[singing] [applause] >> let's give another hand to the lightning singers, the red women lightning singers. there are three people i want to think as we close. first, nicole, the senior adviser to the mayor for helping us put together today. give us a wave. secondly, and finally i want to thank elise of the the department of the status of women. please waive. she held -- she helped put all of today's logistics together. i want to thank all of my staff at the department. please join us for a very large group photo which we want to do

really quickly. everybody come on up.

>> in november of 2016, california voters passed proposition 64. the adult use of marijuana act. san franciscans overwhelmingly approved it by nearly 75%. and the law went into effect in january of 2018. [♪] >> under california's new law, adults age 21 and over can legally possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis and grow up to six plants at home. adults in california can legally give up to 1 ounce to other adults. >> in the state of california, we passed a law that said adult consumption is legal. if you are an adult and in possession of certain amounts,

you will no longer be tried. you will not be arrested or prosecuted for that. that is changing the landscape dramatically. [♪] >> to legalization of cannabis could bring tremendous economic and social benefits to cities like san francisco. >> this industry is projected to reach $22 billion by the year 2020. and that is just a few years away. >> it can be a huge legal industry in california. i think very shortly, the actual growing of marijuana may become the biggest cash crop in the state and so you want that to be a legal tax paying cash crop, all the way down the line to a sales tax on the retail level. >> the california medical industry is a 3 billion-dollar industry last year. anticipating that multiplier as

20, 30, 50 times in the consumer marketplace once adult use is really in place, you could go ahead and apply that multiplier to revenue. it will be huge. >> when that underground economy becomes part of the regular tax paying employment economy of the bay area, it not only has a direct impact, that money has a ripple impact through the economy as well. >> it is not just about retail. it is not just about the sensor. is about manufacturing pick a lot of innovative manufacturing is happening here in san francisco in addition to other parts of the state as well as the cultivation. we should be encouraging that. >> there is a vast array of jobs that are going to be available in the newly regulated cannabis industry. you can start at the top tier which a scientist working in testing labs. scientists working at extraction companies. and you work towards agricultural jobs. you have ones that will require

less education and you look towards cannabis retail and see traditional retail jobs and you see general management jobs. those things that are similar to working at a bar restaurant or working at a retail store. >> we are offering, essentially, high paid manufacturing jobs. typical starting wage of 18-$20 an hour, almost no barrier to entry, you do not need an education. >> that means that people who do not have college educations, working-class people, will have an opportunity to have a job at cultivating cannabis plants. there's a whole wide array of job opportunities from the seedling to the sale of the cannabis. [♪] >> last year, they said 26 million people came to san francisco. >> the tourism industry continues to be very robust here and the city and county of san francisco is about a billion-dollar industry. >> if we use a conservative

cannabis user adoption rate to 15% that means 4 million tourists want that means 4 million tourists want to purchase cannabis. and we need to be ready for th them. >> in 2015, as adult use legalization efforts gained momentum in california, the supervisors created the san francisco cannabis state legalization task force. this task force offered to research and advice to the supervisors, the mayor and other city departments. >> we knew that adult use legalization was coming to the ballot and stat that would bring with it a number of decisions that the city would have to make about zoning and regulation and so forth. and i decided at that time, at a know it was a great, that rather than have a fire drill after the ballot measure passes, as suspected it would, we should plan an event. so i authored a task force to spend a year studying it and we

made it a broad-based task force. >> we prepared ourselves by developing a health impact assessment and partnered that with key stakeholder discussions with washington, oregon, colorado, to really learn lessons from their experience rolling out both adult and medicinal cannabis. >> within days of the passing of the proposition, ed lee called on agencies to act decisively. >> he issued an executive order asking the department of public health, along with planning and other city departments to think through an internal working group around what we needed to do to consider writing this law. >> we collectively, i would say that was representatives from g.s.a., as well as the mayor's office, met with a lot of departments to talk through what prop 64 and the implementation of prop 64 it meant to them. >> the mayor proposed an office of cannabis, a one-stop shop for

