>> good afternoon and welcome to the san francisco planning commission hearing for thursday, january 20, 2022. thank you for your patience. if not speaking mute your microphone. sfgovtv is broadcasting and streaming this hearing live. we will receive public comment for each item on the agenda. comments or opportunities to speak are available by calling 415-655-0001. enter access code 24879486468.

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koppel. >> here. >> moore. >> here. >> chan. >> here. >> diamond. >> here. >> funk. >> here. >> imperial. >> here. >> tanner. >> here. >> on the agenda is consideration of items proposed for continuance. 2020-007481 c.u.a. 5367 diamond heights boulevard. conditional use authorization proposed to continue to februar. we received request from the sponsor on the regular calendar for item 8. 2021-00881 c.u.a. at 1520 lions street. conditional use authorization. it is requesting continuance for one month to february 24, 2022. i have no other items to be continued. we should take public comment.

members of the public this is your opportunity to address the commission on either of the two items proposed to be continued. you need to press star 3 when your line is unmuted to begin speaking. you each have two minutes. >> this is sue hester. i am requesting item 4 continued. election of officers. we are in lockdown. we haven't had live meetings for a couple years. the vice president her term is up at the end of june. would it be appropriate to keep in place the current officers and then have the election of officers in july. thank you very much. >> good afternoon.

i agree. i think item 4 election of officers should be continued. at the very least do it when you are back together and last week secretary said you might be back in room 400 in march. maybe so, maybe not. in any event july wouldn't be terrible. they have been on the officers for at least during the whole pandemic. vice president moore and president koppel. i don't see why it would be wrong that they continue in the current positions. i hope you will do that. it would be good for the public to be in the room when you vote on the officers. thank you very much. >> thank you. i will remind members of the public item 4 election of officers is not proposed to be continued. it is not the subject of this comment period. please limit comments to the two

items that have been proposed to be continued. >> this is bruce bowen. i request item 4 continued for the reasons in my letter. thank you. >> this is esther marks. your by-laws provide the option of election of officers anytime after the 15th of january. the commission hearings will remain remote in the near future. i urge you to continue the election of officers. thank you. >> last call for the two items to be continued. seeing no additional requests to speak, public comment on the continuance calendar is closed. it is now before you, commissioners.

>> commissioner diamond. >> why is item 11 continued. -- item 1 is continued. this is outside the purview of the commission. why is this continued and we are not hearing it at this point? >> i have been told from staff this is the last request for continuance. it will be heard february 3 is the new date. that is my understanding, commissioners. the sponsor is trying to workout something that is amenable to the neighbors so that when it does come before you that there is a project approvable without significant opposition. >> is this at request of the project sponsor? >> it is.

>> i would like to have a short explanation why 1520 lions street is continued. we seem to a last commenter request. would you explain to us why? >> this request came from the project sponsor. my understanding they are trying to reach out to the community and the neighbors there so that when it comes before you they are not faced with significant opposition. >> thank you. >> i move to continue as

proposed. >> thank you, commissioners on the motion to continue as proposed. commissioner tanner. >> aye. >> commissioner tan. >> aye. >> commissioner diamond. >> aye. >> commissioner. >> psy. >> that passes unanimously 7-0. it will place us on commission matters. item 2 consideration of adoption draft minutes january 6, 2022. members of the public this is your opportunity to address the commission on the minutes by pressing star 3. no requests from members of the public, public comment on the minutes is closed. they are now before you. >> commissioner moore. >> move to approve. >> second. >> thank you, commissioners on the motion to adopt.

commissioner tanner. >> aye. >> chan. >> aye. >> diamond. >> aye. >> funk. >> aye. >> imperial. >> aye. >> commissioner moore. >> aye. >> commissioner president koppel. >> aye. >> that passes unanimously 7-0. placing us on item 3 commission comments and questions. >> i wanted to recognize this past monday was in honor of martin luther king, junior. i had events that became virtual due to the surge. i hope folks had a chance to reflect on his legacy and the department looking towards equity. even it was many decades agona o

that he was assassinated. we can learn so much. i hope you had a chance to do that and were able to stay safe while doing it. thank you. >> thank you. no additional comments from members of the commission. item 4. election of officers. in accordance with the rules and regulations of this commission the president and vice president shall be elected at the first regular meeting held on or after the 15th day of january, januar. you may move the date and push it further out. if you choose not to, your rules provide for the presiding president to open nominations or accept nominations. nominations do knot require a second. we will vote on each of the

nominations in the order received. i will now open nominations and call on commissioner fung. >> i would nominate commissioner tanner for the role as president of this coming year. >> i will also call on commissioner imperial. >> i would like to nominate vice president commissioner moore as a continued vice president. >> okay. seeing no other requests to speak from members of the commission, and having two nominations we should take public comment on this matter. members of the public who wish to address the commission on the election of officers, you need to press star 3 to be added the queue. you have two minutes.

>> good afternoon, commissioners. land use coalition. i urge you to postpone nominations and election of officers to the planning commission. the reason. four of the current commissioners are up for reappointment. it doesn't make sense at this time to elect officers when four, the majority of the commission is up for reappointment. also i understand that some of the commissioners up for reappointment may not seek reappointment. that is another reason for postponing this because if those commissioners that would not seek reappointment, if they are appointed as president or vice president, then it is basically a moot point. why don't we wait until june

when these four commissioners are going to be up for reappointment and we will find out what the final makeup of the planning commission is before you vote for who shall be the president and the vice president. currently president koppel and vice president moore i don't see why we cannot continue with this may beingup until the time makeup of the commission and who is going to be sitting in those chairs to be decided in june. i appreciate it if you would push this matter to june, july when the final makeup of the planning commission is solidified. thank you. >> it is georgia. i wouldn't have called in at the

beginning. i do think as people have said this item should be continued. the election should be continued. she made good points and everyone else. i wrote a letter and a stand by the letter. these are remote hearings. i will add not everyone knows how to stream. i don't. i am looking at rec and park on hold on my computer. the problem is a lot of people look at the computer or tv for the phone number and access code. if they don't have it downloaded or made a copy of agenda they can't weigh in on this issue. maybe it is a couple people but maybe it isn't. that is a problem and another reason why you should continue the election of the officers because people may not be able to figure out how to talk to you remotely and again remote

hearings. this is something that should happen in the room so please put this off when you are back together in the room 400 and the public can be there safely or in the summertime. thank you. >> last call for public comment on the election of officers. seeing no additional requests to speak from members of the public public comment is closed. i will state yes there are a number of you that have terms that expire on june 30th. if one of the officers is not reappointed then you simply hold an election to fill that vacancy. even though your terms expire on june 30th, if the mayor or board

president doesn't make an appointment immediately you are allowed by the charter to sit in your seat for 60 days after your term expires. there is the possibility if you do continue these elections to wait for the final commission for the rest of the year you may not hold an election until september. seeing no requests to speak from members of the -- i take that back. commissioner tanner. >> thank you. it is truly that we have to be flexible. we don't somewhat is going to happen in the future. i am up for reappointment. i hope i will be reappointed.

no guarantee. we can cross that bridge when we get there and have new officers if that is needed. we have been conducting business two years remotely. no reason certain elements of the planning commission business can't be conducted in remote environment. they have these challenges in any hearings and that is something we want to keep addressing. second, i want to thank commissioner fung for his nomination for me as president. i hope other commissioners will support that. it would be my honor to serve in that role. thank you, president koppel for showing what a great presidency lookis like. i will bring my experience from the board of appels and would happy to serve with vice president moore. i know any and all of us would be great in these roles and keep

the tradition of rotating so each person can run their service and expertise. >> okay. seeing no additional requests to speak from members of the commission. we have two nominations. one for commissioner tanner to be president. on that nomination, commissioner tankner. >> aye. >> chan. >> aye. >> diamond. >> aye. >> fung. >> aye. >> imperial. >> aye. >> moore. >> aye. >> commissioner koppel. >> aye. >> so moved. that passes unanimously 7-0. congratulations commission president tanner. on nomination of commissioner moore to occupy seat of vice president. commissioner tanner. >> aye. >> chan. >> aye.

