options newly resumed ensuring the residents and neighbors can be addressed and advanced ensuring that our cultural districts and communities across the city are comfortable with how the permanent changes will interact with cultural events and support the needs of our neighborhoods ensuring that seeing your disability action and our neighbors with disabilities across the cities are satisfied with the safety and accessibility as they navigate and shop in their communities for low income business owners who are being asked totary down for code reasons or infrastructure work, otherwise, only high end businesses will be able to keep the structures for the

long-term run. the those owe economic impact study of this program as these park lites proliferate with specific recommendations to ensure that any forecast is inequitable impacts are mitigated through resourcing and targeted programs. thank you, take your time. >> thank you for your comments. just as a note, there are 22 callers left in the queue. if you have not joined the queue, please do so by pressing star 3. next speaker, please. >> hi, i think that this legislation is premature. you know, people are getting vaccinated now and a lot of people want to dine inside, not

outside in the parking lot. especially with san francisco summer coming up. foggy and cold. i think the suggestion of extending the program for twelve months as it is with no fees is a really good one just to allow businesses to adapt and to provide more time for the legislation to be worked on because, you know, we really don't know what the city's going to look like after the pandemic ends and there's a lot of kinks in the legislation disability access with neighborhoods, different neighborhoods. so this just seems really

premature and. >> thank you, next speaker, please. we have 24 left in queue. >> yeah. [inaudible] a member of the planning commission. [inaudible] businesses, but i very much support the permanent shared spaces. the fact is we have become a vast strip of strip malls. the fact that it still doesn't

capture. it's an incredible externality that's not captured. and frankly to drivers by to give to people temporarily. we would never let them store their storage pod full of stuff in their house, but you let them park their machine in there. all these utility elements about why it's okay to do that for a car, but it doesn't hold up. the whole and this goes for upper grade highway and jfk too. people don't come to sf the park. and we don't need to wait. it's already there. you know, with respect to the disability folks, i feel like we can handle that on a case by

case basis. i certainly haven't seen many problems from these things and essentially what has happened incrementally to get us to be fretting to take away spaces from the cars will have to be changed incrementally and this is frankly a step in the right direction. so very much appreciate your courage and leadership to make this happen. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. the shared spaces the positive things are on all the commercial corridors. you go to valencia street. mission street.

balboa. it's really vibrant spaces. and it's just great. it's really made a huge difference to how people live and what they do and helping people together. shared spaces are not just. they even have shared spaces in my hometown. and that is even permanent. i go to all these different areas to see how people are doing. and, honestly, i don't have a problem with parking nowhere. valencia street. balboa. in chinatown. no matter anywhere. i've always found a parking spot. the younger generation does not drive as much as the older generation like myself. most of them take public

transport. used to cry out and say oh, my god, we're losing parking. the impact that the shared spaces have that's not just on the restaurant but the shops around them. the barbers, the clothing shops. they all benefit from shared spaces like i said, i go to all these different places i noticed how this one case -- >> thank you so much for your comments. >> good afternoon. my name is danny sodder. i'm calling from north beach and i support making the shared

spaces permanent as this legislation does. i don't think we can go back to the old ways, the previous park lit programs mentioned and it was exciting. it was a start but it was vastly underutilized. it took $10,000 and it was a year long effort and that's why we saw so few of them. i think some of the park lites do need improvements if we do want to make them long lasting. i think this is a good step forward. i also want to note this is something popular showed 91% support for the program. that's practically unheard of to hear of so i hope you make this permanent. thank you for all your work and thank you for your support. >> clerk: thank you.

next speaker. >> hi, my name is julio juandia. i'm calling in strong support of making shared spaces permanent. they're critical in the recovery of the restaurant industry. we're going to be dealing with the consequences of the covid-19 pandemic for several years and restaurants and small businesses need all the support they can get to recover. if we do not make shared spaces to recover, many more people may lose their jobs. please support shared spaces and our local workers and their families. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker, please. >> okay. hi, this is debbie. thank you, supervisors and everyone that has commented today. i think everything is valid. i'm hoping we can pass this legislation and then meet with

the shareholders and stakeholders and come to an agreement on different rules. i personally closed my parklit down at 9:00 or 10:00. it's before 10:00 when we had to be quiet anyway. i just think it's important that we do take into account everybody's concerns, but pushing it out longer and longer will stop businesses from making improvements that they know they need to make. as business owners, we're going to improve our park lites, address all of the issues and bring it in complete compliance. if we know it's going to be permanent. for us to make more changes and have those changes, even the shared spaces rules and regulations have changed since the inception. so if we can get everyone together, we have the passes going to make feel better to make adjustments to these rules

and regulations than having random inspections and usually expecting things like the smallest of us were the biggest more i understand, but they're not being forced to comply right away and they're telling us to cut holes in the park lites. so comply by date, the nice lines in the sand for dates to. >> clerk: next speaker. if you would like to be put in the queue to speak, those on hold, please continue to wait.

>> i think all the things should be turned down immediately because there are so many cares that need a place to be. isn't that what makes our neighborhoods more vibrant. isn't that what tourists tell all their friends back home. yeah. that's about how insane why have we been doing this all along. add to our cities ford,

mercedes, and disability advocates will love this suggestion. we should shut down the corridors that have these restaurants and bars so that people don't have to dodge cars. and i don't mean just on the weekend. they should be closed 24/7 so we have spots for our businesses and the community to gather. put in some planters and benches and let's make beautiful oasises all over our city that will add to the magic of san francisco. seniors and disabled customers that feel they can't access the restaurant should be able to call either a central hot line or the businesses, a merchants association and there should be ambassadors that can escort them to their seat, to the shops, etc.. that kind of accomodation is a real 21st century city. this will also make it feel more like paris with the effect of wider sidewalks and no cars to drive by in we need people

to take and for noise complaints. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. you may begin. >> hi, my name is kim walter. i own a small restaurant in hidden valley, district 5. while i don't have a park lit, i called in to support all of my friends who have to save their business. and the reason why i haven't put on this park lit is because i was worried about changes and regulations that would happen. so i was kind of being deceived what the next step would be. and i know that time is

definitely something that could so pushing through and making sure that this goes into effect could save your favorite taqueria or pizza joint because really in san francisco does take longer. it took two years for me to permit my restaurant. once that expansion happened, it was during a pandemic. so i stopped and ate the loss. so being able to move forward with the park lit would be very amazing for my small business and thank you for listening and i hope this goes through. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello, my name is diego. i called because i want to

express my support for the legislation and i don't think that the time -- this was created on necessity because it's for the economical impact that small businesses have to the overall economy of the city, and also, obviously the small business industries. they also helps the public of entertainment places of food. so i'm calling for support on this. it's always a way to amend and reform situations like this, but definitely need it. thank you very much.

