you covered a lot in 10 minutes. that was good. i think you -- we'll definitely call open it up for public comment. >> i own the store next door to the proposed site, suite 335. i have a couple of comments, some of which i think he has done a good job answering. i am a store owner and i own the store along with mr. sugimoto, who is native japanese. we are happy to see a japanese

organization come in and i think many of his points are very accurate. the reason i am here today is that i am concerned about two things. first and foremost, noise. i have read the papers that were submitted and it says it's best to be in accordance with the noise ordinance of san francisco, which is above the standard background noise. we are a bit concerned about that because we are next door to them. we have an incense shop which sells japanese incense in thousands of different varieties as well as other gift items for people. many of the people coming into the store are buddhist and appreciate the peace and serenity we have in that area. one of the things that concerns me is i looked at surrounding properties and neighborhoods and never mentioned we are next door. we seem to have been left out of the picture.

probably just an omission that was nothing delivered. but we are next door, the name as -- the name is koshi. i am concerned about the noise. birthday celebrations are part of what is going to be involved. i would like to see that something is going to be done to keep the noise down. in fact, there is not even any separation between our building in the neighboring space. literally you can reach over the top of the suspended ceiling into their space. we are concerned about noise coming through. second of all, the front of the place has all glass on it advance to allow the air to circulate because it is a very old cooling system in the building. we are concerned the noise is going to come to a glass, into the hall and spell around and to the other stores which keep their doors open all day long. i have not seen any thing

whether the doors are going to be open or closed to the area. but again, noise spilling into the area, we are really concerned about it. as far as the concern about vandalism and theft, i think the target he has described alleviates that issue. i just want to make sure that does not happen. is there any way we can receive any further information on the noise coming from these machines and the noise from the people who will lead playing it and the noise of the party that is going to be held? [tone] president olague: thank you. >> commissioners, good afternoon. i'm the executive dresser -- executive director of the japan town tax force. we're nonprofit focus on the preservation, planning and promotion of japan town.

we are a recipient of a community development block grant from the mayor's office of economic development providing small business assistance in japan town. i am here to support the request for a conditional use. considering our report last week on the progress of the japan town planning effort, i am pleased to be back today to support this applicant. you can see the enthusiasm, energy and excitement he is bringing to this new business and the support letters speak for themselves. i would summarize them in six points. this is an authentic japanese business, very popular in japan today. it fits very much into what we're trying to preserve in japan town. number two, it is a family

oriented business with family -- but activities for children, which is a growing tide of consumer in japan town lead to take advantage of. three, it's not another restaurant or fast food, which we have too much of in the mall. number four, it's in the hands of a professional small business cpa accountant, experience in finance and accounting, a discipline often lacking in small businesses. it is in the hands of someone who has been totally transparent, followed the processes, done his homework, and understands the importance of outreach to the community to gain support for his business and assure his commitment to the community. for these reasons, i strongly recommend you approve this project. thank you. president olague: thank you. is there any additional public comment? a seeingno none, public comments

closed. commissioner miguel: i have seen this type of small in japan and it works extremely well. as far as the gentleman who has the space next door, it is my experience that in a normal call -- i do not know that management sap of this particular small, in this mall, the questions you have are taken care of by mall management as far as noise, as far as hours permitted, as far as air flowing from one to the other come as far as how much of the front space is opened to the passageways. that is something the mall management deals with. if it does not, to my mind, for

a business model, there is something wrong with the way the mall management is doing business. i do not mean to criticize them, but it is a normal process in managing commercial malls, to my knowledge. i would put the onus there, not on this commission. commissioner moore: i'm delighted to japan town plan is already showing fruit. it could not be more original, given what was described. i move to vote. >> second. commissioner sugaya: this is an example of a police and resurrection of activities and businesses in japan town. the building is another one in

which there is a new activities being presented and new things people can experience. i am quite supportive of this. president olague: i spend a lot of time in japan town. i was there this morning, for instance, having a sandwich -- we have to be here by 12:00, so you have to allow for time for lunch. but i was there by your side and i was there a couple of weeks ago also. i'm really excited there is something going into that place and that part of the mall could use some of vitality and some noise. these guys seem reasonable. i bought sandalwood and sense of their last week.

