gail mametska, last weekend, we celebrated our 40th anniversary and for the past two year, we had a doggy pageant and parade, i reached out to many small businesses, even franchises to help support this event, the only organization who ever responded was pet express. pet express donated prizes, pet food, pretty much anything we asked, they were able to give to the event. i'm here in support of an organization that gives back to the community. i'm here to support pet express. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. let me call a few names. (calling speaker names). >> good afternoon, i'm john daniel, i'm rep scents rocket

dog rescue, every sunday, we have a mobile adoption event at pet food express, they've been gret supporters of rocket dog rescue and never once did we feel our support is contingent on us supporting them back. we had an opportunity to go to marina green, we attended with a few volunteers and the thing that was unique about that day is how many people approached rocket dog with asking for opportunities to volunteer, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters said if there's not enough for us, to find a way to volunteer in our community and pet rescue is something we'd like to be involved with, without pet food express's support, we wouldn't have that food base to have that to help save dogs, i ask you to accept their proposal and open the store at lombard street. thank you. >> good afternoon f, planning commissioners, any name is

yvonne jansky, i'm a san franciscan, i am proud to say i've lived here 56 years next month, i am here in wholehearted support of pet food express, i remember clearly when lombard was a beautiful street with bustling businesses, the many vacancies have brought in a rise of crime, i feel that pet food express will bring business back in the street and bring a wonderful and needed.service to our animal owning neighbors, they work with pets unlimited and animal care control, these kittens and cats need homes and this can be provided with them,

i have two rescue cats with pelting unlimited, i can't get the food from other places, i can get everything i need under one roof with pet food express, i strongly feel they would be a huge asset to the street and the neighborhood in general and bring back business to the neighbors on lombard, it's a win, win for all of us, the customer service is outstanding, thank you very much. >> good evening, my name is susan fry, i've been a san francisco resident for 23 years and i'm a parent to a 7 year-old daughter, two dogs and a cat. they are literally thousands of pet products, thousands and thousands, some available at pet food express store, some available at small stores, i feel fairly representative of

how san franciscans shop, myself and my friends, we shop at multiple types of stores that offer the same types of things, and we shop there for a specific product, we may shop out of loyalty to the business and out of relationships that we formed with them. while i understand the concern the chest nut pet stores have, i feel pretty confident that the loyalty they have gotten from their current customers will help them. the adoption center at the lombard street store will hopefully increase the pet owners and the pets in the community so that everyone will have more people shopping for their pets in the stores in the neighborhood. i'm fully supportive of pet food express on lombard street. thank you. >> my name is marita piazza, i'm a resident of the marina, i

am retired, i own a dog and i do not own a car. i would absolutely love to have pet food express on lombard street. if you have ever had a pet dog in your bathtub covered in shampoo leap out of you, shake away and run away, you would understand why it would just be so wonderful to have a pet wash that i can walk to. also i have a wonderful vet, my dog does, he's capable, he's on lombard street, but with the option of vaccinations at less than half the price, i go to pet foods express on the bus for my dog's vaccinations, the vented is sociable and kind, i would believe that probably more dogs in san francisco have rabies vaccinations because of their service f, i heard foggy doggy mentioned tonight, it

happens to be my dog's groomer, i told them that -- they did not give permission for their name to be used, and they gave me permission to mention that to you today. >> met l*et me call a few more napes, i think we're about 1/3 through public comment, so if you find yourself having some more comments and thoughts as previous speakers, you might want to shorten your message. (calling speaker names). >> good evening, my name is martin, i'm a long time resident of the marina and also serve for several years as the director for the marina community association and some other local association, today

i'm speaking in my personal capacity as a pet owner and a satisfied owner of pfe, i'll keep my comments if i can to two minutes but i've included more detailed arguments in my may 10th letter to the planning department which i believe is on record. i would like you to respect free enterprise, fair competition and consumer choice by allowing pet food express to open this new sto, many pet owners like myself and my wife very much appreciate the product and services that pfe offers while what is currently available in the marina district, some people want to prevent us from where we want to shop so we have to shop elsewhere in our case, that's called protectionism, and they

