however, today's agenda item is not to reopen the case and hear the pros an cons but to move hard on what this commission has come up with. there has been almost a year with repeated attempts to come to agreements but it just did not come together. i have to assume with technical advice from acoustical consultants and building experts that this particular situation cannot be fixed in a manner that would indeed allow us to expand the operation with the type of application that is in front of us. i am very clear and determined to move what we decided last time forward and i make a motion to disapprove. >> thank you. >> commissioner borden?

>> yes, we first heard this case in august of 2012 and we had multiple hearings on the topic. the commission came from a place for paina, i have been there. i think it's a beautiful location and what you have done is amazing. unfortunately the entire time that we've been hearing this case, there have been sounds and other violations. if you are not even on your best behavior when you are coming back before us, there is no trust. the entire community doesn't have trust because there has been repeated violations. unfortunately the law doesn't allow us to make excuses for birthday parties and other things. it duntd work that way. if you can get it together you can come back in a year for conditional use. that's what the law allows, i would hope that you can work with the community to make that happen. just to make this clear to the members of the public. this does not close down paina.

it can still operate, it just can't have amplified sound. it does not close down the restaurant establishment. i would hope that as a result with the hearing, that you would work with the community that perhaps in a year we can be in a different place. the reason we continue this item so many times is because we really want to support the paina lounge and unfortunately the good faith effort did not happen last year. >> commissioner antonini? >> yeah. i agree with the other commissioners. i think that the concept sounds like a good one, but i think this site is a wrong one for the intents. it's fine with non-amplified, and closing at certain hours. that

seems to be doable but to try to make it into a late night situation, a lot of the other entertainment venues and even their representative spoke of are places that are more freestanding while there are still more neighborhood issues regarding these. they have a lot more room way from their most immediate neighbors and almost all the leaders of japan town have spoken against it. i think it's just not the right site. i wish them well continuing their operations as it now exist and being able to have the accessory entertainment along with their restaurant use. >> commissioner sugaya? >> yes, just a follow up on commissioner borden's conditional use permit. i think i asked at the last hearing that with respect to hearing

limited entertainment use that still continues. does limited entertainment prohibit amplified sound? >> it would not. it's more limited to the area and there is hours. >> they can keep the installed sound equipment and use it with the bands or the -- >> my understanding is that yes with a limited life performance permit, they can keep the amplified music and only limited to the time and the area and the sound level that was agreed to on their permit. >> all right. i think with that clarification, then to the project sponsor, if you -- you know, i don't know the size of the area, i haven't been to your place, but, i know that enlarging it would make possible probably more people to be there and larger

ensembles to be there, but given the current situation which i think the commission is going to pass a disapproval, you may want to think about continuing your entertainment use obviously which you will, but in a way that i think if you do come back in a year, that both the community, sundance, the spa and everyone will be on your side at that point. i think if that happens, the commission will entertain and approval. >> thank you. i add on that i feel similarly that there is no problem with the fact that there is music and entertainment. it's the level of the noise that exceeded the dba and time extension. i hope that you are able to continue your business for the next year and come back in an i year and show that there haven't been

any citations and this commission would support this. the clerk: there is a motion to adopt this. that motion passes unanimously 5-0. >> the commission will take a > >> i would like to welcome everybody back to planning commission san francisco hearing. i would like to remind members of the public to please silence mobile devices. when speaking before the commission speak into the microphone and state your naerm naerm -- name for the record. we left on the calendar no. 12. item 12:

2013.0292c c. noel; 4155 575-91255 16 west portal avenue - west side between ulloa and vic ente streets; lot 002 in assessor's block 2931 - request for conditional use authorization, pursuant to planning code sections 303, 729.44 and 703.4 to allow a formula retail use operating as a restaurant d.b.a. la boulognee within the west portal avenue neighborhood commercial district and 26-x height and bulk district. preliminary recommendation: approve with conditions 12. sf 12134 >> i'm introducing you to casey noel who is with the department. help me out. >> i will deal with the third person with the boards of directors boards who worked with gold man sacs international as a capital advisor as well as capital management and analyzing funding and creating real estate securities. casey has a ba from harvard and ms in real

estate from nyu. >> welcome. >> good afternoon, president fong. the item before you is a conditional use authorization to sfb a former retail restaurant at 16 west portal avenue. it's a french cafe and bakery with 7 other locations throughout the bay area. they serve breakfast and lunch from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. the existing tenant space measures approximately 2675

