need to listen to the community and preserve the flexibility to expand our shelter bed capacity. I deeply appreciate supervisor haney legislation to create Navigation Centers because each neighborhood has a unique set of stakeholders and needs. After the presentations, i do intend to discuss amendments i am working on that build in flexibility, and i intend to make a motion to continue this item. Because of the potential impact, i believe we will need more time to engage with stakeholders, including my fellow colleagues on the board. I look forward to a robust discussion today. I also want to note that we have two Staff Members from the department of homelessness and Supportive Housing who are available to answer questions. Abigail stewart kahn, director of strategy and external affairs, and dylan rose schneider, manager of policy and legislative affairs. First, i would like to welcome Severin Campbell for this item. Thank you, chair mar. I want to point out this legislation would result in eight additional Navigation Centers in districts that dont currently have one. There are currently six Navigation Centers. The 2019 budget provides for two new Navigation Centers, one is in a district that doesnt currently have one. The one at 888 post street. We cant really give very precise estimates on what legislation like this would cost. If you look at table 3, on page 9 of our report, in terms of actual costs and capital costs to set up Navigation Centers, the costs vary quite a bit, depending on the location and type of property. The average cost for sort of existing centers is about 6. 3 million. And thats table 3, on page 9. In terms of annual operating cost, it doesnt vary as much, but there is a variation. And looking at existing centers, it is about 4. 3 million annual operating costs. There would probably be other costs in terms of enhanced services and staffing at the department to manage the additional centers, but those, at this point, would have to have a further review. We consider approval to be a policy matter for the board. Thank you. Colleagues, do you have any questions for ms. Campbell . Actually, would the Department Like to have a response . Thank you, supervisors. Good morning. My name is abigail kahn. H. S. H. Shares supervisor haney sentiment that every neighborhood in San Francisco, and every individual here, has a part to play in addressing homelessness. We commend supervisor haney for his commitment to people suffering on our streets. We appreciate this call to action very much and we can all do more. We have some concerns, however, about the way this legislation is written. Our concerns are twofold, and ill lay them out, and im very happy to continue to answer the supervisions questions. The proposed ordinance focuses time, political capital, and financial and Personnel Resources on expanding one component. There are six components. On expending one component of our homelessness response system. It does this at the cost of housing exits. Despite the board of supervisors voting unanimously to pass legislation to expedite the process of opening new Homeless Services, including Navigation Centers as a response to the crisis on our streets, this legislation would make the process slower and significantly more expensive. It also supervisor mar spoke articulately about the importance of flexibility, and this legislation as written significantly limits the flexibility. In terms of the proposed ordinances focus on narrow focus, it would require us to open Navigation Centers in eight additional center, which would be an addition to the 2000 placements proposed by the mayor. Since july of 2018, the city has opened 692 Navigation Center beds, and has an additional 499 units in the pipeline, which represents the single largest shelter expansion in 30 years. We agree that we need beds for everyone, but Navigation Centers are not the only type of need. We need boarding care facilities, Behavioral Health, and every kind of of permanent Supportive Housing. And i want to specifically address that. Because while it is true we cant build our way out of the homeless problem, that is not the only way to bring Supportive Housing online. We have Scattered Sites Supportive Housing, also known as a flex pool, and we have master leases, and we have built housing. This will make Navigation Centers slower and more expensive, while simultaneously widening the gap and the equity issues between traditional shelters and navigation systems. Families tell us that the family shelter system needs care and attention, and if we continue to focus on expansion and Navigation Centers, we wont have the resources to bring those back to the temporary shelter system that was more traditional in our system of care. Im very happy to speak to more specifics and questions, and i thank the supervisors for their time. Supervisor haney. I have a few questions. So after the thousand shelter beds, even as we still have close to a thousand people on the shelter wait list, there is no more plans to build additional shelter beds or Navigation Centers, and your position is that we dont need anymore Navigation Centers . No. That is not our position. Our position is that we need a proportional expansion of the homelessness response system. If we take the 28 million that we estimate it will cost us to build two Navigation Centers in this timeline, in this less flexible way, we lose the ability to use that money for housing exits. And i can talk about what kinds of costs those would take. So in the mayors 2000 placement goal, there may very well be shelter beds in there and rapid rehousing, and scattered site or flexible housing and permanent Supportive Housing. We need to pull every lever, or that 46 youre talking about in terms of successful exits, will go down from Navigation Centers, because people will not have anywhere to navigate to. What happens to those people in the meantime . In the meantime, we are expanding. I think youre absolutely right. We absolutely have to do more and better. Our shelters are very much at capacity, which is why weve opened the largest one in the embarcadero, and we have two more proposed, one in the pipeline at 1925 evans, one at 888 post, and one at 33 goth. So were working on all fronts. While we wait for this exact proportion to be right over the next few years, these folks will be on the street during that time . We dont need to wait. Thats what im saying. Please dont misconstrue my words. We dont need to wait. We can bring permanent Supportive Housing online rapidly through scattered site models, flex pool models. We can do that today. Part of 150 units are going to be brought online in that way in rapid time. And thats so how many over the next 30 months how many housing exits do you expect to be rapidly put in place over the next 30 months . 