from the comfortableing old stand but you don't have to be hungry sfo has changed what it is like to eat another an airport check out our oblige at tumbler dating.com >> clerk: on february 25, 2020, the mayor declared a local state of emergency related to covid-19, and on may 29, 2020, the mayor authorized all commissions to reconvene

remotely. this will be our 12th remote hearing. remote hearings require everyone's attention, and most of all, your patience. if you are not speaking, please mute your microphone and turnoff your camera. sfgovtv is broadcasting and streaming this hearing live, and we will receive public comment for every item on today's agenda. public comment is available by calling 415-655-0001, entering access code 146-902-9771. when we reach the item you are interested in, please press star, three to be added to the queue. when you hear your line is unmuted, that is your cue to begin speaking. each speaker will have two minutes to speak. you will hear a chime when you

have 30 seconds, and another chime when your time is up. best practice is to call from a quiet location, speak slowly and clearly, and mute the speaker on your television or computer. i'd like to take roll at this time. [roll call] >> clerk: thank you, commissioners. first on your agenda is general public comment. at this time, members of the public may address the commission on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction. commission except agenda items. with respect to agenda items, your opportunity to address the commission will be afforded when the item is reached in the meeting. each member of the public may address the commission for up to three minutes.

we should open public comment. members of the public, if you wish to submit testimony for items not on today's agenda, please press star, three to be entered into the queue. seeing no members of the public requesting to speak, commissioners, general public comment is closed, and we can move onto department matters. item 1, director's announcements. welcome, director hillis. >> director hillis: good afternoon. thank you, jonas. just a couple of announcements. one, i wanted to announce that liz accepted my offer to be our new director of current planning, and liz is here today, so just to congratulate her and let you all know that that's happened. thank you. liz is obviously no stranger to the planning department and the historic preservation commission. she's been with the department

since 2014, started as an intern, moved through planner one, two, and three. she's been acting director since august, and she was deputy director of current planning for the past seven years. so she even spends her free time in planning and zoning work, so we're excited to continue working with -- with liz. and then, one of her priorities is definitely working on our residence permitting and budgeting this year. we continue to have problems with our revenues, which we're currently projecting to be about $19 million short for the year. we're hoping we can improve on that. liz has been working, as i have, too, with d.b.i. and the permit center to be able to

open up and accept applications than we currently are allowing today. obviously, that is 's a challe with covid and the environment that we're in, but we'll keep you updated on that. that's all the updates i have. happy to answer any questions, and looking forward to the meet being. >> clerk: okay. seeing no questions for director hillis, item 2, review of past events at the planning commission, staff report, and announcements. >> director hillis: none. >> clerk: okay. seeing none, we can move onto commission matters. item 3, president's report and announcements. >> thank you. congratulations, liz. we're excited for you.

we have one very important item to discuss today, and that is our holiday party. as everyone knows, this year, 2020, is virtual, so ours will be. jonas, if we can, i think we're going to just do it after our next h.p.c. meeting in two weeks, so the 18th of december. >> clerk: yes, i'll send out a virtual invite. >> great. that's all i have. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. item 4, consideration of adoption, draft minutes for your november 18, 2020 hearing. >> move to approve. >> public comment -- is there public comment? >> clerk: there will be. we should take public comment. thank you, commissioner pearlman, for that reminder. members of the public, this is your opportunity to comment on

the draft minutes. you should enter the queue by pressing star then three. seeing no members of the public wishing to speak at this time, commissioners, public comment is closed, and the matter is now before you. >> all right. so we have a motion. can we have a second? >> second. >> clerk: thank you. commissioners, on that motion to adopt the minutes from november 18, 2020 meeting -- [roll call] >> clerk: so moved, commissioners. that motion passes unanimously, 7-0. item 5, commission comments and questions. >> it doesn't appear there are

any. >> clerk: very good. moving right along, commissioners, we can go to your regular calendar. for items 6-a, b, c, d, and e for case numbers 2020-010196 l.b.r., 2020-on -- 01 on 0250 l.b.r. and 2020-010253 l.b.r., and 2020-010197 l.b.r., and

