>> sure. >> okay, do the appellants have a copy of this? >> i could give the appellants a copy, yeah. >> what is it that you want to show us? >> it is just the plans for the parklet. it is not necessary. >> okay. >> thank you for your time tonight, the cultural renaissance started when i embarked on the ownership of other avenues in 2003. at that time, my co-owner, murphy was spearheaded a petition to keep the chain stores out of our neighborhood and most notably starbucks who wanted to move into the corner location, which may be familiar to you as the appellant's current juice bar. soon after our victory many small businesses began emerging

from the shut tered window retailed storefronts and street corners where at one point a young boy was shot dealing drugs. other avenues instrumental in helping to establish and sustain these businesses in their incubations by helping to build orders and supply businesses at cost and hang go medley and outer lands cafe. our generosity in support of these businesses that helped to create a thriving business sector that reclaiming our streets as a destination in flooding the neighborhood with an engaged and savvy dem graphic here not to just spend money but to invest in relationships. it is these relationships that keep me hear. but it said that a rising tide lifts all boats and so has the effects of the outer sunset parklet. and in our own financial profit

and loss of our other avenues which is a $1.4 million business, we have always experienced a dip in our summer. and the locals referred to july as julumber due to the fact that it gets so chilly. and yet since the arrival of the parklets in the neighborhood in the last two years, we have seen the increase of the sales of 7.9 percent in the slow month, with the daily customer count between 450 to 600 customers. we easily draw the most foot traffic to the neighborhood. and having a parklet would create a stepping stone for our customer base not only to contribute as consumers but to go with individuals in this community. and it is no secret that walkable neighborhoods are more desirable to live in and actually increase the property value, a parklet can only increase the visibility of the businesses in the proximity, as a business owner who shares the business with 23 other owners, we have all agreed to move

forward with our design knowing that the benefits of parklets out weigh the concerns raised in the brief. we want to kul vait community and not fear. parklets provide a place for non-prescribed occupancy. we are not telling you what to do in there, you can do what you want it is public property. >> that is the grouped of civic engagement that we hope to model for the community. once again a rising tide lifts all boats. and that was brought up for the parking in saturation and the other avenues and the briefs and considered this issue and does anyone consider the over saturation of cars? we would like to site the overwhelming success of the cluster of six parklets outlined in the research by the san francisco great streets progress as well as the ucla complete streets initiative and

in addition to the planning department encouragement and the approval for our parklet we feel that over saturation is not a risk. not only is it not a risk, but it is the cluster of three parklets will further promote the cultural renaissance that they have been experiencing. just as the six along have contributed to the commercial and vitality of the mission. and at this time, i would like to share the excerpts from over the 60 letters of support and 500-plus signatures that we have collected for this project. we had an open window of comment and feedback from our customer base. we accepted a box of suggestions, and comments, we had an article in our newsletter, and we went to every business on our block and subsequental blocks before and

above us to talk about what we wanted to do and this was two years ago that we started this process and since then, anotbro because they were not as transparent as we are. so, this letter in particular i am about to quote is from the coordinator of the 45th avenue, neighborhood watch john lowry and he writes in support of our parklet. that the presence of another parklet within two blocks of existing parklets would make a strong statement about the values of our neighborhood and the strength of our community. and goes on to say as an example of the impact of parklets you can look at the success of the devil's teeth parklet on 45th which has helped to rejuvenate that neighborhood. >> in may of 2015, mayor ed lee selected the bakery for the small business award. mentioning the parklet as adding to the fabric of what makes san francisco unique in

that this is a true investing in a neighbor's story while we try to attract more investments across every sector of our local economy and we continue our focus on small businesses so that we can start, stay and grow here. it is this growth that we hold as quentsenshall to maintain the business and supply the food and organic local farms and cooperatives and other small businesses. but, above all, to serve as a model of workplace democracy for the community. and we believe that hosting a park that will enable us to meet these goals in a correct and open fashion. from our neighbors sunset youth services we received a letter of support stating that we strongly support the addition of a parklet on our block because the project is in the spirit of inclusion to the public. and it values long term residents in the space we share. and this alines the vision of a