300, if not more, in addition to the pipeline the mayor 300 housing exits over the next 30 months is all were going to be able to do . No. No. We have the pipeline that is managed by the Mayors Office of housing and community development, which you cited and talked about, with a thousand or more coming on line this year. In addition to that, the mayor has committed to 300 Additional Units using the eraf money. If there is more money, we can bring on more units. If we use that money for Navigation Centers solely, we not bring on more housing. Based on the number of Housing Units you expect to be put in place over the next two years, how many additional navigation beds do you think we need . The field feels for every shelter bed you build, you need to build between three and six exits. So thats the proportion we need to be working with. I dont want to sound uncompassionate to the crisis outside. That is our daily work. Thats why were working so hard to create the largest single expansion in 30 years in the city. Were not saying more to more shelter. Were saying yes more shelter, yes Supportive Housing, yes legislation. This legislation, as written, pulls significant resources to one aspect of our homelessness response system. Which solves sleep but does not solve homelessness. How many additional spots do you think we need for people who are in vehicles . Whats the plan to get more spots for them . Thats a great question. I think the folks we know a lot more about People Living in vehicles now. And they, like every group of people experiencing homelessness, are not one in the same. What we understand from my amazing colleagues working in the vehicle outreach team, is there are many People Living in their vehicles who dont consider themselves homeless, who are going to school and want to save money. When they graduate, they will seek housing. We also know there are highly vulnerable People Living in their vehicles who are homeless and need our care. And thats why we have piloted the vehicle triage center. Those individuals who can come in and want to be housed can become part of our coordinated entry system. But we cant house them if we dont have more housing. And if we take this money, millions and millions of dollars, 28 million for two, 230 million for all eight, and we put it only into Navigation Centers, we will not have the resources needed to create those housing exits. [please stand by] they Pay Attention to neighborhoods and to need. And so while one while one might be across the line in somebodys district, thats not necessarily we should be thinking about this. We should think about where people are experiencing homelessness. Where can we find sites to build with taxpayer resources. Thank you. Thank you. If i can just jump in, first of all, i appreciate the process, as this has been evolving since 2015. And understand on the one hand the need for flexibility, as the department juggles different tools. On the other hand, i think that the notion of a fair share of criteria, whether its in this city or other cities like our Nations Capital or new york, also makes sense. But i concur with the department that that does not necessarily fall along supervisor jial lines. The city is a much more complicated set of neighborhoods than relates to these lines that are drawn every ten years on making sure that communities are fairly represented in the context of a plebiscite for the legislative branch of government. So, i mean, as the chair is working on amendments, i think geography is important. Lines dont cut it for me, because, while there are communities of interest within a district, whether its the by aview or chinatown and north beach and telegraph hill, different districts take in all sorts of different slices. And so, anyway, food for thought as the legislation evolves. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, supervisors. I just wanted to add that well again i want to thank supervisor haney for his leadership on these really important issues and pushing this discussion about addressing the homelessness crisis citywide and ensuring that every neighborhood district and community, you know, does its part, does its fair share to step up on this. And again im very fully supportive of that. You know, i have been working with the City Attorney to draft amendments, as i mentioned, that would broaden the options for districts to comply with this ordinance. So that we can successfully do our fair share to address the shelter crisis. In addition to Navigation Centers, this includes transitional housing and permanent housing facilities, specifically for formerly homeless persons. Transitional housing facilities could include, but not limited to, safe overnight parking lots, residential facilities with Behavioral Health services, housing for people exiting residential Treatment Facilities and even tiny homes. Permanent facilities can include, but is not limited to, Supportive Housing, cooperative living or masterleased residential units for people formerly living on our streets. We work closely with the coalition on homelessness, who brought forth these wellresearched ideas. While Navigation Centers are absolutely needed and available sites may be more feasible for a transitional or permanent housing facility, in some neighborhoods available parels may not meet the requirements and to act expeditiously, i would like to amend in districts where there is not a feasible site for a Navigation Center, the department would be required to open a new alternative homeless facility in that district. In their fair share citing criteria, the department will need to make the case for an alternative homeless facility. And so im working on these amendments with the City Attorney. Unfortunately they werent ready to be presented, you know, today. So i, you know, will be making a motion to continue this. So i could bring the amendments forward when theyre ready. So maybe yes. Public comment. I was going to add one other thing, which is also existing shelters that predate the advent of the lower barrier to entry Navigation Center model, that we also i think need to focus on and think about, that quite frankly could be vastly improved for the clientele, for the surrounding community. Im thinking of one a few blocks north of here on the edge of mine and supervisor haneys district. But i think we should as we move