permits allowing operators to grow and sell cannabis. >> he wanted a smart structure. he wanted a regulatory structure that ensured that kids didn't have access and community's were safe and that consumers were safe. and he wanted to ensure, more importantly, it was a regulatory structure that encouraged diversity and inclusivity. >> this is an office that will be solely charged with a duty of wanting not only the policies that we create, implementing and enforcing them, but also executing the licenses that are needed. we're talking about 20 different licenses that will put us into compliance with what is happening on the state level. >> this is a highly, highly regulated industry now, at this point. we have anywhere from 7-10 departments that will be working with these industry participants as they go through the permitting process. that is a lot of work at a loss

of coordination. we are creating a permitting process that is smart and is digital. it is much easier for the user and for community input, and is less mired in bureaucracy. >> for the first time ever in san francisco history, standalone licenses are available for all aspects of the nonretail side of the cannabis industry. now, a cultivator can go in to the department of building inspection and to the department of health and say, with this first registered and temporary license, and then what will eventually be a permanent license, this is the project, this is what i am going to do. >> very rarely in city government do we interact with industries that are asking to be regulated. these guys want to be regulated. they want to be compliant. they want to work with the city. that is rare. >> san francisco has created a

temporary licensing process so that the pre-existing operators here in san francisco can apply for a temporary state licensed. >> we have taken teams of up to 12 inspectors to inspect the facility twice a day. we have been doing that with the department of building inspection and the department of public health. and the fire department. >> it is really important for the industry to know that we are treating them like industry. like manufacturing. like coworkers pick so that is the way we are approaching this from a health and safety and a consumer protection network. this is just the way practice happens with restaurants or manufacturing facilities. >> because there are so many pieces of industry that people haven't even thought about. there are different permits for each piece. you have to set up a permitting system for growing, for manufacturing, for testing. for delivery. for retail. you have to make sure that there

is an appropriate health code. certainly the regulation of alcohol in terms of restaurants and retail it's probably a model for how this industry will be regulated as well, both on sale and consumption. >> it is completely uncharted territory. there is a blessing and a curse with that. it is exciting because we are on a new frontier, but it is very nerve-racking because there's a lot at stake. and quite frankly, being san francisco, being the state of california, people are looking to us. >> we hope that cannabis does become more of an accepted part of society in the same way that alcohol is, the same way coffee is. >> it is a very innovative fear, particularly around manufacturing. san francisco could be an epicenter. >> san francisco can be a leader here. a global leader in the cannabis movement and set a bar just to other communities and cities and

states and this nation how it is done. [♪] >> i'm warren corn field and we are doing a series called stay safe, we are going to talk about staying in your home

after an earthquake and taking care of your pet's needs. ♪ >> here we are at the spur urban ken center and we are in this little house that was built to show what it is like in san francisco after an earthquake. we are very pleased to have with us today, pat brown from the department of animal care and control and her friend oreo. >> hi. >> lauren. >> could you tell us what it would take after an earthquake or some other emergency when you are in your home and maybe no power or water for a little while. what it would take for you and oreo to be comfortable and safe at home. >> just as you would prepare for your own needs should an earthquake or a disaster event

occur, you need to prepare for your pets. and i have brought with me today, some of the things that i have put in my disaster kit to prepare for my animal's needs to make sure that i am ready should something happen and i need to shelter at home. >> what are some of the things that people should have in their home after an earthquake or other emergency to help take care of their tasks and take care of themselves. >> i took the liberty of bringing you some examples. it includes a first aid kit for your pet and you can also use it for yourself and extra meds for your pets. and water container that will not tip over. we have got both food, wet food and dry food for your pet. and disposable food container. and water, and your vet records.

