SOMA Community Stabilization Fund -- Community Advisory Committee MINUTES OF July 27, 2006. Meeting Location 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 5 th Floor Mayor s Office of Community Development San Francisco, CA 94103 Community Advisory Committee Ada Chan Jazzie L. Collins, Chair Rudy Corpuz, Jr., Vice-Chair Conny Ford Donald Frazier Steven Sarver Kelly Wilkinson 1) CALL TO ORDER and ROLL CALL Meeting called to order at 6:10pm by Chair, Jazzie Collins. All members of the Advisory Committee were present except for Rudy Corpuz, Jr. who was noted as excused. MOCD staff present: Lariza Dugan-Cuadra, Community Builder Brian Hoffman, Finance Analyst Mélange Matthews, Chief Operating Officer Trina Villanueva, Community Builder 2) DISCUSSION ITEM Agenda review and meeting logistics Mélange Matthews reviewed the agenda and Committee Chair, Jazzie L. Collins reviewed the meeting expectations. 3) DISCUSSION ITEM Welcome and introductory comments by MOCD Director, Fred Blackwell MOCD Director, Fred Blackwell welcomed everyone and expressed his commitment to the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund and the Community Advisory Committee. Director Blackwell acknowledged that the Fund is a tremendous opportunity for the South of Market community and many other communities around the country will be watching what will happen with the Fund. SOMA CAC Minutes 7.27.06 1.
Mr. Blackwell discussed the need to pace the process correctly and the importance of the opportunity to put in place processes, procedures and strategies to be ready to react to public and administrative pressures regarding expectations for the Fund. Based on Mr. Blackwell s experience, he believes the committee needs a sound and transparent process coupled with a solid strategic plan that clearly outlines the Fund s priorities. Mr. Blackwell suggested that 1) select CAC meetings be held in the SOMA neighborhood to enhance community outreach; 2) the committee should be informed of the different funding streams available for SOMA in order to maximize leveraging opportunities; and 3) the committee examine the processes and impact of similar work in other neighborhoods, to strengthen lessons from similar efforts associated with community infrastructure and neighborhood development. Mr. Blackwell acknowledged that while there will be tensions and disagreements along the way, MOCD staff and the CAC members must remain respectful of each other s strengths and expertise in developing a model for community investment. 4) ACTION ITEM Review and action on minutes for April 19, 2006 CAC members reviewed the minutes from April 19, 2006. Conny Ford motioned to adopt the minutes and Kelly Wilkinson seconded that motion. Voice vote to approve was unanimous. 5) ACTION ITEM Review and action on minutes for April 27, 2006 CAC members reviewed the minutes from April 27, 2006. Conny Ford motioned to adopt the minutes and Kelly Wilkinson seconded that motion. Voice vote to approve was unanimous. 6) ACTION ITEM Review and action on minutes for May 31, 2006 CAC members reviewed the minutes from May 31, 2006. Kelly Wilkinson informed the group of the correct spelling of Jim Meko s last name. Conny Ford motioned to adopt the minutes and Kelly Wilkinson seconded that motion. Voice vote to approve was unanimous. 7) DISCUSSION ITEM Review and action on proposed by-laws for the administration and governance of the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund, Community Advisory Committee Mélange Matthews presented the most updated version of the by-laws to the CAC. Ms. Matthews explained that comments from the City Attorney s office were submitted that morning. She walked the members through highlights of the bylaws, including some specific recommendations from the City Attorney s office. In Article I, Section 3, the word certain SOMA CAC Minutes 7.27.06 2.
was added to certain residential developments in the Rincon Hill Area Plan Ms. Matthews explained that the project at 333 Fremont was approved by the Planning Commission before the passage of Ordinance 217-05, therefore the developer will pay fees ($11 psf) into the SOMA Community Infrastructure Fund, but not directly into the SOMA Community Stabilization Fund. In Article I, Section 6, members may continue to serve, even if their term expires, until the Board of Supervisors takes specific action regarding their seat. Also in Article I, Section 6, members of the Community Advisory Committee must fill out a Conflict of Interest Statement, which MOCD will distribute after additional consultation with the City Attorney s Office. In Article III, Section 1, the members agreed to meet the third Wednesday of each month at 6pm at 1 South Van Ness, fifth floor. If meetings are scheduled in a different location, there will be advance notification in concert with Sunshine Notice regulations. In Article IV, Section 1, a subcommittee of the CAC is any body with two or more members of the committee that is charged with a specific activity. Subcommittees must follow Sunshine regulations. Ms. Matthews informed the committee that MOCD is currently creating a webpage hyperlink from the MOCD page for the SOMA CAC. Don Frazier asked if members who are not present at a meeting may engage in a vote by proxy. Deputy City Attorney Mike Martin stated that proxy voting is not allowed under Sunshine regulations. Conny Ford asked if members can abstain from voting. Mike Martin clarified that members can abstain if they have a conflict of interest. Otherwise, they have to vote yes or no. Public Comment There was no further public comment. Action Ada Chan motioned to adopt the By Laws and Don Frazier seconded the motion. Voice vote to approve was unanimous. Don Frazier thanked MOCD staff for working hard to establish relatively clear and succinct bylaws, and for the advance time to review the draft before the meeting. Committee members echoed his comments. 8) DISCUSSION ITEM Interim update on Mello-Roos Bond Financing for SOMA neighborhood Deputy City Attorney Mike Martin updated the Committee on the Mello-Roos bond financing. Approximately $1.1million is now available. Ms. Matthews informed the Committee that the SF Redevelopment Agency will attend a future meeting to present on SOMA CAC Minutes 7.27.06 3.
