four story structures and have the roof compatible with the neighborhood's gable ends. we have the deck that accesses the fourth level. basically, we have two almost equal-sized units, 1924 and 1945. they're both two levels in height and basically if you take out the stairs they're about 1850 and 1880 or 1890 actual square footage. the project the frontage of the building -- >> speak in the mic, please. >> we can't hear you. >> is the line right here had a new addition at the front which

is in the same facade area as the original houses. and what we're seeking is your support in this project and we're adding that additional unit. we started with one single-family home and ended up here to get another unit. it seems to work out better for the project sponsor as well. >> thank you. we will now take public comment on this item. s&p >> when i wrote my comments at the end of your packet i wrote them on january 31 and the plans i looked at were on the pem and there were new plans dated

february 6. i saw a very different project. and i was happy to see the roof deck was gone and happy to see the facade was changed particularly the windows on the front were much better. will they be condos and the standard dove mission in the rh2 is either single-family home or two units, one owner-occupied and one available for rental. i think that's a critical thing. heard all the people today talking about the issues with the small sites program and the acquiring buildings. that's important. i also think you need to ask the question since this was originally an alteration, could an a.d.u. type unit be put in there? i heard mayor breed make a

pertinent quote. she said, the thing with the a.d.u.s is they quickly add density. buildings like this take time to build two units. it's not going to be quick. those you approved on cesar chavez almost two years ago, they're still not done and it's a similar kind of building. the size of the units, they are smaller than i thought they were originally and the pem plans but the more square footage are expensive and the occupancy, there's no listing at all. it looks like there could be an occupant there. with 317, part that was important is there a sound report or appraisal.

the property was purchased for $1.3 million. it's techly -- technically an affordable building and those are questions you need to ask before you grant the c.u. the demo is on the tracking thing. when it was a vertical it was valued at $60,000. the new permit with the construction of a three-story over garage building is valued at over $100,000. and there's questions that need to be asked when you grant a c.u. for which there's a demolition which there's been very few in the noe valley or section 317 meant to preserve affordable housing. thank you.

next speaker, please. >> hello commissioners i'm a noe valley resident. your job as commissioners is to promote and support policies an projects that make the most sent nor community and it's not your job to make dollars and cents for developers. what makes the most sense at this parcel of land on valley with one dwelling unit of 1400 square feet that's going to be demolished is to support the development of a second dwelling unit that's equal in size. two-1400 square foot units of housing is appropriate for those folks who want to buy homes for their families to live in and grow in to. i hope you'll agree keeping housing affordable by design makes the most sense. thank you.

>> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, commissioners. shawn keigran here to support the project. it's hard to win sometimes. we have one, two-bedroom unit and we're going to end up with two, three-bedroom units. in all the years i've been coming down here i thought that was the right process. i thought that was the right direction. i had comments about the letter but i'm glad those comments have been retracted. i think the front deck is nestled in nicely behind the front roof. we have two equitable units and a project sponsor who originally submitted for a single-family

house. at the advice and pattern of this commissioner, pulled the application back, submitted two very good family-sized units. thank you. >> thank you. any other public comment on the i item? with that commissioner moore. >> i believe this project does what we asks it to do. it take the site of a 1900 single-family home and comes forward with two reasonably sized units first being 1200 square foot and second being 1900. that's still two comfortable units. it follos -- follow the rules and fits where it is.

i am in support of moving forward this way. as far as a.d.u.s is concerns, i don't think we have rules for a.d.u.s in new construction yet, is that correct, mr. washington. i think build two equitable units is what we are looking for and i think this project achieve that. i am prepared to make a motion to approve with conditions as staff has stated and leave it with that. >> second. >> >> clerk: seeing nothing further on that motion, commissioner fong. commissioner johnson. >> aye. >> clerk: commissioner moore. >> aye. >> clerk: commissioner richards. >> aye. >> clerk: commissioner coppel. >> clerk: the motion passes 6-0 unanimously. >> we'll take a five-minute

