i know the owner. xo has been around since the closing for. it makes homemade pastries and desserts. all you have to do is go on a yelp to see how popular it is and how positive people are about it. in district 8, people are aware of the commercial district in the castro, 24 st., and diamond heights. we also have a commercial district along church street, near 30th and 29th, in the upper know we valley -- noe valley area. there are a number of excellent restaurants and porters and other small businesses. it is a really interesting

place. i am often at cafe xo, because it is at the intersection of church and to visit their row. spot -- divisadero. sometimes you have to wait a while for the bus or train to come. it is a nice break to go in and have some delicious coffee and cake while you are waiting for the bus, or any other time of day. adam, i just want to say thank you on behalf of district 84 running an excellent business and really contributing to the neighborhood. we are all really appreciative. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much, scott weiner, supervisor of san francisco, president chiu. we have been in business and

love our neighbors. we try to support as many schools as we can, because it is a neighborhood place. we see people growing up every day. thank you for having me here. god bless you all. thank you very much. supervisor campos: if i may ask

karen heisler and chris rubin, if they are here? great. it is truly my honor to recognize mission pie. for those of you who have not been to mission pie, at the corner of 25th and mission, you have to check it out. the butter crust is definitely something to die for. you may have to go to the gym afterward, but it would be worth it. mission pie, besides having amazing food, is an example of how you do not have to choose between being a successful business and how you treat your employees. in fact, the two go hand in hand. this is what mission pie has to say about this issue and what the website says.

"we believe a healthy relationship to work is key to a satisfying life. we feel successful when a colleague finishes his work they inspired and satisfied, when a vendor says their business is healthier for working with us, or when a customer who comments on the generosity of their experience." it is therefore not a surprise that younger workers united, an organization, a labor organization that looks at the business practices of different restaurants in san francisco, have honored mission pie for being a high road employer. they truly have demonstrated how being good to your workers means being successful in business. it is truly an honor for me, and a great deal of pride, to have mission pie in my district. on behalf of the board of supervisors to karen and

kristen, we applaud you for highlighting the benefits of the fair and equal treatment of workers, and a great impact it has on the community. thank you so much for the amazing food and the great service the you provide to the community, and for being a role model for what it means to be a successful business. >> thank you very much. i am struck, being here, and being in such great company of the restaurants that are here -- it is a incredible group to be part of. there is so much happening in san francisco. just because we are here, i want to thank you all for the consciousness you have all been bringing to the realm of food. not just the restaurant peace,

but the urban agriculture stuff and the concern about labor. it is meaningful to all of us who worked in this realm that you all are paying so much attention to these issues. thank you and thank you for the huge honor. president chiu: our next commendation will be provided by our district 10 colleague. supervisor cohen: i am very excited to present to you a restaurant that i am certain many of you have not heard of. by the end of the day in my

short presentation, you will be clamoring to check out p oquitos, a latin american restaurant. everything you can imagine, from spain to ecuador, is brilliantly created in the kitchen. it is a small restaurant in the dog patch neighborhood. i would like to formally introduce you to richard vida. he and his business partner, michael -- excuse me. jason yeoh. they opened poquito in november 2010. i stumbled upon the restaurant while i was on the campaign trail, wherry, famished, and in need of a cocktail. they were there tuners me back to health. it is an honor to present you with a special commendation on behalf of myself and members of the board of supervisors.

do you have any words? >> first, i would like to say thank you for thinking us. being in the dog patch and district 10, there are some of the choices it is special for us to be honored today. we look forward to being part of what is becoming a little bit of a restaurant renaissance, not only the dog patch, but petrer o, extending into bayview. >> keep an eye on this restaurant and the neighborhood. thank you. [applause]

supervisor avalos: i do not believe my restaurant is here. i am honoring yama sushi, jeffrey lee. i do not think there will be arriving today. we are honoring them for their great work in the community, not just in providing an affordable sushi restaurant that has great sushi and is a great hope for the community, but they have done a lot of great work. they are the only restaurant that has participated in our excelsior festival and our "oh my" festival. we have monthly family nights in our district, where people can dine with the supervisor and his family and my staff. one of the first restaurants we were at was yama sushi.

