meeting. this is regular meeting of the small business commission held on monday april, 82019. in meeting is called to order at 5:30 p.m. the small business commission thanks media services to televising the media. member of the public please take this opportunity to silence your phones and other electronic devices. public comment during the meeting is limited to three minutes per speaker. speakers are requested but not required to state their names, completion of speaker card. please place speaker cardings in the basket at the right of the lectern. speaker cardings will be called in the order which they were

placed. there's a sign-in sheet at the front table. sfgov tv please show the slides. [indiscernible] good offic >> officer of small business you can find us online at city hall and all of our services are free of charge. small business commission is the official public forum to voice your opinions and concerns about policies that affect the economic vitality of small businesses in san francisco. if you need assistance with small business matters, start here at the office of small business. first item [roll call]

you have a quorum. >> president adams: next item please. [agenda item read] >> president adams: do we have members of the public that like to bring up items not on today's agenda? next item please. [agenda item read]

>> the applications were reviewed by me. four applications were submitted on february 20th and heard by the historic preservation exhibition on march 20th. two applications were submitted on march 6th and heard by h.p.c. on april 3rd. there are copies of the applications in your packets in the public binders on the table in this room. san francisco main library and on the s.b.c. website. item 3a is benkyodo company. it was established in 1906 in the oldest japanese-american

family owned business. it is the last remaining manufacture. mochi made of gluten rice. benkyodo company has been operating by three generations of the family presently owned by the founders grandchildren. the store closed when the family was in world war ii with over 100,000 other japanese-americans on the west coast. return after the war, they had neighbors who watched over their space and reopen their shop. item 3b is board of supervisors of the glide foundation. the organization commonly known as the glide foundation or glide was established in 1929 by

philanthropist who purchased the land at 330 ellis street. glide provides shelter to hosting sunday celebrations to all walks of life without concern for race, creed, economic and social status s sexual orientation or gender identity. in 1963, cecil williams joined the organization creating a unique vision in uncomfortable love. currently there's a major tension between the glide foundation and its parent church, the united methodist

church. i highlighted in the three-page narrative in your application. december 2018u.m.c. sued the glide foundation. since i submitted the application to the h.p.c. on february 20th glide foundation countersued the u.m.c. the outcome of the lawsuit are pending it's important to mention that the legacy application before you is for the glide foundation as it exist today. item 3c is picture machine tattoo. the business is the longest running tattoo shop in san francisco founded in 1976. know immigranted from canada. he brought new life to that location and built up a loyal clientele. he earned his nickname picture machine for the long hours he worked and his constant productivity.

in 1976, he opened his own tattoo shop, picture machine tattoo. the business is a no nonsense producing high quality tattoos. in 1989, pat died suddenly in the middle creating a tattoo. in 2005, the business moved to its present location 5124 gary boulevard. pictured here is pat on the left with lyle only the left. i would like to take a moment to recognize lyle who passed away two weeks today at the age of 87. lyle opened his tattoo studio in 1964.

in 2014t lyle became the first person to tattoo on all seven continents. rest in peace. item 3d is uptown. the business is a neighborhood bar located at cap and 17th streets in the mission neighborhood. it opened in late 1984 by scott ellsworth who encouraged conversation and debate. uptown became a favorite location for reading and discussion groups and the regulars of the bar call themselves uptown. scott resisted making physical changes to the bar as the city and neighborhood changed. making uptownen anchor to the mission's past. scott passed away in 2014. his sister as executor of the estate sold the bar to several long-term employees and close friend of scott's.

the current uptown ownership is sensitive to the institutional importance of neighborhood taverns. item 3e is wah mei school. the business located on 19th avenue. it's a nonprofit organization providing bilingual english education and early care program for children in san francisco. wah mei holds historic significance as longest serving bilingual school in the city. in 50% of enrollment is reserved for children about low income families with subsidized tuition. wah mei operates four programs for children and youth, preschool, weekend, chinese school, after school program and summer camp.