>> diamond. >> aye. >> fung. >> aye. >> commissioner imperial. >> aye. >> commissioner moore. >> aye. >> commissioner koppel. >> aye. >> so moved, commissioners. that passes unanimously 7-0. congratulations, commission vice president moore. >> thank you for that, commissioners. we will move to department matters. item 5 director's announcements. >> i think commissioner moore wanted to add something. >> sorry. >> congratulations to president tanner. looking forward to serving together. ir believe continuity and using this fragile time for institutional knowledge and continuity is extremely important. i look forward to both of us to

serve. thank you. >> commissioners, we can move to department matters. item 5. director's announcements. >> no announcements today. congratulations president and vice president. i look forward to continuing with us and thank you, commissioner koppel for your leadership over the last two years and before that. this has been an a typical couple of years with unique challenges re-opening the department and how to keep the commission meetings going and giving the public a voice. it is invaluable during that time. thank you very much for your service.

>> i would echo that. it is a pleasure working with you, commissioner koppel. >> president tanner. thank you director. thank you to director koppel. i apologize for not catching that. commissioner koppel if you are there thank you. it is great serving with you. >> i would add my voice to that. >> any other questions for directors? >> we will move on. item 6. review of past events. at the historic preservation commission. i don't have a report from the

board of supervisors or board of appels. if anyone has a report from the board of appels, feel free. if not, then i will report that the historic preservation did meet yesterday. they had their election of officers where they elected commissioners matsuda and nag sworn for a second term. the only other item of interest to the commissioners they adopted air recommendation for land mark designation of the clay theatre on fillmore street. there are no comments or questions related to board reports. we can move on to gyp rallying public comment. at this time members of the

public may address the commission to items except agenda items. your opportunity to address the commission will be afforded when the item is reached. each member may address for three minutes. when it exceeds 15 minutes it may be moved to the end of the agenda. you have two minutes. >> good afternoon. georgia. congratulations to the officers, past, present and future. i sent an e-mail. i asked if a picture could be on the screen. can i ask you before i start. >> it is there. >> you see it. one picture was subject of my e-mail. i sent two e-mails. what am i trying to say? look at that and see what you think and look at the other pictures and forecast and the project across the street.

it goes back. there were three sets of demos for the past six years. one noey valley project. i am not saying this is wrong. it is 3 point $2 million teardown. when i start talking about this the pretend alterations were under $1 million. then over a million dollars. this is $3.2 million. look at the plans. it is very interesting. not family friendly, but that is the person's choice. this is america people can do what they want with their property except when they don't follow the rules. the question is are the democrats strong enough for the rules and intention of 317 to work? i don't think this property as

well as the other 40 i talked about works. maybe this isn't a spec project. please look at the e-mails and make a judgment. to have three demos one to collect enforcement is strange. i will leave it at that. take camp. good-bye. >> last call for general public comment. press star 3. no additional requests to speak. general public comment is closed. regular calendar. item 7. 2021-005183 c.u.a. 2040 chess nut street. conditional use authorization. are you prepared to make your presentation?

>> thank you. good afternoon, commissioners, department staff. the item before you is conditional use authorization request. from commercial use to formula restaurant used being business at 2040 chestnut in the small scale dining district. since departure the subject property has remained vacant. this restaurant will occupy 34885 square feet of the ground floor. southwest corner of chestnut street and make use of existing street take saw for an outdoor seating area. aside from the signage no expansion of the -- it requires

conditional use to establish retail use. it would increase concentration of retail use within the haven't from 17 to 20% as measured by the total fronttage. there are currently 21 restaurant uses, two formula and three greenwood increases to three. november 4, 2021 this commission conducted a duly noticed public hearing on the conditional use authorization before you today. continued to today's hearing at the request of the sponsor for additional public outreach. to date we have received 51 letters in oppossess and 60 letters in support. we recommend approving the project will film a vacant structure and enhance the economic viwilt of the neighborhood district. the project adheres to the

general plan is compliance with all applicable requirements of the planning code. i am available for further questions. the sponsor is here today and has prepared a presentation which i can now share. >> thank you, sylvia. that concludes staff presentation. sponsor are you here with us? >> we are here. >> your presentation slides are up and you have five minutes. >> good afternoon, commissioners. on behalf of sweet green to have occupy the gap store vacant for over a year. approval will alloy sweet green to refurbish the historic run

reactivating the corner and adding family friendly to to neighborhood. they provide 50. jobs with real opportunities for advancement. formula retail project proposing restaurant use with substantial neighborhood and merchant support. many letters didn't have addresses. i am going to pass it off to eric. he will walk you through the details. >> good afternoon. we intend to achieve this by building a new restaurant from this beautiful art deco building

on chestnut. we are adding our signage to make sure the building is ada accessible. sweet green is a restaurant followed. [indiscernable] it is transparency. they are highlighted by open kitchen that allows them to dine in the restaurant. food made from scratch every day. sourdough bread is from berkeley. we are passionate about sustainability and carbon neutral by 2027. each partners has a local nonprofit to give back to the community. in san francisco we give together ourself and employees

and pack dates to volunteer. during the time of covid we were in the hospital with 8,000 from the workers in san francisco alone. we don't have a prototype. we spent 10 years looking for the right location on chestnut street. we needed a larger dining room and local art and a kitchen so they can see how we make it. we will be spending $2 million for the restaurant. this location is to be a community gathering restaurant. focus on in store dining. we have a shared community table

to give folks the opportunity to work, hang out, have lunch with a friend. we have large group dining and the windows near chestnut street and tables to activate this corner. it is an inviting environment for our guests. it allows customers to walk into the restaurant and receive service from employees, walk down the line with employees pointing to the ingredients they want in the bowl. we have 36 on the inside and the sidewalk. personal note this is near and dear to my heart. i went to school at berkeley and moved to san francisco after college. lived on chestnut street for five years. i would have loved to share a meal with friends.

i am humbled to ask for your approval today. >> good afternoon, commissioners. public affairs on behalf of street green. pleased to recap the significance of the project. first thank you to the residents and community organizations that worked with our team. they conversations 60 letters of support. petition from 17 businesses on chestnut street and the building association that represents over 200 residents. we are available to answer your questions. thank you. >> thank you. that concludes the sponsor presentation we will take public comment. this is your opportunity to address the commission by

pressing star 3. you each have two minutes. when your line is unmuted begin speaking. >> hello, commissioners. i am leslie silver glide. owner of next green. we are a local restaurant group with a restaurant two blocks away and i live in this area. it is very disingenuous that we are bringing something new and different to the neighborhood. this could not be further from the truth. sweet greens is a direct knock off of mixed greens founded in 2005. i run this today. to say they are unique on their focus is false. compare our menu or the asian box. they are offering food widely

available in the neighborhood. multiple restaurants thrive in our wonderful city. this needs to be done on equal playing field. sweet green is in a different league of restaurant companies. it is public restaurant companies like mcdonalds and dominoes with billons of dollars to put smaller restaurants out of business. they have raised over $1 billion to open 150 restaurants. if you letted that sing in they have $7 million for each restaurant they open. they will send $2 million to build this restaurant. $5 million for them toio use in acquiring customers who are delivery customers that don't live in the neighborhood. in the past two years we each

