present it to this commission and the department extensive revisions and recommendations of the 2009 draft plan for japan town and it's from that perspective, from the community perspective that they object to approving the permanent application. discretionary review is appropriate and denial of the permit is propose because k.b. cafe is a formula retailthose o. we respectfully disagree on findings. this was enacted in 2006 following the sale of development to help insure the continued vitality as japan town as a testing it and authentic neighborhood community.

i will address the main findings furs. formula retail. i will begin where one would end. when something looks like a duck and walks like a duck, is probably a dock. -- duck. there is evidence, including the five deaths the trademark incorporates a key element -- now that it includes trademark key elements.

its admission that it will be selling products at less than 50%. we submit the party cannot just except the south of firming effect -- self affirming declaration it is not retail. three further factors. kb said it never had an agreement, but how and why did it submit under that name. quigley has not objected. third, while cavy -- kb asserts

it will sell quigley products, there is no confirmation that it would. kb looks like formula of retail even though it has been designed to skirt the. they would be compatible with a dose. we disagree with the analysis on this. compatibility with historical integrity and neighborhood character. kb cafe is not compatible with the community character we have enjoyed, content we have spent

years attempting to revitalize. it is a retail business but enjoys an unfair competitive advantage to formula of retail, including predatory pricing and other economic elements. it is offering the same or similar products as many other small businesses already existing. some of them are long standing community businesses, and that does not contribute to the japan town character. >> speakers in favor of the d r requester? >> my name is rose hill sen. i am a member of the organizing committee. the project sponsor is

intentionally trying to disguise this connection to get a foothold into the japan towne mall but prohibits a retail inconsistent with the special use mr.. this is not compatible with the character, and the trademarks are all the same. >> thank you. >> commissioners, good evening. i am before you today to request you not approved this application. i trust the department to try to

do its best to research this case and respect its conclusion. the facts when taken collectively all suggest to me this is a formula of retail operation. i believe this is a wolf in sheep's clothing. it is surprising they are not complaining about the use of their products without a franchise agreement. i believe this retail business could have an unfair economic and vantages that would be a threat to the mall. this is not about the owners ethnicity. it is about the formula of retail business model that threatens to undercut family competitors and could eventually eliminate them.

i am of the opinion there have become too many snack food restaurants in the mall. traffic has picked up, and the mall is pretty much fully occupied. however, restaurants are telling me businesses are beginning to suffer. i think the mall could benefit from other retail tenants. we will address this more. there will be more clarity. as commissioners, i am the

director of the japanese community center. we request you not approve applications for a change of use. one of the missions is to preserve and maintain the culture of japan town community, and one of the main elements is and will be the small independent family-run businesses. good looking at the applications, -- after looking at the applications, a makes me quite suspicious and believe they really are a formula retail restaurant. i have nothing against the owners, but i do not support a formula retail restaurant that will have an unfair advantage

over the existing, small, independently run family businesses. the independent merchants are the fabric of our community, and by looking out for them today, we will be looking out for the culture of japan town for the future. i encourage you to take a closer look at this. >> good evening, commissioners. >> if you have an application that says mcdonald's, and this says joe blow's burgers, and you

start with a big mac and fries, but over time, that changes to over 50% of mcdonald's menu. if this happens, and what action will occur? we have made a mistake. i guess we will have to turn the page. special use district was designed to enhance and protect. starbucks was designed a permit under a special use district. this appears to be similar. if this is approved, please

consider what you will do. you cannot just say, we will take care of it next time. i hope you would take care of it is time. people can come in and get false information. it is a bad practice. drugs are there additional speakers in support of the d r requester? -- >> are there additional speakers in support of the d r requester? if not, project sponsor. >> i am speaking on behalf of the project sponsor. he represented he would be

selling when than 10% of products in the store, and he does not need 50% of retail concentration for a specific product. we went through the remaining six items that were required to qualify for formula and retail. we signed a lease with yemen -- with him. we had two useother leases that were written. they were both small fast-food type restaurants. one sold cupcakes. the other one sold yogurt, and

there was no objection to either of these businesses, because they did not qualify for formula of retail common but it is the same fast-food they are complaining about, but it is consistent with other uses in the moderall. it does not qualify as formula of retail. in our opinion, it does not qualify for discretionary review. another point they made that it would have an unreasonable impact on the mall, the special use district required us to maintain that.

there was a major change. we were able to replace that use with a company that also sells japanese projects, and they had a space of about 3000 square feet in the mall. we combined its. it is still a japanese news and still protecting the cultural integrity of the mall. also this use we feel is beneficial because it appeals to a younger crowd. there are many trees that appeal to adults but there are not a lot of alternatives for children.

