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 they are waiting or friends and just getting checked on. that just shows that the security is getting better and to say that it closes >> public speaker: my name is casey gilbert. i didn't have a place to get my medicine. that's when sparks entered the picture. i have to take a long muni ride to get there. i'm greeted in a safe

environment. the members there have taught me how to correctly medicate so i don't miss medicate anymore and that helps me. if they were loud -- allowed to operate in the excelsior 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 doin