MEETING AGENDA
Thursday, January 8, 2009
5:30 PM
Room 408
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689ss
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Laurie Kennedy-Routhier, David Gordon, DVM, Angela L. Padilla, Andrea Brooks, Sally Stephens
Philip Gerrie, Pam Hemphill, Vicky Guldbech, William Herndon, Bob Palacio
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Mailing Address: City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 362
San Francisco, CA 94102
Commission Voicemail: (415) 554-6074
Website: www.sfgov.org/awcc
Commission Chairperson: Sally Stephens
(Note: Public comment will be taken on each item. Items are first introduced to the Commission, then there is public comment. After public comment, the Commission may further discuss the item and vote if it is an action item.)
1. Call to Order and Roll Call
2. General Public Comment
Members of the public may address the Commission with comments or recommendations on items within the Commission’s jurisdiction other than the items on the agenda at the beginning or end of the meeting, but not both.
3. Approval of Draft Minutes from the November 13, 2008 Meeting
[Discussion/Action Item]
4. Chairperson’s report and opening remarks
[Discussion Item]
5. New Business
[Discussion/Action Item]
A) Discussion and possible action to send a letter to the Board of Supervisors expressing the Commission’s support for the Lights Out for Birds program in San Francisco. This voluntary program encourages building owners, especially owners of tall buildings, to turn off unnecessary lights at night to protect migrating birds who may be confused by the lights and strike a building or suffer other harm. A speaker from the Golden Gate Audubon Society will give a short presentation about the program. A letter from the Golden Gate Audubon Society to the Commission about the program and its request for Commission support is included below.
[Commissioner Hemphill]
6. Unfinished Business
[Discussion/Action Item]
A) Discussion only of “No Kill” policies in San Francisco Shelters (also referred to as “Live Release” in earlier agendas). The Commission will continue its exploration of a policy that would ensure that no adoptable animal (including those that need medical and behavioral intervention but would be adoptable after that) is euthanized in San Francisco shelters. Representatives of SF Animal Care and Control and Jan McHugh-Smith, President of the SF/SPCA, will give presentations. The Commission’s discussion will continue in future meetings with additional speakers. [Discussion only]
[Commissioner Padilla]
B) Discussion and possible action to determine a process for appointment and potentially to appoint a representative of the Commission to the Joint Zoo Committee of the Recreation and Park Department. The Joint Zoo Committee, which has limited oversight of the San Francisco Zoo, recently agreed to include a representative of the Animal Control and Welfare Commission as a non-voting member. [Discussion/Action Item]
[Commissioner Stephens]
7. General Public Comment
Members of the public may address the Commission with comments or recommendations on items within the Commission’s jurisdiction other than the items on the agenda at the beginning or end of the meeting, but not both.
8. Items to be put on the Calendar for Future Commission Meetings
[Discussion Item]
9. Closing Review of Task Allotments and Next Steps
[Discussion Item]
10. Adjournment
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Disability Access: Room 408 is wheelchair accessible. The closest accessible BART Station is Civic Center, three blocks from City Hall. Accessible MUNI lines serving this location are: #42 Downtown Loop, the #71 Haight/Noriega, the F Line to Market and Van Ness, and the Metro stations at Van Ness and Market and at Civic Center. For more information about MUNI accessible services, call 923-6142.
There is accessible parking at the following locations: two (2) designated blue curb spaces on the southwest corner of McAllister Street at Van Ness Avenue; the Performing Arts Garage (entrance on Grove Street between Franklin and Gough Streets), and at Civic Center Plaza Garage.
To obtain a disability-related modification or accommodation to participate in the meeting, please contact Carla Vaughn at 252-2500 (voice) or 252-2550 (TDD) at least two working days prior to the meeting.
In order to assist the City's efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illnesses, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the City accommodate these individuals.
Policy on Cell Phones, Pagers, and Electronic Devices: The ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers, and similar sound-producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. Please be advised that the Chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager, or other similar sound-producing electronic devices.
