Commissioners Present:
Barbara Sklar, Chair
Greg Chew
Janine Shiota

Commissioners Absent:
Simon Frankel, Marcus Shelby

Staff present: Deputy Director Rebekah Krell, Street Artists Program Director Howard Lazar, Street Artists Program Assistant Alyssa Ventre

The meeting was called to order at 2:37 p.m.



2.   Discussion. Public Comment.

William Clark said that he requested a hearing for this meeting regarding the repeal for the application fee and the repeal for the requirement for showing a business tax registration fee and State Board of Equalization before an artist gets a street artist license, and he said that his request was denied. He said that he is now requesting it for a future meeting. He said that he’s making these assertions because the application fee is an illegal amendment to the ballot measure. He said that there is also no language in the ordinance that says the Arts Commission can request an application fee and there is no language that allows for a discretionary act that creates the other requirements such as the State Board of Equalization and business tax registration. He explained that the business tax ordinance language states a person shall have 15 days after commencing business in the city to apply for a business tax license, but the Arts Commission requires applicants and artists re-applying to show the documents before. He asked for a City Attorney opinion and the Arts Commission received one but they refused to tell him what the decision was based on attorney-client privilege. He said, likewise, with the State Board of Equalization, the language on ballot measure says that, upon paying the required fee, the director shall issue a certificate to the street artist. He said that the use of the word “shall” is mandatory which means a ministerial task. He said that he would like these items to be calendared so he can present evidence as to why these requirements should be repealed as soon as possible.

Robert Clark said he’s a voter of San Francisco and he doesn’t want his vote abridged by the Commission. He said that the voters of San Francisco are the only ones that have the legal authority to make those changes and he said that these two instances should be taken into consideration by the Commission. He suggested having a hearing for discussion at the next Committee meeting. He said that Small Business Tax Registration says that a person has 15 days after they go into business to register but the Arts Commission is requiring an artist to get it before they come into the program. He said that things like this can be cleared up and make this program more hospitable to the little people who want to display their art and craft. He said he’s requesting a hearing.

Abby Ellis said she encouraged the Commission to go slow since it’s an important program. She said that there was a missed meeting this summer and she doesn’t see how this can all be taken care of by 2017. She said that the Commission doesn’t have to use all of the ideas from the feasibility study. She said that even if there are more committee meetings, she is not sure how it could be accomplished. She said it should be an ongoing process and to not try to solve all of the problems all at once.

Tad Sky said he visited the Arts Commission Gallery before the meeting. He said that one of the recommendations from Kate Faust’s evaluation is to establish a gallery platform for the street artists. He said that he could jury a beautiful art show with street artists work. He said that he knows it’s a 2 year waiting list to show in the Gallery, but if the artists never get on the list, then it will never happen. He said that thousands of good artists have come through the program and it’s a shame they’ve never had a gallery show. He said that people are showing who are from all over the country and all over the world but the street artists never get in the Gallery. He suggested having a show and to book it so the artists can eventually be there.

 

3.   Street Artists Program Director’s Report.
Discussion.

Program Director Lazar reported the following:
Language Access Ordinance Training: He represented the Arts Commission as a speaker at the Language Access Ordinance Training session on May 26, 2016 held by the Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA). The Arts Commission has developed an agency Language Access Policy, created a roster of bilingual staff, tracks interactions with requests from limited-English clients, and invited OCEIA staff to lead a training session for Arts Commission staff. The Street Artists Program uses OCEIA on the average of twice a month for various interpretation and translation needs.

DPW Mobile Food Cart hearing: Program Director Lazar spoke at a DPW hearing on May 23, 2016 in opposition for a mobile food cart requested by SF Halal Guys. Also speaking in opposition were Westfield representatives and Union Square Business Improvement District staff. This request was for a mobile food cart to be placed on Market Street in front of the Westfield mall and across the street at Hallidie Plaza. The request was denied by DPW.