do not -- they are not the majority. [inaudible]. isn't that something the consumers should be allowed to decide for themselves, formula businesses like the gap, walgreens, etc., etc., these are all formula retailers but very much appreciated and welcomed by marina residents, in summary, i hope the commission will defend free enterprise and consumer choice and reject unfair protectionism, please allow pfe to open their preferred store, it will be welcomed by marina residents and will strongly benefit the local economy. thank you very much. >> hi, my name is barry leonard, i've been a san francisco resident since 1976,

also i own a small pet shop in glen park since 1984, i came to meet michael as a competitor because he had his store up at west portal, mike and i have become friends, currently i have a shop down in redwood city and i'm bracketed by two of the pet food expresses, he's never gotten a leg up on me, michael doesn't compete on price, he competes in service f, he does a good job, i respect him, i think he has a right to do business, just because he's successful, you shouldn't bar him, if michael's going to face a community of people who don't want him, he's going to have to go away. i think it's up to the store owners themselves to keep their customer base, and not to worry, i've always thrived in his shadow, i don't think it's a problem.

thank you. >> good evening, commissioners, henry of the san francisco council, district of the merchant's association, i'm going to speak of what my feelings are, the marina merchants did not really make a presentation to us because what you heard before from the presence of the marina association, bottom line is what i did hear from most of the merchants around town, had pet food express reached out to the neighbors right from the get-go, if they didn't keep the place vacant, if they kept the main storage warehouse over here rather than moving it across the bay, they would have a lot of support from the merchants that i have spoken to, but however that didn't happen. did i deserve to be punished

for that and not be able to open up, that's for you to decide. i'm really torn about this. i think they're doing a great job of what he's given to the police dog training and all these other things that he's done, the contributions he's done for these non-profits, he's done a great job in has ropt, but the other small businesses, what have they gotten with pet food express. i want to say that that's where we sort of came if we didn't come up to a decision, i would like to leave it up to your wise decision. thank you. >> hi there, my name is richard shu and i own a small pet boutique in the castro and i'm a member of the castro merchant's association and we oppose chain shoes in the castro neighborhood because we know it will change the

neighborhood adversely, people come and dine in the neighborhood, allowing pet food express to come will deny that aspect, keep the character of the marina and the character of the city, thank you. >> hi, my name is lisa freed man, i live 5 blocks from this location and i oppose the project and if r the sake of brevity, i can walk to the store, the pet food express to if i wish to from my location so i don't think it's necessary and i don't think it's desirable either, thank you. >> next speaker, please.

>> good evening, chair fong and commissioners, 20 years ago, i made the decision to change careers and to go to veterinarian medical school primarily so i could be a more effective animal welfare advocate, as a san francisco resident and veterinarian, i am here today to speak to you in support of pet food express's proposal to open the lombard street facility. the most compelling argument for me is the cat adoption center which i hope other time will expand to include more species, san francisco has many animals in need of homes but too few adoption centers. we must not kill, and i use that word intentionally, i will not use the word youth nao*iz which is a medical term, we

youth nao*iz animals to end suffering, so we are killing animals, and it'suswe t ve an e to find homes for them, according to dr. rebecca cats of san francisco animal care and control, cat adoptions have gone up by 652 since the relationship between acc and pets unlimited began in august of 2011. i have a second reason for supporting pet food express, one that i don't think has been raised, and that is earthquake preparedness, as the neighborhood emergency response team coordinator nert for glen park, i worry about earthquake preparedness for the people and the animals, and as most people know, the marina

district is at high risk and i worry about the animals. thank you very much. >> hello, i'm here to present a letter in support of pet food express on behalf of the co-president of the president of the sfpga, so, this is from jason, dear commission, i am writing to express the san francisco spca's support for a new pet food express store in the lombard district, as you may know, canted are surrendered to san francisco..[reading].. on market and debose will help raise cats, both of which will help animal ins our city.

