Stop Crooked Transfer Of CCSF PUC Balboa Reservoir To Developers and Speculators

11/13 Stop Crooked Transfer Of CCSF PUC Balboa Reservoir To Developers and Speculators-Protect SF City College NOW!
Public Land Must Stay In Public Hands-Stop Privatization NOW!
Speak Out At SF PUC Meeting
Tuesday November 13, 2017 1:30 PM
SF City Hall Room 400

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and the developers, speculators and bankers that he represents want to turn over the SF PUC Balboa reservoir to developers despite the fact that CCSF students and staff use this property for critical parking and they are required to offer it first to the Community College. AFT 2121 and the CCSF Department Chair Council Union have both demanded that this transfer not take place.
The City Planning department which is controlled by the developers and top bureaucrats at CCSF have refused to have real hearings for students, staff and faculty of CCSF and are supporting this transfer which will also threaten the building of a Creative Arts center and also the parking that is needed by most of the working class students at CCSF. It will also create a massive traffic jam in the community with 1100 new units with even more massive traffic jams but these developers and Mayor Ed Lee don’t give a damn since they are making hundreds of millions on this theft of public property. Supporters of CCSF and against privatization of public land must stop this corrupt deal and speak out at the SF PUC meeting.
Come to the San Francisco PUC at SF City Hall on Tuesday November 13, 2017 at 1:30 PM

Sponsored By
United Public Workers For Action
http://www.upwa.info
Defend Public Education NOW!


Resolution of AFT 2121
Public Land Must Stay in Public Hands

Whereas, the SF Public Utilities Commission in close cooperation with the SF Planning Department and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development is proceeding with plans to build a private housing development on public land currently owned by the SF Public Utilities Commission; and

Whereas, the proposed housing development is located on the section of the Balboa Reservoir that CCSF has improved and leased from the PUC for decades; and

Whereas, we understand public land to be a sacred public trust from previous generations, whose future belongs to many generations into the future, and not a commodity to be sold; and

Whereas, despite claims of being “affordable” housing most, if not all, of the units in the proposed housing development will be unaffordable to most, if not all, CCSF students, classified staff and faculty; and

Whereas, written agreements state that if water were put into the reservoir the college would have air rights for parking above; and

Whereas, the proposed housing development will eliminate parking with no corresponding improvement of transit alternatives, thereby limiting access for students who do not have other viable options; and

Whereas, San Francisco public agencies must abide by both the spirit and the letter of State Surplus Land Statute 54222, which requires that any local agency disposing of surplus land shall send, prior to disposing of that property, a written offer to sell or lease the property … to any school district in whose jurisdiction the land is located; and

Whereas, CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible; and
. .
Whereas, the process for planning this development has been tightly controlled, in some cases secretive, and has routinely ignored community input; and

Whereas, the process for planning this development has involved pressure exerted on CCSF administration to serve the goals of other City agencies rather than the needs of City College; and

Whereas, accreditation standards require that CCSF administration defend the college from undue influence; and

Whereas, the current private plan inadequately addresses the desperate need for truly affordable housing in San Francisco; therefore

Be it resolved, we, AFT 2121, ask ​the SF PUC to transfer this public property to City College of San Francisco; and furthermore

Be it resolved, we will call on other unions and the San Francisco Labor Council to pass a resolution asking the SF PUC to transfer this public property to CCSF; and finally

Be it resolved that we urge the Board of Trustees and administration to advocate vigorously for the interests of the college and for the principle of public land for the public good.


PUC will meet to approve a major step in selling Reservoir public land to private interests:: Meeting is in City Hall Room 400 on Tuesday 11/14/2017 @ 1:30 pm.

REGULAR SESSION
10. Approve the terms and conditions of and authorize the General Manager to negotiate and execute an Exclusive Negotiation Agreement (ENA) with Reservoir Community Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company representing a joint venture comprised of Avalon Bay Communities and Bridge Housing Corporation (collectively, Developer), to develop mixed-income housing, parks and open space on approximately 17 acres of property located at Ocean and Phelan Avenues in San Francisco, commonly known as the “Balboa Reservoir.” The ENA states the process, and the terms and conditions upon which the City and County of San Francisco and the Developer will negotiate and seek to complete a purchase and sale agreement, quitclaim deed with reservation of certain easements, development agreement, declaration of use restrictions, and such other documents as are necessary to effectuate an approved development project for the Balboa Reservoir, subject to further approval by the SFPUC. (Carlin)

