designation of supervisor mandelman's ordinance. as a district, we represent the community, and we have given the community its leadership in identifying the leadership and plans of vision for our consult value district. my name is sean haynes. so speaking on behalf of my committee, we value and support having your support in ensuring that our lgbt community here in san francisco castro district become officially designated as a cultural district, and that we can provide the resources necessary to help us restore and preserve the culture and uplift the community to its greatest potential, and we very much thank you for your support and listening to us to us. >> thank you. >> president hyland: great. thank you. questions?

commissioner matsuda? >> vice president matsuda: i have a question, probably a procedural question for staff. so i don't think any of us are against the cultural district, but the citywide historic context statement for lgbtq history, that is almost final, right? and there were a number of recommendations for implementation in there, and i just want to make sure that they -- am i just -- i guess to confirm that these measures will be implemented into the cultural district work program or how does that work? can you explain that to me? >> sure, yeah, i can talk a little bit about the relationship between the lgbtq cultural heritage strategy in the districts. the cultural heritage strategy is meant to be a document shared by the lgbt community anywhere in the city.

therefore, many of the programs and resources and tools that are recommended are meant to be accessed by anybody regardless of their geography. so the -- so the scope of those tools is relatively broad. the intents is that each cultural district has the au autonomy to decide what goes into their report, so we're hoping it provides a foundation for each of the lgbt cultural districts, but we don't expect it to supplement in any way the need for specific geography specific plans for each of the districts. does that answer your question? >> yeah. like a tool chest that they can choose from. there are a lot of things

mentioned in that report that i think that can help the cultural district because i think it's important for us to look at buildings and intangible assets that represent the community and i just want to make sure that that's included. and then, in your report, it talked under community based organization, mohcd will select a community based organization, but that's just generally speaking, right, because it seems like there has been a great effort to make sure that this cultural district has created their own list of volunteers who will actively participate in this cultural district. >> i think i would rather let tom temprano or the representatives of the working group clarify the role of that -- of the community organization. i didn't focus staff's analysis on that since h.p.c. and planning department don't play a direct role in that

relationship. >> vice president matsuda: i just wanted to make sure it was community based rather than the other way around. >> president hyland: can i add onto that? are we talking about a single organization or is it a representation of several organizations? >> sure. well, thank you for that question. that's a great question. our understanding, absolutely. i think that the intention of the cultural district going forward is to empower the community leadership that has been leading this process thus far. our understanding in working with mohcd is that alternate of the cultural districts do have to have a formal nonprofit to act at least as a fiscal sponsor for any funding that goes into the cultural district? i think that requirement is becoming even harder and faster following the passage of prop f and now real, dedicated funds for existing cultural districts

that are being built into the budget every year. so this -- that particular requirement came at the request of mohcd, but their intent and our intent as the authors of the legislation are to have the community voices who have been engaged thus far continue to be empowered in the cultural district process moving forward. >> president hyland: why don't we continue -- go ahead. >> vice president matsuda: no, i had one more question kind of along the same lines. the assistance from the community based organizations, it said mohcd shall issue a successive representation. >> i believe it is a requirement that any public funds go out for a competitive bidding process, so that language was created by the city attorney to make sure that

ordinance was in compliance with the responsibility for mohcd or any city agency to have a solicitation process, though my understanding is there will be a lot of city leadership and community involvement in that process. >> any cultural district, a defined cultural district would be able to apply for it? >> i believe any nonprofit agency would be able to apply but i would imagine that, you know, in the mohcd has, i believe, just last month, issued their first r.f.p. for prop f funding for the cultural district, and so there's a road map that they've created that i think certainly tailors the qualification of the nonprofits who would be eligible to apply for those funds, to those organizations, that it would make sense. that it would have the