square feet. the 1 story commercial building is currently vacant but was previously occupied by a grocery store. to date the department has received approximately 150 letters in support of the project from neighborhood organizations. in addition, the department has received a survey conducted by the greater west portal neighborhood association with 200 respondents in support. the they have not received opposition. this concludes my presentation. i will be available for questions. thank you. >> thank you. project sponsor? >> good afternoon, president

fong and members of the planning commission. my name is jp, vp of operation for cafe. we are seeking permission to open the new cafe. this project is a direct result of an organized group of residents and merchants who expressed their request to have a cafe in their neighborhood. voting in favor of the location. we too have felt the same at west portal which we look upon deciding for a location. it's an over all great neighborhood. when it became available we began the dialogue with the

neighborhood. public affairs, we conducted an expansive community outreach program which included to the neighborhood association, the twin peaks and portal council, this also included many contacts with merchants. a little background. we were founded in san francisco in 1988 on pine street. we have since grown organically. maintaining a goal with using the freshest and natural ingredients. we make it a priority to stay involved and active in our neighborhoods. we are passionate to give back to san francisco and create a program called project. we

make various donations to shelters and food banks. this will bring 25 new jobs. we offer various programs to part-time and full time partners including comprehensive health care coverage and 401 k with match and a reward program that includes part-time partners and tuition reimbursement and commuter benefits. we are excited about the opportunity and we strongly believe it will be beneficial to the neighborhood. i will turn richard for our design team and we'll be happy to take any questions you may have.

>> good afternoon, president fong, members of the planning commission. my name is rich can . the site is west to the munis station. the space is located adjacent to the building connected to a front facade shares a wall to a site that is currently vacant. other futures of the site includes a mez nen to the side. the entrance throughout patio dining space. the door is at the rear and the double door entrance is a wood trim style door with 80 percent glass to maximize transparency.

it contains operable pains. once inside the cafe, you have sandwiches on the right and coffee. restrooms lead to the back house and kitchen areas. the next slide we have the current facade of 16 west portal. the tenants had an awning. we'll be removing the awning and restoring the windows and refurbishing the facade. this is the area of how to decide is paneled with the storefront is architecturally detailed to be consistent with present style shops. the welcoming patio experience

catering to pedestrian traffic. signage will be fitting the character of the storefront. one signature wall skons will be on the storefront for pedestrian safety and street interest and the last slide is twoel variations elevations of the exterior and the doors will be closed to provide security during non-business hours. that concludes the design presentation. i will hand it back to casey. >> thank you. that concludes the presentation. i'm happy to answer any questions that you have. >> thank you. we may have questions for you in a moment. i'm going open up for public comment. i have a few speaker

cards here. shepherd? if you want to lineup on this side. miller, ted bowey and lam an and scott wig ins. >> good afternoon commissioners, my name is shepherd. i was part of the western neighborhood association last year when we voted to support the move by l.a. blang to set up the shop at west portal. the space is needed to be renovated for maybe the last 50 years or so. you couldn't really see, i see

you agree with me. you can't really see from the photos that were shown here, but the panelling was falling off and it was a mess and we are very excited to see them move in there. our organization contacted them and asked them if they would be so good as to move in there and they responded positively. i can't think of anything that we can do to the west portal avenue that could revitalize it any greater than that what l.a. blang has intended it to do. thank you so much. >> thank you. next speaker, please? >> hello, my name is em it miller, a resident in west portal and also a member of -- i'm on the merchant committee

within, that did the survey. we surveyed, the response of the is survey was over 300 respondents in west portal area and two-thirds of the respondents listed on the survey that their priorities were a bakery which we don't currently have. we feel that l.a. blang would be a great asset. hello. we are very

available to talk about their process. it fills a need at the avenue. we had a bakery about a year ago that shut down. you saw the plan has outdoor seating. right now we don't really have very much outdoor seating on the avenue. we have to go there for a bagel and coffee and we have to bring it home because there is no way to sit. they recognize that need and filling that need. they are also going to beautify that space. they really take great pride in making their space look nice. thank you for your time. >> good afternoon, i'm