in addition, we have a collar and some toys. >> yeah. to keep oreo busy. >> he needs toys and this is san francisco being a fruity city and come on oreo. this is your dinner, it is patte style chicken dinner with our foody seen here. >> what they say now is that you should have at least a gallon of water and i think that a gallon of water is small amount, i think that maybe more like two gallons of water would be good for you and your pet. >> does the city of animal control or any other agency help you with your pet after an emergency. >> there is a coalition of ngos, non-governmental organizations led by the department of animal care and control to do disaster planning for pets and that includes the san francisco spca. the paws group, the vet sos,

pets unlimited. and we all have gotten together and have been getting together for over four or five years now to talk about how we can educate the public about being prepared for a disaster as it involves your pets. >> a lot of services. i understand that if you have to leave your home, we are encouraging people to take their pets with them. >> absolutely. we think that that is a lesson that we concerned from karina, if you are being evacuated you should take your pet with you. i have a carrier, and you need to have a carrier that you can fit your pet in comfortably and you need to take your pet with you when you were evacuated. >> i am going to thank you very much for joining us and bringing oreo today. and i am go

>> there are kids and families ever were. it is really an extraordinary playground. it has got a little something for everyone. it is aesthetically billion. it is completely accessible. you can see how excited people are for this playground. it is very special. >> on opening day in the brand- new helen diller playground at north park, children can be seen swinging, gliding, swinging, exploring, digging, hanging, jumping, and even making drumming sounds. this major renovation was possible with the generous donation of more than $1.5 million from the mercer fund in honor of san francisco bay area philanthropist helen diller. together with the clean and safe neighborhood parks fund and the city's general fund. >> 4.

3. 2. 1. [applause] >> the playground is broken into three general areas. one for the preschool set, another for older children, and a sand area designed for kids of all ages. unlike the old playground, the new one is accessible to people with disabilities. this brand-new playground has several unique and exciting features. two slides, including one 45- foot super slide with an elevation change of nearly 30 feet. climbing ropes and walls, including one made of granite. 88 suspension bridge. recycling, traditional swing, plus a therapeutics win for children with disabilities, and even a sand garden with chines and drums. >> it is a visionary $3.5 million world class playground in the heart of san francisco. this is just really a big, community win and a celebration

for us all. >> to learn more about the helen diller playground in dolores park, go to sfrecpark.org. >> i view san francisco almost as a sibling or a parent or something. i just love the city. i love everything about it. when i'm away from it, i miss it like a person. i grew up in san francisco kind of all over the city. we had pretty much the run of the city 'cause we lived pretty close to polk street, and so we would -- in the summer, we'd all all the way down to aquatic

park, and we'd walk down to the library, to the kids' center. in those days, the city was safe and nobody worried about us running around. i went to high school in spring valley. it was over the hill from chinatown. it was kind of fun to experience being in a minority, which most white people don't get to experience that often. everything was just really within walking distance, so it make it really fun. when i was a teenager, we didn't have a lot of money. we could go to sam wong's and get super -- soup for $1. my parents came here and were drawn to the beatnik culture. they wanted to meet all of the writers who were so famous at the time, but my mother had some serious mental illness issues, and i don't think my

father were really aware of that, and those didn't really become evident until i was about five, i guess, and my marriage blew up, and my mother took me all over the world. most of those ad ventures ended up bad because they would end up hospitalized. when i was about six i guess, my mother took me to japan, and that was a very interesting trip where we went over with a boyfriend of hers, and he was working there. i remember the open sewers and gigantic frogs that lived in the sewers and things like that. mostly i remember the smells very intensely, but i loved japan. it was wonderful. toward the end. my mother had a breakdown, and that was the cycle. we would go somewhere, stay for a certain amount of months, a year, period of time, and she would inevitably have a breakdown. we always came back to san francisco which i guess came me some sense of continuity and

that was what kept me sort of stable. my mother hated to fly, so she would always make us take ships places, so on this particular occasion when i was, i think, 12, we were on this ship getting ready to go through the panama canal, and she had a breakdown on the ship. so she was put in the brig, and i was left to wander the ship until we got to fluorfluora few days later, where we had a distant -- florida a few days later, where we had a distant cousin who came and got us. i think i always knew i was a writer on some level, but i kind of stopped when i became a cop. i used to write short stories, and i thought someday i'm going to write a book about all these ad ventures that my mother took me on.

