police enforcement issue, but that will not be the case with this restaurant. >> thank you. >> i cannot offer too much more than anyone else has. i am in the process of starting an italian when men's club, and many members are in their 60's -- italian women's club, and many members are in their 60's or 70's. it is part of the culture and part of what we should be supporting in north beach, and the restaurant is willing to meet in the middle, and they are not looking for it to be external. they are offering what they can to do what they would like while still supporting as many people as they can who may or may not

agree. i am in support of this. i think it is really important. it is something san francisco needs to hold on to. it keeps bringing vibrant young people to support whatever culture it maybe. >> is there additional public comment on this item? if not, public comment is closed. i think the restaurant is probably on the plaza, although there has been some there, but not much. this is a san francisco tradition that goes back to my youth.

what happened in those instances, usually they had a quiet piano instead a los speakers. we have the chorus that is internationally known. what happened years ago -- those of you that remember will remember the fact that audience members who were in the opera chorus would get up and do a duet, so if you look at

conditions of approval, it states one electronically amplified singer. i would like it change to change the word singer to microphone. one of electrically modified microphone rather than singer, because i do not think the sound that will come out is going to be that much greater, but i would not like to see a technical violation should someone starts to join in a duet. is that ok with you?

>> i am very supportive of this. their business is a great business. they have found old murals. there is a beautiful coliseum mural, and i think they have done a great job of making their, she -- hommage to italy. you know they are in the restaurant business. they are real italians from italy, and they are staples of the community. i was hoping they would bring the opera singer with them. i have heard him sing, and he is quite good. i think it is why north beach was ranked the no. 1 neighborhood in the u.s. what makes san francisco so neat is the pocket neighborhoods

often represent all the cultures around the world, and that is what is so special about north beach and about what this project now offers us. we do not have an italian opera in san francisco, and this is a great way for the casual visitor to engage, because not all are going to go to the opera house. there is a church on the corner. there is an italian pottery place, a church. it is not even possible to turn that locked into a nightclub if you wanted soup. i am going to make a motion is to approve with the change to amplify the microphone and then leave it at that. if other conditions have particular tweaks, but i think this is the direction the city

ought to be going in, the direction of art and culture and literature, and we should be supporting those we know will do it responsibly. >> second. >> thank you. i have to admit i am not 100% sicilian, but i am 100% italian. this has tons of support, and it is a little disquieting to see some restaurants closing, so we have the support businesses that are doing well. the singer's name is luka, which should be very popular here, but i had a similar experience in savannah, where we had a singer singing with accompaniments. he was singing sinatra, and he had it 3-recorded, and they cut

off the sound track, and he would sing sinatra. trying to sing that of the apollo is really difficult. i think it is more interesting -- trying to sing that acapella is really difficult. as think it is more interested with a pre-record and track. it is a great thing, and i think it would really help, and i am looking forward to hearing him sing. comissioner sugaya: i am in support of it. i was waiting for my brown paper envelopes to come from the seville to -- offices zillions. i never got close, so i've -- come from the civilians -- sicilians. i never got that, so i might vote against it.

i thought we were talking about amplified microphones? can we get a prescription? >> it does say electronically- modified singing and accompaniments. >> is that the way it was meant to be? >> the singer would have a microphone. >> people who have testified might find there is a little bit of an undercurrent of blame being placed on one of parent neighborhood organization that voiced some concern about this turning into a nightclub. there has been a characterization that is negative, but there is some background that i think people

should understand, and characterization of operators as being trustworthy, did people, we believe that when we are here, but then when you get examples like the market that was approved and is now in violation of its use permit, of the bookstore that was to be a trusted establishment, and there has been a staff visit to that establishment, which i feel is in a violation of their conditional use permit. we had a thai restaurant that got approval but was overturned by the board of supervisors because they were not in compliance with terms of their previous agreement. these are some examples but make some commissioners a little wary when confronted with this kind

of situation. i do not have any problem, but as a background to people who have testified, i think sometimes we carry some baggage. it is not all because we do not like entertainment. it is not because we are against amplified music or we have been persuaded this might turn into a nightclub. it is that over the years there have become examples where people have not followed up on what they said they would, so i am fully supportive. vice-president olague: i want to mention that i do support this, although i do agree with the comments that sometimes we are

vigilant in our discussions because of a few bad players involved in some of the issues, so i think also they have contributed a lot to north beach and keeping its character, so i think it is a lot of groups actively working to maintain its character that is good, so i wanted to make mention. i do not want to join in the mockery of a certain neighborhood group. i do support this use >> commissioner more. >> i commend your courage to speak on what is probably in the back of some of our minds. it is sometimes hard to be the bad guys.

i did not want to be labour the point, but i strongly support what was said. what i would like to add is that we are talking about italian opera and not about anything else that comes amplified with background music. then we have a discussion about karaoke. i would like to add that this is done with the specific intent, and appreciation of italian opera music -- i would like to have that spelled out, because quickly things turn the other way, and if we are supporting young opera singers -- i think sentences for has produced some but not many, then let's be clear about what we've appreciated about north beach

and the italian music at that time. you are trying to support italian culture, and what am i discriminating against if that is what i approve? >> please, you know better than to comment. >> i would like to ask the staff to comment on its. what i am being asked is to approve italian opera singing as amplified in this particular restaurant. i think the only plan is to do that, and what guarantee do i have that is the case? the people speaking are reneging on what they are trying

to tell us here. >> i do not think it is possible to save the music can be only italian. [applause] >> can i ask you to leaves? everyone of you knows better. >> i think you could say the limitation is on one microphone. there could be different types of music, but it could only be limited to one microphone there cannot be an electric guitar or drums or that kind of thing, so it does limit it specifically to that type of thing. i do not think we can say it cannot be different types of music. it can only be singing with background amplified.