forward, we should not forget about the things that weve done in the past that need fixing. Yep. Great. Why dont we move to Public Comment. I know theres people here who wanted to speak on this item. So i have some cards. Josephine, calvin, gloria hernandez, Wilson Parsons and norm dellman. Good morning, supervisors. Calvin quick, legislative Affairs Officer for the San Francisco Youth Commission. This monday the Youth Commission voted to oppose this legislation, unless amended, as detailed in the memorandum to that effect of the commissions housing and landuse committee. The commission actually expressed support for expanding the Navigation Center model across the city, but an overwhelming majority of commissioners felt there were overriding concerns with the legislation, as written in our capacity. As the citys advisory body on youth issues. So back in 2016, when the Navigation Center legislation was first passed by this board, it included language found on page 5 of the legislation before you, which reads, at least one Navigation Center shall focus on the needs of homeless persons aged 18 to 29, who have experienced street homelessness. This still has not happened. However, the substituted legislation before you today emits that section in favor of a new section on page 9, which changes the shall to a may. Now the city is finally moving forward with plans for a Navigation Center at 888 post and we thank supervisor peskin for his leadership in that ongoing process. Yet the city doesnt even have the lease yet and those plans may still fall through. Additionally, Navigation Centers are not designed to be permanent uses of aid opened by the city since 2015, two have already closed. We may end up in the future without a Navigation Center. [bell dings] if all goes well at 888 post, we may never need to refer back to a hard mandate again. But given the city has committed to solving Youth Homelessness as a priority, it seems the least we can do to affirmatively a center going forward, by reinstating the shall language. We, therefore, oppose this legislation unless so amended. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning, supervisors. Im josephine. Chair of the Youth Commissionen the Youth Commission opposes this legislation, unless it is amended to reinstate a hard mandate for Navigation Center, focusing specifically on serving the needs of transitional. It identified 1,200 youth intake experiencing homelessness on any given night in San Francisco, which is around the corner of the total Homeless Population. The report for the more space that, quote, young people experiencing homelessness have a harder time accessing services, including shelter, medical care and unemployment. Unquote. The city has committed to solving Youth Homelessness as a priority, motably by joining grand challenge, a National Campaign to end Youth Homelessness. The city has recognized by developing the tools to end homelessness, for this particularly vulnerable population, we pave the way for improved services to all people experiencing homelessness. The city should, therefore, not be stepping back on its legal commitment to operating and maintaining a Navigation Center. Finally, this is now a completely achievable goal, with 888 post moving forward. The city actually has the potential to fulfill this longstanding promise that made to the unhoused population. Retaining a hard mandate for the Navigation Center will not, if all continues to go well, put excessive pressure on the department of homelessness and Supportive Housing. It is important and promises the city has made around Navigation Centers, to keep the hard mandate, should it need to be used to hold the department accountable in the future. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next speaker. Good morning, commissioners. My name is winston parsons. I live at 8th and fulton in the richmond and a board member with the richmond democratic club. Early when this legislation was announced, we shared a letter of support, mandating mandating the a Navigation Center or something similar to that in every neighborhood. Im here to say that i want one in the richmond district. We have one of the highest rates of evictions in the richmond district. Recently the star shelter closed, due to lead health concerns. And i think that was our only shelter in the richmond. And this has been a heartbreaking and longstanding humanitarian crisis and stands to reason to me that for folks who are already on the streets, making sure that they have some place to go to, especially thats nearby, that they can discover and that staff from the center are reaching out to, that were more likely to get them the Immediate Care that they need. Its not just about sleep. Its about protection from the elements. This crisis leads to preventable deaths. And i anticipate a number of my neighbors might reach out and say, oh, this is going to be too much. We cant handle, or whatever the arguments are or it will attract more of the unhoused population. But i look outside my window, at golden gate park, i see people sleeping in the park, i see people sleeping on the streets. We cant both Say Something needs to be done about this and say we cant do anything about it. It also particularly effects were seeing work at the seniors center, more older adults coming by on the street who are unhoused. If we cannot take care of our elderly and ensure that people can age with dignity in our community, thats the antiethical to our values. Please work out the amendments, so it serves our community best. But we want one in the richmond district. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker. Hi, supervisors. My name is norm dellman. I live in district 5. And i support this ordinance. I think that every district should have a Navigation Center. And, you know, basically my own personal experience is that i walk my little dog at 5 00 in the morning, its dark out. And, you know, i come across a lot of bodies and my heart goes out for those folks. I hope theres going to be a Navigation Center in the ashbury district. Thank you. Next speaker. Good morning to each and every one of you. And thank you, matt haney, for addressing this horrible, horrible i dont want to start crying. Homeless crisis i was part of that. The effect in 2005. And i know how i forgot to say my name. My name is gloria rodriguez, retired from working. Its critical and i understand and empathize with everything said here about money and Everything Else. We need people off the street immediately. We have homeless dying in the streets. And not only just from their