when i became a cop, i found i turned off parts of my brain. i found i had to learn to conform, which was not anything i'd really been taught but felt very safe to me. i think i was drawn to police work because after coming from such chaos, it seemed like a very organized, but stable environment. and even though things happening, it felt like putting order on chaos and that felt very safe to me. my girlfriend and i were sitting in ve 150d uvio's bar, and i looked out the window and i saw a police car, and there was a woman who looked like me driving the car. for a moment, i thought i was me. and i turned to my friend and i said, i think i'm supposed to do this. i saw myself driving in this car. as a child, we never thought of police work as a possibility for women because there weren't any until the mid70's, so i had only even begun to notice there

were women doing this job. when i saw here, it seemed like this is what i was meant to do. one of my bosses as ben johnson's had been a cop, and he -- i said, i have this weird idea that i should do this. he said, i think you'd be good. the department was forced to hire us, and because of all of the posters, and the big recruitment drive, we were under the impression that they were glad to have us, but in reality, most of the men did not want the women there. so the big challenge was constantly feeling like you had to prove yourself and feeling like if you did not do a good job, you were letting down your entire gender. finally took an inspector's test and passed that and then went down to the hall of justice and worked different investigations for the rest of my career, which was fun.

i just felt sort of buried alive in all of these cases, these unsolved mysteries that there were just so many of them, and some of them, i didn't know if we'd ever be able to solve, so my boss was able to get me out of the unit. he transferred me out, and a couple of weeks later, i found out i had breast cancer. my intuition that the job was killing me. i ended up leaving, and by then, i had 28 years or the years in, i think. the writing thing really became intense when i was going through treatment for cancer because i felt like there were so many parts that my kids didn't know. they didn't know my story, they didn't know why i had a relationship with my mother, why we had no family to speak of. it just poured out of me. i gave it to a friend who is an editor, and she said i think this would be publishable and i think people would be interested in this. i am so lucky to live here. i am so grateful to my parents

who decided to move to the city. i am so grateful they did. that it neverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

>> good evening to the october 16th, 2019 san francisco board of appeals. to my left is deputy city attorney who will provide the board with any legal needed

advice at this evening. at the control's is the board's legal existent and the process clerk. i am the board's executive director. we will also be joined by representatives from the city departments that have cases before the board this evening. upfront we have the acting deputy zoning administrator, also representing the planning department and planning commission. we also expect joseph duffy, senior building inspector, representing the department of building inspections. the board meeting guidelines are as follows. the board request you turn off or silence all phones and electronic devices so that they will not disturb the proceedings please carry on conversations in the hallway. we will have -- the rules of presentation are as follows. appellants, permit holders and respondents are given seven minutes to present their case and three minutes for rebuttal. people affiliated with these parties must include their comments in these periods. members of the public were not affiliated with the parties have up to three minutes each to address the board and no

rebuttal. please speak into the microphone for rehearing requests, parties get three minutes each with no rebuttal. to assist the board and accurate preparation of minutes, you are asked but not required to samiti speaker card or business card when you come up to speak. speaker cards are available on the left side of the podium. four votes are required to grant an appeal or rehearing request. if you have questions about requesting a rehearing, the board rules or schedules, speak to board staff during a break or after the meeting or call us into the board office. this meeting is broadcast live on cable channel 78 and will reboot -- will be rebroadcast on 4:00 p.m. on channel 26. the video is available on our website and can be downloaded from online. now we will swear in or affirm all those who intend to testify. please note any member of the public may speak without taking an oath pursuant to the rights under the centering ordinance. if you intend to testify at any

of the proceedings and wish to have the board give your testimony evidentiary wait -- -- wait, raise your right hand and say i do after you have been sworn in or affirmed. do you swear or affirm that the testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? thank you. please be seated. item number one is general public comment. this is an opportunity for anyone who'd like to speak on the matter within the board's jurisdiction that is not on tonight's calendar. is anyone here for general public comment? okay. please approach. >> good afternoon. i am a resident at a 128 unit condo building and i am also on the h.o.a. board. i had the pleasure of being before you on may 15th for the hearing for the steakhouse to appeal formal enforcement.