Exlusive Negotiating Agreement with Reservoir Community Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company representing a joint venture comprised of Avalon Bay Communities and Bridge Housing Corporation:

https://sfpuc.sharefile.com/d-s9797b11c39f464f9


WW On The Privatization of Laney and CCSF and Petrick's Play "The Fight For 52 cent" On The 1934 Minneapolis General Strike
https://soundcloud.com/workweek-radio/ww10-31-17-laney-as-ballpark-ccsf-and-petrick-play
WorkWeek on 10/31/17 looks at the privatization land grab at Laney college by the A's owner John J. Fisher and also the proposed property development at the SF PUC owned Balboa Reservoir. Both projects would take public land that is needed by the community colleges for their students, staff and faculty.
In Oakland, the owner of the Oakland A’s John J. Fisher is the son of Gap Inc. founders Donald Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. He is also the head of the K.I.P.P. Foundation which has been privatizing education with his charter chain Rocketship and last year he gave $50,000 to the California Charter School Association to support anti-labor candidates throughout the state. His baseball company announced in September that he wanted part of the Laney college property for a new stadium. We interview Laney professor Chris Weidenbach and CCSF professor Rick Baum and CCSF Music professor Madelein Mueller.
The trusteeship of City College of San Francisco took power out of the hands of the elected school board and ended up downsizing the college by tens of thousands of students and also selling off the Gough Street property. Now Mayor Ed Lee and developers along with Habitat for Humanity are seeking to grab land owned by the SF PUC and presently used by the college staff and students and turn it into high priced condos.
Earlier this month AFT 2121 called for the PUC Balboa Reservoir to be turned over to the college instead of property developers.

We Love CCSF We Love Free City

Thanks to our hard work, we have accreditation, Free City, and increasing enrollment!

We STILL need to fight againstDOWNSIZING our college!

Ensure the Performing Arts Education Center is completed!

SF voters approved bonds for the PAEC in 2001 and 2005. Robert Agrella unilaterally shut the project down when he became Special Trustee With Extraordinary Powers. CCSF administrators were dragging their feet. Now the elected Trustees have voted to re-start the PAEC, and Chancellor Mark Rocha says he’s “deeply committed” to it.

Completing the PAEC’s next phase would:

Keep CCSF’s promise to SF voters, creating an accessible home for community-based arts and showcasing Diego

Rivera mural;

Build enrollment by signaling a new day at City College, and by bringing thousands of people to the college for

events;

Replace the worn-out Diego Rivera Theater and support the talented students that come to City College;

Enable CCSF to offer training for good union jobs in theater, event staging and tech;

Bring in new resources. A similar center at Folsom Lake College brought in $2.75 million in ticket sales alone during

its first year; the PAEC could also be rented out for festivals and events.

Parking is not optional at a commuter school!

Many students, staff and faculty with hectic lives need to drive. But parking could soon become much scarcer and pricier, creating a major new barrier to rebuilding enrollment and new headaches for the neighbors. The corporate proposal for the Balboa Reservoir—so far, 1150 mainly unaffordable condos--would take away the lower parking lot below

the Multi- Use

Building. City agencies have been working on a blatantly inaccurate “Transportation Demand Management” (TDM) plan to drastically “right size” City College parking. Now only the SF Board of Supervisors can stop this plan from being rammed through!

Rafael Mandelman Supports Privatization Of SF PUC Property For Condo Developers Next To CCSF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqtINeY572I
Rafael Mandelman who is a member of the City College of San Francisco Community College Board of Trustees in an interview said he was in favor of the privatization of the SF PUC Balboa Reservoir for development of housing. He also defended the rigged process of community and staff imput in the privatization deal that SF Mayor Ed Lee is pushing for the developers. AFT 2121 has passed a resolution against the privatization of the PUC Balboa Reservoir and it's acquisition by CCSF for the College use. At present, large numbers of students and staff use the land for parking which they would loose if it was privatized. The SF PUC also was required to offer the property to CCSF before turning it over to developers but violated the law.
Mandelman is also running for San Francisco Supervisor.
Additional media:
https://youtu.be/SnDjK5RAkes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBw4H6C7IOQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmpjD7yUqsw&feature=youtu.be
https://youtu.be/Vkta2pWiHQM
https://youtu.be/E8Gpq8cSia4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P_ijeY68FQ
https://youtu.be/xZkMa1gZpTY
https://youtu.be/BEKPt3ecydA
http://youtu.be/L0gBPhNuT1E
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVfNjIUyb-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD8SM3v63ic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY1j3JnMYhE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_EqBRUESMk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNbuzVS-4yw
http://www.sfexaminer.com/ccsf-board-disagrees-future-balboa-reservoir-development/
Production of Labor Video Project
http://www.laborvideo.org


