doing an excavation or something hazardous, but there was something going to fall, it would vary. but in general is usually a 30 day -- obtain a building permit within 30 days and contact the building department for inspections, and countermanding work until you get the permit. it is a stop work order. commissioner peterson: thank you. commissioner hwang: i believe the date you said you received a complaint -- the 28. all this that complaint? that work had commenced prior to issuance of the permit? >> that complaint is a real- estate company which manages the building has confirmed the above

address are putting a pharmacy, and i think it is work started prior to issuance of permits. but i do not have the details with me. >> is it over on your table? >> it is not. the first lines on it -- i do have a limited print up from the records. i did not get the original complaint. those are filed away on microphone. there was another one on june 8 saying they started construction before a permit was issued, large amount of construction going on. construction should be in commercial unit only. cmissioner hwang: you have the report of the investigator? or the inspection person? >> it seems the inspector noticed there was a permit issued. he was there on the same day for an inspection anyway.

the permit would have been -- it was filed on may 28. he was there for an inspection on may 20 -- on may 28. if he saw the complaint after that date, he would know he had been there for inspection, so he might not have had to go back. commissioner hwang: i guess i just wanted to find out the specifics of the complaint. the complaint described the work that was commenced. do could get a sense of how long something could have taken. could it have taken four days to construct whatever was being complained about? that is where my question was going. but it sounds like you do not have the specifics here. >> the permit was issued on may

24. you had four days in between. i am not sure what progress they made. i am sorry i do not have the full details of that. it was updated by the building inspector. >> mr. sanchez? >> good evening, members of the board. i would like to add a few items. the city inspector give you a detailed outline of some of the permit processing. this is located within a residential-commercial high- density zoning district. within this district, retail uses are principally permitted. when the building permit was filed on may 21, the planning department reviewed over the

counter. there is no notification required. it goes through over the counter. the board of appeals received a district -- a jurisdiction request on may 14. on june 30, the planning department said there were two permits related to work on the ground floor. the pharmacy is a principally permitted use. the second was a permit for work to convert a dwelling unit on the ground floor to a lottery and storage area. we did have records related to

the ground floor, related to the activity in the front in the commercial area. in regards to the approval process for this, it is principally permitted. however, there is still discretion. all building permits are discretionary other than certain sign permits. so the planning commission, had a dr been filed, been -- would have been able to exercise their discretionary authorities. this board had first discretionary authority. it was an interpretation from 1954 that explained they also have the right. it is with the same authority that the planning commission can approve, deny, or recommend with modification. there was no notification required. this is not a conditional use.

there is no necessary or desirable requirement here. it is simply principally permitted. those of the issues i wanted to raise. i am available for any questions. thank you. >> i have borrowed mr. sanchez's ipad because i found the -- president goh: are you addressing the question the commissioner asked? >> yes, on the wording of the complaint. the real-estate company which manages the company has confirmed they are trying to get around neighborhood protections including the police department, district inspector need to verify construction is

according to approve plans on the permit application. which actually was in place. president goh: thank you. >> we can take public comment now. if people who are interested please line up on the side of the podium. please step forward. president goh: can i see a show of hands, how many people intend to speak in public comment on this? >> we have speaker cards. if you have not filled one out before you speak, we would ask you to fill one out afterward and handed in. i do have some speaker cards already. three minutes. >> i am the executive director of the north of market tenderloin community benefit district. since 2005, we have provided neighborhood improvement efforts in the tenderloin.

we are a community-based organization that represents a broad cross-section of the neighborhood, with residents, property owners, and agencies like the housing clinic serving on our board of directors. we held a public meeting where over 50 community members have a dialogue with the owner of the pharmacy. the owners then attended a meeting of our board of directors, where they presented their project and engaged in a thorough discussion regarding community concern. our board felt the addressed all safety concerns and voted to be supportive of their business. because we are a body that represents the tenderloin, we carefully consider the context and ramifications that a business or policy might have on our neighborhood before taking a supported or opposed position. in the past, we have opposed the opposition -- the operation of the problematic liquor store and a nightclub. we have surveyed over 500

residents and used their input to develop a neighborhood safety plan. we take pride in knowing that the positions we take are truly representative of the community. it has been our experience that problematic businesses rarely engage with the community. the owners of the pharmacy have engaged with the community and made impressive efforts to address every concern that has been raised. we feel this is indicative of their future in directions. as a 12-year resident of the tenderloin, there has long been a dynamic of commuting criminals in the tenderloin, meaning that those engaging in illegal activities do not originate from the tenderloin. in this month's issue of "the central city," it says 80% of people arrested in the tenderloin lived outside of the district. this tells me that the drug sold on tenderloin street do not