their proposed project for Mello-Roos financing. Ms. Matthews will also contact SFUSD so they can also attend a CAC meeting and discuss their proposed plans for Mello-Roos financing. Public Comment Chris Durazo from SOMCAN asked for copies of handouts and asked whether these materials will be eventually available on the website. Staff replied that materials will be available on the website when it becomes operable. Chris Durazo asked Mike Martin if the fund is earning interest. Mr. Martin replied that the fund is in a money market account and has an approximate 2-3% growth rate. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) is holding the funds until they are disbursed. 9) DISCUSSION ITEM Staff presentation of preliminary SOMA Assessment to guide strategic planning Brian Hoffman explained a series of financial projection hand-outs. The first handout includes a pie chart of the Projected Contribution Sources. This shows that 81% of the funds will come from the $13.75/sq. ft. fee and 1% will come from the $0.25/sq. ft. fee. Together, these two sources make up the SOMA Stabilization Fund portion. The other 18% will come from the $11/sq. ft. fee for the Community Infrastructure Fee. The next handout, Draft Revenues Schedule from Rincon Hill Community Infrastructure Fee, shows the projected timeline of when funds will be available from 2005 to 2008. This includes the $1.1 million for the Mello-Roos financing which became available in June 2006. Funds below the horizontal line are anticipated; and funds above the line reflect corresponding earmarks for expenditure. Draft Uses and Revenues Schedule, shows the projected timeline for the Community Stabilization Fund from 2005 to 2010. It shows that the first significant receipt of funds is projected for November 2007. This means that the CAC and MOCD have a little over a year to complete both the strategic planning process and set-up an RFP with community funding priorities. Trina Villanueva walked the committee through the handout which provides a timeline for the RFP process. Based on MOCD s experience with its annual Community Development Block Grant RFP process, the handout shows the template for a six-month RFP cycle. This includes time to develop an online application process, hold committee review meetings, host public hearings and move through the Board of Supervisors legislative review process. Kelly Wilkinson asked Mike Martin how the CAC can have clarity and assurance of when funds will be available. Mr. Martin indicated that the Committee will have a better sense of timing on the $13.75 contribution, than on timing for the initial start of the project. Various Members had questions about MOCD s experience with RFP process such as the number of applicants, the approval rate and how the MOCD application process is set up. SOMA CAC Minutes 7.27.06 4.
The Cmmittee agreed to discuss different options for the Fund such as investing some portion of revenue for future allocation. MOCD staff will examine options for this process and report back to the CAC. Public Comment (on the first half of the presentation) Nina Solomon from the Community Arts Center, located in the SOMA neighborhood informed the committee that many groups like theirs need the funding as soon as possible. They are being evicted from their space and don t have time to wait. Resources from the Fund to address their immediate situation is critical to their ability to stay in their current location. Ada Chan reiterated that there is urgency in the community for these funds because the market is already affecting the community. Steve Sarver suggested that the committee fast track some funding to those agencies that the Committee agrees on. The Chair, Jazzie Collins expressed understanding about the current situation, and reminded members that they are obligated to establish a thoughtful, practical and timely process and structure in order to address all of the various needs in the community, not only the ones that come to light during public comment. Further she reminded members that the CAC does not have any flexible funding at its discretion at this time; the only funding to discuss for nearterm allocation will be the Mello-Roos capital funds. Mélange Matthews continued the discussion item and presented different maps of the South of Market used by various city departments and community advisory groups. This included a series of 13 maps following different geographic boundaries, all related to the SOMA area. Ms. Matthews reiterated that it is critical to understand the boundaries of the geographic area referenced when different agencies or organizations are referring to the SOMA neighborhood. Since this is an extremely dynamic area of developer and community investment, knowing the boundaries and criteria for financial resources will help the Committee in leveraging resources for strategic community investments. Committee members and the public will be able to view these maps once MOCD recreates them as pdf documents. Ms. Matthews also reviewed a detailed timeline of key SOMA activities. Ms. Matthews outlined several SOMA related items identified, restored or added-back by the Board of Supervisors in its 2006-07 Annual City budget. Ada Chan informed the group that the South of Market Foundation, now called Urban Solutions, did a study on businesses that were displaced between 1998-2001. She will make an effort to find the study and provide it to MOCD staff, for distribution to the Members and community. Kelly Wilkinson recommended having some resource tools that can be given to those in the community who have immediate needs. SOMA CAC Minutes 7.27.06 5.
