r it would be great for me and my other neighbors. thank you. >> public speaker: good evening everyone. i'm a lifelong resident of the community and i went to high school there and i have been a member of the spark community for a year 1/2 and as a neighbor of the proposed project i'm excited to be here and speak on the project. as a young 19-year-old man i'm able to make this commute. this is not the reality for a great deal of my fellow spark patients for whom i'm here to represent. many of them suffer many complicated impairments. it's the cannabis dispensary in san francisco. the majority of sparks

patients are from here in our city. many are not able to make it to this place. it's a necessity for the quality of life. >> as the next speaker comes up, i will call more names. >> public speaker: my name is jamie baca. i live in the neighborhood mission where spark is at. i'm from ohio and marijuana is still illegal. i'm pleasured that we have this herb available. it does treat many different things and i have suffered for years of anxiety and depression and being from california now i have the opportunity to use cannabis. it has helped me. it's safe and legal. the good thing about spark is

they have all of these extras, they have the community outreach, chair massage, medication and they have classes on what the medicine does and what to use for what you need. having them in my neighborhood is really great because there are a lot of people who are members of spark in this neighborhood. i just wanted to thank you for your time and hope you have a happy holidays! >> thank you, next speaker. >> public speaker: hello, my name is ian mcclof. i have provided many services at the sparks location and there are more than 100 treatments given out this year. i think it's remarkable that we have a dispensary

that just doesn't talk about being a healing center but actually provides services to the community to those who may not be able to access to it themselves. sparks is a nice and safe and clean and beautiful place. the people that are going to other dispensaries is what they actually need. it's terrible that they have given it such a bad name. thanks for your time. >> public speaker: good evening, my name is terry, a 20-year-old resident out of the mission and currently raising two teenage children. i want to share some facts with you about the excelsior. we have a community of 73 percent of people of color. 40 percent of our households include children. over 60 percent of the kids attending our local schools are considered low income. 40

percent of the population over 16 is not in the labor force. since 2009 i participated in a study conducted by sf state and the city and county of san francisco neighborhood empowerment network. the needs were identified as follows: they want to see esl, parenting classes, day care and after school programs. services for youth and career counseling. our seniors wanted safe streets. never a mention af cannabis club. >> thank you. ma'am, your time is up. >> next speaker please. i will call more names, harley nelson, jamie, >> if i could make an

announcement for those people who may still be remaining in the overflow room, we do have some chairs available. >> public speaker: . good evening, i'm a neighbor of the proposed project. i was at the ingleside neighborhood. i have lived in the neighborhood for 3 years and i'm a patient of spark. earlier i was diagnosed, it was mostly hereditary and caused by strep throat and anxiety. my doctor prescribed mehmed indication and caused me to break out. he told me that many people use cannabis and i went to dispensaries and staff was unknowledgeable. i went to sparks and i got an

oil that helps me with the redness. it is a model dispensary and acts in the best interest of the patient. i urge you to approve this project. thank you. >> next speaker. >> public speaker: good evening, commissioners. my name is richard sykes. i have lived here since 1976. i live near sparks. from walking towards sparks from 8-9 there is a bubble of safety going into sparks with this holistic approach to healing with my acupuncturist who you just met. they take a whole approach to

the patient. i think it should be raised the bar in the outer mission in the excelsior to open up the other spark. >> thank you. as the next speaker comes up i will car more names. >> public speaker: hello, my name is nicholas. i would like to state for the record i'm here on my own free will. i have not been paid to be here. i currently reside on the other end of the excelsior district on san jose. i'm a san francisco resident for about a year now and care about this community. i'm here to support sparks because sparks is the standard for the medical marijuana community

and the community as a whole could largely benefit from obtaining safe and lab test for medication. i would welcome this hospitality in my neighborhood and encourage you to vote on this project. thank you. >> next speaker. >> mary harris, president on the board of the eag. the excelsior has the highest concentration of children. this continuance of putting it last on the agenda puts a burden on families to come here and speak. i'm speaking in opposition of an additional facility on the street. i'm not opposed to the use of cannabis. there are many abuses to getting a card as it is to getting a placard. it's on a commercial corridor that communities surveys say

we need hardware store, we need a pet shop, we need additional restaurants. the planning commission did the community a service by approving 3 mcd's in 1 day. if we have so many ill people in the district, i suggest they start a delivery service. >> public speaker: good evening, i'm a resident in the mission. i'm a parent of two children who go to school the excelsior who play with their friends at the rec's center. i sympathize with some of the concerns of the opposition, however, i feel that sparks is a solution and not a problem. the community of spark is

about problem solving as they have demonstrated in many ways and as the supporters have stated i also have a 78-year-old mother-in-law who is a spark patient. so a dispensary of that quality would be a great benefit to us. thank you, i support the project. >> thank you, next speaker. >> public speaker: good evening, my name is shawn lebasco. i'm speaking on the quality of sparks. before sparks came to this location, the street was dirt and run down and now it's the nicest building on the block. it's almost a safety zone. i never felt unsafe to go to their place.

