concerned about two issues. one is the noise. the noise ordinance specifically regulates -- it does not look at individuals dining and talking. that can get loud. we have a weakness in the way noises considered. i am -- noise is considered. i am more concerned about a major revision of the planning code and planning code intent by permitting commercial uses on rooftops. if we are setting the rooftop is not a story, that opens opportunities for rooftop businesses in all sorts of businesses -- sorts of districts. there are lots of ways to game the system on this. it may well be that rooftop

activity is appropriate. if that is the case, it really should be accompanied by some careful assessments of what the codes should be, what the controls should be, and what are or are not appropriate accessory uses. the idea that a business can move up in the building as accessory uses is bewildering to me. it is not what i interpret as i read the planning code for the district where i have been involved in projects. this is potentially a bad precedent if this is approved. thank you. >> thanks for your time. my name is ted's prosser -- ted stosser. i love roof of bars. i just got back from amsterdam. the city -- they are a city that

figured out how to get that right. what noise do you monitor? is it talking, ambient noise? how do you address safety? i would love for san francisco to do that. i would love for that to be successful. we have not done that. our process to approach this problem has been reactive. this is illegal. we are nowhere near a good process. we do not have a standard. the recommendation for you is also know where. it does not deal with enforcement. it puts the problems on the neighbors. what we are dealing with is the worst-case scenario, a situation where a connected individual broke rules and wants special treatment, and is getting that special treatment. he has done a lot for a lot of groups. you will see a lot of people speaking on his behalf. the point is, there is a problem

to be solved. we need to work with the neighbors. but when you take a step back, if five months from now we have one work top bar, we have not done the city a favor. what about the other rooftops? we had a chance to address this two years ago. two years ago, this body said that was illegal. the neighborhood that lives there, i can tell you -- the ambient noise problem will grow. there is a fan that is louder than any other fan on the block. take the lack of standards, 120 people up there. when this property was redeveloped as a restaurant with a common area on the top, it was not contemplated it would include all the patrons on the top plus all the folks on the building. if the fire happened in 2003 with people on the roof, imagine what would have happened.

>> good afternoon, commissioners. i own and run a small business in the mission. i live a few blocks away from medjool. i've been involved with the buddhist center for almost that long, taking classes. i meditate there. my wife and i were married there seven years ago. our 3-year-old daughter had her naming ceremony there. the buddhist center for many years has graciously offered for free for it to be a pickup location for the eat well farms cooperative. people who live in the community who are members of the cooperative, every week to pick up fruit and veggie boxes. my wife and i manage that at the buddhist center. after the pickup, the buddhist center offers free introductory

meditation class is. i see people come through the doors every week and get introduced to meditation. the buddhist center offers a lot of the new to me and my family, and i believe too many members of the community as well. if a rooftop bar is permitted, i believe that will jeopardize the existence of the buddhist center. there is no way a rooftop bar is not one to create a huge amount of noise with 300 people. drinking, music -- it is outside. there is no way that sound is going to be mitigated. people live there. there is no way it is fair to ask those people to put up with all that noise. i hope you do the right thing to date and deny the application. thank you. president olague: we have more

speaker cards. randal cord, richard brent, apollo, muhammad djosney. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am a bay area native. i am also an employee of the restaurant. i am speaking in favor of the proposed rooftop deck. medjool has contributed an immense amount to the community. we are a big family. it is a destination for diners locally in this community and in other parts of the bay area. the city husks -- has to ask how to bring people to the city, keep them entertained, and keep them coming back.

the restaurant contributes to the community, which as you mentioned before has had a serious image problem. they contribute safely to increasingly business in the area, the safety of patrons, and the economic prosperity of that area. i hope you all take that into consideration and allow support of this project. neighbors have to learn how to coexist, remove the politics and personalities, and address the problem. the mission area has an image problem, and we need to solve that. thank you. >> good afternoon and thank you for your time. i have been across the street from the property for the past 16 years. i am in full support of it. i have seen it prior to and

after the rooftop. being directly across the street from it, there is noise, but not enough to bother me. if i want to be quiet, i leave the city. we need the business. it brings economic vitality to the area. in turn, there is much needed revenue for our city, as you know. we have cleaned the streets, we have graffiti abatement, local security, and closed -- excuse me. closed-circuit tv. please pass this particular item. thank you. >> good afternoon. i have lived in san francisco

since 1970. this is a big asset to the neighborhood. they have attracted more competition, believe it or not. the help the non-profit organization. i have been to the restaurant at the mezzanine and the rooftop. i do not know about this noise. i can see any of these things. i think they should be granted the permit, after your review. they support the employees. they have a very good relationship with their employees and workers. thank you for your time.

