May 28 2013 Commission on the Environment Approved Minutes
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO
COMMISSION ON THE ENVIRONMENT
REGULAR MEETING
APPROVED MINUTES
TUESDAY, MAY 28, 2013, 5:00 P.M.
CITY HALL, ROOM 416, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102
COMMISSION MEMBERS: Commissioners Joshua Arce (President), Angelo King (Vice President), Ruth Gravanis, Nicholas Josefowitz, Alan Mok, Heather Stephenson and Johanna Wald
ORDER OF BUSINESS
Public comment will be taken before the Commission takes action on any item.
1. Call to Order and Roll Call. The Commission on the Environment meeting convened at 5:08 p.m. Present: Commissioners Arce, King, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Excused: Commissioners Josefowitz and Mok.
2. Approval of Minutes of the March 26, 2013 Commission on the Environment Draft Meeting. (Explanatory Document: March 26, 2013 Commission on the Environment Approved Minutes) (Discussion and Action) Upon Motion by Commissioner Wald, second by Commissioner Gravanis, the March 26, 2013 Commission Meeting Minutes were approved without objection (AYES: Commissioners Arce, King, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz and Mok).
3. Public Comments: Members of the public may address the Commission on matters that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda. There was no public comment at this time.
4. Review and Approval of Draft Resolution 2013-05-COE in support of the Department of the Environment’s Grant for Brownfields Outreach Services. (Explanatory Documents: Draft Resolution and Request for Proposal) Sponsor: Commissioner Angelo King, Speakers: Anne Eng, Environmental Justice Program Manager and Meredith Thomas, San Francisco Parks Alliance (Discussion and Action)
Commissioner King reported on the Commission Operations Committee approval of the Resolution for recommendation to the Commission and his concern that the judgment made did not adequately address diversity and the award recipient’s ability to perform outreach in the Bayview community. He recognized San Francisco Parks Alliance as the authority on the Blue Greenway, but spoke of the importance of working with a group that is familiar with and engaged with people of color, low-income communities, and working families.
Ms. Anne Eng reported that the Blue Greenway project is an open space waterfront corridor spanning from AT&T Park to Candlestick Park that has been in development for approximately ten years and is being led primarily by the Port of San Francisco, who has worked in partnership with several groups including San Francisco Parks Alliance. The Department is one link in a larger effort to build the Blue Greenway. She explained that the Blue Greenway project team approached the Department asking for help to seek Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields grant money to augment and leverage the available City Port funds for the Blue Greenway. Acquiring more federal dollars would provide an opportunity to address some of the gaps in the Blue Greenway and to identify non-Port owned parcels that could be linked with the Blue Greenway. Funding was applied for and a grant was awarded to the Department of the Environment for Brownfields assessment. The EPA also awarded a separate grant to Hunters Point Family for Brownfields job training, and Hunters Point Family is partnering with Young Community Developers for that job training. The Department’s role for the public outreach component includes having quarterly meetings, producing a factsheet, requesting input from residents, and supporting corridors so that people can enjoy the waterfront in the southeast sector.
Ms. Eng reported on the Department’s application and evaluation process for the proposals received. She reported that San Francisco Parks Alliance received the highest score based on their time commitment, ability to leverage the project through existing grants, and organizational capacity to address the complexities of the project that they have been the lead on for many years. Ms. Eng stated that in order to support capacity and the limited dollars assigned to the project, it was unclear how the second place applicant, A. Philip Randolph Institute, could provide the management and required time to coordinate the project. Ms. Eng expressed her confidence in working with the San Francisco Parks Alliance and Bayview groups to conduct outreach for this project and urged approval of the grant award.
Commissioner Arce discussed the Department’s important role in promoting environmental justice and diversity and the need to support sustainable communities from within, in particular the southeast sector. Ms. Eng reported that concerns have been discussed and shared with San Francisco Parks Alliance, and that there is a commitment to make the project as diverse as possible and engage residents in a meaningful way. The Department’s outreach team would be linked with non-profit organizations working in the Bayview neighborhood to provide community engagement. Commissioner Arce inquired whether the San Francisco Parks Alliance manager is doing work on the potential contaminated sites in Bayview Hunters Point. Ms. Eng stated that those sites would be addressed and aligned with Blue Greenway work. Commissioner Arce stated that he would be concerned if there would not be a partner or personnel assigned to the project from the impacted community to address the ten potentially contaminated sites.
