Transcripts For SFGTV Government Access Programming 20240713

We will also be joined by representatives of the city departments that have cases before the board to this evening we expect scott sanchez, and also representing the Planning Department and Planning Commission. The chief billing inspector will be here for the department and building inspection and joseph duffy, senior building inspector representing the built the department of building inspections. We also have the Program Officer for the San Francisco Arts Commission and the urban forest are from San Francisco public works here for urban forestry. The board request to turn off or silence all phones and other Electronic Devices so they will not disturb the proceedings. Please carry on conversations in the hallway. Appellants, permit holders and Department Respondents each are given seven minutes to present their case and three minutes for rebuttal. People affiliated with these parties must include their comments within the seven and three minute periods. Members of the public were not affiliated have three minutes each to address the board and no rebuttal. Please speak into the microphone for continued cases, the parties get three minutes each with no rebuttal. To assist the board and accurate preparation of minutes, youre asked but not required to submit a speaker card or Business Card to board staff when you come up to speak. Speaker cards are available on the left side of the podium. Four boats are required to grant an appeal. Please note the board reserves the right to not call an item after 10 00 p. M. If you have questions about requesting a rehearing, the board rules, or hearing schedules, speak to board staff during a break or after the meeting or call and visit the board office. This meeting is broadcast live on San Francisco government tv, cable channel 78, and will rebroadcast on fridays at 4 00 p. M. On channel 26. The video is available on our website. It can also be downloaded online now we will swear in or affirm all those who intend to testify. Please note that any member of the public may speak without taking an oath pursuant to the rights under the assumption ordinance. If you intend to testify at any of the proceedings and wish to have the board give your testimony evidentiary weight, stand if you are able, raise your right hand and say i after you have been sworn in or affirmed. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony youre about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth thank you. Please be seated. Item number one is general Public Comment. This is an opportunity for anyone who like to speak on a matter within the boards jurisdiction but that is not on tonights calendar. Is there any member of the public who wishes to speak at Public Comment . Please approach. Good evening and welcome back thank you. According to a Lawrence Laboratory study, american strain stream 3. 2 billion hours of video in 2011. This crates enough power to 1. 3 billion kilograms of co2 were admitted into the atmosphere contributing to climate change. With 5gs needless ability to download videos in a matter of seconds, this all will dramatically increase. Willie taylor, the u. S. Department of interior has contacted the u. S. Department of commerce stating that cell phones, cell tower radiation is biologically harmful to birds. He has Statutory Authority over wildlife and the u. S. Department of commerce sites cell towers. A recent science journal report states north americans north americas bird population has dropped 29 since 1970. Birds are literally the canary in the coal mine. The difference between life and death. Health and habitat are one and inconvenient truth. Rigourous studies inclusively show that huge populations of wildlife are adversely affected by e. M. S. In addition to radiation, man made magnetism obscures the fields and animals rely on this magnetic superhighway to navigate their way to feeding and mating grounds. There are insects and birds that puts google maps to shame. And sex antenna and birds beaks are high in magnetite act as a compass during their yearly migration. We are also connected to earths magnetic field. Is in charge of our circadian rhythm and ability to sleep. Lack of sleep elevates cholesterol and Blood Pressure and interferes with the livers ability to detox. High amounts of cortisol are release and converted into insulin. 30 of the population have difficulties with sleep, 10 have chronic insomnia, and 40 9 of the population that is symptomatic has acute insomnia. 5g will further disrupt earths magnetic field. July 5th, 2019, San Francisco s Planning Department Environment Impact report states that 30 of a major antenna on the top of the tower will be replaced with 5g. The tower will be 5g over the whole city in conjunction with multiple cell antennas per block in all of San Francisco. This is technological madness. It is a mistake to think that because our technology is so powerful that we are that powerful and that invincible ourselves. We are not. The truth is the opposite. We are delicate and vulnerable as insects and birds. We live and die as they do. We need divine intervention to stop 5g now. Thank you very much. Thank you. Is there any other general Public Comment . Okay. Seen none, well move onto item number two. Commissioner comments and questions. Commissioners . Okay. It is our last meeting of the year. I want to thank staff for this year and we will see everyone in 2020. Thank you very much. That is very kind. Thank you. Is there any Public Comment . Okay. Seen none, we will move onto item number three. Commissioners, before you