>> oh, sorry. we are all in favor of affordable housing for seniors, but this project as proposed, i think, fails to recognize the impact it will have on the tenant is next door -- the tenants next door. there are many seniors and disabled in the boy hotel, and two years of heavy construction will certainly deprive them of quiet enjoyment. secondly, i do not think a food line and senior housing are compatible usage. st. anthony's has a brand-new kitchen across the street that has not been used for chip we will years. -- for two years. i am in favor of the project if there is no food line. food lines are disrespectful for

seniors in my opinion. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. i would like to ask at this time for all those in favor to stand up to show your support. certainly you can still speak to the project it you would like, but it seemed as though there was an overwhelming number of those. thank you. if any of you would like to speak, i welcome you to the microphone at this time. >> [inaudible] you can look at me and tell i'm a senior. 78 years old. i would like to say the build a pilot in his wonderful. let me say what i can say about mercy -- anyone who is fortunate enough to live in one of mercy's buildings -- they have part of

the american dream. they will be building in the tenderloin and follow the strict code of the u.s. green building council and get a silver raging -- rating. what marvelous people you are. you are the american dream builders. i have a very nice apartment. i'm extremely proud of my kitchen. four double faults, not including the stove and refrigerator. i can plug in my toaster, by crock pot, use the blender, use the electric can opener, and also, my high blood pressure kit, i can plug that in, too. i have a custom-made wooden cabinets with tons of space, with a marble counter.

right out of better homes and gardens. it is enjoyable to clean it, to keep it clean. the garden is another beautiful caring hands. let me talk about management. management is a solid team of smiling faces. it makes one feel like working there must be fun. everyone is knowledgeable, helpful, courteous, problem- solving professionals. they have mastered their areas of expertise. i've been so inspired that i gave a fancy party called staff appreciation day last year. people showed their respect by giving testimony to the staff members. there is only one thing that is sad there -- there are 100

apartments, and in this community, only have eight english-speaking people to talk to. i teach esl. larissa got me everything i needed to use for the lessons. the senior staff coming one by one and would not try to learn english. they went back to their all language groups, and it is a little lonely in my american dream. thank you. commissioner olague: is there any additional public comment? >> no, you are going to speak now. >> good afternoon. i worked with san francisco network ministry. we have been in the tenderloin

about 30 years. we run tenderloin technology labs for homeless people who are very lonely people trying to overcome the digital divide. we also run the safe house program for women, for homeless women trying to get out of prostitution. we just wanted to support the project and tell you we think it is a wonderful thing, and we hope that you folks approve it because there's such a huge need for senior housing in the tenderloin. we everyday work with people who are basically desperate for good housing, like you just heard about, and we have a great deal of respect for mercy as a developer, and also for st. anthony's foundation because they treat their clients with respect. very sensitive service provision. also, we are involved in tenderloin futures collaborative, a group that is made up of business people, residents, and organizations in the tenderloin, and the project has been presented many times,

so there is a lot of community and put that went into this, and mercy and st. anthony's foundation have been very open and sensitive to taking neighborhood concerns into account, so we hope you approve that. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. is there any additional public comment? >> i have been for dissipating. when i heard the foundation for my family and friends, i was very much interested and wanted to be a volunteer. now i am a volunteer and have been for 10 years now, so i am thankful because it was a pleasure working with this foundation that help and served the community here also, to the

partnership between st. anthony's foundation and sanford cisco network, i completed a course in the technology hardware -- between st. anthony's foundation and san francisco network. commissioner olague: find you. any additional public comment? -- thank you. any additional public comment? >> good afternoon. i have been working for the foundation -- st. anthony foundation now for 13 years, which has been a true pleasure. the work that the foundation does is very broad and

expansive. the one advantage that i have, compared to some of the staff at work there, is the fact that i know the foundation from both sides. 1996, i went through the st. anthony foundation alcohol and drug rehab. i am an alcoholic and a drug addict, but i have a clean now, as of next month, for 15 years, thanks to st. anthony foundation. i feel that any place that can give people a second chance like that, especially after going through the rehabilitation program and then hiring them on top of it to do the work that we do has got to be an advantage for any community. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. is there any additional public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioner miguel. commissioner miguel: just to correct some of the comments that were made and it is understandable, commissioner

olague and i switched roles. i am now vice-president. she is president of the commission. as far as the project is concerned, i think it is an excellent project. very well thought out. it has been planned in stages, which works, and everything that i have been able to discover about it, the phasing is very good. as far as the organizations that are involved, i did not think any further comment is necessary. the commission and myself are well aware of the work they do for the city. with that, just to get things going, i would move adoption of findings, and approval of a conditional use with conditions.