CCSF board disagrees over future of Balboa Reservoir development-Mandelman Wants Public Reservoir Land Turned Over To Developers Instead of Keeping it Public and For College

http://www.sfexaminer.com/ccsf-board-disagrees-future-balboa-reservoir-development/

The proposed Balboa Reservoir housing development would include up to 1,100 homes. (Daniel Kim/Special to S.F. Examiner)
By Laura Waxmann on October 30, 2017 1:00 am

City College of San Francisco trustees last week declined to take a stance against a proposed housing project on city-owned land adjacent to campus.


A resolution introduced by CCSF Trustee John Rizzo and Board of Trustees Vice President Brigitte Davila urging the college to claim ownership of the 17-acre Balboa Reservoir was tabled Thursday after failing to win sufficient support by the trustees. A housing development is planned for the site, which is owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.

The resolution called on the college to enter negotiations with the SFPUC on transferring its ownership of the lot, which provides over 1,000 parking spots.

In early November, the SFPUC is set to vote on entering an exclusive negotiation agreement with private developer AvalonBay Communities and the nonprofit Bridge Housing Corporation. The developers’ preliminary plans for the site include up to 1,100 homes, with up to 50 percent designated as affordable to low- and middle-income households.

Rizzo said the resolution wasn’t drafted to oppose developing the land into housing, but to ensure that any project destined for the site continue serving the needs of the college community.

“It was surplus city property — it has traditionally been CCSF land,” Rizzo said, adding that the college operated student housing for veterans and other campus facilities on the site in the mid-1940’s. “The City has told us they can’t specify any of the land for students or faculty, but as a college we could that if we owned the land.”

Over two dozen supporters spoke in favor of a transfer at Thursday’s board meeting, but were met with less enthusiasm by other trustees.

“We have expressed [our] priorities before,” Trustee Rafael Mandelman said, adding that Thursday’s resolution mirrored one passed by the board in July 2016.

In that resolution, the board originally called for the Balboa Reservoir development to include at least 50 percent permanently affordable housing, coordination with other projects slated in the area and a replacement parking structure to prevent a decline in student enrollment due to the loss of parking, among other priorities.

“We are hoping to see housing for some combination of faculty, staff and homeless students, as well as a parking solution that works,” said Mandelman, who is also running for District 8 supervisor.

The City is expected to give an update on the developers’ proposal at the next Board of Trustees meeting, scheduled for Nov. 9, according to CCSF spokesperson Jeff Hamilton.

Mandelman said CCSF leaders will know more about the details of the project after the presentation and will continue to push for the college’s priorities to shape the housing development, but that he supports the developers’ initial plans.

“If the choice is between a project that is 50/50 [affordable and market-rate] or 0 percent both because no housing gets built, then I’m on the side of 50 percent affordable,” he said.

Other trustees echoed that sentiment.

“I think that right now, I and many of my colleagues are optimistic that the developers … incorporated a lot of the concerns that the [board] had articulated in a resolution that we passed last July,” Trustee Tom Temprano said.

Still, the resolution discussed Thursday shed light on the ongoing controversy surrounding the project. More than 30 students and staff who attended the hearing questioned the housing project’s affordability and decried a potential loss of student parking spaces.

“There are seven other AvalonBay developments in San Francisco. Their rents hit up to $7,000 a month per unit,” CCSF student Angie Quinn said. “These units are not being built for almost anyone in this room.”

During public comment, staff presented CCSF Chancellor Mark Rocha with a symbolic shovel and pressed the chancellor to move on the construction of a voter-approved Arts and Education Center, slated to rise on the eastern portion of the reservoir. Supporters of the center expressed concerns that the housing development could interfere with its construction plans.

Plans for the center date back decades but were suspended when CCSF nearly lost its accreditation in 2012. In February, the board voted to revive the project and build the center in phases.