>> please silence your mobile devices that may sound off during these proceedings and when speaking before the commission if you care to state your name for the record. commissioners we left off on the regular calendar for item 19 case number 19, 2018-014621cua. a conditional use proposition. >> commissioner melgar, members of commission. the proposal is a conditional use authorization to establish a kan cannabis retail use within the haight street district. it requires conditional use authorization for cannabis use. the site is located within the

haight street historic district. as you know, haight street is identified with the historic event known as the summer of love. commercial establishment's characterizing haight street including a number of specialty stores that reflect the history of the neighborhood as well as numerous eat being and drinking establishments. the surrounding zoning is primarily rn2 and rh3. the subject property is developed with a three-story mixed use building with four ground spaces. the proposal will involve the interior tenant improvement and no expansion of the square foot space. exterior changes are the front entry and the addition of a security camera.

furthermore, no on-site consumption of cannabis is proposed. no tenant will be displaced by this proposal. the project site is currently occupied by an interim retail use receiving discounted rent by the project sponsor and would otherwise be vacant. the applicant hosted meeting prior to submittal of the application and second meeting last month. planning department has received many letters in support of the project which are include the in the project including haight street merchant, neighbors and the current tenant-additionally, approximately 96 letters expressing support were also received and there's an example in the packets. after the commission pack ets were distributed 26 additional comments were receive mostly in

support of the project one phone call was received opposed to the project because she believes it could lead to increased splomok on haight street. one letter was received from the law firm concern city's selection process for this type of application. a copy of the letter was added to your packet by commission staff. the rest of the letters were in support based on the applicant's commitment to the community and beliefs the business will benefit the neighborhood. in response to the opposition letter, the office of cannabis has submitted a brief response and that has been submitted to the commissioner secretary. staff recommends approval of this conditional use authorization. the project meets all applicable requirements of the planning code. the proposed use will complement the mix of goods and services available in the district and contribute to the economic

vitality of the neighborhood by occupying a storefront that would otherwise be vacant. this concludes my presentation. i'll be available to answer any questions and additionally because of the application is the first of its kind to be brought before this commission by a staff specialist michael christi christianson can address policy concerns. >> we'll now hear from the project sponsor. good afternoon. i'm shawn richard the ceo of the cannab cannabis retail store. it's an honor to be the first cannabis advocate moving forward in san francisco. i'm a long life member san francisco and a grew up in the

valley and graduated from a local high school. i used to play basketball at the boys and girls club on haight street back when it was just called the boys club. i doesn't exactly get start on the right path. i was 13 years old when i first started selling drugs. i was a young naive person wanting to make money and did for years until i got arrested for possession of crack cocaine and sentenced to three years in prison and was in san quinton folsom prison and when i got out i kept selling drugs to the point of easter sunday of 1995, the night my little brother, tracy, was gunned down. he was 20 years oldp trying to live like me and be like his big brother. that night changed my life and changed my family's life i

started an organization called brothers against guns and wanted to start it in a community before it got too late and wanted to prevent anyone else get phone call like i did and for 20 years brothers against guns have been working to reduce gun violence and mediate gang issues and help youth get jobs and help them with housing and get gainful employment. we help kids elevate themselves. we organized back in 2005 with the mount zion hospitals and found jobs for the hardest gang members in the city. years ago gavin newsom helped fund a program.

i'm still checking on them as we go in the process working with these young men. i also served as the vice president of the local naacp chapt ter and probation commissioner. giving back to the community is a life long commitment and i can't solve every problem but my second youngest brother was murdered shot in the head with an ak-47. he was 19 years old. i want this to mean something and my youngest daughter just started college. that's what the equity program means to me. it should give the people the opportunity to give back to their community. when my partner jhonny and

quinton and i first sat down to talk about the store i said "only want to do this if the store benefits the community and we give back and we all are 100% on the same page. i'll mrirn -- personally give back to the equity community and plan to give back to the community every year we're open. i serve as the store ceo and community liaison. i ran my own clothing and retail store for over two decades and all our other neighborhood merchan merchants and city and staff will have my cell phone and be able to reach me any time and day with any concern. i truly believe the store will make the whole entire haight corridor safer. we'll have security at the door, checking i.d.s so no one under

