facts that pertain to each and that they are not comparable. the planning commission did review this case, the commission found it to be code compliant. they also found there was nothing extraordinary about the case, which is the standard of review. the commission approved this and we would urge you to deny this appeal and a poll the permit. thank you for your time. we are happy to answer any question. >> you mentioned a letter, and did it invite the supervisors to change the line? when was this? >> it was july of 2011. >> what was the letter? >> i will see if i can find a copy. it was the commission's president calling out issues associated with the approval process. from the planning commission.

among the issues, first and foremost was this question of clustering. seeking guidance, seeking input. >> have you seen supervisor avalos' today? >> about half an hour ago. >> are you involved? are they addressing this issue? have you been involved in that? >> the best way to answer might be that they look to our department to advise them. beyond that, i do not think i am free to comment. why would defer to the supervisors. i'm sorry. -- i would defer to the supervisors. i'm sorry. president hwang: anything from

dbi? >> the evening. just to give some relevant facts to the permit issuance, this permit was issued on april 25, 2012 and it went through all of the required reviews, the department of planning, the department of public health, the mayor's office of disability and inspection and was found in compliance and the permit was approved. >> we have an appeal of another permit but it is a demolition permit. it is not a permit to walter reed building to build a new -- that appeal is coming before you later. there was some discussion about whether there were other permits that had been issued for the

others that have been proposed and the only one we have received is associated with a demolition permit. i believe that this july. >> it is not the same appellate? >> it is in mr. -- it is a mr. chow. >> he lives in the neighborhood. president hwang: we will take public comment now. we would like to make this as orderly as possible. first i would like to ask folks would like to speak lineup starting right there and move toward the far side of the room. we need to keep the doorways free and i would also like to ask if you are willing to have you submit a speaker card. if you have of not already filled one out, do so before or after you speak. it will help us but it is not required.

everyone will be given two minutes to speak. those who need translation will be given double that. we can start with the first speaker. stepped forward. -- step forward. >> my name is dan, the national director for the medical and cannabis. i am headquartered in washington, d.c. but i live in oakland, california. i am also the charter -- treasurer and i am, and the called saint patrick. -- commonly called saint patrick. our mission is to deliver justice and dignity and equality to our union members. the workers are wall-to-wall

local 5. the workers there that are in preparation in opening work under a collective bargaining agreement provide what referred to as a thriving wage, adequate family health-care benefits, they receive a pension contribution, and more importantly, there is a joint labor committee that serves with the workers and the management of the company for the collective that focuses on safety, community outreach, community benefits, and continuing education, a daycare and other things that are of service to the community. we are very proud of this company. from the unions perspective we are here to urge you to allow this company with a very mindful

approach to the community, with immigrant workers that are working there that are earning a living wage, an adequate wage, and that will be staples of the community to allow them to have their jobs. from our perspective, everybody that works there is an immigrant worker. they are documented. they are sincere people and we hope you will keep this in mind. >> what was your name and the first title? >> dan rush, the national director of the national cannabis and hemp division. we are commonly known as grocery workers. we are in safeway, agriculture workers. 1.3 million-member union. president hwang: next speaker.

>> i am a resident of san francisco and i am a medical cannabis patient. san francisco is a hard city to live in for people with disabilities because it was built so long ago that a lot of the buildings are not accessible. even though we have the americans with disability act there is no enforcement. many of the people in the city cannot get into places. medico cannabis dispensaries are one of the entities that have one of the strictest standards of any business entity in the nation. they have to come up to a new standards or is something equivalent if they are physically unable to do that. according to the world institute

of disability, a 72% of people who want to work are unemployed not because they cannot find a job but because the places they would like to work are inaccessible. every dispensary that opens becomes accessible to employees and customers. everybody who works a day dispensary benefits from a medical cannabis. please allow this to spend three to open an please allow this to be a city for all of us and not exclude disabled people. thank you. >> the next speaker, please. >> my name is mike and i feel passionate about the access to this medicine because people

with limited mobility issues but also resources, i cash, happen to get on a bus and get their medicine, it can be a thing for people. the more places that are open reduces the price of competitiveness. this is something i have watched over the past few years or there were 70 dispensaries and places were starting to do with the low-income people and sell it at a more affordable rate. it was better for the consumer. i worry about these people's children. i do not want medicine coming off the streets. though less of that and more people can have access inside of a club, where you have to go through a door, we are all familiar with this scenario. it brings money to the community. these are good businesses. the employees to spend money.