Commissioner Gravanis expressed her support of the Department’s process for reviewing grant proposals and for the organizational capacity of San Francisco Parks Alliance, but shared some of the concerns that had been raised. She stated that she hopes that it is understood that the scope of the work is not only outreach but to gather input from the community, which she feels would be done in a more thorough way by a group in the community. She inquired whether San Francisco Parks Alliance could subcontract tasks to Bayview organizations so that the outreach work can be done by people in the community. Ms. Eng discussed the difficulty in subcontracting the limited amount of outreach dollars assigned to the project. She stated that San Francisco Parks Alliance is doing additional fundraising to work with a Bayview partner.
Commissioner Wald stated that the criteria in the Request for Proposal(s) should have emphasized the need for community participation or partnering with community groups if that was to be the intended result. She suggested reviewing proposal specifications more thoroughly in the future and questioned the ability to impose a criterion that was not part of the process to begin with. Commissioner Arce suggested the possibility of reissuing the RFP. Commissioner Stephenson suggested that community-based grants that have an outreach or engagement component should include a numbering system in the RFP that would allocate a percentage of importance to a community-based organization.
Ms. Meredith Thomas, Director of Policy and Stewardship, San Francisco Parks Alliance stated that the Blue Greenway is a project that they have been managing as a non-profit community-based partner in San Francisco for a number of years. She reported that the San Francisco Parks Alliance comes from the merger of two preexisting organizations, one of which was the Neighborhood Parks Council, a grassroots community-driven advocacy organization supporting parks and open space, and is the organization she was running at the time of the merger. Their practice has been to start friends of park groups with a lens on parks and open space and work with neighborhood groups and neighbors to empower them to have a voice in their parks. Ms. Thomas stated that the San Francisco Parks Alliance does not necessarily focus on workforce development or public health, so she would like to partner with other agencies for that part of the work. She stated that the San Francisco Parks Alliance has the infrastructure to manage the Blue Greenway and is trying to develop a relationship with Hunters Point Family and Parks 94124 to engage in outreach. San Francisco Parks Alliance is not a Bayview-based organization but does work citywide, and their intention is to work with everyone they should be working with.
Public Comment:
Mr. James Bryant, Western Regional Director, A. Philip Randolph Institute, discussed the success of their work removing the Hunters Point power plant in the Bayview neighborhood. He stated that the group has the capacity to perform the required work for the Blue Greenway and would like to work with San Francisco Parks Alliance on the project. Mr. Bryant discussed the positive business relationship that A. Phillip Randolph Institute has with people in the neighborhood and the importance of making sure the community is part of the Blue Greenway process.
Ms. Jackie Flynn, Executive Director, A. Philip Randolph Institute, reported on the group’s mission to serve low-income communities of color by fighting for racial equality and social justice. A. Philip Randolph Institute offers public-assistance programs that empower and educate San Francisco residents, specifically focusing on the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood offering community outreach, vocational skills training, and employment services to both adolescent youth as well as adults. She stated that a report found that the brownfields program may unintentionally exacerbate historical gentrification and displacement of low-income and minority communities through the cleanup of brownfields. Ms. Flynn spoke of her concern that the grant specifically calls for outreach and without the engagement of community members, development will happen, and residents will be pushed out as house prices increase. She addressed the minimal amount of time allocated to the project that was a point of concern in the proposal, stating that she works 24 hours a day for the organization and dedicates her salary to employ Bayview Hunters Point residents. She introduced staff, clients and residents and asked the Commission to reconsider their decision on the proposal.
Ms. Sala Chandler, Cultural Village Tribal Council, and community activist, stated that A. Philip Randolph Institute is the only program in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood representing children and adults and is representing her 18-year old son in finding him employment this summer. She spoke of her concern in not awarding a grant to an organization that has been advocating for young people to be involved in outreach and asked the Commission to reconsider their decision on the proposal.
Mr. Tim Henderson, Performance Poet, Teaching Artist, and Outreach Coordinator for A. Philip Randolph Institute described his work, residency, and involvement in the Bayview community that keeps youth engaged in productive activities. He spoke of his work with youth reviewing internship applications and counseling youth to assimilate and advance in society.
Ms. Deirdre Smith, Alice Griffith resident, spoke of her concern about people that falsely advertise doing outreach in the community and in public housing. She stated that what is needed is someone such as A. Philip Randolph Institute, who does not have a problem coming out to the community and welcomes the community as they do their outreach.