2020-010198 l.b.r., for five addresses, 1025 columbus avenue, 420 castro street, 1942 ocean avenue, and 151 clement street, and 1737 post street number 305. >> good afternoon, [inaudible] in 1951, bimbo's moved to the location where it is today. the property was included within the wilgbtq context statement. as one of the oldest surviving

night clubs in san francisco, bimbo's 365 club is a lasting legacy to san francisco and north beach history. staff is very supportive of this application and recommends a resolution to add bimbo's to the legacy business registry. > >> hello, commissioners. ernest wu, planning commission staff. the next business we have is marcello's pizza has san

francisco for 42 years. they actively support the lgbtq community with the platform they have. some nonprofit organizations, they have supported are the san francisco aids foundation, sisters of perpetual indulgence, a.c.t., and many more. we recommend including marcello's pizza in the legacy business registry. the next is surfaces by david bonk, and they provide a range of wallpaper and grass wall coverings. they also hire locally, and

instill people with an interest in interior design and give them real world experience. we recommend adding surfaces by david bonk to the legacy business registry. >> good afternoon, commissioners. gigi gunther, planning district staff. giorgio's pizzeran has served san francisco for 48 years from

the prime minister location --e location at third avenue and clement. [inaudible] diners that stop in are greeted friendly faces and are treated to lunch and dinner in plush red booths with red checkered table cloths while being able to observe the pizza being made in the kitchen. [inaudible] and a resolution recommending that the business be added to the legacy business registry. the next business is japan video and media.

[inaudible]. >> clerk: i'm sorry. i'm going to interrupt you just for a second. you might try turning your camera off because we're having trouble understanding you, and whoever's phone is ringing, you might want to mute your microphone. >> okay. is that better? >> clerk: that's better. >> he opened his store with a vision of helping americans and others learn more about japanese culture through japanese t.v. and films with english subtitles. since then, their inventory of japanese and korean videos and t.v. shows and film have grown to include thousands of titles

in numerous generres. in 1999, the owner organized the first anime costume parade, becoming an annual event. it attracts thousands to japantown each year. japan video and media continues to give back to the community it serves, donating large amounts of anime merchandise to california's [inaudible] to the san francisco buddhist churches [inaudible] each year. staff is supportive of this application, and a resolution recommending the business be added to the legacy business registry. this concludes staff presentations, and we're available to answer any

questions. thank you. >> clerk: great. thank you. we should go to public comment. members of the public, this is your opportunity to address the commission, and you can do so to enter the queue by pressing star then three. we'll go to the first caller. you'll have three minutes. >> hello. first, i'd like to thank you for giving me the opportunity to present japan video and media for legacy business program. i'd like to tell you about myself and speak about two reasons why we should be nominated. i was born and raised in japan. when i was senior year in college, i came to the united

states, which was my dream to see the u.s. through my own eyes. after graduating from university, i decided to stay to practice my english in the right place. in september 1984, i opened the japan video with a strong conviction of a promising future for the video business. i'm sure you are probably wondering how does a video store stay in business nowadays? well, i have found that many people still want to own a copy of their favorite movies. today, we have become one of the best sources for animes, drama, and special interest films from japan and asia. in addition, we have expanded our product line from d.v.d. to a large collection of anime

merchandise, such as posters, key chains, plush dolls, figures, and many more. literally, we made another store inside video store. ever since we opened the store, our company mission has been to introduce and promote japanese culture to the american people. for that purpose, all d.v.d. title we carry come with english subtitles. another point i wanted to let you know about is our strong emphasis and commitment to community events. in 1999, we organized very first anime costume event in the country to help bring the younger generation to the cherry blossom festival. anime has added a contemporary culture to the traditional

