Supervisor David Chiu - January 2012 Newsletter

Friend, Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season. For me, the new year is a time to plan for work we will continue to further improve the neighborhoods of District 3 and San Francisco as a whole. In this newsletter, you will find updates on district issues, ongoing legislation, my staff, January office hours in the district, and upcoming events that may interest you. Thank you for caring about our neighborhoods and for making San Francisco a world class city. I look forward to working with you in 2012!

Sincerely,

David Chiu

Contents
District 3 Update Legislation See You in the District Community Calendar Office News

Official Website

District 3 Update
Americas Cup

In December, the San Francisco Planning Commission voted unanimously to certify the Final Environmental Impact Report on the 34th Americas Cup. Key changes to the original project include the preservation of Bay views from Rincon Point, additional mitigation measures to further reduce air quality impacts and a reduced scope of vehicle lane closure along the Embarcadero. The unanimous approval of the EIR from the Planning Commission has been appealed by Telegraph Hill Dwellers and several environmental groups. Until the appeals are heard, construction of any new facilities will be on hold. These appeals will be heard by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this month. My focus is making sure that there are plans in place to deal with the traffic we know will come to District 3, and to make sure that our precious waterfront remains environmentally sound. In addition to environmental certifications, the details of the Project Agreement for the Americas Cup were also released late at the end of last year. The agreement outlines as much as $100 million to be invested into Port property and includes significant upgrades to both facilities and infrastructure, including the Cruise Terminal at Pier 27. The Board of Supervisors will likely consider all of these details later this month, and my office will be working closely with stakeholders to be certain that any planned development allowed for under the agreement provides improves short and long-term public access to the waterfront and makes sense for the City financially. The first events on San Francisco Bay are the Americas Cup World Series races scheduled for Aug. 1119, 2012 and Aug. 27Sept. 2, 2012. The Americas Cup will then return to our shores for the main events starting on July 4, 2013, when the competition to capture the Americas Cup trophy begins with the Louis Vuitton Cup. The winner of the Louis Vuitton Cup earns the right to compete in the Americas Cup finals against cup-holder Team Oracle. The America's Cup final races are scheduled for Sept. 722, 2013. Studies have put the economic impact to San Francisco from the 34th America's Cup events in 2012 and 2013 at more than $1 billion, including spending and jobs across the visitor and hospitality, construction and transportation industries.

Waterfront Playground In recent years, the neighborhoods along the Northeastern Waterfront have been changing considerably, including becoming the home of more families with young children. Unfortunately, these neighborhoods have very few recreational opportunities geared for these new residents. The nearest public playground facilities are a bus ride or long walk away, which is a challenge for those with very young children. I have been collaborating with a group called Friends of the Waterfront Playground that has been working for over a year on locating, designing, and fundraising for a new waterfront public playground. After residents and the Recreation and Park Department identified Sue Bierman Park as a potential location, I authored an ordinance that would allow for the building of playground structures there, which is currently not permitted. In November, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved this legislation, opening the doors for the next phase of the playgrounds planning. Please join us for public community outreach meeting on Tuesday, January 24, at 6:00 p.m. at the Bayside Conference Room, Pier 1 to talk about the design concepts for the playground.

8 Washington As you may have read in the newspaper, a proposal to increase the height limit and build 145 luxury condominiums and a 420-vehicle underground garage at 8 Washington on the Embarcadero could be headed to the Board of Supervisors in the coming months. The project would build over the parking lot on the corner of Washington and Embarcadero and replace the recreation facility that currently takes up the western portion of the parcel. While I support the goal of activating the surface parking lots along the Embarcadero and creating additional revenue streams for the Port, I share the deep concerns that many neighbors have about this project as currently conceived. Among other issues, this development would require the first significant height increase along the waterfront in more than four decades. The project is slated to be acted upon by the Planning and Port Commissions on January 19 and 20, respectively. If youd like more information, please contact judson.true@sfgov.org. Trader Joes & CVS at the Cala Food Site For several years, weve known that Cala Foods at California & Hyde was going to close, and the day finally came in December. The real question was what would take its place. Early proposals were to demolish the existing building to allow for a grocery store and many stories of housing above it. Along with many neighbors, my priority during this process has been to ensure that our neighborhoods would be without a full service grocery store for as short a time as possible. A few weeks ago, the Planning Commission approved a project that will reuse and improve the current building, and the developer has secured Trader Joes and CVS Pharmacy as tenants. My office continues to work through neighborhood concerns about CVSs proposal to have liquor license, but I am confident that we can work through this issue and see a grand opening in the second half of 2012.