for discussion of a possible adoption are the minutes of the member 20th, 2019 board meeting. Commissioners, comments or motion . Okay. We have a motion from Vice President lazarus to adopt the minutes on as submitted. [roll call] that motion carries. Was there any Public Comment on that motion . That motion carries. The minutes are adopted. We will now move onto item number four. This is appeal number 92007. Subject property is 610 delmar appealing the denial on generally seventh, 2019 of the site mac permit. Extension of existing tariffs and railing at the main liver living room floor. No alterations new alterations in front of the house. On september 11th, 2019, the board voted 40 and commissioner tanner was absent to continue this matter to october 23rd, 2019, to allow time for the parties to work on a Settlement Agreement. If a compromise was proposed, it would be reviewed and proposed to the next hearing. On october 23rd, the board voted 40 to continue this matter to december 4th to allow more time for a settlement discussion. If the board grabs the appeal, this constitutes approval action for the purposes of ceqa. As up a luminary matter, commissioner tanner, have you had the as a preliminary matter, have you had a chance to review the materials . I have. Thank you. We will hear from the appellant first. Good evening, members of the board. My name is amy and im here representing the family on their appeal of the Planning Commission to take d. R. Which resulted in denial of the permit to repair the solariums leaking roof and minor deck extension. Through the lawyer, they have not only delayed the june on october hearings but have not been available for meetings and mediation. It is unfortunate that despite an open range of dates, the only time they could meet was the meat the week during thanksgiving. Since the last hearing, we have drafted renderings and made some sincere efforts to come to an agreement. At this juncture, we respectfully submit two important points. One, review of this project as approved by the Planning Department in december of 2018 clearly establishes this project is fully code compliant and satisfies the residential guidelines that were set. They recommended not to take d. R. And noted this project quote is modest and due to the intervening buildings and topography, if it it is not entirely invisible from china beach a setback 3 feet from the sidelines and does not present exception or extraordinary new conditions with respect to light or privacy. Whether due to lobbying as fellow members of social Political Economic circles, the commission wrongfully denied the Commission Based on their own incorrect interpretation of the agreement as being in perpetuity , notwithstanding there is not there is no recorded it is noted in exhibit 7 thats because it is a private agreement, we honor that and take that as a basis for our actions. Given the partys discussions and changes to the final agreement by the attorneys, it is clear the 2011 agreement was only applicable to the renovation at that time and did not bide any future expansion to the debt. The interpretation or education of the civil agreement is not within the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission. It has been difficult for them to reside next to neighbors who, for some and explicable reason, do not light that like them. That should not stand in the way of the making repairs. It was suggested that the design could include a roof shape that might allow a future owner to explore a deck expansion. They need to make their roof repair. They have very little open space given how the house existed prior to their purchase. They simply would like to optimize their roof repair by getting an additional 200 square feet of open space on their existing deck. We request that this board will return the Planning Commissions decision to take d. R. And grant the Home Renovations permits is privately submitted, reviewed, and approved by Planning Department staff. Thank you. Thank you. We will now here from the man who represents the section 14 party. Thank you, members of the board. I wanted to report briefly on i think there are letters in the file about the discussions that have been taking place over the last couple of months. Progress was made. No final agreement was reached with respect to a compromise. They have been very clear that they are willing to accept and agree to a roof over the existing structure and replace the solarium that is there. We did agree after the recent continuance to try to mediate and we agreed on a mediator, but unfortunately we couldnt get a schedule that worked for either side. When we were available, the other side was not and when they were available we were unfortunately not available. So although we would encourage and we continue to be available for further settlement discussions and a mediation, we havent been able to schedule one to date. The issue at this point is with respect to privacy in the rear yard. Then and the rear yard open space. The reality of the situation is this would be the only deck in the rear yard in the corner of that block. Residential Design Guidelines clearly show that in those circumstances, consideration needs to be taken both to that impact as to and as to the privacy impact. I want to stress that they have no objection to putting a roof over the existing solarium and addressing the leak conditions that do exist. Unfortunately we have not been able to agree on an acceptable design at this point. Thank you. So if the board does not reach a decision, are you open to another continuance for further discussion . Absolutely. We