do we back conditional use amendment. silver is the fact of our board -- rarer is the fact that our board voted unanimously to allow this to happen. we would like to see this generalized not only in north beach but throughout the city. it is the same business model, so i would respectfully ask that all of you vote for this to happen. if there is a problem of businesses morphing into nightclubs, they should be fined and if necessary shutdown, but we should not base our permit process on fear. we should base it on hopes and what shows the best of our city, and this is part of the culture of our city.

thank you for your time. >> commissioners, good afternoon. i am a past president of the association. i have had a few meals. they are good with people. the minor amplification is a small thing with the proposed restrictions. it would add a touch of color and fund vitality as well, which is about -- what it is about. they're asking you for permission to rather than doing it without. there has been a structural bias against all forms of proposed entertainment. i am happy to see that is

remaining. it would be absurd to deny this application. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. i asked you to pass this, because it is very much needed. they have been there a long time, and i do like singing. right down the street, they have a restaurant where the waiters be singing while you are eating, and i believe it is on golden gate and fns. what is the difference. let us all sing. i love to sing. [list of names]

>> my name is fell more patrick. i want to thank you for allowing me to speak today. i am speaking as a resident of north beach since 1985. i have nothing new to add regarding this, just speaking as a neighbor of north beach community, and i hope we can do everything possible to support business in north beach before the community is completely destroyed. it will be nice if we remember telegraph hill is a part of the community. there are many different types of people in the community. thank you. >> [list of names]

>> commissioners, i am a longtime resident of north beach, and if any of you have dogs, you will understand this. i would like language that would prohibit an opera singer from going above high c. >> thank you for allowing me to speak. i live on telegraph hill. i totally support planning and

everything he has agreed to for this proposition. >> can you state your name for the record? >> thank you. >> my name is sherry. i said i was not going to talk and then changed my mind. i live on union street. what i hear all the time from tourists is where is north beach? we are in washington square park, and they come there because they have read the information, and it has really changed a lot. they are looking for the restaurants and a culture. anything we can do to add that is a real plus considering the economic situation of the city

and the people who live here and how much we need that tourist dollar. >> thank you. >> i am consultant to the project sponsor. if rodney king were here, he would say, can we all sing along? i did talk to the landlord, and he was very specific. he is not going to preach his lease. the restaurant is going to be virtually no change other than a cultural enhancement, so that is clear. i did a lot of expensive and out of reach with project sponsors, basically door-to-door activity, and it was about 98% positive.

the thing that is concerning is i want people to go through the process and do the outreach, not to be punished. there are a lot of people that have the music, everything is fine -- there are a please four on record, and it is -- at least four on record, and it is the wrong message. there is a message where some people have to get permits. some people do not have to get permits, and what we need is a level playing field where if you want to have the music, go through the process. thank you, and i hope we see the great opera singer that performed today, and i am sure

the rest of the public would like to see the singing waiter and opera singers. >> i am a business owner on fisherman's wharf. i live in the neighborhood. i send a lot of tourists to the restaurant. the restaurant is fantastic, and i do not see it becoming a night club. the restaurant is fantastic. i send a lot of business people to the restaurant. i do not know if you have had a chance to eat there. it is fantastic. if you have been on columbus's street, it would be nice to hear that. life is good.

i am sure you will be happy, and i definitely support it. you should, too. goo>> [list of names] >> good afternoon, commissioners spirited -- commissioners. i am a native san franciscan, and i grew up with some of block and a half of the restaurant. i have been in the neighborhood for 60 years, and north beach has a lot of history. we use to fight when we were kids, but we do not fight any

more. i think it is important to respect the culture of the italians, because they have been there a long time. it is very important to keep this culture going for north beach. a lot of people come to north beach because of the italians, because of the food they serve, because of the style and the authentic italian atmosphere. i hope you consider to approve the conditional use so that we can have italian music and italian singing in the restaurant. i think it is really nice for san francisco. thank you so much. >> [list of names]

>> thank you, commissioners. gi want to touch on a couple of things. i have been in the entertainment industry for a number of years, and i have eaten there. it has great food, a great wine. i have had other people tell me it is the best food they have had in north beach. it is the best experience. to have a renown waiters sing an

italian opera song while they eat now, that is not a crime. that should not be illegal. i really respect the fact they are going through the process, doing full community outreach. they are not a night club. they are not going to make any problem for the police or the neighbors. they are not going to be going after hours. they have a proven track record. they are good for the community. they are going to preserve the italian culture and maybe even irish and german. i am looking forward to relaxing and not being hassled by people.

this is not that kind of place. less approve this project. >> i am also 100% sicilian. my office is a few blocks away. i am qualified to speak on this. i think it is a relatively small change. it is exactly the thing we want to see, and thank you for approving. >> thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am third generation of north beach.

i also represent an italian governing board. the article today i got over 20 calls from people who live in san francisco in support of this. it does not some like there is any issues. it is not going to be turned into a nightclub. it is unfortunate we even have to be here, but i appreciate your time. a lot of the comments were in terms of the city losing its vision, and this makes you think about the city listing if division paraded -- its vision. we should continue to keep the italian culture alive. >> good afternoon,

commissioners. much of what i was going to say has already been said, so i will go for brevity. my wife and i have been at the restaurant several times. it is very low-key. if there is anyone that has any fears, that would become a police enforcement issue, but that will not be the case with this restaurant. >> thank you. >> i cannot offer too much more than anyone else has. i am in the process of starting an italian when men's club, and many members are in their 60's -- italian women's club, and many members are in their 60's or 70's.

