Committee approves amendment to expand Graffiti Advisory Board and add district and property-owner representation

The Rules Committee advanced an ordinance amending Administrative Code section 5.17 to reconstitute the Graffiti Advisory Board and expand voting membership.

Debbie Doniola, speaking for Supervisor Erin Peskin's office, described the proposal as an expansion from 19 to 25 voting seats, including a designated seat for each supervisorial district and a substitution of a district attorney seat for the sheriff seat. The ordinance also adds representation from the San Francisco Unified School District for a student, teacher or academic member.

Supervisor (speaker 5) raised a concern that two seats described as representing businesses might not guarantee representation by property owners. He proposed an amendment to add language on page 2, line 7 specifying that of the two business representatives "one of whom must be a property owner." The amendment was seconded by Supervisor Tom Ammiano and discussed with Department of Public Works/board staff and Mohammad Nuru, who indicated the department would be comfortable with a requirement to ensure a property-owner voice given existing enforcement authority for property owners to clean or face citations.

Public commenters including Ken Cleveland (Building Owners and Managers Association) and Doug DuBahl (current non-voting member of the Graffiti Advisory Board) supported district representation and the explicit property-owner seat. Advocate Jose Luis Pabon asked the city to ensure fair youth representation if categories shift and offered assistance identifying youth advocates.

The committee moved the ordinance forward with the amendment clarifying that one of the business seats must be a property owner.

Next steps: the amended ordinance will be forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors with the committee’s recommendation.