festival. it has been very successful and one of the more popular events of the festival today. in addition, to bring more people and revitalize economic activity of the japantown, we organized summer festival and japan center anime fair. every year, we donate a number of the popular anime goods to children's festival and many items to san francisco [inaudible] church to show our support from the japanese american community. thank you again, and i deeply appreciate your consideration for my addition to the legacy business registry. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. >> good afternoon,

commissioners. my name is steve nakajo. i'm the executive director of the japantown task force. as a point of information, i'm a member of the san francisco fire commission. i would like today to talk and ask for your approval and support in terms of mr. onichi japan video and media application to the legacy business registry. as you have heard from mr. onishi, his long involvement in our japanese community, his vision that he had in 1984 to bring the various kinds of media exposure to may i approach tain our community and bridge the gap between san francisco and japan. he also has contributed greatly to the community, particularly to the cherry blossom festival and several nonprofit organizations. the fact that mr. onishi

created the first festival in the united states, the anime festival, is a point to his vision and the younger generation, as well. the fact is that japantown has enjoyed several businesses that are a part of the legacy business register, but it is very important that mr. onishi's business be considered because of the bays of his japanese speaking origin, his japanese base, and to maintain all of the cultures that are there in terms of our japanese community. i very much hope that, again, you can support this long-standing business that has been in the japan center malls. recently, it was called the kontitsu mall, and now, it's called the west mall. thank you, commissioners, for

your support of all of our legacy businesses in japantown. thank you, commissioners. steve nakajo. >> hello. my name is tony martin. i'm from giorgio's pizza, and we are so honored to be considered for a legacy business in san francisco. i think this distinction is deserved mostly because we are all about legacy and maintaining tradition for better or for worse. we are not going to change, and our great customers would be disappointed if approximate we ever did change our -- our booths, our display kitchen, our green awning on the corner of third and clement. we are just so appreciative of our -- of our business opportunity and being part of

san francisco community and seeing generation upon generation come through the doors, and it's just -- it's just a great business and a great situation that we have, and we look marched to maintaining that the same way that our parents did when they started the business, and it will be bestowed on our kids going into the future. thank you so much from giorgios on clement street. >> clerk: members of the public, this is your last opportunity to offer public comment. you may enter the queue by pressing star, three.

commissioners, seeing no additional requests to speak, public comment is closed, and the matter is now before you. commissioner matsuda is being asked to be recused from one of the items for consideration as she works within 500 feet of a location. >> is it too early to make that motion? >> clerk: i don't think so. >> second. >> >> clerkokay. >> clerk: commissioners, on that motion -- [roll call]

>> clerk >> clerk: what i was going to suggest, as commissioner mat sued mat -- matsuda is recused from the post street property is to discuss that first and decide any recommendation and then move onto the remaining four. >> okay. works for me. >> commissioner matsuda, we'll see you in a few minutes. all right. looks like commissioner so, did you want to kick us off? >> sur, but i'd like to talk --

or should i actually just talk about japan video and then, i'll talk about other ones when commissioner matsuda comes back? >> yes, please. >> clerk: now, we'll take up the post street support. >> i'd just like to say i'm in full support of japantown video, to get the designation of the legacy business. it is a landmark -- well, i'm speaking for myself for friends from asian and hong kong. it is a place where you can find some cultural just -- a bridge of the cultural understanding and also learning and the entertainment and the japanese animation and video media is just a lot of favorite for a lot of asian communities,

and i'm really happy to see this store and also what it does to the community, and i hope that with this legacy business, it will allow the company to carry on the legacy forward and also continue and maybe perhaps even expand more of the people to japanese culture and unite all the cultures together. i'm in full support of this. >> great, thank you. commissioner foley? >> i just want to second that, what commissioner so said. i also want to say that my daughter loves anime. i don't really understand it all, but it's great. >> you've made a point. >> commissioner hyland, so

do -- or jonas, do we then just recommend -- like, a motion to recommend? >> clerk: yes. >> i'll ask for a motion as soon as i'm done with my comments. any other commissioners have any other comments? i just wanted to point out, i think that i really support this legacy business, but i learned something today through this nomination, and that is how a small business within, you know, an important place like japantown can actually support festivals. i didn't know that they brought this animation costume festivals or event to the -- to

the cherry blossom festival. our legacy businesses are very part and parcel to our communities and our neighborhoods, and we all know the cherry blossom festival, and we will be seeing some challenges this coming year as japantown gets back into business this next year. so i just wanted to say that, and if no other commissioners have a comment, i'll entertain a motion for this one. >> motion to approve. >> second. >> clerk: thank you. commissioners. seeing no additional deliberation on this matter, there is a motion that has been seconded to adopt a recommendation for item 6-e, for the post street property, the japantown video and media.