i think vitality is what that part of the mall needs. you are right, outside of the bookstore, there is no gathering place. i was sad to see that town house living had closed because they were a family-run business and they had been there for years. i was sad to see their doors had closed. i know is going to be replaced with another business, but i think is more of a change than a family-owned thing. i think you guys can work out your issues. you are right next door. new management? i guess that is good. hopefully, you can work out those issues and there are conditions in here that would cover some of the sound and other things. commissioner sugaya: i have one

regret, the former store there was a place my wife used to shop for clothes. i used to go across the corridor and enjoy looking at the flower arrangements. maybe i will have something else to do. president olague: good luck. i think it is a great idea. >> on the motion to approve? >> [roll-call] so moved. the motion passes unanimously, 7-0. you are now at item 3. 1555 irving st., request for a conditional use authorizations. >> in good afternoon. the item before you the case to allow at&t ability to locate at 26 panel antennas with an expanded rooftop tower of the

woodside in the national school at 1555 during street. i am available for any questions. president olague: project sponsor? >> good afternoon. i am with at&t. i'm here today, joined by the professional license engineers who conducted the radiofrequency reports that were part of your packet. i'm also here with our consulting person on this site. we are here seeking your support and approval to install six panel antennas atop 1555 irving

st.. this site is necessary for at&t to close a significant coverage gap in its wireless network, as explained in the materials provided to the department by our site acquisition consultant. we know this has been caused by a significant demand for at&t customers for mobile data usage in that area. this coincides with the 8000% increase in mobile demand in the past four years. at&t expects total mobile data volume to go by eight to 10 times over the next five years. these are projections made by

folks on our team based on the demand and where the industry is going, where the technology is going. to put this into perspective, all at&t cause traffic volume during 2010 would be equal to the mobile traffic volume for a mere six or seven weeks in the year 2015. i would like to thank the planning department staff for their hard work in helping to direct and assign this location and we ask for your support as we diligently tried to upgrade our network to meet exploding wireless telecommunication demands in the city of san francisco. president olague: thank you. i would like to open up for public comment. >> thank you, commissioners. i live in 1517 irving, just up the blocks from the address proposed for the antenna.

my primary concern is, far from the research i have been able to do, the radiation detection is focused on the ground level. unfortunately, i live on the exact same level, in a four unit condominium that looks out, my kitchen window directly to where this antenna will face. i have a five year-old son, a 3- year-old daughter, and hopefully another one on the way. it concerns me that i do not have information with the radiation effects will be from this antenna less than 300 feet from my house, directly pointed at me. i do not have any confidence or understanding as to what that radiation affect will be as opposed to when i'm walking down the street. it is that concern i want to express. i don't know if there are ways we can get that information. if there are two people below me as well.

given the slow, we are directly in line for the creation and that is what concerns us. president olague: thank you. any additional public comment at this time? >> the things i'm most interested in is the size of the power source for the towers. i realize pg &e will be putting in more. and still is will be sitting next to power sources and are sometimes more prone to electric influences. i am also interested in the

electric field around the area. how many towers are actually in that area right now? most of the studies done in the mid 90's reflect just a few hours. right now, i was just reading in the richmond district, there are over 80 hours. that is very significant. the most recent research indicates the towers should be 1 kilometer apart from each other. the customer base in that area is questionable. i would like to know about the actual customer base and customer complaints. i am very concerned about the interaction with nearby cell towers. i am concerned as to whether or

not t mobil and at&t are going to be emerging. towers were just installed to the proposed towers, which means they will have proposed towers next to each other. there is a tower at 15th and lincoln. -- pardon me -- i feel there should be a delay on all of this action until more questions like these are answered and more time given. i want to thank the commission for having a public hearing because it is wonderful that we in the public have a chance to say what we need to in order to

talk about the economic benefits of what at&t wants as opposed to the general welfare. >> thank you. president olague: any additional public item -- additional public comment on this item? public comment is closed. >> i want to say the federal communications commission set strict guidelines for local jurisdictions under the context which we can turn down cell phone antennas. we created our own guidelines in this area is a local preference site. in terms of health benefits are possibilities of health problems, that is something the san francisco department of health does an evaluation and deal with health benefits and the rf levels are found to be less than significant -- i think less than 3% of public exposure limit.