community support and knowledge and expertise to actually oversee a cultural district. so i would doubt that there would be, you know, random nonprofits throwing their hat in the ring. >> no, i was just asking out of curiosity because if any of those funds would be available for any of the historic reports that we would need to help with landmark designations in their cultural districts would be good. thank you. >> you're welcome. >> president hyland: thank you. should we go to public comment? okay. i have three speaker cards. we'll start with those. we have kathy amendola and andrew schafer. and yuki. >> good afternoon, everybody. i'm kathy amendola. you did call me up first, didn't you? i own crews in the castro

walking tours for the past 13 years. my company's been owned and operated 30 years, lesbian owned and operated. this year, we'll get our historic designation, and we've excited. keep in mind that every culture has a community. so we mentioned many communities in our city. i'm going to talk about a culture that's considered invisible. my job as a tour guide has gone to a civil rights activist. we can get married in our country in every state on sunday, but if we go home to our city on monday, we can be evicted from our rental property in every gray state. if we get married on sunday, but we can only be protected from our jobs if we're sexually

and gender diverse in 21 states. let's talk about public accommodations. my partner and i can be turned away from a movie theater, restaurant, library, and shop in every single gray state because we're lesbians. the importance of our community is tremendous. san francisco's community has set a worldwide standard in history. my tour, is i talk about the gold rush and i talk about how the gold miner set the hanky test on how we code ourselves. so much history has started in san francisco, and i'm going from world war ii all the way up to now. we cannot be invisible right now. this is how every american should have rights. this is why our cultural district is beyond a district. we are making an impact in the

world that we refuse to be invisible anymore. i can tell you all the things that started in san francisco. the birth of the rainbow flag is the most recognized cultural heritage symbol in the world. started with gill baker in our neighborhoods. the pink triangle park and memorial. all of us in this room have made major contributions in our lives to be equal. our district is an outstanding example of how we can have pride in progress. i had two men on my tour from london yesterday. they were together many years. they refused to walk hand in hand in london. they were afraid. they noted yesterday how wonderful they were to hold hands in the castro. you do realize it is a human necessity. we refuse to be invisible, and with your help, we will have

one of the largest lgbtq cultures in the world. we are 45 blocks. we have no straight bars. everybody's fighting for our culture, and everybody's welcome. >> thank you very much. andrew shafer. >> hello. my name is andrew shafer, and i'm a castro resident. i want to thank the members of the committee for the opportunity to speak. before i ever set foot in the castro, the neighborhood already felt like home. growing up in a family and an environment where queer people were ever the butt of jokes or the image of scorn, now as a resident of the castro, i can see more clearly the problems and the promise of the castro. we are faced with absurdly high rents, a glut of empty storefronts, people forced to

live on the streets, and neighborhood gentrification. but we aren't like other neighborhoods. the castro is a symbol of hope. there is a place we can belong. designation of a cultural district won't fix everything that's wrong in the castro, but we can preserve what's working and to fix what isn't. i ask that the committee support this initiative and low that you stand behind this neighborhood and what makes the neighborhood special. thank you. >> thank you. yuki? >> thank you for this opportunity. my name is yuki togawa. i am from japan originally. just lost a supreme court case to try to fight our transgender

rights and lost the case. sterilization is enforced. i don't have right to keep my ovaries. i cannot have the right to reproduce if i keep my transgendered identity, and i'm not allowed to live in a house with my grandchildren. the first time i came here, i was very young, and i saw all these wonderful people with cultural background. and then, i saw a lesbian couple and a gay couple kiss openly in the castro, and i fell on my knees, and i was just crying. i thought wow. only if we could do that back home. so now, i am with the castro

lgbt culture district, volunteering when i can if i can, as well as the pride office and also our bay area american indian two spirit. we have a huge powwow. so i do what i can to learn, including the mental health. so this is a sanctuary, definitely, for me, for many from other countries, even just visiting, to hold a grip on hope, and i think it's very important to know that a place like this exists somewhere in the world for many, many people, so thank you very much for this opportunity. i will do everything in my power with what i can to make

sure that this culture district thrives. thank you very much. >> president hyland: great. thank you. sherry bestwick, and allen. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is terry bestwick, and i am the chairman of the lgbt historical committee in san francisco. we were founded on -- in our founder, willie walker's living room in the castro. we're currently located over in the midmarket area in a basement. we don't have much light, much windows, but they let me out occasionally to speak at a commission hearing. but we have a location in the castro which is visited by thousands of people around the world every month.