Jazzie Collins asked Mike Martin whether the Zoning Administrator of the Planning Department should meet with the CAC. Mr. Martin indicated that he did not think this was necessary or directly related to the scope of work for the CAC at this time. Public Comment (on the second half of the presentation) There was a suggestion to add the SF Redevelopment Agency maps of Yerba Buena, the TransBay Terminal and the Proposed SF Arts Task Force for the Committee to review. Ms. Matthews indicated that she will work with staff to include these in the summary packet. Public comment was provided regarding the importance of understanding the transit and freeway locations that cross through SOMA, when reviewing these maps. 10) DISCUSSION ITEM Committee discussion regarding strategic investment of financial resources 11) DISCUSSION ITEM Committee discussion regarding issues of interest for future meetings Ms. Collins called items 10 and 11 together. Ms. Matthews asked if the Committee would like to hear from a city representative regarding investment options for the Fund. Deputy City Attorney Martin indicated that the revenues have to be invested in markets approved by the City s investment manager. The Committee agreed that they would like staff to engage in further research or invite someone who can describe the City s investment protocol. Ada Chan would like to hear about the options for creating a small business loan fund to offset displacement. MOCD staff will work on developing these ideas and discuss them with the Committee at the August meeting. Ms. Chan suggested reviewing the work in Hawaii and learning how that state has dealt with displacement issues. Hawaii s Environmental Impact Reports include an assessment of projected cultural impacts. Conny Ford inquired what the process might be to assess the immediate needs around displacement. Ms. Matthews will check with the Planning Department to see if there is any trend analysis on displacement patterns that occurred during the dot-com explosion; she also will discuss the cost for a door-to door survey to get a snap-shot of immediate needs. SOMA CAC Minutes 7.27.06 6.
Public Comment The Director of the Community Arts Center informed the Committee that they have been in their building for 10 years and they were not properly informed by the landlord s plans to sell the building. The studio was previously evicted during the dot-com expansion. The arts studio is located at 743 Harrison Street between 3 rd and 4 th Streets; he invited the Members to see his space. Steve Sarver stated his understanding of small business needs and stressed how important he thinks it is to prioritize community outreach and awareness of the CAC and the Fund. Committee members should educate themselves about the immediate community needs. He would like staff to invite Urban Solutions to a future CAC meeting. Conny Ford wants to plan the first community meeting in order to listen to people and get their input quickly. Don Frazier recommended to colleagues that they be focused and fully understand what is within the scope of the Fund. He strongly encouraged members to understand the subjective vs. the objective issues at hand. He stated the urgency to form a concrete strategic plan around the mission and vision of the Fund and suggested that when this is accomplished, the CAC will be more able to frame thoughtful and comprehensive priorities, including the sensitive issue of community displacements. He also asked that staff continue to focus and drill-down on the detailed elements of a strategic plan for the neighborhood, by reviewing the work of community organizations and other agencies to expedite this process. Ada Chan would like to know what has been displaced already and what replaced them. Ms. Chan would like to know the impact on individuals as well as the cumulative impact. She would like to know impact on businesses, arts, culture and community-based organizations. Ms. Chan suggested reviewing the Health Impact Assessment. She added that there should be a focus on timely small business solutions. Ms. Collins said she will work to find an accessible site for a future community meeting. 12) NEW BUSINESS and ANNOUNCEMENTS The Committee thanked Ms. Matthews for personally providing food and drink for CAC Members and the public. Conny Ford volunteered to bring food at the next regular meeting, August 16, 2006. Given the recent lengthy meetings and limited staff availability, Ms. Matthews suggested that the August meeting focus on an update of the demographic data and supplemental information regarding the City s protocol for resource investments. 13) PUBLIC COMMENT No further public comment. ADJOURN. Meeting was adjourned by Ms. Collins at 8:48pm. SOMA CAC Minutes 7.27.06 7.