>> clerk: next speaker, please. again, if you'd like to be in the queue, you can just press star 3. we have 4 speakers left in the queue. >> i don't think you're doing it right. i've spoken to many of our merchants and they like it the way it is now. a lot of them feel if there are changes, they won't be able to do it. actually benefits of small businesses is currently making it more equitable for everyone. since they like the way things are now, if we just extend this for another year, it's not

going to be hurting the businesses, it will actually be benefitting the businesses. also, you know, there's still some issues that we need to discuss on 24th street because it's so narrow so we're going to get that affect with our parades and other affairs. cost of labor materials and hiring architects for the parking to be demolished and also, there's grants and small businesses, but grants that are experienced during covid have a hard time reaching every community. so these are issues we definitely need to talk about. we can't hurry into this. it's got to be for a long time so we definitely need to do it right. >> thank you so much for your comments. next speaker please.

>> hi, my name is scott and i live in district 5. i support the shared spaces program as is. i think it has transformed san francisco into this beautiful europeanesque walkable city. i think for too long, we've given away so much land to cars. it's crazy, our streets are so wide. we have all this street free parking and the majority of people who are driving to these restaurants pull up in these super nice cars and are arguing about private versus public space. the land is private for one automobile as opposed to being vibrant space for dozens of people to enjoy. i also think we should slow down speed limits around these park lites and make them more safe. i think that's an important part of vision zero. i think the delaying of this.

i think we need to be more aggressive. i also think i want to point out that san francisco has a unique geography. you know, i'm from arizona where you couldn't even do this program. so we can do this, you know. you know, i rec dean preston's follow up legislation for restaurants who can afford to shoulder those, you know i don't want to keep delaying this. san francisco's already one of the cities to get permits and approvals and we need to be decisive so that business owners can invest and not be dragged along not knowing what to expect. and i also support keeping valencia closed to make it easier and faster for our

businesses to come back to life after covid. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. hi, my name is richard staff. and was a member of the golden gate restaurant decision. speaking in favor of access. however, that's not always been the case. the golden gate restaurant

association additionally, we've had accidents where vehicles have run into park lites and into shared spaces and there needs to be a clear design requirement that will protect those that aren't using them. but, when i hear the golden gate restaurant association numbers saying they want support and they will make sure that the places are accessible. how about the accessible dining tables so we don't have to sit sideways in our wheelchairs unlike the general population. and the for those that think we shouldn't be allowing parking for vehicles, there are a substantial number of elderly and people with disability residents and visitors to the city of san francisco. those people may not be able to take public transportation as it's now provided.

and then they can't do that if there is no parking. maybe the city should consider more off street public parking lots as a solution to what everybody considers to be a vehicle problem. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon. members of the board, my name's sarah hoffman. i'm a resident of district 8 and i'm calling to express my strong support for this legislation. shared spaces, streets that were jammed with cars and now vibrant and bustling with people. outdoor dining has provided a safe place for people to meet.

we all know people are more hesitant to go ingoors who have young children, but they've love to meet out for a drink outside. i love that i can cycle to a restaurant rather than sitting inside and warning it's not going to be there when i leave as that's unfortunately has occurred. the great example of the shared spaces is my favorite dive bar. this 60-year-old institution of san francisco has strived thanks to its park lit and also attracted people to nearby businesses. the shared spaces program is a testament to what san francisco can achieve with the creator's can do attitude to businesses. now, we should support and provide certainly throughout small businesses. thank you very much. please advance this to the full

board. >> clerk: thank you, ms. hoffman. next speaker, please. we have 15 left in the queue. >> hello. this is tyra from senior and disability action. it's a great idea. park lites, shared space, it's a fantastic idea, but you're going to ruin it if you don't do the work that you need to do first. by cutting corners, addressing issues about enforcement, about making it truly accessible, about safety. if you implement it now or push it through the way it is, you're going to spend a lot of time with trying to make it work. especially in terms of public hearings, lawsuits, enforcement, you're just going to waste a lot of time that you can address now. it's not time to be put

forward. it has too many issues. and it's clearly not accessible. [please stand by]

we are months or not years away from having a sustainable footing in our induce does tree and independent and bars if we are going to move forward and thank you for your time. we have 14 speakers left in queue. >> caller: i have a business

owner and district 5 and restaurant and shared spaces is a lifeline and as it did support us and all of my colleagues are struggling with debt in this program to regain our businesses for years and the certainty of it getting pushed forward will allow us to plan for our business and higher employees of our businesses to survive, thank you. thank you, next speaker. >> hi, i live off the corridor in d-3 and off the valencia and encouraging transit and first city and got some months and i

have reservations and asked them to be temporary continued and i heard countless stories of members of the public and and especially the poor. the city have exercised control over public land to take over public spaces and that's great and we have small businesses gearing towards those businesses at the level of investment and means to build out these shared space structures. now they see this space that they invested in as not a public space but as their domain because they invested in it and they put up the money and that in turn does have that belongs

actual us ex in practice should belong to all of us too. i understand the hurt of the small businesses and i'm not against this in long-term but i think we should press pause until we understand and grapple with the implications but what may be an irreversible decision on how public space is governed in the city of san francisco. thank you. >> we have 12 left in queue. >> my name is mary butler. thank you for hearing comments on this issue. i'm the owner of two restaurants here in the city, perry's on union street and perry's in the financial district waterfront. and like everyone in our

industry, our businesses took a wicked hit because of the pandemic losing 60% to 75% of our revenue in 2020. at the beginning of the pandemic we were forced to layoff 55 employees at union street and 75 at the embarcadero and also forced to terminate their benefits. shared spaces has allowed them to bring back 30 employees at union street and over 40 at the embarcadero and the outdoor dining has been vital to our continued survival, brought life to our streets and provided new revenue for both restaurants. i urge the board of supervisors to pass this legislation to make the shared spaces permanent and we're many years away from reaching a sustainable level of recovery and the business generated from our outdoor dining is critical for us to survive in the long run. next speaker, please.