i'm also a member of the citywide lgbtq cultural heritage strategy, and one of the cochairs of that. the historical society was a sponsor of the lgbtq historic context statement that you raised earlier. so we are a resource of material on the history of the castro. but really, what i wanted to speak about today was as a resident of the castro for many years, and you know, i'm a barrier native, and i moved to san francisco proper in 1981, which was the year that the -- willie began in june of that year. and since then -- so i grew up in the castro, i grew up in san francisco, and i've experienced all the changes and loss and also the victories that our community has experienced, and i'm very proud to be a part of this effort to create the castro lgbtq cultural district. i think we're going to call it

the queer cultural district for short. i'm not sure. it's interesting how the names change over time, and i just want to thank everybody that participated in the process. it really has been really rewarding, and i think the product of what we're going to do is really in some ways about the process itself and how we do the report and information and how it's already been completed and have some intention about what we want to create. the other point that i just want to raise and this was raised elsewhere by others, as well. the castro doesn't exist in isolation. we're existing within the larger city and we're experiencing many of the same socioeconomic pressures as many countries and cities around the world. but the queer community is particularly special in some ways because we've -- this is our home. in many cases, we've lost our

connections to our family and communit about

about the lgbtq community and people of color. i think about the past and the importance of that, but i also think about the present and how i go to work every day and pass by things like when pulse night club happened and all the material that went out, how that influenced my work. the products and services that i make in corporate -- in the corporate world in the bay area. so it really influences what we're producing and what's going out into the world? not to push our ideals out into the world but to show a responsible model of what good might look like. so some of the things that i've contributed to the castro, i volunteered for ten years at my tree, the sweetheart organization, and i think about how it's really shaped me and others in the community and the importance of youth coming up.

i don't think it's always being the same. i think of it evolving and incorporating the youth, the transcommunity, people of color, and lesbians that haven't always been welcomed as much as gay men in the community. so i think a lot about how responsible this group it and -- is and the good moving forward. thank you. >> president hyland: thank you. shann shannon murch. >> i joined the cultural district meetings a few months ago and was overwhelmingly impressed with what's happening. i wanted to tell a cute story

about three kids from lyric who came. they said we are here to advocate for space because right now, this isn't a space for us to be. so this meeting of the minds has really inspired me, and i hope that you guys can see that, as well in reading and hearing these stories that we are telling you today. thank you. >> president hyland: great. thank you. nicolle church. okay. any other member of the public -- nicolle church? >> hello. thank you, commissioners. my name is cole church. i'm here in support of the recognition of this resolution. i -- this -- the stories that i want to tell is coming here as a young person. i moved here when i was 19. i came from a very small town in northern california. i didn't have any sort of queer role models or queer community.

i had no community when i moved here, and i found my first community going to the castro as a young person who couldn't go to bars or clubs. through going to lyric, i was a listener on their youth talk line, and that was the first place i ever sort of experienced what it was like of having a family of people who supported me and didn't judge me. and as i grew up, i experienced all of the sort of things that you can't find outside of the castro, that there was something about coming to the castro that just felt safe, that just felt like we could be who we are, and that kind of going off of what shannon just said that there are spaces for young people there, for queer young people, that there is this sort of legend of the castro, that people come flocking to this place to find

