Transcripts For SFGTV BOS Full Board Of Supervisors 20240712

My son becomes not just more confident in socializing, but he becomes so determined in setting and achieving goals, even during this time. Its a total transformation for him. Im so grateful for s. I. For the things they provide for the student community. So i see the immeasurable values of the athletic opportunities that help to bring a strong younger generation. Last, but not least, as a sunset student im proud of s. I. As a landmark in our community. Its architecture and the athletic field, when its lit up during the nighttime it will be such a beautiful work of art and im always proud of to show off to my visitor friends from new york. I used to live in new york and in an urban area and i agree with the former commenters that it makes the city much more urban and topnotch. Which was so quiet and i mean, so dark in the current time, particularly during the winter season. So i hope that this will help to make our town more interesting. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. Lets hear from the next caller, please. Caller hi, honorable supervisors. My name is indiscernible and im a current sophomore at st. Ignatius and a current resident of San Francisco and i have lived here my whole life. I hope that youre having a beautiful day. And today as a student i strongly believe and support adding lights to the field. Not only would these lights help our school in the future with practices and games, but also help the community at s. I. As a member of Student Council my goal as a leader is to be sure they give the students the opportunity to connect and to make memories with each other. I understand the importance of safety and i assure you that there are strict rules of the use of the lights and extra security with the big games on the field. We want to make sure that our neighbors dont feel any unsafety in their homes so we will enforce rules and have dimming of the lights. From a student perspective, and with the homecoming its been the most Memorable Events from my freshman year. If we do vote yes, youll only be ensuring the safety of our athletes and giving all students at s. I. The chance to make memories with each and other to make a difference in our San Francisco community. Thank you for considering our opposition and to giving your service to the city. It really does truly mean a lot and we do invite you to attend one of our games and, again, i hope that you all have a beautiful rest of your day. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. Operations, lets unmute the next caller, please. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is sebest yen and im a senior at st. Ignatius and i also live in the marina. indiscernible and its been a privilege. Not only taught me how to be a good lacrosse player but a good person. Waking up with the sun for morning practice to finding ways to indiscernible its also taught me immense discipline. However, we dont do this alone. Every single practice we have our entire team giving 100 . And its taught me teamwork and to hold myself accountable for actions indiscernible and increasing the challenges that we come by. As seniors, this is our last opportunity to play for st. Ignatius. Adding lights would promise more opportunities for us to play together. In addition, adding lights to our field will not only maximize our opportunity to play the game, but also help many kids to have the same experience that we had. Thank you, supervisors, for your consideration. Clerk thank you for your comments. Operations, lets unmute the next caller, please. Caller i am randolph, and a graduate of the class of 1986 and the father of an s. I. Graduate, class 2020. And i am on the board of the asianamerican and Pacific Island group of s. I. And i live on diamond high boulevard and i own a small business, a tutoring center in the sunset district. I add in strong support of lights at the st. Ignatius field. They need to practice their sport safely at the high school which they attend. Especially now that the California Law mandates that the school days start later and afterschool practices will necessarily start later in the day as well. Supervisors, many, many workingclass families and bipoc families attend st. Ignatius. And s. I. Is almost 50 students of color and over 30 of the families receive Financial Assistance. We are full of families where both parents work and have to allow for more time for students to pursue their studies. Also s. I. Lights are nextgeneration l. E. D. Technology. That means the most advanced l. E. D. Technology that takes the Light Pollution to almost zero compared to other lights. And this Higher Technology will minimize the disruption to surrounding neighbors and allowing the field to be lighted safely. So vote to oppose the appeals and say yes to the lights at s. I. And i thank you for your time and consideration. Clerk thank you for your comments. Okay, operations, lets go to our next caller, please. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is bill moore. I have a house on the sunset district. And both of my brothers were born and lived there. Im an alumni of s. I. indiscernible and i wanted to express my full support of adding lights to the st. Ignatius field and in opposition to the appeal of the lighting project. It will create a better environment that enhances camaraderie and builds character through sports and fosters healthy competition for our children who are really struggling during these tough times. The need to socialize outside of the classroom is critical in the ability to illuminate the sports field here is truly a help. I feel that it creates a safe environment for the kids and fosters a greater sense of community where family and fans, whether st. Ignatius or not, congregate. While allowing for people to support our local businesses. And local bakeries and stores and restaurants. We need to support having stores. So having this will help to continue that out in the sunset with the low emission and the willingness to be a good neighbor, and building a responsible lighting structure would be a fantastic addition to the sunset district and have minimal impacts. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. Okay, operations, please unmute the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening. Im kelly sandialias and im here to oppose this appeal and in support of s. I. Lights. In addition to my views in opposition of this appeal as a parent, today im actually speaking on behalf of the Academy Middle School Students. A middle school at s. I. Which serves those in need in our community. I volunteer tutoring these students who receive Financial Assistance and in particular need more access to field time. Their working parents dont have the ability to drive them to other locations for recreation exercise. With the new lights there will be more time for our Academy Students to use the field. We know that exercise and athletics benefit children, and these Academy Students in particular would benefit from more access and use of the field before leaving school for homes all over the city. Now more than ever these children need access to safe, supervised activities outside. Supervisors, please vote to oppose the appeal and yes for the lights at s. I. For these middle School Students in particular. Thank you for your consideration and your service to our city. Clerk thank you for your comments. Operations, please unmute the next caller. Caller hello. Good afternoon. Good evening, supervisors. My name is tracy lucy and i live in the sunset district. My daughter is a sophomore and a student athlete at s. I. Im speaking in support of adding the field lights to s. I. And opposing the appeal. California law mandates with the start times for california schools, s. I. Needs lights on their field to create more options for its athletes as well as comply with the new state law that implemented a later start time. There are so few spaces in the city for students to practice field sports and by allowing s. I. To install these lights, it will keep the students closer to the campus and home. Rather than force them to travel great distances to practice. The lights that s. I. Are using are the most advanced technology, with new lighting technology, minimizing the impact to the neighbors. I respectfully ask you to please vote yes to s. I. Field lights and thank you for your time, consideration and for your service to our city. Clerk thank you for your comments. Operations, please unmute the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is kaitlyn king and im a senior and a thirdgeneration wildcat. I play field hockey and basketball and lacrosse and i plan to play division 3 in college. Last year i was the First Team Allleague offensive player of the year in field hockey. Sports have been the main part of my s. I. Experience and its where i have made the most memories. I met my best friend freshman year when i played field hockey and i continue to love being on the court and field or turf. Its important to add lights to the field like sports like field hockey need the lights. The afterschool practice and to allow to practice at night with proper lighting. After covid19, and these are well engineered by the system indiscernible and as student athletes we often study and attend class all day, and we need to be in home to have dinner. And being a athlete i have learned to collaborate with my peers outside of the classroom and learned lessons beyond sports thank you for your time and consideration and we hope to see you at a game this coming year. Clerk thank you for your comments. Okay, operations, please unmute the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is matt nehouse and im a 25 year San Francisco resident and i have raised two sons here who attended st. Ignatius. Im the president of the s. I. Fathers club. Representing nearly 1,500 dads who Work Together to make sure that a highquality education is affordable to all. Each and every year we dads raise over 1 million for the athletic scholarship program. So its fair to say that we are part of the school circumstance. Our fathers club supports s. I. s athletic program, serving concessions at games, Building School spirit, and making life just a little more fun for the community. I strongly support adding field lights. Having seen my sons and their teammates struggle to find practice time while managing rigorous academic schedules. With a move to a state mandated school start, this program will become impossible without field lights. Both of my sons will be in College Next Year so i ask for your support, not for them, but for all of the future generations of st. Ignatius students who will benefit. For every athlete given more practice time to achieve her dream, for the trainers, managers and coaches who pursue their passion and inspire that dreamer. And for an entire community strengthened by the addition of lights to our beloved j. D. Murphy field. Thank you very much for your time. Please make San Francisco a better place for all of us and vote yes for s. I. Field lights clerk thank you for your comments. Okay, operations, lets unmute the next caller. Currently taking Public Comment in opposition to the appeal and in support of the project. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is grace denegra, and i am a sewn your at st. Ignatius. By the time i graduate i hope to win one, if not two championships on both of those teams. I strongly support adding lights to the field so were able to have practice later with proper lighting. Covid was challenging for many of us spring athletes with the loss of our season. With the combined winter and spring sport season this is year it will be especially hard to get field space considering the number of teams wanting to use it. We not only lost a whole sports season but well likely lose a significant amount of practices this year as well. With the addition of lights more teams will be able to practice. Thank you, supervisors, for your consideration and for your service to our city. We would love for you to attend one of our games when its safe for to you do that. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. Operations, next caller, please. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. I am a junior. Im also a daughter of an alumni and a San Francisco native. I live in San Francisco in the richmond district. My years at s. I. And i have played varsity hockey and lacrosse and soccer and looking to play sports in college. Im very passionate about each sport that i play and i chose to go to s. I. For the community and the competitive sports environment. I strongly support to add lights to the field to have the correct lighting for practices. I think that Building Bonds in the community is key to success. I have built so many strong friendships through sports and i feel so happy when on the field and with my teammates. I want to have more game opportunities at night as a result of all of our dedication to our sport. After the loss of our spring season, i believe that the lights on the field will create more opportunities that was taken away from us. The lights will have more teams to have practice which can help us to achieve success and win the lauded championship and make the bond of s. I. Even greater. Thank you so much for listening and thank you, supervisors, for your consideration and for your service to our city. We invite you to attend one of our games when its safe to do so. Clerk thank you for your comments. Operations, lets hear from the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. I am yvonne smith and im a junior at s. I. I live in the city and many members of my family are alumni. And im on the Student Council, and i do love supporting our fellow student athletes and their games. I strongly support adding lights to the field because it encourages students to support our Athletic Department and allows us to be more of a community after school. Having lights brings more people together at a time, and providing opportunities for students to relax and to spend times with their friends after a stressful day in school. I feel more excited being on campus, rather than being somewhere else for a game and i know that many students feel the same and many are unable to support their fellow peers offcampus because their paren. Thank you, supervisors for your service to our city. Clerk thank you for your comments. Okay, operations, lets hear from the next caller, please. Caller good evening, honorable board of supervisors. I am lydia fartini and i live in the sun set and i have been a resident for 26 years. My son is a junior at s. I. And has played football for the last two years and i volunteer as a team parent. I also serve on the board of the African American Latino Parents Association and serve as a volunteer guide for spanishspeaking families. Im here to show strong support for the field lights i believe that the lights will have a critical impact and make a significant difference in the lives of the students and in building the broader community. Students will have the opportunity to maximize time by being able to play later and have the necessary outlet for their mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. They will be able to practice, pray and grow through sports and access to the field. This is especially true in San Francisco where young people dont have these types of outlets. In fact, every year we host a black and Brown Community day for Prospective Students of color. One of the highlights is the Football Game. The students are so excited about the field and the sports programs. And its great to meet the kids from all over the city and their family and friends to enjoy the game. These are the Community Members that will enjoy the s. I. Field lights. Lastly, i will share that watching the Football Game on the side is one of the most pure sporting events that you can see. The camaraderie and the teamwork and sportsmanship is inspiring. It makes you feel part of the community and gives you a sense of community. Something that we all need of in todays society. I am confident that adding the lights will strengthen our community and a sense of ones personal development and in our society. Please vote to oppose the appeal and yes to the s. I. Field lights. Thank you for your consideration and your service to our city. Clerk thank you, caller. Operations, may we have the next speaker, please. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is tony tok and im a san franciscan who lived in this city for the past 45 years. I am a homeowner in the sunset district where i currently live. I am a father of two girls, one of which goes to s. I. I strongly support adding field lights to s. I. So our students can practice and play safely as the School Schedule will start to run later into the day. I grew up playing sports from youth to college. Some of my closest friends that i still keep in touch with were part of my sports team. Some of my best memories were made from playing sports. I know the benefits both physically and mentally of playing sports. With covid19, our kids need social outlets. This is something that we need to give to our future, our San Francisco kids. San francisco has a reputation of being a worldclass city. So we need worldclass schools with worldclass facilities. Fields of lights do not only benefit athletes, but it benefits all students, both physically and socially. There are many workingclass families at s. I. Who have difficulties transporting their kids to other facilities with lights. This will help the families to be able to keep up with their work responsibilities. Sports also give kids options, like going to college. They need facilities to have these options. With california mandating later start times for school, it is very important they have the ability to participate in outside activities. Please vote to oppose the appeal and say yes to s. I. Field lights. Thank you for your consideration. Clerk thank you, caller, for your comment. Can we have the next speaker, please. Caller hello, can you hear me . Clerk yes, please proceed. Caller yes, my name is michael thomas. I am calling to oppose the appeal and in favor of the lights at s. I. I am five years retired after teaching, counselling and coaching at s. I. For 40 years. Those three words teaching, counsel asking coaching were interchangeable for me as i mentored student athletes in the classroom, in the counselling office, and on the field or court. S. I. Students thrive when an adult mentor is present. With the addition ever field lights, student athletes will be on campus all day with Human Resources readily available, and then literally walk within minutes to their welllit practice location right on campus. How ideal is that . Excuse me. Physical activity is irreplaceable and supporting the Mental Wellbeing of student athletes, enhancing camaraderie with one another and contributing to better sleep patterns known to be vitally important. They will have more time practicing and playing due to no travel time. Field lights at s. I. Will make the support, enhancement and the Human Interaction more robust than it has ever been. Please vote to oppose the appeal and in favor of putting s. I. Lights on the j. D. Murphy field. And thank you for your time and consideration. And your service to San Francisco. Clerk thank you for your comments. Operations, may we have the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is jerry digby and im a senior at s. I. I have lived in the outer sunset my whole life. We have strived for a championship and i hope that we indiscernible and i strongly support adding lights to the field. It would be beneficial to all students because it will strengthen our community. Student lets will be able to use it for practice and to have proper lighting. Due to covid were not allowed to be at school until later on in the year and we have important practices that need to follow that schedule. I have been part of the Field Hockey Team since a junior. I love the teamwork, and not only do we have to Work Together to win a game but we have to Work Together to coordinate car pools and to go to practice. During my freshman year aside, we indiscernible and i believe that students at s. I. Do an excellent job of living in out in school or extracurricular supports and or service. For my Service Project i volunteered at a camp, a camp for young adults with special needs each day i would was paired with a new camper and got to spend the whole day hanging out with them. I saw myself and other volunteers who were s. I. Students. And everyone at this camp wanted each other to have a great time while making sure that everyone is taken care of. And i believe that this is what s. I. Is all about. Thank you for your consideration and for your service to our city. I invite to you come check out a field hockey game once our season starts and its safe to do so. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is sarah courthouse and im a senior. Im currently involved in Playing Field hockey at s. I. I believe that adding lights to our field would be extremely beneficial to the s. I. Student body and the community as a whole. I believe that these lights are so important to each student speaking today because we all need an opportunity during these unfortunate times. We could have a shared space for practices and Community Events such as Football Games. During freshman year, one of the main ways that i was able to join the s. I. Community is by Playing Field hockey. I was able to make some of my closest friends during field hockey season and our coach told us that we were a family. Or forget about me, i love you. We may sometimes laugh about this, but we really do spend a significant amount of time together. However, some of this time is cut short due to the commute to our practice fields in pacifica. This valuable practice time, especially on days where we get out of school later, and changing and getting to fairmont. We have to cut out drills and have less time to develop our skills. If we were able to get lights we would have more time to become better field hockey players, rather thannize. Thank you for your consideration and for your service to our city. We invite you to attend one of our games when its safe to do so. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller, please. Caller good evening, honorable supervisors i really appreciate your dedication to the city and your service. I am a san franciscan and west of twin peaks homeowner and i represent through generations of student athletes at s. I. My father was the class of 1952 and myself 1981 and my son just graduated from the class of 2020. We put a lot of different comments and three things to get across tonight. One, i really appreciate principal levine and the Planning Group that put together an optimal solution for the lights for st. Ignatius. Thats incredible important. Its so important to be able to keep our kids on campus and not have to travel off the campus for practices. Its safer, it builds greater community. And then the last comment back to what principal levine said earlier this is the first year that our students from the academy are coming into s. I. This will represent an opportunity for their parents to come and to see them perform as athletes on the st. Ignatius field. Many of these people are working families and for them to have an opportunity to come and to be parents to their kids, and to see their kids perform and to compete on the s. I. Fields is critical. So this is not only about the students at s. I. , but its about the parents, its about the family, and its about creating community. I ask you to oppose or reject the appeal for opposing the lights and upheld the plan as presented. And, again, thank you for your service and i yield back the rest of my time. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller hi, im katherine acada. I am a junior at s. I. And also a member of the Student Council. I play field hockey also. I firmly believe that s. I. s intention to install these lights are for us, the students. These lights will allow more practice time for us to be outside, exercising, and being with community and friends. It will allow us to grow the community that has been so absent and yet desired in these covid times. So, please, let us have these lights. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Hello, caller . Do we have someone on the line . Perhaps we should circle back to this person. Caller oh, hello. I just got a notification that i have been unmuted. Clerk please proceed with your comments. Caller okay. Hello, honorable supervisors. My name is jack launch and im a sophomore at st. Ignatius preparatory and i live in s. F. As a Student Council leader here at s. I. , the community is one of my greatest values. S. I. Instills in its students a sense of community and leadership and the lights will help us to accomplish this goal by providing a safe space for sports and activities. We know that our Community Extends far beyond the boundaries of our campus and into our neighbors. Just as we respect our fellow students and the athletes on the field, we will do the same for our neighbors around us. We hold ourselves responsible for our actions. We at s. I. Wildcats are proud to treat those around us with a sense of community. I support the field lights at s. I. And i thank you for your time and for all that you do. Clerk thank you for your comments. Next speakers on the line, when your line is unmuted, you may begin your comments. Anyone else on the line . Caller hello, my name is kennedy busfort and im a junior. Im a sprinter on the track and field team. I sprint in the 100meter and 200meter races. I support lights because there are days with we have later practices where it gets dark and it is difficult to continue practice. Sometimes we are moved from our home track and it would be amazing to have lights on the field to benefit our teammates as they give them all. Im a daughter of a track and field alumni who is a jump coach and a record holder at the school. And so track at s. I. Is very important to me and my family. After having my sophomore year taken away due to covid, and we would have more time to get back into our training. Its for me to be with my classmates and my sport and adding lights to the field will bring many of us that can allow us to engage in events. That brings happiness to the community. And its a core of our community and we hope that you can see the value in that. Thank you, supervisors, for your consideration and for your service to our city. We invite you to attend one of our games when the safe to do so. Clerk thank you for your comments. Can you queue up the next caller, please. Caller good evening, board of supervisors. Can you hear me . Clerk yes. Caller hello, hello . Okay, fabulous, thank you, thank you, thank you so much. Good evening, board of supervisors and thank you so much for your tireless work. I am tom har len and i attended s. I. And im speaking tonight for the responsible use of lighting for the j. B. Murphy field. First off, the lights arent for an exclusive country club. These lights are for those that s. I. Serves. These lights are for our future and our young adults and those who attend st. Ignatius and more important the visiting teams and their families and their friends and the neighborhood and the community. These lights are designed to heighten and to share the experience of High School Athletes and made for friday nights. Small town values in a big city. Crosstown families getting together to watch what they cherish most, their children fast becoming adults and sharing time, sharing the excitement of Athletic Competition in its truest form. When these light goes up, so do the hopes of all who share in the Magical Experience of a High School Sporting event. The future is our youth, lets take this opportunity to celebrate them, to let them know how theyre valued. Lets celebrate those who welcome this small town experience in a city that desperately needs something that feels right. This is a good thing. This is right. These lights bring us together to share and experience something good and true. Thank you for the good work that you do. Please vote yes on this. Clerk thank you, caller, for your comments. We currently have 51 listeners, with 17 people in the queue. Can you please queue up the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. I am a senior at st. Ignatius high school and i have lived in San Francisco since i was born. I am part of the track at s. I. And i strongly support adding lights to the field to compete safely even when theres no daylight. Our School Schedule has changed so practice is later due to that reason. Track has allowed me to grow both physically and mentally. It has taught me a different kind of teamwork and given me another community. Not having a season last spring and not possibly this year and not just for track but all sports is a big impact. Being able to practice allows us to continue to enjoy our athletics and to have the ability to compete and to support our teams. Adding lights allows more practice time and to continue to play our sports during the pandemic and in the future. S. I. Faculty and our coaches hold us accountable for our personal contact and they ensure that were well behaved and supporting each other respectfully. And along with being respectful towards Neighbors Without being too disruptive during the sporting events. The lights not only benefit the s. I. Community but make the neighborhoods safer and it will be beneficial for years to come. Thank you, supervisors, for your consideration and for your service to our city. We invite to you attend one of our games when it is safe. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. Can we have the next caller, please. Caller hello, honorable supervisors, can you hear me . I am daniel abardi and ill be a senior this fall at st. Ignairs. And i play on the basketball and the football team. And i am proud to be part of the Championship Team this past season. I firmly believe that the addition of lights to j. B. Murphy field will benefit all sports and contribute to a safer playing environment with the proper lighting. And it has taught me about discipline and teamwork and consistency and community. All of it translates into the experiences that are felt off the field. What helped me to continue to love this game of life lessons was the constant support from the s. I. Community. This past year we were able to bring the whole Community Together numerous times each saturday, specifically to have the Football Game, one of the strongest rivalry games taking place under the lights of the stadium. This energy is constageous and the spirit is in the air and the vibrant red and blue makes it special and bringing this energy to s. I. Every single weekend. Thank you for your consideration and we invite to you our games this january. Go, cats. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller hello, can you hear me . Clerk we can, please proceed. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is clair tunney and im a junior at s. I. I have played on the s. I. Girls soccer team in the past two seasons and want to play d1 soccer when i am older. I am also a member of the junior class council. I oppose the appeal and strongly support adding lights to the field so we can use them for practice and latenight games. As an athlete and leader i havent seen most of my teammates and friends since the beginning of covid and this hasnt been easy or ideal as s. I. Caught me the of community. I know because of the limited school year that our season will also be shortened, meaning less field time with we return. As soon as we can return from covid break, these lights will be crucial as they allow the student body to get the education they need after the later start time as well as the ability to play games at school with fellow classmates instead of other fields in surrounding areas. Thank you for your time, supervisors and your service to our city. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller good evening. Hi, good evening, honorable supervisors. I am jim nai and im calling to oppose the neighbors efforts to the project. Im the parents of a 10th Grade Student in s. I. Who live in the sunset area. This is a place that we have lived in since we located from new york two years ago. We love sunset. As a chinese immigrant from hong kong and myself being a Community Worker in sunset, i experience the strong support from s. I. For the families and the students. I am glad to see that the s. I. Project, the light project, it can promote the health and wellness of our students. As well as the community. And especially amongst the chinese community. To become part of the sunset district. And my son is on the crosscountry and track and field teams since last year as a freshman. He has built up not only his physical body but his character and confidence and a way to engage with others. I can say from monday to friday, and sometimes on the weekend, he would follow his coachs instructions to run on sunset boulevard. He has learned discipline and a good way of life. The s. I. Lights project, i believe this will definitely make it safe and have values for the students like my son to train, to run, and to exercise. So as to have a holistic wellbeing in the body, mind and soul. Thank you very much. Clerk thank you for your comments. We currently have 47 listeners with 12 in the queue. Can you please send through the next caller. Caller hi, my name is indiscernible and im a sophomore indiscernible and i live in the sunset district. indiscernible clerk caller, i am pausing your time. Caller indiscernible and respectfully for the neighbors. indiscernible we need to have lights added to the field so we can practice after school. Especially when it gets dark early in the winter. The technology of the lighting would be indiscernible and we need these lights for our practices. Thank you for your consideration in serving our city. It would be great to have lights for safety reasons. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller good evening, honorable supervisors. My name is lea daniels and im a senior at s. I. And im a San Francisco resident and im speaking in opposition of the appeal and the approval of the st. Ignatius lights. I worked as a leader and as a secretary of the executive council. Its taught me so many life lessons and built confidence in myself as i have attended a threeyear stem program at Stanford University that has given me the opportunity to get thirdplace at nationals for my Virtual Reality and prototype app to help to combat covid and to provide research and information to everyone. This is one of the many experiences that s. I. Has taught me to give back to my community and serve. I have built so many bonds to my passion for soccer and track and field and leadership. Freshman year i was able to make friends that i hold dearly. Not only a leader on the field but i can represent my community and advocate for my school as a leader. This field is where we have lifelong friendships and skills. As a leader i know that the importance of this. But i highly recommend that you consider this project because this will allow the athletes to practice on campus which can help their studying purposes to be able to study in the library while waiting for practices. The camaraderie and the spirit inspires people to create that school unity and promoting help. During these challenges times it is quite difficult to try to find connections due to covid, but once we get past covid safely, we will be able to proceed in creating strong leaders and athletes and people. These lights will emphasize these experiences and create lifelong skills to carry out into their next adventures of their life. I want to thank you for your consideration and service to our city. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. I am a junior at s. I. Though im not an athlete i perform in performing arts at s. I. And a member of Student Council. Im strongly in favor of adding lights to the j. D. Murphy field to use the field for evening games and activities. My first sporting event was a Football Game that i attended in eighth grade. The game kicked off just as the sun was going down on a friday night. The students had electric excitement and i could picture myself as one of the hundreds of the cheering students jumping up and down in the stands. It was from that evening on that i knew i needed to go to s. I. , so i did. I attended as many sports games because i love the energy and the community they build. In my opinion friday nights are the best time for a game because the students and teacher alike need to unwind after a long week if we get lights on the field im certain that once its safe to be back on campus and attending Sports Events will key rocket as we can host games on friday nights as opposed to saturday mornings and afternoons. All to say that im hopeful that these help you to see and to understand that adding lights to the field will only strengthen the community at and around s. I. , especially after these difficult and uncertain times. Thank you, supervisors, for your consideration of this request and your time today and your service to our city. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. Im a director of a nonprofit youth organization, and im a resident of sunset district and i am the varsity soccer coach at sacred heart. And i am calling in support of the lights on the j. D. Murphy field. They would be a welcome addition to the sunset district and the greater s. F. Community. I believe that athletics is an integral support of the youth, and i support the lights at st. Ignatius. Thank you for your time and consideration. Clerk thank you for calling in today. May we have the next caller. Caller hello, honorable supervisors. My name is charlotte heineke and part of the s. I. Track and field team. Im lucky enough to call district 7 home. My family is constantly involved in the efforts to bring change to our district. My father, malcolm, served on the board of directors for 12 years, so i know how much elected officials care about our city and its residents. I have seen firsthand the monumental changes here in district seven and i hope that you recognize the wide array of possibilities that are possible with this. And amid the pandemic, the detrimental effects of not playing sports is obvious to student athletes like myself. Having limited space and time during the pandemic and during a regular school year can limit the practice that students can have. It has tremendous social and physical benefits. And deciding to run track during my sophomore year was one of the best decisions during my time at s. I. And not training with my friends was very difficult. San francisco has the lowest population of children out of any major u. S. City. With that said, it is imperative that the City Government works for the betterment of their kids and this is a prime example of the implementation to benefit the students immensely. I hope that you recognize these benefits as well. Its time to put our citys children first. Thank you for your time and consideration for this proposition. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller good evening, honorable supervisors. I am ryan macanoma and im representing the soccer club in im a st. Ignatius graduate, class 2001. I offer my full support in favor of the project of the lights going up. As someone who grew up in the sunset district, both as an alumnus of st. Ignatius, i know full well the importance of having access to sports and opportunities for Extracurricular Activities on that campus. And its not only focused on the results on the field but rather the Holistic Personal Development of the students outside the classroom. I played multiple sports at s. I. , especially track and field, on j. D. Murphy field. My relationships that i have built and the lessons through athletics have lasted my whole life and are immeasurable, super sports and learning life lessons like character, confidence, selflessness, accountability, determination towards reaching goals on an individual basis. And a collective level team work. And without that foundation i would not be here today making a living and working in sports and being a contributing member of the local community on sunset and passing on the same life lessons that i learned. Adding lights would not only add flexibility with the scheduling of lifechanging programming but theres a safety aspect as well for the athletes and their families. Especially because i am confident that the appropriate security measures will be taken of minimal nuisance to the surrounding neighborhood. The extra field time that our kids would get with the lights is invaluable. Especially with the school day running later than when i was a kid and with physical activity more important amid the covid19 pandemic. During my playing days i felt that track athletes were limited to reach their full potential because we would have to cut the practice short due to the absence of lights. My hope is that putting the lights up would be a big step towards allowing the next generation of our kids to grow to the best of their ability. I urge you to please vote to oppose. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller hello. Clerk yes, we hear you. Caller good afternoon, honorable board and supervisors. My name is erin manning and im a senior at s. I. I play soccer and i strongly support adding lights to j. D. Murphy field. I was born and raised in the sunset district and i played soccer most of my life. And its to accommodate the residents of San Francisco and there are a lot of fields that provide lights to extend the usage of these complexes. I would always have to travel outside of the sunset for lights. During the covid19 pandemic, its been incredibly hard for these athletes to get out on an open field and to practice the sport they love. And School Schedules need to start later and to be altered limiting the field time. With the addition of lights to the s. I. Field we can bring our School Together and have an equal opportunity for others in the community to benefit from the lights as well. Playing soccer at s. I. Has helped me to become a leader not only on the field but in the classroom and in my everyday life. I understand that change is difficult but i am confident that the s. I. Community will do everything to make adding lights to the field a fair and easy tan session for our neighbors. We are taught at s. I. To respect and to love and to serve our community. So with the addition of lights to the field we would will hold these dear and Pay Attention to our neighbors. Clerk thank you for your comments. We currently have 38 listening with 8 left in line and if theres any additional callers who would like to speak, please press star, 3, to lineup. And can you please line up the next caller. Caller hello, can you guys hear me . Clerk yes, we can. Caller hello . Okay. Hello, supervisors. My name is javon and im a sophomore at s. I. And im also a part of the athletics program. I feel like these lights would be beneficial for us as athletes, but also towards the audience, like the experience would just be amazing and it would be very we would be looking back at our experience as adults with our friends hopefully, and we are our student body is just full of kids with big dreams and i feel that these lights would just be a big factor and a help towards our motivation to achieving our goals. With your vote we can benefit the whole student benefit and put a smile on all 1,500 of the students. So please vote and thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. May we have the next caller. Caller hello, my name is dorey miller and im a junior at s. I. I live right next to the sunset district. And at s. I. Im a member of the Student Council on the performing arts program. I am in opposition to the appeal and im greatly in support of installing lights to the j. D. Murphy field. For one reason, school can have a later start time and athletic practices can last to dark. All students, regardless of participation and athletics. In addition, sports games at s. I. Have brought in a sense of community, and especially since i grew up having my dad, a Second Generation alumni introduce me to the community who are attending the events. please stand by . Having lights at s. I. Would certainly benefit us as a community, especially from a players perspective because it would help players and students grow, especially to be more visible to colleges. I remember we had to get to practice before it got dark, and the installation of lights would make for a more comfortable practice schedule while building a Stronger Foundation and community at s. I. Thank you so much for your consideration and your time. Clerk thank you for your comments. Are there any public callers on the line . Hello, honorable supervisors. My name is isabella turog, and i am a student at st. Ignatius. I live in the sunset, and i play soccer at s. I. , and i hope to play soccer at college, as well. Playing sports is very important to me because i enjoy the friendship and connections that ive made, especially since attending s. I. Sport has taught me how every player is vital to achieve success. Soccer has taught me many life lessons, especially the need to do your best to succeed. I dedicate approximately 12 hours a week to training. Since covid, it has been difficult to find fields for training. S. I. Has provided an excellent environment, teaching students about the importance of community service. I, along with several other students, have helped coached [inaudible] which is junior high students on our campus. Ive enjoyed helping those in need by completing a number of Service Hours for a number of nonprofit organizations. S. I. Students are hard working people, and having lights on the studenfield will open up opportunities for more events. Clerk thank you for your comments. Mr. Koe . Operator madam clerk, that completes the queue. Clerk mr. President . President yee okay. Thank you for the Public Comments. Since there are no more speakers, then Public Comment is closed. Where are we . Next, i will invite the ceqa appellant so they can present a rebuttal argument, and you will have four minutes, and then next, i will invite the c. U. Appellant to present their rebuttal argument, and you also have four minutes, for a combination of eight minutes. And just to remind all of us, the reason im did he haeviati the two into the four minutes is because there were technical difficulties, and there were plenty of time left from the appellants presentation, okay . So maam so lets hear the appellant rebuttal right now. Are you still there . Yes, we are. If you could recognize mary alice fisher, shes put up our hand. Shes going to speak for our lawyer, who had technical difficulties. Thank you. President yee being ookay. Madam clerk, can you do that because i dont see who she is. Clerk yes. We will make her a presenter. Im sorry. She should be a presenter. Clerk she is now. Mary alice fisher, are you there . You are muted if you are. You must unmute yourself. My name is mary alice fisher, and i want to thank you for your time. I want to share one slide, and i will do that now. So as the appeal states, the project does not meet ceqa exemptions. It cannot be possibly considered minor alternation. Even if the baseline is considered temporary lighting for 40 or 50 nights per year, which we actually disagree with, and we believe is not the correct baseline. Further, 9 00 p. M. To 10 00 p. M. At night is not early evening, as was stated earlier, and a slide that was shown earlier listed 79 teams, and thats extremely misleading, because only 17 teams use the field, according to the applicant. The project is an entirely new source of Light Pollution, regardless of the other existing lighting in the neighborhood, along with incidents in the evening. The project does not also meet the class 3 exemption. These are not certainly small structures, as weve shown. Despite what planning contends, the appellant has produced a lighting report along with the expert analysis of noise and traffic parking impacts along with the neighbor testimony of other potentially Significant Impacts on the neighborhood. At the ceqa exemption stage, the substantial evidence that was submitted shows the potential for Significant Impacts, and that in itself requires further ceqa review based on ceqas fair argument standards. And that is true, even if theres other evidence presented by the project applicant that there may be no Significant Impacts. So the ceqa exemptions simply do not apply here. Planning argues that the project is not unusual, since other lighted projects have been approved without ceqa review. We note that these are public fields with public use and public benefits. In this case, its a private field without public use or public benefits. But either way, the unusual approach that planning took is the incorrect test. The proper test under ceqa is whether the project is unusual in relation to other projects that fit within the exemption, not to projects that do not fit in the exemption but were exempted any way for whatever reason they were. Under plannings approach, the mere existence of a field with lights in the vicinity of a new proposes project would somehow justify the new project ceqa exemption, even if the existing project had already gone through a full ceqa review. Operator you have one minute remaining. This is nonsensical and contrary to policies. To be clear, the purpose of ceqa is not to stop projects, but to ensure that those with potential or Significant Impacts are modified through mitigation or alternatives that minimize or avoid the impacts. In this case, there are potential mitigations that could do that. For instance, overall lighting levels that are lower, given the stadium and other uses. Just because there may be other facilities that planning exempted does not mean that all such private facilities in the city cannot be automatically ceqa exempt. The impact on this neighborhood must be evaluated. Thats what ceqa requires, and the board should grant this appeal. I just want to show a couple of images of the neighborhood, and neighbors, and then turn it over to debra for final rebuttal. Operator speakers time has expired. President yee so would the next speaker like to go ahead and start . Yes, i do. Thank you. Thank you for hanging in there, everyone. President yee have you started . I dont hear anybody. Do you hear me . President yee now we can. Okay. And do you see my visual . President yee no. Well, ill just go quickly. As youve heard today, the s. I. Continues to claim that this is shifting their sports use from day to night, and this is not an expanded use, but actually new and unprecedented use. The San Francisco planning conditions and Event Management plan are just words on paper. There is no enforcement. Lets say a game is still in progress after 9 00 p. M. Will s. I. Abruptly turnoff the lights . We think not. Who will make sure the lights are only used as specified . Were not sure, and that is a grave concern. Weve made it clear that the project has had impacted and has been allowed to skip over key planning codes, ignores the s. F. General plan, as well as any Environmental Impacts. S. I. And its callers, as youve heard, emphasize the s. I. Community, which is a private community, of which neighbors are not a part, and we question any Mutual Benefit that they try to claim. Please uphold our appeal. Please understand that the Environmental Impact deserves, if not requires, further work and study. Thank you very much for sticking with us and this long history. I bid you a good night. Thank you. President yee thank you, and good night. Is the project sponsor still there . I have a question. Yes. Can you hear me . President yee yes. So the question i have for you was mentioned, i think, during the presentation that theres state law that is regulating what kiem students can start . Is th time students can start . Is that correct . Boy, im not an expert in the education law. I know theres a law thats being phased in thats making school times starting later. S. I. Is trying to be a leader in that and recognizing the impacts of later starts to the academic and physical health of their students, and will be used and will be starting their school later. President yee yeah. So you dont know is the principal there . Im sorry, she is not. Supervisor yee, your question is, what does the current state law require as far as the start time . President yee yeah, right. Because part of the logical argument is that students used to practice in the early morning, and now, they cant because they have to start school later. Not exactly, supervisor. The point is, starting later is a benefit to the students and to the learning environment. So shifting the practice times from the early mornings to the late afternoons and early evenings allows students to sleep in, rather than coming to school for a practice that occurs before the start of their classes. President yee no, im not arguing that because i know that research has shown that the to get into their adolescence, they want to start later, and theyre actually motivated when they start later. They would start no earlier than 8 30 a. M. President yee and meaning there should be no activity before 8 30 a. M. . Well, the spirit of the law would be that we would not drag our students in just because the school day is starting at 8 15 or 8 00. Mr. Chairman, may i respond to that, please . This is mary alice fisher. President yee sure. If you know the law better, let me know. Well, yes. Okay. What i know about the law, and what was included in one of the neighborhood associations submittals is that the law does not apply to private schools. It applies to Public Schools and to charter schools, but it does not apply to private schools. So its optional for st. Ignatius to do that, and we certainly understand why they might be interested in doing that, but theyre not subject to the law as we understand it. President yee okay. Thank you for the clarification. Okay. So im going to move on. Anyone has any questions or comments before i close this hearing . Supervisor mar yeah, president yee, i do have some remarks. President yee okay. So after we close the hearing, if you want to make remarks before we close the hearing, we can discuss whats going to happen. Supervisor mar okay. President yee so if you want to make remarks, go ahead. Supervisor mar i can wait until you close the hearing, and my remarks are more around the potential board action on the different items. President yee okay. I dont see any other names on the roster, so i will say that the public hearing has been held, and its now filed. [gavel]. President yee okay. Were back into session to consider the action items, so supervisor mar, would you like to go ahead and make your comments now . Supervisor mar sure. Thank you, president yee. First of all, i just wanted to thank all the Public Commenters who spoke and commented today and communicated with us through emails. Most of the hundreds of emails that weve received have been from sunset district residents, and i think thats reflective of the deep commitment to our neighborhood and important institutions like st. Ignatius high school. I also want to acknowledge the important and valid opinions that have been communicated both about the benefits of the project supporting youth athletics at st. I go initials as well as the important valid opinions that have been communicated about expanding youth will provide increased activities. Like most appeals that come before this board, these are very challenging, some competing issues to try to balance, and we do try to find reasonable compromise, but thats often hard. Id like to briefly comment on the issues raised by the appellant. Its understandable that surrounding neighbors are very concerned about traffic, noise, light, and other impacts resulting from extending practices and games on murphy field into the evening when families are home having dinner, doing homework, and trying to enjoy family time. But as has been noted, there are already lights installed and in use on 18 other athletic fields in the city. Most of these lights are in use 365 days per year and kept on until 10 00 p. M. On weekday nights and 8 00 p. M. On weekend evenings, and one of them is on the sunset field, as noted, just five blocks away from s. I. , in a very quiet part of the sunset district, and the south sunset field have ten permanent lights kept on until 10 00 p. M. Monday through thursday, and until 8 00 p. M. Friday to sunday evening. So i think expanding s. I. S athletic practices and low attendance games into the early evening is similar to what already exists at these 18 other fields, though the concern raised about impacts to the neighborhood