Remarks by Elizabeth Macdonald
35 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 2
- Play at 2:25:28
“Hi. Yes, I would like to make a disclosure that I know staff member Patrick Grace in a professional capacity. Patrick was a student of mine when I was a professor at UC. Berkeley and we worked closely together both in classes and in other capacities. I do not believe that this relationship will impair my judgment or affect my ability to consider this item impartially. Thank you.”
Planning Commission · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 3:03:47
“Yes, I would just like also to say that this project has my complete support coming from a terrible legacy and a history of hanging on and then coming to this. It's a wonderful, wonderful story and I particularly like the way that this project as it's proposed will help really So I say reintegrate Freedom West into the neighborhood, into Hays Valley, into larger San Francisco, connect it to so much of what's been happening in the Hays Valley community. And this will now be a part of it, and it will have its own clear identity and wonderful public open spaces that will contribute to the…”
Planning Commission · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 3:30:45
“Yes, so I'd just like to say that, you know, in general, my feeling is that the kind of design requirements we have in regulations related to rear yard setbacks and even the light wells are actually really important in general, and they're there for an important purpose. However, under the circumstances of this particular project, everything that's been going through and the odd configuration of the whole block that you mentioned in the presentation, and whatnot around it, that my take on this project is that I am supportive of it. And I appreciate everything that you've gone through to get…”
Planning Commission · Sep 3, 2026
- Play at 7:46
“Thank you, President Campbell. And I am honored to have been nominated by Board of Supervisors President Mendelman for this position. I come to it from a long career in various aspects of planning. The bulk of my career was spent at UC Berkeley as a professor of city and regional planning. My research has always been very much practice-oriented, looking particularly at streets and the public realm. I'm passionate about the opportunities in cities to create a really vibrant public realm that works really well for everyone. in concert with all the other goals that the community has and the…”
Planning Commission · Jul 30, 2026
- Play at 40:24
“So I have a question, hopefully a clarification. Under the way it would be where you say it could be up to 80 feet in height, does that mean that it could be 80 feet off the ground? So it could be high up on a building?”
Planning Commission · Jul 30, 2026
- Play at 41:10
“OK, thank you. So is it correct to assume that the idea is that probably a lot of these signs will actually be up high on buildings, maybe oriented towards the freeways or points of view that are up high? Just trying to understand what their thinking is here.”
Planning Commission · Jul 30, 2026
- Play at 53:11
“Hi. So converting vacant office buildings to residential will bring so much needed vitality to parts of San Francisco. It's a really exciting thing that we're doing. And I see the rationales for revising the planning regulations to take into account the existing conditions of commercial buildings that could be converted to residential. It makes so much sense to do that, and particularly to remove the really onerous regulations that exist. I do have one concern, and maybe it's really a question. about the interface between those converted buildings and the ground floor public realm. The…”
Planning Commission · Jul 30, 2026
- Play at 2:02:56
“Hi. So I would just like to say that I agree with all of the comments that my fellow commissioners have said. I'm in huge support of this project. There's so many good things about it. I won't reiterate everything that everybody's already said, but it's also true. And I have a maybe a special interest in this project. Because way back when, some years before, I worked with my students. We did a planning and design project for this part of the city and got to know it well and work with some folks at the city at that time. And I really enjoy seeing what is in the plan that was developed and how…”
Planning Commission · Jul 30, 2026
- Play at 2:21:42
“Hi, so thank you for that presentation. And development impact fees really contribute so much to creating whole neighborhoods in this city, affordable housing, the public realm amenities, community open spaces, and the like. So I really commend the staff on the great work that was done to prepare this comprehensive financial report. on what has been collected and how it's been utilized to meet community goals. And I really liked what you did in the presentation here today, where you shared some of the images of what's actually been done. Because this is the heart of the matter. This is what…”
Planning Commission · Jul 30, 2026
- Play at 2:23:19
“Wonderful. Thank you very much. Commissioner Koppel.”
Planning Commission · Jul 30, 2026