scenic street. >> staff is recommending that adding embarcadero to the scenic street and approve the mapping changes to a later date. you discussed the relative tax changes. consistent with the last action. -- you discussed the relative changes. commissioner miguel: had we not separated things down, if i had been only on this, we would have had these items as one item, basically. that is what we're doing. commissioner moore: do we have a map so we can see the map? we have that anywhere?

it is in words? >> it is in words but it is along the embarcadero. commissioner wu: any other discussion? secretary, could you repeat the motion? >> mine understanding is that you would -- my understanding is you would pull out the embarcadero scenic sign area and task that today to be mapped. all other components of the mapping legislation that is before you would be continued. i am assuming to your april 5 hearing. >> yes. >> on that motion. you asked me to call the question. commissioner antonini, aye. commissioner borden, athenaeum. commissioner moore, no.

commissioner wu, yes. this issue will come back to you on april 5. the vote was 5-1. as i announced, the project sponsors have asked you to continue this in -- item indefinitely. >> salesforce has decided to suspend their current activities on the site at mission bay and out of -- have asked for an indefinite continuance. i talked to them to confirm this was the action they were requesting. the confirmed the would like an indefinite continuance. the application is still open. they do not know whether they

will move ahead with the mission bay development. they are committed to staying in the city and will be looking at leasing space downtown. the reason for the suspension of the development activity in mission bay is they are growing at a pace they believe they need to accommodate sooner than when the mission bay buildings could be made available. i also confirmed with them, as you may know, they bought that land, right. the on 14 acres of land in mission bay. if they choose not to develop it, where of course would be concerned -- we of course would be concerned this would be developed in another fashion. as the landowner they agreed they would support future development. that meets the design principles and direction we have been working with them on and you have strongly supported in the past. there were very supportive of that as well. -- they were very supportive of

that as well. they do not know when they are moving forward but they have asked for an indefinite continuance from the commission at this time on that item. commissioner miguel: i along with anyone else in the city has been concerned about the future of the business here. and disappointed in this unexpected announcement. for many reasons. one, even though we're not losing salesforce as an entity in san francisco, what we are losing is the ability to do something in mission bay which has been missing. that is good design. and the concept of good design for an area as large as that is. as well as a different in concept of how technology firms

have positioned themselves as far as their relationship to the city is the best way i can put it. it was a new way of doing that, -- it , and it was an expression that this was the right way to go. the only other thing i can comment on is there had been another entity that was interested in that property. and that much property. and due to the entrenchment -- intransigent secrecy, the word was not out there. this has been -- for over a century. finally at the insistence and

after a legal action by the neighborhood, produced an institutional master plan. that institution a master plan shows that they are overcapacity at the campus. even though they are over capacity, they would like to expand to a total of 1 million square feet, which is nearly impossible, considering the size of allocation. and that in the next 10 to 15 years, they could possibly use another 1 million square feet. i take a look at that and take a look at the property at mission bay, which is approximately 2 million square feet. they were looking at that property prior to salesforce but the federal government moves very, very slowly. so there were -- it was taken away from them.

-- so if they were, it was taken away from them. vmac does medical research. it is 95% of the medical research is under the auspices of ucsf who is already in mission bay. it could be pretty much of a great deal there. the only thing i would add to that press back to when i started my comments -- goes back to when i started my comments on this. the design concept that sales force -- salesforce 1/4 is not the concept of a medical century -- put forth is not the concept of a medical facility. it might be an idea for them to come into the 21st century and

it might be a better use -- not a better use but a good use for the property. i am very disappointed with what has happened. commissioner antonini: thank you. i want to mention as most of you know, this is a business decision on the part of salesforce. there is nothing i can see and anyone can see other than the entitlement process and everything moving forward expeditiously. i can understand as a publicly traded company and the fact that they are growing rapidly, and as i speculated earlier and i do not know that this is necessarily true. it may be the kind of firm that more -- maybe more readily house in more vertical office space that is the case with many of the existing tech companies. they have acquired some

considerable amount of square footage in one office building already, and they have an opportunity to get more. we are going to be developing new office space in the transbay area and that would be an excellent place if it were to fit their business model. that perhaps could be one thing. and hopefully, the design and mission bay is a great design and it is one that will either fit for them or for some other company because unlike almost all the tech campuses in other parts of the peninsula, this is a campus that would be integrated into the city, which is very important. as we discussed a couple of weeks ago when we saw the plans, they would not have interior cafeterias where people were virtually locked in if not actually locked in during