>> caller: my name is hiedi and i'm the western edition. i really enjoy the shared spaces. i think i think we let people who have them keep going and i'm from san lousis and multiple different businesses come out and i think we've seen that with we can close off the street and make space without giving it totally to the lease err on the corner. you have time for this?

it doesn't allow pip and the antique shot can't move outside and maybe they can host a pop-up or something and this doesn't have to be parking or huge structures. you can make it happen and hope the restaurants stay in business, you know, i want oktoberfest and and help them with what they need to get there. make that work with small businesses and local pop ups and even non profits and bans and groups and people who are not as commercial as some of the paperwork set out to be, right. can you do it right and shared spaces are wonderful and i love being a customer in them and yeah, i just want it to be

compromised. >> thank you. >> thank you, hiedi. next speaker, please, again, if you would like to be in the queue, you just need to press star 3 and you only need to press star 3 once to be in the queue and we have 12 left in the queue. >> hello, my name is john session you're a and i'm the sea and we're a small music venue, one of the few left in the city. we're hoping to steep the shared spaces permanent as it helped us stay alive during this emergency since the pandemic and we keep

our public space of all time and people of any residents when there's times we've come and there's spaces there and we are fair and equal to everybody that comes and we've helped in all the communities and the surrounding neighborhood and we've had people that have in order for the city to flourish all shared spaces should be opened permanently and there's always some things to be done and we will continue to benefit and neighborhood and the community as long as we can keep these shared spaces permanent.

i'm i'm calling it everybody before me as made great points and support of the program and it helps small business it brings our city and our streets to life which is fantastic. i just want to highlight the fact that this program, you know, is overwhelmingly and most of the people in san francisco are not here because we want to go to strip malls all the time and be forced to drive anywhere

it's because we live in one of the most lively, exciting cities in the world and as a result, i think that we need to beyond shared spaces about how we can repurpose our streets for people and in addition to shared spaces, creating public park lets as well and creating more bike lanes and bike parking and how that redefine how we view the most valuable resources in our city which is the land that is in the street and should be for everybody. so, i support this program and i recognize people that are concerned about public space and people who want to make sure people can still have space for themselves and the best way to do isn't to say no to shared

spaces but expand and create more public spaces that may not be associated with the small business but purely just a park for anybody who wants to use it. so, thank you for your time and i'm excited to see where this goes. >> clerk: next speaker, please. you may begin your comments. >> caller: i'm a resident of district 9 living at valencia street. as so many have already said, shared spaces with the best and and maintaining the positive vibrant atmosphere, i see every

and make it more permanent with no air to light. >> clerk: thank you, next speaker, please. >> caller: my name is charles airs -- >> this is steven buff and i'm a receipt department and it's across the street from hayes valley and people hang outside and laugh and they play and kids come and dogs are there and everyone is just having a great time outside. so, you know, i think all the supervisors and most kepters agree it's a great program and it's wondering about what is to do with this particulars of having to move forward. i would encourage the

supervisors to live a little. we don't need to get it right from the beginning. it's been going well. everything can be nixed with time. we don't have to we're doing the right thing and i march from disability activisted that sidewalks have become difficult to navigate and i see that too. even though i'm able body the sidewalk is a couple feet long and i struggle to get past so the compromise we should make there is always used in the car

storage many of that's not just public space. but it's someone that parked their cars it's not used for anything good. so i hear it's to move forward and do some legislation. at this for your remarks. we have 18 left in queue. >> caller: good afternoon, my name is jane and i'm a resident of richmond and i'm calling in support of the legislation today, as many commenters have stated. all these spaces i visited and after a tough year it's been

great to see our city so lively. clearly, there's more work to be done and i believe we can do the work and pass something down and getting everything absolutely perfect all the time from the beginning is difficult. the fact we've gotten to do it for a year is something na has shown us what some of the challenges are so i hope we'll continue to keep that spirit up as we think about how to support our small businesses. if we talk about ho the life blood of our city and i love going down the street and the nearest place by me tap room and getting over la vin see alike so many others have said and i really think this is a massive improvement and i really think

that the future is thinking how we use our space for people-friendly uses and less of it just for parking and i really, really want to board of sips to be a part that have so give the businesses the certainty they need and let's support them in this critical time and then let's keep working to make this better. thank you. >> thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. you'll have two minutes. the system will notify that you you been unmuted. >> can you hear me? >> yes, ma'am. >> hello, my name is rayanna and i own a pilates studio and i'm here in heavy support of keeping the shared spaces and keeping it

through permanently with all the amendments and i have greatly holding the class outside has caused them to continue training and keeping themselves healthy in these difficult times and i understand there's issues. i do not believe that we need to spend a lot of our time figuring out and digging out all the details and making it perfect because i believe shared spaces has created a new environment closer to is not fran that i remember which is adversity and allowing people to get outside and enjoying each other's company in a healthy and safeway so i heavily support continued shared spaces and it's critical at this time for small businesses.

>> good afternoon, hayden miller. i just wanted to talk about this program briefly and i do support the program. i have used several of the spaces to eat as well as do other activities but i have a few concerns and i just wanted to talk about them here. so hopefully you can consider them before approving the legislation. the first one is the use of the sidewalks. while i fully support using car parking and the road lanes, for these shared spaces, i think having them on the sidewalks is very troubling and it makes the sidewalks very narrow and the legislation is also too cookie

cutter in this regard because different areas have very different volumes of pedestrian traffic and what is enough of a sidewalk in one area is not going to be wide enough in others so it needs to be more nuanced or just not allow these on the sidewalks in general and really utilize the roadways above the sidewalk the shared spaces that have been blocking bus stops, accessible ramps, red zones and fire hydrants and it's very hard to get any of these matters resolved. you call 3-1-1 and the dispatchers don't even know when you are talking about and they're like what is shared spaces? i don't know how to make a report on this? so it's very frustrating. and then the last thing i would just say is stuff it's not open

to the public when the businesses is open but calling tay shared space is deceptive. it's not shared if it's only for the business and it's fine if it is only for the business but just don't call it spared spaces if it's not shared. thank you. >> thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. >> caller: hello supervisors. i live in district 7. i want to express my strong support in making sure space is permanent. my family and i enjoy being able to eat out this past year. without outdoor dining we would have been stuck inside our homes and unable to support our businesses. we have great for our neighborhoods and communities. we have a pet shawn with 2900 signatures and growing and i've

knocked around the city and spoken to business owners about outdoor dining and the positive they want to make the program permanent. running a small business and it's hard even in the best of times and this past year we have been devastated and many have taken on massive debt. we must help our small business owners and make door dining permanent let's not delay let's get it done now and make it better overtime. thank you next speaker, you have two minutes. >> caller: thank you for taking my call. i'm the president and council of district merchants and during the emergency process of getting shared spaces, council wholeheartedly supported shared spaces we thought it was a great thing during the pandemic and the emergency recovery for the emergency recovery of small businesses and particularly

restaurants, we still support if but we need dialogue and many non food based businesses have felt like as if they've been left out of the conversation and if they've had to engage the conversation and many have felt side line and many businesses were never even part of the conversations because they may not have known what is going on so, you know, we support wholeheartedly shared space and we see the value and i've used it numerous times to go out dineing and support restaurants but we do need to have a full conversation with all businesses at the table and all voices heard, even the minority ones, because in order for it to be shared spaces it needs to be a shared benefit. i would like to see it here and we're getting 100 and businesses that are not to call in and

doing that it is the dialogue has been done and you are ready to move. so i commend you for in aud. when it's permanent in nature and they told us to move on and get involved in other projects. and that is why i urge you to continue the dialogue, support shared spaces and let's keep the dialogue going. thank you. >> clerk: next speaker, please. >> caller: good afternoon. i'm here to speak in support of legislation and hope you move it forward to the full board as soon as possible. i live on polk street and seeing how it's been used for streets, for sidewalks, for the parking lanes, it has been really

gratifying and been a bright spot during covid and i've seen that in many other places as well, in north beach, chinatown, in union street and in the marina and cal hallow and haze valley it's been like this amazing advice and it's been really good for the tax revenue for the city and small businesses and jobs and so i hope that you can consider it and support it and make changes as necessary but also try to keep it moving so we have certainty for our small businesses and one thing that was touched upon was the fact that we did have a public park let program that was for the public but it had very little usage and one thank, it was a matter of bad incentives. why would a small business create a public parklet where they cannot use it when they do not have a great excuse for themselves so most businesses, you took at this program and decided to pass on it.

