>> can you share a little bit more beyond the menu of how you want to make improvements to the building acceding outside, sitting inside only? >> sure. >> hours of operation, bar, hard liquor, no beer, no wine or liquor? >> and you have them over so we can take a look at it? >> our passion is food and service. it is very gratifying to see people eating at your establishment and smiling and happy and having a great time. and we were looking to be in a neighborhood location and that's why yk when doug bought the building, we had conversations about possibly putting a restaurant there and we walked the neighborhood and we talked to people and they really do feel the operators who have restaurants there, they say they spoke very highly of the

richmond and the clientele in the regiment richmond and the opportunities that are starting. so this store, we looked at it and thought we could do a better service for the neighborhood and make it a more lively corner. when you drive by, you hardly know it is there. >> i have voted before to deny this. i think i'm in the same place. i think we are going down a path that is not necessarily viable. if there is a store that doesn't have a lease in not paying rent enough to keep the property owner from paying rent and mortgage, and what whatnot, or mortgage and -- i don't know where that goes. i'm not against a restaurant but i don't want to put a potentially viable market out of business. so i think i would support a continuance again. give us some time, will give the

property owner some time to figure out what is going on with the market. if the market isn't viable -- >> the markets on a month-to-month lease. it does state. he has not raised the rent. >> if you came with a vacant storefront, it is different than coming with a market. i get the notion, but it seems like the market is viable and people are there. we don't have the ability to look at the finances to say is the market paying a ranch that works? or as a property owner keeping them there because -- >> what will happen if we say no to this? >> says why i think we should have the competition. that is what we are talking about here. how to stay viable and how to compete. if you ask me, when i saw the store and saw the way everything was laid out, it shows no pride of ownership and all the other stores that i walk into had this sense of pride of ownership. you can see it in the pictures. that is why i brought the pictures.

>> we get somewhat of a different response from the neighbors who seem to use this and are fairly passionate about the market. >> he is a member of the community. when you go to his store and buy something, he has something to sign there for support for him. >> i think that needs to be resolved before i can put it in. thank you. >> interesting. i feel a little bit uncomfortable. i didn't know what your role was i honestly think that the landlord, a very generous man and not raising the rent, should work with the tenant on removing the signs in the window, making the business more attractive. may be taking the paint off the windows on the top, and setting a house -- house rules. clean your floor, do this stuff and get along with them. the reason why i'm saying this is what i saw inside this market is inside my corner store. it is not the greatest corner

store in the world but it serves as the hub of our neighborhood. i found a stray dog once and i walked into the store and i said there is a guide that is in there peerk there was a picture in our neighborhood newsletter two months ago. this store has been around since the eighties and the seventies. the same his family runs at. i found this dog. and they said it belongs to jane up the street. >> they said she shops here. it is a community hub. i really think that those are fast appearing in the city. i want you to come to the upper market area where we have to wait in long lines for breakfast and lunch. i can't get in there and sit down. >> i grew up in the excelsior. there is a liquor store that specializes in sandwiches. it is a hybrid market. you have to adapt. >> i think with some coaching, or with feedback to the market owner, they will. i do. i am not in support of the

conditional use. >> commissioner more? >> i would like to speak out about how we support and protect small business. since this is a c.u., is up to us to take a position. we do know how hard it is to have small businesses stay viable. i am very steerage to uncomfortable with the landlord describing the dilemma. the change of use is to allow us i do believe that enabled stores all have certain differences. is a variety of people who run them. it is -- their relationship as a community and how they run their store where ultimately it is this hub feeling and that specialness. it is not up to us to have this applicants play a store owner with habits against others. the others are doing it much better. that is the way it should be done. i find it a bit uncomfortable to hear the discrimination in

character and conduct. it is not for us to hear or listen to. as long as the community -- i would very much appreciate commissioner milgaard going there and ascribing positively her experience aside from the onion. onions are popular because people use them all the time. they are normally there. i personally do not want to get in that discussion issue. it has a way of shading my judgement. i think that negative talk against people and how they do their business is not appropriate. that is the health department's way of saying things need to be different. we do not have any complaints against the business, so i just want to restate my support for the denial of this see you. >> yes. as i said, i would be against this project. i also would be open to continuing it and allowing the landlord to work something out. i think that you are in a

dilemma here. i understand. but also, i think that the tenant is on month-to-month. they are also unable to get financing to make any approved -- improvements to their business because there is not a long-term lease. so i thank you are both stuck with each other for now. i would not vote for any conditional use that would cause the eviction of an existing successful business. and notwithstanding, you know, the pictures, i think that the community has spoken in favor of the building, of the business, but also they support the business by purchasing things there. i would support a continuance. >> commissioner koppel? >> i'm looking at my agenda that says conditional use for the restaurant. i think the landlord who did the right thing and let this existing tenant stay is coming back to haunt him.