san francisco with the accessible public spaces in which we can thrive in together, free of discrimination. and once again, a rising tide lifts all boats. one of the contentions in this appeal is related to transportation and congestion. and cars and parking are only a small percentage of active commuters in san francisco. and ngo alone has a rider ship of 400,000 riders a day. and in the last five years, the number of people biking in san francisco has increased dramatic 71 percent. and to address this, i would like to site a letter of support written by kit hoj, the director of the san francisco bicycle coalition that maintains that san francisco has a huge and diverse number of people who bike and again in the last five years, the number of people biking has increased 71 percent, how are people getting around? are they driving in do they need parking? bicycling is a benefit of san

francisco's economy, and studies have shown that people on bikes spend more than business and san francisco local businesses are embracing and they are making it easier, and they will include the parking and other incentives, and straight, excuse me. safe streets begin with each of us and it is time for this city to make the start investment in bicycling that enables walkable neighborhood and livable streets. >> specifically regarding the installation of the parklet hoj states that a parklet and additional bike parking would be a great benefit to all of the businesses in the area and their customer and clients. and in closing, kitten courages the board to approve the permit for this project and create a safe judah as do i, it is to this end that we ask you the board of appeals to deny the appeal for james as a vote to safe, livable streets and the

continue to enrich our community. >> thank you. >> sure. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> from the department now. >> good evening commissioners, department of public works and i am happy to say that the parklet program is now in the third year and it is one of the first that i have experienced where it has three city departments but only working as a team, to put this together. and whereas dpw really only reviews the technical portions of the parklet design, for example, whether it is accessible to wheelchair users.

the main course of the parklet review, is done through our planning department, or through the city's planning department. and therefore, i would like to introduce paul here from the planning department. and he is the manager of the parklet program as well as in this particular case, since the appeal primarily has to do with the loss of parking. also, here, is will tabahonda th d he can address the issues with the loss of parking in the city's position. over all, we reviewed this and this one came in as one of the early requests for proposal. and to give you the overwhelming support that was presented by the applicants. and we decided to let, you know, we agreed, that the three of us, the three departments agreed to let their application go forward. as part of the application

process, modeled after our tables and chairs and display the merchandise permits and in the posting and a notice is posted on the subject business. of the department's intent to issue the permit. as a result of that notification, we did receive the objections from 3930, and 3940, i mean, from judalicious. it is the actual location and we had a public hearing and it was you know reviewed, done by our hearing officer and it was determined that based on mta's policy, about that use of parking spaces for parklets, is an appropriate use of those parking spaces. and based on that, we made a decision to approve the parklet.

>> thank you. >> let's hear from the mta representative. i have a question about parking. the subdivision of the san francisco transportation agency. >> thank you for being here. >> my question is in regard to the appellant states that there would be three space and three parking spaces that would be lost where this park was to be constructed. is that the case or is that a fact. >> there is a dispute where it is 50 feet or 36 or 37 feet.

what is the length of it? >> >> the parklet is 36 feet with the potential of 14 feet area for bicycle parking, and the addition of the bicycle parking will diminish the parking space available. >> it could yes. >> now, do you know of any studies that we have heard of several studies regarding the increase in commerce and pedestrian activity. and due to these parklets, are you aware of any studies showing that or relating that to lack... in other words, lack of commerce or lack of

commercial activity because there is no parking in the area? or does it depend on how accessible that area is in relation to public transportation. >> if i am understanding your question correctly. >> have i reviewed or seen the studies that relate to that? >> if there is no parking in an area, there is no easy parking in an area, does that impact the business. the business activity? >> i have not. >> sorry i have not reviewed that specific study. >> okay. >> so there is no, there is no evidence that that is the case. >> no. >> okay. thank you. >> those are my questions. >> in the studies, yes. >> in the studies that you reviewed is there a correlation then between increased business due to increased i mean is there any correlation at all

that the increased business is connected in any way to the increased activity bicycle access? >> our amenity to the area and that generates traffic and business and increases economic vitality. >> has there been anything that you have seen where it increased the bicycle activity verses the vehicular car activity? >> i mean is there any, i am not sure if i can frame the question here. basically i want to know if there is an inverse relationship if there are more vehicles having access or there are less cars. >> and i have not seen anything like that.

