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A timeline of the moments that defined theater in 2020 — in the Bay Area and beyond
Finding the specific moments in 2020 that altered our art form can help us name our losses and move forward
Lily Janiak December 23, 2020Updated: December 28, 2020, 7:21 am
Megan Nicely performs with Maddy Lawder (right) during a balcony dance in Oakland as part of “Neighborhood Stories,” where audiences in a small caravan of cars (leaving in different shifts a few minutes apart) drive from address to address. Photo: Yalonda M. James , The Chronicle
Even so, much of this year has felt like an undifferentiated haze. We theater lovers haven’t had opening nights and curtain times to structure our lives in the way we’re used to. Finding the specific moments in 2020 that altered our art form can be therapeutic, helping us name our losses and move forward, so here are a few of the “most 2020” instants in theater, presented in the style of a captain’s log.
StanfordCaliforniaUnited-statesYerba-buenaOaklandBerkeley-aquatic-parkSan-francisco-baySan-franciscoAmericanArchie-james-aaronLily-janiakToni-stone hoard for us overall. that's not the issue. i think our point has been made, i will say quickly again to reiterate the one thing about the tree. if we have to go, you know, we witnessed a house next door to us get demolished. the -- and at that time the owner said, we want to save those three trees in the back and -- you know, i'm not the owner of the prts, so i can't dictate terms. i'm wondering if the city has some kind of policy about special trees. this is a -- a very tall avocado stree in the backyard that -- you know our estimation is 80 years old. it is a special tree. just like -- to take that into consideration, maybe -- maybe in the building or the new building and -- whatever you decide. we respect. >> additional public comment? if not, public comment is closed. additional public comment? >> no. >> if not, public comment is closed. commissioner moore? commissioner moore: i like to discuss that we're in a r.m. 2 district. we're seing a lot that is being proposed for four drawing units. staff recommendation analyzes that the prevailing height is not more than three stories, however, what is in front of us is a four-story building. in addition to that this particular project requires a variance and i am in no position to have a building which is excessive in height and excessive also in bulk to be approved without trying to challenge it. i'm not opposed for this large of family to build a -- a four-dwelling unit house. however,, i am looking for more skillled architecture, this project puts an extreme emphasis on stairs galore. i would say briefly glancing at drawing -- i would say easily 15 to 20% of this house is in multiple stairs. instead of combining stairs and minimizing stairs because we are being confronted with the family where we're told that there would be elderly and handicapped people who have -- who have difficulties moving up and downstairs, i would assume that concentrating, common stairs, with perhaps an elevator on four stories would be a building which would be much more suitable to the intent of how the family represents its case. again i'm all interested in multi-family. i'm all interested in this family to really find the home of their dreams. i do believe that the architectures in front of us is not meeting the challenge or is anything i can approve as it is in front of me. we can perhaps -- yeah. >> continue the project. i don't think i have a time limit on my speaking. i think we can continue the project. we have worked with this architect before. asked him to really create a unit or a -- or a combination of units which really expresses the needs of the family and then on top of that is really more in keeping with the overall neighborhood and not to exceed three stories. i would also like to have some cut-ins for the smaller -- two unit dwelling as to either side and instead of -- having in stetback -- setback at all or no notching. i think there should be a respect for the smaller units if indeed we're going in our r.m. 2 to what basically is an r. 4. i put this to the commission for consideration. my motion would be to continue this project, no decisions made as no-no, we're not saying you can't doo this. but we want to basically more responsive design. >> second. >> motion and second to continue. what date? >> i think it takes easily eight to 10 weeks to redesign the building. >> february at some point. february 10th or 1r7b? >> 10rks giss. >> 150r? >> february 10th. >> i can respond, what do you think? what is thu1 what's the challenge to you and your calendar? >> could you clarify the date, please? >> february 10 or february 17 in >> i think february 10 is good enough for us. >> thank you. >> commissioner, on the floor is a motion foner, on the floor is a motion for continuance february 10th. public hearing remains open and basically it's to consider a redesign of the project. >> that's correct. >> sorry. i was just going to say, i think the direction of commissioner moore's comments are to lessen the amount -- lessen or eliminate the need for variances and other match nations that are being asked of this commission. >> ok. on the motion, commissioner antonini? >> aye. >> commissioner moore? >> aye. >> commissioner saguy? >> aye. >> commissioner miguel? >> aye. >> thank you, commissioners. all three components of this item are continued until february 10. commissioners, you are now on item number 20. 