Port Commission Gains Small Business Voice, Labor Veteran as Waterfront Decisions Loom

The San Francisco Rules Committee moved swiftly through a compact agenda Monday, seating two new Port Commissioners who will help steer decisions on the city's aging seawall and billions in waterfront assets, while advancing a new entertainment zone for Chestnut Street merchants in the Marina.

• Café owner Rich Lee and former ILWU president William Adams win Port Commission seats as the panel prepares for major seawall and waterfront investment decisions

• Chestnut Street Entertainment Zone clears committee with citywide code cleanup, building on the model that drew 30,000 to the Fillmore Jazz Festival

• Vanessa Hartigan's Port Commission appointment delayed after nominee fails to appear; item continued to the call of the chair

• Tenderloin restaurateur Azalina Eusope reappointed to Sanitation and Streets Commission through 2030

New Commissioners Signal Push for Southern Waterfront Investment

Why it matters: The Port Commission oversees San Francisco's entire seven-mile waterfront — including a seawall more than 100 years old, Fisherman's Wharf renovation, the Ferry Building, the Giants development project, Pier 27 cruise operations, and more than 500 commercial leases. Two of the three nominees seated Monday flagged the underinvested southern waterfront as a priority, signaling a potential shift in how the commission allocates resources.

Where things stand: Rich Lee, a Port Commission nominee and Mission Bay-based small business owner who operates five cafés and is opening a sixth, told the committee he commuted from San Jose for three years before he could afford to live in San Francisco. Asked by Chair Shamann Walton how the port can thrive across its full footprint, Lee was direct about the funding imbalance.

"I know that a lot of funding usually drifts up north. There's a lot of hidden potential — especially on the southern waterfront, there's a lot of untapped potential," said Lee.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, whose District 8 includes Lee's café at 17th and Church, vouched for him as someone who understands the grind of small business ownership.

"I've seen the trials and tribulations that have happened at that location. He's definitely had the story of a lot of small business owners in San Francisco with broken windows and challenging street conditions and has persevered through all of that," Mandelman said.

William Adams, who has served on the Port Commission since 2012 and previously led the International Longshore and Warehouse Union as its International President, delivered expansive testimony spanning the port's history and operations. He framed San Francisco's port as fundamentally different from cargo-driven operations elsewhere.

"San Francisco has its own vision. It's unique. It's a boutique port," Adams said, contrasting it with Oakland, Los Angeles, and Long Beach.

He underscored the urgency of infrastructure investment:

"The first seawall was 1867. This seawall is over 100 years old. Our second seawall started in 1879 and we finished it in 1916. So we definitely need the historical upgrades."

Adams also stressed his independence, noting he has no conflicts of interest and has never recused himself from a vote in 13 years.

"Muhammad Ali said it best. Service to others is the rent you pay for your room on Earth. I'm not running for anything. It's an honor and a privilege to serve as a commissioner," Adams said.

Vice Chair Stephen Sherrill praised both nominees and acknowledged the geographic tension.

"I represent a lot of the northern waterfront, though very little of the port, as it turns out, in District 2. But the clarity that you two have, the different experience that you two have — I think both of you mentioned the southern waterfront, which is incredibly important," Sherrill said.

A general manager at Spro, Lee's café company, spoke during public comment in support, praising Lee's integrity and ability to communicate with people from diverse perspectives.

Decisions: Lee and Adams were both approved 3-0 (For: Walton, Sherrill, Mandelman; Against: none; Absent: none) and forwarded to the full Board of Supervisors as committee reports. Vanessa Hartigan, the third Port Commission nominee, was not present; her appointment was continued to the call of the chair on a 3-0 vote, leaving one seat in limbo.

What's next: Lee's and Adams's appointments head to the full Board, expected on the July 14 agenda.

Chestnut Street Entertainment Zone Advances With Citywide Code Fix

The basics: The committee approved an ordinance (File 260686) creating a new entertainment zone on Chestnut Street from Divisadero to Fillmore, including portions of Steiner, Pierce, and Scott streets. Entertainment zones streamline permitting for street activations — closures, outdoor dining, live music — giving small businesses more flexibility to activate commercial corridors.

Why it matters: San Francisco has been expanding entertainment zones as an economic development tool, and the results are drawing attention. Vice Chair Stephen Sherrill, the bill's sponsor, pointed to the Fillmore Jazz Festival as proof of concept.

"We've seen the success of entertainment zones around the city — just this past weekend, the Fillmore Jazz Festival, which had estimated 30,000 people on Saturday, which is pretty amazing," Sherrill said.

The ordinance also included cleanup amendments requested by the City Attorney updating transportation code cross-references across all existing entertainment zones. The changes align citations with a recently passed street closure streamlining ordinance, switching references from Section 6.6/6.16 to Article 6. Deputy City Attorney Brad Rusty confirmed the amendments correct citations for all previously approved zones and noted pending ordinances will be fixed when they reach committee.

Decisions: The motion to amend and forward passed 3-0 (For: Walton, Sherrill, Mandelman; Against: none; Absent: none). No public comment was received. The item heads to the full Board as a committee report.

Tenderloin Restaurateur Stays on Streets Commission

The committee unanimously approved the reappointment of Azalina Eusope to the Sanitation and Streets Commission through July 2030. Eusope, a 25-year San Francisco resident, operates a restaurant in the Tenderloin and lives in Bayview — giving her ground-level perspective on street conditions in two of the city's most challenging neighborhoods.

"My family has been street food vendors for five generations. Streets have always been where people gather, where communities connect and where cultures are shared," Eusope said.

She connected her work on the commission to her business:

"As a restaurant owner, I know my guests' experience starts long before they sit down for dinner. It starts with a walk down the block, the feeling of the neighborhood and whether people feel welcome."

The reappointment passed 3-0 and was forwarded to the full Board.

Minor Items

• Vanessa Hartigan's Port Commission appointment (File 260766) was continued to the call of the chair after the nominee did not attend. The committee voted 3-0 to postpone.

• Affordable Grocery Fund ordinance (File 260694), an initiative that would create a fund to improve grocery access in underserved neighborhoods, was listed under the 30-Day Rule and not discussed.

• Lower Haight Entertainment Zone ordinance (File 260708) was also listed under the 30-Day Rule and not discussed, though it would extend the entertainment zone model to another commercial corridor.

• Clerk Victor Young corrected that items forwarded from this meeting would appear on the July 14 Board of Supervisors agenda, not July 13.