decades. everyday i pass by mission street. and i see a lot of people there using marijuana. i feel very unsafe. there are already two open. why do they need to open a third one? >> you know, it's like within walking distance to the third one. they don't need to open up a third one. and furthermore, there is an mcdonald's close by and there are many kids going in and out and it's not good for them to see that, to witness that. so i oppose opening up

another one. thank you. >> public speaker: >> interpreter: hi, my name is huang ty lee. i have an image or can i use it on the projector? >> of course. this is mission street.

there are actually there are like 30 plus shops all over. all the green dots are existing ones. the proposed one, it's actually pretty dense. next to the proposed site there are already two close by. i have friends that reside nearby. my friend was recently in the icu. he was robbed by two people who used money to obtain

marijuana. they wanted to use the money to buy marijuana. and the newspaper reported in san mateo there are no cannabis clubs. the people in san mateo come here to get it. >> thank you, your time is up. >> public speaker: >> interpreter: my name is -- i have lived here for five years. ever since these two

shops opened, the safety in our neighborhoods has declined. once after i bought something for dinner and i walked home because i was by myself and i'm a guy, actually someone solicited me and asked me whether i wanted to buy marijuana. for that i oppose strongly. there are schools, lots of schools and lots of child care facilities. yeah, imagine, if the kids

would walk home and when the kids walk home and then they were approached by these people, you know how bad can it be? >> and then the other thing is if there are that many, i mean, already there are so many people already patronizing these two shops, we don't need a third one. if there are more in our neighborhood, i will consider moving. >> thank you. seeing as there is only a few more people in line, i will start calling names. gregory george, michael aldridge

>> public speaker: >> interpreter: my name is lam qin. i live in the neighborhood and i strongly oppose opening up another cannabis shop. we need a neighborhood with clean air and neighborhood that is safe. thank you. >> next speaker? >> i will call more names. brew yee, shirley.

>> public speaker: >> interpreter: i have lived here for 10 years. i don't know what marijuana is. if it's alcohol and cigarettes, one needs to be 21 to buy them but how come i see people younger than that they can access it. i'm sorry, the person with the phone, could you please go outside with your phone? >> i strongly oppose.

there is like there is no regulation. are there regulations that regulate underage purchase of marijuana? >> yeah, it has been approved to open up these shops in the area, but it's not controlled and regulated. i do oppose the continuing opening of shops in the mission. thank you. >> public speaker: >> interpreter: my name is

key lynn. i live in the neighborhood. i oppose strongly opening up of another cannabis shop. i feel that the shop should be opened in a hospital or in a pharmacy. it should not be open near where there are lots of kids and schools. i strongly oppose. thank you. we are taking people that need

interpretation right now. >> public speaker: >> interpreter: i have been living in the mission for more than two decades. i love the neighborhood. i live with my mother-in-law, father in law. and kids. i want them to have good health. before it was a very safe neighborhood and i do love it, but it's no longer. it's not safe. a couple days ago i walked

with a girl. it seems she was approached by someone wanting to sell her marijuana. a couple days i'm working at home. i really oppose. >> commissioners, chair, if i may the interpreter has been at this for the last hour, i think we should give him a rest. >> public speaker: >> interpreter: my name is tracy tang.

i brave the element of weather to be here. i want to express my strong opposition of opening up another cannabis shop in the mission. like everyone who express their opinion before me, cannabis and cannabis shops impact our health and our young ones detrimentally. because of many reasons, it's not properly regulated and

because of that it's affects the safety of our neighborhood. i do oppose opens up this many shops in a residential area and for those who need to use marijuana for medicinal purposes, they should procure it at the hospitals or pharmacies. thank you. >> okay, one more speaker that needs interpretation then we'll give our interpreter a rest. next speaker, please. >> public speaker: my name is

alex ku. i strongly disagree with the captains side. you need so many letters in this case. these people do not live in that area. they live outside of that area. they may live in other towns far away. they want to open the shop and make money and they destroy the neighborhood. we don't need more marijuana shops. we don't want this case anymore. thank you. >> next speaker? >> good evening, commissioners, my name is michael aldridge, i'm a cofounder and on the board of directors of spark. i hope this this is the appropriate time to finally speak in favor of this activity. i'm talking to urge your approval. i have been given the

interesting job at spark of distributing free medicine to our compassion patients. we have about 80 people who are severely disabled enough that i must deliver to them and i'm very happy to do that. among the other social services that we offer include massage and vaporizer on site so there is no spark emitted at any time and our guards are charged with watching the entire block in front of the place. please help us expand our compassion program throughout excelsior district. >> i just want to remind

people you have 2 minutes. >> my name is shirley. i live in the outer mission and currently a compassion member of spark which means i received free medicine. i'm here to ask that you help, that you -- i have mobility issues which makes it extremely difficult for me to get to and from my home to sparks. other cannabis clubs they don't have that and plus i'm only a member there and idz -- it's hard to get there when i want a massage or

acupuncture because they have that. i'm asking you if you can please consider that with sparks. they are not like any other cannabis clubs. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker. >> public speaker: good evening, commissioners, i'm alex dra. i receive free medicine to my door and the services that are much a part of benefit to me personally as they are to my community. that includes the women's wellness group, low cost drop in acupuncture and courteous staff. this is an expansion of safe access for people like myself for need of this particular medication and we appreciate your consideration.