i think if this were an empty storefront, i don't think any of us would say no that a restaurant shouldn't be there. and then the landlord being the nice guy and letting the existent tenant stay is going to make us vote differently. i don't think so. i am in support of the c.u. >> i want to be clear. i'm not picking a fight. this is not an eviction. this is a private property owner who has a lease and there is no rent control. the lease has expired. it is month-to-month. he was given the opportunity to change those businesses to alter the merchandise to try and make the market rent. what i think we are confusing ourselves with, and mr wong, generally when this comes to us, it is a vacant space and there is much more detail about the incoming business. whether it is a rendering, it is not just a menu menubar rendering of the design pack a floorplan, a layout, a flow.

>> we didn't habits. now is not the time. we usually have a package where we can review. >> okay. i missed the point of the continuance to allow -- i want to be careful, as you know, i support and protect small business and we have small business against small business here. i want to make sure that if we can, everyone is taking care of. i would be supportive of a continuance to allow the project sponsor and its team to come back with plans and renderings of a business plan of what is being proposed. i would also like to throw out and see if the building can be bifurcated so there is a market and a breakfast location and may be both survive. it is tough out there. and to make the market rent for the landlord, maybe requires two businesses pick one of the morning and one in the daytime. i want to throw that out there. a little creativity. maybe that works. but to answer some of those questions and to approach it as

we normally do with a new business proposing to operate in a location to give a little more time for the project sponsor to put that together. >> i would support a continuance i ask the neighbors too. we don't have the control to say the owner must lease to the current grocery store operator. you all know this. even if -- i think think my fear is we deny it, the owner and the market operator can't work things out and we have a vacant storefront and we are back doing this again in a year or whenever that is. i would encourage all parties, the market operator, the owner, did neighbors to get together and figure this out. if it is not viable, we are heading for a path where we will look at some alternative abuse in the future. >> i make a motion to continue to early next year. >> january 10th? >> i think we should go farther.

what about january 24th? >> go into february. >> second. >> february 14th. >> valentine's day. okay. commissioner more? >> shouldn't we add a couple of specific requests for the continuance? one was commissioner fong said to you, investigate the sharing of the space by two entities. there was a retail component, number 2 what was the business plan. a little bit more. >> i don't want to be prescriptive, but let me respond to that. please remember the market, i think it is green and columbus. that used to be -- now it is a hardware. they flip-flop back and forth for years and decades. but there was an attempt to do a market at a restaurant there. i don't want to go down that path.

i would just throw it out. and i think for the project sponsor and the restaurant, take a look at some previous projects that have come through the planning commission. and examples of how restaurants are put together their packages to better explain the proposed business. >> two things. i think it is a small business party processing that gave us a skeletal report and that was the purpose to get this thing through. one question i do have is did you sell the building to the current owner? i'm really confused. >> so you fulfils the transaction? >> yes. i'm a real estate broker and i am an entrepreneur. >> okay. you don't own the building? >> never owned the building. >> okay. great. >> we have a motion and a second >> indeed, commissioners. there is a motion that has been seconded to continue this matter to february 14th with direction from the commission.

on that mission -- motion. [roll call] >> so moved. that motion passes unanimously 6 -0. that will place us in item 14. conditional use authorization. >> all rights. go ahead. >> good afternoon. i am with planning department staff. the case before you is a request for conditional use authorization pursuant to planning codes.

for the authorization of an existing use located in the zoning district and the bulk district. this application is processed under the city's community business priority processing program. up to date, we have received -- prior to the publishing of the report, we received 23 letters of support and a support petition with 127 signatures, and we received one phone call of opposition and three letters of opposition. since the report was published, we received five additional letters of support and two additional letters of opposition we recommend approval of the project finding it necessary and desirable to the neighborhood and being compliance with all aspects of the general plan. thank you and i am available for any questions you may have. >> project sponsor? >> good afternoon. i'm representing the grateful dog.