president olague: [reads names] >> my name is dawn, and i have been living in the mission for the last 10 years. i wish to speak about the noise impact from the rooftop bar. i have a summary of police department calls from their address when the rooftop was operating. there was a spike of police reports during this time, which shows the incompatibility with the residential neighbors. this is further supported by the parcel map and conversations with neighbors. to summarize, there have been 28 calls made to the police to complain about the noise coming from medjool.

the record established the operated in such a way to increase disturbances to residents with regards to noise. the planning commission should use the standard from section 3, which states incidental noise, i e patrons, should not be audible beyond the premises. the police allowed up a disturbance above ambient levels. please take into consideration the cumulative impact. this approach is mandated by ceqa. thank you. >> my name is rahm and ryan. i have been practicing with the buddhist center for close to two years. i have been a resident for 19 years. over the years, my priorities

have changed, but top of the list are a place to meditate and to sleep through the night. i have brought a map. this map depicts the impact on neighbors and within a 300 foot radius, with data gathered in early 2010, when the rooftop was being operated before the notice of violation took effect. it is still relevant because the web page revealed their interest in promoting the rooftop for parties of 200 people or more, which is a far cry from the low- key restaurant that the current sound tests address. this map shows what happens when the rooftop operates more like a bar or nightclub. the red dots on the map indicate where there were reports of noise impact.

57 households within the 300 foot radius area would be of firstly affected. over half the residential households signed a petition requesting the city control noise for the rooftop. these numbers represent only the neighbors we were able to get in contact with. obviously, i would ask you to consider the neighbors who did sign the petition who were not able to be here today because of work or child care schedules and other reasons. they are certainly as important as the people who were able to make it here today. the noise is a real and significant problem for the surrounding neighborhood. many members of households were not able to sleep "rooftop was in full swing. many others were agitated. president olague: thank you.

>> good afternoon, commissioners. i have been a member of the san francisco buddhists for the past six years. the center has been a great support to me over this time, especially when i was recovering from a back injury. i believe the center has a moderating effect on the neighborhood, allowing more of the diversity and vibrancy the mission is known for. in the 300 foot radius is a working-class neighborhood. many of its neighbors could not take time off work to attend a hearing like this. one week talked to our neighbors, we heard the same story over and over, that people need a good night's sleep so they can perform well at their jobs and keep their jobs. the jobs are key to their being able to continue to live in san francisco. we heard many heartbreaking stories while talking to our

neighbors. we feel prioritizing 7 businesses over homes is not viable long term. both need to be balanced in this to burst neighborhood. the balance is part of what makes the mission such a vibrant place to live, work, and play. many of our neighbors are concerned about the type of clientele, especially on the weekends, when it is open until to william. thank you very much. >> good afternoon. i have submitted a letter in response to the categorical exemption findings. the highlights are as follows. ceqa requires evaluation of the cumulative effect of the project and other past, present, and future projects. the cadx did not include the sky

terrace, even though that are linked. we recommend this be considered in the noise control recommendations. the cadx findings also erroneously cite a concurrence from the department of public health. the noise criteria are not applicable to noise generated by individuals while dining. we discussed this at length. the need was identified for evaluating the separate effect of voices, particularly in light of the conversations. given the knicks used nature of the project area, we urge the commission to develop policies for restaurant use which balance the needs of the neighborhoods. examples could include noise evaluation guidelines and speech intelligibility in neighboring

residents, -- residences, and limiting the cumulative time as each new business is added. 25 bartlett street was unavailable during the initial sound study for the project. some measurements at this location are critical in evaluating the success of acoustical barriers. we recommend as a condition of approval that the studies comply with the criteria at this residence to be verified. there are also no provisions to enforce the sound system. we heard they are planning to use a noise limiter. we recommend that there should be a condition that such a system be mutually agreed upon. president olague: robert henderson, sam ruiz, and others. >> good evening.

as you all know, i was going and raised in the mission, and i have come here numerous times in opposition to a lot of projects that have caused gentrification in the mission. but i am here today to tell you a little bit about this project. when gus came to the community and wanted to build this project, we were skeptical. we had many questions and concerns. he gave us his word and that he would provide many benefits from the community, from employing people in the neighborhood to providing space for nonprofits, which he has done. we met with him about the rooftop and he said he would work with the neighbors and other businesses to deal with the sound issue, and he committed to putting up -- i do

not know the name of those walls that are see through, but he did that. i am here to tell you that we are in support of this project. he has once again kept his word with us. us latinos, that is really important for us, when people give us their word that they do what they are supposed to do. i think it is also important that we look at jobs right now. it is hard to get a job. we have so many people in our neighborhood who are unemployed. i think the number of people he employees from our neighborhood is very important for us. please take that into consideration. many thanks. >> my name is mark roades.

