2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 APPROVED
MINUTES OF THE
SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY FACILITY COMMISSION
MEETING WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2008 – 6:00 PM
ALEX L. PITCHER, JR. COMMUNITY ROOM, 1800 OAKDALE AVENUE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124
1.0 CALL TO ORDER
Commission President Bobbrie Brown called the Wednesday, June 25, 2008 meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. in the Alex L. Pitcher Community Room at 1800 Oakdale Avenue.
1.1 ROLL CALL
6:12 p.m. Commission Secretary – Carla Vaughn
Commissioners Present: Brown, Churchwell, Jones, Kennedy,
Chung
Commissioners Excused: Sampson, Yang
Staff Present: Toye Moses, Executive Director
Joseph Singh, Management Assistant
Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary
1.2 SUNSHINE ORDINANCE ANNOUNCEMENT
AND CONSENT CALENDAR
Commission President Bobbrie Brown welcomed all present and announced the Sunshine Ordinance and the Consent Calendar.
Commissioner Kennedy moved to accept the consent calendar. Commissioner Jones seconded the motion.
2.0 PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
3.0 COMMUNICATIONS
Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary announced the following:
a) Mayor Newsom cordially requests the pleasure of your company to celebrate LGBT Month with a VIP Reception, Thursday, June 26, 2008, 4PM, at City Hall.
b) Letter of Invitation to Edward Reskin, new Director, Department of Public Works to provide a general overview.
c) Announcement welcoming Ms. Tiffany Bohee, Project Manager, Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development to present an overview of Hunter’s Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point Integrated Development Project and Sustainability Plan.
d) Press release: Bay View Families Display Their Artworks at the Bay View Opera House.
e) Invitation from Mayor Newson & San Francisco Housing Authority to attend the 3rd Annual Graduation Ceremony for Public Housing Residents.
f) Invitation from the San Francisco African-American Chamber of Commerce Juneteenth 08 luncheon & small business seminar honoring community leaders including Southeast Facility Commissioner Caesar Churchwell on Thursday, June 26, 2008.
4.0 PRESENTATION
Commission Chair Bobbrie Brown welcomed Ms. Bohee and thanked her for attending the Southeast Community Facility Commission meeting.
Ms. Tiffany Bohee of the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and Project Manager for the integrated development of Hunter’s Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point thanked Commissioner Brown and provided the following information to the Commission.
Ms. Bohee stated, “The shipyard is a former naval base closed for 30 plus years. The area at Candlestick Point has done very little for the Bay View with its’ decades old stadium, sea of asphalt parking lot. Apparently that counts for open space under the city charter and at the shipyard, former naval superfund site. A lot of you for many, many years have been working with us, and the rest of the city family to get the Navy to do the right thing and clean up that shipyard. Fortunately, the first phase of development of the shipyard is already underway, already clean and transferred from the Navy to the Redevelopment Agency and to Lennar. They are already building approximately 1500 homes. They’re starting all of the horizontal infrastructure work. So what we’re talking about now is the balance of the shipyard. The rest of it still needs to be cleaned and transferred.
Fortunately we’ve made significant progress in the last year and a half. There has been no shortage of planning at the shipyard, or at Candlestick for over the last ten years. Dating back to fall of 06 we really started to look at these two sites really as one development in an integrated development. It makes a lot of sense from a planning point of view. The communities are both immediately adjacent to existing Bay View, they’re not that far away. The access issues for transportation, open space, the economic development drivers that are needed, they’re all one and the same issues, so directed both from the Board and the Mayor we started looking at these as one site. Dating back to May 07 the Board and the Mayor approved what we’re calling a conceptual framework for this site, the integrated development, a mixed use project that does allow a spot for the Niners on the shipyard, but we’re not counting on them coming. We’re going to push ahead with or without them and you’ll see imagery, and we’ll walk you through that in your packets.
Importantly, we did start our environmental review process. Before we can do anything, transfer any land, we started our environmental review through what’s called a notice of preparation of the EIR. That happened in August of last year and we’re under way. All of that technical work that must be done for the work to be undertaken, this incredible development plan we need to complete the environmental review first, it’s very important. Also very important to note and I’m sure a number of you voted, the passage of Proposition G, the Bay View jobs, parks, and housing initiative. What that allowed, it not only was a policy measure that supported the development goals, the mixed use, the sustainability elements, the open space program, the linkages that we’re talking about, but it was also a technical matter. It allowed the use of the Candlestick Point, that rec/park land, that city owned “open space”, asphalt parking and decades old stadium, to be used for this development plan that you see a little bit here. It also as a technical clean up matter cleaned up the old 97 lease revenue bond measure if you may, some of you remember the old stadium mills development with the stadium development. So it repealed those measures to special use district and it also again allowed the use of that city owned land for development provided that we replace that open space in an equal amount and we’re doing that. This project as you’ll see it provides over 300 acres of open space. Primarily the focus of why we’re here as I understand from talking to your Executive Director, it really affects the transportation systems we’re building, the waste systems, how we treat all that, it’s important we examine that appropriately and it affects the broader Bay View. So, I’d like to turn it over to Audrey Tindell, of Lennar, to focus specifically on (1) what’s the sustainability plan that we’re talking about here, how are we taking best practices in the industry and translating it to this new development so we can link back to the Bay View and actually contribute something. And importantly on process, we’re just kind of in the middle start.
