children. and my kids all attend locally arrest affordable housing rod is one of the better schools in san francisco and one of the things we have an incredibly strong relationship with the corridor on 23rd street and it allows us to provide enriching schools and rag on bone should be modeled by as many businesses has possible. i think rag on bone i'm in support of it coming to the fillmore coming to the city and hope many businesses will follow their lead. thank you >> thank you. >> hello, i'm elizabeth i'm a

neighborhood live on sutter. i think i've shopped pretty sure in every shop on fillmore so i'm not going to talk about the merchant i've a big fan it's a really rich neighborhood. i'm the neighborhood that principal scott talked about who's been helping on the school level. my children go to a different school. and its family liaison is a neighbor of mine i've known 10 years. she's talked about a lot of the pain they've had in the community. and i felt very strongly that something needed to change. as a person i can only give my time so i decided seeing what was happening at the school

they've had 4 principles in 5 years i met with the principle and say how can i help you achieve what you want to accomplish. she's the first time principal her mother was a teacher and she has a lot of hope for the children but we didn't have a lot of money. so we talked about the wish list how can i give my teachers room to be creative so rag on bone fell into the conversation. i happen to know todd through different channels and i'm very grateful. for that reason i definitely support them as sprong strong

community partners. i've been doing this community level for 6 years. i've never met anyone who wanted to work with me and it's already been here's a nice check see you next year this is really different so i appreciate their commitment to the community. >> thank you. next speaker and a hi, we're a nonprofit here and i'm here to support rag on bones proposal. we have an international scope we do mike loans i lead our key program and over the past year me and my team support

entrepreneurs and small business owners here in san francisco we provide zero rate loans. we made about one hundred loans administering 7 thousand and rag on bone approached us and said they wanted to set up a revolving loan fund to specifically support businesses on fillmore street we're excited to use rag on bones resolving loans to support other businesses along the street and as a resident from the hotdog cart i think there's a lot of opportunity to support the businesses on fillmore street

and we're very supportive of rag bone their make an impact on the community very positive thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon members of the commission. my name is jan o'connor i live and my family and i own a house in the fillmore neighborhood up syllable one week or so g ago i had a store and last year we were named one of the hundred top stories in the san francisco ear by the san francisco chronic. i've been a active member of the chasm if i wanted to build the neighborhood i had to get in

there and do it. having come from a pro bono. i have been disappointed in watching how the small businesses have gone away. it's not person in my view i know they're available but definitely know about the brand. i'm here about the idea of the chicken and the else we've made lauded to avoid everything looking the same and get individuals to start businesses. i see now it gets let's and less and less positive.

i also visited numerously and a funded my store mitch and a wagon following an earthquake renovation they've doubled my rent and are asking for a new $5,000 lease i've paid rent for 14 years. significantly to me i've felt i was off fillmore and off broadway but we've worked so hard to create an ambiance in the neighborhood in general and other merchants like the folks like beverly we've partnered with and encouraged each other i believe it's really changing the look of the neighborhood and have heard it from countless

people it isn't if you're going to lowest rag on bone brooke break through with a 11 chain. enough we're not going to let real estate be the tail that wags the dog and a encourage elderly people to double and triple rent >> thank you, ma'am your time is up. >> any further comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. commissioner antonini >> thank you. i favor this 0 proposal i think it's beneficial for fillmore street and the entire neighborhood. there are many oksdz and it doesn't preto rag on bones it will be a competitor so

protection itching is not enough to stop it. we're often told formula retailers don't pay their employees among the benefits are dental and a disability that's about as complete as you can get and i'll be surprised if a lot of the independents can match this. their probability inclined to hover more broadly people from economically challenged grooupz groups we're heard that formula rail are more apt to do that. i have a feeling hearing about the kinds of thing they'll have a more diverse workforce 0 than

some of the independents on the street. they didn't derivative out the royal grounds or laundry mats to the not like your replacing one with another. there are no one other stores in the city we've heard people testify who buy the produce and like the produce. it's like the phenomena ikea or other formula retailers people will drive to san francisco to get the products if we're unfortunate enough to not allow them we'll lose a good thing. there's lots of sport from people who live in the neighborhood. i think the 11 store the bar is

a little bit too low and i think we're going to discuss where the bar is going to be in the future but there's a difference between one company that has 11 stores or one we're going to have to figure out that. studies are showing that restrictions especially extreme restrictions on formula retail have a depress active effect you don't throw formula retail on every student but? a different one. that'll they've talked about the things i'm impressed by the business that is funding loans

to keep businesses open and also the ohio design where some of the products are going to be be made in the mission district. those are one this thing we've heard we went through this with the apparel industry and they were criticized they didn't work with the neighborhood and those people have done outreach and all the right things. finally, i think it's you know the other altering argument that's made with formula retail they undercut the prices now we're hearing the opposite. if people are willow to pay it we'll generate sales tax and a jobs and generate a lot of things it sound like let the bureau decide if they don't want

to go there they can go somewhere else. i did sympathize with people who spoke particularly the owner of both technical on fillmore street i hope she continues to do well, i feel if you have a good product they'll come to you or accessibility of a plan doesn't mean you won't sell it they'll drive to you. we're hanging our san francisco companies if they get to successful i wouldn't want a place in san francisco turn people away because your

successful. so i'm in favor of this and those are the reasons why. they're doing everything they're supposed to be doing and a good asset to the community. thank you commissioner hillis. >> so those are interesting i think we have to be vigilant and make sure our corridors remain and not cookie cutters we've denied formula retailer and denied them and this process is unique. i'm sure i don't go through this in other jury instructions. and we heard about corporate we're trying to avoid that corporate cookie cutter appeal but it's hard to equate that

