Building Inspection Commission
BUILDING INSPECTION COMMISSION (BIC)
Department of Building Inspection (DBI)
SPECIAL MEETING
Monday, February 12, 2007 at 9:00 a.m.
City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 400
Aired Live on SFGTV Channel 78
ADOPTED APRIL 2, 2007
MINUTES
The regular meeting of the Building Inspection Commission was called to order at 9:03 a.m. by President Walker.
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Call to Order and Roll Call – Roll call was taken and a quorum was certified. |
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COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENTS: |
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Debra Walker, President Criss Romero, Commissioner |
Frank Lee, Vice-President |
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Ann Aherne, Commission Secretary |
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D.B.I. REPRESENTATIVES: |
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Amy Lee, Acting Director Carla Johnson, Acting Deputy Director Wing Lau, Deputy Director Taras Madison, Chief Administrative Officer Bill Strawn, Communications Manager
Sonya Harris, Secretary |
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CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE REPRESENTATIVES: |
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CLOSED SESSION (ACTION ITEM) Public Employee Appointment – Director of the Department of Building Inspection. a. Public Comment on all matters pertaining to the Closed Session.
There was no public comment on this item. b. Possible action to convene a Closed Session.
Comissioner Theriault made a motion, seconded by Vice-President Lee, that the Commission convene in Closed Session. (Commissioners Grubb and Sattary were not present for the Closed Session) RESOLUTION NO. BIC 017-07 The Commission went into Closed Session at 9:05 am.
c. CLOSED SESSION: Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957(b)(1) and the San Francisco Administrative Code Section 67.10(b). d. Reconvene in Open Session to vote on whether to disclose any or all discussions held in Closed Session (Administrative Code Section 67.10(b).
The Commission reconvened in Open Session at 9:07 am.
Commissioner Theriault made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Murphy, that the Commission disclosed a decision made in the Closed Session.
RESOLUTION NO. BIC 018-07
President Walker announced that the Commission had made a unanimous choice for Director of the Department of Building Inspector, Mr. Isam Hasenin. President Walker welcomed and thanked Mayor Newsom and President of the Board of Supervisors Aaron Peskin for their presence at the meeting and for their participation in the process of hiring a Director.
Mayor Newsom said that he appreciated the Commission’s quick decision in this very exhaustive process in looking for the proverbial best and brightest candidate to serve as Director of DBI. Mayor Newsom said that the Department was fortunate to have the leadership of Amy Lee throughout a very difficult time in the Department and thanked her for her commitment and professionalism. Mayor Newsom stated that he was pleased about the unanimity of the final decision. Mayor Newsom said that Mr. Hasenin was getting a Department that was much better than it was a year or two ago and stated that he had great expectation and confidence that this Department could once again maintain the status of a world class department. Mayor Newsom said that at the end of the day it is about integrity, transparency, treating people equally and fairly and not allowing people with the loudest voices to dominate. Mayor Newsom said that he would be supporting Mr. Hasenin through the budget process in terms of upgrading the technology and tools to continue the collaboration between Street Mapping, DPW, the Fire Department and various agencies that need a greater cohesiveness and connection to the planning process and zoning process. Mayor Newsom said that Planning Director Dean Macris was looking forward to working closely with Mr. Hasenin. Mayor Newsom congratulated Mr. Hasenin on his appointment.
Board President Aaron Peskin said that the BIC was unique insofar as there are two appointing bodies, the Mayor and the Board President and said that the last two years have shown unprecedented cooperation between the two as it relates to this Commission. President Peskin said that the unanimity of this choice shows that this is not a political body and stated that the Commission was moving DBI forward. President Peskin thanked Amy Lee for leading the Department through a period of transition that has been very good for the Department and its staff. President Peskin welcomed Mr. Hasenin to San Francisco. President Peskin thanked President Walker for presiding over this search without rankling anybody’s emotions or getting anybody upset.
Mr. Isam Hasenin thanked Mayor Newsom and President Peskin for their kind words and said that he thought he understood the mandate. Mr. Hasenin said that he appreciated the support that he had gotten from everyone and stated that he agreed that DBI should not be a political department. Mr. Hasenin said that he was shooting for a Department that would be responsive, transparent, treat all customers with fairness and have all information available for all staff and a process that is streamlined and simple enough that anybody can navigate. Mr. Hasenin said that he wanted DBI to be accountable at all levels of the organization with high ethical standards starting with the Director, the Commission and the rest of the staff. Mr. Hasenin thanked the Commission for the opportunity to serve as Director of the Department of Building Inspection.
Acting Director Amy Lee thanked Supervisor Aaron Peskin and Mayor Newsom for their kind words and for acknowledging her leadership. Ms. Lee said that all DBI staff came together through a tough period to make this Department calm and embracing and to stay on track to make a lot of improvements that will come to fruition in the next couple of years.
Vice-President Lee said that two years ago he was one of only two of the Commissioners still on the BIC and said that things were very different then. Vice-President Lee said that the Commission had Amy Lee and staff to thank for making this Department move toward respectability and public trust. Vice-President Lee urged the employees to give the new Director a try, trust him and have him lead DBI into the next decade. Vice-President Lee wished Mr. Hasenin good luck and welcomed him on board.
Commissioner Murphy said that the Commission had interviewed eight very bright people, but said that Mr. Hasenin was definitely the smartest. Commissioner Murphy thanked Mayor Newsom for his campaign promise to clean up this Department and get a new Director. Commissioner Murphy said that he thought that for the first time in quite a while the employees are going to be able to look to someone for leadership and said that would be great for the whole Department.