i wanted to provide a brief update on the situation. i have one ask at the end. it spews a large amount of smoke and older into our homes. in violation of the conditional use permit. it is worse than it was before when i was in front of you. no improvements have been made. our eyes are burning from just sitting in our living room. on an average night, whether or not the windows are open. i was a 40 to 50 units that are impacted. we continually do not have access to fresh air for up to 12 hours a day, seven days a week. it was decided that it does not contain a significant certificate of inclusion and penalties will increase -- a crew. we are under the impression that the permit will be issued quickly if not almost immediately. unfortunately, it has been over five months and the problem continues unabated. the permit has not been issued and equipment has not been ordered and the work has yet to begin. this is contrary to the decision

your body made in the spirit of that decision and refilled that the restaurant and the building owner are delaying the process by slow rolling the responses to city permitting agencies requests for additional information. additionally, they were also incomplete. we feel that they are using an incentive to get their work done it is a safe harbour for dragging their feet and not getting the permit done. we appreciate it does take time to go through proper city approval but we believe the current delay is counter to the intent of the board of appeals and is allowing a horrific situation to continue. this is without any regard of our health. our ask is, what will it take for the city to hold them accountable and allow our community to breathe fresh air? they have been on formal notice of violation and have allowed to operate with impunity for over one and a half years while we suffer. people have been forced to move out of the building because of

this. my wife and i have been forced to get hotel rooms on hot nights when you just need a window open all of this is that our own expense. we respectfully ask the board of appeal revisit the issue. the smoke cannot be allowed to continue. we would like to clarify between the board and planning that the imposition of fines that was mandated by the board does not preclude planning from implementing fines or other measures immediately rather than waiting for the permit to be issued and that 12 week countdown to begin. thank you for that time. and thank you for always being responsive to us and other homeowners that have reached out to him. >> thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello, board. thank you for your time. i was scheduled here tonight for a full proper appeal for a permit to grant in our neighborhood.

i was at 2901 pine on the baker block. the homes there are 39 feet on average. the power poles or 39 feet as well and the permit was granted for the installation of a massive vertical installation from verizon that is well over 50 feet above and hovers like a flying u.f.o. above the street. that will be appealed at a later date because the department of public works asked us to move the hearing to early november. as of the filing of the appeal on the 19th, your staff, the board staff notified verizon that the permit was suspended. it is not a valid permit and has been suspended until the hearing however, on monday, two days ago , a truck rolled out and construction began on that poll. they started placing this

extension on top of it. not only was the beginning of the construction illegal and not allowed, but the process didn't even match the original plan. two things happened. even if they had a valid permit, what they did was wrong because they did not match the permitted plans, but regardless, the permit is suspended and illegal to begin the construction as a result. they did it nonetheless and when they're asked about it, they said don't worry about it, the people outside said, we are just cleaning up some of the cable which was a miss representation. i would call that fraud. we don't know what to do. quite frankly, which is why we are here. we agreed to postpone the hearing as asked in good faith, as good residents, leaving the permit suspended, and yet behind our backs, no notification and construction had illegally began

i hope the board keeps that in mind when you see you guys in november in terms of who we are dealing with on the other side, but i know there is no response from the board, per se, but if off the record some but he could tell us what to do, i've never had a case in the neighborhood where construction was illegally started, so we don't know what to do to effectively stop or get rid of what was done. that is why we are here, in a bind, blindsided and surprised by something which we believe is effectively fraud and went against the board's own suspension of the permit. thank you for hearing me. >> excuse me, sir? >> yes? >> did you see them attached something to the antenna? >> they had a permit to come out from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. around tune -- around 10:30 a.m. , i came back home. we don't work in the neighborhood around that time. i happened to come back. at that time they were up there doing some work. i asked him what are you doing?