if you really want spaces for the public, that sort of action should come from the city not from individual businesses and so, things teaming up and it seems really weird to assume to put the cost out and thank you very much for your comments. >> clerk: next speaker, please. >> caller: hello my name is gissel and i'm calling for albert reiner who is the

operator of palmers tavern at 2298 fill more street and i'm calling into support the current version of the permanent shared spaces legislation and we at palmers urge the committee also to support the legislation. our shared spaces have truly meant the difference to us between survival and failure during these past extremely difficult months and our staff have depended on our shared spaces for their livelihood and our customers have depended on them for their sense of continuing community during these months of isolation. we hear almost everyday, from our customers and staff, how much they enjoyed this shared spaces and how they feel it increases the sense of community on filland it brings a sense of

community to the neighborhood since there's lively activity no the later evenings. this past year has been difficult for the city's small businesses. especially restaurants. these shared spaces have been a burden and one way or respect we have a significant amount of money in them and the shared spaces program is one way the city can give back to the small businesses and help them we need to come together and the shared spaces program is say good way to begin that process. thank you so much for having us here today and listen to us. >> clerk: thank you for your remarks, we have 21 left in

queue. >> hello. i would like to commend the commission for considering this important topic, my name is cat anderson and i'm co-owner of war der cafe in the bayview and i want to bring up something different. there's nuances in neighborhoods and places in neighborhoods for businesses serving silver terrace. these dining techs have been critical and they have brought a sense of they have brought calm and community on a freeway and they're right across the street from the raveer shaft on the t-line and they're making the businesses more noticeable here because this tends for a car-oriented neighborhood and so now people are able to actually see us and they are building the

dining decks in an area that struggles with vitality and the first place and we want you to know that the neighbors and the patrons, not just of our business of the other businesses that also have dining decks or sidewalk presence are very grateful for what we're doing. they're saying they feel like they're experiencing even more of a community or sort of a renaissance of how it used to feel in the bayview and our patrons understand that the presence of these dining decks are critical to our survival and they want it there for the vitality of the neighborhood. they've asked us to commend the perm antsy of the dining decks and keep the fees low. i am wanting to share with you that we built two of these decks

and we wanted to make sure that we were in compliance, particularly with the electrical so i think it was an investment of about $15,000. >> your time is up. >> clerk: thank you so much for your comments. next speaker please. we have 19 left in queue. >> caller: -- >> clerk: hello, caller. you are on the line. hi, there. would you like to make public comment? >> clerk: so let's go back to this caller and take the next caller, please.

>> caller: good afternoon, supervisors. this is la reese a with united to save the mission and the rap coalition and i think it is abundantly clear listening to everyone that has called in today that this legislation is really just at the beginning of the conversations and discussions that need to be had and it's just now really being flushed out. you know, to date, the shared spaces program in the mission has largely left most of our businesses behind and it has been the way it was rolled out, you know, granted we were in a pandemic, but even in the later, the last few months, it has still been really directed towards the most resource businesses and also the most able people that can experience this and so, it just -- there's so many things that really need to be addressed and there's no

reason that the current permits can't be extended to allow the time that everyone needs to address things like accessible access, cultural districts, curb management, and also to put an equity lens on this and to really promote the businesses that have been left behind and whether it's because of finances or because of language barriers or access to architects or access to help them build their park lets, we need to support those businesses first and there's no reason that the current permits can't be extended for a year and however

long we need to extend them and -- >> that's your time. >> thank you for your comments. sorry to cut you off. we're timing everybody at two minutes per speaker. mr. smith, next speaker, please. >> caller: hi, my name is lisa church and i'm a resident of the three and i'm speaking on behalf of family representing four districts and i fully support passing the shared spaces legislation says it is now. the legislation can always be revisited when we've had time to live with these spaces in a fully open city. we've had them in a very much closed city for a year and we've

learned a lot. we ruined so many great ideas in san francisco by legislate them trying to make them perfect before they start until they just die. if we make them permanent now, we're going to let business owners, i think, have a set of rules to comply with and move forward. the shared spaces are great. they've transformed the streets where they exist and they've benefited residents, merchants and i believe will be fantastic for tourism. i recently had family last weekend come a cross the bay for the first time in a year to north beach and they're all very familiar with the neighborhood and my families lived in north beach since the late 1800s so they've seen every iteration of the neighborhood. my 80-year-old aunt said this was the first time she described the streets as being vibrant and this is what we want for our city for the residents, for visitors, for the businesses and

so i just fully support passing this as is now. last thing i would say and i may be mistaken so disregard this if i am, i don't believe businesses pay rent. i understand there's a cost of building the shared spaces and we know if it's residential or commercial it's very expensive in san francisco. the city is giving this space, i believe, for of use of these business and people should take that into consideration. >> sorry to cut everybody off but each speaker is allowed two minutes. thank you ms. church for your comments. jim, next speaker, please. >> caller: hi, my name is hanson lee and i am the business

partner in the variety of restaurants from cal hallow to the horse feather to bee side hayes valley and the mission and the shared spaces program, over the last 16 months, has been a god send for many of my restaurants. we have been able to keep staff employed and keep our business going and otherwise we won have been able to.

