Minutes
of the Regular Meeting of June 4, 2009
(As approved and amended at the Regular
Meeting of July 16, 2009).
The San Francisco Public Library Commission
held a regular meeting on Thursday, June 4, 2009, in the Koret Auditorium, Main
Library.
The meeting was called to order at 4:30 pm.
Commissioners present: Del Portillo, Gomez, Lee,
Munson and Ono.
Commissioner Chin arrived at 4:36 pm.
Commissioner Kane arrived at 4:38 pm.
AGENDA
ITEM NO. 1 PUBLIC COMMENT
An anonymous citizen said he had advice for
the new Commissioner. He said there is a
line of demarcation at the Library Commission between those who have perks and
those who don’t. He said barriers are
created between those who give money and those who do not.
Ellen Egbert, Bernal Heights, said there is a
celebration for Project Read at 6:00 in the Latino/Hispanic Community Room and
everyone is invited to attend. She said
Project Read is one on one tutoring for adults learning to read.
Trisha Devries said she is here to show her
support for the new North Beach library.
President Gomez asked that the speaker hold
her comments until Item No. 2 about the North Beach branch.
Sue Cauthen said she heads up a coalition who
is concerned about the present plan for the North Beach Library.
President Gomez asked that the speaker wait
until Item No. 2 about the North Beach branch.
She said she will again ask people to hold their remarks on the North
Beach Library until the item is heard.
Peter Warfield read the agenda language under
public comment. He said the item
description does not exclude items on the agenda from being addressed. He said the first person who spoke voluntarily
agreed not to speak at this time. He
said he believed the second person had a right to speak. He said the Commission has many times been
held in violation of Sunshine Law requirements.
He said that he believes the plans for the Park Branch need to be
reconsidered.
Sue Cauthen said the Sunshine Ordinance does
not permit a focus on another item on the agenda during public comment;
however, it does permit public comment on a matter that is related to an item
on the agenda. She said she is chair of
a number of committees and she feels that a violation of the Sunshine Ordinance
has occurred at this meeting. She said she
is very disappointed.
Anne Wintroub, Friends of the Library, said
there is another opportunity to come out and support the Friends and the
Library at the Mission Book Sale and Donation Drive on June 12, 13 and 14 in
the heart of the Mission.
Donna Bero, Friends of the Library, said the
International Poetry Festival will be held in July. She said there are 26 poets representing 21
different countries. She said there will
be readings around the city.
AGENDA
ITEM NO. 2. PEER REVIEW OF PROPOSED
DESIGN FOR NORTH BEACH BRANCH LIBRARY
Luis Herrera, City Librarian, said on
September 8, 2008, the Library Commission unanimously voted to endorse 701
Lombard Street as the preferred site for a new North Beach Branch Library. He said the Recreation and Park Commission
also unanimously passed a resolution endorsing the 701 Lombard Street location
as the preferred location for the new branch library. He said the Peer Review will include a
presentation by the project architect, a response from a library staff member,
and a critique and commentary by two professionals. He said Craig Hartman and Anne Caine are the
peer reviewers for today’s meeting.
Marsha Maytum, Principal with Leddy, Maytum
Stacy Architects gave on overview of the project. She said there was a rigorous master plan
process. She said the Master Plan was
adopted last fall. She said they have
been working on the schematic design for the project. She said the new library will be 8,500 square
feet or 59% larger than the existing library.
She said they are continuing to explore the materials and color for the
library. She showed a presentation on
the design including various views to and from the building and the interior of
the building.
Elsie Wong, BLIP Projects Coordinator, said
the library staff has asked the architects to include several patron and staff
priorities. She said the Library is very
pleased with the development of the plan.
She said the design is attractive, comfortable and incorporates the key
priorities and is one that addresses and meets the service demands of the
community.
