walk-up facility will be in the form of a take up -- takeout window. it willthat takeout window woule located 44 feet from the nearest intersection and adjacent to a 10-foot wide sidewalk on polk street. no other take-out windows are nearby and there are no bike racks or many stops. the owner has not indicated the restaurant will operate later that current closing time of 9:00 p.m. and application materials are in discussion for the staff. restaurant could operate the restaurant until 2:00 a.m. without a conditional use operation it -- authorization. the restaurant does not have authorization for alcohol sales. staff has received letters of support from the lower polk

neighbors with 400 people who support it. there were concerns the project would contribute late-night loitering in the area. the analysis of the project, staff has found several assets would be compatible with a bread for the following reason -- it would minimize obstructions on the sidewalk, and it would use an underutilized portion of the storefront. the project permit the continued operation of an established a locally-owned business. for these reasons, the staff recommends commission approved the conditional use authorization. i will be available for questions. >> project sponsor?

>> good afternoon, commissioners. >> rim one of the owners of the cafe and i recall -- i am requesting this walk up window. -- i am not one of the owners of the cafe and i am requesting this walkup window. i am amazed to hear negative thoughts about polk street. i have been in the neighborhood since 1984 and i've only seen improvements more than non improvement. for example, at this location, there used to be a store that was open 24 hours and the police

department was there almost every single night. since we took over, we cleaned it up and i'm not going to say we improved the whole intersection, but we did a lot better than the previous person. we have very decent fine dining place that is nicely appointed by a very decent people. i have never had any problem. i have never had to call police whatsoever. i have unbelievable reviews whether with the "san francisco chronicle" or the "sf weekly" all of those, i have been awarded from all of those websites. the idea is to just have a walk up window and to continue

exactly the work that i am doing right there. it is exactly the same way. that's all i have to say. when we took over, we had to go through the conditional use the same way. we were allowed to operate from 6:00 a.m. all the way until 2:00 a.m. right now, i'm doing a little bit different hours. i am just asking for exact same proposal i submitted the first

time. it's just a continuance of the work we are doing. thank you very much. president fong: i have some speaker cards. >> how want to say everything he told you about his restaurant, it's true. if you haven't eaten there, you should. i'm not angry at this man, i am angry with him. he is trying to deal and he has been dealt. look at the photographs at the end of that package. at his restaurant for crack what you crave -- that's what has been done by these bars and the mayor's people they send in, the managers -- that is what has

been done. all of the disarray around his restaurant. my understanding is he close is quite early now because he doesn't want to deal with those customers and they would keep away the kind of customers he would want to deal with. anybody going to the mosque right around the corner has to pass by all of that stuff. all of those ads which are now painted black. i tried to call planning to see if something could be done about it. how can restaurant, a proper restaurant like his survive in an atmosphere like you have created. this is from one of your former planners who retired in this area quite well and use it to work there. she said we used to go out there at night and we would talk with the merchants and they did not want next to them places like all of these bars or sexy

lingerie shops, that they harmed businesses like his. what happened when there were other food vendors to set up on the street? i have no question about his good nature or intent. what happened is all of the drunks from the bars gathered around their out whenever our it was an people the residents had to call the police to clear them out. they had no permit, so it was easy to clear them out. whenever his intent is, that's the kind of thing that's going to happen there. we can't have more disruption added because it's disruptive around there already and he's trying to make a living. we need to have the 43 it we need to have to enforce the conditional use authorizations. the planner i mentioned said she was out there in the daytime and knew the area, so she was astonished when i told her what was going on at night. she said it was so dead that she couldn't believe any life came

to that block. essentially, the restaurants are gone. everything else is alcohol licenses now. this is not going to bring a light to the street in the daytime, but we have plenty of nighttime liveliness that we don't need. [tone] up the street, all of the police complaints which also happened at the corner there. president fong: robert garcia. >> good afternoon, commissioners. this is a bad idea.

that's just the wrong place. it's going to open a precedent and it's going to happen all along polk street. there is a service center -- 90% substance-abuse problems. 35% of mental-health problems. all of them financial problems, plus they bring in another 100 or 200 for evaluation and then they throw them out on topolk street. they are there now, congregating all over the place. you can go and see for yourself. there panhandling. i went to look at this restaurant and the rate sitting there on the street just squatting there on the street. what's going to happen when people go to those windows and pull out money to pay for items. they're going to be panhandling and snatching money.