sparks allows their neighbors to take their medicine in-house. i have never gone by sparks ever smelling marijuana and unless you know it's a dispensary, it doesn't look like a dispensary. you can walk by and not even know. i feel sparks raises the bar of what other dispensaries should be. there should not be a discussion about the quantity, but the quality. they provide that quality for their community. >> public speaker: i'm hear to read for tom yamiano. i have known the applicant for many years through their

existing dispensary. they provide safe quality medicine in a secure environment. this benefits patient safety. spark has been dedicated neighbor and positive for the south of market community donated to charitable organizations and improving safety. i'm sure they will bring the same approach to my neighborhood. i strongly encourage this at 5420 mission street. thank you. >> next speaker. >> public speaker: my name is mike. i have insomnia. i lost my job due to this

problem. i have tried using medical cannabis. my doctor prescribed it. i got into spark from my friends. when i first arrived at spark i was greeted by everyone and i felt very comfortable there. the staff is very friendly and knowledge about my medical strength. he explained the effects and i got back on my feet. sparks use vaporizeers. i'm here to support this. it's seeking to always align with the community. they are a good neighbor. >> your time is up. thank you. >> public speaker: good

evening. my name is willis. i'm in full support of the spark opening behind the excelsior. the reason being the fact of the current existing spark on mission street. it really does create a better neighborhood in that area. i'm sure you are all familiar with mission street in that area. spark has created a bubble of safety. i think opening excelsior will raise the bar for other existing dispensaries and set a standard that the community can look to as an example of what this model should be. brings spark to excelsior and they will do the great job they are doing on the mission and show residents what they can do properly by a model agency. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker.

>> good evening, my name is trisha. i'm a neighbor and my family have lived here for more than 20 years. we care deeply about our community. although i'm not a member of sparks, i'm here to support it. i believe the members of this community deserve a quality and reliable source. thank you. next speaker. >> public speaker: hello every, my name is jessica and i'm a proposed spark user. i graduated from san francisco state university. i'm here to support spark in their effort to open a new location in my neighborhood. i'm not a patient nor a member but i did want to come and speak out for this non-profit organization. on behalf of myself and my

family i ask you to support this project. spark has demonstrated to the community that others haven't. that is why they are different and that's why i want and welcome spark into my community. thank you. >> next speaker. >> public speaker: good evening commissioners. on tuesday of this week the board of managers unanimously voted against an additional medical marijuana dispensary due out the cluster and high percentage of families in that neighborhood. additionally i would like to point out that supervisor avalos came out and said that 95 percent of the people are against the district. i would also like to point out that spark has mentioned over again that they have provided

union jobs and on the other hand i heard that spark is not providing union jobs. i was hoping someone could speak to that later this evening. in opposition. >> public speaker: excuse me. i hope you can hear me. my name is margaret norman. i have lived in the excelsior for 30 years and i'm a homeowner. they are protesting another medical cannabis club opening. we are not against marijuana in general nor sparks specifically. however the current limits imposed by the green zone have resulted in the excelsior. this is not fair or just. our concerns have been minimized or dismissed by

supervisor avalos by saying i have two friends who have been beneficiaries of medical cannabis. it has been suggested that we have other contacts to learn how they are handling others in the neighborhood. that's comparing apples to oranges. the excelsior did does not have a cannabis district. >> public speaker: hello, my name is allen mills, a 30-year resident of the excelsior, i live on prague. i can only reiterate a lot of the things that have been said. captain mcfadden talked so eloquently about the problems involved that it's a

nightmare for police. supervisor avalos said that 95 percent of the residents are against it. i don't know what else there is to know. there is too many already in the excelsior. we do not need one more. thank you. >> hi. i'm kelsey, the human resources. we employed many people. if this application were approved we would create 40 plus more jobs and that's just the beginning and we've recently engaged the mission hiring hall to ensure we reach local job seekers to join