>> does that make it different from karaoke? this discussion is only between the zoning administrator and the planning commission. i do not need any other comments on this. >> it is similar in that there is one microphone with one person. it is similar to karaoke. you're not limiting the type of music. you are limiting the volume and the extent of the amplification. that is what i am saying. i am not an attorney, but i would be surprised if we could say that there's a certain type of music of would be limited in this scenario. comissioner antonini: i would tend to agree breyer we have had

discussions in the past, and if you were so restrictive to say italian opera, but if they did some popular italian music, it would not qualify. my experience is we have to limit its by the amplification and the number of people participating, so basically that is our motion. >> the other thing rick added to the motion is that it is inside, not outside. it is only inside the business. i believe your recommendation is that the doors and windows be closed up the time. >> i have additional amendments i am not sure that were in the motion. >> is there some limit to the size of this equipment?

>> where commissioner more is going is that the permission we are about to give to this particular owner is not going to the owner. it is going to the property, so if in the future, the current owners exit the business, they very well could just do rock music. it is being sold to us as a particular thing. i am currently willing to trust the current proprietors, but there is no guarantee of what we are doing. it goes on forever.

>> i understand. one amplified microphone, you cannot really have that. >> we have nothing from the staff that says this cannot be four or five speakers with a couple thousand-watt amplification and all the business, and i know there are limits to how much can exit the property, but you know. >> the motion speaks to one small portable stereo, so that is what they would be limited to. you could get in an argument about what small would be. it would be small and portable. we could probably limit the output to 50 watts, which would be more than sufficient, but it is limited to a small portable

stereo the singer would carry from table to table. >> if that is the understanding. >> i was inclined to support this common but i think the of first on discrimination someone made me think what this presented does not quite hold up to the honesty i have heard from many speakers. if he wants to describe what he considers discrimination to be, i would like him to do that. tell me what this includes or not.

i challenge you while you are outside of the room. that is not meant to be a seat. they have made a remarkable effort to create an atmosphere that is generally italian.

you are saying italian. i said offer. you said that is discrimination. could you explain what you thought would be happening? >> this question has come up many times were the music, whether it is rap, rock, opera -- you cannot discriminate against music. it is made very clear. my opposition is not because of taste. i just do not think you can make a motion on something that is not legal. you cannot discriminate against the type of music. that is my concern that we would make a motion that was not legal. i think we need to get clarity

from the office that sees these matters very frequently. whatever they of hold on that would be great. >> this is the first amendment issue. the last time i checked this was america and we were free. if the guy sings german opera, it would be crazy that that could be in violation. the city that is known for the height of liberalism, to be so

particular about something like this seems ridiculous. we are talking about intensification -- about amplification, so the issue should be amplification, not the music tight. if the concern is about the volume, that is what we need to address, but the music is not going to affect the volume. it is one hand-held microphone with amplification. your home stereo speaker is louder than what will be allowed attkisson and restaurant. we need to remember that our role is to deal with the intensification of the use and the amplification problems and not to specifically specify things that are maybe our taste or i think unconstitutional, because i felt strongly that you cannot designate the type of art

or music someone should do in their space. if they have the intent to do offer, there are lots of different kinds of opera. -- if they have the intent to do opera, there are many different times of opera. >> i think what commissioner more is saying about the venue for the performance of opera while people eat along the lines of what we have at the opera house, so i think she was trying

to guarantee that they would be some kind of assurance that is what we would be seeing down the line, given some of the history we have had with other approvals were something is presented in one way and it ended up being completely different. there is probably no way we could legally do that, but i do not think she was trying to do anything other than to ensure what we would be told is something that would be seen there. maybe they have some history in north beach. at least there is a good possibility there would be an intensification of use that would lead to a potential night club situation. i remember in north beach when

it was a poster shop on the corner. i love north beach and its diversity, and i think a lot of us want to continue to see it remain a diverse community i. >> the motion is for approval with modification offered that instead of being an amplified microphone instead of the singer and with that modification -- [roll-call] comissioner moore: no. >> that motion passes 5-1 with commissioner moore against.

>> are we going forward? >> good afternoon. before you is a request for a conditional use authorization to convert the college space into a new entertainment and restaurant venue. the existing building would be converted into two full-service restaurants and a jazz club on the ground floor. the proposal also includes an outdoor activity area located adjacent to the building and to be used by the restaurant for outdoor dining. the building has been used for

office space and an auditorium. these operate as one venue. because the building is designed to support a large, multi use the new, it would be difficult to divide it into separate spaces. since the packets were distributed on november 9, there have been several of dates. staff has received several letters with concerns. concerns include the hours of operation, noise, odor, traffic, and business operations. there has been correspondence and a meeting to discuss these concerns. yesterday the neighbors submitted modified conditions for approval. staff will review the version sent yesterday and draft modifications. these comments were e-mailed earlier today.

on hard copy has been restricted for your review. one change is the planning department does not recommend conditions 37 and condition 38. many conditions are unenforceable by the department, but the planning department does recommend addressing hours of operation for activity, a dressing hours of deliveries, and an informational planning committee. there is a consultant that can address noise issues you may have. the proposed project meets all applicable requirements. the proposed project supports rezoning efforts in that it will promote the growth of existing small business. the proposed project will provide a venue for a long standing