thank you very much. >> thank you. >> public speaker: my name is joshua rice, i live just two blocks away from the proposed location. i'm an employee of spark and i'm aware of the problems mentioned such as double parking. having sparks in my neighborhood will help solve these problems and issues as we have no tolerance for nuisance behavior. i'm a security manager at spark and ensure the safety for not only our neighbors but the entire neighborhood. i know that i will be safer because sparks is in my neighborhood. i live 2 blocks from this site and i have lived there almost 10 years and i want sparks in my

neighborhood. please approve sparks. thank you. >> public speaker: my name is harley. i'm here to read a letter of support from the association. the local neighborhood association to the proposed project. the ka yug an association does not approve this to constitute a clustering issue. today spark is open to all respect. the cis medical compliance company was given a tour of the mission at our request. the remodeling will improve the appearance of the block and moreover we request the changes of the policy and those that disregard the rules are banned. i believe these

examples shows how spark operates and the sparks community liaison and have been asked to sit on this community when the project begins. we believe sparks will become a great part of the community. >> thank you. as the next speaker comes up, i will call more names. >> public speaker: hello, my name is josh hoffman. i'm here to read a letter. i write to offer some contacts to cannabis medical dispensary. as a supervisor this district contains many ncd's and sparks has gone far beyond the requirements

adjacent to their building that spark adopted. in consideration to their neighbors, spark security personnel routinely patrol the alley to make sure the alley is a livable and pleasant space for everyone and installed street lighting for security. sparks supports the immediate neighborhood by installing trees which was not required for city permits and removed graffiti in all direction of our facility. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker. >> public speaker: hello, my name is steve. i'm a father and grandfather. i have noticed a blighted

area near the mcdonalds for 15 years. i'm a medical user. where policemen say all of a sudden this person is an economic development specialist. this is a coffee, lively area, bike area across from the sparks club. ask is the pizza people how many people come in and buy from them and i never smelled smoke outside of the sparks facility, thank you. >> next speaker. >> public speaker: good evening, my name is bob madela. i have lived in the excelsior district for 25 years. i'm a patient of sparks and i'm here to show my support

for this project because sparks is a non-profit organization that focuses on patient centers and deserves to be in the neighborhood. further more i believe that sparks is in full compliance with the board of supervisors ordinance for medical cannabis lines and medical cannabis dispensary zoning and permitting, thank you. >> hi. my name is ester put nick. i grew up in excelsior and raised my son there. is sparks a great place for the neighborhood, you bet they are. i have never seen them be irresponsible to the neighborhoods. coming out of there with my medicine a few times i was

nervous as a woman alone in that neighborhood. their security is phenomenal. i have never felt fear, i have never felt anything, i never smelled anything. i think it would be a really good addition to the neighborhood and maybe they would get the bad actors out of there. >> next speaker, i will call more names. casey gilbert, stacy doom an. >> public speaker: i'm a neighborer to excelsior. i care deeply from my community. i graduate from san francisco state with a masters and i'm a medicinal patient. i immediately walked out without making a purchase.

not only do i feel safe but it's the best places i have been to. i'm a neighbor of this project and i support sparks, and i beg you to please please please let them open at excelsior. >> public speaker: hello, my name is rodriguez. i live close to this. i don't want this place to be open without good competition. i live at 1912 and i support sparks. i'm not a patient of sparks. i think it would be good for our neighbor because they will force all the dispensaries to get better or sparks will put them out of business. as a

neighborhood of the project i was very impressed and i noticed they are different from other dispensaries from the area of the mission. i have no problem with this opening up in my neighborhood. i am a neighbor and live in the mission and i support sparks. >> public speaker: hello, everybody. my name is carlos rodriguez, i live near sparks. growing up in my neighborhood it has evolved to the beautiful place i know and the place i love. i have heard the many concerns regarding the new locations regarding the problems this area is currently under going. the problem with loitering and

double parking etc, these issues have been going on for many times. we can't solely put the blame on the dispensaries. the only thing to do is to try to change them. sparks is looking to be an active member of the community. they have demonstrated they are determined to improve the community through various neighborhoods and open involvement. there is no dispensary in the area. i welcome them to my neighborhood. >> thank you. as the next speaker comes up, i will call more names. >> public speaker: good evening, i'm susan tiven. my 94-year-old a father in

law lived here. we welcomed the medical cannabis to ease his symptoms to terminal illness. we allowed it to lapse when it was not medically on the other hand. i joined sparks. the sparks is the epitome of what people want to access. as a lifelong educator i share with my students our privilege and opportunity. talking the talk is not sufficient, walking the walk is the honorable path. that's what i see every time i go into sparks. the staff is knowledgeable, professional and medical cannabis experts. these experts are people we want to work with as our family continues to deal with terminal illness. thank you very much. >> thank you, next speaker.

>> public speaker: hello, my name is sierra. i'm a neighbor of the proposed project. i lived at 17 athens my whole life. i'm in support of life because of spark's excellent community outreach. i want to be clear, i'm not a patient or member of spark, but i'm only a neighbor living near this project and i support spark. i pass by the geneva mission area almost every single day. it's where i community. i have always seen security guards not just in front of the two cannabis clubs, but the whole entire block, the whole upper block, lower block and i have never smelled anything. i support spark because they care about the community and they are a non-profit. that would be good for me and my neighbor. thank you, i support this.

>> public speaker: i'm anna. i have lived near sparks my whole life. they are always super clean and super helpful and they make me feel safe. i would say that i would gladly greet them into my neighborhood because i know it's not just a club. it's a place to heal and a lot of people in my neighborhood can use a great safety place because i know there has been concerns due to the other ones. even though she said before i have seen security guards go all around the neighborhood. a lot of my friends live in the same area and they are always getting asked by security guards if