would actually want to do the mediation that we discussed and tried to reach a full on final agreement that we can live with for both parties. Okay. Thank you. Without mediating here on the spot, can you explain why you think mediation would be helpful given the red lines that each site have taken which are mutually inconsistent . Im always hopeful and optimistic that a third party who does this for a living can bring the parties to a final agreement. Its not always easy when individual lawyers are trying to council clients, but having a third party with experience who gets paid for this, im optimistic. That is why i was pushing and continue to push the idea of a mediation, we just couldnt friendly the problem was becoming get a date. Thank you. We will now hear from the Planning Department. Nothing from mr. Sanchez. Is there any Public Comment on this item . This matter is submitted. Scott, you wont say anything i will complement you go to mexico for a week and you come back with a beard. [laughter] does anybody want to start . Sure. As our City Attorney has noted, the Planning Commission denied this permit based on a Settlement Agreement between the project sponsor and the neighbors from the 2011 agreement. I dont see in the file any evidence that the terms of the settlement were incorporated into any city approval or recorded as a restriction on the property. As you know we have advised and passed the enforcement of private contractual agreement is outside the boards purview. If the board is inclined to uphold this denial, it would reduce the risk that you know , as i mentioned in the last hearing, this is a noble hearing and the department has stated that the project was correct. At which point i dont feel that a private agreement should be upheld by this department. Considering that you could wait a year to resubmit new guidelines new guidelines have changed in the last year that maybe the department can speak to that. The beard looks good. Thank you very much. Will you tell my wife that, please. [laughter] the question is that if a permit is denied, they can then reapply after a oneyear period. Correct . Yes. If it is denied, they can apply within one year if there has been changed to the project that led to the denial of it, otherwise if it is essentially the same project, they have to work one year. And then looking at the drawings from i. Memory, if they were to apply for that same permit now, would it still be code compliant . I believe there is a threshold change for the rear yard. I believe it would no longer be code compliant because the rear yard requirement in the Zoning District has increased from 25 to 30 so that would be an issue. This one is grandfathered in, but if a new permit would come in right now, a be subject to the requirements. What happened at the Planning Commission has no bearing. What was your department why did your Department Request a no d. R. . The Department Staff and the design team reviewed the project and found it to be compliant with the planning code and the residential Design Guidelines. It was and brought forward on d. R. The commission, as you know, is the final voice on the discretionary review applications and they found that it was not appropriate and made that finding. Perhaps the findings could have been stronger in terms of outlining the reasons for the denial, but as i stated at the previous hearing, there was discussion amongst the commissioners that stated concerns about the imposition on the midblock open space, although it is code compliant, it does extend further to the rear yard than other structures and they found that to be an issue that didnt make it into the final decision necessarily. We have discussed this with staff so we can be sure that we properly articulate the findings of the commission and the commission itself articulates those finding as findings as well. Specially when you take a denial in the code compliant project, you should be clear on the findings you are making in doing so. Thank you. Thank you. Again, as i stated at the last hearing, i dont i think this project is really code compliant and i dont feel like i would support something that would honor an agreement a private agreement. I think that is for civil litigation. I would agree with your assessment. Anybody else . I agree with commissioner honda as well. Does anybody want to make a motion . I make a motion that the appeal is granted on the grounds that the project is completely code compliant. Okay, we have a motion from commissioner honda to grant the appeal and overturned the Planning Commissions disapproval of the permit and issue the permit on the basis that the project is code compliant. On that motion. [roll call] okay. That motion carries 50. The appeal is granted. We are now moving on to item number five. This is appeal number 19128. Appealing the revocation on november 5th, 2019, of a Walter Molina berrios street artist license. This is permit number 8337. Mr. Berrios, we did arrange for an interpreter in the event you needed one. Would you like to have an interpreter . I think i might have an interpreter you will get double the time but you need to speak in spanish and he will interpret in english yes . Please. Good evening and welcome. You have 14 minutes. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i came today. [speaking spanish] voice of translator to ask the board of appeals to overturn the decision. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator the relocation of my license made by the Arts Commission. [speaking spanish] voice of translator because of an incident that happened on the 5th of june of 2019. [speaking spanish] voice of translator the parking lot next to the adjustment the Justin Herman plaza. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i was working at that moment. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i was next to a car that was parked next to a fire hydrant. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i was with the owner of the car. [speaking spanish] voice of translator when a parks and recreation official came towards us. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and he spoke directly to me. [speaking spanish] voice of translator telling me in a rude way. [speaking spanish] voice of translator that i would get a very expensive ticket for being parked there. Voice of translator since the car wasnt mine and the owner was right next to me,. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator i listed my hand saying why is he speaking to me in that way . [speaking spanish] voice of translator the people that were around us kind of laughed or made fung of us. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and they made the official feel uncomfortable. [speaking spanish] voice of translator so the official became router ordering me to move the car that was parked there. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and in that moment i was confused because it wasnt my car and i can get into a car thats not mine. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and if the official had asked whose car it was, the owner of the car was right next to me. I was with him. [speaking spanish] voice of translator after that, since i didnt want to move the car. [speaking spanish] voice of translator because it wasnt my car. [speaking spanish] voice of translator the official told me he would give me a ticket. [speaking spanish] voice of translator so once more i made the same expression or gesture. [speaking spanish] voice of translator when the official came to issue the ticket. [speaking spanish] voice of translator the owner of the car moved the car. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator before getting the ticket. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and i think it made the official even more angry. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and to that moment, the official never asked me for my license or my vendor license since he didnt know i was a vendor. [speaking spanish] voice of translator but a little after this happened. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i started setting up my table in the plaza. [speaking spanish] voice of translator when the official saw me and asked me for my license, which i did not have [speaking spanish] voice of translator and the reason i did not have the license is because the Arts Commission had not sent the license to anyone for some months. [speaking spanish] voice of translator but the official did not believe me. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator and is it says here in the report. [speaking spanish] voice of translator the official assumed that this was my car that was parked there. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator assumed i did not want to show my license. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and started to threaten me saying he would find any excuse to remove me from the plaza. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and starts to look for things in the parking lot and finds empty bottles. [speaking spanish] voice of translator after this, he came to take photos of the table. For the police. [speaking spanish] voice of translator because i didnt want to show my license because i didnt have it. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator and in that moment he became a more aggressive and put the phone next to my face. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i never went to them. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator after what happened in the parking lot [speaking spanish] voice of translator to me, multiple times with the police. [speaking spanish] voice of translator they themselves started scaring me saying i would lose my license in the plaza. [speaking spanish] voice of translator accusing me of having the bottles there being mind since they were in the parking lot. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i would like to say aloud that almost as everything i was writing the brief that i already submitted. [speaking spanish] voice of translator it is obvious this was something personal because this shows only a threat that at me and no one else. In conclusion, at the end of their report, that the official made. [speaking spanish] voice of translator he says that the subject eventually moved their vehicle. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i did not know the vehicle because it was not my car. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i have been working at the plaza since 2009. I have never had a problem with them. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator i have always cooperated with them with everything that they have needed [speaking spanish] voice of translator and furthermore, even before they arrived, i have cooperated in directing traffic entering the plaza before events. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator it is not my responsibility whether who parks illegally. [speaking spanish] voice of translator all of this made the situation more and more tense and i lost my license [speaking spanish] voice of translator that is all that i have to say. Voice of translator hopefull y you have read the brief that i submitted. [speaking spanish] voice of translator but also hopefully you have read all of the exhibits that were turned in by the Arts Commission. [speaking spanish] voice of translator there are also over 15 pages written in chinese and i dont speak understand chinese. [speaking spanish] voice of translator there are over 100 pages of emails and documents that are repeating or copies just to make the report feel or look more intimidating. [speaking spanish] voice of translator if there is any question, i am very willing and available to answer. I have some questions. Are you finished . [speaking spanish] voice of translator i would like to Say Something else and then i can answer. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i am an artist that has been travelling. [speaking spanish] voice of translator all over south and central america. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and in every one of these countries i have made and sold my crafts on the streets. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i have left my things in many countries because it is illegal selling on the street. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and for me, it has been a privilege to find this program here in San Francisco where i could work tranquilly and legally. [speaking spanish] voice of translator thanks to the program i have been working in San Francisco. [speaking spanish] voice of translator i have been able to get my general education at city college of San Francisco. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and also my bachelor degree at California College of fine arts. With distinctions. [speaking spanish] voice of translator what i bring to San Francisco. [speaking spanish] voice of translator is a whole lot of experience and ideas about art that are unique. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and i am very sure that people will not find that somewhere else and thats what the tourists that come to San Francisco appreciate [speaking spanish] voice of translator make unique crafts or goods is something that has always interested me. [speaking spanish] voice of translator that is all. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you. The question, the first question is, in your brief, is said i did not have a license at this moment because the Arts Commission has not sent to the license to anyone by this time. Can you elaborate on what that means . [speaking spanish] voice of translator the Arts Commission was in the process of a renewal of the license. [speaking spanish] voice of translator they hadnt send notification about that to anyone. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and because of that i didnt have my license. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and i also didnt have an expired license because i dont like to have an expired license. Okay. So essentially the fees were paid at that point, but the license had not been issued by the department . [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator exactly. Okay. And then second question is, when the vehicle was moved in your brief, you stated the officer went back to get their ticket book. How far was the car parked where they didnt see someone get in the vehicle and take off . [speaking spanish] voice of translator the official told me that i would get a ticket because of the car. [speaking spanish] voice of translator the official went to their vehicle which was part 40 to 50 feet away in the plaza. That actually answers my question. Final question is in the brief, there is a picture with you with a bottle of beer between your legs. Are you going to translate . He translated i think. [speaking spanish] voice of translator the question is whether it was beer or if it was a bottle . Yes, i mean it looks like a bottle of modell oh, between your legs in a picture. [speaking spanish] voice of translator that moment, if you looked well, into the photo. [speaking spanish] voice of translator you will see that rich is standing with his back turned next to the post [speaking spanish] voice of translator and you will see that behind the mirror, the official is standing also with their back turned. [speaking spanish] voice of translator we grabbed the bottles. [speaking spanish] the question was, is that a bottle of beer in your lap . [speaking spanish] voice of translator yes, it was a bottle. I wasnt drinking beer or anything like that. [speaking spanish] voice of translator what we were doing is taking photographs with the official with their back turned. [speaking spanish] voice of translator with the bottle that the official found on the ground. Okay. Thank you. Are you saying that exhibit g to the departments brief is a photo of you on that same day . [speaking spanish] voice of translator im not sure because i lived there, i took my car there. [speaking spanish] voice of translator and artists park their cars there. It could have been from the day before or. [speaking spanish]. Voice of translator and that was before beginning to work. [speaking spanish] voice of translator it wasnt in in Arts Commission space. It is your view that you can drink in that parking space if you are not working. Is that what you are saying . [speaking spanish] voice of translator it is not my point of view. [speaking spanish] voice of translator but every time that artists want to drink a beer or smoke a cigarette or smoke marijuana, that is where they go to the parking lot. [speaking spanish] voice of translator because they think that the parking lot is something private and something separate from