CCSF Trustees Hire President With Anti-Labor Anti-Student Record

Bankrupt CCSF Board picks former Pasadena City College president as next chancellor

"President Rocha impeded student success, violated student and faculty trust, and, in general, brought about destructive rather than constructive change at the college while consistently ignoring the concerns of students, staff and faculty members at Pasadena City College,said Rose."
http://www.sfexaminer.com/ccsf-picks-former-pasadena-city-college-president-next-chancellor/

Mark Rocha is expected to be named City College of San Francisco’s next chancellor. (Left: Ekevara Kitpowsong/Special to S.F. Examiner; Right: Courtesy photo)
By Michael Barba on June 14, 2017 12:06 pm



City College of San Francisco has chosen the former president of Pasadena City College and a New York bureaucrat as the top candidate for chancellor, the San Francisco Examiner has learned.

Mark Rocha is expected to inherit the top leadership role July 1 at a relatively stable time for City College, which retained its accreditation for another seven years in January and will start receiving city funding for free tuition beginning next semester.

“We are impressed with Dr. Rocha’s qualifications and experience in higher education,” Board of Trustees President Thea Selby said in a statement. “Throughout the open forums and search process, Dr. Rocha consistently received the highest rankings from our constituency groups, particularly our students.”The decision is one of several major leadership changes coming to the college.

On Wednesday, CCSF spokesperson Jeff Hamilton confirmed that Vice Chancellor Ron Gerhard and Police Chief Andre Barnes plan to retire next month when Interim Chancellor Susan Lamb leaves.

The Board of Trustees chose Rocha despite unflattering reports on his tenure at Pasadena City College that culminated in his retirement amid controversy nearly three years ago, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Faculty and students there reportedly took votes of no confidence in Rocha for his management style and decision to cancel a winter session without consulting them, raising concern for the faculty union at City College.

“AFT 2121 is concerned about the history of the no confidence votes,” faculty union President Tim Killikelly said in a text message. “There were terrible decisions on Mark Rocha’s part that led to those votes. If he is selected, hearing and respecting student and faculty voices must be a top priority.”

“We received information from all different constituents who were involved in that particular case, and they all spoke of him highly,” Selby said. “It was a difficult decision that he had to make.”
Rocha reportedly threatened to sue Pasadena City College after a trustee made disparaging remarks about him in news articles, leading to his decision to leave the college.

“We investigated it thoroughly,” Selby said. “We looked into that very carefully and found that that is not true.”

Rocha is expected to become the sixth interim or permanent chancellor to lead City College since 2012, when its accreditation was first in jeopardy.

“One thing we need is some stability and one of the first things he said in his interview with us is he will be here for the long-haul,” Selby said. “He thinks it takes about 10 years to make [and implement] a strategy.”

The Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote on his contract June 22, finalizing the decision ahead of Lamb’s departure.

Rocha was most recently a senior program manager with the New York Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, where he led a program to repair thousands of homes damaged during Hurricane Sandy.

Rocha also held positions as president of West Los Angeles College and as tenured faculty and associate dean at California State University Northridge. He has a Ph.D. in English from University of Southern California.

Rocha declined to comment through a spokesperson until his contract is approved.

Timeline of events and controversy at Pasadena City College:

June 2010: Rocha is hired as president at Pasadena City College.

April 2013: Faculty reportedly take a vote of no confidence in Rocha over issues with community input.

May 2014: Controversy erupts over a decision to disinvite screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, a gay activist, as commencement speaker after a sex video emerged. Rocha is publically blamed.

May 2014: Rocha hires an attorney for potential legal action against Pasadena City College for allegedly leaking information to the media and defamation related to the Black controversy.

July 2014: In mediation with Pasadena school officials, Rocha decides to leave the college.

August 2014: After meeting with school officials twice in closed session to negotiate a severance package, a nonprofit called Californians Aware raises potential Brown Act violations.

April 2015: A Los Angeles Superior Court judge voids Rocha’s $400,000 severance package, finding that Pasadena City College violated open meeting laws when it negotiated the agreement in closed session without disclosing enough information to the public.

July 2015: Rocha reportedly keeps his severance package through a second agreement.

