complement a variety of art activities present. given the findings, the staff recommends approval of authorization with the suggested changes to the modified modifications of approval. president miguel: project sponsor? >> i am jack knowle. with ben jaffee, i am the sponsor. for a little background on me, i am the owner of a restaurant in oakland the past 10 years. and i also spent most of my time remodeling older retail and being involved in the neighborhoods. i have been involved for about

20 years in this, most importantly for the last 10 years over in alameda. i am very involved in working with the community. anyway, i really care about this neighborhood. i really care about the facility. ben and i have a lot of stability. with 10 years with a cote, and then will speak to preservation hall, we feel we are very good for the community with stable operators. we see great things for a long time to come in the mission district. >> my name is ben jaffee. i was born and raised in your lens. my parents founded preservation hall in 1960 one. i have been operating it -- i was born and raised in new orleans.

my parents founded preservation hall in 1961. i have been operating it since 1991. you may remember some of our concerts. we will be coming back to perform for sf jazz early next year. preservation hall is dedicated to the perpetuation of the new orleans musical tradition known as jazz. we are an institution that has been family owned and operated for 50 years. we have an outreach programs in our community focus on teaching the next generation of young primarily african-american musicians in new orleans about their heritage and about their musical tradition. this is an idea and a concept we want to bring to this area. we want to create a venue here in san francisco that presents the top musicians in their field, the best acoustic musicians playing american roots

music, and music that celebrates american music, roots music, and indigenous music, whether it is latino, african, bluegrass, jazz. this is a venue and a name that i guard with my life. it has a 50 year -- 50 years of excellence under its belt. when i met jack, and we have known each other for several years now, and this opportunity presented itself, or the first time it felt like this was a boy to be the perfect second home for preservation hall. we have been given offers to franchise preservation hall. we have never accepted sponsorship from any major corporations because we hold our name very close to our hearts. knowing jack and his history and his dedication to preservation, and his dedication to historic building preservation, and his success in the restaurant field, we feel we can create a unique musical experience for

people in the bay area, where they can come and enjoy music in a very unique environment. that can be a seated eating environment, standing environment, or a combination of the two. >> i think been described it well. -- ben described it well. president miguel: a number of speaker cards. it will be two minutes per person. steven mcdonald, at davis cuttle, danny sure. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am an attorney. i represent the homeowners' association on lexington as well as the valencia never heard. >> state your name for the record. >> the president mentioned it -- steven mcdonald. and there is broad support. of course, the devil is in the details. however, i am pleased to report

that with one minor exception, and with two stipulations -- generous stipulations on the part of mr. knowles, we support the revised planning department exhibit a conditions of approval. we only request at paragraph 38 a second public information hearing on compliance with these conditions here at the planning commission 12 months after the first day of business. in a little while, or in a moment, the neighbors can talk about what they are worried about, frankly. the two simple conditions by which we offer the support that mr. knowles has kindly agreed to, and i am going to seek his consent -- bottles should be removed out the front door open. second, deliveries shall be made

between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. only in the rear. outside of those hours, they will be made through the front door. if i may, i will ask that mr. knowles express his support for those conditions. >> agreed. >> that is it. it is just the second review that we think we need. we do this based on trust. and i just heard a moment ago from the staff that therir "no" position on paragraphs 37 and 38 has changed. if you will look at those paragraphs, we think they are quite reasonable. president miguel: thank you. >> hi there. david cavell. i live at 22nd and perot. i come to my statement to three

minutes so i might have to talk fast. a gentleman friend and mine -- of mine told me we might have preservation hall west on valencia's street. i could not believe it. there is so much great going on in the mission. we might get a part of new orleans musical tradition just a while down from my house. my excitement about this broad measure today. i am clearly not the only one who is excited. i thought i would be lucky to get 50 friends and neighbors to sign on to the statement i am about to make with less than 24 hours notice. i in fact have 130 people supporting. now i am here representing those friends and neighbors. i will not belabor the point where room -- by reading the 130 names. but i will say we are a diverse bunch. we are business owners, artists, engineers, attorneys, doctors, architects, accountants, teachers, parents, homeowners,