Winter Walk Update: Program staff have started communication with the Union Square Business Improvement District staff regarding the upcoming Winter Walk. As it did last year, Stockton Street will turn into a lawn with seating, food trucks, events and 4 street artist spaces. He said that communication has begun about logistics of the location of artist spaces and parking, loading and unloading. He said that last year the program staff requested communication early and is happy that it has begun.

Commissioner Chew asked about language services provided, and Program Director Lazar confirmed there has been assistance with Spanish, Chinese and Filipino.

Public Comment:
Tad Sky said that last year the spaces weren’t good for the Winter Walk and that parking was bad so the artists didn’t use the spaces which he said is unfortunate because then it looks like artists aren’t interested. He said that they are interested but only for good spaces. He said that it’s too bad that there are only 4 spaces and that he hopes the Program staff can negotiate more space because the artists used to have more spaces on Stockton Street itself, and in the future if Stockton Street turns into a pedestrian mall, it would be good to have a presence. He said it is important to have rapport with the Union Square BID. Continuing, he said that Program Director Lazar has been at Justin Herman Plaza on Saturdays and the artists really appreciate it. He said that most artists follow the rules but some artists don’t. He said that Program Director Lazar is sending out warnings and eventually these artists will have to come in to see the Commissioners. He said that unfortunately the Commissioners will see artists come in for these petty reasons. He said that some spaces are by a bus stop and when some artists set up there, they leave stuff in the back and it can cause someone to trip. He explained that there was recently a lawsuit. He said Program Director Lazar warns artists and then some put their stuff back after he leaves. He said that if artists don’t follow the rules, it turns into chaos. He said that he’s afraid the Commissioners will see some artists in the future because the only way such artists learn is if they get a warning letter or come in for a hearing.

Michael Addario said that artists are losing a lot of spaces and he thinks that all artists in the program should be allowed to set up at the Winter Walk. He said not to discriminate like last time and that anyone with a valid license should be allowed to sell there regardless of their craft or the Commission should get those artists out of the program. He said that Downtown is “dead”, that they don’t have a lottery and the artists just go down and set up. He said that they got “killed” by the Winter Walk and Apple store without any good replacement spaces. He said that Justin Herman Plaza is confusing because artists pay the same amount of money to set up a 10’x10’ display that they do for a 3’x4’. He asked if the Plaza is designated or not designated. He said that if the Commission has no jurisdiction to bring an artist in for a parking violation. He said that if an artist is parked illegally, to call the parking authority and that Program Director Lazar has no authority and has been overreaching. He asks why artists at Justin Herman Plaza have 10’x10’ displays and pay the same amount as an artist on Beach Street with a 3’x4’ which is something to look into to. He said that they got “hammered” Downtown because no one is setting up down there. He said that the Program is missing 100 artists and that there are usually 400 artists in the program. He said that’s where they used to set up and they’re gone. He said it’s not fair what the Commission is doing.

Abby Ellis said that she doesn’t know about Justin Herman Plaza since she only sells Downtown but she thinks that the economy is going to turn around. She said that it’s important to maintain a good relationship with the City and merchants. She said that the parking issues aren’t going to work for the benefit of the program. She said that a good relationship is so important with parking authority and other business factors and that there’s an interdependent connection. With respect to the price of their license, she said artists are getting to sell products at a pretty good deal. She said it’s not a good idea to step on any toes.
 