Craig Hartman, Design Partner for the San
Francisco office of Skidmore, Ownings & Merrill said he is delighted to
respond to this project and what he considers to be an exceptional project in
its design. He said the project will be
a positive addition to the North Beach neighborhood. He said the building will
be a neighborhood lantern. He said the
triangular plan is clear and sufficient in use of the space.
Anne Cain, County Librarian, Contra Costa
County Library, said this is a very exciting project. She said she visited the existing library and
playground with staff and came away from the meeting very excited about the
idea that the community gets to plan a completely new library. She said the planning team has done an
excellent job conducting a needs assessment with significant community
input. She said the two entrances will
encourage nonusers to enter and investigate the library. She said the new building will address the
existing building’s deficiencies. She
suggested combining the circulation, reference and children’s desks and combine
with roving staff. She said at a minimum
she would recommend modular desks to insure flexibility in the future. She said there are quality spaces for teens
and children. She said the growth of the
collection capacity seems appropriate for the next 20 – 30 years. She said the meeting room on the second floor
makes a lot of sense.
Public Comment
An anonymous citizen said none of the
interior views are reflected in the handout given to the public. He said the interior design looks a little
bit fragmented from the reading areas and the service desk. He said traditionally the reference desk is
close to the books. He said it appears
there is a little bit of a distortion on the amount of increase in square
footage for actual books and reading areas.
Penelope Clark, Co-Chair of Russian Hill
Neighbors, said the Board of Directors has voted to approve the new
project. She said they like it very
much. She said she is an interior
designer by trade so she would like to make a suggestion that the children’s
area be one floor and add a second meeting room to the second floor.
Howard Wong, architect and member of the
Coalition for a Better North Beach Library and Telegraph Hill Dwellers Planning
and Zoning Committee, said he is concerned about the history and the intent of
its use. He said in 2004 the property
was taken by eminent domain for a park on the triangle. He said for any non recreational use you must
go back to the voters. He said the
library on the site would also block views.
Sue Cauthen referred to a document handed out
entitled Save Triangle Park. She said
because of all the legal complexities and the decision to take this property by
eminent domain there will be problems which will extend the process for a long
time. She said she Chair’s the Coalition
for a Better North Beach Library. She
said the site is too small and the wrong size.
She said the Telegraph Hill Dwellers Association and others believe that
the existing library should be preserved and restored. She said this is very controversial and there
are many different views and it is very important to hear all sides.
Lucy Johns, resident of Telegraph Hill and
regular library user said there is an enormous amount of history in the
neighborhood. She asked that the design
contain display space for the literature and history of the area. She said in her opinion brick is horrible and
she hoped the design did not include brick.
Audrey Kelly, resident of North Beach, said
she has two children that use the library and playground every day. She said she supports the Commission’s vote
to build the library on the triangle.
She said she is a member of both the Friends of the Library and Friends
of the Joe DiMaggio playground and she is very excited to see this new library
built.
Donna Fore, a parent in North Beach, said she
works at the neighborhood center just around the corner from the library. She said she is very excited about the plans
and is in full support. She said there
are many people in support of the new branch.
She said the Mason Street intersection is horrible and this will
mitigate a horrible pedestrian situation.
She said the community room is the heart of the library.
Joan Wood, said she lives 1˝ block from the
triangle. She said the slide show was
very impressive although she did not recognize the area and she thinks there is
something wrong with the perspective.
She said through a public records request she received the architectural
contracts and said it started at $100,000 and is now at $1,535,000
maximum. She said when the contract was
renewed the first time it was for the 701 Lombard Street. The initial contract was for the current
site. She said there are a number of
legal questions relating to this site.
Teng Chow, resident of North Beach said his
family loves North Beach because of its richness and urbanism and also its
architectural landmarks. He said the
current library is the opposite of that.
He said he loves the new design and he is excited that his daughter will
have a newer and better library and by closing Mason Street his daughter will
have a bigger playground. He said he is also
speaking as a staff member at the Chinatown Development Center and they believe
that a great public library is being planned for the site.