age can even step inside. we will have cameras everywhere inside covering everything within 20 feet of the exit 24/7. captain bailey was happy to here this in case they have an investigation they need to cover. we will have an alarm system and park station will be alerted when it's triggered. inventory will be checked and double checked and every sale recorded and if there is any theft we'll notify law enforcement. everything we sell will be from licensed distributors and tested, taxed and tracked from seed to sale and it will be a tamper-resistant packaging and

valuables will be transported in a professional lock space. these are just our promise. these are laws and regulations and we intend to meet and exceed those requirement. our goal is to run a cannabis store that benefits the community, serves and is a model of the social equity program. thank you and i'd like to introduce you to my man, connor johnson. >> thank you, sean. thank you, commissioners. good evening. it's great to be back and i know sean gave a shout out to his younger daughter. is she still here? >> she left. >> she's a beautiful young lady. she was here earlier. in the interest of time, i'll try to keep this shorter. could everybody that's been here waiting stand in support of the project. thank you for being a part of this.

commissioners my name is connor johnston and i'm excited to be before you in light of a different capacity. i'm sure you remember me from my previous capacity. like sean i was born in san francisco and born blocks from the store and now up the hill in district 8. our third partner johnny, behind me, has a dozen years in medical cannabis experience and lives nearby. this project is 100% owned by local neighborhood residents. for me it's almost like a homecoming. i previously served on the board of the haight ashry association neighborhood group and a worked for the neighborhood supervisor as an aide to then london breed. i think of this project as neighborhood service in a different way. my partner and i have very sticky printer paper wants to realize the promise of cannabis

legalization and want to support local color and social equity suppliers. we want to help fight retail vacancies, serve locals an tourists alike and increase foot traffic and give medicine to community members in need and support homeless youth alliance and i want to say as someone who's been very active in the lgbt advocacy community and youth advocacy, it's not lost on me that the homeless people in the haight are disproportionately long and disproportionately lgbt and that's a person cause for me i think the store can address. and i want to sell products whose product doesn't harm the environment and we want to be good neighbors.

we've been doing outreach around the clock. we walked the cordon on haight, and through the cole valley and spoke with every merchant except a couple that were closed. we held meetings and mailed invitations to everyone within 500 feet, double the number the people the law required. we presented to the board, the coal valley improvement association and the haight ashry neighborhood association and the leader of the haight ashbury street fair and we met with the pd captain bailey and discussed our security plans and answered every e-mail as best we could and presented our 18-point good neighbor policy to frankly

anyone who would listen and take their feed back. you have a copy of that in our packet and we pledged to secure the area within the store and keep it clean, prohibit double parking and public consumption and advocate for the community and more. i've been amazed by the response to our outreach. the number one question we've got is how soon can you open? followed by will there be a locals discount and the answer is maybe. we'll see. this being the first social equity cannabis distributor to come before you, i'm sure you'll hear from some people opposed to cannabis and you may hear from some from competing stores. san francisco supported prop 64 by the highest margin of any county in the state.

district 5 support the it by the highest margin of any district in san francisco and the haight ashbury supported it by the highest margin in any neighborhood in san francisco. if we as a city can't do cannabis retail in the haight we should probably pack it up and go home. this is the historic home of cannabis, the summer of love. our team is honored and humbled pob to be a part of that and that tune is perfectly appropriate. to shows who criticize the city's process i'll say briefly, we didn't design it. we're three local small business owners who worked hard to be successful and excited to serve our community. that is why we have the support of neighbors throughout the haight, panhandle and valley and haight ashbury improvement association and neighbors for density who i think is still here, the local trade unions and

our general contractor and our subs will be union. the sf equity and turf is here as well the california music and culture association, the sf cannabis retailers alliance, the fillmore merchants association and neighboring merchant and the pop-up in our store right now supports us. the shoe store two doors to the west and love on haight, studio evolve and the emporium and the dozens of people standing behind me today. commissioners, we hope to have your support as well. >> thank you, mr. johnson. >> okay. we'll now take public comment on the item.