they served more than 260 families every year. item 3f is world gym san francisco. locally owned and operated gym was established in 1988. world gym san francisco is a licensed and not a franchise of world gym international. which began with joe gold in the 1960s during the days of muscle beach in venice, california. joe gold's world gym was a fitness destination for body building greats such as arnold

schwarzenegger. all six businesses received a positive recommendation from the historic preservation commission. after reviewing the applications and the recommendations from the h.p.c., staff finds businesses have met the criteria to qualify for listing on legacy business registry. there are six drafts resolutions by the h.p.c. it should be as a motion in favor of the resolutionings. if the resolution, please pay close attention to the core physical features or traditions

that define the business. once approved by the h.p.c., the business must maintain these physical features in order to remain on the registry. for benkyodo company it's manufacturing japanese confections for the glide foundation, it's services for low income and marginalized communities, for picture machine tattoo it's tattoo shop. foruptown it's bar for wah mei school it's bilingual and english and chinese education. for world gym it's gym. this concludes my presentation. i'm happy to answer any questions. there are business representatives who like to speak on behalf of the >> president adams: commissioner s do we have any comments or go to public comment?

supervisor, you get to come up first. >> good afternoon commissioners. i'm honored to be in front of you once again with an applicant in my neighborhood, picture machine tattoo. it's out in the richmond district. sleepy, foggy and quiet area that we would have and actually host the longest-running tattoo shop in san francisco and that is one reason why i think this should be on legacy business registry. this shop amist chinese restaurants and quite near the heart of our community it's long-standing tattoo shop that serves not only my district and everyone in san francisco. they come here to see the artwork of the infamous owners and also to get a tattoo. i will say, i don't have a

tattoo myself, my family members do, i'm so placed that this is in my neighborhood. it adds to actually to my neighborhood it being eclectic and combination of a lot of different things. actually being such a strong community and i think that picture machine tattoo adds such a flare to my neighborhood and it has been long-standing in the community of san francisco of tattoo artist. it's such a quiet store but always like there's somebody in the seat getting tattoo. i am honored to be here today to recommend them. i ask for your approval and once again, thank you very much. >> president adams: thank you. >> thank you so much.

i'm legislative aid to supervisor gordon mar. i would like to speak in support of wah mei's school candidacy for legacy business. as you may know, wah mei, which means chinese-american, it's if the first and longest serving bilingual preschool in san francisco. as rick mentioned, half the families receive full or partial tuition subsidies. wah mei was established as part of the chinese-american civil rights movement. it's part of the rich chinese cultural heritage in the sun set which developed after the repeal of the chinese exclusion act ending legalized racial segregation in san francisco. sun set was one of first and affordable neighborhoods. a place to grow families, fine

community and acts of services in our mother tongue. that's why multicultural institutions like the wah mei and urban street corridor are particularly significant and valuable in our city. cultural erosion and gentrification threaten the community. commissioners, please vote in favor in this inspiring neighborhood serving nonprofit. thank you. >> i have ben with benkyodo. >> good afternoon mr. president stephen adams and commissioners. i'm resident of san francisco japantown for over five decade. it is my privilege, my duty and

my responsibility to appear before you to speak to benkyodo's application to this small business commission. i had a very distinguished delegation representing the japan town community. benkyodo has been mainstay in the fixture of the japantown area for 113 years. planted by the grandfather and to his sons rick and bob who carry the third generation and last remaining business in san francisco that still makes japanese handmade and pastries. generations of japanese americans passed through

benkyodo to provide traditional delicacies which over 1000 pieces are made daily by hand. japanese-american family menu and lifestyle a dish. it is a must. in recent years, the customer-base has changed. shoppers includes multiple asians and others including overseas visitors, europe, asia coming to benkyodo, clutching their travel guides, happily asking further information. no other businesses in japantown or if the city truly deserves

the honored status of small business like benkyodo. founded in trying times, came, performed after even harder times, thrived and contributes to the business fabric of san francisco, even though as you're well aware, the constantly challenging task. honorable commissioners we in japantown appreciate and applaud your dedication, work and your offices mr. richard kurylo and staff. we commend you to foster, promote and retain small businesses and your efforts to keep what is best for san francisco. i'm advocate of benkyodo. thank you very much. >> president adams: thank you. next speaker please. >> good afternoon commissioners.