by neighbors are still real. One concern is the number of larger events, especially friday night Football Games that will attract a larger attendance of 1,000 to 2,000 people and last until at least 10 00 p. M. I think these larger events, five or six, and up to 20 per year, will have a stronger impact in this neighborhood than those that currently exist at other fields. I think the appellants raised a valid argument that the other fields are public fields with clear public benefits, in contrast with the s. I. Project which will only benefit s. I. Students, for the most part. I want to acknowledge that the s. I. Institution has been a part of the sunset for 60 years, providing an excellent education to students. Colleagues, regarding the two appeals, i first want to speak to the appeal of the planning determination that the project is exemption from Environmental Review under ceqa. Again, i fully understand the appellants strong belief and feelings that allowing events on murphy field will have a strong effect on the neighborhood into the evenings, but we must base our decisions based on the facts in ceqa. Based on that, i do find that the exemption is further [inaudible] from further appeal. Regarding the appeal of the conditional use authorization, we very much can consider fully consider the potential impact on the surrounding neighborhoods that have been highlighted by the appellant. We can consider whether, on balance, these impacts are justified by the benefits of the project supporting juth athletics and s. I. Students, and we can consider whether the conditions of the conditional use authorization based on the Planning Commission decision in july adequately mitigates the potential impact on the surrounding neighborhood. So colleagues, i would like a little more time to consider the appeal of the conditional use authorization and try to facilitate a little bit more dialogue between s. I. And the sunset neighborhood, so i would like to move that we continue our decision on the c. U. A. Peal until the next board meeting, on october 20. President yee okay. So well get to the two motions in a second. I see supervisor peskin on the roster. Supervisor peskin . Supervisor peskin no, mr. President. I just raised my hand to second supervisor mars motion. President yee are you seconded both motions . Supervisor peskin i am are you seconding both motions . Supervisor peskin im seconding the motion to continue the item . President yee supervisor mar, the first motion is to uphold the supervisor mar yeah, i would like to president yee the Planning Departments determination and to table items 47 to 48 . Supervisor mar yeah. I think i would move that we approve item 46, affirming the categorical exemption determination. President yee yeah, okay. Got it. Supervisor peskin just so that were clear, mr. President , i am making a motion to continue item 48, the preparation of findings. President yee i know. Ill get to that in a second. This first motion comes first. So let me just take care of that, and well get to the second motion. So the motion is to approve item 46 and table items 47 and 48, and its seconded by supervisor safai . Supervisor safai yes. Thank you. President yee okay. Any discussion on the motion itself . Okay. A roll call, motion denied ada. Clerk on the motion to approve item 46, and to table items 47 and 48 [roll call] clerk there are nine ayes and one no. President yee okay. So with a vote of 91, the motion clerk mr. President , i should say with supervisor peskin in the dissent. President yee okay. The motion to approve item 46 and table item 47 and 48 passes. Supervisor peskin, i think the second motion was to continue the items of supervisor peskin i thought we were continuing item 48, and thats why i dissented on the last item. But we can move onto the c. U. S, and i thought that may be the misunderstanding, but lets move onto the next items. President yee okay. So theres a motion by supervisor mar to continue items 49 to 51. Is there a second . Clerk mr. President , just to be clear. Supervisor peskin 49 should be filed. Clerk items 49, 51, and 52 to be continued. President yee right, because 49 is the hearing. Okay. So theres a motion made, seconded by supervisor safai. Any discussion . No . O okay. Lets have a vote on the motion to continue items 50, 51, and 52. Clerk on the motion to continue items 50 through 52 to the 20 [roll call]. Clerk there are ten ayes. President yee madam clerk, for clarification, did we, within the motion, name the date where it comes back . Clerk yes, mr. President. You said october 20. President yee okay. Okay. Clerk and i stated it, as well. President yee thank you very much. Motion to continue items 50, 51, and 52 to our meeting on october 20 passes. [gavel]. Supervisor peskin and 53 or 52, sorry. President yee yeah. Okay. I think were finished with these items for tonight, and lets go onto our next special order for 3 00 p. M. Items 53 through 56 together. Clerk items 53 through 56 comprise the public hearing of persons interested in a Community Plan evaluation by the Planning Department under the ceqa act issued on december 18, 2019 for the proposed project at 1088 Howard Street, to merge two adjacent lots, to demolish the existing single story with mezzanine level industrial building onsite, and to construct a seven story 71 foot tall mixed use residential and special building with 24 two bedroom units and 2560 square feet of ground floor special space. President yee okay. Thank you. Welcome back, supervisor fewer. Okay. Colleagues, we have before us a proposed project at 1088 Howard Street. This appeal is related to the Planning Department departments Community Plan evaluation under the California Environmental quality act. After the hearing, the board will vote on whether to affirm or reverse the Community Plan evaluation. Without objection, then, we will proceed as follows. Up to ten minutes for a presentation by the appellant or their representative. Two minutes per speaker in support of the appeal, up to ten minutes for the presentation from the city departments, up to ten minutes for the project sponsor to or their representatives, two minutes per speaker in opposition of the appeal and in support of the project, and finally, up to three minutes for a rebuttal by the appellant or their representatives. Colleagues, are there any objections to proceeding this way . No . Seeing none, then public hearing will proceed as indicated and is now open. [gavel]. President yee supervisor haney, do you have any opening remarks . Supervisor haney no, ill wait until after the presentations. President yee all righty. Seeing no other names to make any remarks, i will now ask the appellant to come forward and present their case. You have up to ten minutes. Tanaka banes, is it. This is philip abbot speaking. Were going to divide our ten minutes. Good evening, honorable board members. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss this appeal. Im philip babbage. Im council for the appellants. The appellants have worked hard to get a small slice of San Francisco. Now that they have this, they want to make sure that they dont lose basic rights. Im going to address the issue of noise. Julie castaneda, ronald [inaudible] and tanaka banes will address the other issues. In response to our appeal, the Planning Department contends that the e. I. R. Conservatively, conservatively analyzed the plans construction noise impacts by assuming that residential noise sensitive receptors, the people, would be home during construction activities, including during normal business hours, i. E. , 8 00 a. M. To 5 00 p. M. However, the e. I. R. Did not expressly analyze construction noise in this manner. It relied on an initial study which merely pointed to the San Francisco noise ordinance and possible mitigation measures for future projects to reduce construction noise. The initial study did not discuss construction noise any further. We cannot find support in the initial study for the Planning Departments contention that construction noise impacts were analyzed based on an assumption that residents would be home during construction activities occurring between the hours of 8 00 a. M. And 5 00 p. M. There was mention of a prohibition on construction work at night, but there was no reference, let alone discussion, of construction noise impacts on adjacent residents who would all or most all be home durpg the entirety of a construction project. Thus, it is apparent that the e. I. R. Did not consider the project specific issues appellants raise here. The same is true for the air quality and sewage issues. Next speaking will be julian castaneda. Thank you, supervisors, and thank you, supervisor haney, for all of your efforts trying to help our parties. Much appreciated. Our building is a bit different than other condominiums in San Francisco. It was built in the 1990s. Our building has a height density occupancy design with 34 condominiums that average 300 square feet in size. Yes, 300 square feet. The units affected have at most only two windows that face directly into the proposed Building Development site, meaning all intake and outside air will be directly from the site. There are no other options or alternatives for air flow. We now come to you to ask that this projects ceqa determination be determined invalid for the following reasons the high population density of our building. As the San Francisco Planning Commission determined in its june 4 discretionary review hearing. There are exceptional and extraordinary circumstances regarding the adverse impacts our residents will experience during the proposed 1088 Howard Street building construction. This means that a large amount of people will be disproportion nately and adversely affected by proposed project. The site has been used for many decade as a manufacturing site. Today, its being used as a marijuana and cannabis site, and before that, it was used as a Refrigeration Company and air conditioning and heating company. This has likely contaminated the soil and building presently located at 1088 Howard Street. The proposed project will involve the removal and spreading of at least 50 yards of soil that is contaminated. Our concern is that the soil will be aerosolized, and these par par particulates will be inhaled by the residents. These are among the main reasons why we would request that the board of supervisors invalid date the ceqa determination. And now im going to pass it onto our president , tanaka. When the Planning Department made the determination, they did not take into consideration the severe covid pandemic and the severe wild fires. In living in the building since 2002 and living in the smallest unit, with 282 square feet, and having two windows that face the proposed project, it prevents a Significant Impact to our community, especially those residents living in close proximity to the proposed building. We expect this building will increase the temperature of our building, especially the buildings facing Howard Street. On the Howard Street side, increase about 8 in the winter, about 10 in the summer and fall. Smoke from wildfires, even wildfires 100 miles away, can significantly affect our health. Wildfire smoke, combined with high temperatures, can cause Serious Health effects. As the smoke gets worse, the concentration of particles in the air increases. Smoke from wild fires have become more intense due to kield fires. The fire season has grown from a couple of weeks in october to months starting in august august. We also had the orange gsky on september 6. Almost every day in september, i received an alert from environment s. F. , outlining unhealthy care quality. Open windows to [inaudible] the e. P. A. Also stated that having an air conditioner and staying inside with the windows closed may be dangerous in extremely hot weather, in these cases, they suggest to seek alternative shelter. Going to a shelter can pose a risk to covid, so we have to decide which is worse. Staying inside with windows closed or seeking shelter and being exposed to covid. Operator twominute warning. Okay. And i give it over to ron. Hello . Hi. My name is ronald, and i am one of the h. O. A. Board members. As you all know, the [inaudible] in San Francisco are more than 100 years old. There are situations at 7 street, and every time it rains, water comes into our basement. We have equipment in our business that needed to be protected and has been damaged. We spent a lot of money on plumbers for items blocking our pipes. According to the last plumber we hired, the problem comes from the main [inaudible] if the project sponsors building gets built, it will create more problems with the system. [inaudible] the more water consumption goes in the sewage. [inaudible] in fact 1088 sewage may not be connected to main sewage, but it will be connected up to the main sewage pipe where [inaudible] is also connected. Again, if theres a heavy rain, it will come back severely and flood our basement. We would respectfully recommend that the city and county look into the problem. We want to get the support of the [inaudible] it is always our experience that every time it rains clerk the time is concluded, mr. President. President yee thank you for the presentation. Any questions . I see nobody on the roster, so im going to go ahead and ask for people that want to make Public Comment in support of in support of the appeal, and you have two two minutes. Madam clerk, go ahead and get started. Clerk okay. The telephone number is both on the television and streaming on our website. Operations, do we have a caller in the queue . If youre interested in speaking operator yes, we have one. Clerk okay. Great. Why dont you unmute the caller. If youre interested in speaking, please press star, three, and thatll unmute you, so to speak, and put you in the queue to speak. Welcome, caller. Hi. Im an owner of the property, the condominium [inaudible] with most affordable apartments in San Francisco, and its mainly because theyre so small. My unit is 250 square feet. Me and other 50 people who live in the building have put our life savings into this home, and we cannot afford anything the size of the closet with a window. Now, well be living in a cloz el wi closet with no windows. I cannot believe how the Planning Department approved this project with no [inaudible] we will have absolutely no air flow, and we wont be able to open windows because of the pollution from the construction site that is 50 times higher than norm. [inaudible] in the community center. Our investment in the environment and the solar panels on our roof will also be useless because this eightstory building will be blocking our light to us. This owner is not providing affordable housing, theyre building luxury housing. We have 34 units in our building, where teachers and blue collars living. Theyre making it unliveable and pushing us out of the city. We wont even be able to sell it because nobody would want to live in a shoe box with no windows. Please [inaudible] please vote against this development. Clerk thank you. I want to thank the caller for your comments. Operations, please unmute the next caller. Were currently taking Public Comment on behalf of the appellants. Welcome, caller. Hello, can you hear me . Clerk hello. Hello, yes, i can hear you. Id like to speak on behalf of the project of the environmental clerk sir, if you could just press star, three, thatll put you back in line. We are currently taking Public Comment on behalf of the appellant. Thank you for your patience. Operations, please unmute the next caller. Hello. Good evening. Good evening to the board, and thank you for staying late. My name is robert pfizer. Ive lived in San Francisco for 25 years. Ive been a licensed Real Estate Agent and broker since 1992, and i have an m. B. A. From the university of San Francisco. I work as an Expert Witness and frequently give testimony on the real estate issues in San Francisco and in california. I would say at the very least, given that the three main things that the Homeowners Association has enumerated, the air quality, the sewage, and i forget the other one, but these things would require that, at the very least, you should postpone the development of this project now in light of all the environmental factors that have been changing in the city and in the country in general. The fires have introduced a new idea that as far as keeping the air quality in the city liveable, its something that we need in regard to this project, as well as the noise and the sewage. So i would encourage you to at least cancel or postpone this project. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. I think on that last call, we had two callers. It seemed as if they were both unmuted. Maam, if you would like, if you would try to reach us again. All right. Operations, if you would please unmute the next caller. Caller, are you on the line . Hello . Clerk welcome. Its my turn . Clerk sir, the floor is yours, yes. Yes, im the owner of the property 195, on the unit 407. The only thing that im concerned about is nature light. Once the building constructed next door, you can block all the Natural Light for this unit, so what is city concerns . So wed like to know. Clerk okay. Sir, so once youre finished with your comments, well move on, but i just wanted to let you know that you had another minute if you had other comments. No, other than the environmental issues, air quality, the Natural Light, you know, definitely blocking from this site. I think the planning, you should review their plan and make sure the Natural Light still include for the units we have. Clerk okay. Well, thank you for your comments. Thanks. Clerk please stay on the line. The project sponsor may answer those questions. Operations, can we hear from the next caller, please. Hi, there. Thank you very much, council, that youre staying so late or board of supervisors, thank you for staying so late to listen to this. I think a lot of the callers have talked about the shortterm impact, but id like to talk about the longterm impact. A lot of the people who have bought into this building are your teachers, blue collar workers, union workers, you know, people who are key to our San Francisco community, and this proposed project due to blocking light, causing environmental issues, thats one thing. But youre impacting the lives of these important people within our city. But also, is theyve invested into San Francisco. And by creating this luxury condominiums which only benefits a few people i mean, i doubt anybody whos a Police Officer can afford a 1. 5 or 2 million property. And, you know, whats happening is these people, their Property Values are going to decline as soon as this propertys built. Theyre blocking sun light, theyre blocking open air. Plus, you have problems with, as discussed before, sewage, and environmental concerns. You know, these are people that are important to our community. Id love for them to live in our community instead of forcing them out to the suburbs and leaving the city because, you know, theyre losing their investment or they can no longer live in their city or live in their small unit because they dont have air, they dont have sun light due to this property. So, you know, thank you very much for listening in, and those are all my comments i have. Thank you so much. Clerk thank you, thank you for your comments. Operations, is there another caller, please . Hi. Im im i had to unmute. My name is nancy, and i am a homeowner, a long time resident of San Francisco, and ive but i live in the nearby district, and my concern upon hearing about this change made me wonder, again, about the Property Owners who are individual owners who, again, really invest a lot of their own savings into a home, and for the values for it to be so easy for a much larger, more valuable structure, to deplete that of long time san franciscan homeowners who have worked pretty hard to have a future with their real estate investment. So thank you, and thank you all for your time so late this evening. Clerk thank you for your comments. Okay. Operations, can you please unmute the next caller . Hi, there. Can you hear me . Clerk yes, we can hear you. Welcome. Oh, oh, thank you. My name is clarissa, and im a resident of San Francisco. The reason why im calling is how the city will function, wi whether its a luxury condominium or something else. I think the quality of life for people who have no light and no air is concerning. Especially if we consider longterm effects, these structures are going to be there for a long time, so it will be very difficult for people to have a good life in the middle of the city. The city is going through a lot of tough times, where people are moving out, and we want to make sure that the city is healthy, that the people want to live there, they want to continue coming to the city so that they live in nice places. Now, this condo complex is small, so it allows people of all you know, from all walks of life to have a nice place in the city and not need to move out, and by shutting down the light, creating pollution, creating just buildings that should not be so close together, we are making our city really unpleasant and uncomfortable to live with. I appreciate you staying so long and listening to us, and you really care about the city and how it looks and how feels and how good it is to our residents. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. So if there are any listeners in the queue, please press star, three, otherwise, well take the remainder of the callers to the end. Operations, do we have another caller whos willing to speak on behalf of the appellant . Hi, can you guys hear me . Clerk yes, we can. Welcome. Thank you so much. I hope everybody is having a pleasant evening. Im a bay area native, and basically, ive been in the city for over 25 years, and im very much opposed to this development. I just think its really not fair to homeowners as well as people that are renting in this building, and especially now that were all stuck at home for so long, to take away that view and having that just, like, building right in front of you and no space just makes things so much harder in such a stressful time. Yeah, thats pretty much all of have i have to say. Thank you so much, and i hope the correct decision is made that will benefit the people of San Francisco. Thank you. Clerk thank you for your comments. Okay, operations, please unmute the next caller. Hello . Clerk the floor is yours, sir. Hello . Hi. So i am an actual resident of 195 7 street. I actually live on the side in question. Ive been a resident of San Francisco for 23 years. Im a blue collar worker. Im hiv positive, and im a barber, and i have to tell you that this is the one thing thats going to completely tip the scales on whether or not i can live in this city. Theres not many options for me, i do not make enough money to find another place, and if this happens, i know this is going to affect my health to a degree that i will have to leave, and its already been hard enough on me as it is having to have spent the last six months in an apartment that only has one open window. So having that window completely blocked and having my apartment be raised 15 is going to be too much. I know i wont be able to survive it, and i dont think its fair that somebody who has lived here this long will have to move out to make room for a luxury condo. Thats not what i thought this city was about, and it breaks my heart to think that this is the direction that its going. So i really hope that this dwa actually gets cancelled or at least postponed so some of us have a little more sunshine for a little while more. Clerk thank you for your comments. Okay. Operations, lets unmute the next caller, please. Hello . Hello . Clerk hello, caller. Yes, please begin your comments. My name is [inaudible]. Thank y thank you. My name is [inaudible] and i oppose this Development Due to that impact on residents of the building. Its just 1 feet from the building, and due to circumstances of work from home, we all [inaudible] and if its possible, to at least postpone the development, so theres no reduction of light and air impacted. So i would like to express my concerns about residents in this building, and thank you for being up so late. Clerk well, thank you for your comments. Thank you. Okay. Operations, can you please unmute the next caller . Operator madam clerk, that completes the queue. Clerk thank you, mr. Koe. Mr. President . President yee okay. Since there are no other members of the public who wish to speak in Public Comment, Public Comment is now closed. [gavel]. President yee so we will now have up to ten minutes for representation from the Planning Department to do their presentation. Hi, madam clerk. Can i get the share screen option, please . Clerk yes. Staff will make you a presenter. All right. Good evening, president yee and members of the board. Im [inaudible]. President yee so why dont we pause for a second, and whoevers on the line needs to mute themselves. Clerk operations, through the president , can you tell who that is and mute them, please . Operator madam clerk, we are good to go. Clerk thank you. Mr. President . Thank you very much. Im ryan shum. I will touch on the pointed raised in points raised by the appellants in the supplemental documents. On january 15, 2020, discretionary review was requested. On june 4, 2020, the Planning Commission took discretionary review and approved the project with the condition that the proposed building will be set back from the western interior Property Line to allow adjacent Property Line windows to function properly. This determined the department to issue a c. U. A. On july 6, 2020. Were here to provide further evidence to sun stan shat the departments determination that the project qualifies for a c. P. E. Substantiate the departments determination that the project qualifies for a c. P. E. This Supplemental Information provided yesterday does not change this conclusion. We acknowledge that, like all projects, project construction will be disruptive and inconvenient for neighbors. However, mitigate applies to the neighborhood, particularly for those living near the construction. These mitigation have been determine [inaudible] from Construction Equipment by 89 to 94 , requiring plywood barriers, [inaudible] on equipment, and establishing a hotline for fielding public inquiries, amongst other measures. Appellants assert that the department did not consider current circumstances of more people being home during construction because of shelter in place, and consequently, the department should conduct further Environmental Review, but this assert is incorrect. Eastern neighborhood p. R. Conservatively analyzed the planned construction air and noise impacts by determining that people would be home during these activities. The development under the plan would result in less than significant noise and air quality impacts with mitigation. Therefore, the analysis conducted by the department assumed precisely the conditions that the appellants described, namely, that neighbors of the project site would be home during construction times. Therefore, covid19 shelter in place doesnt change the departments analysis. With respect to the Supplemental Information provided by the appellants, the department acknowledges that San Francisco and the entire bay area has suffered from wildfires and worsening air fault in recent areas. But these events are unpredictable in severity, timing, and duration. The bay area air Quality Management district monitors air quality and issues spare the air alerts as necessary. These alerts direct people to take measures to protect themselves based on their individual circumstances and the air quality index and commonly recommends sensitive populations to remain indoors with windows closed. The projects location within the air pollutant exposure zone indicated that a significant local air quality impact currently exists and extreme wildfire events may increase the severity of the air pollution, but it doesnt change the fact that the project is located within the air pollution project zone. [inaudible] the project would need to make this existing condition substantially worse. This mandate has been established by the california supreme court. As stated, the projects location within the [inaudible] means that the sponsor is required to use loier emission Construction Equipment resulting in less construction air quality impacts. There are no mitigation measures that could be required to further reduce air quality impacts, and the analysis and mitigation would remain unchanged, even if an e. I. R. Or further environmental study was conducted. Thus, wildfire events do not change the c. P. E. S care quality conclusions. In terms of Operational Air quality impacts, once construction is complete, the project would not exacerbate air quality in the surrounding area, that the project does not include new sources of diesel par particulate matter. Further, the project would n [inaudible] thus, the project would have a less than significant Operational Air quality impact related to new sources of health risk. Lastly, the appellant states that the proposed project would exacerbate existing backflow sewage issues at 195 7 street but offers no evidence and does not describe how the proposed project would affect drainage and sewage performance on the adjacent property as previously discussed in relation to air quality impacts, the project would need to exacerbate the existing air quality and sewage issues on the adjacent property in order for there to be a Significant Impact. The project is consistent with the development assumptions of the site under the plan and is therefore accounted for in the citys infrastructure and utility planning. The project would not increase demand on the citys combined sur system beyond what has already been anticipated for the site and would not require unplanned upgrades to support the project. Moefrover, the appellants concerns that t concerns and is in a downstream location as indicated by the direction of arrows on the slide. Properties that are downstream are unlikely to affect upstream properties, especially if they are connected to a separate sewer main. Given this projects downstream location relative to 195 7 street and connection to a separate sewer main, this project is unlikely to affect sewage issues at 195 7 street. The project would not cause a peculiar, new, or more severe significant Environmental Impact compared to what was identified in the eastern neighborhoods peir. The decision before the board today is whether to uphold the departments decision to publish a c. P. E. And deny the appeal or to return the project to the department for additional Environmental Review. The department submits that Environmental Review was properly performed pursuant to local and state requirements, and that the project is consistent with the zoning for the site and qualifies for a c. P. E. We respectfully request that the appeal be denied. We welcome any questions the board may have. Thank you. President yee okay. Thank you very much. Supervisor haney . Supervisor haney thank you for that presentation. I have a few questions. You know, one is i think we all, obviously, understand that things are different now, and im definitely sympathetic to the feelings from the neighbors that the you know, the wildfires and the air quality and staying at home because of covid has changed things in terms of their lives and the way that they will experience this project. How would how how do the Current Events affect your analysis, and if we were to send you back to do further analysis based on these Current Events, would it affect your analysis at all . Yeah, thank you for the question. So the analysis was done with the assumption that people would be home during construction and near the construction site and exposed to these construction activities and the associated impacts. Mitigation measures this was called out at a Significant Impact in the eastern neighborhoods e. I. R. So we called out that future Development Projects like this one would be required to implement them. And with the implementation of these measures, the air quality and construction noise impacts would be reduced to less than a significant level under ceqa. So even though covid19 stayathome orders or wildfire events are prompting more people to stay at home, it doesnt change the analysis because this exact situation was analyzed under the eastern neighborhoods plan. The mitigation measure is conservative, and it applies citywide. So should the board decide to send this back to the department for additional review, the mitigation measure wouldnt change, and theres no difference between the mitigation measure implemented through a c. P. E. Or through an e. I. R. , for example. The mitigation would stay the same and would reduce construction impacts by the same degree. Supervisor haney i dont want to speak out of order, but if i may. President yee you are speaking out of order. Its not your turn. Supervisor haney . Supervisor haney so the appellants view is he did not believe that you had considered or that we had taken into consideration that people would be home throughout the day, and your view is that thats just incorrect, that that is the consideration seems to be a difference of opinion there . Right. So the analysis was done assuming that someone with sensitive receptors or residence ent residents would be home nearby, and thats why it was determined to be a Significant Impact. We did projectspecific analysis to determine whether or not the any timitigation ap and the sponsor would be required to implement noise reduction measures that would also have to be approved by d. B. I. , the department of building inspection. Supervisor haney there were a number of people who raised issues around the blocking of the windows and of the light, and i know that there was a d. R. And there was a setback that was implemented. How is that consideration around the blocking of the light and the closeness to the windows taken into consideration at all or a consideration in the ceqa analysis . In ceqa, at least, light exposure is not something we look at under ceqa. Its, i think, more of a code issue, and the d. R. Did set the Building Back one additional food. I think ill send it over to monica, who can speak a little bit more to the code issues on this. Good evening, supervisors. Thank you for the question. Monica [inaudible], Planning Department staff. Ryan is correct in that ceqa does not account for light infiltration. I would point out that the windows here happen to be Property Line windows, and the ceqa does not protect Property Line windows. The set back that the project sponsor took, that would be the appropriate action to address these concerns. Supervisor haney so in terms of the window and how close it is to the building, approving this appeal and sending it for further analysis, you wouldnt analyze that aspect of it at all . That is the issue of the light and how close it is to the building it is not something that you all it is not an issue in this appeal . It is not a ceqa issue. Supervisor haney with regard to the projects potential impact with regard to the sewage backup issue, you said there was no evidence that the project would make the existing problem at 195 7 street worse. Is this something that was analyzed, and how did you come to that determination because again, there seems to be a difference of opinion on that . Yeah. Considering our appeal preparation and response preparation, we did speak to the Public Utilities commission about this issue, and they helped us figure out that they provide this map shown on the screen. The 1088 howard site, highlighted in orange, is connected via sewer lateral to a Howard Street sewer main, and the 195 7 Street Project or building is connected to the 7 street sewer main. And like i mentioned before, the 1088 howard site is actually downstream from the 195 7 street. So that, combined with the fact that 195 7 street is downstream and on a separate sewer main makes it very unlikely that development on this 1088 howard site could, in fact, impact existing issues at 195 7 street. And, you know, moreover, the project is consistent with the development assumptions assumed in the eastern neighborhoods plan. And every few years, the Public Utilities commission and the city updates the Sewer Master Plan to ensure that, you know, planned development is, you know, accounted for in their utilities planning. So if a project is consistent with the development assumptions under that master plan, it can be adequately accommodated, and the potential for the project to impact other project sites is even lower. Supervisor haney and for the air quality impact, which is the other concern that is brought up, would there are there significant mitigation measures to to address any of the air quality impacts during construction . And then, are there significant air quality impacts post construction . Yeah. So during construction, the city has rules and regulations in place, and eastern neighborhood mitigation measures would apply, and it would require clean Construction Equipment, lower emissions that would reduce diesel particulate matter by as much as 94 . So those mitigations together would reduce construction impact levels to less than a significant level. Once the project is complete, the project wouldnt have a significant air quality impact and doesnt require mitigation from air quality impacts. The project is relatively small scale and doesnt include any additional diesel particulate matter, like a diesel generator. The project is only 24 units, so there also wouldnt be a substantial number of new trips generated by the project that could have an Operational Air quality impact. So like i mentioned under ceqa, a project is only required to address an existing environmental condition if the project would potentially exacerbate the existing issue. And since the project would not do so, the project would have a less than Significant Impact. Supervisor peskin and what is the significant president yee supervisor peskin, go ahead. Supervisor peskin and what conditions are being exacerbated . The fact that the project is in the air pollutant exposure zone. President yee supervisor haney, are you finished . Supervisor haney i just and i want to make sure that im totally clear here, because i think for a layperson or even for me, its hard to believe that all of the factors that are happening in the world right now dont affect your analysis or wouldnt affect your analysis at all. Could you just, as succinctly or clearly as possible, why isnt that the case . So the eastern neighborhood plan did its analysis with the assumption that people would be home. Covid19 and wildfires are indeed prompting more people to be home during these times, but it doesnt change the fact that the analysis already assumed that seem would people would b that is not relevant from a ceqa standpoint. The analysis was that people would be home and was determined accordingly, and mitigation was also prescribed accordingly. If we were to do additional analysis, nothing would change because we had already looked at the same condition that would prompt us, you know, to that that we would look at again, and that is more people being home during construction. The mitigation measures already reduce the project to a less than Significant Impact, and that wouldnt change, so we would effectively end up where we are now. Supervisor haney okay. Im done with my questions. Thank you. President yee okay. Supervisor peskin, do you still have questions . Supervisor peskin mr. President , through supervisor haney to ryan, can you [inaudible] when the Community Measures went into effect . Sure. Through the chair, so the measures require the developer to prepare a noise atenuation plan through a qualified acoustical consultant, and these site atenuation measures would be approved by the department of building inspection. They include things like Noise Control blankets, erecting plywood barriers to shield adjacent residents from construction noise, establishing a construction hotline to field public inquiries, and it would also be the project construction would also be subject to [inaudible] code. In terms of air quality, the project would be required to construct using lower emission Construction Equipment, and that would effectively reduce diesel particulate emissions by up to 94 . Supervisor peskin so those are the mitigation measures . Correct. Supervisor peskin and let me reiterate what was asked earlier. Given the change in the world, you dont believe that theres been any change in the environmental conditions . The environmental conditions, you know they its hard to kind of figure out what the environmental condition will be at the Time Construction starts, and because wildfires are such a rare event, and were not sure what the, you know, status of covid19 shelter in place will be, its very difficult to predict. And but the construction mitigation measures do reduce construction impacts to a less than significant level. So in either case, the measures would be adequate. Supervisor peskin so by and through the president and supervisor haney, do you think that there may be other mitigation measures that we should, given the truly extraordinary circumstances that were facing now, that we ought to request or impose . The mitigation measures, i think right now, already reduce the project impact to less than signature impact, and covid19 and wildfires smoke does not change this condition, and so im not im not sure . Can i yep. Supervisor peskin thank you for those answers. I sincerely appreciate it, and i know that somebody else is chiming in. President yee yes. Can i figure out whos chiming in . Debra dwyer . Yes. Debra dwyer, Planning Department staff. Supervisor peskin, the i want to point out that the wildfires, obviously, is a condition that were all experience, and we realize that there are high levels of particulate matter and air quality is worsening. However, these are episodic events that dont change the analysis that were doing. The projects emissions, which is what we are considering, dont change as a result of these, and the projects contributions to cumulative conditions would still be not substantial based on using tier four Construction Equipment. If i might give an example, i am aware of analysis of a 500unit project that did an air quality study that found with using using lowemission Construction Equipment, the p. M. 2. 5 levels would be approximately. 031 micrograms at the nearest receptor. To give a comparison, when we have the higher end of the green or good level on the i. Q. Scai. Q. E. Q. Scale, its actually 12 micrograms per cubic meter. So this project, with 24 units, the emissions that would be generated would still be considered not substantial even in that conflex of these episodic events. Supervisor peskin so through the president and supervisor haney and thank you for those comments, mr. Shum. Were living in extraordinary times. Earlier in our agenda, we dealt with what in any normal time would be a pedestrian lease window, but that was sent back to the committee because it was the renewal of a gas station in supervisor president yees district. What i was trying to ask was do you think the Community Plan exemption is still as valid today as it was when it was passed, given the extraordinary things that have happened in the immediately past . And i think that mr. Shum did a pretty good job answering that, but i think we all have to step up our game. So thank you for those answers, and with that, ill turn it back over to the president. President yee all righty. So i dont see anybody on the roster right now. Ill go to the next step of this hearing, which is to give the project sponsor an opportunity to make their presentation. You have ten minutes. Thank you. Madam clerk, can you hear me . President yee yes, we can hear you. Clerk yes, we can. Thank you, mr. President. Tom tunney of reuben, junius, and rose, on behalf of the project sponsor. I am joined by the project architect, jeremy shaw. Should questions arise, well also hear from our soils expert, david dement. Id like to start first with the Environmental Review process and the document at issue here, the Community Planning evaluation or c. P. E. Just to be clear, the c. P. E. Isnt an exemption from ceqa review, nor does it just rely on the northern neighborhoods e. I. R. As staff has shown, its more like an e. I. R. Itself in terms of content and analysis. In its own words, the c. P. E. Analyzes the projects specified effect on the 10 will 8 howard project. This would determine if the project would result in any significant Environmental Impacts that were not identified in eastern neighborhoods e. I. R. Just like an e. I. R. , every area under ceqa is independently evaluated to determine if any Environmental Impacts exist. The c. P. E. Concluded there were none. The base document was 64 pages of analysis and technical studies, were performed on air quality, greenhouse gases, soils and shadows, for example, were performs, as well. If there were any updates to the eastern neighborhoods e. I. R. Required, the c. P. E. Identified them. Once the c. P. E. Is issued, members of the public can raise concerns. The appellants did that here prior to our Planning Commission hearing. Planning staff responded with a new analysis, this was during covid, that addressed each of the concerns by appellants. The Planning Commission agreed and approved the project by unanimous 60 vote. Even further review occurs, when as here, an analysis of the c. P. E. Has filed. Staff has gone over there, but just to sum viemarize, the appellants raise three key issues. First is noise. The residential building will not produce competitive noise once constructs, and construction noise will be mitigated by clearly defined noise construction noise attenuation measures. The noise attenuation plan gives the project and the city plexibility in making sure that all impacts are mitigated. More on flexibility in making sure that all impacts with mitigated. More on mitigation in a moment. Next is air quality, and the key fact here is that the project doesnt produce any air pollutants. Jeremy, could you show the neighbors building and windows in question . Should be coming up now. Yes. This shows you the neighbors building on the left. The proposed project has set backs that provide light and air to the neighbors Property Line windows even though, as you know, Property Line windows arent protected by law. A matching light well is provided, as well. Staff has shown unequivocally that the project wouldnt worsen the impact of wildfire smoke on the neighbors. As a practical matter, the appropriate response to wildfire smoke and other toxic events is to close windows, not open them. More on air quality in a moment, as well. Jeremy, show the next photo. Thank you. And then, you can pull that off. And please show the rendering of the project. Id like to return to the project next. Theres a significant misunderstanding about the nature of this project. The project provides 24 dwelling units, three of which are on item affordable, all two bedrooms, ranging in size from 568 square feet to 768 square feet. The value of these units will be in the neighborhood of 750,000. This gives a Home Ownership opportunity to teachers and firefighters, just as speakers had talked about before. The zoning use is mixed use general. In this district, housing is encouraged over ground floor commercial. The project is less than a block from the central soma plan area, the main criticism of which they didnt provide enough housing. These are the kind of projects that we would submit city policy makers have asked for. The height limit is 85 feet. The project is well below that at 71 feet. No parking is provided. Now to address the specific issues before this board. The appellants are particularly concerned about noise and air quality impacts and argue that additional mitigation measures are required. Were sympathetic to the neighbors, as everyone here is. Were only human. But the appeal doesnt recognize the measures that the appellants are subject to. All of the citys impact fees are subject to careful studies and are specifically designed to be proportional to the particular impact of the project. The law requires this to avoid exactly whats being proposed now. Some late in the game, unknown significantly high project cost. Proposed project is a modest one, again, at 24 units. Theyre small in size, with three affordable onsign units. It is not a luxury condo tower. With noise onsite units. It is not a luxury condo tower. Mitigation measures are in place to guarantee that the project cannot move forward unless construction noise is reduced to acceptable levels. There will be no pile driving with this construction, as has been asserted before. With 34 units in the neighbors building, any additional measures in the building for each unit gets very expensive very quickly. With air quality, even though the project has no air pollutant impacts, in addition to the set backs and the matching light well, we agreed to provide air filtration units with hepa filters. Thats what most of us are doing today to combat wildfire smoke. We agree to additional funds for the neighbors to use as they see fit, but we simply cannot fund the desired mitigations in their entirety. The very extensive Environmental Review our project has undergone has revealed no unexpected or unique impacts. The facts and Expert Opinion presented here, including city staff, technical consultants, and the Planning Commission mandates the c. P. E. Be approved and the appeal denied. Please give the residents of this project the same benefit the neighbors currently have. Thank you for this opportunity. Ill turn it now to our soils expert, and were available for any questions you may have. Clerk i might add, mr. President , that youre just close to the twominute warning. I understand. Could you allow david dement to address the board . Clerk operations, could you please provide sharing access . Hes calling in by phone. Clerk okay. Weve paused your time. Thank you. Clerk operations, can you tell the individual . Operator madam clerk, i believe hes muted right now. Hell need to press star, six. Clerk mr. Dement, please press star, six. Hello . Clerk we can hear you. Im david dement. Im the soil expert who did the shallow soil character analysis at the site. Im a soil geologist. Ive characterized 100 parcels similar to this one, and ive analyzed over 1,000 soil samples for lead in similar circumstances. The lead at the project site is obviously from the 1906 earthquake. It has nothing to do with site history. The paint the retail paint store that was there, that opened in 1990, and leadbased paint was banned in the late 70s. Also, they didnt manufacture paint there. It was simply a retail store, but what i saw was no impacts whatsoever from the former paint store, but i did find lead associated with the 1906 earthquake. We find it on almost every parcel in this area of San Francisco, and theres nothing unusual in the soil, and nothing from Historic Site use, and thats basically it. Thank you so much. President yee okay. Thank you. So project sponsor, you are done. Thank you. President yee okay. Thank you very much. So why dont we go to Public Comment at this point for those who want to make comments in support of the project or in opposition of the peappeal. You have two minutes. Clerk thank you, mr. President. Operations, can you please unmute the first caller. Were now taking Public Comment on behalf of the project sponsor. Welcome, caller. Hello. My name is catherine, and i am a resident at 195 7 street, and i am calling in, wanting to simply just say that i heard all the comments about structurally, the building will have all these standards, but has anybody ever thought about, like, the earthquake the buildings earthquake safety, and should this building be built, if its taller than our building hello . Clerk maam, im pausing your time. Im pausing your time. This is Public Comment on behalf of the project. It seems as though you were expecting to call on behalf of the appellant. Is that true . Im calling on behalf of the as a resident of the 195 7 street. Clerk okay. Well, we are only taking Public Comment if youre only speaking on behalf of the project. Oh, okay. Sorry. Clerk okay. Thank you for calling. Press star, three, if you are interested in going back and listening to the proceedings. Okay. Operations, can we hear from the next caller in support of the project, please. Hi. Can you hear me . Clerk yes, we can. Hello . Excellent. Hi. My name is adam bookbinder. I am not a san franciscan, but as a Planning Commissioner in the area, i am extremely interested. At a time when the Climate Crisis is being exacerbated by long commutes, there would have to be incredibly good reasons to deny people to live in a place with a walk score of 98, and theres simply not. I understand that the neighbors dont want their view to change, but thats not a reason to deny 24 families from a life on the streets. Please approve this project. Clerk thank you. Operations, lets listen to the next caller, please. Good evening, supervisors. My name is sam deutsche. I am a renter in district 8 in San Francisco, and im calling in strong support of this project at 1088 howard. I rent in San Francisco, and as a result, ive personally had to deal with the housing crisis. And furthermore, i think were all dealing with the Environmental Crisis right now as Climate Change continues to drive ever worsening fire seasons. According to u. C. Berkeley study, infill housing, its the number one thing that local politicians can do to combat Climate Change. As a result, its clear when building Something Like a project like this thats just a couple of blocks from muni, met omet metro, and b. A. R. T. , and replacing infrastructure in that it was formerly a surface parking lot. And nobody is living in that surface parking lot other than cars, this one is really a nobrainer. I live right next door, and my apartments right next to another building, and do i wish i had a little more light . Sure, but we really cant let perfect be the enemy of the good. San francisco is a major city, and nothing is going to get done if if we let every little random complaint tie up a project like this that will support our housing crisis. So i thank you for your time. Clerk thank you for your comments. Operations, please unmute the next caller. We are currently taking comment on above of the project sponsor and on behalf of the project sponsor and in opposition to the appeal. Welcome, caller. Hi. Can you hear me . Clerk yes. Hi, supervisors. My name is bernie katz. Ive been a realtor in San Francisco for 25 years, and over this time, ive seen an increasing crisis over the housing shortage. Ive been impacted by multiple Construction Projects around me, including two demolitions within a block of our home. While i empathize with nearby residents, we all live in urban areas, and construction is happening allaround us. I have no idea how far the project has proceeded in permitting. My guess is, and my hope is, too, that the pandemic will no longer be an issue by the Time Construction commences. As you know, San Francisco is in desperate need for more housing and has been desperately encouraging housing, particularly more affordable housing. The project will add 24 residential units to the housing stock, three of which would be below income units. [inaudible] supply of more Affordable Homes in the city, and prices which are significantly below average sale and rental values that were seeing. While were seeing residents leave the city over the last six months, major contributions to that has been the cost of housing. Despite the people leaving, we still have a major need for housing, and our population will continue to grow. This is a crucial time to establish more housing as a major driver for Home Ownership. We are able to [inaudible] the project meets primary guidelines clerk thank you, sir. Okay. Operations, is there another caller in the queue who would like to speak on behalf of the project sponsor or in opposition to the appeal . Yes, good evening, supervisors and madam clerk. My name is sarah. Im a renter in San Francisco. Im asking you to deny the appeal and approve the project. San franciscos Housing Element is going to require the city to plan and produce 72,000 housing units, and this project is a great start. The project allows for more housing in a walkable, transitrich location that will help reduce cash an emissions by not promoting car use. Proper e. I. R. Has been conducted, and there are sufficient set backs to ameddrs concerns. 24 families that have lost homes in the urban interface or are californians lacking sufficient housing will have the opportunity to purchase these homes. [please stand by]