statistically speaking, it is more likely that there are more dogs than kids among us in this room today pair of their hundred 25,000 kids in san francisco in about 10-20,000 more dogs in san francisco. in order to have livable cities, we need to address all aspects of our lives. not just these big ones like jobs, housing, transportation, but also a variety of land uses including services. we do need dog daytime and overnight facilities and the demand seems to be increasing, not decreasing. the grateful dog is an existing small business since 2009. we are not looking to change the physical size of the capacity of the space. the codes have changed since 2009 and now we have a separate kennel category that applies in districts with the c.u. requirements. back in 2009, was part of the overall principally permitted retail sales and service category. if you take just think of a typical district, they are

usually along a busier street. and usually the designation is facing the busy street and you have a residential zoning in the rear. but even with that type of splits residential zoning, we specifically intended to provide a wide variety of commercial uses. pretty much any type of retail you can think of including some automotive uses. his are from a zoning perspective, this is exactly the type of location where you would want to have kennel uses. there are only a couple districts that do not permit kennels but all others allow it with a c.u. the question for you is, is there something inherently incompatible or undesirable about this particular proposal, and that is not the case here. so this particular location, we are right along lombard which is quite a busy street. the use is among other retail uses. we have the academy of arts on

the other side, a gas station across the street, and we are only a couple of blocks across from the brick area. i want to talk a few words about communication that we have had with nearby neighbors. in june we had a preapplication meeting that was attended by four couples who expressed concerns about noise and smell and most related to the rear yard area. the owner took some immediate steps and perhaps most importantly, engaged and designated a community outreach person who is here today and he was tasked with talking with the neighbors, understanding the full scope of their concerns and coming up and implementing solutions. in your pockets, exhibit c, you have a log of this communications and all the contacts since june. exhibit i, you have an actual work plan where we matched up the concerns with current protocols and the things we could do to address those concerns. in terms of noise and barking,

dogs do bark occasionally. we do also have residential neighbors who have dogs, and we are not the only dogs that make noise. i think the reality is that if you look at kennels, they can sometimes be a better place for dogs because there are some dogs that can't handle being home alone by themselves and when they're in a kennel with other dogs and humans who can direct their attention. it can cause less parking. the bottom line is the concerns we heard from the neighbors are addressable and to an extent, they already have been addressed that is what we would expect. there's no reason why that couldn't happen in the future. this is a business that has been here for almost a decade. i will ask you to take these. i have additional support letters. this 50 more support letters. and 14 additional signatures pick with everything you now have 38 support letters and hundred 41 petition signatures. i will ask ernie, the general manager to come up and finish up with a minute.

>> okay. >> hello, commissioners. my name is ernie. i am one of the owners of the grateful dog, along with my wife , carla and i am the general manager and i handle the day-to-day operations. i am proud to say that in the nine years that we have been operating this business at this location, we have not only become a successful business, but we have also become part of the community here in the marina this realization came to light when i went to my clients for support on this hearing and i asked them, what does the grateful dog mean to you because the outpouring of support was tremendous. over 150 people signed the petition at our front desk, at 50 letters of support came in. these are regular everyday people. san franciscans who are now being faced with some tough choices. it is moving to find out how

much we mean to our clients. >> your time is up. >> we may have questions. we will open it up first for public comment. chris bennett, anthony, michelle , phil, but if others would like to speak, please come forward. >> good afternoon. i i'm a native san franciscan and i was also born at the soon to be demolished children's hospital. i wanted to, back in with you guys about the business of the grateful dog. i am in complete opposition of the conditional use and i am also in complete opposition of this type of business where it sits. there are a lot of these businesses that are over on bayshore and i know that doesn't service the marina area. however, this is backing up to a residential property which there are many slides. it is horrible on a sunny day.

the parking is not just from residential neighbors, as the attorney might have mentioned, but it is inspired by the dogs that come out into the yard and it sets the whole rest of the neighborhood off. so you may or may not remember me, but i helped the animal care and control in 1998. established the standards and care and practice of less than six dogs per dog walker. less than six dogs per boardinghouse for pet sitting. i am here to say what is going on now is completely illegal. there are 13 or more dogs and an illegal kennel on lombard street right now. that is nine more dogs than if you were a regular homeowner, and it is actually ate more dogs then should be allowed. right now, back on sunday morning at 8:00 am, the first thing you hear is barking and

then people yelling at the dog his. that is what you hear every single morning, every sunday, monday, tuesday, wednesday wednesday, thursday, friday, saturday. it is a seven day per week business that has a lot of volume, a lot of slides, can't open our doors anymore because the flies are so disgusting. there are fly traps everywhere. the urine is seeping through my neighbor's yards, and it has not been addressed in any proper way whatsoever as this group would say. it is just disgusting. and needs to stop. it is illegal. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> thank you for your patience by the way. this is phenomenal. my tone -- my name is tony. i am the property owner. i just came off duty from paradise.

