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Rules Committee forwards ordinance to create American Indian Cultural District
Summary
The San Francisco Rules Committee voted March 30, 2020, to forward an ordinance that would establish an American Indian Cultural District in parts of the Mission and Mission Dolores neighborhoods to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on April 7, 2020. The sponsor said the district would help preserve cultural sites and unlock city funds for the American Indian community during the COVID-19 emergency.
Supervisor Hillary Ronan, chair of the Rules Committee, moved on March 30, 2020, to forward an ordinance to establish an American Indian Cultural District to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on April 7, 2020. The committee met remotely under public-health directives related to COVID-19, and the clerk read remote-participation and public-comment procedures.
Ronan introduced the legislation as the city's first American Indian Cultural District, saying cultural districts "are one of the most important tools we have as a city to strengthen the cultural identities of neighborhoods and communities that face the pressures of gentrification and displacement." She described the proposed district as situated within the Mission District and Mission Dolores, spanning Supervisorial Districts 8 and 9, "from Sanchez to Folsom," and said it contains a concentration of historical sites and Native American services.
Ronan cited existing organizations and sites within the proposed area, naming the Native American Health Center (160 Cap Street), Friendship House Association of American Indians (56 Julian Street), Indian-education programs at San Sanchez Elementary School, and the International Indian Treaty Council (2940 Sixteenth Street), and she noted Mission Dolores as a burial site for California Native Americans. She said the Cultural District would provide "a recognized home base for the American Indian community of San Francisco" and would help ensure the community's history and contributions are not forgotten.
Ronan told the committee that, because of the public-health emergency, establishing the district quickly is urgent: the community is "waiting to access critical funds that haven't been available to the Cultural District, but that we can't distribute until the Cultural District is officially formed." She said she intends to introduce an amendment in the coming months to expand the district's boundaries, but that advancing the original proposed boundaries now would allow the city to distribute resources without the delay an amendment could cause.
The clerk, Victor Young, explained public-comment procedures for the remote meeting and noted that items acted on that day would appear on the Board's April 7 agenda. Ronan opened public comment for this item; staff checked the queue and reported there was no public comment.
Following discussion, Ronan moved to forward the ordinance to the full Board with a committee recommendation. A roll call was taken and the clerk reported the motion passes; the transcript does not include a detailed vote tally. The committee adjourned following completion of the agenda.
The ordinance, as read, would amend the Administrative Code to establish the American Indian Cultural District and require the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development to submit written reports and recommendations describing the district's cultural attributes and proposing strategies to acknowledge and preserve the district's cultural legacy. The Rules Committee's action refers the ordinance to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on April 7, 2020.
