September 17, 2009 Joint Hearing with the Health Commission
SAN FRANCISCO
PLANNING COMMISSION
&
Department of Public Health Commission
Joint Meeting Minutes
Commission Chambers - Room 400
Board of Supervisor's Chambers – Room 250
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
Thursday, September 17, 2009
10:00 AM
Special Meeting
THE MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER BY PRESIDENT MIGUEL AT 10:12 A.M.
PLANNING STAFF IN ATTENDANCE: John Rahaim – Director of Planning; Larry Badiner – Zoning Administrator; Elizabeth Watty; Sophie Hayward; and Linda Avery – Commission Secretary.
PLANNING COMMISSION: President: Ron Miguel
Vice-President: Christina R. Olague
Commissioners: Gwyneth Borden; William L. Lee; Kathrin Moore; Hisashi Sugaya
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Mike Antonini
BUILDING INSPECTION
COMMISSION: President: James Illig
Vice-President: Sonia Melara
Commissioners: Edward Chow; Margine Sako; David Sanchez, Jr.; Catherine Waters
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Steven Tierney
PRESIDENT'S Remarks (followed PRESENTER'S remarks):
President James Illig
Good morning commissioners. I think this is a special event with two parts of the City family coming together to consider something that is very important. In this chamber the Board of Supervisors in 2004 told the Health Commission to get involved in planning issues by creating this health analysis. I just want to remind you of what we are supposed to be doing with the Institutional Master Plan and the Health Analysis. The purpose of the IMP is to provide early and meaningful involvement in such plans prior to substantial investment in property acquisition or building design by the institution. It is also to enable the institution to make modifications to its Master Plan in response to comments made in public hearings prior to its more detailed planning and prior to requests for authorization by the city of any development.
I was very glad that Judy Lee just reminded me that two years ago, I believe, in this room – and I was sitting out there where you are listening to the presentation of CPMC for their original plan. It was a fascinating presentation if you were here - wonderful science behind ambulatory care eating into an institution. The shock that I had in listening to it, that many people had, is that it meant closing St. Lukes. So to CPMCs credit, they heard the input of the community and they went back to the drawing board and submitted a new plan. And I think we should give them credit for that. We should also give them credit for the fact that they, like us, sat through four hearings throughout May, June and July and over 13 hours of testimony hearing more public comment about their new plan. All of that is to help us understand what CPMCs plans are and help us do our due-diligence, which is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans.
Right now, CPMC has one of the highest quality indicators and one of the highest profitability indicators of any non-profit hospital in San Francisco. They have four campuses spread around four different neighborhoods and they are doing a great job. Now if all things were equal and we could get what we want, I think probably we would want them to rebuild their hospitals where they are and not put a hospital up the street in a neighborhood that already has a hospital serving this area of town. However, CPMC has a right as a non-profit corporation to propose different plans. And those different plans are what we have considered very carefully in our analysis. I think one of the purposes of this meeting, besides allowing Planning Commissioners to hear from some of the same testimony that we heard, is for us to have a dialogue – two parts of the city family to speak to each other in public about what we have heard; our assessment is; and what your concerns are so that we can put together the health aspects and the planning aspects of this very complicated plan.
I'm excited that we're doing this. I know my fellow commissioners are because we have invested a great deal of time and effort into this. Hopefully you will hear some things that we have heard and maybe some new things from the public, and then we'll get a chance after public comment to ask questions of each other.
President Ron Miguel
Asking questions of each other is something that is normally difficult between commissions because of the restrictions of the Brown Act. No more than three commissioners on either of our seven-member commissions can discuss anything in private. Everything is properly to be done in public. Just as the Planning Commission often holds joint hearings with the Building Commission and the Recreation and Park Commission on areas that interface with both, President Illig and I, and many if not all of our commissioners felt that this was a proper forum and this was a proper time for it.
The Health Commission obviously deals with different aspects of this situation than the Planning Commission does. You deal with what goes inside the box; we deal with the box itself and where to put it. However, there are things we have in common. What goes into the box determines the size of that box and the configuration of it. We both deal with where the box should be put because that is the distribution of the care that is affecting the citizens that these two commissions represent.
This is our opportunity and we certainly appreciate the comments of Ms. Lee and Dr. Katz to lay the groundwork, as well as of Ms. Watty from the Planning Department. I also want to acknowledge the fact that some of the Mayor's staff is here as well who have been deeply involved. They been able to aid in the work of both commissions and I'm sure they will continue to do so.
As was mentioned originally, the Institutional Master Plan will be before the Planning Commission in October as presently scheduled. Many of you who are in the audience to comment today will probably be back with us and both commissions have already heard from some of you. One of the reasons we are restricting the time to two minutes is in order to get things out of the way. But what we would like more than anything else I believe, on both sides, is when you make your public comment, is not necessarily to be negative – although sometimes it's hard not to be, I understand that, but to make constructive comments so that we as two commissions and the subject of these hearings, CPMC, may take away something constructive. If you can do that, then this hearing will have accomplished its purpose.
- SPECIAL CALENDAR
2008.1409I (E. WATTY: (415) 558-6620)
CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MEDICAL CENTER (CPMC) INSTITUTIONAL MASTER PLAN (IMP) - Informational Joint Hearing of the Planning Commission and Health Commission to discuss CPMC's IMP, the Department of Public Health's health planner review process, and the Health Commission's resolution regarding CPMC's IMP. The IMP is available for viewing on the Planning Department's website (from www.sfplanning.org click Publications & Reports and then Institutional Master Plans ).
A separate public hearing will be held by the Planning Commission on October 15, 2009, to present and collect public comment on CPMC's Institutional Master Plan, in accordance with the requirements of Planning Code Section 304.5.
PRESENTERS: Elizabeth Watty – Planning Department staff; Dr. Mitz Katts – Health Department; Judy Lee – CPMC
SPEAKERS: Dr. Edward Kersh, Randy Gerlach, Colleen Leonard, Mike Daniels, Pierre Gasztowtt, Nato Green, Oliva Fay, Marianna Ferris, Dr. David Goldberg, Paul Wermer, John Gates, Mary Lanier, Dionne Miller, Geoffrey Nelson, Dr. Larry Wiviott, Gillian Gillet, Jouica Brooks, Edith Andaya, Jane Martin, Jane Sandoval, Linda Carter, Eileen Prendiville, Diana Ward, Beverly McCallister, Dr. Kira Eldemir, Lucy Johns, Maria Regalres, Deela Marie Reed, Lisa Cleis, James Tracy, Sue Hestor, Reiko Furuya, Roma Guy, Joseph Smooke, Mai-Mai Ho, Steve Woo, [unnamed speaker), Debra Calama, Manuel Flores, Bruce Hicks
ACTION: Informational only – no action taken
Adjournment: 1:10 p.m.
Adoptec: October 1, 2009