sanitation, fuel sanitation means to keep your dog stuff on your side of the fence. a comes over my side of the fence and my backyard and my driveway every second day. i have to clean it up. i have to hose off the property. i have to reduce the flies. i have to reduce this. it is not fair. yes, they need a place to put their dogs. i agree. why put his dirty mops on my fence quote why put his filthy rags on my fence after they wash them. you can solve this problem. but a 1 foot high cement curve on his property line to keep that stuff, when they wash down the building and the carpets and so forth, on their properties so it goes down their sewer rather than using my garage and my driveway -- my driveway. kindly do me a favor. you can correct this tonight by making them put up the curb. i will be happy. i won't have to come back here.

thank you for listening. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. i am the homeowner on laguna street. the property that shows a fence with the grateful dog. i'm very concerned about the impact the business is having on the quality of life in the neighborhood and the property values of the homes owned by me and my neighbors. quite simply, the constant barking and the horrible smells coming from this business have become unbearable. there is no break from the barking. the residents in the neighborhood are here day and night and the smells from the dog urine and feces is overpowering, not to mention a health hazard. i was recently diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia that carried 100 and 4° fever. it kept me out of work for a week and a half. i have been inhaling fumes from a dog feces and it is a common way to contract this disease. i don't know if it is a way that it can -- it is certainly a possibility.

i will never have purchased my property had i known my backyard to be inches away from a toilet for hundreds of dogs. what was once a quiet and pleasant section is now bordering on unlivable. the grateful dog provides a valuable service to dog owners, i don't deny that, where they should do it in a location that is suited for the well-being of the pets, and in a location that doesn't impact the health and happiness of the local residents it has gotten so bad i have talked to real estate agents about selling my home and inferred from them that the presence of the dog would result in a price decrease. i preferred to remain in the neighborhood. but not if the status quo continues. it is not right a business can move into a residential neighborhood like this and rob the homeowners of sleep, health, outdoor enjoyment of the property, and wealth from declining property values. i urge you to deny them the conditional use permit they need to operate in this neighborhood

and let them find a suitable location that is better for the dog doesn't cause a surrounding neighbors to suffer in the manner that the current neighbors are suffering from the noise, flies, and toxic smells. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. to say that the grateful dog has contributed to the loss of enjoyment to the home that i phoned for close to two decades is a massive understatement. one of the reasons i fell in love with my houses because of the big leafy yard which is huge in comparison to the house. the house was built as a stable and his brick on all sides pick my light comes from the glass entry, and the rear sliding glass wall. before the flies, noise and smells from the dog became unmanageable, i used to be outside all the time and left the sliding door open to enjoy fresh air and light. because of the grateful dog, it is no longer possible. the stench is overpowering and

noticeable by everyone that visits including the department of public health. i get nauseous in my own yard. unless it is cold or raining, the flies are always present. a clear sign the grateful dog does not properly cleaned up after their animals. the barking and yelling is around the? i am self-employed and work from home. but often the noise is so grazing and distracting i have to leave the house to get any work done. it is negatively impacting my business. i have videos of the barking and yelling at dogs that goes on in the morning, during the day, evenings, and weekends. i have no doubt that they have a ton of people that have come forward to support their business, but i have a map that can show that every homeowner that surrounds their yard is against this business operating and expanding. i would love to play a video quickly that gives you a little sense for the noise that i hear.

every single neighbor that touches the yard showed up at the preliminary neighborhood meeting. they held a summer to voice your concerns. there are residential buildings that touch their yard. every business opposes this and they have shown zero consideration for it. to ignore issues with this business is to turn your backs on homeowners who simply want the legal right to enjoy their homes in a peaceful manner without intolerable levels of noise, flies and toxic smells from dog feces and urine. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. my name is renee. my husband and i are property owners on greenwich street. we back up to the grateful dog. i wanted to give you some insight on our experience, being neighbors with them. we have various serious concerns about the operation and the facility.

