? >> so moved. >> item b, doing business as cafe maria. nicholas? >> just to be clear, the commission just approved those permits. that does not mean you are done. it means you need to talk to me whenever you can tomorrow or after, and i will let you know if approvals from other agencies have come in, and if you have, you can go to the tax office and make it active. >> everybody understands that seminar -- understand that?

anybody must contact a staff ocedurestoove forward to obtain your permit. we are up to cafe maria. >> i just want to clarify something from the last meeting, which i think was the second time we were considering this. it is still relatively new. i miss spoke, because we said there was a requirement that no windows and doors be closed. i think dianne must be -- i think that must be from an earlier draft. it is a restaurant. staff recommends approval of this permit. >> anybody here from cafe maria?

arf hello. good -- >> hello. good evening, commissioners. i am here to represent the applicants for cafe maria. the applicant also owns the building, and he has a fabulous and background. he used to own michelangelo on columbus. dodi he came back and opened cafe meridian he came back and opened cafe maria. he wants to add an accordion player, perhaps a vocalist and guitarist. before, the restaurant was empty. i am very familiar with this because it happens to be one of my favorite places. they used to have somebody dancing, and they tried to apply

for a permit, and they have a lot of problems with the people who lived next door, and consequently common they spent thousands of dollars soundproofing the wall between the house next door and the restaurant. they have moved on. the owner of the property and wants to add this low-level amplification. i do not believe he understands that this has come into being since the previous issues occur, so we tried to communicate with you but were not able to secure a good -- but were not able to. i will leave that to you. >> we have a question from the

next out the carrot -- from the next applicant. what kind of entertainment new plan to have democrats and accordion or a guitarist. >> you have a speaker system? >> yes, it is only until 10:00. gootracks does everybody know wo and -- and does everybody know what an accordion is? i bet there are some people who do not. next speaker. >> my parents and i reside at stockton street next door to cafe meridian -- maria. both of my parents are senior

citizens. the restaurant was formerly occupied, and they did have a weekly samba dancing and music shows, and the shows created major rockets because loud music was heard throughout our house, especially through the kitchen areas. since then, the building owners attempted to soundproof the premises, but it was only partially successful. even after the installation, the sound technician reported that it could be as high as a maximum of five decibels. >> did you say nine? >> it was in the report i

submitted previously. to my knowledge there has been knows soundproofing installed. therefore, i feel that any live music performance will cause a disturbance to our house and my parents, and therefore, and we >> do you have that report? >> please go on. >> i am a consultant to the project. the owner of the building also lives upstairs. he happens to be 72 years old. he would like to offer a limited low-level amplification. the prior speaker mentioned he is more concerned about potential noise.

i think the scopeof what was being offered with private ownership, he may very well have had some concerns about. whether it was to permit it or not, it was much higher energy type of establishment. this guy who owns this is looking to offer something very limited. i amlad the speaker is here, but i do not think he is going to have to worry aboutan acoustic guitar or a singer or accordion player on occasion. i thinkthe oer thing is it is going to be of on a fine restaurant and remain that. the music is going to be enhancement, and i do not see it having any adverse affects. we will be in good communication. i do not think is going to happen, but if he has any concern, we will keep a good

communication. i think this is going to be a no-brainer. >> any other speakers? simenon, public comment is closed. >> these limited live permits are new. there is a latitude for you as a commission to impose conditions on these, as you would for any other. while these you require sound testing, and it is something you could consider adding in this case if you felt about was a concern for the neighbors. in addition, if you do have questions, i was certainly working on that is sheer -- on that issue years ago.

if you have questions, i would be happytoweose. >> a different applicant? >> correct. >>cayou take your microphone and reflect nine decibels? make a noise that is nine decibels. >> excuse me. >> make a noise that is ne decibels. is it a whisper emm? >>[whispers] >> that would be if nine decibels in the civilleve -- in decibel

levelthat has got to be correct. is a decrease. you must have misquote did it in some way. pe.e decibels is below a >> a motion to approve this permit. >> we have a motion to approve. >> second. >> we have a motion to approve and a second. commissioner tan? >> aye. >> commissioner perez? >> aye. >> commissioner lee? >> aye. >> vice president joseph? >> aye. >> limited live ends at 10:00 p.m. at night. >> ok. thanks. moving on to our regular hearing and possible actions

for permit. 7-a, chris lamotte, doing business as blackthorn, 834 irving street, place of entertainment. nicholas, you are up. >> jocelyn is handing out some large eight by 10 feet as i did not make copyies of because they didn't come out well because they're actual photographs. look over them as you discuss this. blackthorn is a bar at 834 irving street. it's primarily a sports bar. this item was first on the agenda in december of 2011. then again in early january, 2012. i was continued twice at the request of the applicant so that he could work with residential neighbors adjacent to him to try to mitigate their concerns, and he'll speak to that and staff recommends approval of this permit. >> ok. >> marsha garland. my company is representing

