ERIC MAR

DISTRICT 1 SUPERVISOR

August 2012

Dear Neighbors, I hope that everyone is having a wonderful summer. Many parents and students are busily preparing for an exciting new school year that begins Monday August 20th. Though the Board is on legislative break for August, it still promises to be a busy month for my office. The 5th annual Outside Lands Festival will take place in Golden Gate Park from August 10 12. Each day, we are expecting tens of thousands of visitors. Our office has worked with the Recreation & Parks Department, Police, MTA and community groups like Planning Association of the Richmond to address noise complaints, traffic, transit and other issues. The hotline number for any concerns is (415) 422-0964. On August 21, I will be co-hosting with the MTA, a community meeting to expedite the deployment of a new 5 Fulton Limited bus line. Please join us at this meeting and let us know what your thoughts are. Finally, in the past few months, my staff and I have worked closely with the Mayor, the SF Unified School District and various PTAs in creating and passing a PTA parking tax exemption ordinance. This will greatly benefit and help maximize PTA and student fundraising efforts at school parking lots. I will be in the District at community meetings, events and festivals this whole month and hope to see you out there enjoying the sun, fog, and hopefully more warm weather!

SUPERVISOR ERIC MAR.

IN THIS ISSUE:
Investing in the Richmond District 5L Bus Line Community Meeting Saving City College Ocean Beach Master Plan Supporting Neighborhood Voices and Small Businesses ADA Compliance Awareness Outside Land Returns

-Eric

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410| fax 415.554.7415

ERIC MAR
DISTRICT 1 SUPERVISOR

August 2012

Spearheading Efforts to Invest in the Richmond District

I have been working with the Mayor Lees office to help reinvigorate our commercial corridors. The result has been the inclusion of the Richmond District in the city's Invest in Neighborhoods Initiative. The initiative, part of Mayor Lee's 17-point road map to good jobs and opportunity, will provide focused, customized assistance that meets the specific needs of San Francisco's neighborhood commercial corridors. By marshalling City resources and existing programs from across multiple departments, Invest in Neighborhoods will be responsive to community needs and strengthen and revitalize commercial corridors around the City. Invest in Neighborhoods will ensure the strategic deployment of existing city programs. We are looking to focus resources on Clement Street and, in particular, on the stretch of Geary Boulevard from Park Presidio Boulevard to 27th Avenue. The program will include an assessment of each area's needs and coordination with different City services and agencies to solve specific problems. This can mean facade improvements, street improvements, Community Challenge Grants, technical assistance to small businesses and more. I hope to kick-off this exciting process by convening a community meeting with merchant groups and other stakeholders to talk about the neighborhood's needs and to introduce City staff to those active members of the community who wish to facilitate and help guide this effort. I expect to have a meeting date announced sometime in September. Stay tuned.

5L Community Input Meeting

I have requested the SFMTA to consider creating a 5 Fulton Limited Line to ease crowding and improve transit times during peak hours. We are proposing that during peak periods the 5L would make local stops to 6th Ave., then limited stops to Van Ness Ave. A 5-short-line would begin at 6th Ave., making all local stops and providing additional needed capacity. East of Van Ness, both 5 and 5L would make all local stops to Downtown via McAllister. Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 Time: 5:30 7:00 PM Location: Richmond Police Station Community Room 461 6th Avenue

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410 | fax 415.554.7415

ERIC MAR
DISTRICT 1 SUPERVISOR

August 2012

Saving City College

City College of San Francisco serves nearly 90,000 students; it is California's largest community college and one of the largest educational institutions in the nation. In San Francisco it is a bedrock institution of higher learning for a very diverse student body and provides a pathway to academic achievement for lower-income residents that otherwise would not exist. There is much concern throughout San Francisco after the recent report released by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The commission listed 14 issues for the college to address, giving the school until March 15, 2013 to submit a full accreditation report and indicate how it would go about closing the college if that were the ultimate outcome of this process. Before then, the college must show it is taking steps toward demonstrating why its accreditation should be renewed. Without accreditation City College would face closure by March 15 of next year. This is an outcome that cannot be allowed to transpire. On June 9, I co-convened an emergency CCSF community meeting at the Castro LGBT center with students, educators and other members of the community. More than 500 people attended the meeting. Many ideas were expressed, including creating new revenue sources, finding new leadership and creating better oversight. I am committed to working with the Mayor Lee and other members of the Board of Supervisors to explore what the City can do to help City College, so it can continue serving our City, especially lowincome families, immigrants and our communities of color. Please contact my office if you can lend a hand!