 

4.    Project Update: Implementation of Workplan to Modernize the Street Artists Licensing Program.
Discussion.

Dr. Anh Thang Dao-Shah stated that the Arts Commission has been working on the alignment of all street artist licenses so that they expire on the same date and that the expiration dates will align with the City’s fiscal year to allow for streamlining the administrative process of renewing, to implement and minimize the cost of an online payment system and to send automated reminders. She said that these benefits were discussed with the working group artists who thought they were good ideas. She said that in keeping with going slowly, it will take the rest of the fiscal year to align the artists’ licenses so there is enough time to communicate with the artists. She said that communication has been sent out in English, Spanish, and Chinese as well as communicating with individual artists who come into the office. She said that there will be a one-time prorated payment for all artists in the program and that there are a lot of logistics to calculate since all artists have a different expiration date. She said that most of the program artists have not complained about it. She said that as part of the process, there is a proposed motion to rescind the 10 day grace period and, with discussion with program artists, artists would be allowed to pay any time during the quarter. Artists would still be able to pay if they are late but all licenses will be issued on the first day of the quarter and expire on the last year of the quarter. She said that artists who choose to pay later or enter the program at a different time must pay the entire quarterly fee. She said that the credit card machine is running and that the online payment site should be in place in late fall. She said that there should be enough artists aligned for beta testing before it is officially launched next year when all artists are aligned. She said she is scheduling the next working group meeting for the end of September to discuss the screening process and monitoring so artists will be able to add their input in streamlining those two processes.

Commissioner Chew asked if the working group was who Dr. Thang Dao-Shah had been previously working with. She confirmed it. She said that two working groups artist were present: Abby Ellis and Tad Sky.

Public Comment:
William Clark said that the Arts Commission does not have the legal authority to make changes that Dr. Thang Dao-Shah stated. He said that the Commission is acting outside of the scope of its authority and does not have discretion to change a ballot measure. He said that the ballot measure requires issuing a certificate for 3 months upon payment and doesn’t allow for partial payment. He said that the one day alignment is a one day fee increase because the method is that street artists have to pay a higher fee since they’re paying for the rest of the quarter and the full next quarter. He said that the Commission doesn’t have the legal authority to put that fee increase into effect. He said that a license can’t be backdated because you’re punishing the artists by not giving them 90 days for the full payment. He said that the ballot measure requires its a ministerial duty to issue certificates for 1 quarter or 1 year and that the Commission has no authority to make that change. He is requesting to not implement the new procedure at this time but to reject it and have a new hearing to discuss its legality. He said that he is informing the Commission now that the new rules are in violation of the Election code and San Francisco Charter and requested the Commissioners to reconsider this for further discussion.

Robert Clark said that as a San Francisco voter he is not going to stand by and let the vote of the people be circumvented by a small group of people holding a private meeting who decide that going to the ballot and getting the legal authority is too hard to do so they’re just going to do it anyways even though the voters made it clear with Proposition L. He said that if the Commission thinks it can continue to step over the line, he was asking not to do that and telling the Commission that it already stepped over the line by giving partial certificates to people to get them on track. He said that the Commission had no legal authority to do it. He said that the Commission has a ministerial duty to perform which is to issue certificates for 3 months or 1 year. He said that the Commission must go to the ballot to change it. He said if the Commissioners continue then they’re openly and knowingly violating the law, the will of the people and obstructing the dutiful administration of the law.

Michael Addario said that he agrees with the Clark brothers. He said that there have been changes because originally he heard that if you didn’t renew before then you’d have to wait 3 months which would be crazy. He said that if the Commission did that, they would lose tons of artists because artists won’t make the date. He said that it’s bad timing anyway since one of the expiration dates is right after Christmas holidays. He said he anticipates membership will take a dive. He said that the the program is already at 50% deficit so the Commission is rearranging debt shares. He said that the only way to balance is to cut staff or increase membership to 550 artists which the Commission can’t do. He said this change is ridiculous and that the program is going to lose members. He said the Commission can’t backdate and that the government cannot charge for something it doesn’t provide. He said that it goes back to mismanagement for people having licenses that artists themselves caught and he said that Howard walked right by them. He said one artist didn’t have a license for 6 months and one artist with a counterfeit license. He said that you’re trying to do something that’s not going to fix the problem and that you have to cut staff. He said that if the Commission wants to go to the ballot, which he thinks we should because it’s a mess and not going to get any better. He said that the Commission is taking money from artists. He said that the Arts Commission is supposed to give money to artists. He said go to Beach Street and tell him why those artists should pay $734 to do a fun sketch that costs $2.75. He said it doesn’t happen in New York City, Venice Beach or other locations.

