support of it. i live two blocks away. i am the co-founder of the lower twenty-fourth street never association. i've seen over the years how it has come off the streets. it is being more responsible and more regulated. it is cleaning up the neighborhood. thank you. >> i will call some other names. [reading names] >> i am the executive director of the shanti project. i will be very brief. in case anyone is not familiar, this is one of san francisco's oldest nonprofit that support

people with hiv, cancer, and otherwise threatening conditions. we serve 2400 individuals each year. all of our clients have hiv, breast cancer, or other types of cancer. we have clients now that need and to use and utilize medicinal marijuana. the other part of the clientele is we're looking at the most vulnerable population, 90% are living at the poverty line. i am in support of this for a couple of reasons. i know there is -- this effort is based in the idea of reaching out to those who are most vulnerable who could benefit, who do have chronic or have end- of-life ... and could benefit from this in their difficult moments. we will benefit from the financial support which goes back toward supporting these individuals as you have heard from the other non profits. i certainly hope you will consider the merits of this and i urge you again to support this

measure. thank you. president fong: thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. i am on the board of directors of the shanti project. i am a member of the mayor's disability council. i speak in favor of this project for several reasons. most because it integrates itself into a system of compassionate care for which san francisco is world renowned. it supports the existing structure without any additional city funds being used. also i have a personal history. i have been hiv-positive since 1985. i have used medical cannabis to alleviate not only the symptoms of hiv but the medications -- side effects of medications. it was effective and i would

like to say that i am -- live in hayes valley and we have a medical cannabis establishment there that is very effective. thank you. president fong: thank you. >> good afternoon and thank you for hearing my comments. my name is jason bennett. i have lived in the city almost two years now. among my family. i am [unintelligible] i have four disabling diagnoses along with my cerebral palsy and thyroid disease on top of

that. with that being said, medical cannabis is a very important part of my medical treatment for myself and will be helpful, it helps to relieve the painful neuropathy and effects of hiv drugs and my cerebral palsy. i am -- [unintelligible] the shanti program. i can assure you that 99% of the shanti people that use the cannibis -- canada's wisely,

they do not abuse it. -- cannabis wisely, they do not abuse it. they're not able to come into -- and purchase. once again, i would appreciate you to consider this measure. thank you. president fong: thank you. next speaker, please. >> thank you. i have been a client at aguilas for three years and i go there for in spanish, a survey support groups they have. they have provided -- these groups are excellent, they have excellent therapist as leaders, and the agency has over the past couple of years have had tight

times with money coming in from this city and directives out of washington that have -- they have managed to screw things together. this is a very valuable source of funding from the private sector to keep a very good program rolling. thank you. >> i am a member of the board of directors of aguilas. i completely support, i hope you can support us as well. i live on 24th street and i believe that after speaking to a lot of the community people, members of the committee on twenty-fourth street that it will be a welcome asset in our neighborhood. thank you. president fong: thank you. is there additional public comment? ok, seeing none, the public comment portion is closed. commissioner sugaya: i have a

question for staff. on the map, the closest dispensary which is indicated as having once been opened but is nall -- now closed as shambala -- is shambala. when was that granted to -- granted permission to operate? >> i would estimate within the last 18 months. three years, 36 months. >> did we approve that one? >> you did approve it. commissioner sugaya: have we had any complaints? >> i am not aware of any complaints. commissioner sugaya: thank you. commissioner moore: with reading every day that dispensaries have been approved have been closed,

i think is extremely important for this commission to consider of holding what california and the city supports with a large population that depends on this -- the services. this project is well located. 1 mile radius is quite far for others and what i like about this project is that we're talking about a group of institutions partnering for the case management system by which there interlink and depend on each other. indeed having the proper way and interactions that increase community. i am in strong support of this and would move to vote. there are other commissioners. >> second. commissioner antonini: i have a question for the project sponsor. i am impressed as commissioner

moore was. the fact that this will go to charitable organizations. will they have oversight over the management of the operation? will they have a resident manager who is responsive to them as far as complaints or problems that might occur? >> the group that we're working the closest with for oversight and developing a program will be -- aguilas. you have heard from staff members and board members. you have heard from the executive directors of the lgbt center and shanti. we want to make sure that our outreach goes deep in terms of the affordability. those folks that may not be able