own overdose or something, other people killing them. And until we take care of this, as far as im concerned, everybody is a one day away from being homeless. Its not just the people that are homeless. You could be homeless. You never know. And until we have sympathy and empathy for everybody and consider everybody as one, this is not going to be taken care of. Another thing, too, i definitely support the Navigation Centers, because we have to have some place to start. I understand and empathize that theyre building more housing. Believe me, if i wasnt a senior disabled, i would have been in the streets. [bell dings] and we cannot just have one area. We have to start with the Navigation Centers. And definitely we have to have universal Mental Health care. Without the Mental Health care, none of this is going to work. In the Navigation Centers, each one of them has to have Mental Health care. And we have to have after Mental Health care. It cant go separate. We cant have one without the other. Everybody is concerned about getting the people off the streets. [bell dings] thank you. Are there any other members of the public that would like to testify on this item . Next speaker, please. My name is cheryl. I work with tndc. Tenderloin resident and formerly homeless. So we speak im hearing a lot of things that can happen in the near future, which are good. Building housing. But until a person has a place immediately to live at, and their mental issues are addressed, just going into a place off the street, its not a good thing. They need care. So there are people out there. This is an emergency. I support this legislation, matt. Thank you. People are out there. Its gotten so bad, theres not even most of them dont even have tents any more. Theyre sleeping on the sidewalk with coats. On the cement. And its an emergency. And we need shelters. Homelessness is in the richmond district, knob hill, marina district, st. Francis woods. Its everywhere. I think a lot of it has to do with not only fear, but racism also. From a lot of these communities that do not want shelters. So this has to do with being humane. [bell dings] and getting people off the streets as quickly as possible. We can work on Everything Else at the same time. But even a thousand in the next year is not enough. We need emergency housing now. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good morning, everyone. Jordan davis. And im formerly homeless myself and live in the tenderloin. Believe it or not, where i was where i would often sleep, when i was homeless in this city, its actually not in a place where theres a lot of Navigation Centers. It was the sunset district, ocean beach. I remember those cold, foggy nights. Because i didnt want to be near people. But the point is, you know, like theres homelessness in every part of the city. And theres homeless and i have slept as someone who slept in the sunset, this is back in 2014, before like anything even any Homeless Services were even imaginable, it needs to be in every district. And i do share the concerns that we need also to Navigation Centers, and we need permanent Supportive Housing. People cant be in shelter forever. I hope all of these things and i hope that theres an amendable solution and stakeholders can come together and we can solicit feedback from the Youth Commission, as well as everyone else. But i just want to say this, there are two types of people in this world. There are people who support the Constructive Solutions and want to work towards work in good faith towards annual solution. Or fuckings a holes who just look out for themselves. Next speaker, please. Good morning, supervisors. I am laura sign. Tenderloins peoples congress. I support this legislation. Must take responsibility of having Navigation Centers in their neighborhood. Homelessness is citywide and must provide Citywide Solutions. No neighborhood is exempt from helping to find the solutions. Many of the higherincome districts have shared responsibilities when it comes to homelessness. And this policy must change. All districts must share responsibility to house people in Navigation Centers. This is a critical legislation and i support this legislation. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please thank you for supervisors matt haney and all the rest. This is a huge crisis. So my name is lorenzo. I work as a Committee Organizer with the tenderloin peoples congress. So we support the expansion of Navigation Centers citywide. Because the problem is citywide. So we need a citywide solution. And this just is common sense. Okay. So and we need we understand that, you know, its a solution thats been like failing for many years. The fact is that 400 Homeless People died on the streets, you know, three years. The past three years. And according to the count data, Homeless Population increased by 17 , so meaning the Previous Solutions are not working. Yeah. So we know that Homeless People are humans, too. And its difficult for our city to let them die on the streets. Its absurd. But, of course, we want the solutions, Navigation Center citywide. We should also think about new and innovative ideas. An organization [bell dings] the Filipino Community corporation made a study last year and came up with a program. The urban sleep center is an innovative idea of a popular Successful Program in seattle, washington, in jacksonville, florida. So this will solve the solution of homelessness. We have over 400 buildings citywide that are empty and abandoned. We can make use of them. [bell dings] thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Is there anyone else that would like to speak on this item, before Public Comment is closed . Seeing none, public testimony is now closed. [gavel] supervisor haney. Thank you. Thank you, chair mar. Im definitely looking forward to working with you on the amendments. And i absolutely hear the point about flexibility and making sure that we are able to provide for facilities that really meet the needs of the neighborhood. I do want to note that there is significant flexibility built into this legislation, as is. And im absolutely open to additional flexibility. Just noting that the legislation says that the Navigation Centers can serve specific populations, including at least one that may be operated as a managed alcohol shelter expect at least one that may focus on the needs of youth. At least one that may serve transgender or gender, nonconforming individuals, one that provides Onsite Services for individuals living in cars or recreational vehicles. At least one that may serve seniors, at