right now, they snatched phones and everything else. it's a high crime area. we don't need any more of this. besides, the people coming in at night going to the clubs, that's just going to add to it. it's going to be closing at 9:00. his original plan, and i spoke with him when he first opened, he wanted to be open until 4:00 in the morning. the zoning would allow him to be open until 2:00 but he says he will be open until mind. he will probably be opened -- he would probably stay open until 2:00 and what -- if he chose. i don't think we ought to start down the path to open this up to even more problems. he would be covering himself because they're not going into his restaurant, but on the street, he's not going to be able to control the people who were there. i would like to say also that

the remarks about not doing any thing on polk street, i have been involved there for years and it's the lower polk neighbors who are approving these and it's going to cause even more problems. as far as the trees are concerned, there's no dirt under polk street. that is sidewalk encroachment. they are not maintained in the street is not cleaned and all the money given to these organizations come they're not doing their job. i recommend you do not approve this for the safety of everybody, including the restaurant, the people to go there to shop and other people frequenting other places. this is going to be a mess. [tone]

>> i may resident within two and a half blocks of the cafe and i also on the business within the same block. i own three more within three blocks. i have never opposed anything in front of the planning commission, however i have voted first to agree to the takeout window. but after talking to some of my neighbors and three other restaurants, they are all opposing it. some of them didn't think it was a good idea for the neighborhood. this restaurant can accommodate

a takeout section with no extra expense. i do not see how i takeout window will benefit our block, our community. it is bad enough when you walk sometimes, you have to sidestep the sidewalk because people congregating. i have personally called the authorities to remove the homeless are less fortunate from congregating on the sidewalk and drinking. for anyone who says polk street is a safe, quiet, wonderful street, maybe they need to spend a couple of hours in my establishment to know what i'm talking about, having to do with people trying to use the bathroom or not customers, having employees who have been accosted, i do not serve any hard liquor. i've been in that neighborhood for over a year now.

i have never had any issues there, but i think a window, a takeout window is not a good thing for our block. i will leave on this issue where 10 people in that room got 10 votes and i do not think it reflects the whole community. if we can to get a continuance on this item and get an approval from every restaurant on that corner within three blocks, do we allow windows for everyone to have? is that what we want in that area? thank you.

>> good afternoon, commissioners. i am here to speak on behalf of myself and them taking time off for my city job to testify. i'm a resident who lives approximately 300 feet from the business location and i fully support the project and hope it will activate a portion of the street that will act -- that is lacking activity. the proprietor took over a troubled location and has created a restaurant that's highly regarded by support his endeavor. president fong: i have a speaker card with no name that says lower pulp neighbors. >> -- i am the chairman of the lower polk neighbors. we have found them to be a good neighbor. they have changed a bad business into a nice business.

they are involved with the community and i have to say listening to all of this, i don't know how you guys listen to all of the-doom and gloom of what is happening on polk street. there are a lot of positive things going on. i'm getting depressed listening to it and i live there and it's not the same as i am hearing. we do support it. they have been good neighbors. they do not sell alcohol. the community does support it. president fong: is there any additional public comment on this item? >> i have lived in this neighborhood for 13 years and i have seen everything, every transition and has gone through. i just moved away in june of last year and every time i go back, just within the year, it's like night and day. it is unbelievable how much nicer it is down there.

the business he owns is a fabulous business. but it was an abandoned grocery store for ever. if you are worried about what goes on in lowerpolk street. not people frequenting the business. you remember black tar heroin and what was like just 10 years ago. it is night and day but he's part of the reason why. he does not want to take credit for a much better that corner is but it is because of him. his business is a community business. it's a family business. people to go in there are families. it's not just people who are transitional in the neighborhood. i think it's a great idea. president fong: any additional public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed.

>> i have been in the place and it operates very well. i have known all of the transitions probably from the late '40's on and every 5 years, it's never the same street. we have seen a few instances where people were questioning take out windows. i remember the one on lower 24th street, one of the most successful done a shops in san francisco and has activated that street. there's probably just as much foot traffic along there as there is on this section. the very fact it's going to activate the street bands people who are willing to patronize the stores to me is an absolute

positive. i am going to move to approve with one additional condition. that would be the takeout window not operate past 9:00 p.m. i don't care how early it open. i'm putting that condition in as something that we have often done for food establishments where there are questions as to later night or late-night eating. you can come back to us at some time if you wish, if you decide you want to open until midnight and see if that condition could be changed. but at the moment, because of the situation on polk street. hopefully it will improve, but in deference to the neighborhood, that additional