supervisor brown. >> good evening. i'm here with supervisor brown district 5 supervisor. i know these can go late and i'll be brief. anytime someone comes in to [speaking frenc supervisor brown's office when weather they want to open a shop she says talk to the community. when you're done talking to them, come back to me and tell me what they say. supervisor brown obviously cannot comment or indicate any support or denial of this c.u. but what she can say is the group that is the applicants for this permit today. it was easier for them because they're deeply tied to the community. they've been in the community a long time. from supervisor brown's perspective, she's really happy to see the first equity

applicant coming up for dispensary in the historic haight ashbury district has done the work and built community support and hope you acknowledge that today. thank you for your time and good evening. >> now we will take public comment. up to those folks standing by the door, if you want to have public comment please come to this side and line up against the wall and we will limit public comment to two minutes. >> good afternoon. commissioners. thank you for this opportunity

to speak. my name is john l. jr. i'm a san franciscan and equity applicant and grew up in the western addition and i have dedicated over 25 years of my life an activist, football coach and community servant. fighting for social justice, fighting for better quality of life for all san franciscans and fighting for humanity. i am here today representing the san francisco equity group, s.f.e.g. would you please stand up. as you see, we're a grassroots diverse organization comprised of 20-plus equity applicants an community activists, community leaders representing the

sections hit by the war on drugs. we're dedicated a fair functional social equity program in san francisco and beyond. we are proud to come here on this day to support our brother sean richard who deserves the opportunity after dedicating much of his life saving and changing lives in his community and throughout san francisco. sfeg members, say aye if you have been a community activist for over 20 years. say aye if you've been a qualified equity applicant. say aye if you're a native san franciscan. say aye if you're life has been impacted by the war on drugs. >> aye. >> say aye if you're in support of brother sean and the haight ashbury group. >> aye. >> we're create model that creates opportunities for all equity applicants in san francisco. our hope, our dream for god is

good. commissioners, with your support and with the support of our elected officials, and if god is willing, we will create a new day for san francisco. a day that the communities of colors are economically empowered to revise allies our communities and preserve our heritage and impart the renaissance right here in our great city of san francisco. thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> good evening, commissioner. cory smith haight ashbury resident and neighbor and i was one of the neighborhood group that works on housing and transportation issues. we are trying to figure out how exactly how to get involved in business issues and we don't want to take an official stance

on it but we had roughly 45 people in the neighborhood and generally speak everyone was really supportive. i think haight ashbury may be the most procannabis neighborhood in the state of california which is a remarkable concept. in my conversations with local merchant and neighborhood residents in what impact this has to the neighborhood they said this just kind of makes sense. i understand there's a conversation about how the process works. i know some people are unhappy they're not up here having this opportunity and my initial question to the group was, well, what about observe else coming in front of planning they said based on the rules it's us and we did it right first and if you do it right first you deserve to be rewarded for that. additionally, outreach not done by the team itself but

communication because again i know the team, i'm going to lead in the next door group for the haight ashbury and they said can you get the word out and posted it when derek said they tried to get outreach early on that's true because i was part of that outreach and connor was bugging me about it. eye look forward to having them in the community. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> thank you, commissioners. i'm bram goodwin. a 40-year resident of the haight ashbury. i've been cannabis 50 years and

smoking it mostly illegally and buying it illegally. i've been lucky enough to live in a city that has medical cannabis and allows us to buy legally. i live four blocks from the new dispensary i hope you're going to approve. we are the home of cannabis. if any part of the city deserves to have it we do. i work in golden gate park every day and i'm hit by plugs, as they call them, illegal sellers who need a buy which i say no. i know the group well. i've been at the meetings. they've outreached to everybody. we believe in the equity program. we believe sean deserves this opportunity.