a home. and that's what this place always has been to me, and that's why i came to san francisco. so that's all i wanted to say. thank you. >> president hyland: thank you. any other members of the public, please come forward. >> greetings, commissioners. my name is trey allen. i'm a volunteer on the lgbtq + -- don't get the plus -- cultural heritage strategy. and i am here to report that we are charging forward, making lots of progress, and we have been making a lot of last-minute edits, so we're very excited for where we are in that project. in that strategy, we've also emphasized housing. now i want you to imagine an advertisement for a real estate agent. e-mai he mails it to your door and

says i want to introduce you to a new property. he says it's in the only cultural district for queer people in the castro, and only for a small price of several million dollars, you, too, can live in that only cultural district. the cultural districts have the potential to energyize gentrification, but they also have the power to convene city agencies, the community, and developers, and demand what the mission and other neighborhoods have done: affordable housing. now one thing that the lgbtq cultural heritage strategy reinforces is that the strategy and the districts should have the power to convene city agencies to address the housing needs of the lgbtq plus community such as providing

assistance to lower income residents, developing transitional housing, and real estate acquisition through lgbtq land trusts and other property purchasing mechanisms to ensure that this is not just a boutique neighborhood with colorful flags, but it is also a place where we can live. i thank the committee because the committee that will take charge of this district has advocates for these tools to ensure that queer people, whatever age or gender, can have a place in this district. thank you. my name is trey allen. >> president hyland: thank you. any other members of the public wish to speak to this the commission? close public comment, bring it back to the commission.

commissioners? commissioner wolfram? >> commissioner wolfram: i want to thank members of the public coming here to tell your stories and speaking, and i'm in full support of this proposed ordinance. >> president hyland: thank you. commissioner johns? >> commissioner johns: thank you. i want to thank those of you who are pioneers and stewards of your culture for getting sponsorship of the district going and having us involved in this. i think it's terrific, so thank you for that. the other' thing that i'm very kbrezed with, looking at the previous cultural districted is the -- where we're headed is -- in this industry is creating this institutional framework for how these districts go forward. i think that is unique in the united states.

here we are, san francisco, on another pathway, like the historic committee. i think this is really important, so thanks -- and this is a lot of work going into this, this framework. so -- and i guess the thirt thing ththirt -- third thing that i'm interested in is i heard the word space and place and sense of place. so in using those terms more, i want to make sure we hookup the

cultural heritage strategy. [inaudible] >> commissioner johns: and the work so that we can beef up our historic work so we can recognize the faces and places. we have had some legacy businesses come forward, which have been great, but that's my thought along those lines, so of i can't. thank you. >> president hyland: commissioner black? >> commissioner johns: and i endorse the resolution. >> commissioner black: excuse me. i'm reminded a few years after i moved here, 1988, i served on the board of an aids service organization. we were in the building in the castro that was upstairs, it was an old apartment above the rainbow stairs.

i think they're gone now, but there used to be these stairs painted in rainbow colors. and one night as we were leaving after preparing for an event. we went outside and on the stairs was a young man, crying. and it turns out he had been forced out -- beaten up essentially by the football team in his hometown and then thrown out by his family when he went home. and he got on a bus, and he arrived in the castro, and the rainbow stairs were really meaningful to him. this was probably 11:30 at night or midnight, so we gave him food and phone calls were made and someone gave him a safe place to live. about a week later, he came back to thank us, and he just felt so safe and happy here. so i was particularly struck by this sentence in the staff report under the general plans

compliance section. preservation and enhancement of these districts serves the city's interest as an abundance of cultural and recreational activities lends san francisco an advantage over other municipalities. and i think that is exactly right. i hope that the creation of this district makes the castro as sort of a mecca, even more well known so that another kid like the one i met almost 30 years ago, they know they've got a safe place to go, that the systems and the collaboration between all the different community groups will