>> okay. >> i have nothing further. >> because i have a question. and soonest would be up here your alley any concerns about these parklets leading to increased parking particularly in an area where there is a muni line and potentially causing problems? i know that trucks double park when there are cars there. >> the double parking is going to happen but we have methods to address those concerns and so we have a color program where the applicants can apply for commercial vehicles, and parking spaces and we can time the spaces so that when the deliveries come those spaces will be used for the commercial activities and others are shortening time limits for the zones so those are for 30 minutes and it depends and we have a variety of tools to kind

of deal with the parking or the loading management. >> i have a question. there was reference to some other neighborhoods within multiple parklets developed. and i believe there is a correlation between the parklet and doing away with a parking place, do you have a way of analyzing at what point you will have saturation and you have eliminated too many parking places? >> i think that paul will be able to better answer that question. but i believe that is not something that we analyzed the number of parklets in a given area. >> do you want to ask. >> i have a question for you as well. >> is there any planned proposal or proposed plans to install the meters on that block? >> so that is a community decision, so that is something that we can offer the community. right now, the block is regulated with a 1-hour time

limit. >> so there is nothing that sfmta that is saying that they are going to proposed at this point? >> no. >> okay. >> i have a question for him? >> yes. >> paul from the san francisco planning department. >> did you hear my question about how you might assess when you kind of wish that the limits were removing parking places? >> when someone applies for parking we ask them to do out reach and back up and i think that i understand that the line of inquiry that you guys are asking. i don't know if there is a meaningful way to study that. if you think of the way that a

block works and the block lengths vary and the residential densities vary and the type of land uses and transit and the mix and the patterns of activities are unique in an individual place and so you know, like, so, it is hard to come up with a standard and the way that the commercial district will work is depending on these various factors. and they would establish the policy goals and the better policy and the first policy, and the mayors and pedestrian and strategy and all sort of speak to encourage and the public realms and encouraging walking and biking. when we went into valencia street it was like a million dollars or more in a block and we use the tools like the curb extensions and that will eat up some of the parking spaces to

reallocate the spaces. we can get these benefits and the costs of the city. and so, we recognize this is a sensitive issue and what we do is we ask the people to demonstrate the neighborhood support and if the neighborhood in support of it, then, we will, you know, we will adjust if and move forward. and in this case, they have demonstrated like above and beyond and i don't think that i have seen an applicant generate so much support. does that address? >> more or less? >> well,... >> go ahead. >> well, my question i don't know, are you familiar with the studies that the permit holder sites in the permit brief, the

san francisco great streets project and the san francisco parklet impact study and the ucla complete streets initiative? >> yeah. >> so, and he fights them and supportive of the point that commerce is actually positively affected. by park woods and so, are you aware of any studies that say the opposite of that? it is negatively impacted i am not aware of anything that shows. >> are these studies reliable and are they can rely on to believe that fact that commerce is actually positively impacted? >> and in your opinion? >> i mean i don't know. >> in my opinion, there is good and suggested evidence to imply it. i think that there is something that basically hard.

and i believe that and the bike study especially i have heard of and i think that was a more formal sort of study that came out of portland and what they found was that when cyclists will spend per capita less, and per week, or less per trip that they saw more trips per week and they per capita spend more than a car and i think that the study is about parklet where you replace an on street parking place. instead of getting one sigh elist for one, you are get eight or ten that can use that space.