Legislation
Helping Small Businesses Last fall, I introduced two pieces of legislation that will provide enormous benefits for small businesses. Since my service on the Small Business Commission, I have heard tragic stories from local small businesses having to close after being hit with lawsuits under the Americans withDisabilities Act (ADA). My legislation, which I authored in collaboration with the Mayors Office of Disability and Office of Small Business, would require commercial landlords leasing to small businesses to bring the ground floor entrances and exits into ADA compliance prior to leasing. This should help share the costs of compliance and make needed accessibility improvements without putting undue burden on small businesses. In December, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the ordinance, and the Board of Supervisors will consider the legislation later this month.

Another ordinance I introduced, in collaboration with Treasurer Jose Cisneros, consolidates annual business license billings. Currently, businesses receive multiple bills on multiple billing cycles from the City for the various licenses they need to operate. The system has been inefficient and confusing. Now, the Treasurers office will be able to send one consolidated bill to businesses beginning in March 2013. This change is one step towards making it easier

to do business in San Francisco. I am grateful to the Board of Supervisors for the unanimous approval of the ordinance. Making Neighborhoods Safer Since taking office, I have spent considerable time working on public safety issues related to late-night entertainment, authoring several pieces of legislation to require more accountability by night clubs and party promoters. Recently, we identified another safety issue related to the fact that many nightlife-related violence takes place in nearby parking facilities. The problem has been that commercial parking facilities are usually not staffed late at night when bars and clubs let out, and they are often poorly lit and lack adequate security. Along with City Attorney Herrera and Supervisor Wiener, I introduced legislation that would require operators of commercial parking lots and garages to provide security plans as part of permit applications. Also, if the parking facility is near a venue with an entertainment permit, certain minimum security requirements would apply, including adequate lighting and staffing of the facility until 3:00 a.m. Expanding Public Art Last summer, I introduced an ordinance co-sponsored by Mayor Ed Lee that will expand upon and improve the already existing public art fee. The City currently requires all downtown developments over 25,000 square feet to pay a fee equal to one percent of project construction costs to purchase on-site artwork. There has been a growing call for more flexibility in the location and types of art for which these funds can be spent. Under my legislation, developers, under most circumstances, will have an option to contribute a portion of their money to a newly developed Public Art Trust Fund. The Fund will pay for maintenance along with public art installations managed by the Arts Commission, which will include both permanent and temporary installations, as well as programming and performances to activate the public sphere. Recently, the Planning Commission unanimously supported the measure, and the Board of Supervisors will consider it shortly. I look forward to more art in public spaces! Improving the Planning Code In the middle of last year, I introduced a lengthy piece of legislation designed to simplify the Planning Code and to advance some of our broadly held policy goals, including the creation of affordable housing, the preservation of historic buildings, and the realization of our Transit First policy. The legislation will be heard at the Planning Commission on February 9, and I expect to move it through the Board of Supervisors in the months that follow. You can find a PDF of the Planning Departments helpful staff report here. My office will be holding meetings about this legislation in the coming months, but you can also contact my aide Judson True at judson.true@sfgov.org for more information.

Office Hours: See You In The District!

Over my three years in office, I have scheduled countless casual meetings every week with constituents in coffeehouses, bars, and restaurants around District 3. Some of these have led to legislation such as reducing unwanted yellow pages and nightlife violence, while others have resulted in focused work on neighborhood issues like tour buses and playgrounds. Beginning this month, I look forward to formalizing these interactions with regular district office hours throughout our amazing neighborhoods. Please come by with a neighborhood issue, a legislative idea, or just to say hello!

