San Francisco Youth Commission
Housing, Environment and City Services
Minutes
Thursday, October 15, 2015
5:00-7:00 PM
City Hall, Room 345
1. Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl.
San Francisco, CA 94102

There will be public comment on each item.

Members: Giovanna Soto, Erica Kong, Lily Marshall-Fricker, Jarrett Mao
and Cris Plunkett

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

Vice Chair Kong called the meeting to order at 5:05 pm. Commissioners present: Giovanna Soto, Erica Kong, Lily Marshall-Fricker, Jarrett Mao, and Cris Plunkett. Staff present: Allen Lu. There was quorum.

There was no public comment.

2. Approval of Agenda (Action Item)

Commissioner Marshall-Fricker, seconded by Commissioner Kong, moved to approve the agenda. There was no public comment. The motion was approved by acclamation.

3. Approval of Minutes (Action Item)

A. October 1, 2015
(Document A)

Commissioner Mao, seconded by Commissioner Kong, moved to approve the October 1, 2015 minutes. There was no public comment. The motion was approved by acclamation.

4. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda (Discussion Only)

There was no public comment.

5. Presentations (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

A. Affordable Housing Bonus Programs
Presenter: Katy Tang, District 4 Supervisor

Supervisor Tang presented on her legislation on the Affordable Housing Bonus Program. She shared that the city has not done a good job of supporting middle income families and has heard from developers that developing low-moderate income housing does not make sense for them financially. Supervisor Tang shared that the legislation would also lift up some restrictions on development such as building into rear yards, parking requirements, etc if developers are developing affordable housing. A developer can potentially develop two-three stories more than their current ability as allowed by city planning regulations, if at least 30% of their building is affordable (12% low income and 18% middle income.) Details can be found on http://www.sf-planning.org/index.aspx?page=4233

Commissioners asked if there were any concerns from residents. Supervisor Tang shared that neighbors have expressed worry about having really tall buildings in their neighborhood. She did assure that both state and local programs won’t allow this legislation to apply to RH1 and RH2 districts. This means that the incentive won’t apply for most residential districts/neighborhoods like the Sunset aside from housing along primary arteries like Taravel and 19th Ave. Folks who primarily oppose this are those who are opposed to building higher buildings.

Commissioner Kong continued this conversation by asking about why it is focused on the Eastern neighborhoods. Supervisor Tang provided additional detail regarding the ability to build higher in areas in the Eastern neighborhoods. Mr. Lu asked about evictions protection in light of the incentives for developers to build. Supervisor Tang doesn’t want people to get displaced, doesn’t want developers to evict, etc. She shared her support of the no fault evictions legislation.

Commissioner Gio asked if developers were involved in the drafting of this legislation. Supervisor Tang shared that the Planning department held roundtables for developers and heard from them that density requirements needed to be change. Supervisor Tang also shared that this legislation targets to support the middle class. In regards to families, she shared that 40% of the 30% of the affordable housing will have to be 2 bedrooms or more. This program can also be applied to 10 units or less.

Commissioner Tang invited the committee to a public meeting/panel at the Ortega Branch Library on October 29th. Commissioners shared their gratitude for Supervisor Tang’s presentation, and her ability to make the material understandable.

Commissioner Plunkett, seconded by Commissioner Kong, motioned to cancel the 10/29 meeting. The motion was approved by acclamation. There was no public comment.

Commissioner Soto, seconded by Commissioner Plunkett, motioned to submit the following questions to Supervisor Tang’s office:
How small of a square footage of a unit would this legislation allow?
Why is a requirement to have only 40% of the units to be for 3 people or more?
The motion was approved by acclamation. There was no public comment.

6. Business (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

A. Review Recreation and Open Space Equity Analysis Priority

Commissioners read last year’s policy priority on this priority, and highlighted the injustice between parks, safety issues, and an eagerness to share reality. Commissioners also talked about sponsorship from Supervisors. They requested staff to provide some information on the SFMTA Equity Strategy before their November 12th meeting.
There was no public comment.

B. Review Committee Priorities/Timeline

The committee, in addition to Park Equity and Affordable Housing Bonus Legislation, want to investigate more on homeless youth and how do they increase more awareness. They also would like to explore the city’s work on the drought and how to help people change their habits.

There was no public comment.

7. Executive Committee Report

Commissioner Plunkett shared upcoming Fully YC agenda items. There was no public comment.

8. Staff Report

A. Programmatic Updates

There were none.

9. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 7:08 PM.