to afford the medical marijuana will have access to it. through those efforts will also have a board of directors that we hope to draw members from each of these organizations to help mismanage the collective. there will be different ways in which oversight will be provided. commissioner antonini: thank you. i am impressed by this and my concern is this is a little different from all the other mcd's we have had. they are for-profit organizations that are run by the owners of these mcd's. we have a little better recourse if there were problems because we have organizations that are responsible for this mcd and if we have someone we can speak to if there were any things that

neighbors have commented on being afraid of. thank you. >> i am generally skeptical but this one could be a model for the future. we have this problem with the situation where there is a lot of cash being spent on something that is often desired by a lot of other people. maybe not necessarily the patient but we have the oversight here which i like a lot. the proceeds are going for charitable causes which is another beneficial thing. there is no on-site consumption which is really important. i would say i am supportive of this one. i hope it will be looked at closely to see if it is effective and they can coordinate their activities with the other business interests, merchants and others on mission street to make sure everyone works together. thank you.

president fong: there is a motion and a second. >> a motion and second for approval on that motion. commissioner antonini, aye, commissioner tell us, aye, commissioner moore, aye, commissioner sugaya, aye, commissioner sugaya, aye, -- commissioner wu, aye. the motion has passed unanimously.

president fong: will take a five minute break and have staff >> planning commission is back in session. you are on item 15 a. for 218 to 220 buchanan -- buchanan street. >> good afternoon. the project in front of you gained entitlements in january 2008. after that time, the market recomonent -- recomponent was sold. it w--

>> i should have called 15 b at the same time. this is 15 a and 15 b. this is the in kind agreement. >> thank you. information is included in your packet and the sponsor will make a presentation on this as well. the project proposes up to 330 market rate units with a bmr component up to 110 senior affordable elements to be developed by senior house and mercy housing. a publicly accessible park in waller street, a community center, community garden, and retail. as a result of changes to the site plan, modifications for planned unit development are

required. as a result of changes to the planning code since 2008, the proposal requires a modification for uses as a ground floor fronting laguna street. there have been some actions taken in regard to this project. the historic preservation commission approved a certificate of appropriateness for alterations which are city landmarks. disapproval was appealed to the board of supervisors who upheld the certificate on july 31. in conformance with the 2008 approval, the historic preservation commission reviewed the proposal on july 18 and founded generally achieve compatibility with the character of the existing district with the exception of three elements. the upper floors of the open house building, the amended building and circular stairway adjacent to the building.

the upper to stories of the building have been modified. the volume of the building has been reduced and this there has been eliminated. the original motion of july 18 has been corrected. to indicate the project is compatible with the district except for the three above alamance. i do have the revised -- resolution for you as well. with regards to the inclusionary component, funding has been identified. however, to retain flexibility, the department would like to retain the current language in your packet indicating a range of bmr units. everyone is concerned with working toward the 50 in its but the range will allow flexibility if necessary in the future. the department and sponsor has been developing and in kind agreement to the proposed

agreements. it included a public benefits package for walnut park, the committee park, and community center. the intent is to formalize provisions of these improvements. within the past two weeks, the department has received additional public comment in support of and in a position -- in opposition to the project. comments -- those in opposition are concerned about the amount of off street parking, begrudge entrance on buchanan -- of thtje garage entrance. and at this time, the specific

details are still being refined. we will request the commission make a motion of intent to approve and direct staff to clarify the terms and conditions upon which waller park and others will be constructed. linda has passed those out to you. at this time, the department recommends approval of the conditional use authorization with modifications for modification of the rear yard, and the active use and transparency on the ground floor. as the project is consistent with section 303 and 101, the california air quality act, i would like to and acknowledge

that this has been a collective effort of many members in all the department's divisions. the city office, the mayor's office of housing, and a number of other departments, you should know that you have an incredible wealth of knowledge and commitment at your disposal. i would like to conclude my presentation. a number of us are available for questions you may have. thank you. president fong: project sponsor. >> representing the three project sponsors. we are pleased to be before you