condition should be open. commissioner antonini: i would be in support of that and this sounds like a perfectly proper use. there have been comments about some of the problems that could be associated with the takeout window, but those are problems that existed prior to the establishment of the takeout window. i'm happy to hear from one person who testified that things have improved in the last year because a year or so or more, a couple of times walking along that street, certainly in daylight still, it was kind of a scary situation. the people who were potential coster's and loitering were not bridge and tunnel folks -- maybe they do come later in the night and cause disruptions but these would be semi permanent residence on the street, unfortunately. that is hopefully getting

better. i don't see any reason not to approve this. the other issues are going to be there regardless and those are the things we have to deal with separate from this particular establishment. commissioner moore: i have to assume that someone operates a successful restaurant, it is in their interest not to diminish the quality of that extra. should the window be disruptive to his own operation, sure he would do something about it. i'm very comfortable with seeing this happen. i support the idea of for starters, closing at 9:00. i am in full support. commissioner borden: i am supportive but i would feel bad if he has to go to another conditional use process and i wish there was a way to create some flexibility. i think if it's an establishment

for families, it sounds like t e families and one of the advantages of having a walk up window are the people you might not want in your family friendly environment would use the walkup window for a variety of reasons. my other concern is my experience with the chestnut street area try and all, one of the things that helped that a lot is the pizza place that's open until the 3:00 -- open until 3:00 in the morning. when you have a lot of stumbling, drunk people, they need food and one of the nice things about pizza place being in an active area, it gets crowded. we approved one year ago and expansion because they needed to expand. i don't believe they serve alcohol but the point is if there is an issue of people consuming too much, it's

advantageous to have a place for people to get something to eat and that's one of the things that does concern me because i see that as an issue. the closest late-night place i can think of is this take place a few blocks away. that's my only thing. which was a way to create flexibility to figure out how that might be possible. commissioner wu: i want to echo the comments that there were a number of neighborhood issues brought up with loitering or sitting on the sidewalk. but when we look for ways to improve our streets, that we look for ways to bring activities that we want to see and i think a walk up window add to that.

>> the motion on the floor is for approval with an additional condition that the takeout window not operate past 9:00. on that motion -- [roll-call] thank you. that motion passes unanimously. we can now start the regular calendar with item number 10. for 827 pacific ave. >> good afternoon. this case is a request for conditional use authorization to relocate the infusion clinic for chinese hospital to the second floor of the existing building at 827 pacific avenue, a chinatown residential commercial district. these would occupy 2800 square

feet of floor area. the chinese hospital's radiology center is relocating to the building basement and remainder the first floor would be used for health insurance offices. the project was identified in the most recent institutional master plan that was accepted by the planning commission on may 19, 2011. what the proposed uses part of chinese hospital, this is a standalone project a separate utilities from the chinese hospital replacement project. the relocation of the infusion center is necessary regardless of the reconstruction of the main hospital facilities. the project has been included in the draft environmental impact report was removed once the zoning administrator determine the project need not be included in the proposed special use district being created for the hospital replacement project.

a second categorical exemption was issued for this project. the department has not received any public comment regarding the project and the department recommends approval with conditions as it is consistent with a general plan policies and objective -- and objectives and complies with the planning code. i'm happy to answer any questions. thank you very much. >> project sponsor. >> thank you. i'm the chief operating officer for chinese hospital. i'm here as we are complying for a conditional use and it is the development of the second floor for an infusion center and our special the clinic. it's a relocation of those

services from chinese hospital and i'm here asking for your support of this conditional use and your approval. thank you. >> i have one speaker card. any public comment on this item? public comment portion is closed. commissioner wu: i'm supportive of this project. hospital serves many residents in the neighborhood. this project is able to rehab or upgrade a building internet tower. the buildings are very old and many in the neighborhood have been looking for ways to do these kinds of upgrades that maintain the character of the

neighborhood, so i think this is a great example of that kind of project and would make a motion to approve the condition. commissioner antonini: i think this was a very good project and was separated from thesud which will be coming to this and this only makes sense. they need more space than this creates valuable space in the existing chinese hospital, so i'm totally in favor. president fong: any additional comment? >> the motion before you is to approve this project with conditions as proposed on the motion. commissioner antonini: aye. commissioner borden: aye. commissioner miguel: aye. commissioner moore: aye.

commissioner sugaya: aye. commissioner wu: aye. president fong: aye. >> the motion passes unanimously. we can move to number 11, the van ness bus rapid transit project. >> we have some speakers to give you an informational presentation on the van ness bus rapid transit project. this has been planned for many years and the planning department has involved in several ways. we have done urban design studies for the corridor at three locations admission and market, city hall and we have helped the agencies to develop evaluation criteria for various alternatives and we participated in the technical review committee as well and this project has been reviewed many times by the directors working group,