>> second. commissioner moore: i would like to ask the architect a couple of questions. my question is -- having the entry to the dining hall close to the entry of the seniors could potentially be a problem because the curing on st. anthony is a very long one. the center has great need of people when they are right, the and hungry. there is often multiple people, and crowding or clumping of people in a manner that potentially could interfere. have you taken that into consideration? >> we have. we actually worked probably for a couple of years now with both

mercy and said that is in terms of how the injuries work and with the killing occurs, and the location -- where the queuing occurs, and the location, as it hits jones, it continues to slow down, and as you enter the queue it in the lobby of st. anthony's, you will get into that arcade, which then goes down into the corner and turns up. dow jones, there is a level, so by the time you get to the point where you into the dining room, we figure it will probably hold several hundred people and also sidewalks, but you are about 6 feet above the sidewalk at the point you enter. commissioner olague: and you are prepared, should there be any interference, people will help keep the entrance free of interference with people entering. >> yes, st. anthony's has staff, and they can probably speak to that, as to how they intended to use them, but they do have a

fairly visible staff that is out in the queuing lines at all times. commissioner moore: thank you very much. i took a tour of the tenderloin just a few weeks ago. what became very apparent is that the distribution of light poles, uniform lighting, is quite spotty in the tenderloin. it was amazing to me because that being brought to our attention, and i was wondering if you paid particular attention to public works providing proper street lighting, both on jones street as well as going up on golden gate. it is actually quite shocking. commissioner sugaya jan diversion that to be on stretches where there are light poles missing. it creates a very uneven and and said pavin for pedestrians to

walk, and as you are bringing in more seniors, a larger number becomes a very important issue, and it goes beyond some small lighting on the building facade. it goes to the proper state lighting of street lighting at the right height. have you all looked at that? if not, i would very much urge you to do so and have public works give you an answer. >> i have not looked into that, but i will certainly bring it up with policy makers. commissioner olague: these projects are the ones that often allow the city to look at it again and fill in with their is something missing. you have construction. you also have quarter construction on mcalester and jones, so you might as well do it all at once -- corner construction on mcallister and jones.

commissioner antonini: this is a wonderful project. one of our earlier, enters brought up a good point, and that is the new building will provide improved electrical service, which is often not the case in some of the older structurescommenters brought upd point. i think this is a big advantage. now that you cannot do it in construction on older structures, too, but it is a lot more expensive and difficult to do, and this will be a big benefit. one of the mind of benefits, but one worth mentioning of the new construction with these housing units. commissioner sugaya: i am quite supportive, and to reinforce commissioner moore's, and, if

mr. crawford to check into that, and i would like to have staff that particular attention to the historic preservation commission's, into the eir -- comment to the eir where they suggest the proposed project should continue to be worked on with planning staffs. i will not go through the whole comment, but just to reinforce that. also, under the conditions of approval of your final design and final materials, its staff could -- one of my observations, i think, is that this is not quite in character with the national register historic district, and i say that from the standpoint of what was characterized by the architect. i think if there could be a little bit less more conscious window effect, maybe. also, i do not think that the characteristics and national

register district, the buildings in the district do not express their structural system on the exterior as this one does. those are some suggestions. i would also suggest your staff could check with commissioners, as i said before on other projects. then have them spend a session with staff and designer on this project. commissioner moore: i think none of us really wants to tinker with the building, but i would agree with what commissioner sugaya just said. we do not want to upset the schedule of the project, but, like, one quick over my help. the second thing, although it is none of our business -- i was wondering if you have interim facilities to take care of new people. to put this out of business for the length of construction

demolition would probably be 18 months to two years. i hope that you have facilities in the area. could you answer that for us? that would be very encouraging to hear. >> thank you. in our building at 150 golden gate, we build in a ground-floor dining room, and that will be utilized during the duration of the project. commissioner moore: when are you planning to start construction, if i may ask? >> july of next year. commissioner moore: thank you. commissioner olague: i have a couple of questions. i believe that commissioner moore's questions addressed the issue about the lions and the food lines, so i think that's, you know, i'm satisfied with

that response. i was wondering the impact that the construction might have on the residence. is there anything that is being done to make sure that their quality of life is not terribly impacted by the construction part of it? >> we have been meeting with the residence over the last several years to address their concerns regarding impacts during construction. we had a meeting last month that reviewed all the city requirements for construction mitigation as well as additional construction mitigation for the eir in terms of noise, tines of work -- times of war, making sure there is no effect on the building due to our construction

work next door -- times of work. our contractor came to the meeting last month and explain how they would insure their safety during construction will continue at communication during construction with the site superintendent, with his or her contact information being available to residents so they can be constantly in communication with them. commissioner olague: i believe it is the tenderloin housing clinic. >> right. we have been in communication with staff and property management also. commissioner olague: great. thank you. i support commissioner sugaya's commons, but what is important for me, and i think this could all be done within a reasonable time, to have a conversation with both commissioners and maybe any commissioners here who want to be part of the conversations as it relates to the design, but for me, what is more important is that it's stay

on schedule, that it break ground in july, and th reduced. because i work now looking at issues around senior housing, and it is really just -- there were thousands of people that -- thousands of people apply for any affordable senior housing that is -- that comes -- you know, becomes available and comes on line. i know hundreds of people who applied. maybe two or three of the ones i know actually got into what was maybe 120 units of affordable senior housing. so it is kind of like the need is sort of beyond anyone's sense of reality, really. and the other thing -- so i