and most important neighbors. we live, work, and play in the mission. we do what we can to improve the community. we are a diverse bunch indeed, but we have at least one thing in common. that is we all want to see preservation hall in the mission. it will be good for the community and good for san francisco. people come to the mission for the same reason i did. they are drawn to the rich culture and diversity of the community, the creativity from food to music to arts and theater. our neighborhood is to person and creative by design. that makes it a place where people want to be. walk down valencia's street and you will find a college, a paper goods maker, art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, markets, a riding school that is a part shop, a landscape school that is also a taxidermy gallery, more bike shops and i can count,

vintage furniture, a park, and even a unicorn. but we do not have enough jazz music and the wonderful culture it brings. jazz music is an american cultural treasure with a proud and reverse history. and we have a rare opportunity to be part of that history. preservation hall is a new orleans jazz institution. it celebrates the tradition of jazz and foster's its growth by inspiring the next generation of great jazz musicians. and we have an opportunity to make that a part of our community. preservation hall will no doubt be a good neighbor. we will work together to ensure that none of us -- residents, business owners, and preservation hall -- wants unhappy neighbors. we want them to come to the diversity and creativity already in the mission. it is a perfect fit for an already vibrant community. thank you. president miguel: thank you.

>> i am danny shirr. i come in the spirit of bill gramm. i worked for bill grimm 25 years, my entire professional career. he would be here today to tell you the following. of all the shows i have booked, my favorite show, the one that was the most creative, was the grateful dead and the preservation hall jazz band. he loved that show. there is a poster of that show at the fillmore. they were the real deal. they never sold out. there were never overly commercial. if you wanted to go see preservation hall, you had to go to new orleans to see them. but at the same time, we are talking about the mid-60s, when the preservation hall band first came to stanford. they set up a tent. to me, as a kid who like music,

preservation hall coming to town was like the circus coming to town. they had their own tent. i was able to go to the first two nights. i saved of my money as a newspaper boy and got my tickets. by the third night, i had become friends with the musicians. they stuck me in. i said, "come over to my house. we will have a barbecue." i had no idea i should not do it, they had no idea they should not come. it started a lifelong friend and relationship with the preservation hall jazz band that i am proud to say i was able to continue under the auspices of bill gramm when i booked the san francisco symphony at shore land on the fourth of july and invited the preservation hall band to play with the symphony, which they did. i ask you to open up the flat tent here in san francisco. invite the preservation hall jazz band to come and play and to set up a home here.

any group that can play with both the grateful dead and the san francisco symphony deserves a home in san francisco. president miguel: nicole noble, alicia gomez, roberto fernandez. >> i am a call noble and i am a san franciscan of nine years, but a new orleanean by birth. we bought our house last year after living here for a while. we decided to make this our home even though we go to new orleans often to get our recharge. you have to have that when you come to a place as unique as new orleans or come to a place like this. i want to tell you how much i appreciate and agree with what we are doing here to try to bring the iconic music, culture, and food of new orleans to share with san francisco,

because san francisco is a melting pot just like new orleans is. we accept all to come and revel in a good time. i am the third generation of my family to pass through these great doors that have been open for 50 years in the french quarter. i look forward to bringing my mother to start a new tradition on this coast, where my husband and i have started our home. i think you for demonstrating your support of sharing our music, culture, and food in the mission district, which is already so rich with cultures and traditions. i would like for you to move in support of the chapel restaurant, the second line restaurant, and preservation hall west opening on 777 valencia so the authentic mood, food, and culture can be shared in san francisco. thank you very much. president miguel: thank you.