work, from the plaza. I have a few questions. So in the brief you stated that when the recreation and park officer approached you you just kind of shrug your shoulders they didnt know whose car it was, but there is testimony given. [speaking spanish] sorry. There is testimony given in the brief from the department and it sounds like even from others who were there that you did curse and you used foul language. [speaking spanish] how do you respond to those assertions . [speaking spanish] voice of translator in the report, it turned it got turned into the Arts Commission hearing. [speaking spanish] my i keep in english . In the report given to the hearing, it they say that they have and an anonymous witness and they [indiscernible] they mentioned nothing about saying any bad word or swearing or anything like that. Also,. [indiscernible] she mentioned there was no add language or anything like that. [indiscernible] they were there listening. They were taking pictures and videos or making fung of the situation that i was involved. What i guess i am getting at is you suggest that you just kind of said, i dont know whose car it is and you didnt really have an altercation. It seems like theres other testimony that is submitted and testimony that there was a letter from the public that was in the brief in our packet today saying essentially that perhaps there was some language and things you might have regretted saying to the officer. [indiscernible] he was saying, you know, i did not make an answer like this is not my car. I made an answer like i dont care because the officer was talking to me back and i dont understand that i dont deserve that. In response to that treatment, it was not my car. The only other car was right next to me. If the person asked to the car belonged to, the owner would say , this is my car. The person had the chance to stay there. When the officer went to get the ticket the person left. I was trying to call him to tell him that it was not my car. Is your testimony then that even though you didnt respond, that you did not respond aggressively to the officer. Is that what you would say . If that is considered aggressive, im sorry, but i never said any f. Word or anything like that. That was not. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. You can be seated. We will now here from the Arts Commission we will now here from the Arts Commission. Good evening and welcome back thank you. You have seven minutes. Thank you. All right. Hello, members of the board. Thank you for your time and attention this evening. Before you is appeal 19128 of all involving the revocation of this art vendors license due to the violation of the Street Artists Program code of conduct. On wednesday, june 5th, 2019, i received a phone call from marcus santiago, lieutenant and head park ranger for the recreation and parks department. I have worked with lieutenant santiago since 2017 re oversight of the embarcadero prop plaza art market. Recreation and parkas the jurisdictional agency at the plaza. The Arts Commission oversees art vendors that activate the plaza daily. Often these activities overlap one events such as marches, protests, or other permitted events occur while the art vendors are there. When this happens, park rangers work with the vendors to ensure that they leave room for even set up. This can include moving their booths or vehicles if need be to accommodate the permitted activities. On this particular day, lieutenant santiago called me concerned about a sergeant, one of the rangers under his supervision. A little after 10 00 a. M. , she approached a couple of art vendors near a parked car that was blocking a fire hydrant at the plaza. Instead of accommodating the sergeants request to move the car, one of the art vendors, Walter Molina, repeatedly used inappropriate language with Sergeant Boland including waving his middle finger very close to her face. The sergeant capture this footage on her works sell. The photos are included as part of exhibit b and e. The respondents brief and here so you can see from the overhead. Upon further investigation of this incident, i received information from a witness that he had been Drinking Alcohol at the plaza before the altercation with the sergeant. While i have redacted their Contact Information for personal privacy, they have submitted a photo when mr. Molina is clearly holding an open bottle of beer in his lap. For those of you are not beer drinkers, it is wrapped in a Signature Gold foil which you can see in exhibit g right here. Additional empty bottles hold on one second. Can you not see that . Can you zoom out . And face it as if you are looking at it. Thank you. How do i zoom out . There it is. Thank you so much. You can rip you can see he is holding it. You can also see there are more bottles and what the sergeant submitted here. Mr. Molina claims he was not doing anything illegal on the day of the incident, however, we can plainly see he was Drinking Alcohol at the plaza, which is a prohibited activity. He was previously cited for Drinking Alcohol at the plaza in march 2015. Additionally, he claimed he did not use inappropriate language with the sergeant. This claim is directly contradicted by the witness statement included in the brief and sergeants statement. I will now let the sergeant give her account of the incident. Welcome, officer. Thank you. Good evening. On june 5th, 2019 at approximately 10 50 a. M. , i was on duty in full uniform as a sergeant with the park rangers. I was assigned to a foot patrol detail in Embarcadero Plaza to monitor an event that was going on there. While Walking Around