My January District Office Hours

Friday, January 13, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. Russian Hill Royal Ground Coffee, 2216 Polk Street Friday, January 13, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Chinatown Chinatown Library, 1135 Powell Street Friday, January 20, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. North Beach/Telegraph Hill Caffe Roma, 526 Columbus Avenue Tuesday, January 24, 6:00 p.m. Public Community Outreach Meeting on Design Concepts for the Waterfront Playground in Sue Bierman Park Bayside Conference Room, Pier 1 Happy Office Hour Thursday, January 26, 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Lower Polk Lush Lounge, 1221 Polk Street Friday, January 27, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Chinatown Chinatown Library, 1135 Powell Street Friday, February 3, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. Nob Hill Cup A Joe Coffeehouse, 896 Sutter Street

January 2012 Community Calendar

Friday, January 6, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. First Fridays in North Beach North Beach, Columbus & Stockton Sunday, January 15, 11:00 a.m. Vietnamese New Year TET Festival At Larkin and Eddy ---------------Monday, January 16, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Middle Polk Neighborhood Association General Meeting It's A Grind, 1800 Polk Street at Washington ---------------Thursday, January 19, 5:30 -7:00 p.m. Central Police Station Community Advisory Board Meeting Telegraph Neighborhood Center, 660 Lombard Street ---------------Monday, January 23, 6 - 7:30 p.m. Department of Environment Public Forum on Plastic Bag Legislation Gordon J. Lau Elementary School Auditorium, 950 Clay Street ---------------Monday, January 23 Chinese New Year Begins - Gung Hay Fat Choy! (Parade on Saturday, February 11) ---------------Monday, January 30, 6 - 8:00 p.m. Russian Hill Neighbors Cheers Happy Hour Location To Be Determined - check the link above closer to the date ---------------Saturday, February 4, 9:00 a.m. - Noon District 3 Community Clean Team Kickoff and Chinese New Year Celebration Portsmouth Square Plaza, 733 Kearny Street between Washington and Clay

---------------Sunday, January 8, 11:00 a.m. (doors open at 10am) Ed Lees Mayoral Inauguration City Hall Rotunda ---------------Sunday, January 8, 2:00 p.m. Ross Mirkarimis Sheriff Inauguration Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness Avenue

---------------Monday, January 9, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. North Beach Neighbors General Meeting Telegraph Neighborhood Center, 660 Lombard Street

---------------Wednesday, January 11, 7:00 p.m. Lower Polk Neighbors General Meeting First Congregational Church, 1300 Polk Street San Francisco

---------------Thursday, January 12, 12:30 p.m. Lunar New Year Public Safety Awareness 2012 Campaign Kick-Off Gate to Chinatown, Grant @ Bush Street

---------------Thursday, January 12, 4:00 p.m. Stockton Street Walking Tour $10, sponsored by SPUR and the Chinatown Community Development Center Location given upon registration

---------------Friday, January 13, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. North Beach Community Coalition General Meeting St. Peter and Paul Parish, 620 Filbert St.

***If we missed your event or meeting, please send future events to judson.true@sfgov.org and well include as many as we can.

Office News
The start of the year also marks many exciting changes to the team in my City Hall office. After years of dedicated public service to District 3, the talented Victor Lim has left my office; thank you Victor! In his place, I am very happy to welcome Amy Chan as my new legislative aide beginning Monday, January 9. Amy is a former tenant organizer with a Masters in Public Policy; she will be our staff lead on Chinese and Chinatown issues and constituencies, as well as a variety of legislative and policy issues. Judson True and Catherine Rauschuber will soon mark their two-year anniversaries in my office. As always, please dont hesitate to contact any of us with your questions and concerns. We are bidding a fond farewell and extending our deepest gratitude to Samantha Roxas and Jennifer Hoff, who have been indispensable interns in the office during the busy past year. Samantha graduated in December from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Foreign Policy and is embarking upon a new internship at SPUR. Jennifer was an outstanding legislative fellow in the office and received her Masters of Public Affairs from the University of San Francisco in December. Both would be incredible additions to any organization (hint hint). We wish them both the best of luck!

Samantha and Jennifer Finally, we are very excited to welcome a strong group of new interns from a wide variety of schools and backgrounds. We will introduce the new intern team in next months newsletter. However, we are always happy to accept resumes from people interested in public service to the City and County of San Francisco and the District 3 community. Please send them to catherine.rauschuber@sfgov.org. Best wishes for a great 2012!
UPCOMING NEWSLETTERS: Our office will be sending out a newsletter by the end of the first week of each month. Please send questions, topics youd like covered, or items for the Community Calendar to judson.true@sfgov.org by the Tuesday of that week.

Sent by the Office of Supervisor David Chiu

Phone: (415) 554-7450 Fax: (415) 554-7454 chiustaff@sfgov.org 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl Room 264 San Francisco, CA 94102

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