i'm representing glide foundation for the social justice centre. the glide foundation has provided social services programs that respond to the needs of poor and outcast. these programs tie directly to the effects of san francisco history and the nation. glide not only focuses on the need of the local community but reaches across many divides. in 1968, san francisco state university erupted and protest over ethics study and affirmative action. glide community help led the demonstration. the glide foundation legacy continues in the '70s as a cultural rallying point in san francisco. notable such as angela davis and bill graham came to glide to speak out. glide foundation has offered unconditional love during the killing openly gay supervisor

harvey milk. glade also places in height of the aids epidemic to provide counseling in 1989. the accomplishments led by cecil williams and janice. glade is central location for all people without concern, race, creed and economic social status, sexual orientation or gender identity. legacy business status are offer glide protections in time great changes rock in san francisco when many changes uprooted communities of color, and the poor. this will help continue efforts of glide, advocacy and uncomfortable love. we ask for your support. thank you. >> president adams: next speaker please. >> ben with wah mei school. >> good evening commissionerrings.

thank yocommissionerrings -- inspirations thancommissioners r having us. we have one of the first state bilingual educators with us. he was with us for 40 years. you ahead, we did start from the with the supreme court ruling which allow for bilingual education. we continue to do so with our after school program. we continue and expect to continue the support that the city has provided and i want to thank our supervisor mar for nominating us. we believe that we are a legacy. we believe we're part of the san francisco fabric. we encourage your support for that nomination. >> president adams: next speaker

please. >> rosemary with world gym. >> good afternoon. my name is rosemary. i have known robin and joe talmadge for many years. they were born and raised on hill. i've watched them and their children grow up. it was an early to open the gym and when that dream became a reality, robin took me into the empty space and showed me where everything would be. that was 32 years ago. i have used their facility ever since. i must add it is one of the things that has kept me healthy. their gym was one of the first gyms if not the first gym in the city.

it drawly has been a mom and pop operation. robin and joe's fathers were involved in the beginning and all three of their children have and are still work at the gym. this gym has added a great deal to the neighborhood not only for the service it provides but because of what robin and joe do with and for the community. they have put on events for nonprofits and the underprivileged. they hold events that brings the community together. they join in other neighborhood activities. they have provided jobs for many people. over the years, they have made the gym very accessible to youngsters and seniors. robin is very active with other neighborhood organizations. over the past 32 years, the neighborhood has gone from what felt like a small town to a

crowded gentrifying one. their gym has gone from small space to a large establishment that constantly must change and bring in new equipment and different services to meet the needs of their clients. they have withstood incredible competition and rising costs. as one of the original businesses in the neighborhood, they are a bedrock of the community. in spite of this, robin and joe have maintained an atmosphere of the small town neighborhood business and a mom pan -- and pop operation. their contributions to the neighborhood and the city recognized they deserve recognition and they definitely deserve to be included in the legacy business. thank you very much. >> president adams: thank you. next speaker please.

>> my name is robin talmadge with world gym. i want top thank richard so much for putting this together. not only do we have professional athletes coming through our facility, we take pride in donating to san francisco. we furnish san francisco police department, the fire department, the neighborhood schools all around our neighborhood. we also give to the under privileged kids that cannot afford a gym membership. they come in and train. i want to thank you for this. it's a wonderful honor. thank you. >> president adams: thank you. next speaker please. do we have any more speakers? >> this is your chance to be on sfgov tv. don't blow it. [laughter]. don't be nervous.