the area on the Market Street side, i saw two vehicles who were both parked on the street along the curb line behind two tables where artists were selling their artwork. They were both blocking a fire hydrant so i approached both the subjects. They were sitting in the trunk of the minivan. They were just kind of sitting there and the trunk was up. I said, hey, guys, you are watching blocking the fire hydrant. It is a violation. If you wouldnt mind moving your car, is important for safety. I need to be able to get a fire truck in here. One subject said no problem, stood up and moved the car. I dont know which car was his and mr. Molina said fuck you i dont have to do anything. I continue to talk to him. I said i need to see your i. D. Card and he said fuck you it is not my car. I need to see your vendors permit. He says fuck you i dont have to show you shit. I did not hear the beep that signifies it is recording so i did take out my cell phone to take photos of the situation. Mr. Molina approached me, he took two steps before me and said fuck you, took his middle finger and put it into my face in a physical way, and stepped about 6 inches away from me. While he continued to tell me that the car was not his. I could smell the older of alcohol on him, just for your own edification. I am a retired Police Officer trained in d. U. I. I took a big step back and i told him to step back. I called for assistance, which is why my lieutenant marcus santiago eventually made his way to my location. I also asked for sfpd to respond i moved back from a safe distance. He seemed to have calmed down just a little bit and walked i walked back up and he said you have been drinking, youre not allowed to drink in the park. He says, i am not drinking. There were three beers that were sitting in the curb. They were empty. I said, are these your empty beer bottles, and he said no. And i said there is a have to and can beer in the camp chair that is what i assumed to be his table. And he said, that is not my chair. And i said whos is it . Nice it okay. I will throw it in the garbage. He says no, it is my chair, it is just not my beer nice said , to somebody else but a beer in your chair . There was confusion about whether the beer was actually his, although if i put the facts together, it was his paired with the smell of alcoholic beverage. I explained i would be reporting his behavior to the San Francisco Arts Commission. At that point we disengaged. You still have 24 seconds. Im good. Im sure. I am a talker. I have to watch myself. If you are done, i have one question. In his brief, there was a confrontation in regards to whose vehicle was parked illegally in front of the fire hydrant. And then somehow, you said they were two cars, i thought there was only one, but then in his brief it says that you walked to get a ticket book and then were upset that the second vehicle had moved. Can you give a little light or shed as to what happened there and why you were not able to cite that vehicle at the time . I had no intention of citing the vehicle. I just wanted to solve the problem which is usually how i approach things. Nice of you. So one of the vehicles moved, and i disengaged and i came back , way back further, not to get my ticket book, but to wait for backup. I dont even know if i had my ticket book with me at the time. I am not super heavyhanded with citations. The second question is, theres a brief with a picture of him holding the beer. Is that the one that was removed from the armchair or he was just holding onto it . That was not my photo. I did not take that. Thank you. You have seen that photo, though . I just saw it today. Is that how the car was parked . Yes. I have a question for the department. In the brief you responded to the permit holders brief, and my fellow commissioners said that it is in there, but why dont the artisans have their licenses . Great question. How long has that been and how many artisans are there . If someone is checking on their license, why dont they have them . The weight traditionally works as we hand license them and we mail them to the artists. Often times it is not a direct exchange from our office to the permit holder. We help people pick up their mail. Often times people dont tell us when they move. Because of that, usually artists carry an expired license. He mentioned he didnt have it on him earlier because he doesnt like to. Most artists have an expired license on them or five. I have had people show me all their licenses. At this particular time, we were implementing a new printing system where we are working with the company to do a much nicer license so i dont have to handle laminate them. It is actually an i. D. Card, includes a photo and their signature and it looks much more official. It also fits in their wallet, one of the main complaints about the previous version was people had to cut down the laminate in order to fit in the wallet. We were doing a whole overhaul of the system, and because of that, printing was taking longer than anticipated. That just happen to be the time that this altercation happened. Okay, so how many permittees did not have the physical license and how long was this, and why wasnt a temporary license issued . The temporary license is the receipt of payment. They have always been able to use the receipt of payment. When you get your receipt of payment there is a piece of paper that says you can use this to show proof of payment and you can get into the lottery. Everyone is issued that. You can either get it electronically or by hand, however you pay. Mr. Molina had paid electronically so he had an electronic