our key issues are with the unrestrained noise due to both the dogs constantly barking, and the employees who are constantly screaming at the dogs. in a way that seems more than just disciplining them. the excessive smell of urine and feces, as well as an immense amount of flies due to the improper maintenance of the facility. both of the outdoor and indoor areas for the animals are extremely small, and very improperly maintained. we have completely stopped using any outdoor space within our house. we have an 8-year-old, and 8 -year-old boys who play soccer out they don't smell great all the time and he refuses to go outside because there's so many flies, and it smells so bad. we did have a meeting with the

owners and with their lawyer present. they gave us a lot of false information. they told us that they had a drainage system that was in place and we learned from their contractor that there was no drainage system in place. they also told us that they never had more than 12 dogs staying the night, however when i called and spoke with employees, they told me just that night they had 15 dogs staying there. so i think their business has been in operation for many years , but they have never taken any steps to mitigate their impact on the neighborhood. as neighbors, we have to live within excessive amounts of feces and urine which is essentially in our own backyards i think that they as a business have shown complete disregard for the city's role as well as being just the well-being of the neighbors. so we are extremely opposed to the expansion of their business. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please.

>> hello. my name is kelsey. i am a customer of the grateful dog. i bring my dog to the daycare. he is also boarded overnight. i just wanted to say a few things about the grateful dog in my neighborhood has been able to allow for me on a day-to-day. and also touch on what i know does while i understand some of the concerns, why i feel like the positive the local gym brings out ways that the negative. first,, just in terms of noise, we are talking about lombard street. when i walk over to drop my dog off in the morning, before i am on lombard street, when you walk by a house, you can hear a dog

park inside when they are alone. but when you get to lombard street, it is loud. there are cars rushing by and there is frequently construction it is just a noisy street. that is not to say that the dogs are not loud. i can't say that a big group of dogs will not be allowed but at what i can say to argue that the grateful dog is the reason that it is disruptive or it is this disruptive thing to what used to be a quiet corner neighborhood dogs have to go to the bathroom. and why i chose a grateful dog over other daycare his was a fact that they take dogs, usually only two at a time. i know that is very much in accordance with the standards of treating dogs while. only two at a time to walk outside of the daycare.

they don't neglect them. also big groups of dogs, they are yelled at, but i would never ever accuse any of the employees of neglecting them in any way my dog is very shy at meeting new people and employees had no idea because he is so comfortable around them. they treat them so well. last week, just to touch on what it means for me, in san francisco, usually don't get to find a place that you can afford that works with your schedule in terms of being able to drop you dog off and pick it up after work and that also provides a really good service. the grateful dog fulfils all of those. i didn't have to pick two of those pieces and it would be a really big shame to see another local store become an empty storefronts. that would break my heart. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please.

>> good evening. my name is seth. last year me and my fiancé moved indirectly above the grateful dog. we have been nothing but satisfied with how our great experience has been, being their neighbors there neighbors. in san francisco, we -- the district is filled with people who have big concerns for the dogs, especially when they are not them. after moving in, it was apparent to the daycare was well-known and respected in the community. along with many others in the community, we rely on the daycare for boarding our dogs and animals when we are out of town or have an emergency. without the boarding ability, our dogs would not have a place to stay and it would be left -- we would be left with a massive inconvenience. in my own experience, i was unable to pick up my dog one night because i dislocated my shoulder.

i was forced to go to the emergency room and me and my fiancé were there for hours. and all we had to do was call the grateful dog and say, hey, we have a problem. we can't pick up our dog. can he stay the night caught without any issue at all, they said of course, and without that ability, we would be left in this huge situation where we wouldn't know what to do. and i would like to say that this is a great thing for our community. i've met so many people through this dog daycare and i think that it is a valuable small business to keep this community together. thanks. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello. my name is amanda jones. i'm a small business owner in san francisco, and i am a client of the grateful dog category will say my three dogs have been a client. and basically, my dogs go for

boarding, training, and play care. i have been a client since the business was established. i've tried dog walkers, i've tried different services, i've also tried boarding at the vet. it is really not a great solution for dogs, and for me, i was worried about the dogs getting sick, getting lost in a park, getting attacked by a dog in the park, and i found that the care at the grateful dog has been far superior. given that i have my own business that operates seven days a week, sometimes 12 hours a day, it is essential to have a service like grateful dog. my dogs are dachshunds. they are small guys and they are not dogs that can go to every daycare because of the size of their spines. they are prone for injury. and i think that the socialization, the care they receive at grateful dog makes them better safety dogs and it helps me to manage my crazy schedule and feel that my special needs dog is getting the care she needs. the grateful dog has very