it was chosen because of its affordability and great people. if you are around the corner of holloway and ashton, it is a great sushi restaurant, and i recommend it highly. [applause] president chiu: we have one more presentation, by the representative for mayor lee. >> thank you for allowing us to honor a restaurant today. are martin or antonio here from the rotisseried? come on up. the mayor is proud to honor limon rotisserie, a peruvian restaurant. it borrows culinary traditions -- clinton, chinese, japanese,

italian, chinese, basque, and african cultures. the ship was created an innovative peruvian restaurant experience. limon has locations in the mission and will open a third location in the bayview very soon. [applause] it is bringing important food access to that corridor and hoping that the economic revitalization. before a present this proclamation, a supervisor camopos, who represents the district. supervisor campos: thank you to the mayor, and [speaking spanish]. for those of you who have not been to both locations, it is incredible food and a great ambience. it is incredible to have a restaurant of this quality in my

district. thank you. >> gentleman? >> i would like to thank my brothers, eduardo and antonio, for working with me very hard all these years. thank you also for this honor. this is wonderful for us. it will only make us work harder. thank you very much. [applause]

president chiu: that concludes our presentations for today. before we close the ceremony, i would like to acknowledge the folks who have help from the city. paula jones from our department of public health has been our director of food assistance. she has worked to make sure we have restaurants that are working as well to promote our public health as possible. i also want to see if we have luke o'brien, president of the small business commission. would you like to say a few words on behalf of the commission? commissioner o"brien: >> good afternoon, supervisors. far be it for me to be biased in

any way to all of the businesses today, but i would have to follow up supervisor campos's recognition. i happened to totally by accident take my wife, who is of thai origin and has discerning taste buds, as difficult to please as anybody i know, to there, because we happened to be in the neighborhood. when she walked out of there, she had a grin from ear to ear, and commented how good the food was. she reminded me of the famous cheshire cat that ran off with all the milk as i watched her. i have to concur with the recognition that supervisor campos gave. i also want to say they are no more or less deserving than every other business that has been recognized today. the commission and the office of

small business wanted to put a few words together to make a comment on these recommendations. i would like to address those to you right now. on behalf of the small business commission, i am honored to take a brief moment to recognize these outstanding small-business restaurants. san francisco's economy depends on our culinary talent, and the businesses recognized today certainly have wonderful cuisines. but they are much more than just a place to eat. it is important to note our restaurants contribute culturally and socially. they are truly part of the fabric of our wonderful city. the small business assistance center, on a nearly daily basis, sees new entrepreneurs hoping to start their own restaurant in the city. it is a difficult undertaking, but today, as demonstrated by the success of those being recognized before us, we see that hard work does not go

unrecognized. to both potential entrepreneurs and existing restaurant tours, -- existing restauranteurs, we are here to help you. i think the supervisors for these recognitions. i join our fellow small business commissioners in thinking these business persons for their contributions to the vitality of san francisco. thank you for allowing us to speak today. thank you. [applause] president chiu: thank you all for participating. given that this is the day after national food day, i hope everyone goes to all the restaurants and eats as much as you can. with that, why don't we go to our 4:00 p.m. special order? madam clerk, could you call items 16 through 19? >> a hearing of persons

interested in the decision of the planning commission conditional use authorization to install a nine panel in cannot wireless tel commission facility and related equipment on the roof of a five-story publicly used structure known as kaiser hospital. item 17 is the motion approving the decision of the planning commission, approving the conditional use authorization. item 18 disapproves the planning commission approval. item 19 directs the preparation of findings. president chiu: we have in front of us the appeal of the cu authorization. for this hearing, we will consider whether or not to approve the decision of the planning commission's conditional use authorization to install a wireless telecommunications facility, consisting of nine panel

antennas on an existing mechanical penthouse on the roof of a five-story structure at kaiser hospital as part of verizon telecommunications. for today's hearing, we will proceed as follows. there will be a presentation of up to 10 minutes by the appellant. speakers who wish to support the appeal can speak for up to two minutes. we will then hear from the planning department for a presentation of up to 10 minutes, then up to 10 minutes from the project sponsor, up to 2 minutes per speaker in a position of the appeal, and up to four minutes rebuttal by the appellant. the objections? supervisor mar: i want to thank the appellant, jacqueline ku, and others from angela's infant and how care center, for raising the issue.