>> clerk: thank you for your comments. we have 17 left in queue. >> hello, this is nikki gun and i'm a receipt department and mother in the tenderloin and just wanted to say in addition to everything else that's been said, these programs have reallien lifenned enlighteningr neighborhood in many ways that many didn't expect. the tenderloin gets a bad wrap. for me, it's just amazing to be able to walk down the street and say hello to people and everyone is enjoying themselves in the sidewalk. i would encourage to expand the legislation so s.r.o.s and

possibly allowing some of our neighbors, who live in very large buildings, to also have these shared spaces to enjoy and i'm just very grateful for you all putting this up to permanence. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello, my name is autumn and i'm not a restaurant owner, unlike most of the other business owners on the call. i'm in full support of shared spaces and i'm hearing that all supervisors are in fact in support. some just see a need for a little more clarity and fine tuning with the program.

i feel for you and your decision-making in this and listening to all of the callers today it has been eye-opening for me and i can on imagine how challenging this decision will be for you and i am grateful that you are taking public comment and hope that you are weighing everything and i believe in you and i know that our supervisors care very much about our city and understand the vibrancy that small business brings to it. i am in support of you and thank you for carrying about our city and our livelihood, emotional and financial well-being. thank you. >> if you would like to be in the queue and you have not pressed star 3 already, now is your opportunity to lineup. next speaker.

>> caller: hi, my name is john and i'm a business owner in the miss district and i support making this program permanent. in this very difficult year, our park let has been a lifeline and the sign of support from the communities and in this challenging time and impacts how much effort we put into the upkeep, vandalism and tagging and i hope all the supervisors can appreciate how important it is for us to get predictability and stability around the shared spaces program so please make them permanent, now. one more note, we put a lot of thought into making our parklets accessible and the design guidelines are clear on how to design a parklet to be inclusive to all and the concerns that i've been hearing today are a

matter of enforcement and if there's len yen see that can change and they can ask nom compliance to be districted and it should be no reason to slow down on the legislation. thank you. park let's. >> caller: hi, i live in district 8 on 16th and valencia and the streets are so much nicer and so much cleaner and so fun and my family, we've been particularly weird and scared of covid a lot and we've been able to enjoy going outside and my kids are still not vaccinated and i will not will eat inside of a restaurant yet with them but we can go outside and support our neighbors and the businesses and it's terrific. i bone a business in district 6

and right now we have a couple shared spaces down there but i can't wait until we can get it going down there and get people down there and get it vibrant like it is up here because it's sad down there and if we can get this going down there, it's going to be wonderful. a lot of the place have been terrific to use the sidewalk space that is big enough and i've had plenty of walking paths and people eating and it's a big enough sidewalk and i've been fine seeing people walking past people and very respecialful. everyone is doing a great job and if paris can handle this, we can handle this. we have people in the street and enjoy each other and this beautiful city and i'm so excited you came up with this. it's the coolest thing ever, thank you. >> thank you for your comments. mr. smith, next speaker, please. >> caller: hello, my name is h. joseph herman i'm not the owner of elixir saloon in san

francisco that has survived the 1906 earthquake, prohibition world wars, the '60s and now this and i've been able to do this because this program has been hugely helpful for me to be able to keep all of my employees who wanted to stay. that and addition to the abc ruling to allow us to operate to-go, ok tales and sales have been tremendous and it's the state level and it's great and that helps us as well. the shared spaces i'm able to double my capacity in the outside with the seating that i have and that will help me in the long run to stay in business. it's not about this year or about next year but it's about the long run and it's going to help my business and help keep us additional revenue opportunities both during regular operating hours and expanded for daytime operations because, this is a city that

should have outdoor dining and this program is amazing for its ability to changed san francisco and make us really the more european-style city that everybody said we are but we never had the outdoor seating and that along with your efforts to make it easier for businesses to not only open business but operate, i applaud because they are long overdue and i've been in business for 18 years now and for 18 years i've been banging my head against the wall trying do business in this city and this is going to help everyone and it's going to help the city come back. thank you to all of you for making this happen and i look forward to this passing. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. >> caller: good afternoon, supervisors. my name is peter pop dop lis and i'm speaking on the economic

agency and members of the race and equity and all planning coalition. i want to highlight comments from today with just we support the program over all. we also feel we've had a very good constructive dialogue with the program director and his team. what we think most of all is that this just needs more time as the program currently exists to iron outlet them go forward while we iron it out can give aassure tee to invest in the property we're doing and make sure it benefits everyone on the ways we'll all feel comfortable with and it's no small secret that a lot of mission merchants,

especially a lot of our immigrant businesses have had some troubles and that is starting to improve and we look forward to continuing to work with the city to iron those things out and some of the points, make sure our cultural districts and communities are comfortable with how their events and their parades and such interact with this program outdoors and that this program is going to work with them and their folks and i want to iron out things like the p.u.c. needing to do infrastructure work and force tear downs and they've worked closely with some of our merchants and it's constructive and we have to solve that program ak program atticly and ijust did st came out before this hearing and we'd like to see something far more in depth with demographics and with something that is

talking about neighborhood. >> clerk: so sorry, we are timing everybody for two minutes. mr. smith, next speaker, please. >> caller: good evening, supervisors. i am calling on behalf of the san francisco land use coalition to oppose this program and its current form. my reasons are straight forward. this program is only benefiting one sector of the business community and that is the restaurants and maybe some bars. and as is it is discriminating against disabled people who are going to have a hard time negotiating their way through these so-called shared spaces. i also think the city is being very disingenuous for calling these spaces shared space this is who are they sharing it with?

people cannot use these spaces so we should call it for what it is and that's restaurant expansion program. actually restaurant expansion into the public space program. i believe that the city of san francisco would benefit from having outdoor restaurants businesses and there's nothing wrong with that but then that is why there's such thing as city planning and we do need to plan for these. they need to be in places where there's equitable equity for people of color, businesses of people of color and it has to be in locations where the disabled people don't have to have a heck of a time negotiating their way. furthermore, these spaces all use heaters. these heaters are not good for the environment. the city of san francisco has outlawed gas heaters for the new construction and i believe we

don't have the coalition or any objection to having there needs to be planing and care for the environment. >> sorry to cut anybody off but we are timing for two minutes per speaker today. next speaker, please. >> caller: hi, supervisors, my name is rachel ryan and i'm the co-owner and general manager of the stud bar and i'm calling to support for shared spaces and i watched over the past year and shared spaces was able to activate and sustain so many businesses in addition to providing much needed opportunity for socializing and to see the way these spaces

brought an energy and community to streets. the stud closed down due to covid of march of last year and i had to layoff my staff and we had to shut the doors of our location in may of 2020 after 54 years of business as we work towards reopening, we are excited the prospect of being able to have our own outdoor space on nice days it's a hard sell for businesses like the stud to convince customers they should be with their friends in a dark club having outdoor tables could be a revenue boost if we troy to get back on our feet. san francisco small businesses need all the help they can get so vote without impediment and thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. >> caller: good evening, supervisors. this is tom with livable city. we're dedicating to improving the use of space.