Anne Wintroub, Friends of the Library, said
this was a wonderful presentation and she said the process has been incredible. She said it has been a very democratic
process and it is collaboration between the Library and Recreation and Park
Departments.
Liz Diaz said she lives a block north of the
site. She said she is so excited about
the project. She said this will make the
neighborhood more world class. She said
it has been a great democratic process.
Trisha Devries said she is a mother in the
neighborhood but she is also an architect and user of the library. She said the southern part of the
neighborhood where the cafes are located is dense and people love it. She said this area is a kind of void
space. She said by creating a building
in the triangle you are actually enhancing open space.
Anne Dorman, Children’s Librarian, North
Beach branch said the Children’s area at the current library is an afterthought
and she is very excited about the new design.
She said 100% of the families she has talked to about the new building
are in support. She said the children’s area will be tripling in size. She said she is excited about having a
community room.
Cathy Cormier, Children’s Librarian, Marina
Branch and resident of North Beach said she is speaking in enthusiastic support
of the new branch. She said the plan
meets this diverse community’s needs.
She said the community room is essential.
Gayle Switzer, member Telegraph Hill Dwellers
(THD) said the THD Board has not voted to oppose the current design for the
branch but they did vote to ask that the EIR look at all alternatives for a new
branch including expansion of the existing library and building on a different
location. They also voted to ask that
the closing of Mason Street be examined fully.
Bill Bondi said he lives about three blocks
from the library. He said he has raised
two children in the neighborhood and is a strong supporter of the project. He said he has not received one notice on any
of the meetings, but he is happy that the Russian Hill Neighbors have supported
it. He said he would like to see a
strong pallet of materials and good craftsmanship.
Linda Sabuta, resident of Russian Hill, said
she is very happy to participate in the process. She said the building relates to the
neighborhood and the community. She said
daylight, indoor air quality and a healthy environment are extremely important
and she said it is great that this building will be built with a higher
standard of sustainability. She said she
is very excited to have the building in her neighborhood.
Tom Esquel, said he likes the overall look of
the library but he said the adult area seems claustrophobic. He said there is no site line across the
library. He said he appreciates that
there will be more windows.
Marian Chatfield-Taylor, Friends of the
Library, said regardless of how many different points of views there are in a
community, once things get rolling people get pretty excited. She said she has been to all of the community
meetings and she thought at the last meeting she heard a fairly strong
consensus for the master plan. She said
she wanted to welcome everyone to help raise the funds to help equip the
branch.
The President of the North Beach Neighbors
said she is very excited about this project and she does believe that all
voices are being heard. She said this is
a marvelous historical neighborhood and with everyone’s support North Beach can
have a wonderful library for our present and future.
Peter Warfield, Executive Director of Library
Users Association, said the building of this branch is predicated upon the
demolition of the existing branch which quite a few people think has
considerable historic value and this needs to be remembered. He said the handout shows a lot of nice
books, but he said that books are the least increasing item of all the items
shown on the bar charts. He said the
library has used architecture to push forward programs that the library
supports. He said this plan has some
serious drawbacks.
Brian O’Flynn said he has used the library
since it opened in 1958. He said he is a
professional builder and architect and he is also the former owner of 701
Lombard. He said this is a fixed process
and has not been one of fairness or justice.
He said the record is that he went through a lengthy entitlement process
and not one time during the process was open space for the parcel
mentioned. He said his property was
taken for open space through eminent domain.
He said where he wanted to put a building suddenly there is going to be
a library and not open space.
Alicia Williams said her family is a North
Beach family. She said the new Master
Plan is a crown jewel. She said she
supports it and wants the plan to continue.
Lizzy Hirsch said she is a resident, parent,
city employee and landscape architect.
She said over fifty years ago the city went through the same process and
they came up with the exact same idea for building the library on the triangle
and closing Mason Street for the park. She said at the time they didn’t own the
triangle. She said let us do it now
because it makes sense.