Deputy Director Assmann confirmed with Ms. Eng that the project would not be adversely affected if a decision was continued to the July Commission meeting and suggested that the Department seek additional funding that could be added to the grant to subcontract to a local community-based organization to partner with San Francisco Parks Alliance on the project. Ms. Eng reported on her work on an RFP to be issued within ten days on peer-to-peer education to support Integrated Pest Management work on public housing sites. She stated that the Brownfields RFP can be reissued if necessary and/or the existing budget for the project can be augmented. Ms. Eng reported that a technical consultant will be hired and was hoping to schedule a project kickoff meeting within six weeks. Commissioner Arce spoke in support of the two groups working together and suggested continuing the discussion to explore fully funding both proposals. Commissioner King motioned, second by Commissioner Gravanis to continue this agenda item to the July 22 Commission meeting to work on an alternate proposal (AYES: Commissioners Arce, King, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz and Mok).
Commissioner King left the meeting at this time.
5. Review and Approval of Draft Resolution 2013-07-COE of Commission Support for Assembly Bill (AB)521 (Hueso and Stone) Marine Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility. (Explanatory Documents: Approved Resolution, AB521 and AB521 Fact Sheet) Sponsor: Commissioner Ruth Gravanis; Speaker: Darby Hoover, Senior Resource Specialist, Natural Resources Defense Council (Discussion and Action)
Commissioner Gravanis reported on the Policy Committee’s review and recommendation for approval of the Resolution in support of the Marine Plastic Pollution Producer Responsibility program and proposed amendments to the Resolution.
Ms. Darby Hoover reported that AB521, the original motivator for this Resolution, was not approved by the State Assembly Appropriations Committee and will not be taken up again. NRDC, as the policy lead, does intend to initiate a similar bill in December/January and is in favor of approving the Resolution that does not specifically refer to AB521, but would support the key tenets that is hoped to be included in subsequent legislation. The proposal will help reduce the amount of plastic waste that pollutes California’s oceans, waterways, and beaches and establish a new program to prevent plastic pollution from reaching the marine environment by requiring producers of plastic packaging to be responsible for reducing this pollution.
Ms. Hoover reported that the idea is to require California to adopt a statewide goal to reduce marine plastic pollution by given targets, would identify items that are top contributors to plastic pollution, set reduction targets for these items, require producers to meet targets for reductions by established timeframes, and require producers to pay for the administration of the program. Since San Francisco is recognized as a leader in zero waste strategies, a Resolution supporting the key tenets of marine debris producer responsibility would advance advocacy and support of the key principles in the upcoming new legislation.
Commissioner Stephenson motioned to amend the Resolution Page 3, starting with line 5, to rearrange wording, second by Commissioner Wald. Approved AYES: Commissioners Arce, King, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz and Mok (Reference approved Resolution 007-13-COE). Upon Motion by Commissioner Wald, second by Commissioner Gravanis, Resolution 007-13-COE was approved as amended without objection (AYES: Commissioners King, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz, King and Mok).
6. Review and Approval of Draft Resolution 2013-08-COE in support of Zero Waste Grant Award Funding Recommendations. (Explanatory Documents: Approved Resolution, Grant Funding Recommendations, and Zero Waste Grant Request for Proposal) Sponsor: Melanie Nutter, Director; Speaker: Alexa Kielty, Residential Zero Waste Assistant)(Discussion and Action)
Ms. Alexa Kielty reported on the grant and review process for $608,000 in available grant funds and a $240,000 inter-departmental transfer for a total of $848,000. She stated that the Zero Waste grant interview panel recommended nine organizations to receive zero waste grant funding and one organization to receive an inter-departmental transfer for the 2013-15 fiscal years. The selection criteria heavily weighs the project’s cost per ton but does consider projects that focus on tons difficult to divert from landfill as well as projects that work in underserved neighborhoods. The cost per ton on average for the programs funded are $144 per ton, which is about half of what it costs for Recology to divert one ton of waste. If the grantees achieve their projected goals, it will prove to be a very cost-effective grant program. Ms. Kielty reported that in the past ten years, most grantees have achieved and/or surpassed their goals.