i'm a consumer and medical cannabis card holder. seniors in the haight should not have to come downtown or other parts of the city to get their medication. they should be able to get it walking to a dispensary in our neighborhood. for all the above reasons, please, i implore you to support the application and give the haight it's due. we send eight of tax to you and want a store in our neighborhood of our own. thank you. >> next speaker, please.neighbo. thank you. >> next speaker, please.want a d of our own. thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> i'm ted loneberg and our letter to you is in the pact packet i believe. i want to explain why we endorse

the project. cannabis has been made legal by the voters and nothing whether you like it or not will reverse that decision anytime soon. so we are faced with the reality that this is going to be in our neighborhood and whether you like it or not, how do we do this responsibly so it doesn't effect negativity the community that we all live in. the reason we take confidence in the whole ashbury group and their retail efforts is they are from the community. i have worked with connor several years on various projects and throughout the city. shawn and john are also from our neighborhood. i feel they are willing to be open and communicative with us so if there are problems, if

there are issues that crop up, they will be very conscientious about addressing those and mitigating any negative activities. they're committed to that. we are committed to having a safe and reasonable practice on haight street in this retail establishment and that's why we support them. thank you. >> thank you, sir. next speaker, please. >> good evening commissioners. my name is david goldman of the cannabis democrat club. i'm in support of the project. i've known johnny and quenton and connor many years and i know they're of the highest character and done their best to make sure they have represented themselves well to the community and listened to community concerns. i'm also myself a medical cannabis patient. i use cannabis to treat my glaucoma and i can tell you i was privileged to support sean

richards and here to support the first cannabis equity applicant in san francisco. i'm confident and so is our club they'll be exemplar merchants in the haight. thank you. >> commissioner: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good evening commissioners. i'm michael cohen. i'm an officer secretary of the democratic club in san francisco. i know these four gentlemen here and you will not find more finer people that can run a dispensary. they've done their homework. they've been exemplary in the preparation and work they have done. they've put together a strong good neighbor plan and i would strongly urge that you read it. they will keep the area safe, they'll keep it clean and they will prevent double parking and

discourage public consumption and support local non-profits. and be advocates for the neighborhood. i wish all businesses could be this forward thinking and this forward looking. i endorse them and highly urge you to approve their permit. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> can any of you lend me an umbrella. i'm jim ferron and i got here six years before the earthquake. i'm at the lectern to speak in support of the whole ashbury group. i have personal and business relationships johnny's a family man and entrepreneur and both these guys are talented and great character.

i have spent some time getting to know sean and connor and they seem on the ball and ready to do good things. i attend the second open house on haight street and they have an inspiring business good for the neighborhood and they answered some tough questions from people in the neighborhood. i found them credible. these people are talented, hard work and have heart. sean has an amazing story of redemption. i can't imagine. johnny, quinton bring expertise. they're not big money, they're regular san francisco people that can do it right. please approve their project and thanks for listening to us. >> thank you. next speaker, please.

>> any name is yolanda valisimo on behalf of benny gabulio to read his statement. he owns the shoe store two stores down and had business and asked it be read. i run the shoe store two doors down from the propefd location. i support having a cannabis store on our block and think s.a.g. is the right team of people to make it happen. a cannabis store will add much leaded cameras, lighting and security improving safety on the block and helping patrons feel more comfortable visiting our stores and it will increase foot traffic on the corridor and bring new customers to my and other neighborhood stores. johnny, connor and shawn are closely connected to our neighborhood and committed to being good neighbors. i look forward to working along

side them and hope you will approve their store as quickly as possible. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> happy valentine's day, commissioners. my name is flip sarro. i'm a former president of the haight-ashbury neighborhood council and the haight-ashbury merchants association and a 25-year resident of the haight and i live on the corner of haight and clayton which i affectionately call ground zero. i love this project. it was something i've been advocating for a long time. i'm very attune to the fiscal and social health of the haight-ashbury. lately, like in other merchant areas, there's a lot of storefronts that are closing.

we in the haight are mainly a tourist industry business. this would be plus for the neighborhood. this would a plus for having a safe way of selling marijuana instead of the traditional way that is right now on the corner of where i live. i would love to see the project approved. i would even like to see maybe two dispensaries if that's possible. i know there's restrictions involved but there's other good applicants as well that would like to open up a dispensary. i think it's a good project. i think it's going to be good for the hate and i think it's going to be good for the neighborhood. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker, please. >> good evening.