are you was -- installing anything? and they said no, we are cleaning the wires. when we came back home at the end of the day, we noticed it up there and i had the pictures to show. >> so it was physically attached >> it was physically attached. not even just loosely. i mean they took a metal bolt, to rolled it in there. >> did you call 311? >> we did not. >> i would start with 311. >> okay. >> i can follow up with public works. can you give me your contact information? >> your phone number, your e-mail. >> i will give you all of that. this is in reference to appeal it. it should have the permit number in all the information. >> it is the corner of pine and baker. >> i will get back to to you tomorrow. >> thank you so much. >> good afternoon. my name is peter and this is my daughter. as a concerned citizen and resident, i live across the

street. i can see the tower from my bedroom. we were a little bit blindsided with folks coming out and starting the installation process. to date, i think we have worked in good faith. we feel like verizon has been a bad actor. there is a suspended permit and it will hit construction. a little bit -- we need a little bit of health -- help and guidance with managing this with verizon is a large corporate entities. >> thank you. is there any more general public comment? okay. we will move on to item number two. commissioner comments and questions. commissioners? >> no. >> okay. we will move on to item number three. before you for discussion, the possible adoption and minutes of the september 25th, 2019 board meeting. >> any comments? do i hear a motion?

>> we have a motion from the vice president to adopt the minutes as submitted. on that motion... [roll call] >> the minutes are adopted 5-0. okay. was there public comment on that item? sorry. a little late on that. in any event, we will move on to item number four. this is a special item with possible action taken by the board. discussion about policies and procedures regarding the length of the board meetings. >> commissioner lazarus, it was your request. would you like to have any comment on that or make any suggestions? >> i may have a couple of suggestions. i did request that we have a meeting not too long ago and i think we had to curtail it only because people had cars in the garage that they weren't going to be able to get out. i also have some concerns about trying to do this business at

that hour. i don't consider it fair, primarily for the public, because i know i can't give my full attention to the items i am hearing at that hour. i thought we could talk about ways that we might be able to manage the meeting so we are not doing business at midnight. >> after a very -- i'm very sensitive to it. having been -- having ones left this commission early during a meeting and then to find that it went to 1:00 in the morning, that was a fung night. >> i know you guys were really happy about that. >> i had paid my dues to the redevelopment agency. i absolutely understand commissioner lazarus' point of view. you are not at your best at 1:0. the issue is the unpredictability -- the

unpredictable nature of what is going to be on the agenda and what the public is going to want to say on that day. i was thinking that we can curtail the beginning of the policy that says after 10:00 at night, we will not be starting the next item, but the item starts at 9:30 a.m. and maybe a three hour item. we don't know that. at best efforts, i would suggest that maybe we put a curfew on it and just not begin any item after 10:00 p.m. at night. and with the understanding that there maybe an item that starts at 9:30 p.m. that goes to two and a half or three hours. those were my only -- i am not in conflict with your position. i support your position. that was the best result i could come up with.

if anybody else has any ideas, i would gladly entertain those. >> i think commissioner tanner has those it -- has that experience. >> i think that idea of not taking a new items past 10:00 p.m. and making sure it is known, maybe we even added it to the beginning statements of folks who are here in the audience would know that your item is last, maybe it is 9:45 p.m. and it may not be taken up so they can plan ahead and we have tried that and we have also tried to either not take up items past 10 or have to affirm that we vote as a board if we are going to take up an item past 10. we have to make a decision that we will do that. another idea that might be something we try, and an offender of what i've propose is let's the appellant and the permit holder make their case, let the rebuttal happen, let public comment happen and then have us as commissioners ask our questions. our questions may be answered

through the course of that exchange and then that might make things a little bit more concise just to -- hopefully it wouldn't be past 10 starting any new item. >> i am also like other commissioners in the city that start at 10:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. and they go eight hours and that is their day. with this commission, most of us had a job -- have a job that we do for eight hours and then we potentially come on for an additional seven or eight hours after, which as my vice president indicated, makes for a very long day. the concern i have is that if the public is here, or appellants, or permit holders and their case is last, do they show up, do they not show up? i think that, ultimately, it would probably be more enforceable or better for the public if we tried to mind the caseloads, which are directors to a very good job of and we rarely go to midnight anymore, whereas six or seven years ago, we were going to 11:00 p.m. and