Commissioner Wald requested that an annual report be provided to the Commission on the success of past-year grants. Commissioner Arce confirmed with Ms. Kielty that there was an opportunity to bring in new applicants and inquired about the composition of the interview panel, which Ms. Kielty reported on. Commissioner Arce suggested expanding the program to bring in new applicants to support existing programs and to include capacity building. Upon Motion by Commissioner Gravanis, second by Commissioner Stephenson, Resolution 008-13-COE was approved without objection (AYES: Commissioners Arce, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz, King, and Mok).
7. Review and Approval of Draft Resolution File 2013-09-COE to Propose Amendments to Commission Resolution 004-13-COE in support of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Expansion. (Explanatory Document: Draft and Approved Resolution File 2013-09-COE) Sponsor: Melanie Nutter, Director; Speaker: Commissioner Ruth Gravanis (Discussion and Action)
Commissioner Gravanis and Deputy Director Assmann reported that the Mayor’s Office had requested proposed amendments to the Resolution that were not included in the prior Resolution of support. Commissioner Gravanis read the amendment into the record that is reflected on Page 3 starting with line 19 of the Draft Resolution. She recommended that the amended clause be moved to Page 3, line 7. Upon Motion by Commissioner Gravanis, second by Commissioner Stephenson, Resolution 009-13-COE was approved as amended (AYES: Commissioners Arce, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz, King, and Mok).
8. Overview and Possible Action on the Commission on the Environment’s Options for Community Meetings. Sponsors: Commissioners Joshua Arce and Angelo King; Speaker: Donald Oliveira, Public Outreach Program Manager (Discussion and Possible Action)
Mr. Donald Oliveira reported on three tenets that were formulated by the Outreach team for bringing Commission meetings into the community (1) to offer meaningful opportunities for San Francisco communities and residents to engage with the Commission; (2) offer the hosting communities an opportunity to discuss what issues and successes mean the most to them; and (3) provide the Commission an opportunity to directly engage with residents in their own neighborhood.
Mr. Oliveira reported that the Outreach team recommended two options (1) selecting a future date to host a full Commission meeting in a selected neighborhood with support of the selected site. Mr. Oliveira discussed challenges in coordinating the important and time-sensitive decisions the Commission has to make on a regular basis with discussions relevant to community members and suggested that the agenda order be adjusted accordingly; and (2) engaging in a less formal Commission meeting in a community-organizing setting where a topic and location is selected ahead of time and allows the Commission to be part of a visioning and brainstorming session on how a community can tackle an issue that is important to them and help with programming, campaign meetings, and brainstorming sessions. Mr. Oliveira stated that with the second option, existing resources of the Department can be leveraged. Creating a space and timing that meets the needs of the Commission and chosen neighborhood would be required. It was suggested that the Commission consider holding the September full Commission meeting in the community and schedule a pilot meeting in June at a Freespace location.
Commissioner Stephenson inquired about the Operations Committee recommendation to hold a Committee meeting in the neighborhood versus a Commission meeting. Mr. Oliveira suggested starting with a full Commission pilot meeting in June and regular meeting in September, and then reviewing opportunities for a future Committee meeting. Commissioner Stephenson inquired if a meeting space or neighborhood has been identified. Mr. Oliveira reported that discussions have been held to locate a current meeting space, and selection of a neighborhood to hold additional meetings will be chosen after the launch of the City’s Eco Districts campaign.
Commissioner Gravanis discussed drawbacks of previous Commission neighborhood meetings and discussed the importance of selecting appropriate agenda items. She stated that the Commission’s regular business might not be of interest to the community and spoke in support of the second option to choose issues relevant to the particular community for the Commission to engage on. Commissioner Wald spoke in support of the second option but felt that a regular meeting would also have its benefits to the community and recommended that a regular or special meeting be held in the community possibly once a year. Commissioner Wald stated that the concept of going to a community meeting place as a way to honor neighborhoods of the city is an effective means of receiving input into the Department’s programs and issues. She stated that past community meetings were not planned in advance and did not have the required resources to insure the success of meetings. Commissioner Arce spoke in support of both options for community meetings.
Deputy Director Assmann discussed prior Commission community meetings that were well organized and had brought in a lot of neighborhood participation, but that subsequent meetings fell apart because of logistics. He discussed the need for adequate timing, outreach, planning, organization, and a selection of the right topics. Commissioners and Deputy Director Assmann discussed the expense of televising a community meeting on SFGTV. Commissioner Stephenson suggested that the meeting contain a live tweet.