least one that may focus on another population experiencing homelessness. Certainly we have, as i spoke, a lot of diversity in the Navigation Centers that currently exist, both in the populations that they serve and in their structures and their focus and the services that they provide. I do want to note that we have a hummingbird, which serves as a Navigation Center, which is on the site of general hospital, which really focuses and targets individuals who may have high levels of Mental Health needs. So the idea that this is in any way a onesizefitsall could not be farther from the truth. And im absolutely want to work with my colleagues and with the department to make sure that this is fitting the broader overall strategy that we respectively have for our neighborhoods and a little for the city. But, you know, respectfully i have not and am not aware of any plan from the department of homelessness or anyone else that addresses this citywide needs that we have. And identifies a way to serve individuals experiencing homelessness all over the city. And for five years weve had Navigation Centers. Theyve only to this point ever opened up in three districts. And during that time, homelessness has gotten worse. In addition to that, supervisors all over the city have said we want services in our districts. And theyve been in many cases including, with our new supervisor in district 5, have not been able to have the adequate support for that. So i hear the point and i agree with supervisor peskin that in some cases, you know, the district lines are maybe not the best way to understand our city more broadly. But at the same time, because of the role that supervisors play in this process, the political role that we play, the budgeting role to make things happen in our respective districts, this was sort of the best way to ensure geographic equity, that we could develop from a policy framework. I also want to say a piece about the number of beds. I agree we need to build a lot more housing. Hopefully well get prop c and have a lot of opportunity there. And certainly were building more and theres a lot in the pipeline. But i just i just cant accept that we dont have a need for hundreds of additional Navigation Center beds in the near future, to be able to facilitate and transition people off of the street. We need both. We need this and that. And i think that this will help us with added flexibility, get us to a place where we have a citywide plan, that the supervisors can get behind and the mayor can get behind and we can all Work Together to achieve. In reality, when a Navigation Center or any facility is proposed in a neighborhood, its going to mean a lot to the residents there to be able to understand that this is a part of a citywide plan. That everyone is stepping up. And it will be harder to do it if its done as it has been in a oneoff all over the city, certainly residents of my district and im sure other districts, always ask, well, what is the rest of the city doing. And thats a fair question. And the answer to that should be were all stepping up. And that means that, as elected fixers, were all stepping up and making that commitment. Our neighbors are stepping up and making that commitment. And hopefully the department and the mayor is stepping up alongside us on this. So we will Work Together. You know, i want to get this to a place where we can all be confident and excited and committed to doing this. And if that takes some more flexibility in what would what type of facilities are a part of that plan, then i think that, with my coauthors of the legislation and fellow colleagues, that we can im confident we can get there. So this will be back. Thanks again, supervisor haney, for your leadership on this. Colleagues, so again i want to move that we continue this item to the call of the chair. Great. [gavel] mr. Clerk, is there any further business . Clerk thats the end of our agenda. Thank you. We are adjourned. Okay. Somebody said this feels like a wedding, and i think it is good news. My name is bill witte, and on behalf of tndc and united, i welcome you on behalf of avery. And were here today because of years of work and creative policies from mayors and boards of supervisors and ocii and its staff to create a neighborhood, transbay neighborhood, of which this is the largest building that is truly mixed use, mixed income, and i think a model for what can happen elsewhere in San Francisco and frankly in other cities. So this is 548 units total. Its condominiums and rentals, and 150 of those units are permanently affordable. And again, this took political will and commitment and a lot of work by the ocii staff, headed by nadia cesae and her commissioners, several of whom are here today, and it shows public, private, for profit, nonprofit, what it can accomplish. It has world class design, as well, and i want to thank our highrise architect, and lowrise architect. You wont find a better lowrise building in San Francisco, to their credit. Im going to begin by introducing the person who needs no introduction, our mayor. I mean, ive been around a long time in San Francisco, and this mayor, its not possible to be more supportive of housing, Affordable Housing, creative approaches to move the needle and to think outside the box. Again, needs no introduction, but its my pleasure to introduce mayor london breed. [applause] the hon. London breed thank you, bill. Thank you, bill, and thank you to related for your patience in developing this incredible project. I remember when i first serves on the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency commission, and this community, this area was only just a thought. What would happen, what could happen, how do we look at ways to turn it into a new neighborhood . So in 2005, the transbay redevelopment plan was adopted with a goal of really creating what has become an incredible community. And the money that paid for this this property was used to help with transbay terminal, finding creative ways to generate more revenue to invest in this neighborhood was possible as a result of years of hard work. And so here we are, opening 548 new units of desperately needed new housing in San Francisco. This is an amazing accomplishment. [applause]. The hon. London breed but when you think about the fact that this plan was passed in 2005, and its now 2020, and 15 years later, were just now getting to a point where were realizing the benefits of the housing that we so desperately need. And the sad reality is we have to do better. We cant continue to delay important Housing Development in San