on that motion -- [roll call] >> clerk: so moved, commissioners. that motion passes unanimously, 6-0. and we'll welcome back commissioner matsuda, and i will remind her that you have ten days to file with the ethics commission as to the reason of the recusal. commissioners, you have four remaining legacy business registry applications before you. >> all right. commissioner pearlman? >> thank you. i was chuckling about this particular group because of the two pizza places, both of which i frequent. marcello's was the first pizza place i ever went to in san francisco, and when i was

working in the castro back in the late 80s and early 90s, and volunteering for a lot of gay and aids charities and organizations, marcello's, a carried a lot of pizza boxes from them. giorgio's, the first project i worked with them was temple emanuel, and that was the place i would stop when i worked with them over there. so i think as a side piece, we should have a pizza historic noncontiguous historic district. i think that would be appropriate since there are so many pizza places in san francisco. but i heartily endorse these two, as well as the others. all of them represent the best, you know, of san francisco, and, you know, the best part of why we're here. you know, i don't know anybody, any real san franciscan that would go to a pizza hut or a

domino's pizza when we have these kind of places in our neighborhoods throughout the city, so heartily endorse them, endorse them all. >> thank you, alex. commissioner johns? >> thank you. well, you know, commissioner pearlman and i share many things in common. one is giorgio's pizza. by the way, i happened to have giorgio's pizza for lunch, so -- and i've been familiar with them for many years. i'm familiar with two others of the businesses, as well. one is surfaces. i used to represent a number of very, very high end decorators in san francisco, and frequently, they chose surfaces for our wall coverings on nob hill and russian hill and down

in atherton, so it 's a very nice company, and it's so nice to have a wholesale business that's recognized. and finally, is bimbo's 365. i've had a very long association with it, and i did want to share with you a song, which i got from my mother's piano bench. i hope you can see it. i'm in love with a gal in the gold fish bowl at bimbo's 365, in 1965. the former tenant at that building received the first liquor license after prohibition, so that's another

little factor that makes this a historic operation and a -- a real legacy in the drinking community of san francisco. so i support all the businesses, but i am familiar with those three. >> thank you, commissioner johns. i was hoping to hear the song when you said you wanted to share it with us. commissioner so? >> hello. i wanted to speak to the giorgio pizza. it's always have been my favorite pizza place and also my daughter's and also her girls soccer team, and also just most of the parents of san francisco, glad to hangout at giorgio pizza saturday or sunday after soccer practice, and also, we always frequent

there. my favorite pizza, tony. i would hope that you carry that legacy on through generations. it's a very special clam pizza. it's the best in san francisco. actually, i think it's the best in the entire region of the bay area because you can never find anyone make the best perfect clam pizza, so i envy you, commissioner johns, that you just had a slice today. i really wish that i could bring myself up and get over there after we're done, but this is a family business, and it just permeates from staff level, and also the chef and the cook and everyone. we've been going there for 15 years or longer, and i am in full support.