Commissioner Wald motioned, second by Commissioner Stephenson to schedule a full Commission community meeting in September and a pilot meeting in June. She requested that a longer-term plan be prepared for future meetings (AYES: Commissioners Arce, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz, King, and Mok).
Items 10 and 11 were heard before Item 9. Commissioner Wald left the meeting at this time. The meeting officially adjourned at 7:00 p.m. due to a loss of quorum. Items 9, and 12-19 were called for discussion after the meeting adjourned, and notes are included in the meeting minutes.
9. Format Options for the Commission on the Environment’s July Meeting on San Francisco Government Television Station (SFGTV). Sponsor: Commissioner Joshua Arce; Speaker: Donald Oliveira, Public Outreach Program Manager (Discussion)
Mr. Donald Oliveira reported on plans to televise the July Commission meeting on San Francisco Government Television Station (SFGTV). He stated that there would be five to fifteen minutes of presentations from outreach and program staff to share Department environmental best practices with the community. Presentations and educational material can be shared during gaps and recesses in SFGTV programing. Plans are to work with SFGTV on how to embed videos on the Department’s website in the future.
Mr. Oliveira stated that plans are to promote the filming of meetings and package it in a way so that programming can be viewed in the future. Clips of each Commission meeting can be created into a greatest hits video at the end of the year that can be packaged as an appendix to the annual report. He stated that there would also be Twitter capability with live questions. Commissioner Stephenson suggested testing the Twitter feedback because of its anonymous content. Commissioner Arce inquired about the upcoming presentation for the July meeting. Mr. Oliveira reported that a presentation is planned on a Department activity such as the healthy homes initiative showing the ten best practices to eliminate toxins and unhealthy chemicals. Background details will be provided to the Commission and staff about best practices for television presentations.
Commissioner Stephenson suggested adding a Chyron ticker tape at the bottom of the screen that would include information on Department topics and website. Commissioner Gravanis suggested creating a method for measuring the effectiveness of televising meetings in order to justify the expense as a budget item in future years. Mr. Oliveira stated that information received from SFGTV shows that the viewership numbers are low so the strategy would be to repost the video on the Department’s website and link to a YouTube station that goes to the Facebook site in order to continually promote what can be tracked internally. He suggested reviewing whether televising meetings would increase the interest of the general public through increased attendance at Commission meetings. Commissioner Gravanis suggested informally surveying the general public as to whether televising meetings results in more engagement, interest, and improvement in their eco-literacy. Deputy Director Assmann suggested that the Chyron feedback include the Department’s contact email to send comments to so that participation can be measured.
10. Review and Approval of Draft Resolution 2013-06-COE amending the Commission on the Environment’s Bylaws to change the Commission’s office location and the Operations Committee meeting location and schedule. (Explanatory Documents: Notice of Proposed Bylaws Amendment and Draft Resolution) Sponsor and Speaker: David Assmann, Deputy Director (Discussion and Action)
Upon Motion by Commissioner Gravanis, second by Commissioner Wald, Resolution 006-13-COE to amend the Commission Bylaws was approved without objection (AYES: Commissioners Arce, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz, King, and Mok).
11. Review and Approval of Commission on the Environment Draft Standing Rules. (Explanatory Document: Draft Standing Rules) Sponsor and Speaker: Commissioner Ruth Gravanis (Discussion and Action)
Commissioner Gravanis reported on the Policy Committee’s review and recommendation of the Standing Rules for approval. She explained that the Standing Rules would include Commission rules, procedures, suggestions for how to take action, how to do business, and how processes work that the Commission adopts. Upon Motion by Commissioner Gravanis, second by Commissioner Stephenson the Standing Rules were approved (AYES: Commissioners Arce, Gravanis, Stephenson and Wald; Absent: Commissioners Josefowitz, King, and Mok).
12. Operations Committee Chair’s Report. Highlights of the May 1, 2013 Meeting and Review of the Agenda for the August 14, 2013 Meeting. (Information and Discussion)
Commissioner Stephenson reported that the Operations Committee at its May 1 meeting recommended to the Commission review of the Brownfields grant and held discussions on (1) community meeting opportunities; (2) challenges in buying green products in San Francisco until an improved inventory management system is established; and (3) Department budget shortfalls that have been resolved and remaining. Commissioners Arce, Gravanis, and Deputy Director Assmann discussed options for general fund support and the possibility of revisiting this possibility in the next fiscal year.
