REDISTRICTING TASK FORCE
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
MINUTES
Thursday, March 22, 2012 - 6:00 p.m.
United Irish Cultural Center
2700 45th Avenue
San Francisco CA 94116
Special Meeting
Members: Chair Eric McDonnell, Vice Chair Jenny Lam,
Mike Alonso, Myong Leigh, Sonia Melara, Marily Mondejar,
David Pilpel, Mark Schreiber, Melissa Tidwell
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
The meeting was called to order at 6:26 p.m. On the call of the roll, Vice Chair Lam, Members Alonso, Leigh, Melara, Pilpel and Schreiber were noted present. Chair McDonnell and Member Mondejar were noted absent. Member Melara, seconded by Member Schreiber, moved to excuse Chair McDonnell and Member Mondejar from attending the meeting. The Motion passed without objection. Member Tidwell was noted present at 6:50 p.m.
2. Approval of Task Force Minutes of February 23, 2012, March 1, 2012 and
March 7, 2012. (8:45 p.m. to 8:47 p.m.) Member Tidwell, seconded by Member Schreiber, moved to approve the February 23, March 1, 2012 and March 7, 2012 Task Force minutes with corrections. The motion passed without objection.
Public Comment:
Judy Berkowitz, Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods, stated that San Francisco General Hospital should be in District 9, not District 10, and requested that this be corrected in the March 1, 2012 Task Force minutes.
3. Community Outreach. (8:47 to 8:51 p.m.) Vice Chair Lam informed the Task Force that Member Mondejar had provided a list of ethnic media publications that would be used for advertising the redistricting process and schedule. Member Melara inquired as to which neighborhood publications the advertisement appeared.
Public Comment:
Judy Berkowitz, Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods, requested that the Task Force do more outreach to the Portola district.
Chris Bowman, 1995 past Task Force member, suggested that outreach in the Portola district be distributed in Mandarin or Cantonese due to the large Asian population in the Portola.
Note: This item was taken out of order.
4. Mapping. (6:20 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) The Task Force heard public input and made modifications to the March 12, 2012 working draft map. The Task Force agreed to post the March 22, 2012 working draft map on the Task Force website.
Public Comment:
Tes Welborn requested that the Task Force keep 55 Laguna in District 5. She stated that if the LGBT housing was to be in District 8 that Waller could be the dividing line between Districts 5 and 8.
Mary Harris, OMI President and District 11 resident, requested that the Task Force keep Balboa Park and Chicago Way in District 11. She also requested that the boundary line for District 11 move to Holloway.
Rose Hillson, Japantown Organizing Committee, thanked the Task Force for making hard decisions and for keeping the Japanese American and African American communities of interest together in District 5.
Otto Duffy, North of Market resident, stated that the proposed California Pacific Medical Center, at Geary and Van Ness will also have a medical building site located in District 6. He requested that medical building remain in District 6.
Lori Liederman requested that the Task Force not move the District 5 boundaries any further east. She also requested that the Task Force keep the Inner Sunset in District 5.
Dennis Mosgofian supported the Community Unity Map and requested that the Task Force not shrink the District 5 boundaries. He stated that it would be beneficial to have more than one Supervisor responsible for Golden Gate Park and supported adding a part of Golden Gate Park to District
5.
Bernard Choden questioned the validity of the process and requested that the Task Force review voter registration lists for voting population. He also requested that the Task Force move the proposed California Pacific Medical Center to District 5 and keep the Japanese American communities of interest united in District 5.
Sally Ross, District 8 resident, requested that the Task Force not move the boundary between Districts 7 and 8 to Congo Street. She requested that the Task Force keep the boundaries as shown on the March 12, 2012 working draft map.
Karen Kai thanked the Task Force for keeping the Japanese American and African American communities of interest united in District 5 as shown on the March 12, 2012 working draft map.
Robert Laws requested that the Task Force keep 17th and Belgrave in District 5 as shown on the March 12, 2012 working draft map. He stated that this area of Upper Cole Valley has no community of interest with District 8.
Beatrice Laws requested that the Task Force keep the 17th and Belgrave area in District 5 as shown on the March 12, 2012 working draft map. She indicated that the south end of Cole Valley has a community of interest with District 5.
Lois Scott, Cathedral Hill Neighbors, requested that the Task Force use one block further north of Post and Van Ness Avenue as the boundary for District 5 to include the Daniel Burnham Laurel housing. She also requested that the Task Force move the proposed California Pacific Medical Center in District 5 and keep the Japanese American communities of interest united in District 5.
Mary Ann Miller, District 4 resident, requested that Task Force move the
northern portion of District 4 into District 1 and this include move the southern edge of Golden Gate Park with the Sunset district. She also stated that by moving the lines south to Judah would help balance the numbers.
Chris Bowman, 1995 past Task Force member, requested that the Task Force keep Upper Cole Valley in District 5. He requested that the Task Force move the Cow Palace parking lot into District 10. Finally, he requested that the Pine Lake Park neighborhood north of Sloat Boulevard be in District 7.