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR FALL INTERNSHIPS

My office is now accepting internship applications for fall of 2012. Interns will work in a face paced environment to assist with official staff duties, research on current events and issues that impact District 1, brief my staff and I on constituent issues, interact with various City and community based organizations, and perform research on policy issues. Responsibilities include working with constituents in person or telephone, process incoming correspondence, invitations, and scheduling requests, monitoring local new coverage, filing and data entry, preparing written briefs and talking points, and other general administrative tasks. We accommodate interns with a flexible schedule. Although this is an unpaid internship, our office will work with applicants to help fulfill community service hours, undergraduate or graduate credit. Please email a copy of your resume and cover letter to my aide Victor Lim at [email protected] if interested.

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410| fax 415.554.7415

ERIC MAR
DISTRICT 1 SUPERVISOR

August 2012

Ocean Beach Master Plan

The Ocean Beach Master Plan is now finished and can be found here: http://www.spur.org/climate-change/201206-26/ocean-beach-master-plan-final-document. Hats off to the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) for their leadership on this important project. Among the first components of the plan to move forward, this winter DPW will construct a planted median in the center of the Great Highway from Lincoln Way to Balboa Street as part of a previously scheduled project to repave the roadway. The project will install landscaped medians where today they exist only in paint. It will improve pedestrian safety and access to the beach by providing shorter crossings and pedestrian refuges, as well as clarifying rights of way on large swaths of currently unmarked pavement. It will also improve the aesthetics of the highway, as well as its environmental performance, by providing much-needed greenery and increasing permeable surfaces for storm water infiltration in what is now a large, undifferentiated slab of asphalt. A selection of rugged native plants suitable for the beachfronts challenging climate is under development. The project went before the Recreation and Parks Commission Capital Committee in early June and the full Commission on June 21. Installation is set to begin as part of the larger repaving project this winter. I am also working with the Mayors office to come up with funding to pay for a public bathroom on the northern end of Ocean Beach.

Making Argonne Elementary Better

One of our educational treasures, Argonne Elementary School, has completed the design for a new play structure and submitted it to the school district. The final design was accepted by the School District architect and will now move through the next phases of the project. Construction is currently scheduled to be completed during the summer break, in time for the new school year. I am fully supportive of this effort, I even participated in their fundraising Walk-a-thon, and invite you all to help support the fundraising effort by going to their website for more information: http://www.argonnesf.org/giving.html.

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410| fax 415.554.7415

ERIC MAR
DISTRICT 1 SUPERVISOR

August 2012

RAISING AWARENESS FOR ADA COMPLIANCE FOR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES

In July, I convened a hearing on American with Disabilities (ADA) based lawsuits because this federal law presents a growing threat to many of our Citys merchants. In District 1 Taishan Caf, King of Thai Noodle Restaurant, and Hamburger Haven, to name a few, have been sued recently for being out of compliance with accessibility laws. The Richmond is not unique, nearly every District in the City has businesses that have been greatly impacted or have had to close as a result of such lawsuits. Often, a lack of awareness regarding resources they can use to come into compliance and/or a misunderstanding of the danger posed by these lawsuits, causes business owners to ignore this threat. Without assistance from our offices and relevant Departments, many of our existing local and family owned restaurants and businesses may be forced to close their doors in the next few years. It is important to recognize that making small businesses accessible is and should be one of San Franciscos top priorities. However, while it is imperative to make sure that all of our Citys businesses are brought into compliance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, many are slow to do so and as a result are impacted by lawsuits that often put them out of business. From this hearing emerged support for legislation introduced by Supervisor Chiu that will mandate commercial property owners to bring entrances and bathrooms into compliance or reveal that information to business owners. Among other recommendations that emerged from the hearing were: Requiring that the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) provide a quarterly report on the progress it is making towards hiring and deploying Certified Access Specialists (CASp) who can help small businesses move towards compliance, Have the City develop a process where a permit applicant can have a pre-application meeting with relevant City departments especially if the proposal requires some sort of exception to city rules, Mandate that business owners disclose any access issues before selling a business, That DBI identify and log those entrances that are infeasible structurally to bring into compliance, Use the Invest In Neighborhoods Initiative to address problems with outreach to small businesses and provide assistance once small business owners have been served with lawsuits.