>> my name is alicia gagmis. i am a member of the valencia neighborhood association. i will speak on my own behalf and also for the owner of several of the units at 736 valencia, who has asked me to speak on his behalf because his father is in the hospital and the could not come. everybody loves jazz. no one opposes the underlying project. there are, however, neighborhood concerns about the intensity. it is a very large venue. it is to restaurants, to liquor lyses -- it is two restaurants, two liquor licenses, an outdoor music venue on a residential street with very diverse character, people who are

physicians and laborers and the gamut that runs between. everyone does look forward to this venue coming. at the same time, we deeply ask for your help in making sure that these provisions do not undermine the character of our home as well. we do ask for the opportunity to review it again in 12 months. we ask your support in limiting the powers and decibels that are limited so that people can sleep and live in their homes and enjoy them. i will add that, regarding another facility, there was discussion of good and bad operators. i am currently unfortunately dealing with a very bad operator and can speak firsthand that it is a tough battle. i hope you will spare my neighbors my battle. president miguel: thank you. >> buenas tardes.

my name is roberto hernandez, and i am an indigenous latino brother who was born and raised here in san francisco's mission. most of you know me and know i have been here before you on some very controversial issues about displacement and gentrification of our people in our neighborhood. and i am actually here to support this project. i found it down deeply in my heart to come here today because as most of you know, in the schools, we are getting cut back every day. we do not have any more music programs in a lot of our schools, or dance classes, or culture classes that a lot of us in the community fought for for many years in the public schools. and we now have an opportunity

to work with an organization and an entrepreneur in our community to begin to teach latinos, african-americans, and all children in our neighborhood about jazz. i think some of you know the latin jazz youth ensemble, which was started out of the mission cultural center. you have seen the success of them, picante, and other groups that have come out of the mission culture center. i think this institution that is being proposed will create a complement and also a big need in our community. i find it very interesting that is used to be a funeral home. for those of you who are not familiar with the site. and then it became an

educational institution, the community college. how appropriate now that we have a new opportunity. gracias. president miguel: matthew colgin, lisa harvey. >> my name is lisa harvey. i am the project architect. i have been working with jack knowles for 10 years now. the first project we did was in alameda, an adaption of an entire block. we did such a good job on that that the city recognized that and the mayor complained -- the mayor proclaimed jack knowles day. we received an award in alameda. i was excited when he bought this project. last year, we worked closely with loyila valley to make it

handicapped accessible, adding windows to the passat, developing a better -- adding windows to the facade, developing a better relationship to the street. i have some pictures. when this was the college, they had a lot of performances here. they had the irish cultural festival here. this was such a perfect use for this space. and i am available to answer any questions you might have about the plan, the site plan. as far as the outdoor patio goes, we have been working with the neighbors, and we have placed the patio as far away from their residences as possible. and we have somebody from salter's office who can address the work we have done to meet

the sound ordinance. president miguel: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is jeremy becker. i represent charles salter associations. i am an acoustical engineer, a licensed professional engineer in the state of california. we were asked to conduct a noise study on the property to evaluate the expected noise levels the property would have in relation to the san francisco noise ordinance. we did so by measuring ambient noise levels around the site in front and back and comparing that to the expected noise from the site, including noise within the auditorium, which was determined based on mockup testing inside with rep music -- representative music, and for noise in the outside dining

areas based on our experience with many other projects and what typical noise is produced by face-to-face conversation in a dining setting. our finding was that with some measures we have listed in our report, we find the expected noise from preservation hall and the restaurant and outdoor dining area is expected to meet the noise limits of the san francisco nor's ordinance section 2909 -- noise ordinance, section 29 and nine of the police code. if you have any questions, i would be happy to answer them. president miguel: teresa dekkan, phil lester, brenda kett. >> i am patricia dedeckian. i am the project manager for 777 valencia and the community liaison for the project.