Steven Currier, Outer Mission Merchants and Residents Association, District 11, stated that the Cow Palace upper parking belongs to the City and County of San Francisco. He requested that the area west of Santos and south of Geneva be included in District 11. This would include the Saddleback, Walbridge, and Stoneridge housing projects.
Denise LaPointe, Twin Peaks Improvement Association and West of Twin Peaks Central Council, thanked the Task Force for their hard work. She requested that the eastern boundary of District 7 be Twins Peaks Blvd, as it meets the criteria for geographic boundaries.
Cammy Blacktsone, Legislative Aide to District 4 Supervisor Carmen Chu,
expressed concern with the Pine Lake and Stern Grove being in District 7 as shown on the March 12, 2012 working draft map. She stated Stern Grove has frequent problems addressed by Supervisor Chu, and that it would be difficult to have the north side of Pine Lake neighborhood in District 4 and Stern Grove in District 7. She requested that the southern border for District 4 be Sloat.
Chris Waddling, Portola Neighborhood Association and Bay View Community, requested that the Task Force move all of the Portola into District 9. He suggested moving the southern border to Mansell and moving the western edge towards Gambier into District 11. He stated that future development of the eastern shoreline requires representation by one Supervisor in District 10.
Walter Caplan, Forest Knolls Association, stated that throughout the redistricting process communities have shown how they revolve around schools, parks, community centers, hospitals, and ethnic groups. He thanked the Task Force their hard work. He stated that the future of district elections will be made determined for the next decade by decisions made by the Task Force.
Claire Zvanski, District 11 Democratic Club, President, thanked the Task Force for their hard work during the redistricting process. She requested that the Task Force keep the OMI united in District 11.
Nancy Hayden Crowley, Lakeshore Acres Improvement Club, thanked the Task Force for listening to comments about leaving Lakeshore Acres and Merced Manor in District 7. She stated that these areas share communities of interest with San Francisco State University, Park Merced, Lake Merced, and Stonestown.
Edna James, OMI Community, President, stated that the OMI needs to be involved in the Park Merced project and San Francisco State University.
RECESS
The Task Force recessed at 8:30 p.m. and reconvened at 8:45 p.m. with
Item 2 on the agenda.
5. Task Force Work Plan. (8:52 p.m. to 9:12 p.m.) Vice Chair Lam reviewed the draft outline for the Task Force Final Report. She indicated that Member Schreiber will provide the Introduction, Criteria, and Process sections of the final report. Member Alonso will prepare the Summary of Themes. Member Pilpel will prepare the Lessons Learned. Vice Chair Lam and Redistricting Consultant Karin MacDonald will prepare the Final Map. Members Melara and Leigh will be the co-editors of the final report. April 6, 2012 will be the deadline for the first draft of the final report. Member Alonso requested that the deadline for the first draft be earlier and requested that this be discussed at a future meeting.
Public Comment:
Chris Bowman, 1995 past Task Force member, stated that some parts of the final report could be completed before the final map is completed.
6. Task Force Budget. (9:17 p.m. to 9:18 p.m.) Vice Chair Lam requested that the Clerk update the Task Force on the future meetings. Task Force Clerk, Kay Gulbengay, reviewed the upcoming meetings to be held in City Hall and the costs associated opening of City Hall on Saturday April 14, 2012 for the final Task Force meeting. The Clerk reported that she had provided the estimate of $5,000 associated with the opening of City Hall on Saturday April 14, 2012 to Chair McDonnell. Vice Chair Lam informed the Task Force that Chair McDonnell had indicated that the Task Force would be meeting on Saturday, April 14, 2012 in City Hall. Vice Chair Lam requested the Clerk to reserve City Hall for the final Task Force meeting on Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. and that the meeting be televised.
Public Comment: None
7. Task Force Member Reports. (9:17 p.m. to 9:18 p.m.) Task Force members had nothing to report.
Public Comment: None
8. Public Comment.
Tes Welborn requested clarification about drawing lines that do not match city blocks and asked what did the brackets the around the census blocks on Van Ness Avenue represent.
Otto Duffy, North of Market resident, requested that the Task Force keep the North of Market and South of Market as the core of District 6.
Chris Bowman, 1995 the past Task Force member, stated that the brackets on Van Ness Avenue are traffic medians, and also stated that the census blocks should be consistent.
Judy Berkowitz stated that the March 12, 2012 working draft map shows a lower population in the north and west areas of the City and a higher population in the south and east areas. She stated that there should be a shift to under populate the south and east to accommodate future growth and development in this area.
9. Future Agenda Items. (9:26 p.m to 9:28 p.m.)
Member Alonso requested that a discussion of the deadline date for the draft final report be on the next Task Force agenda.
Public Comment: None
10. Adjournment.
The meeting adjourned at 9:55 p.m.