it's 25% of the land area and the pandemic made it clear we're not using that space very well. we're not using it for social and people are not using it as much as we should. we need more san francisco space. we worked to widen the valencia sidewalk and we're happy and it's great walking around during covid and seeing all the extra sidewalk space it's a smart investment in infrastructure. now, these shared spaces have allowed in essence a temporary expansion of sidewalk space and we think that it should be able to continue they've been a real success and they've been popular with the public and they really help save huge number of our neighborhoods serving small businesses and we think there's things can you do with this legislation to encourage more collaborative we outlined in a letter some ways to encourage more collaboration with the block scale for things like street closures and things like

board walks widening a block worth of sidewalks so you create more effective sidewalks space and rather than this bit by bit or the sort of gap tooth grouch. there's some real interest in this ex neighborhoods like the tenderloin where the sidewalks are skinny with high speed traffic and the potential to put those roads on a diet. the fee waivers and making the public parklets free or cheap and we hope you look at some reform and to give it that public purpose and encourage use of streets and so on so we look forward to this moving forward and look forward being part of the conversation about how tone courage those more collaborative approaches that maximize the public value and get communities talking about how to

(inaudible). >> thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. >> caller: hello, my name is naz and i'm a resident and a business owner on mission corridor and i'm also a board member of mission merchant association and i'm calling into strongly support the legislation for the benefits to our neighborhood and these spaces will bring in more spaces to our public spaces and more staff that needs to work these sections and this is not only for restaurants and actually as long as we have opened to or three weeks ago as a plan shop while you want for a entertainment venue to open up many people enjoy the parkway and hanging out there and i personally love it and i think retail stores can benefit from this program if they adopt and implement these into their

storefronts and as i mentioned, hearing about this topic, this would be a public space for everyone to equally using and enjoy. privatizing them is something that will create a divide amongst different groups of people with different levels of financial capabilities. also, it will further emphasize on the gap between those that have more money to spend versus those who struggle to build their shared spaces we should all be more open and loving to our neighborhoods and promote kindness throughout our city in addition to this i understand many businesses will make it private and a to avoid dealing with our unhoused neighbors, feces, trash and vandalism happening in reality asking everyone to keep there to rethink our city's biggest issues and start taking action rather than locking up and ignoring it and another matter was talking to our district merchants and some business have no shared space and we have gyms, restaurants, here in the mission with a 40-foot bus long bus stop can you think about how we can make it fair to similar

issues with other businesses as well? let's make this program permanent and also keeping in mind that on fair cases that needs our attention and empathy. thank you. >> thank you so much for your comments. mr. smith, next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors, my name is andrew vul begin andi wanted call to express my strong support for extending shared spaces and making them permanent immediately. i strongly encourage to you pass the proposal as written right now. you can always amend it later. many of our small businesses have made huge investments to just stay in business taking on huge amounts of debt and they've brought new life to the streets and the streets are so much fun now that you can go out and have food and meet your friends out

in the beautiful open air and the fog and sun and shared space have made our streets so much more lively and exciting and i would like to comment as well bringing music to the streets, something we used to have long ago and something we have now, this is a wonderful, new thing come from shared space and i encourage you to promote this and pass the shared spaces right away. thank you, very much. >> thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> hello, my name is daniel reese and i'm the owner of queen's louisiana pull cafe and i'm in district 3 and i'm in embarcadero and my business has been closed for nearly a year. i've reopened. recently being opened and being surrounded once again by illegal

hot dog vendors. i've taken on more debt and survived the onslaught of this pandemic. i promote shared spaces but i want a safe sidewalk that is fair and equal. the board of supervisors and the port of san francisco have supported unpermitted vendors for the past two years. i've been open for three. what will they do to enforce visitors to san francisco. what health department requirements will be required for these vendors? what business license will be required? what other permits will be required? i'm subjected to all of these. i am adhering to all the rules and regulations of the shared sidewalks space that i haven't

been able to utilize the last three years. i've applied for sidewalk permit and recently have been granted one but illegal vendors are operating, cooking, selling things right next to me on the sidewalk. and i'm a minority. i'm struggling. i'm barely making it. and this isn't fair, san francisco. i want to know what you are going to do about it. >> clerk: thank you for your comments. mr. smith. next speaker, please. >> caller: sorry, my name is less james with the rip tide. hince the hard shut down, we've been struggling to stay open an- [please stand by]

-- so i really want police to support the legislation and thank you for your time and energy. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comments, mr. james.

next speaker, please. >> caller: i live in district one in richmond by the balboa corridor. and having shared spaces is one of the last things that made this last year bearable for people living in the city, and i'm not even a business owner, i'm just like everyone else said during this time, i can't imagine being a small business owner and having to pivot, you know, while all of the rules and regulations for many good reasons changed throughout this year both nationally and locally. and i just think that anything that you can do to support them and to continue to operate their business to the best of their ability moving forward should be supported. so i support the shared spaces legislation as is with whatever necessary, you know, enforcement that is needed, as per previous

callers. but, yeah, thank you. i am in support of this. >> clerk: thank you for joining us. mr. spent, next speaker, please >> caller: well, hi, my name is david boa and i'm a resident of district 8. i'm also a new business owner and i opened up my restaurant in december, right in the middle of the pandemic. before i opened up my restaurant, as a resident watching the vibrancy of the city change, that alone should continue to be -- shared spaces should continue to go on. as a restaurant owner now i'm looking at my business model, and as we speak, which it will be ready this weekend, with outdoor dining. i personally believe that just, one it allow me to hire two additional waiters to increase business. it's already driving traffic up

the street as people look at it, and, you know, are amazed by our parklet and other people in the street, and it's just going to help to improve the city. so i highly recommend that we keep it as is. i agree with everybody that you do this for another year at least and adjust it as needed and it can be done on the fly, but let's lock it in place and let's make san francisco the city that we all want it to be. thank you very much. >> clerk: thank you, next speaker, please. >> caller: hello? >> clerk: you're on the line. >> caller: hi, my name is christine diaso, and i'm a small owner of an adult recreational soccer league in san francisco and we run programs in various areas of the city, such as beach

lake and golden gate park and kimball and western addition and i am definitely in support of shared spaces. but i'd also like you to revisit where san francisco rec and parks, were involved with shared spaces. they were involved at the beginning and as the program developed, recs and parks were left off of the ticket. gyms, fitness center and adult recreational sports are still suffering and need assistance with added space through san francisco rec and park. in addition to us having successful programs, we also partner with local restaurants. so we're bringing in adult recreational sports players to play adult soccer and then after their games they want to go to the restaurants and hang out with their friends and have drinks and talk about the game and talk about the goals and who made a great save. so we work in partnership with our local restaurants and

businesses, and just because we're open doesn't mean that we're going to survive. we had reduced payments in our permits initially and we were just informed that our permit prices would go back to the regular prices in the fall. and some gyms that were looking for assisted space to have an outdoor space, now they're being denied their permit. so i just ask with the shared spaces if you could go back and revisit the role of san francisco parks and rec, that would be very helpful. thanks. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker. >> caller: good evening, supervisors. my name is megan wilson. i'm the co-director of claire alley project in district 9. thank you for this discussion and the support of shared spaces. i'm calling today to ask the committee to please continue the temporary version of our shared spaces program for another 12 months while we make changes to