have photo keep restaurants open and support the community and keep customers happy this is unnecessary as there are already many of us local restaurant in the marina. we don't have any chains on chestnut. two that were mentioned were coffee shops. if you allow sweet greens what stops jack in the box and wendy's. don't allow a national chain to come ruin the local food culture. thank you very much. >> your time is up. >> this is david. i am a resident in the

neighborhood. thank you for your time today. this would be like letting amazon distribution open in the marina. 75% of the sales through digital channels resulting in delivery and pick up orders. 600 to 800 extra vehicles on chestnut every day. double parking is so bad at second street location the city has to pay for traffic enforcement to keep vehicles moving. sweet green has said this is a flagship restaurant and we expect limited delivery orders. contradict everything in the s-1 filing. i will recite exact language planning for future growth we built capacity for more digital revenue. all but one location has been

built with secondary lines to order more volume without adding more square footage to take advantage of the ehappened for off premises dining. it is double the square footage of the line used to serve customers. under 36 feet yet 100 feet for delivery. the convenience of the approach results in 75% of the revenue off premises. 75% of customers will never step foot in the center and zero benefit to the neighborhood with all the negative baggage, noise, congestion and baggage. someone is not getting the story, the residents in the marina. i strongly remember you to reject. let them open a restaurant not

distribution order, no additional ordering. thank you for your time. >> i am indicate. 375 clay street. i support this store. i love the building as is and there be room for outdoor seating. this store will be more convenient to my home. we do have this as part of our daily routine. i feel that this would benefit us to have this on the street. i support this project. >> good afternoon. i am ashley mckaffree. i work at the restaurant on restaurant street. i would like to strongly oppose

sweet greens to chestnut street. main reason on going issues in street parks, trafficking congestion, public safety issues. marina is saturated with similar dining options in fixed salads in bowls. the list goes on. we serve the marina with existing out post. 2453 filmore. half a mile away. robust city-wide delivery service. this neighborhood is completely adequately serviced by sweet greens and unnecessary. thank you for your time. >> this is jason. what i am struggling with here sweet green is deceptive or

evasive to the public and commission in the application and signed affidavit. in at least four ways, lied about the units in san francisco, lied about if unit count and formula and lied about men on you focus and lack of similar uses in the neighborhood. this is an attempt to defeat the public to seem smaller rather than a public traded company to stomp outcome petition. they said one in san francisco. they have one on fulton and second street. they have hundreds through out san francisco including filmore operating illegally. 2. application states 125 restaurants nationwide.

at the times of applications they are 140 restaurants, 13% under statement. there must be dozens more. they operate over 1,000 out post locations. these are locations with the same menu and signs total unit to 1200. the number of locations they said they operate. three. they do not have standard uniform apparel. all employees wear the same branded t-shirts. 4. they said although there are a number of small similar retail uses in the district. this is unique in the focus in grain bowls and salads and locally sourced dishes. that is false. according to their filing they may being up the majority of sales. similar retail uses blue barn and mix two blocks away have

nearly identical menus. i feel they did not make honest mistakes on the application but attempting to enter the community in bad faith. >> i have lived here for three years now. 100 feet away from this proposed location. i urge you to reject this. we have restaurants and for that. [indiscernable] the parking and the trash. thank you.

>> i am david upton. i first started working in the marina in 2014. there are many others on this line that have done extensive homework from the years that they are speaking of. i will keep it short and sweet without digging into that. from my knowledge, there are no restaurants, public restaurants on chestnut street. inviting sweet green in would contradict the nature and culture of the street. i also have concerns of parking, traffic congestion leading to public safety issues.

again, my main concern is that sweet green has been publicly traded company. deceptive in aspects of filing here and inviting to operate on chestnut street would be contradictory to the culture that has been established by the restaurants that already exist. thank you. >> hello. i am julio. san francisco residents over 15 years and licensed architect. coming to the marina neighborhood regularly. one of the beautiful aspects is every neighborhood has a different feel. the retail process has created this unique opportunity for neighborhoods to develop and specifically related to restaurants and food service locations. the study and plans provided

33485 square feet location, it appears set up for pickup and delivery and not community meeting like the remaining restaurants. with the congestion with the addition of the park along chestnut. allowing the kitchen would create congestion and traffic noise there. are plenty of other locations in san francisco for this use instead of causing a nuisance to the neighborhood. the formula retail is to permit cookie cutter versions. we urge you to reject this proposal. thank you. >> good afternoon. i am shawn scales. i live in the neighborhood. i live one block away from shake shack on filmore and filbert.

double parking and the trash created by this chain restaurant would make people in the neighborhood more vocal trying to come home. when i heard about sweet green and did investigation. i found out it was a company with deep pockets. they delivery focused business. this is terrible. there is going to be a lot of traffic on chestnut street now. you have a middle school one block away, a lot of elder he people and people with strollers walking around chestnut street. i walk five times a week. i think it is a bad idea. i feel badly for the building

owner. he wants to collect represent for his property or her property. that has to take a back seat to the well-being of the neighborhood. us neighbors that live in the neighborhood. like the last caller said there are plenty of other place this n francisco to accommodate this type of business. i have sept many e-mails. please look at my e-mails. thank you for your time. >> i am a 30 year resident of the marina. i go to many of the competing restaurants. i think this is a nice addition to the neighborhood. they are keeping integrity of the building, adding to the

integrity of the street by adding in the high end casual restaurant. there are tons of traffic on chestnut and another restaurant. they have stated their intention is to create a community restaurant. plans clearly show that with the inviting tables inside and out. the street can handle multiple similar restaurants. it already does. there are three wine bars, three coffee shops, three healthy salad places. three mexican and three italian restaurants, three grocery stores. community needs more investment on the street to fill the vacant rental properties. it is a good healthy restaurant. if they do have deep pockets, good for them. they can pay employees good benefits. our community needs that.

thank you very much. >> i am courtroomia. i live down the street on chest -- julia. i personal love this store. they are keeping the building as is as it has been vacant so long. i am a huge supporter of the project. i really enjoy sweet green. it would save money in delivery cost for myself and others. there are similar vendors in the area it would be great to have one more. you can never have enough real healthy food. i support this. i hope to encourage you to approve this project.

>> i am frank. i songly oppose sweet green on chestnut street. i own and operate three restaurants on chestnut streets. we do not need another concept with deliveries, more traffic, less parking. we do not need more delivery drivers. we do not need to drive up over saturations of similar restaurants. let the locals keep the neighborhood local. thank you very much. >> last call for public comment on this item. press star 3. to be recognized. you have two minutes.

>> i am a long-time resident. the addition of sweet greens l have a negative impact in a couple ways. no question it is a heavy focus on delivery and increased couriers. the street is saturated with traffic and lack of parking. it will be a complete nightmare to find parking and dodge couriers. this is not only frustrating to the community but dangerous with drivers trying to maneuver around the couriers. pedestrians will be impacted to cross the streets or enjoy a meal or drink. what i am more passionate about is the fact it is a massive company with 120 locations to disrupt local businesses that worked so hard to establish themselves through the community

and stay open throughout an incredibly challenging pandemic. if we would like to maintain the character and charm of chestnut street we must keep large corporations like street greens out of the neighborhood. please keep sweet greens out of the marina. thank you. >> that concludes public comment. public comment is closed. this matter is now before you. >> vice president moore. >> i have a quick question for staff for baseline understanding. my understanding is that the gap is a formula retail. why does this have to go through formula approval if it is a

formula retail? >> good question. gap does qualify as formula retail. we were unable to find evidence that the gap was ever established as formula retail. it doesn't seem that they obtained the proper permits, entitlements to operate such as formula retail. that is why this business coming in would be the opportunity to do that. >> thank you for explaining that. i will let the other commissioners weigh in. thank you for explaining. >> could sweet greens respond be to concerns raised about the focus of this business being delivery and the number of

drivers and runners swamping the neighborhood? >> applicant. >> question, this is eric. like i stated in my presentation. we spent 10 years looking for a location to build a restaurant. that is why we chose this location. we looked at data to see where we have customers. there is a demand in this area. we plan to build this to get closer to customers for sustainability. this is not an attempt to get close to customers and build a delivery kitchen. i have been trying to reiterate we are getting closer to customers to come in and order at our restaurant.

>> did i understand that you have built a facility that is aimed specifically at dellivery elsewhere in the city? >> we have two other locations in san francisco wounsecond street. they serve different purposes. they are much larger. much bigger kitchens that serve an office population. they are able to handle the delivery demand. if there is delivery demand in this store it is focused on the neighborhood. i want to clarify digital and delivery. we give customers the opportunity to order in advance and pick up at the store. if someone is taking the book home and knows when they get off at chestnut and filmore and

wants torrider in advance they can pick up the food and go back to their house. there is a very, very big difference between digital and delivery. people will order in advance and pick up food. folks are time constrained today. >> i think that is very important. do you have a sense -- how do your calls get routed. if somebody orders online, how do you know which store? how do you decide which store is filling it if it is for delivery service as opposed to pick up service? >> if someone wants to order at chestnut street store they will choose this location. >> that would allow for pick up. if it is delivery that somebody

selects, which store does that order get filled at? >> repeat the question. >> if somebody orders online for a delivery service to bring food to their house. which locations does that order filled at? >> the delivery one. [indiscernable] >> i am not understanding. where do they go? how do they decide where to pick it up? i am trying to respond the concerns raised by the neighborhood this will be the location where delivery companies come to pick up the food, put in vans and drive it elsewhere in the city. >> again, this store is not delivery kitchen.

we have sore stores with a radius to cover the entire city of san francisco. if there are delivery orders we have other stores to handle it. we do not choose where the delivery orders go. >> i am generally in support of this. i believe we have the formula retail a concern. chestnuts street at this point in the pandemic i am more concerned about retail vacancies. i am inclined to go with staff's recommendation. i would like to hear what the other commissioners have to say. >> before i call on commissioner koppel i want to clarify the response. if the order for delivery goes to sweet greens you can route to your delivery-based location.

if it comes through third-party platform you are not able to control what restaurant the use earn chooses to get food delivered from. is that correct? >> delivery runs their own business, correct. >> you don't have cromover grubb hub and their choices. commissioner koppel. >> someone who made a living delivering pizzas. i am not seeing anything to make me disapprove. i make a motion to approve. >> second. >> i will call on commissioner chan. >> i did have a question for the project sponsor.

[indiscernable] the proposed site plan for the area designated for pick up. designated as such. could i confirm this is the intended zone for pick up? >> can you repeat the question? >> in the staff packet the site plan indicates there is an area designated for pick up. it looks like in the slide presentation on slide 7. the title says for pick up. i am trying to understand the discrepancy is that area designated for pick up the window where people will go to pick up their order?

>> there is parking spaces. that is not a pickup area. san francisco does not have a pick up window. no availability to get your food from the outsider unless you go inside the restaurant. >> just to clarify. there have been early discussion of pick up window. making the decision to maintain the beautiful façade that is there and that aspect so there is no additional pick up window existing in the commercial loading zone on chestnut. no separate zone. >> thank you for clarifying.

>> the customers to pick up. [indiscernable] >> to pick up. [indiscernable] >> do you have a sense where the customers might be coming. a neighborhood based location. coming on foot, bicycle, transit, vehicles? >> we expect them to show up on foot. pedestrian-focused area. is there a way to see how the

traffic conditions are going a need for a temporary loading zone or 15 minutes green stone for customers. i don't know if there is a way to have that in the conditions to have the information so you can always have awareness of the traffic situation when the restaurant is in operation. >> that is interesting. i wonder if staff would respond. such loading zone is the purview of the mta and that would be a application the sponsor would need to put forward. could you elaborate on what that might look like? >> there is a yellow loading

zone on the chestnut street side. i think it is helpful in terms of delivery. any enforcement of that would fall under the purview of m.t.a. anything in addition to that that may be proposed by the sponsor would be enforced by that. >> i don't know if that answers your question. there is one loading zone there. maybe loading and unloading at the curb is what it states. >> i would be interested to make sure we are not creating unfair

advantage for this restaurant. having location with nearby loading zone is very advantageous for anybody in the restaurant business and should have equal access. monitor the third-party delivery needs unfortunately. [ inaudible ] chestnut is a neighborhood. i would prefer to see that third-party pick up in a certain way that onlitic zip codes or near this location would be allowed to do pick up for other types of ordering. i know that is hard to

implement. that would be the kind that i would like to see this does not come more delivery focused business than what other people observed. they are being told the kitchen isn't large enough. ultimately the third-party deliveries if you grab the business you can. i think in the effort of creating sustainable businesses i would like to see the radius for delivery in a reasonable proximity to the food. >> thank you. any other commissioners who want to add their voice? >> i certainly understand the

challenges facing our retailers. in addition to the comments that the staff report noted 11 and 18 we have received an enormous amount of correspondence on sweet greens supporting the location and opposing the location. i think what is still concerning me is the vacancy rate overall in the visit. this would bring it down to 13%. anything at or near 10 is poor. i am concerned about getting rid of vacancies with a business that has some good eight shows in terms of sourcing. i hope it will compliment and not out compete with the local businesses here andrew more people here. i share the idea about the radius limit. this would be something beyond the boundaries of this commission or topic.

i don't think it is a bad idea. many neighbors would welcome not having double parking when they are picking up food and dropping it off. we are ready for calling the roll. >> motion seconded to approve conditions. on that motion commissioner chan. >> eye. >> diamond. >> aye. >> funk. >> aye. >> imperial. >> aye. >> koppel. >> aye. >> moore. >> no. >> commission president tanner. >> aye. >> so moved. that passes 6-1 with commissioner moore voting against. item 8 is continued to february 24. placing us on item 9. 2017-00794 c.u.a.

46-66 deming street. conditional use authorization. katie are you preparerd for the presentation? >> yes, i am. >> good afternoon, commissioners. planning department staff. before you 64-66 deming street seeks to remove an existing three story garage dwelling unit within the rh-2 district. special use district and ho-x height and bulk district. the request removal of 468 square foot unauthorized dwelling unit from the second floor above the garage so the floor to ceiling height 6-foot two inches. it is proposed to convert back to tenant storage be. the building retains the existing dwelling units on the second and third floor.

two windows inside. the project requires response to planning enforcement case. no known evidence of evictions or buyouts on the properties from records from the rent board. it has come to my attention there is a typographical error in the draft motion provided to you. i ask it to be corrected to authorized unit proposed is subject to the rent stabilization and arbitration. the packet is incorrect. correct date of vacancy is apri. department has not received any public comment. department finds the project unbalanced. with the residents. the general plan.

it results in removal unauthorized zone unit. the property in compliance with the building code and maintains the two existing legal units. which is the goal of the city. the department finds projectness for the neighborhood and the ad adjacent properties in the vicinity. this concludes my presentation. i am available for questions. thank you. >> project sponsor.

>> thank you. commissioners i am with the architects. we prepared plans for removal of the unit. we have with us on another phone the niece of the owner of the property. brandy and we are both to answer questions you might have. we are just looking to remove the unit and get things back to saturdayisfacton. we are remaining the two units remain parking units. no further changes there. if you have any questions. we are here to help. >> that concludes the presentation. we should take public comment. members of the public your opportunity to address the commission. press star 3. no request to speak from members

of the public. public comment is closed. this is before you, commissioners. >> i had a quick question for staff. the definition of full bath is somewhat confusing to me because what is proposed is toilet and sink. full bath means shower or bathtub to me. could you clarify that for me. >> i don't have the plans. >> i don't see a shower in the proposed. >> there is proposed a full bath. i apologize for not including the definition of the full bath within the commission packet.

>> could you project that plan so we all know what you mean. what i thought is proposed was only a sink and toilet. >> can you see the plans? >> yes, we can see that. >> great. here are the three plans showing existing space. as of now there is a sink, toilet and shower. the existing storage is what was previously approved which does not include the full bath. this is what is proposed. it includes the shower, sink and toilet. >> then i would like to ask the project sponsor i understand the issue of ceiling light and

workshop would be fine. why would a shower be necessary? >> commissioner, moore. the minimum height for bathroom is 7-foot. the space has a 7-foot 2-inch height. our intention was not so much for use of the how were. it was the added cost to remove it. that was our main concern. >> thank you for explaining that. i hear you. thank you so much for explaining that. i am comfortable with that explanation and support the project as it is. thank you. >> commissioner diamond. >> i, too, had a question about the bathroom. the minimum floor to ceiling

height for living space is how many feet? >> the minimum ceiling light is 7-foot 6-inch. the bat room is allowed 7-foot. the bathroom would be allowed permitted with the 7-foot head height. >> you haven't independently tracked that with the building department, is that correct? >> unfortunately i do not have that knowledge under be the code. >> if we approve it but it turns out the building department says it is not seven feet it is higher than that for which there is not room, what happens to the

bathroom? >> they would need -- it would need removed. >> there is pay mechanism for independent verification from the building department bathroom? >> for the complete removal of unauthorized dwelling unit. it if they are not able to approve the plans. [indiscernable] >> i am supportive of the staff recommendation. >> is that a motion? >> yes. it is a motion. >> yes. >> second. >> commissioner koppel. >> second. did you want to say anything

else? >> great. no further deliberation. motion to approve with conditions. on that motion commissioner chan. >> aye. >> diamond. >> aye. >> fung. >> aye. >> imperial. >> aye. >> koppel. >> aye. >> moore. >> aye. >> commission president tanner. >> aye. >> so moved. that passes unanimously 7-10. we are under the discretionary review calendar item 10. 1019-022419drp. 312 utah street. mr. winslow. >> congratulations, president tanner and vice president moore. staff architect. before you is a publish initiated request for discretionary review of permit

am application 2019-022419drp for a vacant 23-foot wide by 11-foot deep sloping slot. there was an existing two story single family home built in 1900 demolished by the department of building inspection in 2018. the d.r. requester of 2007 16th street owner of the entertainment establishment north of the project is concerned it will impact privacy of patrons from 2 and 4 floor decks over the patio. the separation between new and existing buildings is not enough to mitigate noise transmission to the new building residents. d.r. requester claims excavation

and shoring and waterproofs has not been sufficient. the department has received no letters in support and no letters in opposition of the project. planning department review deemed measures are necessary to ensure mutual privacy to the pairtrons and future residents of the subject building. abatement of the noise from the cr requester is not within the planning department to regulate, monitor or even force. nor within the purview to review regulate and approve the design or means and methods of construction of the foundation and waterproofing system. department of inspection review plans were submitted after planning. the project sponsor modified the

deck. the privacy issues. staff recommends taking discretion snare rereview with a privacy screen and both decks on the north as well as depicted in the revised plans. this concludes my presentation. i am happy to answer any questions. thank you. >> thank you. d.r. requester are you with us? >> yes, i am. >> you have three minutes. >> thank you for your time, commissioners. i am representing my family who own the bar and restaurant at 2007 16th street. a place of entertainment and license. we have been in business 28 years. in a couple months receiving the

san francisco legacy status. building 113 years old. we are adjacent to the project site. there are several concerns that we have about the proposed project over the potential of noise and privacy complaints from residents as well as structural impacts to the building. during the covid-19 pandemic we have worked very hard to survive in these times. it has added new challenges of a good time. we look forward to continuing to serve our neighborhood as one of the very last family owned businesses in lower potrero hill. the project sponsor is proposing a space of 1.5 inches. we are asking for 9 inches of space to prevent noise issues

and complaints. 1.5 inches will cause noise conflicts, impose serious threat to our business in the future. unfortunately small businesses with live entertainment in san francisco become more endangered every day. the preexistingen betertainment license is provided missouri sound related complaints and compatibility issues from new development as declared from san francisco administrative code chapter 116. >> does that conclude your presentation? >> not at all. the decks we covered and that was cleared up by david. i did have further concerns. we built a story poll which is helpful. it came to some new things came

to light. the front of the railing we may need to address apcreate privacy. that will be directly down as well. we have the space and obviously the structural excavation is a major concern. potential for damage to the foundation or property due to the building process is very concerning. as of today the foundation is not fully evaluated. in the technical investigation may 2019. it states beneficial to understand the types and depths of the ad jays senting foundations prior to design of support system. we had damage from the dig and so far. it is something of great concern that is already created damage.

it is very serious. >> thank you, sir. that is your time. you will have a one minute rebuttal. we should allow the project sponsor three minutes. mr. patterson. are you with us? >> i am. thank you. >> you have three minutes. >> thank you very much. good afternoon.

>> i will restart here. good afternoon, commissioners. this is ryan patterson, attorney for the project sponsor. the proposed project is 100% code compliant. bringing housing with a mix of one, two, three bedroom units. the d.r. requester owns add adjacent nightclub which operates on the residential block. the requester sold the project site to the sponsor. they could have required concessions answer as condition of sale. they chose not to. we tried very hard to work with them to make concessions anyway. unfortunately d.r. requestery fused to negotiate unless the project sponsor performed

construction work onnary property for free -- on their property for free. they claimed earlier demolition work caused damage. it was clearly dry rot caused by failure to maintain property. the project sponsor did work to try to move this process forward. now the d.r. request erases three concerns. first is noise. concern about the noise from the d.r. requester's own nightclub. project sponsor has retained the city's leading engineer charles salter to ensure proper sound insulation. the 9-inch gap between the buildings is neither needed nor recommended. second. concern about excavation on the property line. this is not a planning code issue. sponsor has given assurances

excavation will be done properly in accord dance with building code. lastly they are concerned the project's rear decks will intrude on business and property. they are not licensed for outdoor entertainment. it is absurd. we are willing to compromise anyway. we will agree to pull the decks bath five feet south, add five feet tall privacy screens. this is the department staff's recommendation. it should resolve the concerns. you can see in the rendering the decks being pulled back and privacy screens. we will use roofing in those deck areas. happy to answer any questions or

concerns. appreciate your time. >> that concludes the presentation. public comment. members of the public this is your opportunity to address the commission by pressing star 3. when your line is unmuted begin speaking. you will each have one minute. >> hello. i am judy west. i own and live property in the back opposite the address is on potrero. we touch this property a little bit. i have a couple concerns. visually i am concerned about the penthouses that create a totally 50-foot high building instead of 40-foot high building. i don't believe both of these

penthouses need to be covered. my request is the one in the rear be reduced so that it doesn't stick up way over the roofline. my real concern. that is a big concern. the o thing that is serious is that this five-story building is described as three units. yet the third and fourth floor are to be unit three there is no access from one floor to the other. this is five independent units marketed as three. the third floor has a huge bathroom and another small bathroom where the kitchen is above. >> that is your time.

>> it is georgia. i don't know if you are following. they met yesterday talking about information sheet ego2 relating to egresses on the three o'clock you pan sees. i have been following that because i am concerned aboutiticly with excavations and bedrooms. it is three units. r this 3 is great. there is ex alaska situation. what building code covers this? i think the question is this going to meet the building code? we will get the interpretation eg013 for a building with r 2:00 you pandency three stories. this is four stories over basement. the basement is a unit be with the bedrooms in the excavation. it is a question that is

planning department and commission need to look at when you approval the excavation. are you approving something that is illegal. >> press star three for public comment. no additional requests to speak from members of the public. you have a one minute rebuttal. >> it was several things that were untrue that ryan spoke about. we have always operated in the confines of our permits. outdoor space we are able to congregate out there, have dinners and things. no live music in there. a lot of those things were misleading and untrue. during the course of the demolition of the building they had a truck smash the corner of the building that wrecked the door, created dry rot in the back of the building.

unattended three and a half years creating a lot of damage we didn't even uncover. i wanted to set a lot of those things straight. we are a vital part of the community. we serve the community. we want to be good neighbors. i want to be proactive in planning designing is this building for long-term solutions in place. both new tenants will be covered and safe. issues won't be a big problem in the future that is our goal. >> thank you. mr. patterson. one minute rebuttal. >> thank you very much. ryan patterson for project sponsor. i will address two points. the first is the first caller

mentioned no adequate connection between different stories of the various units. we heard that concern. we submitted very slightly revised plans that clearly delineate the openings in the unit. make that perfectly clear and totally acceptable. second the d.r. request's note about operating in the backyard. there was a temporary covid program to allow nighttime entertainment uses outback. that has since ended. in any event, it is really a concern about the d.r. request's own business noise. we will do what we need to do in the project to make sure the dr's business is not overly burden some to the project. >> that concludes the rebuttals.

the public portion of the meeting is closed. it now before you commissioners. >> i am in support of the project. i would like to ask mr. winslow to clarify the door reflected the rendition of the stairs in connection. very confusing. as of yesterday 4:00 p.m. the correct set showed how that is acceptable. the public comment is that he looked at what was shown there. do you want to make the connection here and we can move forward in support?

>> indeed. thank you, commissioner moore for observing that. previously the 311 included drawings that indicated two common stairwells which the caller indicated correctly would have made it quite cumbersome for two inner connected floors without going through a common stairwell. however, the floor plans for each of the floors are not separate units. one has bedrooms the other as a kitchen. drawings were corrected yesterday. they reflect the stair internally connects to two units that are two stories and one

common stairwell. that is corrected. >> just to follow up on that. i am in support of taking this and approving the modification. >> second. >> commissioner koppel did you want a second or to add? >> you may be muted. >> commissioners if there is no further deliberation there is a motion and second to take the modifications recommended by staff. commissioner staff. >> aye. >> diamond. >> aye. >> fung. >> aye. >> imperial. >> aye. >> koppel. >> aye. >> moore. >> aye. >> commission president tanner. >> aye.

>> so moved. that passes unanimously 7-0. that concludes yet another brief planning commission hearing. >> take care.

>> hello every one. thank you so much for your patience. good morning i am san francisco mayor london breed with dr. colfax giving an update what is happening with omicron because we are anxious to know when is this going to start dying down? good things are starting to plateau. it doesn't mean we take our guard down. even though we are still seeing additional cases, even though our hospitalizations are very high, we have the capacity to handle what is coming our way, we are starting to see just a number of plateaus and trends from other parts of the country afternoon world show the people ahead of us and the cases skyrocketing. we are paying very close attention. it seems like san francisco is

behind all of that. we are following a very similar pattern to other cities across this country. if that is any indication plus with san francisco being 82% vaccinated it is really hopeful for the future and hopeful that we will continue to move forward. we will see some additional improvements as the days go on. i know it has been a very challenging couple of weeks over the holiday season. as we continue to say one of the most consistent things through out the course of two year pandemic the light at the end of the tunnel is here. we may go through another tunnel but know there is hope and there is light. i am here just to also say because i know that many people

are asking a lot of questions. what is going on with testing? what is going on with the tenderloin emergency plan? why are things not moving as quickly? many of us should understand the city and bureaucracy is challenging. keep in mind that we see these numbers of the omicron variant spike. we also see them spike with city employees. a lot of police officers, firefighters, muni drivers, department of public health workers and those at san francisco general are out with omicron. we are going to continue to experience this challenge for some time. we ask for people to be very patient with us, to know we are doing our best, working to backfill those positions when they are out with over time and the number of other resources. these are the times we are

living in. as a result we just have to adjust to our environment. to talk more specifically about where we are with omicron, what to expect for the future and you know the hopefulness when doctor colfax is smiling and excited and hopeful and giving an indication things are going to get better. i know that is what is going to happen. we get to come outside and play, right, dr. colfax? please welcome for an update on the covid-19 omicron variant and what is happening in san francisco here is dr. grant colfax. >> good morning everybody. thank you, mayor breed for your leadership as we enter the third year of the pandemic. third year. we are seeing covid-19 cases drop relatively rapidly in the

city. we can now say that we are on the beginning of the downward trajectory with regard to the surge. latest data showcases peaked on january 9 with seven day average of 2164 cases per day. it has steadily dropped each day since then to 1076 per day on january 12th. this is good news. it has been a rocky start to 2022. hang in there a little longer. the surge is not over yet. hospitalizations which trail the peak in cases will still continue to go up. fortunately, for now we expect to meet capacity within the healthcare system to take care of people with covid and other healthcare needs in the hospitals. we are urging people to remain particularly vigilant for a little bit longer. cases are still very high.

cases are still very high especially compared to prior surges. we all need to get well past this peak. look, i know that everybody is exhausted. let's give gratitude to front line staff who as the mayor said have been working over time to patch together coverage as colleagues become infected and have to stay home. many of them became infected, too. tonight bely, for the vast majority of our cases in the city, cases are mild because people were fully vaccinated with the first series and for many people they were up-to-date on vaccinations with regard to boosters. at this point, it looks good with regard to making it through. we are likely to make it through the surge and come out in a much better place. it is important to emphasize with case rates so high what we

see across the country, the state and locally we are in a far different place than a year ago with our prior surge. we are getting through omicron, the most transmissible yet. it is more transmissible than alpha and delta. we managed to keep hospitals, clinics and essential services open. most cases have been mild or asymptomatic especially for those up-to-date on vaccinations, especially for those who get the booster. we have proven covid doesn't have to upend our lives even if we have to be vigilant, smart and flexible to adapt to what is needed when needed. as your public health department i want to stress that our goal is not to prevent every case of covid.

omicron proved that is not possible. our goal is to prevent the worst outcomes, severe disease. hospitalizations and deaths. with regard to that, i want to ground ourselves in comparison to last year. last year we lost 165 san franciscans to covid in january of 2021. this month to date we have lost five. now we don't know what covid has in store for us, but we do have great defenses against this virus. vaccinations and boosters and i expect in the relatively near future effective antiviral medication. we know how to layer defenses. during periods with high transmission when we must protect front line workers and vulnerable by masking, testing, improving ventilation.

staying home when sick. omicron taught us we have vulnerabilities in the system of care. we need testing to be accessible, affordable and fast to truly use this tool together safely. we are working with our state and federal partners to make rapid over the counter tests easy to come by and requiring the healthcare system partners to step up and do their part with regard to testing as they have done with hospitalization. we anticipate new tools to become available soon such as retroviral medications to better protect people who are especially vulnerable to severe disease. as we come out of onl omicron we will drop restrictions when and where they may being sense. we acknowledge that individuals have different level of comfort with the risk of covid and

because of certain medical conditions. your risk assessment may vary. what you are willing to do with yourself and family may change depending on your risk assessment. individuals may want to adapt to their own risk and comfort level within the conditions stipulated under our health orders. we ask you to be tolerant and work together to make each other feel comfortable and supported. it is certainly possible we will deal with other variants in the future, hopefully, we will be able to wait covid among the other infectious diseases we have to contend with by not letting them up end our lives. san francisco, thank you for all you have done and continue to do as a city and we will continue to get through this together.

thank you. questions? >> i am confused. you are saying that the cases are beginning to fall rapidly downward. the surge is not over? >> well, the cases are still high. it depends if you depend surge as straight up. we are still in the surge. cases are higher than ever before. i just want to make sure that people understand that we are not out of the woods yet. cases are still extremely high. they plateaued and are going down. they are at a high level. we are looking at data from other places where it had been ahead of us and it showed that cases could go up fast, come

down fast. we are on the downward trend. they could go back up. we hope that is not the case. given where we have been for over two years now, i think the point is cases are starting to come down. hospitalizations are still going up. the rate of increase is starting to slow down. the important news is that hospital capacity still remains robust. we still have capacity to take care of people if they have covid or other medical conditions in the hospital system that is a key metric going forward. >> what type of restrictions are you talking about? >> well, it will be combination of factors we are looking at. it is too premature to speculate the order they would be lifted. we would look at similar processes by which we have lifted restrictions after the prior surges.

it is the layered defenses we required. you know we have had the indoor masking back into place. that is something we would look at in other similar restrictions. i don't want to jump too far ahead. we are still at high rates. hospitalizations are going up. they will level off we expect soon. important thing is after having been through the surges we want to be responsive in a way that reflects that we need to live with this virus. we don't want to hold onto restrictions waiting for omicron or covid to go away. that is not going to happen any more. we will reach a place where covid is endemic. we will live with the virus. our lifting of restrictions will reflect that new reality.

[indiscernable] >> the prior boosters is that going to help us? >> i refer you to the healthcare orders with regard to where people are required to have boosters. our point is that omicron has shown that people need to be up-to-date on vaccinations to be as protected as possible from omicron with regard to hospitalizations which is our goal here. getting people access to boosters is key. one of the reasons we have been so successful with the surge is because we have a high booster rate. 61% of people vaccinated in the city have received a booster and are up-to-date on vaccinations. that is far higher than the national or state average. we want people to continue to get boosters. we will make them available in the healthcare systems including

health department and pharmacy partners. [indiscernable] >> it is clearly important that we have testing capabilities throughout san francisco that people can trust. unfortunately we have had challenges with bad operators. i really applaud the city attorney's office and the city attorney for taking action and paying close attention to challenges that could arise for people taking the situation for

granted. >> it is not unchecked power for the police department. the fact is we want to address the challenges of crime in our city. in facts, you know, everyone is now carrying around all of these gadgets, phones, some someone's face in the public. anyone not law enforcement can see everything going on. people from all over the city and when you talk about a situation for example what happened in union square. the fact that there was a lot of online chatter, our officers were aware and needed another resource through video to observe the behavior and because of our ordinance could not, there are a lot of things that could have been prevented based on information we get. we are not only asking to allow

this to happen based on evidence. part of my ordinance is to say we have to also report this information like when this is accessed by the san francisco police department it will be made public, it will be provided to the board of supervisors. if there is a need to do an investigation or anything about why they chose to do it and it t wasn't necessary, that will be dealt with. the goal is to address public safety. the fact we need the tool. responsible use of this tool to do so. [indiscernable] >> my response is that the voters will decide because we are talking about the fact that, you know, we have major challenges with public safety. when i say public safety not just about theft. it is about assault and the

number of people who have been attacked on our streets, the number of people who have been robbed and as salted. we want to make sure that we are using every tool at our disposable responsibly to keep people from san francisco safe. i don't think what i propose in my ordinance is unreasonable in light of everything that has been happening in san francisco. >> the voters of san francisco support you. go forward with it. >> thank you very much. from the mouths of citizens. >> mayor, could you address the businesses and restaurants in san francisco that have had a lousy christmas. >> everyone had a lousy christmas. >> what words do you have for them for some of the restrictions to be lifted? >> my hope is that yes, as

dr. colfax said. we also have a responsibility to follow the state orders. mostly when we look at the data, hospitalization rates, number of people who sadly passed away, it makes it possible for us to potentially remove a significant number of restrictions. i think ultimately regardless of the restrictions that is not keeping people away from these places. it is really not wanting to contract omicron. that is really what people are focused on is keeping distance to not get it. it is highly infectious and challenging, people are getting it. the good news is that people for the most part are not ending up in the hospitalizations and dying in numbers we experienced this last year before we had access to the vaccine. i am hopeful and optimistic for the future and sadly so many

small businesses and restaurants and families and people not able to get together is very, very challenging. my hope is as we begin to reopen and see numbers decline we are careful and go out and support our restaurants. we order pick up from the restaurants and support our small businesses. it is going to take all of us to get through this. part of that is san franciscans doing more to support our businesses. my drycleaner i have been going to the same drycleaner since i had a drycleaner. i am not getting as many clothes cleaned as before. talking to find out how can i as long time customer be supportive? donations are helpful to the businesses you care about and

support in that way. >> thank you very much everyone. >> first of all, thank you for coming to celebrate this incredible milestone. i am really excited that she

accepted. because i know what you often times may see is the fights between kim and i. what you don't know is about the friendship and the amount of love and respect i truly have for her and her work ethic from the moment i met her actively engaged in labor in a way that brought the conversation to a different level around women and minorities and their role in leadership and labor. it is good to see more women step up and in fact, it is 125 year history not one woman has ever led the san francisco labor council and kim is doing that, which is absolutely extraordinary. [applause] and you are the first executive director of the labor council to serve on this work

force investment board because i didn't want to appoint the others. just kidding. but in fact, you know, this is so important. when i think about growing up in the western addition and the fights that we used to have to be included in the placements and job opportunities that exist in the city, i feel like we have come a long way but we still have a long way to go to make the real connections between people in many of the communities that many of you represent but himself the same people who want these opportunities, the new jobs that come to san francisco. not just the work related to construction and engineering but as you know there are even shortage of nurses. the work you have done with nuhw was extraordinary onever the years. how that played a role to make

sure there is a real connection between people and the opportunities, through organized labor to make sure they get their fair share, the appropriate pay and benefits and the ability to take care of themselves and their families. you have been doing this work for a really long time. i know that you are going to bring a really strong voice to this body. in the process you are going to make a lot of folks upset what it is you have to say, but i wouldn't have wanted it any other way because some things need to be upset. some things need challenged. in fact, i am not afraid of a challenge and not afraid of the conversations that need to be had to get to a better place that is what we want. we want a better place so people have better lives. you have dedicated your lives to public service.

organized labor but public service because of the people that you know you represent. the people that you know are counting on autophytes for them and make the right decisions that are going to have an impact onnary families and livelihood. regardless of disagreements at the end of the day the underlying message i know that is most important to much of you and i know is important to kill is the fact that we want to fight for better lives for the people we represent. that is why you are going to be serving on this board, and i appreciate and honor that you accepted this opportunity. i am looking forward to seeing something change for the better for workers throughout san francisco. with that let's debt you sworn in. (applause). >> i will put on my mask. covid is running rampant and we

are close to each other. place raise your right hand and repeat. i say your name do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states and the constitution of the state of california against all enemies foreign and domestic that i bear true faith and allegiance to the same. that i take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which i am about to enter and during such time as i serve

as a member of the work force investment san francisco board for the city and county of san francisco. congratulations. [applause] >> here is a little city seal pen with my signature. i give this to all people i swear in to serve. ladies and gentlemen, the latest person for the board tackling work force in san francisco and making real change. [applause]

>> thank you, mayor breed, for taking time-out of your schedule to do this. thank you to the leaders of labor here today, especially my board members, susan, mike, charlie, debra, and my good friend karen. i want to thank you for taking time for the swearing in. it means a lot to me because i have always been really challenged by the fact there rvs and have notes in the work force, and i really want to fight overcoming making sure that everyone becomes a very. everyone has an opportunity to get a job and a wealthy job and to join a union if they so choose. that is my mantra since i was little. it is my mantra to this day. i will fight to make sure. that is what the labor council

is about making sure there are opportunities for people and career ladders. that has always been what i have been about. i want to make sure that happens. we have seen companies take advantage of people especially during strikes when they go into poor neighborhoods to try to recruit scabs. we knead to emphasize recruiting people to getting into them into construction and janitors and construction trades and up the ladder and nursing, healthcare. these are all opportunities they should all have. we want to make sure that the san franciscans that we all know and love have that opportunity and that is my goal for this. i really intend to implement a labor caucus to make sure that we are doing what we need to do to give every san franciscan the opportunity be to participate

from our economic recovery from covid and overall economic recovery as we get on with opening up the city and making sure that people come to san francisco. those the obstacles before us. i hope we overcome them altogether as we move along. thank you. [applause].

>> when i first started painting it was difficult to get my foot in the door and contractors and mostly men would have a bad attitude towards me or not want to answer my questions or not include me and after you prove yourself, which i have done, i don't face that obstacle as much anymore. ♪♪♪

my name is nita riccardi, i'm a painter for the city of san francisco and i have my own business as a painting contractor since 1994 called winning colors. my mother was kind of resistant. none of my brothers were painter. i went to college to be a chiropractor and i couldn't imagine being in an office all day. i dropped out of college to become a painter. >> we have been friends for about 15-20 years. we both decided that maybe i could work for her and so she hired me as a painter. she was always very kind. i wasn't actually a painter when she hired me and that was pretty cool but gave me an opportunity to learn the trade with her company. i went on to different job opportunities but we stayed friends. the division that i work for with san francisco was looking for a painter and so i suggested

to my supervisor maybe we can give nita a shot. >> the painting i do for the city is primarily maintenance painting and i take care of anything from pipes on the roof to maintaining the walls and beautifying the bathrooms and graffiti removal. the work i do for myself is different because i'm not actually a painter. i'm a painting contractor which is a little different. during the construction boom in the late 80s i started doing new construction and then when i moved to san francisco, i went to san francisco state and became fascinated with the architecture and got my contractor's licence and started painting victorians and kind of gravitated towards them. my first project that i did was a 92 room here in the mission. it was the first sro.

i'm proud of that and it was challenging because it was occupied and i got interior and exterior and i thought it would take about six weeks to do it and it took me a whole year. >> nita makes the city more beautiful and one of the things that makes her such a great contractor, she has a magical touch around looking at a project and bringing it to its fullest fruition. sometimes her ideas to me might seem a little whacky. i might be like that is a little crazy. but if you just let her do her thing, she is going to do something incredible, something amazing and that will have a lot of pop in it. and she's really talented at that. >> ultimately it depends on what the customer wants. sometimes they just want to be understated or blend in and other times they let me decide

and then all the doors are open and they want me to create. they hire me to do something beautiful and i do. and that's when work is really fun. i get to be creative and express what i want. paint a really happy house or something elegant or dignified. >> it's really cool to watch what she does. not only that, coming up as a woman, you know what i mean, and we're going back to the 80s with it. where the world wasn't so liberal. it was tough, especially being lgbtq, right, she had a lot of friction amongst trades and a lot of people weren't nice to her, a lot of people didn't give her her due respect. and one of the things amazing about nita, she would never quit. >> after you prove yourself, which i have done, i don't face

that obstacle as much anymore. i'd like to be a mentor to other women also. i have always wanted to do that. they may not want to go to school but there's other options. there's trades. i encourage women to apply for my company, i'd be willing to train and happy to do that. there's a shortage of other women painters. for any women who want to get into a trade or painting career, just start with an apprenticeship or if you want to do your own business, you have to get involved and find a mentor and surround yourself with other people that are going to encourage you to move forward and inspire you and support you and you can't give up. >> we've had a lot of history, nita and i. we've been friends and we have been enemies and we've had conflicts and we always gravitate towards each other with a sense of loyalty that

maybe family would have. we just care about each other. >> many of the street corners in all the districts in san francisco, there will be a painting job i have completed and it will be a beautiful paint job. it will be smooth and gold leaf and just wow. and you can't put it down. when i first started, it was hard to get employees to listen to me and go along -- but now, i have a lot of respect. [♪♪♪]

>> my family's starts in mexico in a small town. my parents are from a very, very small town. so small, that my dad's brother is married to one of my mom's sisters. it's that small. a lot of folks from that town are here in the city. like most immigrant families, my parents wanted a better life for us. my dad came out here first.

i think i was almost two-years-old when he sent for us. my mom and myself came out here. we moved to san francisco early on. in the mission district and moved out to daily city and bounced back to san francisco. we lived across the street from the ups building. for me, when my earliest memories were the big brown trucks driving up and down the street keeping us awake at night. when i was seven-years-old and i'm in charge of making sure we get on the bus on time to get to school. i have to make sure that we do our homework. it's a lot of responsibility for a kid. the weekends were always for family. we used to get together and whether we used to go watch a movie at the new mission theater and then afterwards going to kentucky fried chicken. that was big for us. we get kentucky fried chicken on sunday. whoa! go crazy! so for me, home is having something where you are all together. whether it's just together for dinner or whether it's together

for breakfast or sharing a special moment at the holidays. whether it's thanksgiving or christmas or birthdays. that is home. being so close to berkley and oakland and san francisco, there's a line. here you don't see a line. even though you see someone that's different from you, they're equal. you've always seen that. a rainbow of colors, a ryan bow of personalities. when you think about it you are supposed to be protecting the kids. they have dreams. they have aspirations. they have goals. and you are take that away from them. right now, the price is a hard fight. they're determined. i mean, these kids, you have to applaud them. their heart is in the right place. there's hope. i mean, out here with the things changing everyday, you just hope

the next administration makes a change that makes things right. right now there's a lot of changes on a lot of different levels. the only thing you hope for is for the future of these young kids and young folks that are getting into politics to make the right move and for the folks who can't speak. >> dy mind motion. >> even though we have a lot of fighters, there's a lot of voice less folks and their voiceless because they're scared.

>> clerk: -- and we will receive public comment for each item on today's agenda. comments or opportunities to speak are available by calling 415-655-0001 and entering access code 2495-518-6567. when we reach the item you are interested in speaking to, please press star, three to be added to the queue. when you hear that your line has been unmute t