it is really a smart community building thing and i have not been to a dispensary that that did not feel safe in. these places take their security seriously. they also typically filter the air. the most of these places have carbon filter so you cannot even smell smoke. a lot of places to not smoke. there are all of these things. the competition is important. i support any clubs that can open. the more the better. >> next speaker. >> thank you for the time. my name is jose -- josie porter. i am the vice-president of the

improvement association. you can imagine me wearing a baseball cap. i can tell you that we surveyed our members on this issue. it was pretty well done. it was possible to be anonymous. it did not have to be in the room. i am confident in the numbers. are members said they opposed the concentration of clubs in small neighborhoods and they would like us to work for them in the future to advocate for legislation that will cause this to stop happening. our understanding was that there is a legal issue.

but they also agreed to accept the two clubs we asked them about. i do not think we're going to comment at that at any point. and the members said they have done this already. i can also tell you as a board member of that mission organics is the only one that approached there would be willing to attend the meeting and answer questions. they did that in a respectful way. now i'm going to take off that hat and i'm going to speak as a member of the community and a person who lives in the neighborhood. >> that sound is that your time

is up. if you can do it in one sentence, >> i think mission organics is the standout of the three clubs. i am convinced they will follow through on the promises and they are acceptable to me as a member of the community. >> one question for you. can you describe what the association does? >> we are a neighborhood association. i am trying to figure out what we are supposed to do. we have worked a lot around a park within our jurisdiction because there has been remodeling. we have been part of that process. we have attended the hearing in question because our members were concerned. that was conveyed to us informally.

we said we will address anything that our members are concerned about so we have addressed the dumping issues. we have addressed water management. there was a presentation. >> how many members do you have? >> i did not bring the numbers. about 60. >> hello, my name is loren and i am a cannabis patient and i am the founder and director of the only legal clinic operating out of the dispensary. that is the spark a legal clinic in san francisco. i chose to start this clinic because it is a model in the community because it complies with all of the regulations you have set forward in san francisco. i have been at the clinic for

about eight months. i get to meet the patients and see the people and i can tell you with confidence i cannot describe you a typical patient. a typical patient can be any member of the community and to the appellants, when you say no to a dispensary in your community, you are saying no to your friends and your family, your mom's, your sisters and brothers because they use medical cannabis. even though they may not tell you, those are the people who use these dispensaries and they need accessible dispensaries in their community. it pains me when i see one community tell another community they are not welcome. to me this flies in the face of everything this great city stands for. that is quality. our leaders have implemented a policy the allows these dispensers to follow the rules, to open in this community. when they do that, they should

be awarded for complying with all of those requirements that we do not put on any other business. there is requirements are not based necessarily on the right assumptions. maybe some ignorance. but they are there to protect the community and make sure people are comfortable with the suspense trees. we have gone through that process and we have said yes. i would like you to continue to say yes and grant the permit. >> next speaker. >> my name is eloise patent. i am a lifelong resident of san francisco. i am also a u.s. c.w. staff member and coordinator. i am coming to you to talk to you that you have to decide the quality of life for several issues that are impacting the situation. the quality of life for those

veterans employed that would be able to secure employment at $18 an hour, get health care, and a pension. those that are currently unemployed receiving disability benefits, barely getting by, getting the ability to live and to see the american dream by getting employed in an industry. when we talk about the industry, there are standardization. there are standards. there are standards that must be adhered to before you are able to operate. the other issue is that we have come up with standards that are applicable and recognized by law enforcement. law-enforcement has taken a book that the plans and actually approved them. they were advocate for the well- being of our general population. the other issue i wanted to address in terms of children, how many children walk down the

streets and past bars? how many of those bars allow a 13-year-old or 5-year-old or a 10-year-old within their walls? to partake in alcohol? those places to not have security measures in place we're talking about what medical cannabis. so i asked you to support this project and allow it to continue. >> i just came here because i want to say i support this project. i think it is going to bring positive things to our community. i hope we're going to make it. >> i am susan. thank you for moving the item two later on in the agenda. it allowed me to come here after a session.