for the final design review. the hearing today is to modify the previous p.u.d. it is nasa's jet did -- necessitated by the building designs. we are seeking a change in the height, zoning, parking, or any of the other fundamental elements of the 2008 approved project. the project remains completely consistent with the 2008 zoning. the special use district, and market and octavia plan. the project includes family dwelling units, 110 affordable senior units, yet -- open house senior centers, and 249 port -- residential parking spaces, 125 bicycles basis, and neighborhood

retail. the project includes three significant amenities. the park, community garden, and the community center. before the architect going to the current plan and how the design has evolved, i want to remind the commission of a prior approval granted by this commission, the board of supervisors, and the hpc. each vote has been unanimous. on screen are the approvals we received including conditional uses, rezoning, the our certification, the superior court and the court upheld the eir and project approval. and financing of affordable housing and a certificate of appropriate use approvals. the sponsors have undertaken a rigorous three engagement with the community and we're pleased that -- rigorous re-engagement

and we're pleased that the issues have been resolved. the financing for the senior housing is secured. the family project will have a full 15% on site component with 50 bmr units. the city would like to keep the language since the checks have not been written but we're committed to the 50 bmr units. what mattered 60 of the 440 units will be affordable. secondly, a locked entrance has been designed leading to the palm olein pedestrian area. all vehicular entrances have been moved and out -- moved out. the parking 0 -- radio is -- ratio is below that permitted by

the sud. the commission has determined that the plan meets the goal for compatibility with recommendations we have embraced and that are reflected in the plans we passed it to you. the we believe the design before you seeks the best elements of the approved 2008. it improves upon that plan. the current plan remains the only feasible alternative. we passed a memorandum yesterday. let me introduce one of the six

firms working on the design of the project to walk you through the design -- or is it -- revised design. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. we are one of the number of design firms working on the project. a quick overview of the site, everybody knows where the site is. it is an extremely important site to san francisco. the neighborhood, the decency to market street.

there are very lovely -- i decency to market street. as a brief reminder of the approved plan from 2008, there were several things that stood out to us, improvements that could be made. we felt like some of the new buildings were to close to the historic buildings. we felt the alleyway that -- was unnecessary. we were concerned about the car- garage and trees. -- in trees. we are concerned that the committee garden was a little bit too buried on to the side and not continuous to some of the major streets. this is the current site plan. what we have done is tried to create more breathing room for the historic buildings.

we have moved the community garden closer to the corner of laguna. there is not a direct connection into that community -- now a direct connection into that community garden. one of the other concerns, we have kept the alleyway that runs in the north-south direction, but that no longer has correspondent. it would only be for emergency vehicle access. it would just be pedestrians and bicycles. we have to change the orientation of several of the buildings to run more parallel as opposed to perpendicular. there is quite a -- there is 80 feet of slope from corner to corner. there has been a lot of discussion and good feedback

about accessibility. this diagram shows everything in rain is completely open to the public 24-7. then we have the area in the purplish-blue color, which is the community garden. and in the orange areas are of the courtyards for the residence. i want to point out an important -- there is a new connection now that will run -- it will allow connection into the community garden and down into -- community garden. the overall design, it has been a challenging project, there has been a lot of great discussion

with the neighborhood and would city staff. our goal was to try to do something to respond to the neighborhood. there are a lot of interesting variety in the neighborhood. we're not looking to make a super project. as we looked to the design, at bleecker really thought as much about the space between the buildings as the buildings themselves. we thought about the perimeter streets, waller park, the courtyards, and also the musie. starting with the streets first, looking at 8 street, -- haight street, this has been designed

to be more responsive to the historic buildings. we're trying to take some cues from those buildings. we're not trying to look like a 1920's building, but his in terms of heights, proportions of windows, callers. that influences how we treat parts of this street corners. as you move around on to the corner of haight and laguna, which tried to break the scale of the buildings down a little bit more. we're trying to respond to both of those smaller buildings and larger buildings. along buchanan street, it is meant to more closely take cues. the buildings on the right are broken down in scale. along