specific pickup and drop-off times that mimic the hours of the businesses in the area. so i know when i am running really late to pick up my dog, i will have to board the dog that night because the grateful dog doesn't allow me to come after hours to get my dog. it is unsettling for the other dogs in the daycare and it is also tough for the person staying there. i respect the schedule and i expect how they run their business. on a side note, i used to live several blocks away on steiner street which is several blocks down between greenwich and lombard. i know exactly how it feels to live on that block right off of lombard. there so many commercial interests there. the traffic is nonstop. i think anyone who will buy or rent there needs to spend time to understand what is there. the whole thing is a commercial zone. i think it would be really tragic if the neighborhood service went away and this particular stretch of lombard, it is very hard to find commercial businesses that can thrive and i feel like this is a business that does extremely

well, and the owners really do care about the dogs, and about the community. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. my name is maja and i moved to san francisco in june with my husband and my dog. we started taking callie to the grateful dog in august after exploring our dog daycare options. our dog goes once a week for socialization and has boarded there twice. she got so excited when she realizes that we are heading towards the grateful dog in the morning and she starts to jump with joy which brings a smile to my face. as newcomers to the city with no family nearby, and friends who live in buildings that do not allow pets, having a say facility run by a friendly and competent staff is an invaluable resource. my husband and i are able to travel for work, currently in atlanta -- he is in atlanta or

else he would be here today, and attend family events with a piece of mind that our families, our furry family member is safe and happy and in a cage three familiar environment. if we no longer have access to the grateful dog,, i'm not sure what we would do. at this point, i should mention that we do not own a car and cannot afford one. as many of you no caps san francisco is an expensive place to live. finding an apartment that allows large dogs in a neighborhood with clean sidewalks for her to walk on came with a high price tag. the prospect of renting a car every week to drop our dog off at daycare, because she gets bored of the same facility she is familiar with daunting. more daunting than walking from the arena up the hill to pacific heights. for my husband and i, our dog is a family member. she chose us at an adoption fair in michigan and adjusted to the hustle of new york city, and we

drove across the country to enjoy the parks and beaches of san francisco. we love it here we want to stay and grow our family. i am sad to say that without the grateful dog, we would probably move out of san francisco to find a community whose resources better serve the needs of our community. thank you very much. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good evening. my nam george my name is joanne. i'm grateful to be here. -- my name is joanne. i am grateful for the grateful dog. i would be devastated if the grateful dog closed and if it didn't have boarding, if we couldn't take our dogs their daily. there are hundreds of people who depend on the services offered by the grateful dog. i see them coming and going. dogs are like children to many of us and they are part of a family, and many nights they need to be boarded to.

we have concerns -- we don't have concerns if they are the grateful dog because -- i am in the healthcare business. my job is very important to me. with my clients, i'm passionate about what i do. -less appointments interviews, in my job requires travel. i need a place that i can take my dog during the day where i know i -- she is totally being taken care of. i found this place with the grateful dog and i can tell you why. my drop her off, she is a german shepherd, a year and a half, she never does look -- never looks back. she wants her tail gallops towards the door. the peace of mind this gives me as hard to put into words. they are true love dogs and know how to handle them. they update me during the day. she comes home exhausted and that is no easy task. there is no place in the city that matches the grateful dog. i have had another shepherd that went to other daycare his and it

was nothing like this one. the environment is open, happy, and pleasant, and the owners drop their dogs off and you can see them very relieved. there is no smell, noise, barking that i hear on my end. i could not do my job if it were not for the grateful dog. the grateful dog allows me to come back to my community through my work and i'm grateful to have a safe place to take my dog. i truly encourage your approval for the daycare to continue boarding. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello, commissioners. my name is carolyn. >> please speak into the microphone. >> sorry. >> i was mentioning that i was a resident of the marina for a long time and now i live by u.s.f. the first thing i will say that someone mentioned in considering the location of this place is it is true there is a lot of doggy daycare in bayshore.