Francisco, especially ones that have a larger percentage of Affordable Housing tied to those projects than what is required. And this is critical to the future success of our city. We have not build enough housing, and here, we have an opportunity to do more, if only the courage exists with our policy makers to make the hard decisions. So i will continue to fight for a more equitable San Francisco because i cant help but think about every time i show up to cut a ribbon for an Affordable Housing project how happy i am, but also how sad i am that this didnt exist before where people when i was growing up with in this city needed an opportunity to have a safe, affordable place to call home. But now, we have a chance to change that. We have an opportunity to move forward differently than what weve done in the past by making significant policy changes, and those policy changes will be coming sooner rather than later. So i hope youll keep an open mind and open eyes to what is possible because we all know that San Francisco Needs Housing all over the city. We all know that people who have raised their children here cant their children their grow up here. Their children agrgrew up here but now, they cant afford to live here and they have to commute long distances into the city, so thats why its so crucial for our housing stock, and thats why its so critical for those 150 families who are moving in and having the housing and security that they need. This is what we need to be doing on a regular basis in San Francisco, so i am really grateful to bill witte, im greatful to don falk and tndc for their advocacy and outreach and work to help support folks that are part of the Affordable Housing units. Im excited about what this project along with others that will open in this particular community will do for the future of our city, and i cant wait to see people continue to move in. So thank you all so much, and have a wonderful day. [applause] well, thank you, thank you, mayor breed. Those are words we should all live by. So supervisor matt haney just reminded me hes been in office for its either a little less for a little more than a year, although it probably feels like five years. He came into office already a big supporter of Affordable Housing and has continued in that leadership role, you know, working with mayor breed on the homeless issue, on providing Mental Health services to this population. Hes been a huge advocate, and were very happy to welcome him to the avery today. Matt . [applause] supervisor haney thank you. Thank you, bill, and related and everyone that was a part of making this possible. I first just want to acknowledge and thank the residents, cici and regina and all the folks that are welcoming us into your home. This is beautiful. This is my first time being here, and im so proud that this project and this development is here in district 6. This neighborhood is growing fast, maybe faster than any neighborhood in San Francisco, and its growing with a balance of housing. I hear some folks saying yeah, we could use more open space, but were doing this in a way by building a neighborhood that is truly for the residents. And this is an area that mayor breed said, there was not much housing here. There was not much here at all. And now, it is one of the densest residential neighborhoods in San Francisco, and we should be very proud of that. I want to thank mayor breed for her leadership on housing and building more housing. In district 6, we are building thousands and thousands of units of housing, tens of thousands of units of housing in the pipeline, and i agree with mayor breed, we desperately need that housing throughout the city, as well. So as we celebrate this housing, we also know it cant come online fast enough. Some places in the city actually dont have 500 units of housing building in an entire tenyear period, and we have so much here. I also want to recognize and thank you for building so many affordable units here in this building. 150plus affordable units, families, folks like cici, who ive come to know well, are going to be able to call this place home. And we know that our most desperate need for housing is Affordable Housing. Some folks, when they build Affordable Housing, they want to do it offsite, and i think the best way to do that is on side affordable. I want to thank related, and tndc for your part in making this possible. I agree, we need to do these things quicker and more of them, but this is a moment of celebration and appreciation for everybody who made it possible. Thank you. [applause] as we have said, tndc is not only a part of this development, theyre a coowner in those apartments. Do don falk has been executive director for 15 years at tndc. During that time, they built and or renovated over 1500 units, and those numbers are great, but the reason why were so excited to have tndc as a partnership other more projects, as don has told me, its about improving those units, and no one does those Services Better with attention to detail than tndc. So it is with great pleasure i introduce my friend and partner and fort wayne, indianas gift to San Francisco, don falk. [applause] thank you. I am pleased on behalf of tndc to take this opportunity to express gratitude. First and foremost to our partners at related and bill. And people may or may not know this about related. Theyre a forprofit company who is very capable of doing Affordable Housing, 100 Affordable Housing, mixed income, and they invited us into this project i think because they understand that tndc offers some unique capabilities and something in my mind that is singular that arises out of tndcs values and how we approach the work. And so despite the incredible skills that related brings, i mean, ive never been involved in a 55story building before. It has been a true learning experience. Im just really proud of what tndc can offer in our role here. I want to take this chance also to thank our partners. We have so many, i cant even begin to say, but especially ocii, the mayor, the Mayors Office of housing. Your staff has been wonderful for us to work with. And i just want to say the Mayors Office of housing are forever and always a partner in everything that we do. I just want to take a moment to appreciate the people at tndc who made this happen, starting with the Services Staff thatll oversee the services here. Thats Yvette Robinson and deline rankin. [applause] and on the development side, kato aumont, a couple of former tndc staff people, sarah moore and steve white. So thank you to all of you for not only supporting this development