i've not heard of rag on bony go to cost could it's $30 but you know, i think it would be a different commission of if we talked about banana republic or whatever i'm supportive. i did have concerns about the size of the stores but i was able to walk by this this week and i think the architect mentioned it's a shallow foot for the store it's not enormous so i think we have to be vigilant but it doesn't rise to the level of the formula

retailers >> i have to agree i love the merchants on fillmore street i think we struggle with the chicken and egg. the same thing is happening in other areas. job have answers but i'm not sure that denying rag on bone would solve problems. i don't know where you're talking about hate street i agree i read the article about the guy from a lot bringing the formula retailers. i remind or worked inform ibm and if you tell me ibm is a sales force i know it's not.

so i think you can't you know, i find in general, i have a hard time grouping people especially being a person of color into categories it's not one fits all. i remember when the law what conceived it was about starbuck's and others this was the origin of the law to stop the really grave highly market and highly firmed and, uh, i don't meaning awful but the experience that was the same everywhere you went not elegant and untrophy. the other thing that speaks volumes we have the founder of the company here we don't have some representative from some

office that's making a commitment. i see james doesn't participate in meetings and ralph lauren i know that's a problem but it's hard to say that about rag on bone when the founder of the company has made great strides to reach out to groups and i think what speaks volumes everyone has said it's not about rag on bone but about the idea and concept and it's hard to penalize rag on bone for a circumstance but i don't believe

they're part of the problem i think they want to be part of the slukts. i notice that a number of the independent merchants actually sent in letters of support and do another circumstance came up where the rent was pushed out of control and he closed. i think such as we want to we can't put everything in with only category. i don't want to see fillmore street bottom formula retailers there's few rag on bones the closet it is in brentwood it's

an independent brand and that part of what we want to support in this country outside of our local merchant but in general supporting businesses that are small and independent nast as well a that's another challenge we have we're more fortunate in san francisco in other areas in the country they don't have the character of local retailer they don't have businesses that grew up to be big. if you look at businesses in san francisco where the gap they came from here we have this interesting character. so the fillmore merchant i'll do anything to support you i can't personally put rag on bone in the category as though their nordstrom because the shoe

doesn't fit >> commissioner sugaya. >> yeah, i'm of the other shoe. it seems like we're more inclined to deny it but along fillmore we've not denied them because their apparel stores we get bowled over by uniqueness i think it's all the same thing

in terms of are corporate america supporting i guess if i'm cynical buying out the public which is what people want google and everything else to do who is running their

okay. as far as the comment that your stuff is too

expensive that was just in relationship to mr. warmer's pointing out that the staff argument says it's specialty goods. i think he was correct and i don't think it was an argument that it was too expensive. i used to live 2 blocks from there. i don't live there now but i go back there. it's rapidly turning into an apparel cosmetic

restaurant row. that's what it's going to be in the future. as long as we allow that to continue. i think the neighborhood will be like people like me that don't want to go back there. it's a neighborhood commercial district and not a tourism district. >> commissioner fung? >>commissioner fung: i hope everyone appreciates how much thought goes into this one. they are difficult and they are addressed by situation. a lot of people have talked about how long they have been in san francisco and born and raised here and watched fillmore street go through its ups and downs. frankly it looks great right now. i think it's alive and mixed with our

food an apparel store. it's not out weighed by store resources. i think it's a good mix. like commissioner hillis, i'm a kirkland brand myself. we might go to a costco and there is a place like raggen bones which is a kind of nice mix. we talked about making p contributions to the city. i think whether they offer this and believe they are going to stay in this program and engaging with can -- i think that's the kind of engagement we are ultimately asking. so i encourage that and i applaud that and appreciate that. as

you can tell i'm in support of this project and if it was a particular fried chicken restaurant where the colonel was a mascot, i would not be supportive of it. i think it's complimentary and i'm in support of the project. >> commissioner moore? commissioner dr. roscoe -- >>commissioner kathrin moore: i would like to discuss formula retail and pending legislation which some of the supervisors and x number of stores of either kind can exist. until i have that study and a little bit more

clarity, i feel i have wasted my own time sitting in a subcommittee which is attended by people here with the small commission and then now switching to the larger discussion about the department's on going study with economic strategies. i want to let that particular study come back to me to create a level playing field. if it's 11 stores or 10 1/2 and 12 or 13th one pending. i want to get a slightly better understanding for us to take pot shots for us and people like wagon bone. it's the

maturing of this project. i'm not prepared to vote on this. >> commissioner antonini? >> move to prove. >> second. >> commissioner sugaya? >>commissioner hisashi sugaya: one last thing. we got this in our packet last week. i don't know this newspaper, but on the front it says it's getting the boot because more store fronts are getting more international retailers and facing eviction on valentines day. i did read the article. it didn't really get into this whole issue national and international retailers looking on fillmore street. it's more like what seemed to be a personality difference and the store and the landlord. behind it i think is the whole issue that we've been discussing today. so. this is donna karen? this is

a costco shirt. >> i just hope that you can be bigger than that and be supportive because i think if you show a good model of what it means to be a formula retail by our standards and not maybe san francisco but maybe you can influence the ones that are already there to continue. >> commissioner moore? >>commissioner kathrin moore: i sat there approving ralph lauren and not because i wanted to, but at that time the community has commitments from the ralph lauren store which was quite substantial. they went from training minority salespr