so i am not objecting for people with a serious illness. i want you to consider this seriously for our children and our future and our country. it is not for money and it is not to be selfish. president hwang: next speaker. >> good evening, everybody. my name is steven.

it is not necessary for me to repeat the negative effects of marijuana. even though this is not for ourselves, we should think of our next generation. i have 11 grandchildren. i am a very old man. i have three grandchildren who live close by my neighborhood. they live in my district. i do not want my grandchildren to see all of these marijuana shops all over our area.

i want the commissioners to seriously think and to oppose having this open for the sake of the future of our next generation and the future of our country so that the marijuana shop will not open in our neighborhood. i do not oppose people who need to use marijuana.

they're welcome to use it in another neighborhood or go to the pharmacy or to the hospital taking whatever marijuana they need. i have no opposition for them to use it. i want you to think about it and then make a decision. president hwang: next speaker. >> after listening to both sides, you can see it is an emotional issue for our community. i am a resident of district 11. one of the most compelling arguments tonight was made from the gentleman by the planning commission.

we have not gotten direction from the planning department and from the board of supervisors. it sounds like they are prepared to make a new decision. i would urge you to keep continue this item until there is a final decision from the board of supervisors. they are in the process of crafting legislation. it seems to be the most compelling argument this evening because there is not going to be resolution on either side and the direction will be given on the direction of clustering. that is the strongest argument. i have a lot of respect for our brothers and sisters from the united food and commercial workers. it is phenomenal that -- i just found that out tonight that they have signed a collective bargaining agreement with them. i know dan rush is probably already doing that. organizing those that are already in the city.

this is not about workers or the particular owners of this the dick -- particular medical marijuana club. it is about clustering. i think this board does not have the right direction from the board of supervisors and because you know theyi urge you to posta decision tonight and continued to fight them until the board of supervisors has given us full direction. >> thank you. next speaker please. >> good evening. thank you for your time. by anna union representative. i had to look my watch and make sure it was not 1995. everything i have heard is i do not like medical cannabis. it is the law of the land. sb 4.20, which was enshrined

into a dozen free. -- in 2003. this applicant has met all of the guidelines. i personally do not drink. i do not like bars. i do not go in them. they do not affect my life. i have heard several times that if only these patients would go to hospitals and get medical canada's, it would be ok. medical cannabis cannot access it at hospitals. that is a failure on our part. medical cannabis is not available at pharmacies or hospitals. i would also like to mention that doug drew -- drug dealers did not card. -- do not card. i would quickly like to mention that this is the collective

bargaining agreement. there is a code of conduct on the last page that says they pledged to honor california state law. it goes on with 10 more bullet points. i would be happy to provide them to you. if these people did not abide by the guidelines, i will make every effort to close them down. these are excellent operators. please do not bosch denied his appeal. support mission organic center. >> next speaker please. >> it is a long evening. i am in native of san francisco who lived in the area that is being discussed all my life. i have seen lots of changes, a good, bad, and indifferent. i am here to support the speakers who have come up to a 0

-- oppose the opening of the mcd. the people speaking in favor it cannot live in the committee. they did not have time is that people such as myself have. i want to speak for the committee that lives in the neighborhood that has reached out -- community that lives in the neighborhood that has reached out. that continue to reject. i hope our voices are heard. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. >> hello. i am a second vice-president. i am also a native san are an oe appellant? >> i am part of the organization.

>> you are not allowed to speak. >> you can speak under a bottle. we did not allow -- under rebuttal. we do not allow officers to speak under public comment. >> good evening. i am currently the elected spokesperson of the medical cannabis task force. i am one of the lead organizers of the san francisco united coalition for safe access which has 18 of the 22 mcd's that participate. i am here today. i want to say a few things. i am sad to see so much fear. i am happy to have listened to the concern.

i want to address a couple of the things i kept hearing. those are run safety and crime. i want to remind all of the neighbors that we have proven that crime decreases when we have mcd's in the neighborhood. we have proven this in the lower haight. the police commission have statistics available. because they have such expensive security plans, increased lighting, increased security, crime dissipates. i would also like to point out that every single neighbor in the district is completely and pallid. -- empowered. these are going to be people that they will hold accountable. they will hold accountable through committee partnership. it is important that this communication takes place. it is also important to note

that our ordinance requires a community liaison. what i would suggest is that they find a community liaison who is bilingual and they hold an open house where they can invite all of the neighbors in and show them what the process is. i think it would be very impressed to see that people have to come in with the california id, a doctor's recommendation, they have to be verified. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker please. >> i urge the commission upholde appellants to deny it the opening the mcd.

we have 22. i just learned that night. this is a small city. there are 22 of these mcd's. that is enough. the community does not like. i ask the commission to respect the desire of the community and the neighborhood. i was there when the planning commission had a hearing issue in these licenses. lots of people, even more than tonight, showing up against issuing these licenses. i was there to take part in the mission street, the street

rallies. there were hundreds of people with families and kids. they do not like these shops. they are going to protest against them. there will be more people. i hope that he will deny opening anymore. thank you. >> thank you. is there any other public comment? seeing none, we will move into rebuttal. you have three minutes of rebuttals. >> thank you. i want to go back to the testimony of the planning department. our following -- we are

following the appeal of the location. what is but a look that was -- this body looked at was not only the church that was next door, but also dianne feinstein. this goal we are looking at is -- the school we are looking at is longfellow elementary. they walked up mission street. in the afternoon from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.. i would not let my children walked on mission street to school. that is the way it is. they go to the park. they are building a new park. i hope you will keep that in consideration. the other thing said that the