provide equity to our immigrants, small businesses and to address other issues. there needs to be more meaningful funding attached to the relaunch of this program in low-income and bipoc communities to ensure that streets trailing behind such as mission street can catch up and stabilize their cultural ecosystems. thank you. i appreciate your time. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker, please. >> caller: hi, my name is chadway bomback, in union square, district 3. i'm calling in today in strong support of the shared space legislation. for us, we've been closed since last march 2020, and we have been forced to lay off our entire staff and have accrued an enormous debt that will no doubt take several years to recover from. because of this we need everything possible at our disposal to help our short term

and our long-term efforts in recovering from the pandemic. the shared spaces program has been a lifeline for so many of us and i believe that we'll continue to be so for a very long time. and moreover, and perhaps most importantly, it's well received by our communities and neighborhoods. for this reason we need to continue the shared space program and i urge you all to vote and say that small business recovery act without any amendments. thank you for your time and consideration. >> clerk: thank you, next speaker. >> caller: i'm will weston, an owner of a cocktail bar and jazz music venue of district 3. i want to add my support for making the shared spaces program a permanent fixture in the city.

this allowed us to return and saved us in our darkest hour. even now as we see business slowly coming back we see customers that will have the option to sit outdoors, whether for safety reasons or because it's nicer to be able to enjoy our city from a well constructed parklet. i know that personally i'm enjoying seeing how many businesses are adding to the character by expanding their businesses out into the streets and i think that this is exactly the kind of lively environment that my family and us moved to san francisco to live in. so the shared spaces program only stands to help our beleaguered industry right now to survive in this history, and it's a lifeline to the hardest hit businesses and support it and extend it and make it permanent, we need every bit of help that we can get. thank you very much. >> clerk: thank you, next speaker.

>> caller: hello, my name is alicia walton, and i'm an owner of sea star and dog patch up on treuro hill. we have been shut down until just recently for well over a year. we were not doing any service. we were able to do that in the beginning of 2021, and it showed immediate revenue that we had been losing out on for so long. we lost all of our staffing, and due to the shared spaces we've been able to re-hire half of them -- well, half of the amount, none of our employees have come back quite yet, but as we continue to open up indoors and open up more, we will have more staff that we'll be able to hire because we'll definitely need extra staffing to make sure that it can be outside, so that is good for our neighborhood as well. and we are asking you to please

to make this a permanent fixture of our city. it will not only increase the initiative for many businesses to maintain being open throughout all of this, but it will also insert culture into our city which is already such a wonderful place to live, but adding the outdoor space will really give it kind of a buzz that has been missing for so long, especially after this past year. so we ask you to please pass this without amendments and take into consideration how struggling small businesses have been throughout all of this, especially restaurants and bars thank you so much for your time and all of your leadership. >> clerk: thank you for your remarks. we have 10 left in queue. next speaker, please. >> caller: hello, i'm in the mission. i'm a legacy business and i am

calling to speak about the fit fitness and the wellness industry that has been devastated by this pandemic. we're included in shared spaces early on, but we are being told that we are no longer able to hold permits in the spaces that we're in and we have only been given a 24-day extension on our existing permit. these classes that we have been holding have been a joy for our community. the joy of having people outside dancing and frolicking in outdoor recreation spaces has been really been amazing and wonderful. and not only has helped the community, it really has helped struggling small businesses like my own. it is very, very hard to come back from a pandemic when the department of public health has put a bad reputation on the fitness industry as we are one

of the most dangerous places to go during a pandemic and since all of the households aren't fully vaccinated, many, many of our clients are not yet ready to enter back indoors because we're open at 50% capacity, it doesn't mean that we're going to be able to meet our operating cost obligations. with the mounting debt that we've taken on to just try to still be here for the community that we serve, any sliver of outdoor space that could be negotiated with park and rec so that we can continue to celebrate life you know, to be good ambassadors, we have been amazing park ambassadors during this whole thing and to have people engaging in our parks. i hope that we'll consider the fitness industry in this recovery.

>> clerk: thank you for your comments. next speaker, please. >> caller: good afternoon, calvin quick, and i am speaking in my personal capacity today. i largely support the -- the continuation of the shared spaces program but i do want to point out a few things that i think that need some work. first is around accessibility and you have heard from disability advocates and their concerns and there's ample opportunity to improve the program as we continue the legislation and engage with advocates in good faith. i think that it's also really worth taking a hard look at the sidewalk shared spaces in a city where sidewalks are mostly not very wide in the first place, and allowing businesses to take over a lot of that space as long as the a.d.a. standards are nominally met. it seems rather questionable. in the same vein, the city has in no way shown that they will

consistently enforce even these meager requirements. we need to see enforcement of the existing standards now in order to build the trust, and that will hopefully more a.d.a. accessible when the legislation passes. i support replacing parking with parklets. but going from fully parklets that we had before to this bare minimum bench requirement feels that we're going from extreme to extreme. and i'd also point out that while the legislation requires curbside shared spaces to be open to the public during non-business daylight hours, it is not obvious to me that a business that opens at noon or later will send someone out at dawn to open up the parklet to the public. and i also echo what i think that was said earlier about how this program and the city effectively decided that we're going to let the businesses reclaim parking for private projects, while at the same time

encouraging sponsors to exclude and to lock out unhoused and poor neighbors from what is supposed to be shared space. so i largely support the program, it can be a great step forward and there's also improvements that absolutely need to be made. thank you. >> clerk: thank you, mr. quick. next speaker, please. we have seven left in the queue >> caller: yeah, hi, my name is antonio sansoni, and i operate a bar. and i do support shared space program. and i think that you should go ahead and extend it for, i guess another year while everything is being worked out. the legislation is all being worked out. and we were awarded two spaces in front of our business by the

shared space program. and now we're having an issue with our neighbor who is not a restaurant or a bar -- retail -- that wants to take it over. and then i've got a threatening letter from the shared space program, people saying they're going to turn it back into a parking meter. or if we can't sort things out. when you call shared spaces and there's no one to get ahold of or you get a quick response via email, like half a sentence, and it doesn't resolve any issue that you may have. i think that there should be a number and a person or a committee that can iron out these issues that any neighbor may have. we invested over $15,000, if not more dollars, in the shared -- in these new parking spaces.

and we don't want to be threatened to tear it down. and the other thing that i would like to add is that we should pinpoint what i should point out is that the bars and the restaurants bring to san francisco, which everybody is rewarded by other businesses as well. i know that my time is running out so but i wanted to say thank you and i support the shared space program. and please figure out the issues. >> time is up. >> clerk: thank you so much. next speaker, please. >> caller: i am an owner of a bar and restaurant in cole valley. and it's on cole and carl.