>> thank you commissioner. i want to speak on behalf of uptown bar. my association with the bar, i have seen it go through many changes. one of the greatest things about the uptown bar is that act as a community centre for the mission district. we have once a month events that is call a night that accommodates the lgbtq community formally associated with the lexington club. a bar that's closed which is oldest lesbian in the lgbtq bars. we now host that a monthly event so the patrons that used to frequent that bar can come to our space. we provide for them to have the jukebox, have their bartenders

and essentially continue with tradition that the mission sort of makes possible. we also host fundraisers for supervisors. i won't name them. we also have art fairs during the holidays to allow for both of the patrons and our neighbors to sell their art wear for symptom cash money. we maybe only bar in san francisco that sponsors a hockey team that plays in oakland. they came in second last year. we also provide a space for everyone and all to come and enjoy a welcoming environment with a valid i.d.

not only are known in the mission district, we have a reputation abroad. we have some major celebrities like john waters and anthony bourdain who come to visit. the bar itself is not just a place to go drink, it's also a spot community to get together and communicate and share and ride the waters of the ever-changing mission. i hope that you vote in support of the legacy. >> president adams: thank you. any other members of the public who like to come up and speak? seeing none. public comment is closed. commissioners? commissioner laguana.

>> commissioner laguana: i like to say it's an honor and a privilege to be given the opportunity to vote on behalf of glide for the degree impact they've had on this city with their focus on inclusion and compassion is immeasurable. the honor is mine to be sitting here talking about that today. supervisor fewer thank you again for taking the time to come represent your small businesses and your constituents. this is only my third meeting. you've been to two of them. thank you. finally, i want to note that, i used to live on cap and 19th. would go to the uptown and in fact, that was where i kissed my wife for the first time.

[laughter] i like to thank you for that contribution. my children would really like to thank you. >> president adams: commissioner dooley. >> commissioner dooley: congrate that the one thing you all have in common, which is incredibly valuable, especially in this day in age, you truly serve your communities. that is what gives you longevity. you're not there for the short-term. these are the type of businesses that we need to honor. >> president adams: commissioner rile lay. >> commissioner riley: congratu. i didn't realize you were in the run for so long.

congratulations. >> president adams: any other commissioner comments before we vote? i want to say first off, i got to give a big shot out to glide foundation what you do is next to a miracle. the way you feed people, your social justice, everything. truly this is very well deserved for you. all of you, every single one of these businesses here. i have a lot of friends -- i don't work out at world gym, i have a lot of friends that work out of world gym. that's a big community down there. everybody is tight who goes there. i have been to the uptown a few times. each and every one of you are very well deserved like commissioner dooley said, you're entrenched in your communities and you're here for the long

haul. you should be commended for that. commissioner yee riley. >> commissioner riley: i forget to mention, i served lunch or dinner at glide one time. lot of people coming and lot of my friends also receivable. i used to work for corporation. we had a group of people to help serve meals for your constituents. wah mei school is very important school in the sun set district. thank you. >> president adams: do we have any others? you have a motion? >> move to approve all resolutions. >> second. >> commissioner dwight moved to approve all six. roll call vote. [roll call]

motion passes 7-0. >> president adams: congratulat. great. [applause] next item please. [agenda item read]

presenter is tom temprano. >> president adams: welcome. >> thank you for having me commissioners. that was quite a mouthful on the legislation that we have before you today. it's an honor to be here before you and peek about this ordinance to allow additional uses in the upper market and

n.c.t. 3 commercial transit district. this legislation will make restaurants, philanthropic administrative services and entertainment and public facilities permitted in the upper market n.c.t. which runs from castro to church on market street. the legislation won't be a silver bullet vacancy concerns. it won't stop landlords from charging unreasonable rents. nor will it stop the continued shift towards online shopping that threaten so many brick and mortar retailers. it's an attempt to help small businesses succeed where we need them to succeed. the growing number of vacant storefronts meant fewer neighborhoods serving businesses and increase in the negative