support them. i want them to bring their smarts and their solutions and their capableness to work. i want them to bring it from wherever their hometown was, and we're going to benefit from it. so that's why i found this sentence so compelling. so i obviously strongly support this -- the creation of this. >> president hyland: commissioner pearlman? >> commissioner pearlman: thank you. i feel particularly connected to this because as i was reading through this, i have walked the -- through so many threads of my life have led through the castro, and, you know, i came to san francisco with a connection to the aids project and working on the quilt project, and i volunteered there. mr. haynes mentioned pink saturday. i was on the committee for the first pink saturday event. i was the one who managed the

garden that was at 16th, noe, and market for a decade or so that grew food for food open hand. many, man -- project open hand. many, many things in my life over the last 30 years connect me to this. so i think this is an excellent thing. one funny story was back in the early 90 ess, i was on a committee, and i don't remember what it was for. i was sitting in a room of about 20 people, and they pointed to me like i was the man, i was the white guy in the room because of the incredible diversity, everybody was lgbtq +, and i was the most regular guy in the room. and it was really a shock to me that that was the case, but it

was a real eye opener for me about the nature of san francisco, the nature of the community. somebody mentioned altoona, pennsylvania, which is harvey milk's story about the kid from altoona, pennsylvania who came out to the castro and found a home. so i appreciate the hard work, and i know that it is, and obviously, i'm extremely supportive of this. so thank you all for all the hard work and everything you do. [please stand by]

rather than an agency appointed. is that what you're referring to? >> exactly. >> i think maybe to give you some context, i can explain a

bit about the most recent r.f.p. sent out by ohcd and how the -- how the dispersement of the property funds, how that mechanism is set up currently. not all organizations are able to receive moneys, therefore most have to partner with a fiscal sponsor. and i think this aspect was to clarify clarify at the outset that there will need to be a body that is able to receive fubldss from the city. it has been clear in the practice of ohcd to date and as

you can see in the r.f.p.s last month, that fiscal sponsor has to have a relationship with a community working group. >> there isn't a clear m.o.u., a memorandum of understanding, between the members of the community who are working in a particular cultural district with that nonprofit entity, that they're just serving us a fiscal agent. is that sdmrekt >> i don't know that there is always an m.o.u. i can't speak to the legal aspects of that relationship. but i can say that the fiscal sponsor and the community working group in most cases are two separate entities and it is the fiscal sponsor that we can give the funds to with the requirement that they are working community group.

>> can we suggest that there is a clear delegation or clearer separation of responsibility at what the nonprofit entity is required to do for reporting purposes and reporting back to the city versus what the community saw? i don't want to see the community not be empowered to do the things that, you know, are important to them. rather than them to have a nonprofit entity. and i don't know, who may not be as intimately involved in community planning to speak on their behalf. and act on their behalf. that would be a concern. and then another thing, just to get back to the legislation, and i'm not sure if my fellow commissioners would be willing to do this, but to maybe stick in some language that the h.b.c. can be like a technical adviser at times when needed for this process.

because we do have a little bit of knowledge and a little bit of background experience to know the kinds of things and the kinds of measures that may be supportive of cultural districts. >> i think i would allow tom to speak to those proposed amendments or recommendations. >> mr. frye, did you have something -- >> commissioners, just as a friendly suggestion and maybe for tom as well, if the commission wants to provide additional advice, you may want to do it in a recommendation to encourage that the r.f.p. include strong language that is a community-led process or something along those lines just to ensure that the roles are clear that the community should be driving the process wrather than the not-for-profit or the financial sponsor. >> how do you feel about that? >> i think that is a fine suggestion. of course, we appreciate the

feedback. i will say -- so this is only the second cultural dlaikt has been created by ordinance. the first was the african american cultural dmrikt bayview and that community chose to go with a formalized c.a.c. model that was spelled out in the legislation and they did not want that simply prescribed model in the ordinance and this allowed flexibility and flexibility to work with ohcd around what governance would look like and what the relationship between the city and city and agent would look like so there is intentional flexibility in the language here that is different from the previously created cultural district by ordinance. but i do think that that is a good suggestion for the commission to make to mohcd to