i am just calling to lend support for continuing with the shared space program without any amendments. it has been a lifeline for our business that has made the neighborhood come to life, and it will continue to breathe life into our business if we're allowed to keep the parklets as they are. so i'm calling to lend my support. i'm in district 5. and i would love to see the program continue. thank you. that's all. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker. we have five left in queue. >> caller: hello? >> clerk: yes, ma'am, you're on the line. you may begin. >> caller: okay. hi, this is kelly kojak, i'm one of the co-owners of burrel in cutlery in district 8.

and i'm also a resident of district 10 and the bayview. i just wanted -- so i'm a retail business. i haven't had, you know, the shared space benefit needs directly, but i really want to just quote an earlier comment from a woman and she said, just because we're open doesn't mean that we'll survive and i want to further point you all in your attention to mission pie had closed right before the pandemic and they wrote an open letter to san francisco about how hostile an environment of owning a small business in san francisco can be. so i'm just calling just to be a good, you know, a good member of my small business community and say that i have watched, you know, tiny little restaurants that have been around for a long time, and all of the restaurants in my corridor who were just,

you know, piecemealing day to day. and some of them were two or three days away from closing, and this program really helped them to survive. and the other thing they want to mention is that some of us, you know, you know, some of us in the small business community have taken on extra debt. i have heard a lot of people say that. it's worth mentioning that that debt hasn't -- you know, some folks were desperate and took, you know, really bad kinds of loans and, you know, they're kind of trying to figure out how they'll get through. so this is a program that can only be expanded on, articulated. obviously, i think that there's some issues. i really think that in my district where i live, i don't see the same kind of vital outdoor activity that i see on other corridors. so i would also say that we need community-based organizations to be partnering with the city and i don't just mean volunteering, but, like, they need to be paid to work with their -- with their

community, small businesses to get access to this, for upkeep -- >> time is up. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker, please. >> i wanted to show support for small space program. i speak as someone who has spent time in san francisco in the 1990s. and i know that they're adding another dimension to san francisco, but there comes opportunity and i compare this with the opportunity that presents itself after the earthquake. (indiscernible)

(indiscernible) and so let's make it permanent and make san francisco more wonderful than it is already. thank you. >> clerk: thank you. next speaker. >> hi, i am spencer weiss and i'm calling as a resident of district 8. i'll keep this brief, but i basically want to reiterate what a lot of business owners have already said, but from the perspective of a resident with the shared spaces initiative that clearly have just a tremendous benefit to them. i support the legislation being passed fully as permanent.

and i can only imagine the hole that a lot of businesses have to dig out of. and this is vital. i know that my family and i have enjoyed dining out at restaurants throughout the pandemic because of this opportunity, but we'll continue to do that and we just don't see a reason -- i don't see a rein and my family -- don't see a reason to overlegislate this. let's pass this. i hope that the board of supervisors will pass this. it's been very successful. i'm sure that the businesses will be happy to address any rules or requirements that come about as long as they have the assuredness that this is a permanent initiative. and i hope that this won't be taken away, because we really enjoy it. thank you. >> clerk: thank you for your comment. next speaker, please. we have four left in queue. >> caller: hi, my name is andré, and i'm a representative of

district 8. and a lot of great comments and i will add just one more dimension to it, that even after the pandemic ending, people are not suddenly going to be comfortable eating inside. it's going to be some lasting impacts of that. so that's a different dimension, but simply for the stability of our tax base and sales tax, we need to provide spaces for these businesses to exist, because if they go away, the city will have secondary effects. so i'll just add that in my comment. >> clerk: thank you so much. we have three left in the queue

>> hello members of the land use committee. my name is gail gilman, a district 3 resident. and i'm calling to support the shared space program with the caveat that we need to make it work for all. i hope that we will take into consideration the accessibility issues, particularly for those who are measures of our elderly and disabled community. i want to highlight for the committee how meaningful shared spaces can be, particularly for small businesses. as an example, in district 3, a small business that had been shuttered for 14 months and proudly one of the only two remaining union bars represented by local 2 that couldn't be open without its parklet. its current capacity of 25% only allows 12 patrons inside and the parklet makes it possible to open up its doors for first time

in 14 months today. instead of having to wait to june 15th possible reopening of the state of california and san francisco. for small businesses, particularly under 25 employees, the parklet program has been invaluable to have them gain their economic recovery. i want to acknowledge that we need to look at accessibility issues but we do need to give these businesses the certainty that their park lets and the ability to maintain them will be happening in the future instead of them living day-by-day, wondering if at the end of 2021 that their parklets will disappear. i trust this committee and the wisdom of the board of supervisors to make the right amendments and the right choice and to move this forward. thank you. >> clerk: thank you so much. this is a reminder, if you have not spoken, you can press star, 3, to line up to speak. our queue is now five. next speaker, please.

(please stand by)

>> hello, my name is will herrera. i run the old ship saloon in jackson square. we are located in district 3 under supervisor peskin.

i'm also a member of the jackson square association. our businesses have been severely impacted by this pandemic specifically downtown tourism and events all of which has been well documented. we can continue to employ members of our community to ensure their financial welfare. accruing debt upwards of 750,$000 in operating costs in both locations not accounting loss of over revenue. the value of shared spaces allows both of our venues to operate with increased occupancy in conjunction with indoor dining and permits us a broader comfort zone. we hope has more businesses open traffic will increase

generating a shared per can't community. support for small businesses and we hope our employees and customer based needs consistency. please vote in favor of the legislation and without any amendments. thank you. >> thank you so much. >> hello chair melgar, supers preston and pes kin. this is sharky laguana. i know you've been hearing a lot of calls from a lot of folks and i know you agree with me, we all agree that shared spaces has brought a lot of life and vibrancy to san francisco and that's a good thing and, you know, i think as

time goes by, we're going to continue to work and refine and improve this program and i'm concerned here that an effort to come out of the gate with something perfect is going to wind up to be an enemy of the good it establishes how much the permit will be. it doesn't say what the rules are specifically for the permits that's decided by m.t.a. and those are rules that can be worked on and evaluated very quickly, rules and regulations as we all know is a much faster and more efficient way to deal with the problems that come up. i agree on access and accessibility. i couldn't walk for several years, i'm very sensitive to that. there's more work that needs to be done there, absolutely. but what businesses need right now more than anything else is

certainty after this year of incredible uncertainty. they need a promise from the city that the city's going to help them recover. it can't help them recover all the revenue they've lost over the past year, but it can also open the door who are enjoying this explosion of just a community we were only getting five applications a year because it wasn't economically viable. it's got to be economically viable. >> clerk: thank you so much. we have two left in queue. next