blackthorn at 834 irving. i want to be really clear what we're asking for here. they're asking for an entertainment permit for the bar itself, not for the outside patio. the outside patio is offlimits as far as the entertainment is concerned. however, the outside patio has become the issue. and we feel very strongly that all the municipal agencies that have a say in this matter should be handling their own injures dick. the patio area is a concern because of smoking and that needs to be addressed by the health department. they have instigated a program to be self monitoring at the moment to tell people to be quiet after 10:00. their abc license allows them

to use the patio and serve alcohol there until midnight. they have reached -- done an extensive amount of outreach and they've just been constantly thwarted. i think that a compromise can be reached. i think they're almost there. they have offered many different compromised solutions including installing double-paned windows at one neighbor's house. so here we have -- this is chris lamotte, one of the owners, and adam croyle who is owners, and joe -- one of the [inaudible snsm [inaudible] >> did youwo the patio issue? >> are you done with your presentation? >> i am. >> have youseolic conditions? >> yes, the police conditions, they started out being one set

of conditions which said that it was all right that they used the patio until midnight and then a few days later revised that to 10:00 p.m. which is somewhat unusual, usually. when i got the second email saying that it was reduced to 10:00 p.m., the email said something like since we didn't hear from you but it was never made clear to us we were supposed to respond to the first set of conditions. so -- >> how do you feel about -- the conditions i have in front of me are 11 conditions. >> right. >> are you ok with all 11of them. >> yes. the only one that's a problem is condition number nine. >> the back patio is closed or

is it that an awning is to be put in place? >> i don't under the awning. >> if you'd like, i can address that. isermit donot coveyour back patio. >> no, that's not what we're trying -- exactly. >> we dot ve tre that. >> our permit says when entertainment is present you windows closed. uroo so if you're not having r ie to tell you what to thi do with your back patio. another department. si >> right. >> we can't adjudicate on that. t will tell you atwh you have your -- when you have live music ory entertainment, you must close those doors. and if that's your only smoking area and someone door and it emits sound, you have to trap. some kindsoun i see you have a blue curtain, is that a sound curtain or just

>>o, ieavier curtain we have installed over the back doors, and then we also have a tarp thae ove -- >> microphone. >> we actually have an awning that actually covers the entire back patio to try and limit the amount of noise that escapes straight up into the air, and we also have put signs out there to sfruct our patrons to be respectful of our neighbors. >>o you vea anbe out there monitoring people? >> yes, we make frequent checks of the back patio on a regular basis. >> just remember, we come the -- we do not her permit you to have the door open. >> the door is always closed. >> commissioners, questions for this applicant? >> i just have a real quick question, looking at these pictures, one door has an automatic door closer? >> yes. >> is it possible to close automatic door closures on both

doors? >> that would be no problem. >> the other door is usually closed. it does remain closed? >> yes. >> commissioner newlin. >> i stop by there to take a quick look because of these entertainment light permits we'll see a lot of patio -- >> this is not a light entertainment -- >> even though it's not one i just want for my own reference. the sound curtains you have, i think you can use another layer. that would help. even though we don't have jurisdiction when people go outside, the thing is going to go out. so they still have to do their sound check, obviously. him and, you know, live music and deejays or whatever, it's pretty loud. it's my only suggestion. >> that would be no problem. >> commissioner perez? >> hi. how did you obtain these

signatures? did you have an outreach campaign? >> yes, we actually did an outreach, and there was an inner sun set fair and we went out in the community and contacted some of our neighbors and asked them. >> how did you do that, mailing or door to door? >> it was basically we were walking around the neighborhood shaking hands and introducing ourselves, handing out our business cards and letting them know what we were trying to do. >> that's how you got all this? >> yes, sir. >> anybody else? >> it says here you have four speakers but you only use two. can you -- i have a little map here. which speakers are the ones that use affirm find sounds? >> just the front two. >> not the back two? >> that's where the live music is contained up into the front of the building, not towards the back. >> thanks. >> ok. i entobliccommen a seat. blackthorn, 834 irving street.

>> hello, good evening. my name is mohammed amin. i live in this area like over 25 years in the area and i know the blackthorn bar was only acoustic bar, family bar because they have a family area. i live in the area, i have family, and my house, very important, very exposed to the -- exposed to the -- if i can show you a picture here, it's exposed to the -- this is my back yard here and that's blackthorn in the back.

and very obviously i hear things, for smoking. i've been called like noise problem. i have a dog problem out there and get the health department about the dogs but i have a picture of the barbecue that was dumped there. i have a tv, and the exit door that's the fire exit, maybe a customer, there's some problem with go through the exit but there are tv's out there for -- they have beer and wine. i can see from my window, my children, i can see the beer and wine and i see everybody was drinking, even i have -- i cannot move right now, i see people underage that go in the back yard, no control, no camera and no secure, nothing.