originate from the neighborhood , but a broad group of commuting criminals. the police captain can probably speak to that. there is no denying challenges regarding open and blatant drug sales, but this pharmacy nor any other firms see in the neighborhood can be blamed. for this reason, we kindly ask that you allow this community business to open its doors. vice president garcia: you mentioned the police captain is here. when you had your meeting and gave approval to this project, did you have police input? did someone from the police department speak to the drug issue, whether or not it would exacerbate the problem? >> the police captain attended the community meeting. he talked about that he had engaged with the pharmacy owner and had taken a tour of the facility. he was not taking a position either way, but made some

recommendations to the owners about addressing concerns -- addressing security concerns. >> thank you. i do not see people lining up. please line up to submitting time. please lineup if you're speaking. please step forward now. >> do i have the overhead? >> speaking to the microphone, please. >> i am also a founding member of the tenderloin community

benefit district. i was the interim director. it was not formed to be a planning organization. we have the north of market coalition, a planning organization for the neighborhood. the cbd was formed for business property owners. property owners pay into the cbd. they are the entities that are served. that is the business plan for when we formed it. it has nothing to do with planning. it was not part of the jurisdiction to take over the planning for the neighborhood. we have other entities that do that. to come up here and have a meeting and all that -- this entity came to the cbd prior to

the meeting. i do not see that as under their jurisdiction, under how it was formed. i am also bring to your attention today's paper about how nine persons were indicted by a federal grand jury for drug dealing in the tenderloin. that is in "the examiner" today. the neighborhood has enough pharmacies, retail clinics, hospitals, support services to defense -- to dispense drugs. we are in the center of the city. also through the mail, you can get pharmaceuticals. the permit should be denied for the lack of zoning to cover this in the neighborhood planning code. that is the problem. unfortunately, our special use district does not include this

type of permit in it. that will be rectified probably later. we have too many pharmacies in our neighborhood. this is totally ridiculous. this is unfortunately what happens when something goes out of whack. there is a knee-jerk reaction. this is what is going on with this situation, a knee-jerk reaction of overconcentration of dispensing of drugs in our neighborhood by too many entities. and the majority of the entities are the ones on the board of the cbd. ashy was listing the names of those entities that were on the board. commissioner hwang: i'm sorry. i did not follow the last. >> the attorney read off names of the people that were on the

board at the time. those entities she was reading off their website, what they do and what they provide -- they dispense drugs in the facilities they own and operate in the neighborhood. therefore, they have a vested interest in what was being said and done. i say a vested interest, because the have properties. they represent the property owners. the community -- the community benefit district. commissioner hwang: the person who spoke prior to you was a representative of that group. >> right. there were other meetings. i am a founding member of the cbd. i was there five years ago as

the interim director for the cbd. we did not form it to be planning for the tenderloin. it was to represent -- the things she outlined in her little brief are what the cbd does for the neighborhood, but it is a non-profit. it is not to plan. >> thank you very much. >> next speaker. >> good evening, commissioners. i am the general secretariat and board member of the mosque at 48 golden gate, right there in the tenderloin. basically, i represent a whole community and congregation of worshipers in san francisco. they could not be here because they are attending to their children and their family

community center, as well as the evening prayers. i represent all of their concerns. i have signatures i can put on the overhead here. that represents a lot of those who live in the bay area, live in the tenderloin, worked in the tenderloin, as well as raise their children in the tenderloin. this case has been -- i am not here to do an emotional plea. the facts are that the children, the families everyday use the tenderloin. they walked back and forth to actually get their life into place. i'm want to emphasize important things. sean has no benefit in opposing they drugs. the fact that she worked

maintaining two buildings that i know of, a hearing to people's complaints all the way down to leaks that come from the roof. her concern is what the people's concern is about. there is no benefit in saying it is her case. this is a community case. the second thing. the provide drugs for the elderly, as the last speaker spoke for the defense. that is their claim. that is not true. as you saw in the video in the last hearing, the videos clearly show that once someone purchases drugs, as soon as they step out, the same legal drugs are sold illegally, right up the door. the video was presented and is in the record from the last

hearing. the community on and off -- the also mentioned -- the defense also mentioned the impact, if i could piggyback on the next speaker, the wonderful things on the cbd website. that is what they represent, whether it is the development commission or the low-income housing. but they are not the ones. they would want to see anything profitable. they are not the one seeing the drugs and the way they are sold. in the and, i wanted to finalize by saying one of the vacant spots is right in front of the mosque. it was turned into a beautiful moral -- merrill -- mural. vacant places do not bring crime. people hanging around does.