behavior that an empty storefront can draw. our offices heard from inspiring small business owners who's aspirations were deeply complicated by a nearly impossible set of regulatory hurdles. for example, one such business on church and market was finally able to open after a 16-month permitting process. too many other have given up during the process or decided not to try at all. leaving storefronts unfilled. a budget and legislative analyst report was released last month that showed what many residents and business owners and any one of the commissioners who visited upper market have long known. retail vacancy is a problem. the report suggest that over the restrictive zoning and bureaucracy are responsible for this problem. according to the report between 2015 and 2017, vacancies

increased from 8.5 to 12.9% most which were concentrated on market street. in the time since that data was collected, the problem has worsened significantly. i think it only takes a quick look at hud line to realize that we are having about a business a week closing in upper market. we they had to do something about it. as i mentioned, the report suggest that among the reasons for vacancies are the more restrictive conditional use authorization requirements and not in other commercial corridors nearby including the valencia street in hayes valley. in upper market it took average 332 days for an applicant to secure a conditional use authorization. when combined with other permitting requirements, the entire process can take years. for many applicants, that means two years or more of paying high rent on a storefront that hasn't opened yet.

in a neighborhood struggling with vacancies the city ought to be doing everything we can to attract businesses and help them to open as quickly as possible not making it more difficult, time intensive and expensive. our office worked closely with neighborhood stakeholders including the castro merchants association, eureka valley neighborhood association to develop the zoning changes we are proposing to help restaurants, arts organizations and nonprofits fill our storefronts without requiring time consuming and expensive conditional use approvals. i think it is a testament to this process and the legislation that we got all our neighborhood groups and merchants associations to collectively agree on the solutions we proposed today. this legislation can serve local residents and draw visitors from around the city and world.

nonprofits can find home and where local artist will fill galleries with their paintings. that is an exciting vision for upper market. we're hoping this legislation can help to achieve. with that, it was a pretty detailed legislative digest there. i'm happy to walk through specific changes commissioners might have changes about or answer any questions you might have at all. >> president adams: okay. i will begin. i really want to thank you and rafael and supervisor mandelman for this legislation. your outreach was great. you got the buy-in of all the neighborhood groups. being the leader one the groups, i know what it's like to get everybody on the same page and in agreement. you managed to do that. i spoke to people from the

c.b.d. and everybody is very happy about this. like you said, it's not going to be that silver bullet that takes care all the issues. it will help. the neighborhood seems pretty excited about this actually. i really appreciate the outreach and the buy-in from the whole neighborhood that you got on this. i'm so happy about this piece of legislation. i'm really happy about the way you went about it. the neighborhood is buying into this. everyone. i haven't spoken to one person in that neighborhood who's against this. great job. >> thank you commissioner. >> vice president dwight: i agree. i appreciate you guys being proactive about this and getting everyone on board. fantastic. i'm all for it. >> thank you.

>> president adams: any other commissioners? commissioner zouzounis? >> commissioner zouzounis: i want to echo that. i appreciate supervisor mandelman's office looking at these line item and the code and how they play out to make and our city better. i have a quick question with section 202.20. are there any enforcement or like scheduled attached t defind with the requirement within a one block radius of the business? >> there are not particular enforcement mechanisms noted here. what edid with the liquor store we liberalized the use. previously there was a conditional use required for all liquor stores.

what we've done allowed liquor stores that only serve wine and beer and not beer and spirits. part of that compromise was fixing what are pretty standard operating conditions for liquor stores in other parts of the city to appease any concern neighbors might have. we currently -- liquor stores are prohibited in the n.c.t. 3 zoning district. this legislation changes that. there would be an opportunity for them to open. this felt like a good way to appease those neighborhood concerns while also hemming businesses that are allowed in all the surrounding commercial districts. >> commissioner zouzounis: than. >> president adams: commissioner laguana. >> commissioner laguana: echoing everybody else comment. this is very well done.