Karen Mauney-Brodek, Planner with the
Recreation and Park Department said the Recreation and Park Department does
believe that this plan provides for an amazing new branch for the library. She said the Recreation and Park Commission
voted unanimously to support this plan.
Donna Bero, Friends of the Library, said it
is heartening to hear all of the different views and opinions. She said North Beach has been known as the
literary heart of San Francisco but has never had a library that adequately
reflects that. She read statements of
support from former Poet Laureates Jack Hirschman and Lawrence
Ferlinghetti on behalf of himself and City Light Books.
Bill Cruzan, a resident of North Beach for 30
years, said this is a fantastic project.
He said he is concerned about the closure of Mason Street and the
impacts to Columbus and the surrounding area. He said we need to use the best materials for
this project.
Commission Discussion
Commissioner Lee thanked all of the speakers
and the peer reviewers. He said this is
a very controversial site but when you go through the neighborhood process you
must move forward. He said there is no
comparison between a 4 story condominium at 55-60 ft. high versus a library at
25 ft. high. He said he urges the
community to stick together because we need this project to move forward.
Commissioner Del Portillo said she was very
impressed by the comments of the users and the parents in the area. She said it seemed to be an overwhelming
majority in support. She said she thinks
we need to go forward with the project.
Commissioner Munson said this project has
been studied intensely. He said we have
some financing available now and it is the time to move forward. He said he is not persuaded by the objections
to the plan. He said he is very
impressed by the people with families who spoke in support.
Commissioner Kane thanked the architects and
the peer reviewers. He said the
presentation was very impressive. He
said he also wanted to thank everyone who took the time to come and speak
before the Commission today. He said it
has been a long process with a number of community meetings. He said both the Library Commission and the
Recreation and Park Commission have voted unanimously to support the 701
Lombard site. He said the Commission has
asked tough questions about the project.
Luis Herrera responded to a question from
Commissioner Kane that there has been a legal opinion that this is a legal use
of the site because it does increase the overall park area.
Commissioner Kane said there are different
costs proposals. He said this proposal
is as efficient or less expensive for both operating and construction
costs. He said a branch with two levels
would be like operating two branches and would require a reduction of
hours. He said with the long term Master
Plan there will be more green space for the park. He said previous traffic studies have shown
no material impact by closing Mason Street.
He said the design works well for the library. He said many people who attended the community
meetings said they wanted to have the library remain open during construction
and with this design the branch will remain open.
Commissioner Ono said thank you to everyone
who spoke. She said the presentation was
amazing and it appears the project is meeting all of the needs of the
neighborhood. She said if she had been
at the meeting where the Commission approved the triangle for the site of the
library she would have voted to approve it as well.
Commissioner Chin thanked the Peer Reviewers
and members of the community who spoke.
She said she grew up in North Beach and went to the library almost every
day. She said because the North Beach
Branch was so small she and her siblings
went to the Chinatown Branch. She said
it is pleasing for her to see the children’s room expanded and the opportunity
to have a community room. She said the
colors reminded her of McDonald’s and she would like to see more green.
President Gomez thanked the Peer Reviewers
and the speakers. She said the City
Attorney’s office has reviewed the plan.
Luis Herrera, City Librarian said all of the
comments of the Peer Reviewers will be documented and staff will report back to
the Commission with a Peer Review Response. He said there will be more review
about the transportation study and historic resource study as part of the
Environmental Impact Review (EIR) process.
He said the draft EIR should be issued in early Fall for further review.
AGENDA ITEM NO. 3 CITY LIBRARIAN’S REPORT
Luis Herrera, City
Librarian, gave the background on the FY09-10 Budget, budget priorities and the
status of the budget.
Maureen Singleton,
Budget Manager, explained the projected Budget Revenue and Expenditures as of
February, 2009. She explained the budget
activity to date and the current projected Budget Revenue and Expenditures.