it is part of the culture and part of what we should be supporting in north beach, and the restaurant is willing to meet in the middle, and they are not looking for it to be external. they are offering what they can to do what they would like while still supporting as many people as they can who may or may not agree. i am in support of this. i think it is really important. it is something san francisco needs to hold on to. it keeps bringing vibrant young people to support whatever culture it maybe. >> is there additional public comment on this item? if not, public comment is closed.

i think the restaurant is probably on the plaza, although there has been some there, but not much. this is a san francisco tradition that goes back to my youth. what happened in those instances, usually they had a quiet piano instead a los speakers. we have the chorus that is internationally known.

what happened years ago -- those of you that remember will remember the fact that audience members who were in the opera chorus would get up and do a duet, so if you look at conditions of approval, it states one electronically amplified singer. i would like it change to change the word singer to microphone. one of electrically modified microphone rather than singer, because i do not think the sound that will come out is going to be that much greater, but i

would not like to see a technical violation should someone starts to join in a duet. is that ok with you? >> i am very supportive of this. their business is a great business. they have found old murals. there is a beautiful coliseum mural, and i think they have done a great job of making their, she -- hommage to italy. you know they are in the restaurant business. they are real italians from italy, and they are staples of

the community. i was hoping they would bring the opera singer with them. i have heard him sing, and he is quite good. i think it is why north beach was ranked the no. 1 neighborhood in the u.s. what makes san francisco so neat is the pocket neighborhoods often represent all the cultures around the world, and that is what is so special about north beach and about what this project now offers us. we do not have an italian opera in san francisco, and this is a great way for the casual visitor to engage, because not all are going to go to the opera house. there is a church on the corner. there is an italian pottery place, a church. it is not even possible to turn

that locked into a nightclub if you wanted soup. i am going to make a motion is to approve with the change to amplify the microphone and then leave it at that. if other conditions have particular tweaks, but i think this is the direction the city ought to be going in, the direction of art and culture and literature, and we should be supporting those we know will do it responsibly. >> second. >> thank you. i have to admit i am not 100% sicilian, but i am 100% italian. this has tons of support, and it is a little disquieting to see some restaurants closing, so we have the support businesses that are doing well.

the singer's name is luka, which should be very popular here, but i had a similar experience in savannah, where we had a singer singing with accompaniments. he was singing sinatra, and he had it 3-recorded, and they cut off the sound track, and he would sing sinatra. trying to sing that of the apollo is really difficult. i think it is more interesting -- trying to sing that acapella is really difficult. as think it is more interested with a pre-record and track. it is a great thing, and i think it would really help, and i am looking forward to hearing him sing. comissioner sugaya: i am in support of it.

i was waiting for my brown paper envelopes to come from the seville to -- offices zillions. i never got close, so i've -- come from the civilians -- sicilians. i never got that, so i might vote against it. i thought we were talking about amplified microphones? can we get a prescription? >> it does say electronically- modified singing and accompaniments. >> is that the way it was meant to be? >> the singer would have a microphone. >> people who have testified might find there is a little bit of an undercurrent of blame being placed on one of parent

neighborhood organization that voiced some concern about this turning into a nightclub. there has been a characterization that is negative, but there is some background that i think people should understand, and characterization of operators as being trustworthy, did people, we believe that when we are here, but then when you get examples like the market that was approved and is now in violation of its use permit, of the bookstore that was to be a trusted establishment, and there has been a staff visit to that establishment, which i feel is in a violation of their conditional use permit.

we had a thai restaurant that got approval but was overturned by the board of supervisors because they were not in compliance with terms of their previous agreement. these are some examples but make some commissioners a little wary when confronted with this kind of situation. i do not have any problem, but as a background to people who have testified, i think sometimes we carry some baggage. it is not all because we do not like entertainment. it is not because we are against amplified music or we have been persuaded this might turn into a nightclub. it is that over the years there have become examples where

people have not followed up on what they said they would, so i am fully supportive. vice-president olague: i want to mention that i do support this, although i do agree with the comments that sometimes we are vigilant in our discussions because of a few bad players involved in some of the issues, so i think also they have contributed a lot to north beach and keeping its character, so i think it is a lot of groups actively working to maintain its character that is good, so i wanted to make mention. i do not want to join in the mockery of a certain neighborhood group.

i do support this use >> commissioner more. >> i commend your courage to speak on what is probably in the back of some of our minds. it is sometimes hard to be the bad guys. i did not want to be labour the point, but i strongly support what was said. what i would like to add is that we are talking about italian opera and not about anything else that comes amplified with background music. then we have a discussion about karaoke. i would like to add that this is done with the specific intent, and appreciation of italian opera music -- i would like to have that spelled out, because

quickly things turn the other way, and if we are supporting young opera singers -- i think sentences for has produced some but not many, then let's be clear about what we've appreciated about north beach and the italian music at that time. you are trying to support italian culture, and what am i discriminating against if that is what i approve? >> please, you know better than to comment. >> i would like to ask the staff to comment on its.

what i am being asked is to approve italian opera singing as amplified in this particular restaurant. i think the only plan is to do that, and what guarantee do i have that is the case? the people speaking are reneging on what they are trying to tell us here. >> i do not think it is possible to save the music can be only italian. [applause] >> can i ask you to leaves? everyone of you knows better. >> i think you could say the limitation is on one microphone. there could be different types of