push >> this would be a permanent change to the building and below. -- envelope. they will establish a platform for an outdoor beer garden. given the site, this is across the street from our home. this is a beer keg coler. ap -- cooler. given the nature of the businesses, a beer garden what attract customers day and night. they tend to drink and party outside. it has become an attraction at

the street festival where additional police and security guards have been required to monitor drinking on the street. operating year-round would be untenable for noise, property damage, and safety. that is inherently unsafe and dangerous. the goal is to have an outdoor venue where most of the other establishments in the area do. the architect that designed the interior space, they can certainly design and enclosed deck for atmosphere and profitability. there is no guarantee that it will not be turned into a beer garden by the present owner or a future one.

it would destroy the fabric of our community. i don't think that is the intent of the planning commission. thank you. >> my name is mark. i live one block to the north of union. as you have heard tonight, the space has been occupied by restaurants and bars. there was never any issue with the adjacent neighbors until now because the existing enclosure was removed without benefit of a permit. that is why we are here tonight. it seems pretty clear to me that they have already had a test run. you have heard a noise

demonstrations, you have heard a tape. the megaphone was very convincing. they have already had a test by virtue of what they have done. i support the neighbors' position and believed that the noise would be too much for the street and for them. and it should, therefore, be denied. >> my office is directly across the street from the brickyard. due to the nature of my job, i am in the office during the evening or the daytime on weekend. the noise is extremely loud with the windows closed and nobody on the deck with my door is closed.

i am on the second floor. i have 12 steps to my level and they have 10 steps. we are on the same level. it was difficult for me to work. i request that it be read enclosed -- re-enclosed. the residents would be negatively impacted. they have written letters to the commission stating their concerns and i like to read a few exurbs. -- exerpts. he wrote, noise from the bar and the crowd projects and amplifies and out into our neighborhood. i am in a residential zone the neighborhood and it should not be permitted to flood into my

home. many young children in addition to my own lives, go to school, and play. they live at octavia street for 40 years. this is one of the original founders of the golden gate valley association hall and his home bound with ms. the noise poured in. to give you an idea, when the doors are open, i am on a side street, i have a large tree and insulated windows. it is making by home unlovable.

-- unlivable. once i called my neighbor because i was alarmed. our family lives and the residential zone neighborhood. one of my neighbors like and the noise to having a sound can and blasting into your home. -- cannon blasting into your home. >> i live at [unintelligible] commissioners, it is not just how the department's duty to compensate for a down economy. it defies city regulations and actively opposes the concern of

the neighbors. it is your job to plan and to enforce. the brickyard illegally tore off an existing room opening all the noise of a sports bar into the street. the sports bar is a limited liability company. they have investors, greater advertising muscle, legal counsel, and public relations to get their way through the media and the bureaucracy. this isn't a ranch. it is an observation taken from 35 years of living the bottom half -- a block and a half fro m there. we are justifiably outraged.

the excuses and accusations that have cut out to defend it, what message does it send when the actions are given approval under the window dresising conditions that are obviously unenforceable. i asked you to deny this permit for all these residents that wrote letters and petitions. and they want to believe that the rules are still barely enforced. and that you take your obligations to take the adjacent residential livability. a second story back on a sports bar -- deck on a sports bar is not compatible with the neighborhood districts. >> any additional public comment? project sponsor?

>> good evening, commissioners. i am the owner and operator. we opened for business on june 5 and we focused on being a neighborhood restaurant from day one . . we upgraded the venue. there are photos here -- [inaudible]

we pride ourselves on our menu and accommodating all walks of life. we have a four-star rating with 27 reviews. the project was approved by the department of building inspection and the planning department. of the design elements are within building and planning code regulations. requirements. an environmental impact study is not needed. of the 26 full-service restaurants, the dean of those have outdoor activity areas. -- 18 of those ahave outdoor activity areas. our community outreach efforts have been outgoing. we have received support from over 1000 san francisco

residents, of which 370 live in the 94123 zip code. based on feedback from the community, the issue is not the patio but the potential for analysts -- noise. we realize there is a potential for additional noise such as during the union street festival, world cup soccer, and druing -- during festivities such as the world series and super bowl. we are fully open. in hindsight, it is important to carefully monitor south levels and we have made operational changes to address this issue. these are extraordinary and did not represent the day-to-day business.

the venue is at full capacity sometimes, but the typical attendance is 30-60 patients. -- patrons. all of the photos of you saw earlier were those extraordinary circumstances whether it be world cup soccer or fleet week. it is not our intention to negatively impact our neighbors. we have had many encouraging findings. when the venue had a glass sun room with windows that open, there was no negative impact even if the venue was at full capacity. there were never any complaints.

there was a frontage and opened -- that opened. with the doors fully closed and the entrance doors open, there are no noise issues. i can appreciate their concerns. we went and had an inspector from the entertainment commission do scientific measurement to see what was actually happening with the noise. the third one being with the restaurant at half capacity, we also took a double reader. our findings were that there was

no substantial increase. it represents less invasion than the previous sunroom. the patio is only going to be used 8 months out of the year. given these findings, it will address all the noise concerns. the compromises are basically what we propose to the planner, what she concluded in her statement. >> thank you. we have several speaker cards, people in favor of the project sponsor. bill barnes, john gavin? >> good evening. bill barnes who, until january 8, worked for supervisor

alioto-pier. we have increased vitality with appropriate conditions. this was not a perfect project. there was a letter of the termination from the planning department that says this is a permitted use. there are other activity areas. i would note that this has been an existing restaurant for many years. the planning commission -- you will recommended the conditional use. at this location, a restaurant like this has existed for some time. the idea that it would be renovated and they would attract people to the street is a positive, in my view. there is a way to enforce this

behavior. they have been talking about putting additional provisions of the liquor license. the question for the planning commission is, when something is permitted by the code and people are here, it should go to make the project work. i would respectfully ask to deny the eir. -- d.r. >> i wanted to take a moment and read in e-mail from susan reynolds, the publisher and editor in chief of the marina times.