Abby Ellis said she’s not into legalities or politics but it sounds like a can of worms being opened. She said she is hearing this for the first time. She said she is not even against what the Commission is doing and has not thought about it, but it sounds like a can of worms.

Tad Sky said that he’s in the working group with Abby and they did talk about the 10 day grace period change. He said that he understands Bill’s concern as Bill is one of the founders of the program and he wants to keep the best part of the program. He said that it would have been better to talk about the details rather than finding out at a meeting. He said that in terms of streamlining, the 10 day grace period seems like it’s no longer working since artists often work during the 10 day grace period. He said that artists will stretch that time and get a license starting the day they pay, which means some artists could get 2 weeks every 3 months. He said that streamlining it makes it easier for a lottery committee manager, and it would be good to forget the grace period. He said that if artists don’t have the money, they should use a credit card. He said he’s loaned people money. He said that if an artist doesn’t want to pay for a license, they can choose not to work those days, and without the grace period the artist can come back whenever. He said that if artists sell regularly, $3 a day for the program is less than the $4 coffee he just bought. He said that it’s still a cheap program whereas a crafts show is $500-600. He said that it is a deal even to have a little booth. He said that if progress is to be made, there has to be some changes. He said that if changes are not made, and the Commission takes its time, nothing will ever change. He said that Kate Faust’s evaluation had a whole list of things, and those got paired down with the feasibility, so the Commission and the work group are working on the low hanging fruit. He said that they’ve been working with Dr. Thang Dao-Shah and hope to have more meetings. He asked that the Commission let the working group know what is being proposed so the artists can be familiar with it before the Commission decides to vote.

 

5.   Motion to rescind Arts Commission Resolution No. 1982-145 (May 3, 1982) which provides for Ten (10) Day Renewal Grace Period of street artist certificate.
Action.

Commissioner Shiota asked about administrative versus legislative changes. Deputy Director Krell said that this is an administrative change and that the Commission passed this resolution in 1982 as an administrative policy.

Commissioner Sklar said that legislation change can’t come to the Commission since there is no legal authority.

Commissioner Shiota thanked Tad Sky for giving background information during public comment on both sides and explaining where it’s coming from as artists and how artists abuse rules.

Commissioner Chew asked about the City Attorney opinion. Deputy Director Krell said that the City Attorney did not express any legal concerns about the motion since this is an administrative motion.

Public Comment:
William Clark said that the Arts Commission does not have legal authority and it’s outside of the scope of the authority. He said that the Commission has a mandatory ministerial duty to issue certificates for 3 months or 1 year for payment of fee. He said that the new date of issuance is when the artist comes in to pay and it is required by Proposition L to issue a certificate for 3 months or 1 year. He said that it would be a violation of Proposition L because the ballot measure describes that upon payment of the certificate fee the certificate shall be issued and that section 6 says upon issuance of certificate it shall be valid for 3 months on date of issuance. He said that he has a City Attorney opinion regarding the 10 day rule. He said that the opinion dated November 3 1977 said that an artist can’t be punished for not renewing. On January 18, 1979, the city attorney said a street artist could be issued a new certificate after the expiration date and clarified that reasonable time is 10 days to allow them to renew. He said that if the Arts Commission did away with the 10 day period to renew, then the Arts Commission is being unreasonable. He said that this opinion was when they were first trying to figure out if there should be a 10 day rule and that the City Attorney clarified that the Arts Commission has to allow artists to renew late or get their certificate issued late.