day care centers were not licensed. they are. i have contacted all 11 of them. one has a senior center. 5199, also has a senior center and a senior committee day care centers. i hope it will take that into consideration. the one other issue, i know it was mentioned that the police department is not opposing this. i am the new co-chair of the community police advisory board. i spoke to the captain. he says, we are not going to oppose it. they stated at the planning commission. what the captain said is that we are concerned. we are concerned about three

mcd's. we have been told there are two more of plan. -- applying. this is a snowball effect we have to deal with. i hope that you will support our appeal in this matter. thank you. >> thank you. we can hear from the permit holder now. >> hello. i am a faculty member and work with the spencer is all over california. i would like to address a lot of the fears raised by committee members who are worried. they said people should go to pharmacies. pharmacies are not an option. crime has been repeatedly shown

to goad them in study after study after study. a ucla study showed that. they are unable to prove crime goes up. this is across the board, across the country. i have been working with this group for quite some time. i have been very impressed. one of the first things i did was talk to the out commission merchants and residents association. i was told there was no support for this project. i was prepared to say, maybe you should consider another location. i went to confirm that independently. what i found was a different story. i found a lot of support. as evidenced by the petitions. i talked to of the community organizations who supported us

wholeheartedly. they were willing to write letters to affirm that support. i would like to talk about -- in the discretionary review, stevens cited 11 locations within 1,000 feet. only four of the more. only one was licensed. >> which four? >> in our brief, there are four cited. child care is 957 feet away, it is not licensed. children's day care is 885 feet away. another is 832 feet away. the only difference was that he

added the playground. 2,239 feet away. we informed him of these distances during the dr process. he continues to assert that they are within one doesn't fit. they are not. we have maps attached. i urge you to let these people operate. my goal is for them to show you how good they are. for this community to no longer have a problem. >> can you address the cluster in issue? we have two more appeals. will you be back? i think that is a legitimate issue. >> i have no experience dealing with one of the other two. i have heard wonderful things

about green cross. with regard to clustering, first, it is not included in the code. second, we are the only ones that have a permit. i may be back to support green cross as a member of the public. with tree med, i have no experience. >> to you have a take on the issue of clustering? >> i think it is an overblown issue caused by fear. we look a run and we see a walgreen's and they read it -- and a rite aid across from each other. people rob pharmacies more than they rub up dispensers. we see bank of america and wells fargo.

people rob banks more than they trump dispenser is -- rob disp ensaries. >> we get those cases. it is not a crime issue, it is a plane in issue. >> one thing i would say it is it does force competition, which i think is a good thing. there are dispenser is that are better operated than others. those are the ones that people tend to go to. having two means that only one will survive unless they are both doing a really good job. that includes testing their cannabis for mold, mildew, pesticides. making sure there is a compassionate atmosphere where people feel comfortable getting their medicine.

it includes providing affordable medicine. these people are experienced. i have talked to quite a few of the former patients and los angeles. i have had nothing but good feedback. also, i have here a lot of copies of letters that came in after we filed the appeal. these are from other committee members. letters supporting the project. i will leave his hip. you are welcome to take a look. -- these here. you are welcome to take a look. most of the concern is driven by fear that is unsubstantiated. i hope that you will decide to let these people operate. with regards to clustering, they are the only ones with building

permits. >> thank you. >> planning department. as you have heard, there are a wide range of legislative issues, a procedural issues, i want to reiterate that we are here to help you in understanding those. >> i have a question. in your report, the map indicates one additional under review mcd fairly close to these two, besides the three that have been mentioned.

>> i can put this up on the overhead. you can help me understand the dispensary in question. >> you have a different map. this is more updated. this is based on information from may. we can look back at the old information. if it does not appear on this map, it is not operating. >> where are the two in the 5200 block? >> the one being reviewed along with one a few doors done. >> move it up. we cannot see it.

which added two that are in the same block -- which are the two that are in the same block? >> this is the dispensary you are hearing tonight. >> of these are approved. >> these are pending. one is more pending than the other. the permit has been issued and suspended perry >> there are two? >> they are very close. >> the one at 4218, is that further up to the right. >> i believe it is. this map would suggest it is open. that is not the case. >> the one to the lower left. it says it is under review. what is the status of that one? >> i will aim to bring that up.

i am not aware of that application. it has not been approved. >> that looks like it is probably, 4200 was 10 blocks away. that looks five or six blocks away. >> it does. it rings a bell in my mind. i will get back to you. >> that is under review. >> it is not operating. it is under review or it may have been withdrawn. >> do you know how many dispensaries are operating in san francisco generally? >> the number is between 20 and 25. we are the city agency that licenses the is facilities. they are the keeper of the operational records.

the number is in play. >> how many are in ground floor spaces? >> my sense is that all of them are perry >> why do they tend to operate theire? why did they tend to operate on a ground floor? >> this is preliminary. it is probably a couple of reasons. medical cannabis dispenser is our subject to a higher level of acceptability requirements. that lends these to locating on a ground floor. the second is a more geographic one. many of the areas in which they are allowed to locate only allow commercial uses. >> ok.

this is not the topic of this discussion, but when the board looks at the issue of clustering, they should look at encouraging them on second floors of commercial districts and not on ground-floor retail space. one more question. you said your commission was concerned about this issue of clustering, why did not choose to take any action? >> the commission flied the issue. it said, this is something we are interested in. it was something that had emerged as an issue. when it came time to review the proposals that might lead to that affect, the specifics of its application did not rise to that level.

>> a quick note. you approved three at one time in the same area. i am trying not to be disrespectful. >> were there any restrictions on the ellis of operation? >> -- hours of operation? >> there are no restrictions. having said that, this district does have, for any commercial use, a restriction on the hours of operation. i believe they must close before two o'clock a.m. my sense is two o'clock a.m. >> and thank you.