side question here, i'm still trying to wrap my head around the store vacancy issue. i'm wondering what you guys learned about the causes of vacancies while you're in the process doing this. in particular, i'm curious about the contribution of the permitting process like if you have a rough sense of how many these vacancies are due to this fairly lengthy permitting process versus some other contributing causes? >> i will be happy to send out to the commission the full budget legislative analyst report on upper market retail vacancies. it really does hammers down the causes. one we're trying to solve here is that conditional use requirement that exist for a number of uses that doesn't exist in other districts. that adds about a year. the report did note a other

issues including d.b.i. permitting processes, other planning permitting processes that aren't necessarily conditional use authorizations. really points to a number of -- we're focusing on the neighborhood here. i think this report points to a number of larger citywide issues that i think this commission is well had of positio -- well-poso lead on. at the least encouraging our permitting agencies to be more communicative well each other and to really prioritize permitting a lot of these different applications that come before them in a quicker way. the report did note that sort of the ground floor retail rent expectation in upper market where out of line what was realistic for many businesses to be paying and did also note potential solutions like

continuing to increase the services that the office of small business and office of workforce development provide to help small businesses access additional resources but also to really navigate our currently pretty difficult to get through permitting pross -- process. it was interesting that upper market, there were more abandoned applications through a c.u. process than we found in other districts. which means lot of people got started with their conditional use authorization and for any number of reasons, i think the length of time and the amount of money that people were having to pay in rent going through these processes was a key factor to people who wanted and tried to start a business in the

neighborhood abandoning their plans. which obviously in the neighborhood like upper market is a especially tragic. i'd be happy to send that report to the commission for all of you to review. in addition to our districts specific recommendations, there's lot of bigger citywide policy considerations that this body might be supportive to help us make it easier for businesses to get through that permitting process. >> commissioner riley: thank you. i'm glad that you reach out and talk to the neighbors. sometimes we think it's a good idea that maybes may not think so. that's a great idea. thanks. >> commissioner dooley: well, i think we all know that one size never fits all. it seems like you're done a huge amount of due diligence on this and i want to congratulate you

on that. i think there are many larger issues at stake, citywide. the retrofitting and high rent. all that contribute why every single neighborhood has huge vacancy problems. thank you for putting together such a good cohesive thing for the castro. hopefully it will work really well. >> president adams: you came up with a solution to a problem. you came up with a solution. i congratulate you for that. any other questions before we go on to public comment? let's go to public comment. is there any members of the public like to make comment on item 4? seeing none, public comment is closed. do we have a motion?

>> move to support the legislation as presented. >> seconded. >> roll call vote. [roll call] motion passes 7-0. >> president adams: thank you, great job, tom. next item please. [agenda item read] presenter is derrick remski.

>> good evening president adams executive director derrick remski. thank you for having me speak to you about this important legislation. as we all know san francisco strives to be welcoming inclusive place. the city strives to empower all its residents to participate in our local economy. key spectaculakey aspect is thea consumer to purchase goods and servicings. for residents, those who are denied access to credit for who are unable to obtain bank accounts the ability to engage in consumer transactions depends on the consumer goods and cash. this is true of the poor and

those who do not have access to credit such as being victims of identity theft, being a child or teenager. being someone who does not want to have all of their actions tracked. millions of americans do not hold bank accounts or fall outside noncash financial system. some stand apart by choice. they are concerned about privacy. others may not be well situated to participate in the banking system or excluded from the system against their will. in short, denying the ability it use cash as a payment method means excluding too many people. in 2017, the fdic concluded the 17% of all african-american households and 14% all latino households in the u.s. did not have a bank account. in 2005, san francisco said those numbers were at least 50% in both those categories.