i have to go to the marina lots. it is pretty hard to go around. to go over to marin. first of all, i think it is a very useful business. and the location of where it is as important. there are not very many on the north side of the city. second of all, i'm a bit surprised to hear about the conditions that have been asserted. my dog as my family. my husband died unexpectedly in the past year. i would not take her to some place where i didn't think it was clean and well run. so i can't say universally that it is totally clean, but my experience has not been what i have been hearing. the only thing i would say is that i did understand this to be a continuation of the current business, but just approved

under the new laws for the city. i heard talk about expansion, but i don't believe the business is being expanded to. i just wanted to give clarification on that. it seems like this is an ongoing business and they are looking to have the stamp of approval to continue what has been going on for ten years now. it is a very useful service for me personally. >> any additional public comment ,. >> i'm just trying to figure this one out. i have two dogs. they are chihuahua mixes. when they bark, they pierced my ears. they call me on the phone and i have to say hold on a sec. shut up. and looks like the outside is the issue here. there is a p. pad in the

backyard with astroturf and apparently there is drainage issues. i don't look at this any differently than we have a bar or restaurant approval in the backyard. that has the components of odour i read there is a vacant store that was causing neighbors to die from all the smell that they were getting. there has got to be some way to make this work. honestly. there's an amenity that people spoke about this business. i have a daycare that i dropped my dog off every saturday. it is inside. there is no outside noise of the neighbors. they are taken out on their walk every so often and they go back in and i pick them up at 5:00 o'clock. the question i have is what our other successful kennels look like in this type of zoning quota i have taken my dog out on bayshore and the bayview to a pet camp. that is a big inconvenience. it is a far drive that puts your

dog in the car. it is not close. what are other successful businesses looking like. one thing i wanted to know, is what are the standards for kennel care why is there an association of dog kennels in the u.s., are there other cities in the world that are vertical cities, like hong kong, singapore, how do they board to their dogs because they don't have outside areas where they go pee. there has to be an issue doctor has to be a solution. that seems to be the real issue. the real issue is urinating and defecating. how we get to some solution that works a about -- with both the neighbors, i get their concerns and the people who need their service and small businesses. >> commissioner melgar? >> commissioner richards, you set all the things that i was thinking about already. i specifically wanted to hear from staff about -- you have in the packet one of the things

that will happen with this project was control of odour. if you could walk us through a little bit more of what that is specifically i'd appreciate it. >> of course. thank you. first of all caps some background on what we have already gone through. is a planning enforcement case on the property but it does not discuss the odour or anything. it is not under the planning code regulation. is purely for the use. if this case is approved, that would rectify its. however, enforcement planner has been in contact with the department of public health. i can't think of the inspector's name at this point, but it has been an ongoing conversation. i think a number of people had issues today and have contacted them because they need those standards. i'm not familiar with them quite frankly. but d.p.h. is aware of them. >> i'm sorry. i'm reading in the packet under

your recommendation, number 12, it says odours, and then it says while it is inevitable low level odour may be detectable, appropriate order control shall be installed. what is that? what shall be installed? >> that is a standard condition that we include in a lot of different cases that may include the -- >> is more geared for a restaurant. >> it is a little -- left a little open ended intentionally to appease whatever the situation calls for in the case. >> but we do not know what the situation calls for in the case because -- because it is up to a different department. >> roughly. >> usually that equipment is geared towards interior uses. we would not have a good method for controlling odour for exterior functions. any of the odour causing things that happened in the yard, we

would not have a good method for installing equipment towards the yard to deal with the kind of fumes that come from. >> when you say we can't do you mean the planning department? >> certainly. the planning department or building. from my experience. >> okay. but you say and/or. so which is it? >> certainly from planning, we don't have a method of providing guidance to applicants on odour control and in areas that are outside. >> does someone? >> my understanding is it would be under the purview of the department of public health. we are in that conversation. quite frankly it is not going well. >> it makes me on -- uncomfortable. i actually do -- i have a dog. i love my dog. and we do have a couple businesses on ocean avenue near where i live that our donkey

daycare is. i appreciate that. it is a useful service. but i also -- i heard the community. if it was my backyard that i couldn't use because of this smell, it would be super annoying. so we are being asked for permission on something that is not adequate. somebody from the department of public health being here and letting us know or having some -- one of the public commentaries who had some background in this kind of stuff propose a curve from keeping the water for going in. i knew know we do things and it would be under building inspection and we talk about greywater and physical things that you can do to keep fluids from going into another apartment. the stuff you can do but none of that is here.

it makes me nervous to say go ahead without addressing the issues that are pretty legitimate of the neighbors. it seems to me we have the technology. we can't fix everything but i think there are things you can do to keep runoff and odours and flies and everything that are pretty basic zoning things. >> i will finish and say i have reached out to the d.p.h. inspector again. we will ensure that standards are met. >> commissioner richards? >> i think we are looking at a continuance here. >> that i had to add some additional information, we are now a planning stop. the next stop is the department of public health and brd had one hearing on the department of public health. we discuss the matter. and after we're done with planning, we go back to them.

we talk at length with the department of public health as to what are their requirements, drainage and so forth, and we have all those requirements. they are already in the building permit sets. after we get done with planning, we will go to d.p.h. we will get through that. there are no -- there are a number of things we can -- that can be done. we have not done all of those. if you look at exhibit i, that is where we laid out the things that can be done. one of the things that was mentioned -- >> webpages that? >> exhibit i. >> one of the things one of the neighbors said that we have mops on the fences. we don't do that anymore. another thing that was mentioned and what we noticed is that some of the fencing is wood fencing and i think that the smell is in the fence.

