children and none of them use drugs. marijuana is a medicine. the there is separation between my use and my children's availability for them to access it. youñr keep it like you would medicine. keep away from your children. i think -- i have been tooç may dispensaries in sentences go. i keep coming back to the green cross for two reasons. they have the best quality and the best price. if you want to support what makes san francisco unique and interesting,w3 supporting successful good businesses, you should support the green cross. i have done the research. they're the best. that is all i have to say. thank you. commissioner antonini: thank you. >> cresskill videtsfisit does sy

medication to keep fromt( using drugs that cause me were side effects. -- worst side effects. like many have said, the green cross is professional. what i love is the information they provide so i can make an informed decision about the prescriptions i want to use. what works best for me. i]the idea of being able to come in and talk to their staff, they're so informed to find out what strains are available. what chemical compositions they have, what works best for me and my illness. what other patients might be

using that would work for me. that would be valuable. i would like to address the issue of the fear in the community. it is unfortunate. i am a patient. i am not a criminal. i am not a drug addict. t(i do not abuse or use medical marijuanaç in -- around the children. i have respect for the neighborhood. and just to say that there could possibly be more people here as well in favor of this, but cannot be here because they are ill. i want to bringç attention to that. thank you. commissioner antonini: thank you. are there additional speakers in please come up. okç>> good evening.

i am the assistant manager at green cross. shaha iñr wanted to add on to that. as a delivery service, we're not just a delivery service. we inform patients that are not aware of what medical cannabis does to help out. all they would get e-mails and phone calls asking how they can be helped by medical cannabis. they're not aware of it. i look at it as we're an educational service for medical cannabis because there are so many patients. before started here, i would -- was always thinking, it does not really help. it is nonsense. after working there, just got so much information about it. çhearing from patients oliver talking on the phone, being on delivery.

talking to patients, cit has helped them. you learned so much from just talking to other patients. it is a good educational service we provide as well. i can only see as helping culmore patients, bringing more knowledge about medical cannabis to other people who will not have that information brought to them. i wanted to bring that up as well. çfor the more -- talkingç abo kevin, he provides the most professional service i have worked at. he has for the most part changed my life and how 08 boss can -- a boss can affect your life. it would only bring good to more people. i fully hope it is approved for that reason as well. thank you.

commissioner antonini: thank you. >> i have been on a native san franciscan all my life and to me, it is an honor to be part of this organization. to see the good it does and be helpful to people in different situations and circumstances. i am here in support of the green cross getting approval and -- i have seen all these situations and complications that a dispensary may have. i am here to address them and i can see what the concerns are about. i am here to say that i will take care of that. thank you. >> good evening. i am an employee at the green cross prater would like to speak on behalf of the organization.

have the -- having the facility open. i am proud of my position. i am proud of where our work. i am a student on my way to get the marketing degree. i'm not a gang banger. i do not spray paint. i tried to contribute to my society, to my neighborhood. i wish that people who came to oppose this notice that we are trying toç make the neighborhod a better place and would like can -- to contribute to the city and with your progressive thoughts and with our medical cannabis, this is how it has helped people who are in pain and misery. i hope you take the time to consider opening this place. thank you. >> thank you. >> the evening. -- good evening. i am a strong supporter ofç the green cross. there is no doubt that the green

cross would be a positive addition to the neighborhood. i grew up in the excelsior district. it is not the best neighborhood out there. my parents moved out there for right reasons. it is cheaper. i eighth went to school out there. there is no doubt in my mind we would make the neighborhood a much safer place. we have implemented cameras and we will be out there on patrol. we will definitely improve the lifestyle of the neighborhood. i strongly disagree with the people who say our neighborhood is going to turn into this bad thing when we show up. a lot of the opposition has said the neighborhood -- it is already a bad place and for that say, i will let you know that. we will definitely make it a

better and cleaner and safer neighborhood. thank you. >> my name is santonio. thanks for having this hearing. i got a cold today. i did not feel like coming here to do this. the green cross has been are really get cameras dispensary for me to work with. i am born and raised in the bay area. i am 39. there was a time like someone mentioned before when i grew up in san jose. there was graffiti, there was cannabis in people's pockets on corners and honestly, it is a ridiculous conversation to have. in this day and age when we all know how one can go through life

in many different ways and come to a reality. a friend of mine used to live in the excelsior neighborhood. when she was there, i spent four years around trade as seminal and getting gas of on the corner at geneva. it has always been a particularly rough neighborhood. i can see that only improving with the green cross. this is the type of organization, i have had my card u or 11 years now. somebody else mentioned they keep coming back to the green cross. i do, too. thank you. commissioner antonini: i there additional speakers in favor of the project sponsor? iñ>> hello and good evening.

i am coming to you today as a third-generation san franciscan and also someone who was raised in the neighborhood. i went to balboa. i know all about the area in the neighborhood. i want to tell you that the green cross being there would be a good thing for. my grandmother lives in the neighborhood. i go there all the time. i recently became a certified massage therapist. they're still hiring and giving opportunities to people who are looking for work. i recommend that you approve what it does best. thank you. >>commissioner antoéini: i there additional speakers in favor? d.r. requestor, you have two minutes for rebuttal.