pet food express has been an important and generous supporters donating money, food, toys and other goods, their work to feature..[reading].. to do on-site adoptions and to provide discounts demonstrates they get it when it comes to improving animal wet fair and the communities that serve. i would also like to speak on behalf of the voiceless, the homeless cats and kittens that will be impacted by this proposal, i think they would support the store as well. thank you very much. (calling speaker names). >> hi name is toer ri paten and i'm the resident of the marina

for the past two and a half years but a fifth generation bay area native and i live directly across from the pet food express and i'm a huge supporter of it, i see homeless people out there, people urinating and i think this would help the lombard corridor, so i'm in full support. i also understand that your staff reported two weeks ago in their formula retail report that pet food express is typically not associated with formula retailer, it hurts regional retailers, your planning code says that retail uses are most critical to success of commercial district, it would be a catalyst for investment and upgrades on lombard, i urge you to support's your staff assist recommendation and improve lombard street and the small businesses on that street that need this project. thank you.

>> hello, commissioners, my name is john toesh, i own a pet store on dairy boulevard and it's good to see you again, i think it's the third time in front of some of you. as far as -- i've heard a lot of people say -- or some of the reports say that pet food, independent pet food companies thrive under a pet food express existence. well, let me tell you about some realities, when they opened up their store on california street, six months late e we experienced a 15 to 20 percent loss in business. that's a fact. i don't know where these folks get these facts from. secondly, let me tell you quickly what the two or three or five stores down there on chester that's going to be in for when pet food express arrive, they called my store

asking for prices that they apparently wanted to match. this went on for months and once they figured out that we got -- we were on to them, they had their customers at their counters call us, and how i know this, because i asked the customers, are you standing there, and they said yes. so, as far as, you know, having this integrity about pricing and the fairness of pricing and buying, it's a fantasy because i'm living proof that that has happened. if you approve this particular pet food express which was already decided four years ago, all you're doing is adding to the domination of this company, they want to dominate the entire area of the pet food industry. this is a seminal moment for this committee, the moment is if you decide to let this project go through, you are

going to open up the flood gates for all the rest of the big box stores that are watching this carefully. i urge you to reject this. thank you. >> thank you, let me call a few more names. (calling speaker names). >> commissioners, my name is earl atkins, i'm the publisher of the marina time, i ae peer you before to keep the record state, misrepresentations have been made to members of this commission to sdret the marina times and our support for pet food express, specifically it is said that i told a number of local area merchants that pet food express pays our print bill. i'm here to tell you tonight that is false. as publisher, i am responsible

for managing the company finances, i am well apair of the cost of doing business and the sources and the amount of income we receive. let's be clear, pet food express neither pays our print bill nor do we receive income from them sufficient to pay our print bill. pet food express and the marina times entered into a cooperative relationship to promote rescues and save animals. the financial contribution from pet food express covers only a portion of the cost of this program. the marina times makes up the rest. it's our commitment to saving animals and we're glad to do it. there is no way pet food express pays our print bill or even comes close to paying it. the statement that they do made by the opponents of pet food express is a falsehood and serves to illustrate to me the extent to which they will go to

misrepresent the facts and sdret others. i urge you to grant pet food express a conditional use permit because it is in the best interest of the overall community and i urge you to exercise caution with regard to claims made by the opponents for they too may be false. thank you. >> good evening, my name is warren spaoeg l, my daughter owns independent pet store, and on two different occasions when she had to remodel her store and another one to move the location, while she was doing it, she went every day for over 6 months to keep the front of the store clean. did pet food express do that?