that was only 13 years ago. it seems like a lifetime in this world today. i would be really amazed to find, we don't have a current study, to find that those number have dramatically dropped in 13 years. in this reality not accepting cash payment is systematically excluding segments of the people who dodd no meet age requirements for credit cards. this legislation say its a as a city, we must remain vigilant ensuring economy is inclusionary and accessible to everyone. the purpose of this article to ensure all city residents including those who lack access to other forms payment are able

to participate in the city's economic life by paying cash for many goods and services. this legislation -- when i took this, supervisor, brown, i started reading article about it. two years ago in the "wall street journal." i start doing some research and i found that in 1978 the state of massachusetts banned businesses from not accepting cash. 1978. just three weeks ago, i was happy to see and also dismayed to see that the city of philadelphia beat us to the punch. the city of brotherly love said how can we be the city of brotherly love. that statement is exactly what this legislation is about. it's about equity, it's not about creating a new surcharge on business. it's not about punishing

business. supervisor brown understands that business keeps the city going and keeps people employed and makes it so that there are people able to access goods and services. with that said, i wanted to ask you, if you have any questions. >> president adams: any questions? >> commissioner ortiz-cartagenai understand it says professional services are excluded. is that specific tort professional services? >> the legislation itself applies to brick and mortar businesses that are permanently fixed businesses. >> commissioner ortiz-cartagena- >> bars, restaurants corner stores. we put in the professional services solution after -- solution afte -- exclusion thatr

working with the business community. we all know attorneys would love to take cash. the professional service carl of was astronauted recently. one other thing, when brown included businesses like amazon go, our good friends in the press like to put it out as a slam on amazon or slam on tech. supervisor brown attitude and she expressed this a few days ago when we met amazon who say they are not opposing this. we live in the tech capitals of the world. there's an opportunity here for the tech companies that surround us to be innovative and come up with ideas so that people can access their businesses like

amazon go. amazon has pledged to the supervisor that they will remain in san francisco. they will open their third store and they asked for one accommodation. that we delay enactment of this for another 90 days so their business can accept cash. they are happy to offer that. we will be amending the legislation this week to reflect the 90-day. couple of other things we want to point out. we will be adding an amendment asking for the treasury to do another report and report back to the board of supervisors in five years telling the board of supervisors what level of san franciscans are unbanked five years from now. then one last amendment that will be added on thursday is we are going to restrict businesses for charging a surcharge if someone trying it -- to pay ca

cash. >> commissioner laguana: thank you for coming and presenting. i support creating that equity for the unbank. i think it's important. it sames -- looking at this from a practical level, i run a van rental company. some of our customers they come back after -- we rent to bands go on tour. some of our customers come back and they have 5, 6 or $7000 bill after the 6-week tour. sometimes it's appropriate at some of our locations to take cash. our cesar chavez location is quite a fair distance away from a bank. that's not always the greatest

neighborhood. it seems to me that the purpose of the legislation is to address the folks who need to be able to make small busines -- purchases. i wonder if the supervisor will be amendable to adding an amendment perhaps putting a cap on the amount of cash that a businesses required to take in. at a certain point, it starts to feel little bit dangerous for the employee. >> commissioner, thank you for sharing that with me. i will take that to the supervisor. i like to ask, has that happened on lot of occasions, if so, what does your business do now? >> commissioner laguana: in terms of taking cash, it happens

sporadically when it's large amounts like that. you never want to say no to a customer, of course. we try to discourage it because we have had cases where money disappeared, sometime it's not even the whole amount, it's a portion and it's awkward for everybody. we've had cases where maybe there's a question whether the customer paid the right amount whether it was counted properly. that's not how we normally do business. once you start get into large amounts of cash, it becomes little bit more problematic. it seems to me that's not really the focus or target of the legislation. it will be something i would encourage to give consideration to. >> thank you, i will talk that back to supervisor brown. [please stand by]