thank you so much. the signatures are here. thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> my name is mark blackwood. i am a tenant and resident manager of 50 golden gate. a lot of impact is felt in the neighborhood by the pharmacy that is already there. i have lived there for 16 years. we are not trying to blame a drugs. -- blame bay drugs. but the pharmacies have an impact. maybe the drugs are coming from out of the neighborhood. but all of the most intense drug traffic is down in front of those promises. -- those pharmacies. people loiter on the corner.

i cannot imagine it is going to be any different. i am sure they are going to take safety measures. i do not think the can pull it off. -- they can pull it off. i am sure they have done things in seattle, but we have no idea whether the neighborhood worked in is anything like the neighborhood we are talking about now. we know they worked out the permit. but apparently that is a moot point that they are doing that legally. no one seems to care. everyone is going on about the impact is when to have on the neighborhood and how the community organizations are for it. the community itself showed up here at all the previous hearings in force, definitely stating they did not want this in their neighborhood. they do not want to see another outlet for drugs, or even just a potentially gathering place for people selling drugs.

there are people on the street using and selling in front of apartment buildings. i have seen people shooting up, blood dripping down their arms, right in front of a residential entrance. they do not care. they are there because the drugs are there. regardless of how they feel that our point to protect us, the camp. -- they can't. >> next speaker, please. >> i have talked to you before.

i have talked to you before and i tell you that i live in the tenderloin and i have a group of other friends that together and maybe we want to go to the movies together. sometimes, we have to go back and walk on the street. it is difficult not to miss the amount of people who are there, just waiting for you to buy drugs from them. you can tell the are no good. -- they are no good. another four opened, two toward the north and two toward the embarcadero. we are not safe. we have to walk. we do not have the luxury of an

automobile. please be aware that those things happen. we are very old and cannot defend ourselves. we have no way to keep explaining to you each time when we go through all the times of encountering this type of people near us. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> my name is michael nulty. i appreciate the compassion and the patients of the commissioners. i know this has been a drawn out set of hearings. anyway. i am the director of the tenants' association of san francisco, which is made up of 100 low-income buildings, many of them in the tenderloin. our tenant leaders have troubles because we meet on turk

street, the same block as this pharmacy. we have sent in a letter stating that we do not want to see more problems be exacerbated on the block. now i am finding out that an entity i was a founding member of, the community benefit district -- i was on the steering committee, which makes him one of the incorporators of the organization. it has a management plan. that plan says certain things it is supposed to do. it is not supposed to be the council of the neighborhood. it is not supposed to be the planning on the neighborhood. it is only supposed to do what its management plan says. it is not supposed to write letters saying that it represents the tenderloin. if it does do that, we should

have a video tape so we know exactly what is being said and done. they just found out they had to be under the sunshine ordinance because they were having meetings that are not done properly. i sat on the board for five years. i had to keep reminding the board members how to do things in their meetings which they were not doing. so i have concerns about an entity speaking for the neighborhood when they should not. they are not planning organization. so i am sorry that the letter was written, because that is what the neighborhood wants. there are many community groups that have to do with residents, and they understand the impact

of what goes on in the neighborhood. the community benefit district is not wanted. also, and want to address the issue of safety. it is very important that safety exist in our community in the tenderloin. i also wanted to mention about the store fronts. there is an initiative trying to get more people to go to the store fronts in san francisco, particularly in the tenderloin. the economy is probably part of the problem. thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> my name is susan brian. i am a resident of the tenderloin. i am a member of the alliance for district 6. i was a board member of north of market planning coalition. i also was in a committee, a task force in the late 90's and.

we raised funds to start the first such vote cleaning program, which has now been taken over by the cbd. i attended many of their first meetings, and dropped in on them occasionally. unfortunately, the slots for residents from when i was observing them. the other thing is that, like i say, they did not have planning as part of their original agenda. thank you. >> next speaker. >> good evening, commissioners. i guess i and the reason that these meetings have been going on, because i am the landlord of this particular building.

i come to you as the fourth generation san consistent and the second generation to own this building. i wanted to put a face with the name landlord to the problems we have been discussing. i have to say i agree with what i have heard in this commission hearings. i do not want drugs on the streets of san francisco, not only because i am and landlord, not only because i have spent 12 years volunteering for the sheriff's department, but it is not appropriate if we are going to turn around the tenderloin, until we have irresponsible landlords who install responsible tenants in responsible businesses. i had sam's locks as a tenant for 10 years. he finally had to come to me and said he was afraid for the safety of his mother, that he needed to close the shop.