We got a little wind in our sails from the overwhelming support from the people of San Francisco through the passage of Prop G, that’s important, but we’ve got a lot of work to do as I said. We need to complete our environmental review process, which won’t be completed until August fall of 09, that’s when we hope to have a certified document and there’s a whole host of what we call entitlements and transaction documents. There’s a land exchanges that the Navy needs to transfer the land to the agency. We need to complete our development terms and agreements with our development partner Lennar so we hope too that will be completed by September 09. In the meantime we’ll have some interim step at our Board of Supervisors where we hope we get a none binding blessing in advance of this CEQUA environmental review that says your on the right path, your development terms, what we call a term sheet that will lay out affordable housing, jobs, the appropriate approach for sustainability and the like, so we have a lot of work to do. So with that I’d like to turn it over to Audrey Tindell.”
Ms. Audrey Tindell, of the Lennar Corporation greeted the Commissioners and thanked them for the opportunity to present to the Commission. She said she realized that some of them had seen an overall presentation provided to various local neighborhood groups over the past year and a half to give people an overview of what is being achieved with the integrated development.
Ms. Tindell provided a preliminary sustainable plan for the integrated development. She apologized for the absence of their consultant ARUP who was not available to present. Ms. Tindell said ARUP, an international firm that focuses on sustainable planning practices had been engaged. She advised ARUP implemented a lot of new innovative practices throughout the world so if there were more technical questions about the specific topics discussed today she would return and give more detailed and concrete responses to those questions.
Ms. Tindell’s fifteen-page plan presentation went over the project approach. It provided a baseline assessment and sustainability plan. The three main areas of focus are energy, water, and waste. She advised that over the next few months a series of documents would be available to the Commission.
Ms. Tindell introduced Envac, an automated waste collection system used in Europe and new to the United States.
Ms. Tindell advised this was a brief overview to provide the Commission with a sense of the preliminary work being done for the project.
Chair Brown asked if there was a target date for the project to be implemented.
Ms. Tindell responded they anticipated having the majority of their entitlements by Fall 09. Given that timing Ms. Tindell stated no form of improvements or construction would start until 2010 ideally. She said they were looking at a 15-year build out. She advised that over the next 15 years there would be activity both horizontal improvements, transportation improvements, parks being built and homes being built, as well as jobs because of the commercial component of the project. She noted it was a long trajectory but these are all the things they want in place before the dirt is touched.
Commissioner Chung asked if the project would take 15 years to complete.
Ms. Tindell responded yes, approximately.
Commissioner Kennedy thanked Ms. Tindell and Ms. Bohee for their presentation and was happy to see they were providing information that the community was interested in.
Commissioner Churchwell asked if phase one had started.
Ms. Tindell responded yes.
Commissioner Churchwell asked if phase two required the same process.
Ms. Tindell responded yes.
Commissioner Churchwell asked with all the jobs and projects coming up, how would the community know when to apply.
Ms. Tindell noted this is part of both the city infrastructure and what Lennar is proposing. She advised that with phase one there is a disposition and development agreement. Ms. Tindell stated, “There are requirements for both local hiring, certain labor contracts that are set in place up front. And then in terms of the actual how do you find out, how do you know where to be, when to be? We’ve heard that a lot from various folks in the community and so really what we’re trying to work to do now because this is three or four years away and it might seem long, but if you need to get job ready, or if you need to just be aware of the opportunities we’re trying to get that in place now so in the next six months or so we will have a proposal in conjunction with the city, and there are a couple of city agencies that are out there ready to enroll people in job readiness programs or if there is a better way to communicate what the opportunities are we’re working on that as well.
Commissioner Kennedy advised Lennar has set aside over $200,000 every year to train the young people in the community. She advised they were now in the process of determining who will do the training this year. Commissioner Kennedy stated City College/Oakdale and Evans annex received funding, and YCD has received money along with various other agencies in the city. Commissioner Kennedy stated a lot of people would have received training by the time the jobs are available and this has been going on for several years.
Ms.Tiffany Bohee stated the Commissioners might be familiar with Rhonda Simmons, the Director of Workforce Development. She noted there have been issues in the past and the city has given a lot of money over the years for workforce training dollars so there hasn’t been a lot of accountability in metrics. Lennar has committed $8.5 million dollars, the city is required to match that, so it’s not just Lennar funding workforce dollars, it’s the city providing in kind and also making sure that whatever vendors, third parties, whatever CBO’s we’re working with, or agencies, that they actually deliver.
Regarding the water recycle option, Executive Director Moses asked if the water would be safe for human consumption.