what makes san francisco great is mom and pop shops. san francisco mix all of its money from tourism. nobody travels here to hang out at starbucks or blockbuster. medjool is a crown jewel in the mission. this is the sunniest place in san francisco. i am surprised there are not more. i do not think we should penalize somebody for doing a smart thing and bringing more business into the mission. i have some very good friends that live in pacific heights, a lot of money. they do not even cross over california street. what does has done so many times is people like him make our city special, because he is known for giving money, food, and help when you do a fund-raiser. have you guys ever raise money for a nonprofit? the know how hard it is to get food donated? the better food, the better

product, the more you sell tickets and the more you raise. he pays for that food and the people who make the food. i think he is a good role model for all the restaurants we have in this town, which we are so famous for. how many restaurants give the donations he does? i understand what the neighbors feel, and i think that in this great city of ours, you guys can make this work, all right? thank you. >> hello. i worked as a labor relations representative. i am also here on behalf of the arab community and cultural center. we are fully in support of mom and pop businesses in the city and the bay area. this is support for the backbone

of the economy in the city of san francisco. the fact is that when we do have regional or national conferences and hosting in san francisco, we look for medjool to bring them and be proud of this kind of atmosphere. most particularly, they are an employer in the mission that has created jobs. the working families of the mission district continue to raise their family and build their future for their kids. it is extremely important. i think this proposal before you is extremely reasonable. the recommendation from the staff -- i highly recommend we approve that so we can move forward with this. as a member of the arab-american anti-discrimination committee, we feel san francisco is the

reverse. we bring people to medjool. it has employees and nonprofit organizations that are as diverse as san francisco. we appreciate your support for the recommendation. thanks. president olague: thank you. roberg boyle, megan grace, mary salome. >> good afternoon, commissioners. thank you so much for allowing me to come and make brief comments. i am an environmental professional. i have worked on ceqa for the state of california. i currently do environmental review work on an international context. i have lived in san francisco

for approximately 11 years. i am a member of the buddhist center. the buddhist center is important because it is not just a religious institution. it is a community institution as well. our doors tend to be open to the community. it is a place where you can go for solace. it provides access that is very important. you have seen this -- i think this is where i put it. i think they showed you this before. i just want to make, wearing my hat as somebody who has done ceqa and done this kind of work in the past, a few comments you might want to consider. one is clearly the cumulative impact. when i took a quick look at the documents you have in front of you for the record, i noticed

that the determination from the staff came on a decision that there was an exemption and ceqa did not apply. but i would like to point out is that given that the bar was built and started off somewhere around 2005, the project for ceqa purposes was already a modified arrangement. so there are problems there. there are also problems associated with the noise standards. the decision about significance becomes important because of the extent that the -- president olague: thank you. >> my name is robert boyle. i have been practicing at the buddhist center for six years and am a neighbor. i have some comments on the

staff report. we met the planner one day before the report was due. it was obvious she had not had time to read a lot of important information. the planner informed us she was following current department policy referring to requirements typical for ground floor activity areas. these are rooftop areas that require tailored commissions -- tailored permissions. nowhere else should such a thing be allowed. the full and complex record and history was not part of the staff recommendation to the commissioners. the job fell on the neighbors to compile the legal brief and exhibits that lead to a recommendation to vote no. i would also like to point out that they currently have a 7700

sq. ft. large legal restaurant and bar. i do not feel that closing the rooftop will have any detrimental effect on their continuing business. i feel it will be prosperous even without it. thank you. >> hello, my name is meghan and i am a member of the san francisco buddhist center. i have taken off the afternoon to express my concern about the possible permits being issued. this project is at a neighborhood commercial zone. it was established with the intent of concentrating maximum housing along transit corridors and as long been planning department value and role. san francisco is proud that we have a strong neighborhood. at the core are commercial streets. unlike suburban areas, these are

right next to each other. this reduces the impact of cars in traffic, making it a vibrant city. in the 1980's. , the planning department and the public spent five years evaluating zoning controls. out of that effort limits commercial activities and other developments. because mission street has -- the zoning allowed to two stories below mandating residents above. please consider the time and thought put into these regulations. and please consider the effect that these decisions could have in conflict with the regulations. thank you.

>> i have been practicing at the san francisco buddhist centers since 1998 and i am also a member of groups that have benefited. getting rights to the point, the eastern neighbor the plan was crafted over many years. changing to allow a way that impacts other members of the community has the capacity to create a harmful ripple effect. i work with a small group of people to create web sites about hiv and aids. you would think that there would not be much of a perrault, the planning codes help create control for managing competing needs. programmers spend a lot of time designing the rules for an application. you can make changes at a certain time, but it