12:00 a.m. fairly regularly. our reg -- our latest case was 1:45 a.m. how would you feel as a permit holder that if you sat here for six hours or five hours and then found out that, i'm sorry, we will not take your case? i think that we should probably, scheduling is probably the most important part of it because if the people are here already, it is unfair to have them come back again. >> very true. >> but i am very sympathetic that even at 10:00 p.m. or 11:0- i start going kind of crazy. >> one thing we could potentially do, the next meeting on the 203rd has six cases, estate cases, it looks like, two are continued. >> they have been fully heard. they should go fairly quickly. >> but that might be one where we try to either mind the time more, mind the questions more

and try to be more cognizant. we do have heavier agendas. the three of us are the main offenders of asking lots of questions which are not necessarily always germane to the decision we are making, but maybe interesting to us. we could try to impose a category amongst ourselves and restraint to see if we can make some progress towards not having anyone get turned away, and at the same time, not becoming such a late hour that we are quite tired. >> i think the best way to pursue this is that, i don't know if we have to codify this with a written document or approval, but the commission will reserve the right to discontinue a hearing with new

items called after 10:00 p.m. i think that is the best that we can do and the suggestion of managing the agenda, you know, it could be a three item agenda, but they all could be two our items. i think that it is a team effort here, but i think we should go in with some recognition that we probably will not start a new items after 10:00 p.m. that night and the executive director will do her best scheduling jobs of mitigating the risk on that. >> one other suggestion i might make is that if it looks like october, what was it, november 6 th with 10 items, right from the beginning that public testimony be limited, even though early items might only have a couple of people, that is one way to also control the time if there is certain types of cases later in the agenda, there

will be a lot of public comment. >> is that possible? >> maybe ask the city attorney. can we limit? if we know we have a heavy agenda and we are trying to get out in a timely manner, is it okay if we limit the time? i know that i have had that conversation before. >> it is permissible to limit to two minutes if the length of the agenda -- if you think it well -- >> what about one minute? >> it is less clear whether that is permissible. >> the agenda, if it is looking very heavy from the outset, it is probably defensible. >> thank you. >> okay. >> for clarity, the plan is not to start agenda items after 10:00 p.m. unless the board affirmed to take an item, as well as adding statements to the

agenda and make an announcement at the beginning of the hearing regarding this policy. did we also want to say -- i guess for the minutes -- >> the questions from the commissioners would take place after the case is fully presented. >> i think the executive director has discretion as to the size of the agenda to limit public comment. >> so we can memorialize this policy and this next time. >> thank you. >> is there any public comment on this item? >> good evening, commissioners. my name is jeremy paul. this discussion brings to mind a matter i had before the board of appeals early in this century

and it would suggest the importance of a very proactive director at watching how these things go. this particular instance came to mind. there was an unexpected bowl large turnout in the agenda and the executive secretary at the time called the parties into the hall for a quick powwow and asked if we would agree to a continuance because of the large turnout in the late placements on the calendar. as it turned out, it was a turnout -- a surprise to the permit holder and a resolution was found before the continuance date. sometimes being proactive from the director's chair can make things work very nicely. thank you. >> thank you. >> sometimes the director can try and people won't agree. [laughter]