Ms. Bohee responded the goal with recycled water is to reduce the amount of potable water. She noted that people water their lawns with drinking water. Ms. Bohee stated we want to take the uses that don’t need to have water that’s at a high treatment level and water that we drink be used for irrigation, for flushing our toilets, etc. She advised that type of water we can use non-potable, but it’s still treated. The water is treated to a level that’s signed off by the Board of Regional Water and Quality, but it’s not drinking water, not potable water.
Executive Director Moses asked what type of outreach is in place to educate the people.
Ms. Bohee advised it was a little preliminary and they were addressing the Commission today to agree on an approach to implement recycled water. She stated they were relying on the PUC to commit dollars, and to brainstorm with PUC to find the best feasible plan. Ms. Bohee said another option was to create an onsite treatment plant. She continued stating that once a decision was made it would be necessary to get the word out to the people. Ms. Bohee noted that it was understood that a certain amount of community education would be necessary
Commissioner Jones thanked Ms. Bohee and Ms. Tindell for the comprehensive presentation. She noted how important it is to minimize the generation of waste. Commissioner Jones asked how 90% of the waste generated would be diverted.
Ms. Tindell responded that the report referred to construction and debris waste, not household. She stated it was diversion from landfills. She referred to Mission Bay where there were huge boulders of rock that could be broken down and reused.
Commission Chair Bobbrie Brown thanked Ms. Bohee and Ms. Tindell for the presentation.
Tony Caruso of Decorative Plants, speaking on behalf of the Bay View Hunter’s Point Greenhouse Association, proposed an idea to hold plant sales to benefit the community non-profits and charitable organizations. He advised that currently there are two plant sales a month conducted by Decorative Plants. Old plants and seconds from the two wholesale nurseries are provided to the community with deep discounts. Mr. Caruso requested the Commissions help in identifying organizations that might benefit from the sales and help get the word out. He stated the nursery would provide pricing help and the proceeds would be split with the community organizations.
Commission Chair Brown asked who the contact person would be.
Mr. Caruso responded the contact would be Eli or Dan Goldman of SunBourne Nursery.
Commissioner Kennedy said she would like to see them start with an organization that would benefit the youth in the community.
Mr. Caruso requested being provided a contact name.
Commission Chair Brown suggested the YMCA on Lane Avenue.
Commissioner Churchwell wanted to know how the nursery made money.
Mr. Caruso stated the amount made through the sales was fairly incidental, with $400 to $600 a month being the approximate amount. He advised that most people purchasing plants at the sale used them to resell at flea markets. He advised the prices normally received at the plant sale were anywhere between $1 and $10.
Mr. Caruso thanked Director Moses and the SECFC staff for being supportive regarding the community outreach. He noted meetings with Dean Hunnicutt of City College and the Department Head of the Ornamental Horticulture College trying to find a way to connect these two parts of the facility. He reported Dr. Moses was key to bringing them together.
5.0 STAFF REPORT
Director Moses reported on the progress of the SECF Disability Access work and deck upgrading.
Chair Brown had questions regarding the length of time being taken to complete the project, and suggested inviting the Project Manager to address the Commission.
Joseph Singh provided an update on the lead fence and snake sculpture area replacement at Head Start Childcare.
Director Moses reported the budget was now with the Board of Supervisors.
6.0 NEW AND ON-GOING BUSINESS
Commissioner Kennedy provided a report from the Outreach Ad-Hoc Committee, which included a list of their goals.
Chair Brown asked Commissioner Jones to Chair the Health Fair event.
Commissioner Jones said she would Chair the event and scheduled a meeting for the second or third Tuesday in September to access the previous event and plan the new one.
Joseph Singh SECFC staffer reported attending a meeting of the Bay View Hunter’s Point Greenhouse Project with the heads of the three neighboring greenhouse businesses. The attendees were Tony Caruso of Decorative Plants, Siri Dhata of San Francisco Foliage, and Dan Goldman of SunBourne Nursery. The discussion revolved around finding ways to connect the horticulture program at San Francisco City College with use of the greenhouse facilities and increasing the Bay View community’s involvement with the horticulture business. Mr. Singh advised that Dean Hunnicutt was present and helped to facilitate the discussion.
Tony Caruso added that Stephen Brown the department chair said he would entertain the idea in August when the faculty members returned, and Mr. Brown noted they were a collaborative group.
Mr. Caruso said the idea of having an interior/scape class at Southeast Campus had been discussed with Dean Hunnicutt. He advised they were looking at ways to get the community interested in horticulture. Mr. Caruso stated a group of district 10 businesses related to horticulture had been identified. He noted there was a legacy of horticulture business in the Bay View and they would like to see it revived.
8.0 PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
9.0 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Commissioner Kennedy announced full scholarship opportunities at Syracuse University for 10 African American Men and Women interested in studying architecture.
Commissioner Kennedy announced a casting call for movie extras, actors, and models ages 18 – 85 through Hollywood Studios.
10 ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:12 pm.
Respectfully submitted
Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary
