Supervisor Chiu April 2013 Newsletter

7/28/2019 Supervisor Chiu April 2013 Newsletter

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Supervisor David Chiu - April 2013 Newsletter

Friend,

April 18th marks the anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Although very few ofus have a first-hand memory of what was one of Californias most significant catastrophes, every Aprilreminds us of the what-ifs with regard to earthquakes. Its appropriate that this month, crucial soft storylegislation which I worked on with our Mayor and my colleagues to require retrofits of our citys mostvulnerable buildings will be approved this month.

Emergency preparedness should involve peopl e coming together, rather than communities fallingapart. Its not just about getting supplies together its about knowing our neighbors, lending a hand,and sharing our knowledge to help our community. Here are some resources to share with friends andfamily:

www.alertsf.org: Sign up to receive emergency alerts, notifications and warnings impacting SanFrancisco by neighb orhood via text message or e mail.www.72hours.org: Everything you need to plan for any emergency.Twitter: For ongoing emergency information and preparedness tips, follow DEM on@sf_emergency (for emergency alerts) and @em4SF (for preparedness and resilienceconversations). You can reach me at @DavidC hiu.www.sfheroes.com: A smart phone app to test your preparedness know-how as you advanceyour emergency preparedness knowledge and skills.

Here are some 1906 Earthquake and Fire Commemoration Events:

April 18: Lottas Fountain 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Commemoration Ceremony -Join your fellow San Franciscans at 5:13 am at 3rd and Market Street as we gather aroundLottas Fountain to mark the exact time of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.April 18: Painting of the Golden Hydrant in Dolores Park - Following the Lottas Fountaincommemoration ceremony, the gathering moves to Dolores Park to pay tribute to one of the onlyworking fire hydrants during the fire that followed the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.April 20: NERT Citywide Drill - Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) membersfrom all over the City will meet to put their training into action in this three-hour drill, starting at8:30am at Everett Middle School Yard on 17th near Church. NERT volunteers practice searchand rescue techniques, triaging injured victims, setting up staging areas, and other essentialdisaster response skills. To learn more, visit www.sfgov.org/sfnert.
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Lets remember and get p repared together.

And congratulations to our World Champion San Francisco Giants on just winning their homeopener!

Yours,

Official Web site

In this newsletter:

District 3 UpdateLegislationSee You in the DistrictCommunity Calendar & Announcements

District 3 Update

Celebrate the Exploratorium Opening at our Office Art Reception on April 11In my first year in office in 2009, I was proud to work closely with the Northeast waterfront communityand the Exploratorium to negotiate some challenging issues and secure the approvals to move theExploratorium from its former home in the Palace of Fine Arts to its spectacular, soon-to-open new oneat Piers 15-17. Supervisor Farrell and I are celebrating the occasion by hosting a joint photography artshow in our City Hall offices. The show will include images of the two Exploratorium locations andfeature Exploratorium photographers Amy Snyder and Gayle Laird, along with images from themuseums archive. Our City Hall opening reception will take place on Thursday, April 11 from 5:00 -7:00 p.m. in City Hall in my office (Room 279) and Supervisor Farrells office (Room 280). We hope tosee you!

Participatory Budgeting Results & Next StepsAfter months of community sessions, I am excited to an nounce the results of ourparticipatory budgetingpilot program. After a week of voting on projects proposed by our District 3 residents, 8 projects were
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selected that will serve youth, seniors, families and small businesses in our neighborhoods.

The projects that received the most votes and met all the guidelines for funding are:

Traffic light synchronization to minimize neighborhood noise impact

Public awareness campaign to educate seniors on consumer scams

Chinese language books for North Beach & Chinatown branch libraries

Installing bench armrests and facility improvements for Portsmouth Square and Washington

Square Parks

Youth employment training for youth in District 3

Signage in Portsmouth Square to address smoking and loiteringBack rent assistance for residents at risk of eviction in District 3

ADA compliance assistance for small businesses in District 3

While there are projects that did not get funded through the voting process, I know that they areimportant to our residents and help address unmet neighborhood needs. I plan to prioritize theseprojects for the upcoming budget and seek to allocate more funding for trees, recreation,summer youth programming, and pedestrian and streets improvements.

This has been an incredible learning process for us, and I want to thank all the communityleaders and partners that made it possible for participatory budgeting to be launched for the firsttime in San Francisco. They include: Coleman Advocates, Chinese for Affirmative Action,Chinese Progressive Association, the Participatory Budgeting Project, California Civic

Innovation Project, the Office of the Controller, many City Departments that assisted us in ourbudget research, as well as my aide Amy Chan.

In the coming weeks, I will convene a meeting to review the pilot process and discussopportunities for continuing or expanding participatory budgeting. If you are interested in being apart of this meeting, or simply want to give us your feedback, email [email protected].

Polk Street Alcohol

My legislation to create alcohol-related restrictions on Polk Street will likely be approved by ourLand Use Committee this Monday and heard by the Board the following week. Since I introducedthis legislation late last year, I have worked with residents, Lower Polk Neighbors, Polk Streetmerchants, the nightlife community and the Small Business, Entertainment and PlanningCommissions to tackle the question of how to maintain safety and quality of life in the

neighborhood while also preserving the vibrancy of the commercial corridor. As a result of thatwork, weve made a few changes to the legislation, primarily to allow new restaurants withalcohol permits to operate at later hours so that they could serve as an alternative to bars, andto evaluate the restrictions after 5 years to determine if they should be reauthorized. I also planon introducing legislation on good neighbor policies that will set noise, signage and securitystandards for all nightlife businesses in the area.

A Better Broadway

For many months, the businesses and residents on and around the Broadway entertainmentcorridor have been working on new efforts in concert with my office and other City departmentsto address ongoing late night safety problems. A petition drive the first major milestone in theformation of the Broadway Community Benefit District (CBD) will happen over the next few

weeks. Once 30 percent of the property owners in the proposed area sign the petition, I plan tointroduce legislation at the Board of Supervisors t o initiate a CBD election. A CBD can help witheverything from addressing chronic vacancies to increased security to re-branding theneighborhood and attracting different crowds. I have also convened meetings with theleadership of City departments to discuss what more the City can do to improve the Broadwaysituation. I have requested specific actions by the San Francisco Police Department, District

Attorney, Department of Public Works, Sheriff, Entertainment Commission, and Office ofEconomic and Workforce Development increase the attention and resources to Broadway.

Get the Facts on April 17 about Central Subway Construction at the PagodaAlmost one year ago, I joined North Beach merchants and residents in calling for a change tothe San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agencys (SFMTA) plan to extract the CentralSubways Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) in the middle of Columbus Avenue. That effort was
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successful, and now the current plan, which has received all necessary City approvals and hasits federal approval in the works, is a much less disruptive extraction of the TBMs on privateproperty at the site of the former Pagoda Palace. Join me and SFMTA Director Ed Reiskin on

April 17 at 6:30pm at the Tel-Hi Neighborhood Center to hear about the construction plans. TheSFMTA invitation can be found here and an FAQ on the Pagoda plan is here. Unfortunately,there is quite a bit of misinformation being circulated about this much improved project, so Ihope to see many of you at the meeting to get the facts.

SFMTA Reopens Traffic Calming ApplicationsAfter a retooling effort closed down new applications for more than a year, the SFMTA has

reopened the application process for residents to apply for traffic calming measures onresidential streets. Over the past year, the agency evaluated the program and made changesthat should improve the efficiency of delivering projects. The program has switched to an annualcall for applications, rather than the rolling deadline previously used. Applications submitted by5:00pm on August 1, 2013 will be considered for construction in 2014. Visitwww.sfmta.com/calming for more information.

Legislation

Reducing Plastic Water Bottle WasteEvery 27 hours, Americans consume enough bottled water to circle the entire equator with plastic

bottles stacked end to end. In 2007, San Francisco became the first city to phase out city purchases ofplastic bottled water, and in my time on the Board of Supervisors, I have worked on a number ofprograms and ordinances related to reducing plastic bottled water waste and increasing access to ourhealthy, pristine Hetch Hetchy water. On April 22, the Land Use and Economic DevelopmentCommittee will consider my legislation that would require drinking fountains in new construction to h avebottle filling taps. Also, last week, in conjunction with the national Think Outside the Bottle Campaign, Iannounced that I am drafting legislation to reduce the sale of plastic water bottles by vendors andevents on San Francisco city property.

Photo by Brooke Duthie

Immigration R eformOn the occasion of President Obamas visit to San Francisco this week, I was proud to gather AsianPacific American community leaders to call on Congress to do all that they can to move comprehensiveimmigration reform forward. While the APA community doesnt agree on every issue, the coalition
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unequivocally agreed that there needs to be an inclusive roadmap to citizenship that protects familiesand w orkers and keeps communities together.

Using Open Data to Avoid TowingFor people who drive in San Francisco, there is probably no more frustrating experience than beingtowed. While towing is often necessary to ensure safety, create a rush hour travel lane, or to open up astreet for a special event, City government should do more to help motorists avoid getting unnecessarilytowed. In 2011, I called on City departments to release data - such as a real-time database of temporarystreet closures and tow-away zones - so our local innovators could create smartphone apps orautomatic texting tools to alert drivers that their cars might be in danger of being towed. Unfortunately,not much has happened to move this idea forward. To jumpstart it, I recently introduced a resolutionreiterating my call for the release of towing related data. Departments are telling me that they should be

able to get the data together for release by mid-summer.

This initiative around towing data is part of my larger effort with Mayor Lee to strengthen SanFranciscos groundbreaking Open D ata law. You can watch a video of the recent committee hearing onthe Open Data ordinance here.

Boosting Historic Preservation through TDR Market ReformOn April 9, following unanimous support by our Land Use Committee, the Board of Supervisors willconsider an ordinance to help with the preservation of historic buildings in our downtown core whilealso facilitating dense development where it is already permitted. Under the 1985 Downtown Plan, thepermitted height and bulk for many potential buildings exceeds the allowable gross floor area. Thismeans that projects need to assemble additional floor area allowances by purchasing what are calledTransferrable Development Rights (TDRs) from eligible historic properties. The historic properties thenuse the proceeds from TDR sales for restoration and maintenance. Current law generally requi res thatthe historic property and the development site be in the same sub-area of the downtown, which, afterseveral decades, has created a very tight supply of TDRs in some areas. This ordinance will permit thetransfer of development rights throughout the downtown. It will also make the TDR market transparentfor the first time since its inception by requiring annual reporting. I appreciate Architectural Heritagessupport of the legislation as well as the advocacy efforts of the nonprofit Livable City.

Neighborhood Office Hours: See You in the District!

Meeting my neighbors in our vibrant cafes continues to be one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.Please email my aide Amy at [email protected] if you plan to come by, since office hoursoccasionally need to be rescheduled due to unanticipated events.

April District Office Hours:

Thursday, April 11, 9:00 - 10:15 a.m.Fishermans WharfBoudin, Pier 39

Friday, April 12, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.ChinatownChinatown Library, 1135 Powell

Friday, April 19, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.Jackson SquareJackson Place Cafe, 633 Battery Street

Wednesday, April 24, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.Union SquareCafe La Taza, 470 Post Street

Friday, April 26, 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.ChinatownChinatown Library, 1135 Powell
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April 2013 Community Calendar & Announcements

Monday, April 8, 6:30 p.m.North Beach Neighbors Monthly MeetingTelegraph Hill Neighborhood Center, 660 Lombard St

Wednesday, April 10, 7:00 p.m.Lower Polk NeighborsFirst Congregational Church, 1300 Polk St.

Thursday, April 11, 5:00 - 7:00 p,m.Office Opening and Exploratorium Art Reception

Office of Supervisor Chiu, City Hall Room 279

Thursday, April 11, 7:00 p.m.SFPD Northern Station Community MeetingNorthern Station, 1125 Fillmore St.

Saturday, April 13, 9:45 a.m.Middle Polk Clean UpIt's A Grind, 1800 Polk Street at Washington

Monday, April 15, 6:00 p.m.Middle Polk Neighborhood Association MeetingIt's A Grind, 1800 Polk Street at Washington

Wednesday, April 17, 5:30 p.m.SFPD Central Station Community MeetingCathay Post, 660 Lombard St

Wednesday, April 17, 6:30 p.m.SFMTA Meeting on Subway Construction at Pagoda

Tel-Hi Neighborhood Center, 700 Lombard

Thursday, April 18, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmRussian Hill Neighbors Annual MeetingOld First Presbyterian Church, 1751 Sacramento St

Monday, April 29, 6:00 - 8:00 pmRussian Hill Neighbors "Cheers" Happy HourCheck website for location closer to date

If we missed your event or meeting, please send future events by the first of each month to judson .true@sfg ov.organdwell include as many as we can.

Sent by the Office of Supervisor David Chiu

Sent by the Office of Supervisor David Chiu

Phone: (415) 554-7450 Fax: (415) 554-7454 [email protected] Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl Room 264

San Francisco, CA 94102
http://www.northbeachneighbors.org/http://www.northbeachneighbors.org/http://www.lowerpolkneighbors.org/https://www.facebook.com/events/239214842884295/http://sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=825http://middlepolk.blogspot.com/http://middlepolk.blogspot.com/http://middlepolk.blogspot.com/http://sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=805http://www.rhn.org/events.htmlhttp://www.rhn.org/events.htmlmailto:[email protected]://www.ngpvan.com/https://www.myngp.com/broadcast/BroadcastReport_Body.aspx?crypt=2sUqqhuJBR%2bw36pJJpli9g%3d%3d#mailto:[email protected]://www.rhn.org/events.htmlhttp://www.rhn.org/events.htmlhttp://sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=805http://middlepolk.blogspot.com/http://middlepolk.blogspot.com/http://sf-police.org/index.aspx?page=825https://www.facebook.com/events/239214842884295/http://www.lowerpolkneighbors.org/http://www.northbeachneighbors.org/

Documents

Supervisor Chiu April 2013 Newsletter