, after working with jack and then from day one of this project, and i have known check for 20 years now -- jack has owned commercial -- after working with jack and ben from day one of his project, and i have known jack for 20 years now, jack has owned commercial property and he knows what he is doing. which followed a zero requirements, including noticing requirements. -- we followed requirements, including a dozen requirements. jack has been in communication with neighbors on a daily basis. jack owns a home on lexington street, on the block directly behind the project, with a back deck that faces the valencia's street. he has gotten to know many of his neighbors on a first name basis. we anticipated the issues neighbors would likely have,

particularly noise and security. we tried to address those in the design process. we hired the top acoustical consulting firm in san francisco to design solutions that would allow us to comply with noise ordinances. in the case of the outdoor dining area, we will be exceeding their recommendations. we hired an expert to design a security plan that would ensure that we meet or exceed all of the good neighbor policies in san francisco. this is important not only because we want to make sure our neighbors are not adversely impacted by this project, but also because jack is creating a fine dining restaurant that will be on par with the top 100 restaurants currently in oakland. he has run a restaurant successfully for the last 10 years. he knows his restaurant will not succeed if there are any issues whatsoever with this project. thank you. president miguel: thank you.

>> commissioners, good afternoon. i am glad i lived long enough to see the san francisco giants win the world series and see these two guys roll into town. as a kid growing up in the mission district on the playground, when we would have an opportunity to play a little pick-up basketball and were waiting to play the team that had just one, we used to use the phrase "we got next." the mission got next. i am filled lesser, -- phil lesser. we would like to see you all down in the mission more frequently, please. secondly, i request that you accept the recommendation by the planning department, with the approval attached to it -- the conditions of approval that were done in collaboration between

the neighbors, project sponsors, and the planning department. thank you ever so much. president miguel: thank you. brenda kepp, matthew cullins, ivan avanchoss, rob shapiro. >> i am ivan avanchoss. i live near 14th street. i can see the doors of my potential -- of the venue from my front windows and will potentially here patrons leaving when the exit the venue. there will probably stop to pee on my garage door down the street. i am here to urge you to accept and go ahead and allow this project to be completed.

it will be a fantastic addition to our diverse neighborhood. there has been a top 100 bay area restaurant for 10 years, and preservation hall is ideal for san francisco. most of what i have here has been covered already. i just wanted to -- i am skipping over some things as ago. there are concerns about the project fitting in and the noise they will make, but there are similar venues already on valencia's street -- and asia, the elbow room, and blondie i's all have live music regularly. there are plenty of dining areas. the valencia street improvement project which was just done was to facilitate just the kind of business we have there now and to bring this type of business to valencia's street.

ultimately, when you live in a dense urban environment, especially a thriving commercial district like valencia's street, any change is unnerving. i have seen a lot of them over the last 14 years. when a new business is proposed, it is a little bit like gambling. you are pulling the arm on a slot machine and hope for a winning run of seven's. for 777 valencia street, this is a jackpot. i urge you to accept this project so we can all start collecting our winnings. thank you. president miguel: jay dossier, charles willing. >> i am rob shapiro, a business owner in the neighborhood. i have lived in the mission on and off for 20 years now. i have known ben jaffee for a couple of years and have known the work of preservation hall

for much longer than that. i think this would be a huge asset to the community. i on what could possibly be a competing business, a bar at 19th and folsom. but i think this would be only additive for my business. i think it would enrich the community in a major way to have a venue of this caliber added to what we have already got. it is a rich fabric of a lot of clubs. this would be something that would set itself apart. i can understand the concerns of other members of the community, but esthetically this is a unique fit. i do not know that it could have a better home than the location these gentlemen have chosen, or than san francisco in the mission district. president miguel: thank you. >> my name is jade howser. i am a native san franciscan, born here in 1966. i could have done something much

more weird than jade. ultimately, i have known chuck for a few years. we have worked on a couple of projects together. i was deeply grateful to be able to come down and help him with this particular project as well, because of all of the things you have heard. it is an incredible cultural addition to the city. i have always liked to think about the fact that for people who want to live in san francisco -- when i talk to them, people tell me they are transplanted here from somewhere else. they ask me, "do you want to be here more than anywhere else?" if they say yes, they are as sentences can as i am. this would enhance our cultural identity -- if they say yes, they are as san franciscan as i am. this would enhance our cultural identity. i have known to act as a ban of his word for many