great benefits and pay. they all makeover $15. we provide medical benefits and 100 percent of monthly premium and vision and lifelong disability. i urge you to approve this so we can bring a compassionate community friendly employer to the excelsior neighborhood. >> as the next speaker comes up, i will call more names. >> hello, my name is jays on. i live at 166 dellville avenue near the proposed location of spark. my husband and i have been a member of sparks for 2

years. anecdotally speaking. i want to speak about my first impression of spark. where they were first greeted me, the policemen walked up and interrupted us. that nearly sent me flying because i thought there was something wrong here. they were trying to achieve some surveillance from spark. there was some thefts in the neighborhood. so police were going to spark s for help. they ensure the neighbors and staff and everyone is completely safe and no illegal behavior is tolerated. i hope you vote in favor of this motion, thank you. >> next speaker. >> public speaker:

commissioners my name is david hooper, a neighbor to the west of mission street. i'm here to draw your attention to the question of clustering. this is a question of what is going to be the business model for mission street in the excelsior and geneva avenue. i ask you whether or not the community that has tried to be here so many times over the last several years that has not the interest of making a dollar out of it, not the interest of moving product would like to hear from you that you have just had your fill of it and will stop. this does not stop sparks from being compassionate or providing that service from their present location. thank you.

>> public speaker: hello, my name is henry. i think it's rude for others to vote on areas that the not theirs. the planning commission needs to take into consideration the residents, we are the ones who live in this neighborhood. please stop the clustering. don't ruin our community. thanks for your time. >> public speaker: good evening, my name is nancy. i have lived in the excelsior for many years. we need things for families to

do and to live a happy life in the excelsior. we have enough is enough. we have taken the burden, we've taken one for the team and has the 3 mcd's. put them elsewhere in the city. we need hardware shops, starbucks. we have nothing to do. there is nothing for families and we have a lot of families in the excelsior. please, we are strongly opposed to this. thank you. >> next speaker. >> public speaker: good evening, my name is claudia. i live in excelsior and i'm

against this. i walk and there is solicitation and drugs use going on. i would also like to state that i have never seen any of these people that are claiming to be with sparks and in our neighborhood and i just like to say that nothing good can come out of this. please, please, i'm begging you. don't do this. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker. >> hello, my name is claire, a member of spark. i would like to say that as a woman i'm very impressed with sparks able to create such a safe environment to procure my medicine. i can only imagine that it would only bring similar safety and that feeling of well being to the members of this neighborhood. i would

urge you to allow them to have that. thank you. >> public speaker: my name is simms and i live on howard. i don't have children, but i do commute at night and i think sparks brings as much safety as you can in the city. they keep really bright lights. >> thank you. >> again, i would like to invite those people who may still be in the overflow rooms to room 400. we have space in the chamber. >> public speaker: good evening, my name is paul hansen bury. as i said last time that i was raised to know the difference between right and wrong and these days it doesn't seem to matter so much just as if

it's legal ands it's what you can get away with. a few months ago this board here granted a permit to a known bad player simply because of the way they filled out their paperwork you can find nothing illegal about it. i think the general consensus people who are opposed to this is that this is a good player. it gets the opportunity to do the right thing and get the right player into a bad community. i didn't mean a bad community. with other bad players on the street. >> public speaker: my name is andrea and a small business owner with also the merchants society. this is not a pot issue, not a spark issue. it's a neighborhood issue. it's a neighborhood in need of help. while we have a diverse and vibrant community the

corridor is lacking the amenities to serve the neighborhood. they are offering nothing to those who live and work there. i have concentrations of families, why is there a large boars -- portions of our area mcd's. is it because lower income and minority don't have the means to object or is it simply due to proximity to a county to san mateo that doesn't allow it's own mcd's. enough is enough and three is enough. thank you. >> public speaker: hello, my name is sarah schraeder and an advocate and a member of

sparks and i live 4 blocks from mission street. i'm here to support sparks and the community it serves and the services it offers and gives back to the community. the concerns i hear today are against any dispensary or marijuana. no matter what their track record or compliancy to regulations. please support sparks in the second location we should not punish those who are trying to play by the rules. >> at this point in the night i would ask the remaining speakers to lineup on this side of the room. >> public speaker: hello, my name is raquel alvarez. i have a business here. my business is right in the block where the other two

0200cd's are in. i have nothing against spark. it's very bad in that neighborhood right now. i have been fighting this for 2 years and nobody listens. clustering is too much. it's nothing against sparks. we don't need anymore. >> next speaker. public speaker: hi, my name is stephanie casilla. i have the manager of the group. i live on 46th wall street which is 530 feet from clustering of