Luis Herrera
explained the budget activity and negotiations with the Mayor’s office. He said the budget is very positive.
Maureen Singleton
said they will still be discussing budget issues with the Mayor’s office and
the Board of Supervisors. She said the
first budget hearing will be June 17, 2009, the second hearing on June 24 and
full Board of supervisors’ approval by July 31, 2009.
Luis Herrera said
there may be some adjustments to the good because Labor Union SEIU did pass a
new agreement. He said the State budget
is a major unknown in the budget. He
said the Library will continue to look at efficiencies for the future.
Commissioner Chin
left the meeting.
Jill Bourne, Deputy
City Librarian, said the 2009 amnesty program was very successful with a total
number of returned items of 29,228 with a value of over $700,000.
Toni Bernardi, Chief
of Children and Youth Services, said both the children’s and teen programs for
2009 are part of SFPL’s Green Stacks Initiative. She said the theme for the children’s program
is “Read It and Green It” and the teen program is “Cool it! Green Teen Summer
Read.” She explained the program
structures and the green aspects of the programs.
Luis Herrera, City
Librarian said that Mayor Newsom has named Diane Di Prima as the City’s 5th
Poet Laureate. He said di Prima is the
author of 44 books of poetry and prose.
He said she is one of the few female Beat writers to attain prominence. He said the One City One Book selection for
this year is Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst.
He said it is a thriller set in San Francisco and the cemeteries in
Colma.
Public Comment
An anonymous citizen
said the budget is very flat and it takes something like $3.1 million out of
the reserve fund. He said there was a
lawsuit about the use of the Library Preservation funds and how they could be
used. He asked how the Commission is
going to protect that reserve fund when no one really knows how much it is.
Peter Warfield said
the reduction to the budget includes the statement “limit growth in book budget
to additional Fuhrman Fund.” He said if
that is true that is a real disappointment.
He said he is glad the amnesty program was profitable and he said he
thinks the Library would find a permanent fine fee system to be popular as
well.
AGENDA
ITEM NO. 4. LABOR UNION REPORT
There was no Labor Union Report at this
meeting.
AGENDA
ITEM NO. 5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF MAY
7, 2009
Public Comment
An anonymous citizen said the minutes include
comments from an “anonymous speaker”. He
said he is the anonymous citizen and the “anonymous speaker” should be
identified as she had identified herself in the past. He said remarks made by Joan Wood and Peter
Warfield were not reflected accurately.
Peter Warfield said his comments on the Park
Branch shelving were not reflected accurately.
MOTION: by Commissioner Lee, seconded by Commissioner Munson
to approve the minutes of May 7, 2009.
AYES: 5-0 (Gomez, Kane,
Lee, Munson and Ono)
ITEM NO. 6. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION: by Commissioner Munson,
seconded by Commissioner Ono to adjourn the regular meeting of Thursday, May 7,
2009.
Public Comment
There was no public
comment on this item.
AYES: 5-0 (Gomez,
Kane, Lee, Munson and Ono)
The regular meeting
of June 4, 2009, of the San Francisco Public Library Commission adjourned at 7:38
pm.
Please note: Copies of commission minutes and handouts are
available in the office of the secretary of the San Francisco Public Library
Commission, 6th floor, Main Library, 100 Larkin Street, San
Francisco, CA 94102-4733
Explanatory documents: Copies of listed explanatory documents are
available as follows: (1) from the
commission secretary/custodian of records, 6th floor, Main Library;
(2) in the rear of Koret Auditorium immediately prior to, and during, the
meeting; and (3), to the extent possible, on the Public Library’s website http://sfpl.org. Additional materials not listed as
explanatory documents on this agenda, if any, that are distributed to library
commissioners prior to or during the meeting in connection with any agenda item
will be available to the public for inspection and copying in accordance with
Government Code Section 54954.1 and Sunshine Ordinance Sections 67.9, 67.28(b),
and 67.28(d).