i'm damion posy. i'm not president of anything or anything of that nature. i am born and raised in san francisco and love my city and i mentor use and put my life on the line because i love the youth in my city. i say that because these young men, these four gentlemen doing this project know about what i do. at every turn they reach out to me and ask me if i need help doing what i'm doing. i support this project and not only because i support and am an equity advocate myself but i know the haight is getting more than a dispensary. it's coming up on this one because they'll provide a whole lot of things that come with this group especially with sean bringing his influence and work he's done in the community and bring group of individual bring positive energy up to the haight. i very much encourage you guys

to approve this project. thank you for listening. >> thank you, next speaker, please. >> it's an exciting day to be here in the equity applicants. they brought you a good candidate but you'll have a whole slew of other applications following for different location. the horse race may not always bring you the best applicant. i'm asking you as commissioner to examine the other applicant come before you and say, is this the best business for this location. these guys have done homework. you're set model here and you want to hold to a high standard as businesses come into neighborhoods.

you as commissioners should be confident you have heard from the best possible business for each different neighborhoods that will have a cannabis store. thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> hello, commissioner. i'm hudari murray. aka, coach murray. i was born and raised in the fillmore. i was born at mount zion hospital as well. i was just moved to get up and say something. i've seen a lot of people in my community move to other cities. me myself as a business man who worked on one of the last -- i'm

just trying to pronounce it right, diverse for the community. like when you grow up in san francisco, you grow up on visidero and all the streets. to us it's all for instance. they break it down now with all these labels. me personally, i look at it like haight street but it's san francisco to me. sean richards has been a big brother to me and someone i idolized as a youngster and the community knows me now as coach murray because i've been coaching and giving back to the community all my adult life. i have children i raised all graduate from san francisco unified school direct and all working individuals and paying their own bills. please allow them to be the first ones because as sean

richards tells his story there's other stories that are similar but when he did brothers against guns, he really put his hand back in community and helped the community stand up. right now me be the last and american on divisidero let somebody in from the community. they care with the community. >> thank you, sir. next speaker, please. >> i'm alex akino a member of the haight-ashbury neighborhood council. i'm here as a resident. i live on walder and messonic. i'm here to support the equity

program. supporting the neighborhood groups and i'm here has eresident. that being said i believe in the first come first serve and first approved is not a great process. i think tease unfair to the neighborhood. it doesn't give the neighborhood a chance to screen all the applicants. it's also unfair for the applicants having an unfair advantage and i'm posing the application to move forward to suggest o.c. and the commission to look at other applications and that's been commit in the corridor.

reconsider the process. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. i'm mako mussla. i'm here in opposition of this group getting the conditional use application based on some facts i discovered. the reason they made it this far here is because of unfair advantage they've received when the office of cannabis invited mr. connor and jonathan to become a tester of the application. hit him being involved if the city as a cannabis consultant

and having an vantageous information which led him to get him to this point. i filed a sunshine request which asked the office of cannabis if anybody who is a tester applied and i discovered connor is one who test the software. than an article that came out said the testers had no access to the application after it was revised except on the same basis as other members of the public. i didn't have access. he had to have had it before. this said he doesn't have access before it was revised.

lastly, he submitted his application within eight minutes of the application going live. which means he knew information he could submit short and fill information later and we're under the impression you have to have four applications to submit and the cannabis office asks you for information they can keep it in the queue. this is assuming the action has violated my constitutional rights in due process. >> your time sup. thank you. -- is up. thank you. any other public comment on this item? come on up. is there any other public commenter after this? >> as a woman in the cannabis industry i should speak on our behalf. it's tough being a woman but these gentlemen are a template

for what the community dispensary should look like and the kind of man my daughter brings home. >> thank you. >> any other public comment on this item? with that, public comment is now closed. commissioner fong. >> there are a number of kids not within 600 feet of schools but how will you support security. it's an interesting area because it's a neighborhood and also a high tourist area. how are you planning to protect that front but yet keep it inviting? >> thank you, commissioner fong. >> we are required by state regulation to have security at all hours when we are open and we will. we will have third-party

professional security at the door. they're responsible both for checking i.d.s of the people who wish to enter so nobody can set foot in the store unless they're of the appropriate age. we will also make sure they're responsible for maintaining the area surrounding our store so people aren't consuming or double parking or safety or quality of life issues. the broader issue came up in our open houses about well, what are you going to do about loitering or youth homelessness in the haight. i have to caution as a small business owner there's a limit to the amount of things we can control or influence. we'll do our level best to make sure our store's a positive influence on the hath and certainly keeping its area clean and safe. we can't necessarily control what goes on two blocks away or three blocks away or in golden gate park. >> and what about to protect your staff? internal measures, delivery,