i know that's out of the entertainment, but whoever own the place, he own it like a sports bar and they have all this with tv inside and two tv outside in the back yard. how much crowded we have. how much crowded. if i have a picture here, i have a barbecue here picture. if you can see it. >> it's not working. >> not working? >> not working. nope. >> here somebody can help me, please. >> it's not working. >> this is a barbecue area here. this only a picture here how people in the street, see from the street out there, that is

entertainment. we have a crowd. my kids cannot go to the school, to the bus, we have to cross the street and we have no light in this area down there that can pass the street. down there is smoking. my house down there. i don't know how -- there's not too many people -- >> thank you, sir. >> i have one more picture. >> your time is over. we have a commissioner that your cment te is oveuestion but we give everybody the same amount of time. commissioner perez, point of infoatio >> sir, thank you so much for coming today. >> this picture here, please. >> iwasst wondering, did the club owner or the operator contact youat all duri their -- they said they did community outreach. did they contact you? >> never contacted me. the beginning of the thing i see the tv, i was back in the

door and one of them, i be in my fence because they scare me. and after that his partner come to my door and i invite him in the house and tell him what's going on, what's going on, you know? is that tv? i have my kids -- >> they did not contact you is the answer? >> 20 of -- [inaudible] >> thank you. your time is up. next speaker, please. >> my name is prince buchi. i live very close to blackthorn. actually, i live on the second floor and my window is just, you look up --

[inaudible] to the point when we get to bed, we cannot sleep until blackthorn closes. you cannot do anything meaningful in your house. my daughter come up to study. i can't -- the noise goes so much that you cannot communicate. we have mortgaged our life to this business. we need help. i need to finish what i'm doing, need sleep, i have to go to work tomorrow. i am not againstthe business. i'm against the level of noise emitting from this business. i'm against coming out in the morning -- [inaudible] >> because when they get drunk they don't care what they're doing. i'm against coming out and seeing broken bottles, broken glasses lying around.

i'm against coming out and seeing people coming home -- you can't invite -- just like next door the crowd be so much out there sometimes, you be begging to enter your apartment. if there happen to be -- [inaudible] forget it, we can't sleep. any celebrations, parties there -- [inaudible] the noise will be so muchtha you just be frustrated, put it that way. i am opposing this permit for music. i am oposing it because it is a health concern for myself. we're human beings. we'reindividuals. they can do this without making this noise, celebrating, you e in your house 11:00, you be hearing noise everywhere. no. this is not proper.

it is not right. it is on is basis we are opposing this license. we don't have nothing against e business but because we have to have to rest because this is the place we live and we deserve that right as a human being to have peace of mind when you get home. i don't want to waste your time but make a point. this is our point. we can no more bear it. please, we need help. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hi, my name -- [inaudle] i live next door to the bar and the people go outside and drinking and smoking in front of our place and i have three children that go to school and like to come back to study, noise all the time, lots of bad words we hear and the people in the streets next to our home,

very bad, they drink and smoke and very -- we cannot handle all this kind of stuff. if we put music, too, my kids cannot study, they cannot sleep. thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker. >> first of all, thankyou for your time tonight. commissioner perez, good to see you again. i've worked at a lotof bars across all this town. i'm benjamin reuben. a lot of bars all across e town for several years. there's been very few owners that i've worked withthatso diligently really cared about what the neighborhood said as chris and dave and joe in his position as a manager. they take all of these things that these people are saying completely seriously and have been very proactive. i've seen that bar in the last

2 1/2 years i've been going there, and very recently working there, helpingthem out, undergo a transformation. and i empaize for anyone at moves next door or upstairs to a bar. however, when the niners win a playoff game, it's going to be extremely loud. i doubt there was very few places in town that da that weren't ridiculously loud. so when we win a game, when the home team do well, unfortunately we can't tell people not to root for the home team. as far as drinki,swearing, cursing, what they do in the neighborhood out front, whether it be 10 feet or 50 eet, e all take a vested interest, if we see anything we act immediately. and we, in my experience besides myself, i've seen everyone always act in the best interest the neighborhood. they try to defuse ingsand make things quiet, not worse, not escalate things. i've seen almost no violence and no ill will while i've been there from the patrons.

it's not a violent bar, it's not a crazy bar. maybe people get loud over sports, ey cheer. the tv, there's only one tv in the back. it's usually does not play sound and when i've worked the doors to the back have never been kept open. so yeah, at's about all i have to say and thanks for your time. >> i have one estion s is there a tv on the back patio? >> there is one and 99.9% of the time remains in a cover. it is only taken out for very special occasions. >> i just wanted to know if there was one. that's it. >> ok. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker. >> good evening, commissioners, my name is tom bernard. recent transplant of san francisco. this is all new to me. been here about 10 months. but in that time i've been