the day where they would be part of that community and build -- avail themselves of what is available. perhaps you could let me know, but there is a district that exists and as owners of the property, salesforce and anyone else who owns property in mission bay is still obliged to pay into the melrose district even before any business base is improved. >> it is correct but is also based on the land and buildings. the contribution would be greater if there were boat -- there were buildings. >commissioner antonini: certainly that continues and let's hope that there is a campus similar to the one we have seen in the plans in the

near future. commissioner moore: i may be seeing -- saying the obvious. the disappointment resonates through all parts of the city. to all trades and everyone who launch of a new energy not only in mission bay, but generally, the future of the city, a new designer identified real-estate. it is hard to pull back. the presenters, the applicants were very enduring and the fairness by which they presented and the honesty they displayed, we are going to start right away. we ask the question to which we got an honest answer. all the sudden, this is

unexpected and concerned -- of concern to me. that makes it difficult during the type of -- doing the type of work we do and being sometimes disappointed about it. that is all want to say. >> because i know that we asked for public comment at the beginning of the calendar when we first announced this, because we asked, i did ask that you consider the request and the item itself and the call the item. i would suggest you call for public comment. president fong: is there public comment? >> i move to continue indefinitely. commissioner moore: could i ask if the packages should be retained or should we return them to the department, or should we just toss them?

>> the motion on the floor is for indefinite continuance of this item. on that motion, commissioner antonini, aye, commissioner borden, at aye, commissioner moore, aye, commissioner wu, at bottom. -- aye. the item has been continued indefinitely. you're on items six -- item d. >> this is a request for a mandatory discretionary review to develop the medical cannabis dispensary between market and mission street within the c3o district.

it would allow been pressing but not smoking. the site would be the first dispensary location for the project sponsor. it is not within 1,000 feet of any elementary or secondary school or a center that serves persons under 18. it is located in the few areas where the location can meet the spacing requirements. some businesses offering bonds -- instructional services in music and other arts are located in the area but they're not elementary or secondary schools and are not community centers. the yerba buena center cannot meet the definition of community service centers serving youths under 18. while there is concern about concentration, there is only one other mcd and one other facility and one approved but not open

within half a mile. the department has received a petition with 18 signatures in support and 11 phone calls, its letters, and a petition with 53 signatures. opponents of the project believe there are currently an overconcentration of medical cannabis uses in the financial district and the use will degrade their properties, leading to crime and blighted area. concerns were expressed about traffic and youth walking on the sidewalks near the area. the department recommends discretionary review and approve with conditions as the mcd complies with code and advances the objectives and policies of the general plan. the project site will be fully renovated to provide a safe, well lit and firman for medical marijuana patients with proper identification cards. commissioners, in addition, i would like to add one thing to

one of the proposed conditions of approval. the condition that relates to the need for a minor permit to alter. if you could add to that where we mentioned the wind is cannot be obscured more than 25%. if that could mention that, that would include any kind of obstruction whether it be fillmore curtains or any other mechanism. i am available for any questions. thank you very much. president fong: project sponsor? >> hi, thank you very much. is that beter? -- better? i am a native of san francisco. my family has been in the neighborhood since the 1940's and that -- at this location since the 1960's. i have seen neighbors and

businesses come and go and have been part of the development of the area attending neighborhood planning meetings with my mother. i have watched tremendous improvement over the years. the transformation is quite remarkable. i have burned two -- earned two bachelor's and an m.a. and an mfa at uc-berkeley. i have attended the cannabis career institutes. i have studied numerous healing modalities, herbology, and chi gong. i have been president of a small nonprofit college in san francisco and successfully ran another business. in the 1980's when the aids epidemic broke out, my friends and community became gravely

ill. i volunteered going to homes and hospitals, including the medical center and have had the enormous privilege and gift of helping friends through their death process. i have seen how cannabis has changed their lives, aiding in their functioning. i have learned the importance of making patients as comfortable as possible, allowing the body and mind to rest and to heal. i feel incredible compassion, understanding the pain and fear of -- that these patients face every day and have always felt what it takes to help them feel better is most important. this has been my inspiration for this endeavor. the proposed mcd will be a hard- based century providing safe, kind, and compassionate access

with commitment to patients' needs. patients -- staff will be all knowledgeable -- knowledgeable of patients' needs. the majority of patients are business professionals. the mcd will be esthetically pleasing in a quiet, contemporary way. no loitering will be allowed. the exterior and sidewalks will be kept clean drop the day. we will work with the san francisco police department with our security plan and video surveillance system to be approved by their video forensics unit. we will have a full-time security guard, and the interior and exterior will be well lit. many neighbors were enthusiastic about this location, feeling it is a perfect fit away from their homes and children. vaporizing was and greatly requested to assist with their