>> i wanted to mention one thing. there was a gentleman who said the closest mcd was 31st -- 29th and mission, but we have another one on ocean avenue. it is sam wished in between those two -- sandwiched in between those two. commissioner antonini: present sponsor, you have two minutes. -- project sponsor, you have two minutes. >> i would like to start this off on the right foot. it is the green cross's intention to prove to the opposition -- the opposition wrong, to prove their concerns unfounded. we will do everything inç our power to work with good members of the neighborhood were opposed and make them the neighborhood a much better place. the last time the green cross

applied for a permit, there was one person who spoke and she was middle-of-the-road. she had some hesitancy but she was not opposed. she was across the street from the current permit location. the greeni]it will do everythine it unfounded, and with that, i will submit it to the board. >> thank you. >> is a public comment clothes? -- is a public comment closed? >> yes. >> the report i saw said there would be no on-site consumption.

and what is the clarification. >> there will be no on-site consumption. no on-site consumption whatsoever. >> go ahead. >> i want to address what officer mccarthy mentioned about surveillance and the request that the police get their own view. i want to point out that was addressed with the board of supervisors. the board of supervisors rejected that proposal. there would be some serious concerns with police having their own views, and it would be a great deterrent for folks who are not committing any crime under california law. the idea of 13 down crime means we would bring down violent crime and what i would refer to

as a real crime. >> i believe there was some talk of cameras. >> there would be cameras on the street, and that would be used to record of violent crime, muggings, that kind of thing, but the concern would be if the police would have lifetime feet, they would get to see everything that occurs. >> were there to be a problem, that would be something you would have to give to them. >> the police would have to subpoena the video footage, and there would be an opportunity to challenge. >> that is always the case. i have another question, and that is that some of your dispensaries our delivery

service and not dispensaries. you have a couple were you cannot get it. you have toç get it delivered. >> there are two types of dispensaries. there are storm front dispensaries were you have to walk in. you can talk to somebody about what is the best for the ailments you suffer froilw3 and there are delivery services. there are many patients who cannot leave their home, so it is difficult to get to the service, so you have the two types, but they are both considered dispensaries. >> why not make this a place where you would call in, you get in a vise, and you make your order? somehow you -- you get advice, and you make your order, and it is delivered to the patients? >> for newt( patients, and they

just got diagnosed, and they just got their medical marijuana card. they do not know what they want, and it is important to be able to see the marijuana, to touch it, smell it, have a conversation with someone, get a broken up into smaller quantities. it is unreasonable to deliver $20 of marijuana every time, so eason why it is important to have a combination of storefront and delivery, and this is an area that is successful by public transit -- accessible by public transport. >> i understand. that is just a suggestion. i will have some questions. i also have a questiont(%q fore dr requester. i do not expect you to give me

an answer at this time about any kind of preference, but in my mind it seems as though there would probably be a dispensary somewhere in the area of excelsior because of a geographic regions. i do not know whether you feel this location is better, or do you have a feeling about where would be the least injury as a place? >> i knew you would ask me that question. as difficult as it would be to take a location, i almost cannot do thatç common -- cannot do that, because i met a group of people who said we cannot file a dr commook, so i cannot give one location. ç>> i understand that. >> there are a couple of organizations that were asking if i was filing a dr, and they

said they suppo+ted us in the dr. >> i understand. just getting back out there. the other questions. mine are mostly comments. t(i am impressed that i got letters from the boys and girls club in opposition. i understand the concerns, and it is a situation that is less than ideal. unfortunately, you have got a controlled substance that is not purchasable. it is a prescription thing, but it is also a cash business, and they are[t( all difficult situations. weç deal with jurisdictional problems. it would be nice if we had a state controlled situation where it would notç be run as an individual business. it lends itself to problems when youç have so much cash and this