but for supporting all of tndcs work. We are truly grateful. [applause] thank you to katie and tndc staff. Were longterm owners, and were going to be working with the staff and everybody. And now, were celebrating the building. Its great design, and theres hopefully going to be very active public space. But the real story is among the 150 residents who will be able to live affordably and hopefully close to where they may work in San Francisco, and ive gotten to talk to cici roberts a little bit, whos going to speak to you now, whos one of our residents, who came through our leaseup process to get a unit. A single mother of two was living on the peninsula, commuting to a job in San Francisco. I cant have to tell you about the cost of housing everywhere in the west bay, certainly. Commuting and all of that, trying to deal with the two kids and now is here. She also has some incredible stories, which just happened organically, which you always hope will happen in a mixedincome community. So please welcome one of our residents, cici roberts. [applause] im so nervous. Good morning. My name is cecelia roberts, and im so honored to be here. I have to take the time to tell my story. As a single mother of two beautiful amazing kids, ive lived and worked in San Francisco for over 20 years, doing work for the community in the nonprofit field, advocating for clients to change their lives and better for lives. However, the Daily Community for me grew a hardship on me traveling 22 miles back and forth to work in San Francisco and provide for my kids. I was looking through my email and seen eligibility for 250 fremont, and it brought tears to my eyes that finally all my hardship work has paid off. I arrived on time for my appointment, playing the song, im so excited, smiling from ear to ear. I was so happy, and my kids were so excited. I first met the related staff, completed all of my paperwork, and after everything was completed, i was told i would receive a letter in the mail. That letter came, and it showed i was denied, and i cried, but i was not going to give up on this big opportunity for me and my kids, so i appealed it, and i sat down with danny, with julie fungroberts by my side, and we talked, and we talked about my credit. With the help of danny along with supervisor matt haney and honey mahogany, i was able to cleanup my credit and submit my application, and in seven months, i was able to sign my lease. And seeing this beautiful place, i cried and cried, and the joy and the tears that it brought to my kids eyes. Danny, and mr. Haney, my eightyearold wanted me to tell you thank you. Shes not late to school no more. And now, she can focus on her arabic language. My son doesnt have to take an hourlong train ride to get here to college, and my job is six minutes away. Since living here, ive met some beautiful people, one being my neighbor, regina allen, the related staff. Just on the corner, i had the pleasure of meeting Golden State Warriors Glen Robertson iii. I cooked him a southern meal, and he rewarded me then and furnished my whole house. [applause] he furnished my whole house, and it made me day, and this i cant read from a paper because i just cooked for him when he came into my house. I had two air beds and three floating chairs, but we were happy to live in this apartment, so it didnt matter to me, and i was ashamed, and i was not embarrassed. He was saying his brother is really big football wise, and he was saying i hope my brother dont break one of these folding chairs. So i cooked for him a good, good southern meal. And october 24, on my birthday, he asked me what i was doing, and i said oh, nothing. He said id like to take you to lunch, and i thought i was going to lunch, and he took me to coit on vanness and furnished every room in the house from head to toe. And he has a charity for his daughter. And i was just so grateful. You can find the video on youtube, but i was just so grateful for what hes done, so thank you. So at the end, i would like to thank i would like to thank danny, thank you, matt haney, and thank you, london breed. Thank you to all the avery staff. Stephanie got the best team. She got the best team. Mario, justin, amber, omar, saeed, armando, and the leasing staff. I want to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to live in a beautiful place like this, me and my kids. Thank you, danny. Thank you. [applause] thank you. And cici was telling me before the program that as a new resident, she sees something that maybe could use improvement, she goes down stairs, she talks to the staff, they interact. Thats how this is supposed to work, and its working. Can we do better . Yes, and we will, we will because we have residents like cici who will help us do that. So now, i want to acknowledge all the people who helped make this happen, who designed it, planned it, funded it. This is a 600 million project. Even today, thats a big number, but i want to start with ocii, with nadia and her staff. And they presided, as they did at mission bay, over the two major mixedincome neighborhoods in San Francisco. And without their participation, including financial and the Affordable Housing, this wouldnt happen, so thats nadia and sally hirth, her deputy. Shane and brandon, the project Management Team who we still continue to work with. Jeff and elizabeth from the housing department, and our old colleague, jim morales, whos general counsel. Tndc, don mentioned katey lamont, whos one of the Top Developers in the management sector in the city. And this is basically a complement. We have vertical condominiums above mixed income and Affordable Rentals all sort of coming together. There was Construction Financing from bank of china, wells fargo bank, and citigroup. Citigroup i think also bought the tax credits which helped pay for the Affordable Housing. On the design side, i mentioned o. M. A. And fougeron, and the architects of record who did the actual drawings. I mentioned webcor drawings. Jeff peterson is here. Again, this is a major building, not a simple project. And then last, but not least, our team at related. And often times, i leave the project manager to the end but Jonathan Schumm was with me when i responded to the ocii. Theyre still involved in leasing up the retail space, all of the financing, closing it all out. One of the most complicated deals weve ever worked on, so jonathan, thank you for all of that. [applause] and as our architects and contractors will tell you, were very active clients. Were almost like partners. And on the design side, phoebe yee and her team worked with o. M. A. And