both of them are used for symptoms post-chemotherapy. either our cycle active. i am not interested in being drugged, just feeling better, that has my father in law who could not eat. at a low can of this allowed him to regain his appetite -- edible cannabis allowed him to regain his appetite. my father-in-law's physicians suggested another form of medical cannabis and we relied on the to passionate staff at a legal dispensary. we were not interested in a scary transaction on a street corner. my father in law lived several blocks from the dispensary. it would have been a godsend to have a close to us because we

cared for my father-in-law. thank you very much. i hope he will make the right decision. >> my name is david goldman. i am speaking on behalf of the san francisco chapter of americans chris eighth acts of -- americans for safe access. we have 50,000 members made up of medical cannabis patients, medical professionals, scientists and the desert -- concerned citizens promoting the safe and legal access to medical cannabis for use in research. the san francisco chapter provides the thousands of it for those who reside in the bay area. we have had an exemplary

record. we propose that the club will go a long way to provide corporations. we have been supported of the work on behalf of access, they have also made outreach to their neighbors, and a pledge to work with them on any matters of mutual concern. we urge the board to deny the appeal. it will be a fine addition to the neighborhood. >> can i ask the folks along the wall to come closer by the podium? >> good evening, members. my name is michael cohen. i live in san francisco and i am a member of the americans for

safe access chapter in san francisco. as a medical cannabis patient, i use medical cannabis for a number of issues, for aids, hiv, shingles, depression, migraines, and also for pain control. i want there to be safe access to the medical community in the carter mission. why should residents in this neighborhood be denied safe access in their own neighborhood? the dispensary will be a good neighbor. it wants to follow the rules and regulations. they will be well-run and they want to be a positive part of the community. we want to work with you and we are willing to address any of your concerns. i urge the board to deny the appeal of mission organics.

they will be a fine addition to the mission neighborhood. please grant the permit. president hwang: next speaker. >> i am a member of americans for safe access. i live a few blocks from the proposed location. this neighborhood would benefit for this dispensary as it would provide safe access for medicine for patients that live nearby like me. i recently moved from los angeles and i personally know these people. i'm going to ask you guys to please -- they would be a great asset to our community.

i live three blocks away from it. i would benefit. >> my name is kevin brown. my wife and i lived near mission organics. we lived in los angeles and can attest to the professionalism of the places down in l.a. which have the same owners. we want to qualm any worries about crime increasing. there is no evidence that crime increases. in fact, it decreases. there is no evidence that under age use increases. not even 1% since it started in 1996. i wanted to put the worries at

ease and let you guys know that i know them and they run a great dispensary and should be allowed to open in the mission to supply those patients with medicine. >> i suffer from chronic back pain and anxiety a public speaking. if i start shaking, forgive me. i am in support of medical cannabis because it was the only thing to help me with my back pain. i cannot even tell you what happened but i turned 18 years old and things would work. i started getting paid to the point where i could not even get off the couch. i had to crawl to my bed. i sat there wondering if i was corn to stop breathing. i had all kinds of over-the- counter drugs. nothing worked.

medical candice was the only thing that could relieve my cane. so i am in support of medical cannabis. i have a letter i have been asked to read from supervisor avalos. "thank you for the opportunity to address you. i am supportive of patient access to medical cannabis and have supported the city's approach to permitting mcd's. i expect these dispensaries to meet other conditions for approval that the mission -- commission can and should apply. it is important that conditions for the assurance of operating permits for all of these facilities include adequate and appropriate lighting. contribution of the safety of

the block in contributions of the aesthetic appeal by adding greenery and maintaining clean, well painted facades. i expect all entities would work closely to address any concerns as well as maintain an ongoing relationship in order to ensure compliance with agreed upon conditions. thank you for your support on these issues. i look forward the to a collaborative process where we can accommodate the needs for access as well as the safety and security concerns for of the residence." >> my name is paul. i was involved with the terra belle project.

during the discretionary review our remember the commissioner made a comment -- >> excuse me, we're trying to record this. please continue. >> during the comments, commissioner miguel made an interesting comment and said he has been around issues like this and he has heard about -- he likened it to bringing atms to the street. he was worried that people would know they would have the cash. that never happened. study after study in l.a., colorado, other places showed that there is no increase in crime. the police commission asked them to substantiate their claims of a letter that there was

increased crime. the planning commission laughed at their report. since then, there have been many reports that shows crime does not happen. it is not increased a crime. i wanted to tell you about another patient that came to me. i wanted to tell you that she suffered from heart disease, diabetes. she was 78 and she was scared to death. she would see dragon's bouncing off walls. but she was willing to try anything. she tried it as a last resort. she came to me, i signed her up to the collective. i helped her to get it. she said it was a miracle. god be praised. her husband said, it is a new