conditions during working hours to no longer risk medicating on the street or their workplace restroom as the financial district is too far to go home to medicate. i am -- have tried to your concerns and have been able to respond to one letter and called the planning department to respond to others'. names and contacts were not available. we have a liaisoo maintaining a collaborative, positive, ongoing, open relationship with the community. the collective will offer psychotherapy for terminally ill and severely ill patients and will donate to homeless food programs and hospice. being in the center of the transportation hub, a connecting through the entire city and bay area, we hope to bring much needed taxes and revenue to the city. there are many parking meters, parking lots, and taxis nearby. we will be a good neighbor and i

feel confident the mcd will be a positive contribution to the financial district. i look forward to continue being part of our neighborhoods evolution and a beneficial member of our community and the city of san francisco. as a long time neighbor and business owner including two generations of family proceeding me at this location, i sincerely look forward to continuing coexisting happily with everyone in this diverse, innovative neighborhood that makes san francisco such an inspiring city. thank you. sorry for my nervousness. president fong: public comment on this item? i have one card here. steve rogers. you can queue up if you want there. >> i am steve rogers with coast

counties pretty manage -- property management. we managed to buildings on mission street within a 1,000 ft radius. did any of you have the opportunity to read the letter i sent out? good. ok. so, we ask the commission to oppose this project based on exceptional and extraordinary circumstances. also to note the discretionary review that was done omitted important information and distorted other information. some key points are that it define the area as retail and high rise office and omitted the high density of schools. the academy of arts serves 20,000 students a week through

that area, from my address standing. it is a huge amount of students. during the summer they dedicate their program, i am told, to students under 18. that is a key point on here as well. in the letter i went through point by point comparing -- pointing out omissions and discretions in the discretionary review. if i do not have time to get through the mall now, you have the letter. -- through them all now, you have the letter. the high density of schools, not only the academy of arts in the area, the kaplan school, converse international, there is another important school on the border, so that would be within the 1,000 foot radius.

that is a secondary school, not considered appropriate. in our building recreation center -- in our building, recreation center wise, that could be considered a community area. it serves many students because of the density -- people under 18 as well. as far as the changing of character, we're concerned with clustering occurring as well, and also there is specific testimony in the letter from a san francisco police officer stating it does change the character in negative ways as well. traffic issues we went through a long period of intense negotiations with the academy to clear of issues.

there's a lot of issues, double parking could become a problem. i will say -- >> thank you. >> you could look at the pictures i handed out. president fong: thank you. >> i am jim patrick, with patrick and company. we have been here 35 years. we have two stores within 1,000 feet and 30 employees who work within 1,000 feet. we have a seven-story building and 300 and tenants -- 300 tenants and employees. i do not want them -- our employees or our tenant employees going out for a smoke break and doing things like that.

i do not think that is healthy or conducive to what we want to accomplish. i want the neighborhood to improve. i have been working on this for years and years. i do not want to -- this to go down. the general plan goes for -- calls for the neighborhood to go up. there are a number of schools in the neighborhood. fed has already been talked about. parking, big problem. congestion, big problem. you have worked hard on this problem and get to that and you have a big mess. financially, publicly, practically, and legally, this is not a good idea. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am the director of the

corporate work study program at immaculate conception high school. we have been working continuously in the mission district since 1883. four years ago, we were accepted to a national network of high schools that incorporate a work study program as part of the curriculum of the school. since we were accepted in the program, all the students i see, we have 240 girls practice a bit in this work study program. our students come from low- income families. -- we have to under 40 girls participating in this work study program. 32 work with corporate sponsors within 1,000 feet of the proposed site. 67 work within 2000 square feet. the one day a week these students are in this area from 8 to 5. our girls come from low-income backgrounds. many are in neighborhoods and in some cat -- instances

families where drug use is prevalent. we're trying to teach them how to become confident, productive, and responsible members of society. we do not believe that additional exposure to marijuana and availability for there's this goal. we would ask the commission to consider citing this -- siting this facility at a more appropriate location. thank you very much. >> good afternoon. imad 44 second street. i have a small business there. -- i am at 44 second street. this is a heck of a commitment at noon that you are going here and thanks for doing all you do for the city of san francisco. i wanted to mention, not in my backyard is not considered a

good citizen stance. i am not going to take that stance. after -- a few items. we have a lot of tourists. if we are trying to attract san francisco as being one of the wonderful cities to visit, i want to question the wisdom of putting it where it is and maybe not a few blocks -- maybe a few blocks back. i want to have you think about the location when it comes to downtown and interaction with the public. the federal government and state governments are going through all sorts of review's right now as you are well aware. the laws are changing. we have a number of permits out there and operations, club's going on right now. would it not be wise to consider holding off on the additional permits until we learn what is going to happen with these laws? as we know, these cards are easy to get. you