Commissioner Theriault said that Mr. Hasenin had bitten off quite a bit and said that he wanted to express the Commission’s support for the challenges that will be coming
Commissioner Grubb said that this process was emblematic of what the City can do as the Commission had a good working relationship with the Mayor’s Office and with the Board of Supervisors through President Peskin. Commissioner Grubb said that he thought that the Commission and the new Director were off to a good start and said that he wanted to thank everyone who had made all of this possible.
Commissioner Romero said that he thought that DBI had exhibited a lot of stability even though there had been some destabilizing forces within the Department. Commissioner Romero said that he thought that there were a lot of things that would be discovered as the years progress, but said that they are being corrected and stabilized through the leadership of Amy Lee and her Deputies. Commissioner Romero stated that he thought people in the Department would be very cooperative and said that Mr. Hasenin was fortunate to have the staff that is working at DBI.
Commissioner Sattary welcomed Mr. Hasenin and said that the Commission was very glad to have him in San Francisco. Commissioner Sattary stated that Mr. Hasenin was coming to a City where the Building Department has gone through major transition which would continue, but said that San Francisco was also very exciting. Commissioner Sattary said that San Francisco is a City where there is a vitality in the building industry and said that Mr. Hasenin would be in a key position to lead this. Commissioner Sattary urged Mr. Hasenin to count on the Commission to help in any way possible.
President Walker said that this really was an amazing process especially because of having the support of the Mayor’s Office, the Mayor the President of the Board of Supervisors and the entire Board of Supervisors on these issues of creating transparency. President Walker stated that she was excited about working more with Planning. President Walker thanked the Management of the Department for pulling the Department forward and said that it was now time to move on.
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Presidents Announcements
Acting Director Lee said that the Department was having a Manager’s meeting where Mr. Hasenin would get a chance to meet all of the Managers.
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Public Comment: The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.
There was no public comment.
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Report, discussion and possible action on the proposed budget of the Department of Building Inspection for fiscal year 2007/2008. [Acting Director Amy Lee & Chief Administrative Officer Taras Madison]
Acting Director Lee stated that this would be the last presentation of the budget to the Commission and then the budget would move to the Mayor’s Office and Board of Supervisors. Ms. Lee said that several changes would take place after submittal and that the Department would keep the BIC informed about those changes. Ms. Lee thanked Taras Madison and Diane Lim for their work on the budget and asked Taras to report to the BIC.
Ms. Madison said that the Department’s revenues are projected to go down because there is a slow up in large scale projects. Ms. Madison spoke about the five year revenue history and stated that most of the Departments revenues are consistent, but said that there are two revenues, building permits and plan checking, that comprise about 55% of DBI’s revenues. Ms. Madison said the revenues are down and recommended a conservative approach to this budget. Ms. Madison stated that the Department would need between $5M - $8M to balance the funds. Ms. Madison said that the one good thing about the Department’s expenditures is that there are not a lot of ongoing costs, but there are primarily one-time expenses. Other highlights of the budget discussion included:
Acting Director Lee said that the Department would seek legal clarity regarding the increase in rent on the budget as it may not be appropriate for DBI customers, permit holders, to be charged a surcharge for the debt service in order to pay the building off and then to be charged again through the Department’s fees.
Commissioner Grubb made a motion, seconded by Vice-President Lee, that the Department submit the most conservative budget presented regarding both revenues and expenditures. The motion carried unanimously.
RESOLUTION NO. BIC 019-07
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Discussion and possible action to create a subcommittee to review concerns regarding the construction policies and processes of tall building construction. [Commissioner Vahid Sattary]
Commissioner Sattary said that because there was only one week between BIC meetings he had not had time to complete the proposal for this committee. Commissioner Sattary stated that he had a number of very constructive discussions and meetings with several engineers and with commissioners from the BIC and the Planning Commission. Commissioner Sattary said that everyone is very supportive of this issue and said that the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEONC) would be completing its review of AB83 by the end of February. Commissioner Sattary said that he was hoping to have the subcommittee working by the first week of March to coincide with the release of that document. Commissioner Sattary said that the subcommittee was planning to take that document and review it as the focus would be on building safety. Commissioner Sattary said that he would keep the Commission informed on this issue.
Acting Director Amy Lee said that she wanted the Commission to know that the Department has issued letters to some high rise building contractors that the Department is declining to approve permits until the AB is complete. President Walker said that the intent of this administrative bulletin is to be able to establish criteria that everybody knows going in so that certain things can happen sooner in the evaluation of these buildings. President Walker said that this would be a future agenda item.
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Commissioner’s Questions and Matters. a. Inquiries to Staff. At this time, Commissioners may make inquiries to staff regarding various documents, policies, practices, and procedures, which are of interest to the Commission.
b. Future Meetings/Agendas. At this time, the Commission may discuss and take action to set the date of a Special Meeting and/or determine those items that could be placed on the agenda of the next meeting and other future meetings of the Building Inspection Commission.
President Walker said that she had asked Secretary Aherne to work with the Planning Commission Secretary Linda Avery to set up a Joint Meeting on March 29th to begin at 5:00 or 5:30 p.m. President Walker said that the meeting would focus on the different process issues that came up at the first meeting and working on a more concentrated effort on the tall building procedures and policies.
Vice-President Lee announced that he would be officially sworn in for his second term on Thursday at 5:00 p.m. and asked his fellow Commissioners and staff to join him.
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Public Comment: The BIC will take public comment on matters within the Commission’s jurisdiction that are not part of this agenda.
There was no public comment.
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Adjournment.
Commissioner Romero made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Murphy, that the meeting be adjourned. The motion carried unanimously.
RESOLUTION NO. BIC 020-07
The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 a.m. Respectfully submitted,
_______________________ Ann Marie Aherne |
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