no. four years, they have been paying rent and never went to paint or clean the parking lot until when? until they had to appear here. that's wrong. they're not interested in san francisco. they're interested in pet food express and pet food express only. everything else that's been said to you, i hope you do not let them come in for obvious reasons. thank you. >> good evening, my name is marlene sansiloti, i was raised in the marina so i saw it in the old days when it was all small shops and it was enchanting, it is no longer that way though it is very clean and a lovely area. we don't want that to happen in

san francisco. we don't need anymore big chain shops. i have nothing against pet food express but we have enough of pet food express. obviously they're doing very well and they can help a lot, thanks to them, but we don't need another store, and i hope you consider this. thank you. >> president fong, members of the commission, except.er the lady who just spoke ahead of me, for the record, my name is mar -- mare yo*n mazuka come -- thomas, i've live ined the marina for 50 years and for all of those 50 years, i've had dogs and pets. over the past 50 year, i have seen the many, many evolutions

and iterations of the marina. there was a time when there was four grocery stores on chest nut street and all four stores thrived and supported each other. it was high rents which drove them out of the community. there were three florists and multiple clothing stores. all this to say is that this gives me a unique perspective and i've seen this iteration of chest nut street. i cannot see the argument by pet connection nor by catnip and bones that three pet food stores cannot co-exist. the three stores are distinctly different, pet food express will not cannibalize the sales from the other two businesses. catnip and bones is a unique high end boutique and not every resident in the marina can afford her merchandise, nor does she sell the type of pet food that i need for my dog. as for pet connection, their inventory is not always reliable and i find their

argument against pet food express disengeneral wows due to bird and game, while they will come in and distinguish theses if they become a community connector, if everyone in our community, young, old and children can come into one area, for pet washing, perhaps get jobs and volunteer and do things like that, we don't have a community connector in the community anymore, i am in favor of pet food express. thank you. >> hello, my name is mark pricipa, i live in san francisco, i find myself confused as to why we're having the debate as to why we should let pet express into the marina, just a few years ago, the *f you rejected this same application, what has changed since then, the threat to small business is the same, the laws

are the same, just about the only thing that's changed in this equation is that there is even more opposition to pet food express since 2009, what is the point of having laws which limit the introduce of large chains if they can bully the laws and into our neighborhoods, not taking no from the community is an answer, please say no to pet food express because of that. >> come on up. (calling speaker names). >> good evening, commissioner, president fong, my name is anna teal, and i work with national pet foods, we operate two

locations in san francisco, one in the castro and one in north beach, we offer caring specialized customer service, we donate to animal causes and participate in community activity, we enhance and celebrate the neighborhoods we live in and we do the best we can with limited resources. we don't have people who lobby city hall on our behalf, we don't have lawyers to speak at public hearings, we don't participate in redundant neighborhood business associations in order to get our foot in the door, despite the work we do for local rescues including city agencies like the acc, we don't put them in a position to advocate for private business, we don't sit in the same location where we were turned down once before while we wait for the political climate to change. any time a formula shop opens,

it will hurt other similar small businesses. on a city wide scale, it changes the scale of the neighborhoods we operate in and that's not what we wan for our city. woe ear -- we're asking you to consider our position this evening. thank you for your time. >> good evening, my name is kelly, i run a private independent dog training company. and i have clients throughout all the neighborhoods of san francisco. i drive a lot in this city back from kristi field to ocean park, and i walk almost all the neighbors with my clients and their dogs and i can tell you from first hand experience that once those dogs are adopted, they often need special care and training, and that i have had the most success in

rehabilitating those dogs and adjusting them to an urban environment when they have a close relationship with their small neighborhood pet store. they don't always have everything that those owners and dogs need in that store but they bend over backwards to get it to meet the needs of those dogs and their clients and i've had the most tremendous time working with all of the small animal stores in san francisco and i have also worked and shopped at pet food express. i don't think that they need a fourth store in the city. i think that the most unique and heart felt thing about san francisco is that it's walking neighborhoods and beautiful neighborhoods that are unique and i would like to keep it that way. i don't want san francisco to turn into a place where there's strip malls and where the only option ares the stores are every single one is cookie cutter and looks the same in every place, the beauty of san francisco is its neighborh