be part of the r.f.p. process if that is helpful. >> ok. commissioner -- >> very quick addition is working with the h.p.c. and planning staff because, like i don't know that much about it, but i'm sure they tell -- >> you mean about technical support that has the knowledge. >> again, if i could offer just a friendly suggestion. we certainly do rely on this commission's interest in cultural districts as a way to support the planning department's work. so, it really is just to show that they're available that they need assistance. >> the vehicle is through the staff because it's harder to come here. you have to go through the staff to get here. >> and we appreciate the desire

from the commission and all the staff to be engaging in this cultural district process so thank you for your willingness to participate and support the work that the community will be doing along with mocd to create the reports. thank you all for that. >> i think it is quite clear that the h.p.c. is available, i wonder if there is any need to amend the resolution or the ordinance. >> well, i was going to -- commissioner johnson, if i may, i was going to suggest maybe passing the motion as we have or as it's been seconded with the suggestion that potentially adding h.p.c. and staff to section 82, so it says a system from city departments if we can delineate h.p.c. as a technical adviser on page 14?

>> 14 of the back part. if we can specifically mention that it is available for technical advisement. >> i would accept that amendment. >> and then just an a*s risk to make sure that this is not to supplement or subplant the community engagement, that it is not a single organization driving this. they will be facilitating it with the support. >> i'm happy to work with commission staff on -- in the city attorney's office on language to that effect for both of those items. >> thank you. >> you got it? on page 15, item d, to have an asterisk that this is a

community-based effort that the selected organization will facilitate. >> and i would accept that amendment, too. >> great. thank you. >> seconded the motion. >> seconded. >> i accept it as well. >> do you accept those? >> i do. yes. >> very good, commissioners. there is a motion that has been seconded to adopt a recommendation for approval as has been amended with the recommendations on page 14 adding h.p.c. as a technical adviser and on page 15, adding an asterisk specifying that this be a community-based effort and that this selective organization would -- selected organization would facilitate. on that motion -- [roll call]

>> so moved, commissioners. that motion passes unanimously 7-0. commissioners, that will place us on item 7-a through f. for case numbers 2019-0004943l.d.r.-000492lbr, 2019-000495lbr, 2019-00004947lbr, 2019-000004948lbr and 2019-00004952lbr for propertieses at 354 11th street, 1490 howard street, 1263 howard street, 1367 valencia street, 1935 ocean avenue and 1698 post street respectively. these are all legacy business applications.

>> hello, commissioners. preservation staff. so, we have six applications today and it will be fairly brief in my description of each business and we have several of the businesses and organization representatives here to speak for themselves. i'll start with butter bar and restaurant. they -- butter opened in 1999 by brothers carlton and chris full who were two of san francisco's top house music promoters and leaders in the electronic music and dance industry. they developed the the concept for a cozy theme bar that would be home to the night life community and for the industry's d.j.s, promoters and producers. butter was financed through a crowd funding campaign decades

before the concept of crowd funding was coined. and in 2009, ownership interest in butter were consolidated by butter's operator and primary shareholder. the bar has operated continuously in san francisco for 20 years. staff did find that the organization is facing significant risk of displacement due to upcoming lease negotiations and so we find that they meet the exception to the 30-year rule. and we are recommending the following teachers to be safeguarded. their trashy chic style t winnebago interior decoration, the airstream trailer kitchen, the island bar layout, the overhead projections on the walls and multitude of kitch and drink memorabilia. their microwaved menu items. their signature drinks and their marquis sign. that takes us to the next