These are just some of the ideas that we will be fleshing out over the coming months to help our businesses be more accessible and thus immune from litigation.

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410| fax 415.554.7415

ERIC MAR
DISTRICT 1 SUPERVISOR

August 2012

OUTSIDE LAND RETURNS

What has become a San Francisco institution, the three-day Outside Lands Music Festival, returns to Golden Gate Park August 10-12. In preparation for this years event I convened a hearing on large events in the park and also attended community meetings to ensure that the impacts of the event have been properly assessed and that mitigation measures are in place. Noise is among the biggest concerns for residents and as a result of consistent requests from community members and dogged follow through from the Planning Association for the Richmond, spearheaded by Nick Belloni, Outside Lands will deploy roving sound monitors, who will monitor decibel levels in different parts of the park in real time and communicate rapidly with the soundboard operators to adjust volumes accordingly. To help deal with parking issues there will be two dedicated tow trucks and one parking control officer on each side of the Park to quickly respond to any blocked driveways or any other parking issues related to the Festival. Recreation and Parks Department has printed signs alerting attendees to not block driveways, which may be obtained at the front desk of McLaren Lodge at 501 Stanyan St. Inevitably inconveniences will occur. However, the benefits that this event brings are substantial for the City and the Richmond District. The promoter of Outside Lands, Another Planet Entertainment, donates a portion of ticket sales to the Recreation and Parks Department on top of what it pays to rent space in the park for the weekend and covers all other city expenses, such as police officers and trash cleanup. The company has donated $4.36 million to the city's parks system over the past four years. In addition, a report by San Francisco State University released earlier this year, shows that roughly $60 million in income was generated for local businesses last year as a result of the influx of concert goers for Outside Lands and that it created 683 full-time equivalent jobs. Another Planet Entertainment provides a Community Hotline to respond to any issues that may affect you during the festival. The festival hotline will be available from 10:00am 11:00PM on the festival days. The hotline number is (415) 422-0964. You can also call my office, Legislative Aide Nick Pagoulatos will be monitoring calls and emails throughout the event, he can be reached at (415) 554-7412 or via email at: [email protected]

Helping to Build the Oak Woodlands Trail

On August 3-5, Friends of the Oak Woodlands Golden Gate Park held a successful volunteer event to help build three new sections of the Oak Woodlands Nature Trail in the northeastern end of Golden Gate Park. It is hoped the trails will "reactivate" this neglected area of the park and make it a more desirable place for park-goers to visit. Volunteers from Outdoor California and Park Partner, Friends of the Oak Woodlands Golden Gate Park, cosponsored the community volunteer kick-off to this project. Over 150 volunteers, including myself, helped to prepare 3 sections of Trail: McLaren Heights, the Pygmy Forest/Fuchsia Heights and Coon Hollow. It was a fun event that will pay dividends for many years to come.

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410| fax 415.554.7415

ERIC MAR
District 1 Supervisor

August 2012

ERIC MAR
District 1 SupervisorCOLLEGE WITH SUPPORTING
COMMUNITY LEADERS City College is facing the potential loss of accreditation by 2013. In response, on July 31, I held a press conference with elected officials and community leaders to address community concerns. We also announced that the new Chinatown/North Beach Campus will open on August 15, acknowledging the work the community has put into creating this new campus. CREATING A PARKING TAX EXEMPTION LEGISLATION On July 18, I held a press conference on my PTA tax exemption legislation that will help maximize profits for K-12 school parking lot fundraisers. I have been working closely with members of the community, PTAs, the SFUSD School Board, and City Departments to move forward this legislation. The legislation is expected to pass in September, which will greatly help benefit students and teachers during these difficult economic times.