i also want to think representatives from verizon for sitting down to think about working together. there are a number of people from my neighborhood. it is right around the corner where i live. that is where i go for my health care. many residents are here to testify, in addition to many other folks. i think that for the 11 of us, we should listen to the testimony to determine whether verizon has shown weather -- let me see. it is nine panel antennas and two gps antennas and associated equipment panels to be placed on the five-story kaiser building, the north side building, facing gary -- geary. is it necessary? the testimony will raise

different questions. i know there are worries about cumulative impact of public utility poles to the other buildings and other efforts that have a cumulative impacts. i also want to thank the residents of the richmond district, who will speak about whether these are necessary, desirable, and compatible for the neighborhood. i know we have a board of supervisors 1996 document. i think the supporters for being

thorough in their efforts. i know the guidelines give us some guidance to place antennas in preferred spots, and also examples of limited preference sites, and even other areas that are not favored. but i want to acknowledge this is a hospital. there are three other large antennas, panel antennas, in the near vicinity, on st. mary's hospital, close to presidio, and another on the beacon storage building on geary. i still have a hope that the appellant and the parties will sit down and try to come to some

agreement as well. with that, i am open to hearing the testimony now. president chiu: appellant, you have up to 10 minutes to make your case. >> good afternoon. i have lived in the richmond district for over 30 years and worked at angeles children's center. i have also been a long-time horizon customer, and received excellent voice and data reception in the neighborhood. i am here to represent those who live near the proposed facility. can people who are opposed to the placement of the antennas please stand? we are here today because the nine panel antennas proposed for

this location are not necessary, not desirable, and not compatible with the predominantly residential character of our neighborhood. under section 303, the burden of proof is on verizon to demonstrate these antennas are necessary at this location. however, verizon has not provided any meaningful data to support the need for these antennas, and will claim it is proprietary. instead, they have submitted color charts and maps, using vaguely defined terms, to show whether it is good, marginal, or poor coverage, and where in the report dropped calls in the neighborhood. verizon has provided no details or methodology of the collection techniques on which those maps are based. since verizon was unable to use this -- to provide this data, we conducted our own tests using a

droid phone and different applications to determine the available signal strength for voice and data plans. with a fully charged phone with updated software, the data collected offered an objective picture of voice and data service in the vicinity of the avenue. a summary of our testing methodology and details from the data results are included in exhibit a of your material packets. the term fast was based on verizon standards, stated on there website. additionally, the application to plan and does not include

meaningful statistical evidence to back up the claim for dropped and blocked customer calls in the neighborhood. for example, of verizon claims as many as 50 failures per hour, but there is no explanation of how many calls when through during the same time. the application also does not explain the cost of dropped calls. how many problems are there that adding new antennas will not resolve, like customers using cell phones with a gun charge batteries? -- with uncharged batteries? exhibit b in your packets details all the information verizon must provide to prove it has a problem with capacity among adjoining cell phone sites. unless verizon is willing to present this information, the cannot prove a problem with capacity in the richmond district. verizon also claims these

antennas are needed to provide emergency services. however, the emergency response plan explicitly advises against reliance on self phones during emergencies, and lists eight non-cellular, emergency communications systems that will be in place during and natural disaster. federal mandates require that every cell phone site in san francisco must prioritize 911 calls. even a cell phone without a service provider must be allowed to connect to any site if 911 is dialed. there are more than enough antennas to handle 911 calls. it is not necessary to add more antennas to sixth avenue. the wireless facility is also not desirable at this location. the signatures obtained by a

rise and lobbyists were conducted by paid signature gatherers, but people who lived outside the proposed area. the signatures we have submitted are the residents most directly impacted by the verizon project. we have gathered over 260 signatures for residents and parents in the area. most are within a 500 square foot radius. exhibit i shows that verizon residents in the area noted the have good reception. verizon cannot reasonably claim this project is desirable from the perspective of residents that live in the neighborhood surrounding kaiser hospital. the industrial commercial wireless facility is also not compatible with our residential neighborhood. the planning department identifies the zoning adjacent

to kaiser as a residential neighborhood. under city guidelines, residential districts are disfavored locations, which is the lowest of the seven levels of preference listed. for good reason, the city favors limiting this type of facility in a residential never heard. verizon cannot prove it is compatible with our residential community. the only reason hospitals are identified as most preferred is because of a loophole in the 1996 guidelines, included by the wireless carriers at that time. please reference exhibit e in your pocket. the pictures detailed here are evidence that wireless facilities present a variety of fire and electrical hazards, even during routine maintenance. the recent fire at the corner of haight and fillmore took

place at a building hosting multiple antennas. the fire apparently started in or near the apartment located closest to the antennas on the roof. even if the fire was caused by the wireless facility, we would not know. as exhibit at shows, the san francisco fire department does not have a category for fires caused by wireless facilities. additional safety hazards are also provided by the lead batteries that will work in conjunction with any backup generators. these lead-acid batteries provide explosive hazards and chemical hazards, documented by the battery manufacturers, included as exhibit be in your pocket. the potential hazards further prove this type of industrial commercial equipment is not compatible on a hospital in a residential lead-down area.