13. Policy Committee Report. (Information and Discussion)
Chairs Report: Highlights of the April 8 and May 13, 2013 Meetings and review of the Agenda for the June 10, 2013 Meeting to be held at City Hall, Room 421.
Commissioner Gravanis reported that the April 8th meeting included (1) a discussion on marine plastics pollution producer responsibility, (2) an update on the Climate Action Strategy, (3) broadening carbon fund projects to include other environmental benefits; (4) review of the Commission and Committee accomplishments; and (5) review of Draft Standing Rules of the Commission. She reported that the May meeting included (1) an update by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission representative on the CleanPowerSF program, (2) update from Recology on the refuse rate application process; (3) approval of support for the marine plastics pollution producer responsibility for recommendation to the Commission; and (4) approval of Zero Waste grants for recommendation to the Commission.
14. Commission Secretary’s Report. (Explanatory Document: Commission Secretary’s Report and Correspondence Log) (Information and Discussion)
Monica Fish, Commission Secretary
• Communications and Correspondence
• Update on City Legislation
Commission Secretary Fish provided a written report on (1) communications and correspondence received and an update on City legislation since the last Commission meeting in March. A written update was provided by Mr. Guillermo Rodriguez, Department Policy Director, on state legislative priorities. Commissioners Arce and Gravanis requested a discussion on how the City’s legislative priorities are advocated for in Sacramento. Commissioner Gravanis suggested an informational presentation on how the State Legislative Committee does business. Deputy Director Assmann provided information on the city, state and federal lobbyist process. Commissioner Arce inquired about AB1337, plastic bag recycling preempts local bag ordinance. Deputy Director Assmann reported that the City does not support a bill that preempts San Francisco’s Ordinance.
15. Director’s Report. Updates on Department of the Environment administrative and programmatic operations relating to Budget Planning, Strategic Planning, Clean Air/Transportation, Climate, Energy, Public Outreach and Education, Environmental Justice, Habitat Restoration, Green Building, Zero Waste, Toxics Reduction, and Urban Forestry. (Explanatory Document: Director’s Report) (Information and Discussion)
Deputy Director Assmann reported that (1) the Department has a tentative date of June 26 for an Open House to welcome its new space and invitations will be issued to Commissioners; (2) the Department’s budget will be transmitted to the Board of Supervisors Budget Analyst and Board of Supervisors on June 3, and a budget hearing is scheduled for June 17. Final approval will be in July; and (3) the Climate Action Strategy is soon to be released. A written report was provided.
16. Announcements. (Information and Discussion) There were no Commissioner announcements made at this time.
17. President’s Announcements. (Information and Discussion) Commissioner Arce announced that there is interest by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to hold a joint meeting.
18. New Business/Future Agenda Items. (Information, Discussion and Possible Action) Commissioner Arce suggested an informational presentation on the process for establishing the Department’s environmental priorities into City priorities and how they are advocated for by the City’s lobbying presence in Sacramento. Commissioner Gravanis requested a review of the Draft Legislative Plan before it is finalized. Deputy Director Assmann stated that he would check the schedule for adoption of the legislative plan, but tentatively suggested that the Commission review the draft plan in November before it is finalized in January. Commissioner Gravanis suggested a presentation by the Mayor’s Office on how the Mayor’s Office sets its agenda for state legislation either at a Commission or Committee meeting, or other venue. Commissioner Arce suggested that the Commission be involved in setting legislative priorities.
19. Public Comments: Members of the public may address the Commission on matters that are within the Commission’s jurisdiction and are not on today’s agenda. There was no public comment at this time.
20. Adjournment. The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. due to a loss of quorum. Items 9, 13-17 were called for discussion and notes were taken and included in the Minutes. Discussion adjourned at 7:33 p.m.
Monica Fish, Commission Secretary;
TEL: (415) 355-3709; FAX: (415) 554-6393
The next meeting of the Commission on the Environment is scheduled for Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 5:00 p.m., City Hall, Room 416.
** Copies of explanatory documents are available at (1) the Commission’s office, 11 Grove Street, San Francisco, California between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., (2) on the Commission’s meeting website at http://www.sfenvironment.org/commission/agendas included with minutes by meeting date; (3) upon request to the Commission Secretary, at telephone number 415-355-3709, or via e-mail at [email protected]. For an audio recording of Commission meetings, access this link http://www.sfenvironment.org/commission/audio and select the meeting date.
Approved: August 6, 2013