Robert Clark said that he’s opposed to the idea that if a street artist is late, that the Arts Commission can renew the certificate but that the certificate will be backdated the amount of days that an artist is late. He said that Proposition L makes it clear that certificates can only be issued for 3 months or 1 year and the only way to get alignment with the fiscal year is to issue certificates that are less than 3 months or less than a year. He said that the Arts Commission doesn’t have the legal authority; he said that originally certificates could only be issued for 3 months and they went back to add 1 year which they had to go to the ballot to do. He said that the Arts Commission thinks they can issue certificates for whenever they want. He said he thinks that the decision was already made before coming to the meeting and that he has evidence to establish that notices have already been sent and partial payments have already started to get artists on track. He said that the Arts Commission already concluded that it is going to rescind the 10 day grace period and backdate certificates and that any input to show the law to tell the Arts Commission that it can’t do what it has been doing, then it’s the Arts Commission’s choice and it’s going to have to deal with consequences of the choices. He said that as a voter, he is not going to have his vote taken away.

Abby Ellis said that she doesn’t have any problem with what’s being done, that she was in the working group, and it seems logical to her. She said would suggest to investigate further before taking a vote since it sounds like a can of worms is being open and it may not be good for the program unless it is investigate further.

Tad Sky said that he doesn’t know the legality of this but that maybe there needs to be a written opinion from the City Attorney to update the ones that Bill Clark presented. He said that one of the reasons why in the working group they decided to pursue the alignment is that program staff have to frequently go deposit checks and leave the office. He said that the quarterly payment streamlines the process and staff can be more efficient with their time such as negotiating more spaces on Stockton Street or with the Port. He said that it’s a nightmare to be on the lottery committee when an artist says they’ve mailed in their renewal. He said that it is helpful that staff continues to send a membership list weekly and then an updated list on Friday afternoon. He said that if an artist misses a few days, it’s their choice but they don’t lose their license after the 10 day grace period because then they can come back whenever. He said that if there is no progress then the program is back to the 70s, and some positive changes need to be made to make it easier.

The motion was unanimously approved.

Dr. Thang Dao-Shah said that she would like to correct a comment. She explained that the prorated fees do not lead to an increase that the artist pays. She said that if the license expires, then the artist is asked only to pay for the rest of the quarter. She said that she created an excel sheet to make sure no artist pays more than the remainder of the quarter.

Commissioner Shiota asked if an artist can buy a license for a year. Dr. Thang Dao-Shah said that a artist can pay an annual fee prorated for the license to to expire at the end of this fiscal year, and at that time the artist can pay for a year again.

Commissioner Sklar complimented staff for their work. She said that if the Arts Commission doesn’t move forward, the program can’t operate, and they want it to be the best Street Artists Program. She said that the Arts Commissioners are trying to make this program move forward for the sake of the artists and that it should make it easier and make staff more available for other issues. She thanked the staff and the other people who have been involved in the process.

 

6. New Business and Announcements.
Discussion.

There was no new business and announcements.

There was no public comment.

 

7.    Action. Adjournment.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:29 p.m.

9/19/16,  9:50 a.m. AV
Approved 9/12/16

Respectfully submitted by:
Alyssa Ventre, Street Artists Program Assistant

Minutes approved by:
Howard Lazar, Street Artists Program Director

An audio recording of this meeting is available online at the following address: http://www.sfgov3.org/index.aspx?page=4151

The schedule of the Street Artists Program Committee is available here: http://sfgov.org/arts/street-artists-committee/meetings

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Howard Lazar, 415-252-2222, howard.lazar@sfgov.org.

我們將為閣下提供免費的書面翻譯資料和口譯服務。
如需協助，Howard Lazar, 415-252-2222, howard.lazar@sfgov.org.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Howard Lazar, 415-252-2222, howard.lazar@sfgov.org.

Ang mga materyales na nakasalin sa ibang wika at ang mga serbisyong tagapagsalin sa wika ay walang bayad. Para sa tulong, maaring i-contact si Howard Lazar, 415-252-2222, howard.lazar@sfgov.org.