Know Your Rights Under the Sunshine Ordinance: Government's duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people's business. This Ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people's review. For more information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance (Chapter 67 of the San Francisco's Administrative Code) or to report a violation of the Ordinance, contact the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force. The current Sunshine Ordinance Task Force Administrator, Frank Darby Jr., can be contacted at the Sunshine Ordinance Task Force, City Hall, Room 244, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102-4689; Office (415) 554-7724; Fax (415) 554-7854; E-mail: [email protected] Copies of the Sunshine Ordinance can be obtained from the Clerk of the Sunshine Task Force, the San Francisco Public Library and on the City’s Web site at http://www.sfgov.org/sunshine.
Attention: Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance (SF Administrative Code 16.520 - 16.534) to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the Ethics Commission at 1390 Market Street, #701, San Francisco, CA 94102, telephone (415) 554-9510; fax (415) 703-0121 and web site http://www.sfethics.org
Documents for Public Inspection: Any documents related to an item on this agenda that are distributed to the Commission in advance of the meeting are available for public inspection and copying at the Government Information Center, 5th Floor, SF Main Public Library, 100 Larkin St (at Grove), open seven days a week. They are also available on the Commission website: http://www.sfgov.org/awcc.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Inspiring people to protect FOR AGENDA ITEM 5A
Bay Area birds since 1917 (1/8/09 MEETING)
December 17, 2008
Commission of Animal Control and Welfare
City Hall
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 362
San Francisco, CA 94102
Dear Commissioners:
Golden Gate Audubon is writing on behalf of our roughly 9,000 members and supporters who are dedicated to protecting Bay Area birds, other wildlife, and their natural habitats. We conserve and restore wildlife habitats, connect people of all ages and backgrounds with the natural world, and educate and engage Bay Area residents in the protection of our shared, local environment. This letter is to encourage the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare’s support for the Lights Out for Birds in San Francisco. In addition, we request that the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare urge the Board of Supervisors of San Francisco to do the same.
The Lights Out for Birds in San Francisco project is a partnership between the American Bird Conservancy, the San Francisco Department of the Environment, and Golden Gate Audubon to encourage building owners to turn off unnecessary lights at night. Forty four of the tallest buildings have been identified as potential sites for implementing this program. Most birds migrate at night, and studies indicate they are often drawn off course by tall, lighted structures in their flight path. Scientists aren’t sure why this happens but it may be related to the fact that among many navigational cues, birds use the stars to stay on course. Lighted skyscrapers may simply confuse them. Once in among the lights, birds seem reluctant to fly out. Sometimes birds strike buildings or structures on rooftops. Sometimes birds continue flying around the lighted buildings until they drop to the rooftop or to the ground from exhaustion. The Lights Out program can dramatically reduce these collisions. Over 200 species of birds migrate through San Francisco; many are Neo-tropical migrants such as our beautiful warblers, thrushes, and tanagers. There are 23 species of birds seen in San Francisco that are on the American Bird Conservancy and Audubon Watch Lists. Golden Gate Audubon has supported this project for single hour events in the fall of 2007, the spring of 2008 and conducted a pilot project this past fall. Golden Gate Audubon will participate in the expansion of the Lights Out program. We are working with our partners and others (San Francisco Animal Care and Control, San Francisco Zoo, San Franciscans for Smart Lighting, WildCare, PG&E and the Building Owners and Managers Association) to publicize this project in the spring of 2009 to downtown building owners and their tenants. This voluntary program will be beneficial in decreasing unnecessary night lighting in the City of San Francisco, help to reduce the threat of nighttime collisions with buildings for migratory birds, conserve resources, save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately increase the visibility of the night sky.
Recognizing that the Commission of Animal Control and Welfare is an advisory body to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, we respectfully request the Commission’s backing of this project by recommending support of Lights Out for Birds in San Francisco.
Best regards,
Noreen Weeden
San Francisco Conservation Committee, chair