>> the ultimate solution is to get rid of the artificial grass and put concrete in there peerk that is outlined in this plan as well. to do that and make sure you have the concrete curbs than the one -- that the one neighbor spoke about, if there is any urine on it that gets on the ground, it goes straight to the drain. it does not go in the neighbor's yard. are a number of things in this plan. we have done a few of them in the plan is to do the rest of them.

>> you literally answered my question. i was going to ask you to address at least the drainage issue and the possibility of the concrete curb issue for the opposition. was there anymore plans that you had if awarded the c.u. to mitigate the opposition concerns >> i am not a technical person. we do have bruce who has been a contractor and who has been communicating with the neighbors if you do want to have more detail and understand what i am trying to talk about, he can certainly address those in detail too if you want him to come up and quiz him on anything >> yes. >> thank you. good afternoon. my name is bruce. i am a contractor and have a

design build company and was tasked with collecting and meeting with the neighbors and collecting all of their concerns and putting together the work plan that was described fairly well. in fact, the issues where the smells, the flies and the fence that was saturated at the bottom with urine. we have replaced the fence on the property that faced him the property only directly behind is declining to have the fence replaced because he does not want his jazzmen to be removed. but we are going to put in -- replace the artificial turf with a concrete patio, put in a curb around it. it will be a couple of feet inboard of the perimeter around the yard, and then there will be a fence sitting on top of the curb that prevent the dogs from getting near the fence and

urinating in that direction. >> that is next on our action plan. in addition, we currently use a bio solution to treat the artificial turf, which is unacceptable and environmentally correct solution, and we have increased the amount of the days of the week it has been done. however, i think the ultimate solution is concrete. they are -- there currently is a drain in the southeast corner of the building which is away from

all the other yards. directly in front of the door that leads into the back of the grateful dog. so all of the slope of the yard is back towards the building. we will definitely maintain that slope with new concrete. and then it will be a completely washable surface that can be washed out a couple times a day. to minimize any smells and minimize any flies. i have to say, i inspected the property on the 29th after changing the fence and i did it with stephanie who lives next to michelle wall. i did not smell anything. perhaps it was cold and that is why the flies merge their, but on other days when it has been warmer since we've done this and we have been doing flight control, there is a type of flight control that we have

instituted called predators that the use of horse facilities and are basically -- it is a natural way where these other bugs in the lower vie and the flies go away. your concerns about the facility are being addressed, and i am in contact with d.p.h. and the inspector of d.p.h. and just picked up the approve approved set of plans from them. i thank you are correct. they address issues within the building, or within a restaurant and they are requiring such things as floor drains and we are upgrading one bathroom to make it fully a.d.a. compliant. they do not address the rear yard. that is why we have enacted these measures to deal with all the issues. i am here answer any questions. >> thank you. >> when we have a bar or

restaurant in the back, we have an entertainment commission go into measure. does anyone measure of sound for dogs barking and the backyard. >> i'm not aware of the decibel levels for your code his. i am aware of that when the doctor let out and they're not all let out in any one time in their own oh, -- always managed back there, and they're doing training with all their employees, to quiet the dogs, and that is part of what one of the client said. the dogs that people can only drop dogs off at certain times because one dog sets off the other dog. they want to minimize the amount of new dogs coming into the environment. but i'm sorry. i can answer specifically. perhaps we canada decibel level. the idea is to have a few dogs out at various times. majority of the time, the dogs

are inside and are locked, and this particular operation only allows two dogs per handler for walking. >> i know we have a noise ordinance in the city that you might want to consult with on decibel levels, duration, time of day. it is all in their. i feel comfortable with where you are going. i would rather you come back with the d.p.h. specific stuff that often have us approve it. i don't know why just the other way around. >> the d.p.h., i just picked up the plans today from d.p.h. they are imposing requirements such as floor drains, such as frp which is requiring restaurants around the perimeter they are requiring, as i mentioned, the building is requiring bringing this up to