what you can do is do a reading in your home, they can come into your home and do a reading of the levels and i encourage you to reach out about that. one of the challenges we have is the typography. that is why we have more antennas and what was told to us to understand. there are more antennas needed because of different building heights and styles, that makes it more difficult to communicate. seven tennis requires communicating between each other correctly and some did not. it just depends on the type of antennas people are using whether or not they need to speak to each other. another challenge is at&t has different kinds of antennas -- even though they have -- even

though there emerging, they have different and 10 at networks. we were told that was not going to change in terms of the devices, one of the hired devices in your home is actually wireless routers and day in met a lot of wireless in your home. that is a new thing we have been learning. there was a study that said, i launder study, saying it was the cell phone next to your ear, but at the end of the day, that's not our jurisdiction and we cannot answer that question. having at&t coming out and doing a reading in your unit, you can contact the health department about the sort of information they collect that. i don't know if you saw the

package, but there is a report that talked about the exposure of limit. you mentioned that the issue was at the ground level. that is just another thing you can look at. >> commissioner sugaya: it might be interesting for the public to know we had cell phone antennas were the same company has a set of cellphone and has a 500 or 600 feet away. as commissioner borden said, a lot of it has to do with the top biography in the building and the way of land, so to speak. it is not like suburban america where 1 kilometer might be the rule. here, they are a lot closer to gather. something a little more mundane

-- president olague: i just want to ask those were standing near the door to find a seat because it is creating a fire hazard. thank you. >> with respect to the tower, are going to put a penthouse on top? >> i received your suggestions and comments and i hope he recently received the revised simulations. we took your suggestions and put on a penthouse to finish up the tower. commissioner antonini: this is probably what a lot of the other commissioners have been alluding to. perhaps the project sponsor could comment on this. we do not need an answer today, but once you begin to move away

from the antennas, the rf emissions decrease very quickly. one would assume a building that is perhaps 40 feet away in a horizontal direction would probably have even less of this minimal amounts of level than would be somewhat the ground level, which is about 25 feet below the tower, but maybe that is something we can't comment on or speak to about the various levels. we could certainly get readings taken. move to approve. >> second.

>> on the motion to approve -- [roll-call] so moved. the motion passes unanimously 6- 0. that places you under item four, 2300 through 2320 chestnut street request for authorization. >> good afternoon. this is to allow at&t mobility to locate up to nine antennas behind screening. the equipment would be in the outdoor storage area. the building location 5 and the department recommends approval. >> thank you. >>

president olague: project sponsor? >> good afternoon. i'm from at&t external affairs. i am still joined by those who helped with the site acquisition on this property. at&t is seeking your approval on this conditional use permit to install nine directional antenna is that will be concealed within the vent pipes on the roof of the property. the necessary cabinets will be located outside the public view. under the facility guidelines, this is a location preference 5. at&t conducted a significant

analysis, where sites were evaluated by radiofrequency engineers, all of which were preference for or five locations. this is an existing facilities. approval will allow at&t to install and upgrade the new facility to meet the demands of our customers and allow us to decommission the intent is currently on the building. it's necessary for at&t to close the significant coverage gap, as explained in the materials provided. we wish to thank the department's staff for their hard work in supporting and helping to direct this design. we ask for your support on this application as we continue to try to outreach and upgrade our network. thank you. president olague: i would like to open it up for public comment

at this time. >> in good afternoon. i live around the corner from chestnut street. the point i want to bring up is a demonstration of a gap in coverage. i am an at&t customer, and i've never had a gap in coverage. i'm not certain -- i would like to see that demonstrated more clearly. the next thing is the building this is proposed to be on, the roof is very old, like in the 1920's. the marina district is on landfills. it is very susceptible to any kind of earthquake damage, which could cause a lot of other

things, like fires, but leakey batteries and all of those things, the impact, when you are in an earthquake area increases. in the building where there is lots of old residence, my neighbors, are a lot of old people -- i am not certain if they are actually aware of what is going on. we will be increasing the number to nine antennas and there are already hundreds of antennas for at&t in san francisco. i have not had any issues with gaps in coverage. >> thank you. president olague: any additional public comment? public comment is closed. commissioner borden: you can have at&t take readings in your

building. i live two blocks from this location and i can tell you the coverage is terrible. all of my friends, it's just the worst. the marine that in general has some of the worst coverage around. the devices that are really problematic up people forget ipad, not just a phone itself, but the coverage is terrible. the other devices, they're feeling the need greater than the actual cell phone usage. that is the challenge. people often compared just to their cell phone coverage. it is about data coverage. i don't know if you saw the packet, but they show where the coverage issues are. i would encourage you to look there, but as far as the health issues are concerned, that is