>> what is the oldest parklet in san francisco? >> i think that it is... i have been working at the department for two and a half years and the program preceded me by nine months to a year. >> and in the older parklets have you gotten any complaints that the business has gone down since it was installed or any of these concerns or complaints about parking? i am trying to understand the trajectory. and i would say that there are two categories of complaints and we do occasionally hear about parking and i think that given the density and complexities of our neighborhoods it is relatively impossible to get con census, typically is what we see is that there are a few people and an overwhelming amount of people that are asking for it to happen. another type of complaint that

we see that it does not live up to the civic aspirations and goals of the program. so we stay specifically that again and again in our sort of manual which is the policy that we document that the parklets are supposed to be public open spaces. if you are a restaurant and you install a parklet and you can go to my restaurant and sit in the parklet and eat it and we can't ask s... because they are a brand new and young thing the city has been learning how to permit them and regulate them and what works and does not work. i think that our understanding is that we have controls with this program and to insure that they feel public. and so we hear the public. and when it feels like someone is... it lifts the private and it feels private. and the people are asked to leave the park and we hear a lot about it. >> have you ever had to remove any parklets because i know that there is a provision?

the code where you can remove it if it becomes a problem or neighborhood opposition. >> we just went through the parklet removal. >> generally the city approach is that if someone is not working we will send? the inspect or and work with the applicant and recognize that the businesses who are taking on the capitol costs and the liability and the maintenance and the design costs are prosiding a service and it is heavy handed to say that something is not working. in this case there was a parklet on 8th street that has not been maintained and it had become a nuisance and we worked with this and the original applicant had lost his business and the new business owners had not transferred the permit and it was removed. >> for lack of maintenance. >> and i think that is an important aspect of the program.

>> we tell people that these are temporary enough that sort of floats, and the parklets are not... and they are designed to the easily removed. and if it is not working staoet can revoke the permit. >> thank you. >> don't walk off yet. >> how many parklets are there currently in san francisco? >> currently we have about 40 on the ground and 39 or 40. i am not sure if the numbers are squishy because the ones that are about to start or under construction. >> how many are in application? >> we have i think about ten or 15 that have been from a long time ago running away from the process and some will not make it through. we just opened a new application process and we took a long time because we wrote this to clarify the rules of

the program. and we had 55 applicants in the latest round. and we are seeing for these spaces. >> okay. >> that application packet was not provided to us, could you summarize it simply, what are the major criteria you folks look at? when you review a application? >> so, all the businesses and the positive and a big expense and we don't often submit a design at the beginning of the process because we have to do a return and a public notice period before we can guarantee and it can move and what we asked them to do is write a little narrative, and we asked them to submit out reach,

contact out reach. and site plans showing a proposed footprint of where they would like to put it such as the access panels and we also added after some sort, and they submit that and reevaluate them. on the quality and the out reach and the five-year paving plan and the street is going to be repaved we notify them. or there may be a manhole cover or something like that we can't allow a parklet it would not be allowed in front of a fire hydrant or a bus stop. >> those are technical. are there planning criteria that you analyzed in the review process and the final review process, is density in the neighborhood an issue in the approval? >> we monitor it and we don't, we don't and i i think that if

we are limited we would rather see and we would focus on the ones in the area and the places that don't have them. we don't see the density as a negative, necessarily. you know, there s i think that there are places where the parklets have gone and the clusters have gone and i think that polk street, and valencia street and outer sunset and in north beach and i think that some of those having a few can create a destination where the people will come and help and add to the va talty of that space. so it is not currently something. >> there is no checklist of criteria that you utilized in the review and the approval process? >> yeah, typically our approach is that if people have a site that where they feel is, where there is not a technical reason why we can't stop. you know, we asked for the out reach. and we feel like they deserve an audience and they deserve a

chance and you know, someone is opposed to it then they can file an objection. >> okay. >> i got a few questions myself. so, you know besides technical, what would be the reason why you would not issue a parklet? >> following the commissioner lazarus saturation, what would determine that there are too many parklets in a particular area verses... >> i think that as we get to, mean that saturation is the main issue because the program is so young they just sort of started now. >> i think that as we get into these. and the number of parklets in the city increases this is becoming more of an issue. i think that it would be the quality of the out reach and it is not like in the latest round, for example, we