fougeron on every detail of this project, laying out the units. If you get a chance, walkthrough the common areas because i dont think youll see nicer interior design than we have here. Thats a function of phoebe and her team. On the construction side, we we actually take cost risk in working with webcor, so very, very active. Our head of construction who refuses to show up at these events, jeff lucas, but his team helped build this with jeff and his team at webcor. And then ballin simszyk also deserves a lot of credit here. Id also acknowledge a former colleague of ours, greg bilkin. Also had a large role in helping this happen. And finally, jennifer lee and jill blumberg for organizing todays event, so thank you. I always like to finish these by saying we are longterm owners. We typically keep and own everything that we build, so were going to keep it. Were going to be neighbors in this community, working with people like mr. Robertson and kineta johnson from the citizens advisory group, who is now, i think, Business Improvement district. Also been very active, mayor and supervisor mentioned the community. Very involved in this, well continue to be, so well be your neighbors for a long time, and i think weve done okay. We can and will do better. We look forward to your input, meeting with you, and continuing to improve the neighborhood. I think we will have some tours available for people who are interested. Oh, ive neglected to involve our marketing team. You dont sell 118 condominiums and lease 350 rentals without a very active team, and from our end, we have kalee pickett and others who are still very involved. So this is hopefully a model for the city. Thank you all for coming. [applause]. I love that i was in four plus years a a rent control tenant, and it might be normal because the tenant will for the longest, i was applying for b. M. R. Rental, but i would be in the lottery and never be like 307 or 310. I pretty much had kind of given up on that, and had to leave San Francisco. I found out about the San Francisco Mayors Office of housing about two or three years ago, and i originally did Home Counseling with someone, but then, my certificate expired, and one of my friends jamie, she was actually interested in purchasing a unit. I told her about the housing program, the Mayors Office, and i told her hey, youve got to do the six hour counseling and the 12 hour training. She said no, i want you to go with me. And then, the very next day that i went to the session, i notice this unit at 616 harrison became available, b. M. I. I was like wow, this could potentially work. Housing purchases through the b. M. R. Program with the sf Mayors Office of housing, they are all lotteries, and for this one, i did win the lottery. There were three people that applied, and they pulled my number first. I won, despite the luck id had with the program in the last couple years. Things are finally breaking my way. When i first saw the unit, even though i knew it was less than ideal conditions, and it was very junky, i could see what this place could be. Its slowly beginning to feel like home. I can definitely you know, once i got it painted and slowly getting my Custom Furniture to fit this unit because its a specialized unit, and all the units are microinterms of being very small. This unit in terms of adaptive, in terms of having a murphy bed, using the walls and ceiling, getting as much space as i can. Its slowly becoming home for me. It is great that San Francisco has this program to address, lets say, the housing crisis that exists here in the bay area. It will slowly become home, and i am appreciative that it is a bright spot in an otherwise happy new year, everybody. I love the fact that we are doing a tournament here at the center. When i was in eighth grade i played on a basketball teechl. Team. I have to admit i wasnt very good at it. I always aspired to be an nba player. Regardless of playing in college or nba, i expect many of you have be leading us because of the leadership still a lot of people wonder since the trees have a lot of issues, why did we plant them in the first place . Trees are widely planted in San Francisco. With good reason. They are workhorses when it comes to urban forestry. We have begun to see our ficustrees are too big and dangerous in San Francisco. We have a lot of tree failures with this species in particular. This is a perfect example of the challenges with the structure of the ficustrees. You can see four very large stems that are all coming from the same main truck. You can see the two branches attached to one another at a really sharp angle. In between you cant it is a lot of strong wood. They are attached so sharply together. This is a much weaker union of a branch than if you had a wide angel. This is what it looks like after the fi c. U. Resolution s limb. We see decline. You can see the patches where there arent any leaves at all. That is a sign the tree is in decline. The other big challenge is the root system of the tree are aggressive and can impact nearby utilities, and we can fix the sidewalk around the tree in many cases. We dont want to cuts the roots too severely because we can destabilize the tree. In a city like San Francisco our walks are not that wide. We have had to clear the branches away from the properties. Most of th the can canopy is one street side and that is heavyweight on those branches out over the street. That can be a factor in tree limb failures. A lot of people wonder since these trees have a lot of issues. Why did we plant them in the first place . They provided the city with benefits for decades. They are big and provide storage for carbon which is important to fight Climate Change and they provide shade and really i think many people think they are a beautiful asset. When we identify trees like this for removal and people protest our decision, we really understand where they are coming from. I got into this job because i love trees. It just breaks my heart to cut down trees, particularly if they are healthy and the issue is a structural flaw. I have also seen first hand what happens when we have failures. We have had a couple of injuries due to tree failures. That is something we cant live with either. It is a challenging situation. We hate to lose mature trees, but Public Safety has to always good evening. Y has to always welcome to the february 5, 2020 meeting of the San Francisco board of appeals. President ann lazarus will be the presiding officer, Vice President honda, commissioners tanner and santacana. At the controls this is the board legal process