the parents can eat at the other existing restaurants in the mall, so we recommend you deny the discretionary reveriew and approve a permit. >> speakers in favor of the permanencit? >> first, i regret ever signing this lease, because i could not even get to sleep because opponents tried to delay mae.

they try to open a self-service restaurant in the japan malkofl they are just trying to do a small business not related to any formula retail. i hope you understand and please approve my plan so we can go on with our lives. >> are other speakers in favor of the project sponsor? >> my name is tommy wu. the reason i do not know why some people are against this is because i design a lot of restaurants. i do not worry about this particular one, the clothes are

designed lots of restaurants like this one. -- because i designed lots of restaurants like this one. this is completely different, so one restaurant, they cooked chicken in every night. i do not see why they worry about competition, so i just want to say there is no relationship that i know of. they have about 100 people, and i do not know why they worry about competition.

>> thank you. are there any other speakers in favor of the project? if not, you have to menace -- two minutes. you have a two-minute rebuttal. >> both speakers reference the small size and of the space, approximately 500 square feet. the space was located in a key location, so the size is irrelevant. second, the two other stores, as

far as i know, we never saw a notice of them going in, and they were in before there was any chance to object. as to this being necessary, it is not the case that other short order and restaurant facilities and not attract children. children go all the time in the west small. -- the west mall. another one is not necessary nor does it contribute to the community. it is perhaps revealing that kb is attempting to apply for the permit in the first place.

our beef is not anything personal. our concern is for the introduction of formula retail, even if it is carefully designed into the community. >> thank you. project sponsor, you have two minutes if you wish. flexner and no public comment. -- >> no further comment. >> my architect did the project, so that is why we had it on the original plan. there is only one kobe bento. it is going to be a different

team, but in terms of logo, there are many different logos. in general, it is the same in taiwan and china. it is basically a logo design for the tapioca of business. >> public comment is closed. comissioner moore: we have spent quite a lot of time talking about japan down, and since this

area does not have a fully authorized neighborhood planning effort, it has been done by volunteers who have produced amazing results triggered an -- amazing results. i see the japan towne mall almost as the community's main street. that is where things are happening. that is where you meet your neighbors and friends who do not live in the city anymore. when we all started the application for the store which originally met resistance, and as we were listening and guiding discussion, it was interesting to see that it was a large

community of participation and warm up to the way we are seeing it. i feel the biggest mistake is in the questionable application by which this project was brought forward. how was it scratched out not to fit, and that bothers me. i could not be more clear about it, because even when we have southern applications every day we have other applications, we have always taken a stand back approach, and i want to take a stand track approach to this one. i have been on this long enough, and i remember the very unfortunate discussions we have

had, and that is a name you will remember easily. i want to kind those -- to find ways to support this project but more on the side of caution. >> i do have a question for the building management company and the japan town community center, because it is now 800,000 square feet in the mall, and they have almost 27,000 stores in japan, 563 stores in 24 countries, and

i want to reconcile about because people do not seem to be opposed, and i want to ask if there was a position around the expansion of the store. they say they have a goal of opening 10 or 20 new stores every month. how they felt it was ok to expand like that, i want to understand that, because in the future they will be formula of retail, and clearly they are on a major expansion plan. i would love for someone to comment on that, and i have a couple of questions for the property owner of the applicants for this cafe. can you come up for a second?

you are an independent applicant who applied for a lease? not a parent company? what is your relationship which the company? >> my family owns a printing company, so we used to do some printing. what happens is the logos we designed, but in general. >> my question is are you planning and -- are they a major supplier of yours? >> is probably 50% overall.

>> we have heard a number ranging from five % to 30%. you have a relationship. >> safeway, costco. >> what is your general plan? is it a tapioca cafe? >> simple snacks. probably a little bit of sandwich. >> would be sweet or savory things as well? >> probably ice cream. >> i am trying to figure out if i could have lunch there is, or if i would go after lunch. >> probably after lunch. >> more of a desert kind of

place. because of the relationship, i guess i am confused about the plan. this architect, who hired him? >> my family. tommy is busy. he forgot to change it. >> where does the other name comes from? it is not a formula retail? in the u.s. there is only one location. quickly is a separate brand. we have that issue -- for example blacks leave was

considered formula retail, but when a store by gap opened, it was a different line. i am trying to figure out what your relationship is. did they own the space at some point, or were they looking at the space? >> no, that was different. i do not have a lot of money. it is not easy to maintain this lease. it was june when we applied the lease, and on the last day, opposition filed this review. >> i am trying to figure out how kobe