i wanted to write to you about the brickyard. i have been researching it. as part of my research, i went to try the food. which is definitely restaurant quality. they have gone to a lot of effort. the chef worked for free just to put it on the resonate. -- resume. i was very impressed by the attention to detail and financial investment. it is that attention to detail that they are trying to be community involved. right down the street, they have had underage drinking to disorderly conduct on a nightly basis but no one is trying to

close them down. over on scott street, when there has been more than one shooting. they remain open until the owners decided to settle. after looking at who was complaining, it made more sense. one woman said she would rather have an empty storefront that any business. i can understand if this suddenly popped up in her backyard. anyone who lives on that street knows there are bars and restaurants and there always have been. she is not living the hill in st. francis was, after all. all the other restaurants have patio's. i have been watching dream -- people drink margaritas across

the street. the bottom line is that one noisy neighbor should not prevent a street that has suffered from an economic downturn in many places to eat and drink to attract more business. take a look at chestnut street on a saturday night if you need more proof. i am happy to see it picking up again with the additions of wonderful destinations and continuing jobs. it is counterproductive to make it difficult for people to do business. >> thank you. >> i live about six blocks away from brickyard and have been a customer of many of the restaurants for several years. i was very excited to see the space was going to have a new

restaurant. it is a total transformation from what i consider a poorly run bayside is the sport -- busy sport lounge. as a neighbor myself, i think they should be able to come to some sort of agreement and not completely changed the concept. i think it would be a great thing to sit outside and enjoy a white of the very few such a days -- sunny days. i don't think it violates any noise violations during the day and it should not be that much of an issue. i support the project and i hope you do as well. >> [reading names]

>> i am a local resident as well as business owner. we had to see vacancy after vacancy pop up on union street. [unintelligible] i have been to the brickyard a few times. the food is very good. from what it was, it is night and day the difference. i have never had an issue with the noise. i support them putting in the patio. >> unjust, but after the speaker is done. >-- just come up after the

speaker is done. >> i have seen the economic downturn over the past few years. i am part of the industry that is trying to bring more life back the union street. the brickyard is a huge part of that. i am a strong proponent of what they are trying to do. i don't see an issue with having the capacity on the deck which is something like 10 people. i guess i equate it to chestnut street on a plac, a place like delaney's. the noise spills out of

there. it's part of the life on chestnut street. it is lacking there for a while. it needs to be taken into consideration. thank you. >> i am supportive of the patio as well. for me, having a place i can come for lunch during the summertime, bring my customers out and have a nice, enjoyable evening. i feel if managed properly, they have said they are going to do that, it will not make it so that it is so noisy that it will

be a disturbance. i think that having more restaurants like this is making it hard for them how to eat -- hard for them to eat. we should support businesses in the eara. -- area. >> i am a resident and a business owner directly across the street from the patio in question. being in the heart of chestnut street, and of the most noise comes from the buses or at the end of the night when people are coming out of bars or restaurants. this patio in question i don't

believe would cause the issues. having an outdoor patio is something that would be very nice. i know having to share the street with tables and chairs is something where the space is being used up above. i feel that is something that is unique and beneficial. i feel it would be very nice to be able to sit outside instead of going to the rooftop. it is a place where you can enjoy the afternoons or the evenings. i don't see it really impacting the area. >> [reading names]

>> i am a resident and homeowner just around the corner. i both live and work there. i have been there for seven years. the patio would be -- we are coming out of the end of that. and suddenly an empty street. i was afraid to walk down the street. now that is open, the bloc has picked up again and i feel much safer going home. i literally would take a cab just a few blocks because i wanted to avoid it.

being a homeowner, i am just as concerned about property values. the best way to improve property values is to enhance the neighborhood. the brickyard is one of the best examples of doing that. i moved to the city specifically for that. i did not come here for peace and quiet. i came to a commercial street for what a city and commercial street have to offer. i hope that will continue. and one of my favorite things to do is have a meal outside on union street and a nice day in san francisco. i would like to be able to do that at the brickyard. i am just as concerned about property values. i have a lot more at stake because the pay a lot to get into this market.

i hope that we can support the brickyard. >> i am the owner of the establishment directly next door. we have an outdoor seating area that is on the ground. it works well, and we made an arrangement with the city and with the neighbors that we would close at 10:00 p.m.. all the noise and anything stops at 10:00. it has been a problem. if there are people saying things about that, we address that with them. there would be an opportunity for the brickyard as well if they are allowed to have this. i don't see it as a black-and-

white issue. why is there not an opportunity to have the patio continue to be open for business? but with some reasonable restrictions on time and win the patio closes. >> [reading names] >> i have a business partner of the brickyard and i have worked at wells fargo about a block away for over fr years now. i just wanted to talk about all of the businesses that have got out of business the last couple of years. they have spent a lot of money to make it more vibrant.