i'm -- would love to see and hear this almost like a community gem continue to thrive and also pull its timeless place in the corner of the inner richmond. it's so nice to have a place to gravitate towards and hangout and also have memories. very happy to hear tony speaking today, and i look forward to seeing you over there soon. my other thing i wanted to talk about is bimbo. it's just, like, a no brainer. bimbo is not only -- had a long cultural history about music, but it's also having -- they are one of the very few vendors in san francisco with that kind of space that are also accepting the new band that is otherwise not known. i know it for a reason because my friend created the dad band,

and they had problem finding places to play because it's just a bunch of dads playing 80s songs, but bimbo's is, like, come on in, you know? we'll welcome you. without bimbo's, i don't think my friend's dad band would have thrived as much in the past six years. so i'm happy to be there after we get out of this pandemic, so i am in full support with all the recommendations the staff put forward today. they're all really great. i only want to speak about these couple ones that i have personal memories and connections with, but all the other ones are so important to the city. so i want to leave my air time to commissioner foley now. >> have y >> very good. commissioner foley? >> you know, i'm actually familiar with both the pizza

places, and i'm actually familiar with the surfaces, and as you all can probably figure, i'm quite familiar with bimbo's and the bar. i just want to give a shoutout to the businesses, because the fact that we're in covid, and they're still surviving, and the fact that they're excited about their business and they're excited about the legacy, it just touches me. the other thing i learned, commissioner so, is i've never had clam pizza, so i'm going to have one, and maybe i'll drop it off at your house, commissioner so, so you don't have to leave. >> oh, that would be so great. i'll pay for it. >> all right. how about commissioner black? >> well, commissioner foley stole my comment. i'm always so impressed by the

legacy businesses, and one of the things that really strikes me is these guys are constantly back. when i was on the board of an aids services commission back in the late 80s, early 90s, they were always providing us with free pizza. they give so much back to the community, and it's really important for us now to give back to them, so i can't encourage people enough, go order takeout from any restaurant, coffee place, any kind of business that you can do to keep the other businesses -- to keep them going during this really awful time. and i just can't stress that enough. and we've been doing our part. >> excellent. thank you. well, i'm in full support of all four of these additional

businesses. i do want to say that while we urge you to keep your brand and maintain your business and your space, you are welcome to evolve and change. while i'm sure that people don't want to see the green awning go away, the legacy business doesn't prevent businesses from evolving. are clams going to be the new pineapple? i don't know, but keep what makes you special, special. commissioner johns, did you want to add something? >> yeah, i would like to move that we forward the application of bimbo's, marcello's, surfaces, and giorgio's for approval. >> second. >> second. >> clerk: thank you, commissioners. seeing no further deliberation, there's a motion that has been seconded to adopt recommendations for approval. on that motion -- [roll call]

>> clerk: excellent, and commissioners, thank you for joining us today. that concludes your extremely lengthy agenda today. >> all right. we we'll see you in two weeks. we're adjourned. >> thank you.

>> we came to seven straight about 10 years ago. -- 7th street about 10 years ago. the environment is huge. it is stronger than willpower. surrounding yourself with artists, being in a culture where artists are driving, and where a huge amount of them is a healthy environment. >> you are making it safer. push, push.

that is better. when i start thinking, i see it actually -- sometimes, i do not see it, but when i do, it is usually from the inside out. it is like watching something being spawned. you go in, and you begin to work, excavate, play with the dancers, and then things began to emerge. you may have a plan that this is what i want to create. here are the ideas i want to play with, but then, you go into the room, and there maybe some fertile ideas that are becoming manifest that are more interesting than the idea you had initially set out to plan. so there has to be this openness for spontaneity. also, a sense that regardless of the deadline, that you have tons of time so the you can keep your creativity alive and not cut it off and just go into old habits. it is a lot like listening.

really listening to watch what is going to emerge. i like this thing where you put your foot on his back. let's keep it. were your mind is is how you build your life. if you put it in steel or in failure, it works. that works. it is a commitment. for most artists, it is a vacation and a life that they have committed themselves to. there is this notion that artists continue to do their work because of some kind of the external financial support. if that was taken away, artists would still do their art. it is not like there is a prerequisite for these things to happen or i will not do it. how could that be? it is the relationship that you

have committed to. it is the vocation. no matter how difficult it gets, you are going to need to produce your art. whether it is a large scale or very small scale. the need to create is going to happen, and you are going to have to fulfill it because that is your life.