proof of payment. This had been messaged out to the artists for a while. We had been anticipating this. We started messaging it probably in march march and april of that year, and all of the artists knew we were doing that turnover it was the end of the fiscal year, so most of the artists, i mean, anyone was aware that this was happening at that time. How long of a period . It was about two months. Thank you. I have a question. One of the things that was in the appeal, or in the statement from you guys dated november 5 th, 2019, is about parking at the fire hydrant. It didnt seem from the description that you provided, sergeant, that there was an effort to ascertain whose vehicle it was. While perhaps the alcohol, maybe that is true he was drinking, he wasnt actually parking his vehicle, and i dont know if it was verified if it was or wasnt his vehicle. How do you stand by that claim that he was parking at a fire hydrant . It was actually unclear to me from the investigation that i did whose car it was. Clearly mr. Molina claims it wasnt his car. Frankly during the conversation that i had with him initially, he knew whose car it was. My question is not determining whose car it is, but why not help the officer who needs to move the cars parked in front of the fire hydrant . Additionally, parking in front of the fire hydrant has been a main issue in this program. Artists have been multiple times notified they should not parked by the fire hydrant. I have issued multiple warnings. In fact, this is such an issue that on the weekends, we have a market manager who specifically addresses parking including parking at the fire hydrant. Unfortunately this was a wednesday. One of the other issues that has come up and some of the comments we have received is the dispute about the code of conduct and when did it come into place, and whether or not his was signed. Can you go through the history of the development and institution of the code of conduct in the process by which artists are made of what aware that the code of conduct is in place . Can you sketch it out for us. Absolutely. I developed the code of conduct with margaret who is a City Attorney that advises the program. She and i developed this over the course of a few months in 2018. It went through a full Commission Approval process, which means it went to the committee, then it went to full commission. It was issued in 2018, translated into the multiple languages. So when a mr. Molina mentioned chinese, we have mono mona lingle chinese speakers, with spanish speakers, and he also translated i also translated some into korean. The code of conduct is in four languages including english. It was disseminated starting in august of 2018 to all artists who are getting permits. I mailed it to every single artist who was issued a permit. Additionally, when someone came into pay in person. They were given a copy and the online Payment System specifically, in order to go through the payment process, when you issue your credit card, you have to check a box that says i have reviewed the code of conduct and i include it included in the brief. He checked the box and said he has reviewed it. At that point, theres no signature because it is an online system. So there is a box checking but not an actual signature. Correct. Because it was issued pursuant to article 24, it is legal and binding whether or not an artist signs it. Can you explain the history in terms of revocation since the code of conduct came into existence and how frequent these types of issues are either regarding suspensions . What do you do once one violates how are these how often are these things being violated . The code of conduct was issued because of behavioural issues. We try to address everything in that document. Since then, there has been a few issues. I think we revoked about three licenses, but all of the artists that have been revoked have a history of behavior with the program. The last time we were here was about an artist who had assaulted another young woman in the program and we now have a no tolerance policy for violence, which includes verbal, violence towards people who are in charge of helping this program. In this incident was a temporary suspension . It was considered at the hearing. I do not recommend revocation lightly, but as i stated in the brief, and i think it is really important to note was that we are in this plaza at the pleasure of recreation and park. At any time if recreation and parks decides the arches are not behaving appropriately, they could kick us out. That is what happens when permitted events are there. The artists do not have the right of way at the plaza. Paid permitted events have the right of way. It is absolutely necessary that we make sure we are having a Good Relationship with them. [please stand by]. The public permit is always an option. I mean, thats essentially where i recommended a lot of people go, and now because of the state law mentioned, you can essentially be licensed by the Police Officer and go anywhere in the city as long as its not one of our spaces. Thank you. This was a permanent revocation, and that was the action you recommended. How many revocations have you recommended . Since ive been here, there have been three, i believe, off the top of my head. In how many years . Two. Im curious of the code of conduct of the division between when you are and arent working as an artist. What is the your departments position on, you know, being respectful and courteous to the public in terms of the geographic or time or occupational boundaries of that requirement . Its while youre under the permit. I worked