>> i tried for november 6th. just bring your cup of coffee. okay. thank you. is there any other public comment? so we will now move on -- >> you had actually suggested that for those cases that may as a result of this get put over that they would come up first on a docket subsequently. >> right. we can acknowledge that. if someone had to wait a long time and then we told them, sorry, we will continue it, we will put them near the beginning of the agenda or near the beginning. >> okay. we will memorialize that in the minutes. >> i had one other thought. sort of a take or leave suggestion which is that when we continue cases, which sometimes can add to a later caseload, it may, in appropriate cases, make sense for the parties to submit a brief update on what has happened since we continued to help move things along an advance in advance of the hearing actually beginning.

that may not be appropriate for every case. >> and the idea we would read it ahead of time and know the information. >> yeah, so they don't have to take up a lot of time and we don't have to take up a lot of time asking questions about stuff that could be written down >> maybe a three-page brief. >> okay. >> okay. thank you. we will now move onto item number five. this is a rehearing request for number -- for appeal number of 19-066, subject property at 18 th avenue. they requesting a rehearing. at that time, upon a motion by vice president lazarus, the board voted 5-0 to grant the appeal on the condition it be revised the plans address outstanding issues identified by the department of building

inspection and two, are approved by these departments. on the basis that the permit would be properly issued. the determination older -- holders and the permit description as to comply with n.o.v. 201-95-6051. reinforce the existing fence, add a new post, install new fence board. this is permit number 201916123271 and we will hear from the requester first. you have three minutes, sir,. >> welcome back. >> computer? good evening, everyone in this room. i am the appellant. today i will take the opportunity to present the

evidence that suggests injustice during the previous hearing. the procedure for the hearing was not afforded. parties should have presented for no more than three minutes. however, mr. duffy from d.p.i. talked for about six minutes before being deflected. the board of hearing should have presented -- [indiscernible] the respondent and d.b.i. have not assured evidence that the new fence is completely on their property side. we have evidence that -- [indiscernible] the fence is completely on their property. it should provide a fence joined without properties surveyed, how will d.b.i. know the property line is correct? [indiscernible]

mr. duffy from d.b.i. proposed a surveillance, but the board refused. the board of hearing should have given the appellant the opportunity to file an appeal related to the new permit suggested by d.b.i. in case the spatial -- special permit is not properly issued and approved. the permit was shown to be improperly issued which mr. duffy acknowledged at the hearing. therefore, they should have the right to file an appeal against the new special permit. the board should have granted the appeal with an extension because the permit is completely involved with the fence. the board ignored the appellant 's -- [indiscernible]

the respondent lied to the appellant that they will permit a fence of a certain height. what the respondent it is completely disrespectful to both the appellant and city law. they illegally registered their backyard. [indiscernible] the hearing of the appeal should be granted. thank you for your patients. >> thank you. okay. we will now hear from the permit holder.

>> good evening, commissioners. i am the tenant and the respondents from the private hearings. we are respectfully asking the board denied the request for hearing on the basis or has not been any substantial new evidence presented by the appellant that would indicate that the updated north side fence is on the property side. as the appellant stated in the written request, the appeal to the department was in relation to the north side fence. through the appeal process, the appellant included additional information around the backyard renovation. this resulted in a clean set of plans and including the work done to our backyard. we have been working in good faith to ensure the requested revised plans are drafted and submitted by a professional designer. as an update on this matter, i received a completed draft on the site plans this past friday and submitted them for review. as the appellant has the burden of proving the board's decision was wrong and provided no such basis for that finding.

he could have submitted surveyor findings as evidence to support his position but he failed to do so. additionally, this request would give the appellant additional opportunities to contest the permit and construction completed outside of the property line. and the request, the appellant specifically request to have an opportunity to appeal the conditions which are the landing in the back alley. this would indicate a dispute is beyond the fence and is well within our property line. we are actively working with s.f. planning and d.b.i. to ensure these elements are correctly documented, reviewed, inspected, and improved. we believe the rehearing request to appeal the additional work is in overreach. the process has been fair and the respondent and board have followed procedure in both public hearings. the appellant is claiming unfairness. i would like to point out that at the august 7th