think in that sense, it is addressing a need that is really there. as some of you are aware, the population in san francisco is aging. many seniors are on very fixed incomes. many that i have talked to, once they retire, there income shifts, so they can no longer afford the appointment -- apartment they have been renting for 40 or 50 years. their children move on, and they are stuck with $1,000 or more rent and very fixed income. a lot of the cuts from defense and state are intensifying. so we are talking about a population that is in severe need of affordable housing. and i have been working with mr. picarello on the project. we are looking at the condition of seniors in single room occupancy hotels. we're finding that in many instances, the only immediately available affordable housing for seniors in san francisco are

single room occupancy hotels, so we are forced to look at that stock of housing to see how we can start looking at the needs of seniors. still need to follow-up about doing some outreach in the tl. yes, so, the need is great. this is like a drop in the bucket compared to what we need. so just want to thank you for moving ahead with this project and for mr. picarello for coming out and advocating this, as usual. i also wanted to -- if you could follow-up and let us know what dpw says about the lighting and some of the other things in the area, that would be great. i think that is really all i have. commissioner antonini: i agree 100%. the importance of moving forward

on schedule, but the things that i agree with commissioner sugaya about some of the design, which at think should be fairly quick -- to be done fairly quickly and that change the interior layout of the project. maybe making the quarter so stronger to address the height of the hotel and the other buildings that are next to it, kind of set the street-there would be good. as pointed out, using a little bit more punch window approach. again, that is a facade issue, but it is one that i think would make it fit in a little bit better architecturally. but it is pretty nicely designed, i think, with those two changes, it will probably be really good. commissioner sugaya: not to hold up the project, but i thought just popped into my head. since we are considering tax incentives for certain companies

-- well, not certain companies, but a company, to be expanded into a larger area, including the tenderloin, maybe you guys could add a couple of floors on this and rent it out to future high-tech companies looking to relocate into the mid market area in the tenderloin. it would help your bottom line and it, and sure. commissioner olague: commissioners, the motion on the floor is for approval, and that will be for the adoption of ceqa findings and the conditional use approval with conditions. on that motion, commissioner antonini: -- antonini aye. commissioner borden: aye. commissioner olague: thank you, commissioners, on the various. >> on the matter of the variants, inclined to grant condition, and if anyone would like a copy of the decision letter, please give your name

and address to the secretary. commissioner olague: thank you. we're going to hear item 9 after item 15. at that time, we are hearing 16 and 17, which all relate to wireless, so we may as well do it then. we're going to hear 14 now. >> ok, thank you. commissioners, item 14 is case to thousand nine. 0646c for 524 howard st. -- 2009.0646c. >> the request before you is to continue operation of an existing temporary parking lot. if granted, the request will extend the operation for an

additional two years, which is the maximum length of entitlement permitted by a planning code for a temporary service parking lot within the district. a parking lot was first approved in 2005, but the term of the original conditional use authorization expired in 2007. the law has been in continuous operation passed this expiration and is therefore now the subject of an active code enforcement case, which a approval -- approval of the request today would resolve. the lot can accommodate up to 60 vehicles in a valley or tandem configuration. the lot was recently acquired by a new operator who installed of grit landscaping with in the parking lot and installed two street trees within planning's along the howard street property. these improvements have soften the appearance of the law -- the lot. in conclusion, believes that the parking lot is a suitable interviews for the property. it is a relatively small lot.

pursuant to planning requirements, the lot they short-term parking over daily commuter parking, so the law helps to bolster the viability of the retail, restaurant, bar, and entertainment uses in the area. staff recommends approval of the condition to extend the term of the parking lot for an additional two years. then, there is one item i would like to bring to your attention and hast out to you revised conditions of approval. there were no substantive changes from the conditions that are shown in the packet materials. however, essentially, it is just a reform rabbi of the condition of approval in order to match the recently adopted template from the department, but again, no substantive changes to the content of those conditions. that concludes my presentation. i am available for any questions. thank you. commissioner olague: thank you. project sponsor.

>> good afternoon. i would like to introduce next to me an attorney in my office. she is not here just because she can put things in a slide projector, but she knows more about this project than i do. i am here representing the operator. i do not know much about the older and his plans and have not had any contact with him. we believe your authorization will not hold of the breaking of ground if that goes forward in the next two years for any new office project there, if it goes forward, or any other kind of building you approve, given the

entitlement processes, given that even the office one has to come back to the commission, perhaps, but also that any building permits and financing and finding contractors, bidding, etc. i do not really believe that anything you did tonight would do anything to get in the way of what you really want to see on this site, which is some kind of new structure. and i do not think you disincentive is anybody who owns it today to go forward by allowing this to go forward because they would make a lot more money in something other than this as the owner. i would like to show you a little bit and give you more information about the current operation. you see on the overhead, the newly installed landscaping, irrigation, and