like that, but i have had some w3dealings with green cross. they seemed to be one of the better purveyors of medical marijuana from what i can see. i have mixed feelings. i am not sure how i am going to vote, but i want to hear what some ofiñ the visitors have to say, and i have one question for staff. corpus christi close. i think it is 1,000 feet. there could be another school in the future because ofç facilits there. is that correct? >> i did see an article that mentions they are planning to close, but i cannot confirm that. it is in the vicinity map that çwas provided, but there are no non schools, private or public sector within 1,000 feet radius

of the location. >> as far as i know, a corpus christi is closed, so i want to make sure it is taken into consideration. since it is out of 1,000 feet, it is not going to be a factor in the way. >> it is interesting because medical marijuana dispensaries are not a conditional use, so they do not have to meet the desirable threshold. because of our local laws, there are few places where you can cite itsç, so the threshold is unfortunate. unfortunately, everywhere you want to cite one, we get the same concerns, which is not exceptional or extraordinary. i know it is difficult because people have a lot of fear about

medical marijuana contributing to the neighborhood around them. i have five within three blocks of where i live, so i am in the heart of medical marijuana dispensaries, and it is interesting because some you would notç know about was what they did. you do not even know they are there. çsome liquor stores look like liquor stores. some do not. i think when you have a variety of any sort of use, there are some that are beautiful and çwonderful, and there are othes that are not. what i want to assure people is i do not haveçói] any i do not t to walkçç by, and i do not hae anywhere there is sufficient activity, and it is interesting because they were approved at differentç times where we must have had different ways. some places are really opened,

and they look really nice. some have a door. there is someone standing outside, and they feel restrictive. luckily, we have come a long way in understanding these facilities and making sure they are welcome to the neighborhood. q%r not made any distinctionç betwn medical marijuana dispensaries or other purposes, primarily because we have set the regulation in such a way that it encourages saturation, so i would highly recommend they issue you have you take it to the board of supervisors and revisit the guidelines.

in a dead city like san francisco, meeting the threshold of 1,000 feet of having no facilities -- in a city like san francisco, meeting the threshold of 1,000 feet with no facility would be difficult. people have the same problems with antennas, where it is the same issue, and there is a law that limits the places we can place those antennas, but i want to assure people i do not ever feel unsafe. they are obviously serving a purpose for people who need to that purpose. i do not see people queuing on the sidewalk. the problem is, whether it is a have operated respectfully, and

not everybody is happy to hear çthat, but i want to reassure people in really is about providing access and the way the guidelines are written for seven francisco. this is the way we have to do it. various not anything extraordinary today, and i recognize this seems who -- there is not anything extraordinary today, but this is the way it is written. >> this commission house to determine whether or not this application creates an extraordinary circumstance, and given the rules we are considering, the 1,000 foot radius and education facilities not being within that radius, and it does not include kindergarten or day care.

there is nothing extraordinary about what we are hearing. i am comfortable with the framework, and with a personal testimony living near five dispensarigsq support, a given asset -- given that what happens is a byproduct, i would suggest the would like toç reflect on mr. reed having been in front of this commission three or four or five turns, and he has been taken through the wringer several times before. he has been in difficult situations, but he also was taken on for a number of other issuesçó, but now he always,

given the large support he had by patience oft( on race, creed, -- age, creed, or color, he had people speak for him personally, because it is really the ultimateç priority of the individual to conduct himself to make a difference for what the outcome is, and i only put a very positive things about him running, and the delivery and then theç pickup, no consumptin on site, etc., so i personally cannot see anything by which i would not support this application,t( and]i i want toi appreciate people speaking about their concerns. i appreciate people speaking about their fears, but i feel comfortable extending support to

thisç vico's it meets all of te applicable standards and -- to this because it meets all the applicable standards, including the new ones for ada compliant access, and it has a safeguard with the planning department and other voices in the community. >> the motion? >> that is the motion. that is the report in but not anythingç regarding the camera. but is not within our purview. >> i have a couple of thoughts. i want to thank everyone who çshowed up tonight. i say it is difficult for mono legal folks -- lingual folks to

testify, so i appreciate that. that leads me to talk about being a good neighbor, and there is a lot of testimony for how mr. reed has beenç a good neighbor. i would encourage you thinking about who the community is, and i want to echo the thought about how the dispensary does meet all done planning codesç, but also there is a place that needs to consider clusteringç. it may be the way that the city regulates five soon. -- fast food. to think about howç to cluster

and thinking about how close locations are to one another. comissioner sugaya: mr. reed and i go back even further. he was with us of the board of appeals fairly early on, so we have been dealing with this for çóquite awhile. w3commissioner moore said this better than i did. i am fully supportive of the motion. if we turn to supervisor avalos 's letter, he is