applicant, california choppers. they're located at 1490 howard street. steve nelson and gary couch opened california choppers in 1975 on valencia street in the mission district as a small, locals-only store front shop under the name of frisco choppers. the shop began by mostly selling used parts for the harley-davidson motorcycle riders. the business changed names, locations, ownership several times. and through these transitions, california choppers maintained its essence while evolving into a san francisco institution. when the current owners wayne and ron purchased the shop, the business was struggling. they have spent a lot of time and effort expanding the the shop and their services. previously the business resemble add hobby shop and biker hangout and now it is a profitable enterprise. the supreme court located within the western semilight industrial and residential historic district. it is a contributing property. staff is recommending the

safeguarding of the following features -- their inventory of motorcycle parts and service, their custom bike fabrication, motor build and team services. their high-quality used bikes, riding accessories, california choppers clothing, harley-davidson repair and their sign. the third applicant today is knob hill market located at 1263 leavenworth street. it was founded in 1984 when brothers joseph and john emron formed the business. they formed a partnership upon buying the business and were joined by their younger brother. the three of them working 70 to 90 hours a week for a couple of years to build up the business. the neighborhood responded positively to all the change and helped them grow over the years. alexander, joseph's son, is now running the market with a staff of 27 employees who help keep the tradition of a community market alive.

staff is recommending support for the application and the following futures to be safeguarded. the mural on leavenworth facade, their rooftop garden, their quality organic produce and their storefront awning. i also wanted to note that planning commissioner moore is endorsing this application as well and she sent an e-mail of support which i believe the commissioners, secretary has forwarded to the commission. the next applicant is natural resources all families foundation located at 1367 valencia street. natural resources was founded by deborah jackson and chris pritchard in 1988. deborah and chris believed that pregnant women should have the natural resources to be informed, responsible and creative during this time of create personal transformation. natural resources is san francisco's oldest community pregnancy childbirth and early parenting center n.2013, jenny

uzepa, mother of two, purchased the business and in 2015, natural resources became a nonprofit organization. the sbllg considered a historic resource. it's a three-story wood frame mixed-use building designed in a style consistent with the edwardian period with classical revival influences. staff is recommending support of this application and the following futures to be safeguarded. their educational programs for parents and birth professionals, resources line of products and the retail classroom and children's play spaces. the next business is ocean's cyclery. it is an independent, familily-owned bicycle repair shop located at 1935 ocean avenue. it has been in business since november 1996 and is considered a neighborhood institution. ocean cyclery was founded by --

i don't know if it's then or now -- 36-year-old jeffery telliafaro. when he purchased the lease and tools and existing bike shop that had been operated in the location since 1989. the business has operated continuously for the past 23 years. staff has also found that this sbiz at significant rfk of displacement due to their recent lease negotiations which require that they apply for the legacy business program. therefore, staff is recommending that they meet the exception to the 30-year rule. the property is considered a historic resource as being located within the california register engelsided district. we are supporting the application and we recommend the following futures to be safeguarded. their bicycle sales and repair services, their unique inventory, including european products, their well-trained and knowledgeable staff, the bicycle clinics, workshops and

classes, the consulting services, their bicycle racks, the 1920s commercial display case and the african american bike racing champion poster. the last applicant is sokol hardware located at 1698 post street in japan town. the founders of soko hardware were husband and wife team, masayasu ashizawa who emigrated from japan in the early 1920s. soko is the old name used to reference san francisco. soko hardware has been operated by four generations of the ashizawa family. soko hardware was the first hardware store in japan town. in addition to carrying all the general merchandise one would find in a standard hardware store, the soko hardware caser vital tools and hardwares specific to the japanese culture, such as japanese

woodworking tools, cook wear and budduh shrines and temples. it is located in the japan town cultural district and is a contributing culturals a folk the district as identified in their community-led asset inventory. the district -- the property is associated with significant events, particularly three periods of significance as identified in the japan town historic context statement and also with significant persons. the second generation owner of soko hardware was an active member in the japan town community and became the founding president of the community development corporation. staff is recommending support of the application and safeguarding of the following features.