cash pick up and delivery of product. how are you going to treat that? >> by state regulation, inventory cannot come in through the main entrance through business hours and we have a side entrance we will use. cameras will be everywhere. they'll cover around the entrances an exits. every exit within the interior of the store to have facial recognition for any transaction that takes place. all the inventory is logged from the moment we receive it to a customer and any discrepancy are note and the footage from cameras is required to be maintained for 90 days and our staff will be secured by our third-party security and cannabis stores are like any other. they're well-funded, well-regarded studies that show cannabis stores make their neighborhoods they serve safer and there's more operational things i can go into if you're

interested. we won't have loose flower on the display and theft won't be an issue and with respect to cash processing, we are hoping the industry moves to the points of being treated like any other business with respect to debit cards and i think that's coming soon. in the interim there's measures to be able to accept some type of cards so the percentage of cash transactions start to come down but any card will be handled by third-party professional security first coming to pick it up. >> no further questions and i'm supportive of this project. >> commissioner koppel. >> thank you. >> thanks to everyone here today. i my heart goes out to many richards and what he's endured and glad to see he's turned it around and put everything to a good use right now. i'm trusting in the process the

office of cannabis has unfailed and looking at this at the first applicant. we talked earlier in the hearing about certain people that blame the process or blame commissioners for things taking so long and the project sponsor came here with all their ducks in a row. they have it all lined up. almost every person here is on board and that's what we want to see up here. future am can'ts take notes of what these guys are doing because they're doing it right and i can't speak for other commissioners but i'll be in favor of this project today. >> commissioner moore. >> thank you, commissioner koppel. i do tryst -- trust the process

and the hoops they've displayed is amazing and they were prepared to make a solid statement about what they have gone through. i believe the city has done everything in the book to guarantee this process is basically implemented within the community and i'm glad to see somebody well we paired was the lucky winner of the lottery and i'm in support of what's in front of us. >> commissioner johnson. >> i wanted to start by thanking all the community members that came out and shared your personal stories and experiences and the opportunities you see in this industry. i think it illuminated it's not just about a business. this is really about a history of inequity and equality and an opportunity a new rising industry benefits for folks caught up in the unjust drugs

system and the communities in which these stores open up. i just wanted to say as well i think the project sponsors have done their work and their homework as was said by some commenters. i am also trusting in the process. we had a hearing on the issue of the process and applicants and also i know just based on her letters that ms. elliott and the department are willing to continue to be in conversations with folks that take issue with the process as it stands. but as it stands, i think we have a good application before us and so i'm in support of this project. >> commissioner richards. >> interestingly enough the equity program is perfect for individuals like yourself, mr. richards. we share the same last name. very compelling story. it's an amazing turnaround story and so proud you're in front of

us today asking for you to grant you this c.u. i think the team deserves accolades for bringing a fully-baked cake here today. rather than one that's half baked and we're up here questioning things. i think all the retail cannabis that should come before us should follow the same pattern. some of you have some consulting opportunities for the rest of the city. i move to approve. >> second. >> thank you. i will just say, mr. richards, i'm so glad you are the first equity applicant coming in and you're the ceo of this company. i've known you for some time and i am really glad. with that being said, i think ms. ole is one of the most competent people i've worked with and while the process isn't perfect, it is good.

above all, designed to promote equity and fairness. think we have done that. thank you so much for the community and for being here. i also want to thank the project team for having all your ducks in a row and for doing the work to bring all of your stuff in front of us. it makes our job better. thank you. i'm supportive of this project. >> commissioner moore did you want to add? >> i want to make one comment. i'm particularly interested in this project taking over an existing retail space rather than making a big splash and altering this and that and fitting into a community and retail corridor at its size is extremely important and i think anybody can learn from that because we would like the cannabis retail to blend in and i'm speaking more from the european perspective like in holland you just walk down the stee