stephanie lima and president of west portal. we are looking forward to la boulange coming in. i agree with what everyone has said. the street market has been declining and we need ann -- anchor store to support the area. i hope you support that. thank you. >> good afternoon, my name is tammy scott wiggins and resident of west portal and also speaking on behalf of high husband who is here today. we are very much in support of this as a resident. we would like to say that we are lacking that backary. bakery and it would be nice to have la

boulange. we are merchants in west portal and we believe la boulange will be a great asset to the community. >> any additional public comment on this item? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioner antonini? >> i'm very much for this. if there is a report if there was an arbitrary for the amount of retail about excess and we don't have that. this is a very good one and one that has overwhelming neighborhood and merchant support and fulfills the need for being the need for a bakery which there is none on

west portal avenue. i think it's going to be a great addition to the street. and there are a lot of vacancies on the street in addition most notably right next door. it's hoped that we can also attract something of the former bank and walgreen's. this is a step in that direction because it will make it more enticing for a grocer to come with a full market where there would be a butcher market and that would finish things off. i also have a personal interest of there being a real bar and grill on the street because there is no place to go to watch the giants. you have to go into a tavern and have a drink and

watch the game. this is a very good use and also i'm very pleased with the architecture that allows the outdoor and allows to open or close the windows depending on the condition and how many people are there. i think it's really well designed. i'm m favor and i will see what the other commissioners have to say. >> borden? >> yeah. i think this is a great venue and people are proactive. i think it's great la boulange accepted the challenge and willing to go in. in the past there have been identified businesses that have been going into the neighborhood. >> i don't know if this question is to the project stop

sponsor staff. could i ask about the relationship between you and starbucks? >> our parent company. they acquired by starbucks. >> to staff, if that's the case, under this application we are saying the formula retail applies because la boulange itself has in excess of 11 establishments and therefore we are considering formula retail. we are not saying that the formula retail extends to the parent corporation that has thousands of outlets across the country. how does this work in this case? >> you are correct that we are looking specifically at the la boulange chaer chain. they are

a formula retail. their 12th establishment. we are not looking at the large are parent or ownership of it. there has been discussion about it incorporating at parentage and who owns the company considering that as a factor in determining whether or not something is formula retail, however that is not in the planning code. >> you are saying that if mcdonald's owned a company called something, and it had 12 outlets in san francisco, we would be considering that only owned separate? >> yes. it's about the physical characteristics of it because

we look at the signage and trademark. those are all the characteristics we look at to determine whether something formal retail. if it's owned by starbucks or mcdonald's. whether or not. it's not in the planning code. there has been discussion about broadening that. that maybe it's a one op or two, that it maybe owned by a formula retail or a company that owns formula retail establishments and people would like to consider that formula retail use even though there is one or two stores. that is not currently in the code. >> i actually appreciate that explanation by the zoning administrator because in this case it would be la boulange on its own. it's important to recognize that they are picking up a creatively used space. it's not a formulaic type of

space that people always jump on. i think the space is very creative for being used. while i have questions similar to what commissioner sugaya, your explanation makes it easier to support this project. in addition to that if you see the adjoining uses, there is really an active use seriously missing. i think it will kind of round off what this neighborhood will be able to do on its own. >> any further questions, comments? >> there is a motion on the floor commissioners to approve with conditions on that motion, commissioner and antonini, wu, borden, fong, so moved commissioners, that motion pass unanimously 6-0. this places you to item 13.

sf 13 >>. request for use of authorization good afternoon, the project before you is a request for conditional use authorization to legalize an internet service at 435 port row avenue. in contrast the larger internet services exchanges as they are often called. this project small scale, local ownership and central location will allow to provide smaller uses and businesses in the city. this billion was initially rezoned. the m 1st district permitted

through conditional use authorization. however the current use zoning did not permit it. it went through the administrative process and determined it was eligible to be legalized under prior m 1 zone is and had not changed to or marketed for a different use since that time. the determination was not an appealed and now the project is before you seeking authorization. the plan indicates parking for two cars in the buildingcious that is incorrect, instead the p g and and e transformer indicates

that. it will comply with the state and local and regional compliance. it has a permit through the bay area air quality management district. the backup is a an older model. the diesel fuel it will burn is up to date. the noise does not exceed the noise level. they are conducting a noise analysis for this building and the equipment will be altered to ensure compliance and as mentioned in approval 111. a neighbor also brought to the attention that it maybe necessary to