HONORING OUR EDUCATORS On July 31, I honored Joanne Low, Vice Chancellor of City College, and Minh Hoa Ta, Dean of the Chinatown/North Beach Campus, for years of dedication, leadership, and service to higher education and the creation of the new Chinatown/North campus.

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410| fax 415.554.7415

ERIC MAR
District 1 Supervisor

August 2012

CABRILLO PLAYGROUNDS GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY On June 9, I joined city departments and community leaders at the Cabrillo Playgrounds ground break ceremony to begin a renovation project. The playground will be transformed into a state of the art location for the Richmond. Cabrillo Playground will reopen next year for everyone to enjoy.

DECLARING JUNE 23, 2012 JUSTICE FOR VINCENT CHIN DAY June 23 of this year marked the 30th anniversary of Vincent Chins death, a 27 Chinese American man that was beaten to death in a racial hate crime. I introduced a resolution declaring June 23, 2012 as Justice for Vincent Chin Day in San Francisco. I also honored Norman Fong and Mike Kwan for their work and leadership in civil rights and community education of Vincent Chins legacy.

PLANTING A CHERRY TREE AT LINCOLN PARK Earlier in June, I joined Japans Consul General Hiroshi Inomata and Sarah Ballard of Recreation and Parks Department at a cherry tree planting ceremony to mark of friendship between the City and County of San Francisco and Japan.

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410| fax 415.554.7415

ERIC MAR
District 1 Supervisor

AUGUST 2012

Events Calendar
VA Medical Center Farmers Market When: Wednesdays, 10am to 2pm Where: VAMC, on the grassy triangular area on Fort Miley Circle, behind Muni bus stop Details: Weekly event until November, visit www.pcfma.com for details. Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Farmers Market When: Wednesdays, year round 10am 2pm Where: Geary at St. Joseph's Street, San Francisco Details: The Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Certified Farmers' Market is your best source for fresh-from-the-farm, seasonal fruits, vegetables, greens and nuts. Make a visit to the market a part of your weekly routine! The farmers at the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Farmers' Market bring you the freshest locally-grown fruits and vegetables. For more information, please visit: http://www.pcfma.com/marketdetail.php?market_id=10. Richmond District Neighborhood Center Food Pantry Where: RDNC- 741 30th Ave. San Francisco When: Thursdays, 1pm-5pm Details: The RDNC Food Pantry is always looking for new volunteers to help us setup and distribute food to those in need. Without the help of community volunteers this important resource would be impossible to maintain. The Food Pantry is held at RDNC every Thursday; we begin setup at 1pm, sign in at 2pm and distribution from 3-5pm. We realize schedules are busy and appreciate drop in help at any point throughout the Food Pantry. There is plenty of work to do for volunteers of all ages and abilities! Please contact Sarah for more information or stop by to help: 415-750-8554 or [email protected]. ElderWISE What: VOLUNTEER to become a friendly visitor and make an impact on the quality of life for an isolated elder. We match volunteers, age 21 and older, one-on-one with an elder. Where: San Francisco When: Minimum of 2 visits per month Details: ElderWISE, working in service to elders, is 4 years old and has provided much needed companionship to isolated elders throughout San Francisco. Visit our website www.jtmesc.org and check out the community outreach programs. Our office is located at St James, 4620 California St. 415 752-0139 Gigantic Two Day Rummage Sale When: September 14 & 15, Friday and Saturday, 9am 3pm Where: Saint Annes Home (Little Sisters of the Poor) Details: Clothing, jewelry, furniture, toys, and books

Supervisor Eric Mar | San Francisco City Hall, Room 284, San Francisco, CA 94102 | phone 415.554.7410| fax 415.554.7415