Source: Los Angeles Superior Court filings, news reports


Pasadena City College president is leaving after rocky tenure
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-pcc-president-20140808-story.html
The controversial president of Pasadena City College will retire at the end of the month, officials announced Thursday.

Mark W. Rocha will step down from his nearly $250,000-a-year job at the end of August, according to a statement from the college. The trustees soon will hire an interim president, according to the statement from spokeswoman Valerie Wardlaw.

"It's time for me to spend more time with my family and return to my passion for teaching and writing," Rocha said in a statement.

He did not return a call seeking comment.

Rocha has been heavily criticized by some staff, who say he has ignored the school's policy of consulting faculty on major decisions. Faculty leaders took two votes expressing no confidence in Rocha and were considering a third.

"There's always turmoil," said Board of Trustees President Anthony Fellow in a brief interview earlier this year.

In a statement, Fellow said the board accepted Rocha's decision "with profound gratitude for his leadership over the past four years."

Rocha and the trustees have also been criticized for canceling winter session two years ago. Students said that they would have a harder time earning credits to graduate or transfer without the six-week courses.

During Rocha's tenure, full-time enrollment at the two-year college, long considered one of the state's finest, dropped by nearly 13%, according to state statistics. Enrollment in California community colleges fell by nearly 10% during the same period.

Pasadena City College leadership also came under fire for inviting, and then uninviting, Oscar-winning alumnus Dustin Lance Black as commencement speaker. The invitation was rescinded over concerns about an illegally obtained sex video featuring the screenwriter, but trustees backed off and Black spoke at graduation.

In an anonymous online survey conducted by some faculty, the majority of respondents said Rocha had done a poor job leading the school.

"Fascist approach to leadership," one wrote. "Rocha is destroying PCC," said another.

jason.song [at] latimes.com

Twitter: @latjasonsong


Faculty overwhelmingly has no confidence in administration

http://www.pcccourier.com/news/adhocnoconfidence.html
Posted on March 14, 2013 by Anthony Richetts in News with 10 Comments
More than 90 percent of faculty has no confidence in the administration of PCC President Mark Rocha, according to a vote presented by an Ad Hoc Faculty Committee to the Board of Trustees on March 13.


The committee said a crisis of leadership had engulfed the college.

Five members of the ad hoc committee, instructors Patricia Rose, Melissa Michelson, Karen Carlisi, Jill O’Hora and Mary-Erin Crook presented the full results of the committee’s February faculty-wide poll during the public comment section of the meeting.

According to their statement, 213 full-time, active faculty participated in the vote. Of the 204 valid ballots received, 188 have no confidence in the administration, with only 16 supporting the administration.

Three of the committee members presenting the results to the Board read an official statement from the committee.

“This vote underscores the fact that 92 percent of full-time voting faculty agree, amongst other things, that President Rocha impeded student success, violated student and faculty trust, and, in general, brought about destructive rather than constructive change at the college while consistently ignoring the concerns of students, staff and faculty members at Pasadena City College,†said Rose.

Carlisi said the vote underscored major problems on campus.

“Today at PCC we have a superintendent-president and an administration whose style of leadership ignores the very principles of reasoned judgment, respectful collaboration, and shared values that further a healthy, productive community college,†said Carlisi. “The vote of no confidence exposes the deep fissures in the foundation of PCC, which have been caused by President Rocha and his administration.

Addressing the Board, O’Hora said it could take the college years to recover from the damage done.

“Do you, the Board of Trustees, really want this kind of destructive legacy on your hands?Hora asked. Can you really afford to ignore the voices of both students and 92 percent of the faculty voting a position of no confidence in President Rocha?

We expect that you will listen to and act upon this crisis of leadership so that PCC can start moving forward.

The audience reacted to the comments with roaring applause, while members of the Board and President Rocha sat with a look of discontent as they listened to over an hour of public comments attacking the college president and its administration.

The members of the committee said in an interview after the presentation that the purpose of their poll was to inform the public and to help persuade the board to take action.

“This was our main goal. The point was to make [the results] public and get it out to the community,†said O’Hora. “This will hopefully put pressure on the board and get them to act, which they haven’t been doing.

Michelson was satisfied with the outcome of the poll.

There were so many faculty involved, not just us, and they came together and supported each other. Some of us may dissolve [from the committee], some of us may come back, and there might be new faculty to support a vote of no confidence against the board if necessary, said Michelson.But for now the task we took on is now finished.