their inventory of hardware needs and japanese products including house wares and buddhist shrines, their sign which is in english and japanese kanji letters and the ashizawa mom and their historical panel signs. that concludes staff's presentation and i'll turn it over to open it up for questions. thank you. >> great. thank you. shall we take public comment? any member of the public wish to speak to any of these legacy businesss? please step forward. you have some -- sorry. how about alice light. if you want to go, sir. go ahead, please. feel free. >> all right. just because i'm up here. ok. good afternoon, commissioners. let me just pull up my notes real quick. all right. so i am neil ballard, i'm from the ocean avenue association and i'm speaking today on behalf of ocean cyclery. so, ocean cyclery is a true neighborhood bike shop in a

classic san francisco commercial building on a block of several neighborhoods serving small businesses. and everyone in the neighborhood knows that ocean cyclery is where you go to get bicycles, accessories, get your bike repaired and even do e-bike service. and the clientele that they have includes commuters, racers, everybody in between, which is a really considerable feat given that the e-commerce has grown so much during the time that they have been in business. jeff and sabine are the owners and they're always out on ocean avenue, very visible and active in the community. i frequently see jeff test riding a bike that he's been repairing. he goes to the fog lifter cafe. gets an espresso, chi realize paints a picture of a very relaxed pace of life on ocean avenue. we're very proud of that. and sabine, she often comes to

ocean avenue association meetings and is always happy to participate in our events and promotions that we have. so we're lucky to have them and i appreciate this commission's support of their application. thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> alice? >> hi. thank you, commissioners. i'm alice light. our mission is to nurture familis from pregnancy to early childhood and while i stand here today seeking legacy status for being here for 31 years, our mission feels very immediate and new every day because there are always new families and new babies, including one right here. [laughter] to nurture and support. so the work that we're doing is every bit as important today as

it was 31 years ago when we first started and it will continue to be important 10 years, 20 years, 30 years into the future, as long as san francisco keeps having families, which hopefully will be for a long, long time. so at natural resources, we've served many tens of thousands of families over the past 30 years. just last year, we served 2500 new families and of those 1200 took classes in things like childbirth preparation, c.p.r., new parents and lactation support groups and more. so, we really work on improving outcomes for families and parents. and we have seven employees and over 50 educators. so in addition to supporting the families that we serve, we also support the birth community and professionals who are in the city.

we also complete our first spanish language doula program. and they were in the space working and there were about eight mamas hanging out. we have an area where people can sit and nurse and change their babies and talk to each other and i came over to check on them and they thought -- they said oh, we thought you were coming to kick us out because we've been here for so long. but that is exactly the time of thing we want to be able to create is to provide community and a entrees people feel really welcome and i think it is poignant this week because it is maternal mental health awareness week. in doing this application, i reached out to the community to reach out from people, how have we impacted you. and got responses like this one. natural resources saved my life. when i was struggling with

postpartum depression, it was a safe haven for me during an incredibly difficult time. i joined mother's groups weekly and found a community of women who i'm still in touch with today, almost four years later. so that is -- it's really important work, i'm really honored to be considered today and i also wanted to thank supervisor ronan and richard creelow for his help in putting this together. thank you. >> thank you. vad putt? >> good afternoon. president, distinguished commissioners. i'm here on behalf of butter. and while it seems like it is just a small bar in the south market, butter has had a major role in history and those halls of history as we're preaching to the choir on history,

preservation, it's -- businesses like butter, you know, they have a real cherished legacy in san francisco for being there, you know, pioneering at times when it was really difficult to get ahead in entertainment in this town and unlike, i think, any -- while the educational process of learning about the legacy business registry has been extremely interesting. i've read so many different reports on all the different legacy businesses that were just so informative. i didn't come across any of it reflected anything about the cultural attributings of what house music and the electronic dance music has contributed to san francisco and where it all started. you know, a lot of people don't really realize how much of a role san francisco has played in that and the people who were involved in the early days of the ground breaking of electronic dance music and house and techno were involved ha