2010.057od for 2441 mission street. >> good evening president miguel and members o6 c1 street. >> good evening president miguel and members of the commission. before you this evening is mandatory discretionary review of the building permit proposing to establish a new medical cannabis dispensary doing business as shambala healing arts center at the property of 2441 mission street. the healing arts center is performed for providing safe access of medical cannabis for those suffering with debilitating illnesses. they will not allow on-site smoking. the subject property is on the east side of the 2400 block of mission street between 20th and 21st. the 2400 block of mission contains a number of medical uses including mission medical center, several dental offices and several optometrists. other uses include dwellings, sizable amount of retail clothing shops, pawnshop, photo studio and large theater. the site is located one block north of the mission miracle mile, mission improvement district. this is located on the east and west sides of the mission street from 21st to 22nd street. section 790.141 states new medical cannabis dispensaries that were not in operation as of april 1, 2005, must be located more than 1,000 feet from a parcel containing the grounds of an elementary or secondary school, public or private, or community facility that primarily serves persons under 18 years of age or recreation building that primarily serves person under 18 years of age. two sites within the 1,000 foot radius of the project site require further discussion. one is a recreation building located at the jose bay plound at the corner of 21 and fullsom street, second is nonprofit new door ventures located at 2075 21st street. it is a small park and mission district and offers a recreation building. the most recent information from park and rec is that the site is closed and rec connect was the last known tenant to briefly occupy the site. new adventures located at 3525 was not identified by staff as a community center or recreation building during the review of the existing buildings. it's a two-story nonconforming industrial building located within a residential district one block west from jose coronado. it was previously used at the preprocessing center dating back from the early 1930's. staff was made aware of the site after receiving a public inquiry. constrained research confirmed that the property does not have the appropriate land use entitlements and required building permits to be established as a social service use, assembly or recreation use. is in regards to public comment, project sponsors have been meeting on a one-to-one basis with as many neighbors as possible and has held outreach meetings with the mission merchant association, with the members of the mission miracle improvement district and with the bhord of mission housing development corporation. the department has received 19 letters in support of the proposal, including a letter from the office of supervisor david compos of district 9. project sponsor provided 38 signed letters in support of the proposal. the department has received six letters in opposition from small businesses located on the subject block and the unanimous opposition from the miracle mile business improvement district. the department has also received a petition with the names of 80 such persons proposing the m.c.d. use, although we saw some inconsistencies and some names reused. the department has received four phone calls objecting to the use and has stated there are numerous n.c.t.'s close within the society. staff recommends they take the discretionary review and approve it within conditions -- it is no located within 1,000 feet of elementary or secondary school, public or private or active recreation building or permitted community centers which primarily serve persons 18 years or less as defined by 790.141. in addition the proposal satisfies all of the criteria to be considered by the commission in evaluating medical cannabis dispensary. this completes staff presentation and i'm available for your questions. >> thank you, project sponsor. >> good evening, president miguel and commissioners. i'm an artist, activist and executive director of dance mission theater, a nonprofit at 24th and mission. i'm also a mother of a teenager. for the last 15 years i lived at 21st and cap street two blocks from the proposed cannabis dispensary. i have witnessed firsthand or neighborhood of residents and businesses be at times a haven for prostitutes and drunks, mixed with music centers, medical providers, movie theaters, pawnshops and now very high-end restaurants and real estate companies. we are our own unique and diverse social experiment. the perfect place for our medical cannabis dispensary. the proposed dispensary is called shambala healing center, a word that means pure land, a place that fosters health, well being and peace. medical cannabis has a 2500-year-old history and yet one of the most maligned and misunderstood medicines on the planet. as a people's medicine, easy to grow, harvest and dispense, medical cannabis is enjoying a renaissance and what better location for that renaissance than san francisco? as the health care debate rages in this country and health care becomes more and more expensive, the sham bala healing center hopes to be a port in the storm. medical cannabis has many well documented beneficial effects. i'm sure you know. you sat through many hearings. among these are relief of nausea, vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and aids patients. it is shown to be beneficial for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, migraines and depression. there was a time not too long ago that acupuncture, chiropractic and massage were considered way outside the box. none of these were paid for by the insurance industry. now things are different. clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, th clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, the state legalization of cannabis is on the horizon. with the opening of the shambala healing center we hope to be able to forge new ground in the understanding and benefits of medical cannabis and provide our community with the cannabis club that reflects our multiincome, multiculture neighborhood and its need for safe, clean, welcoming and professional help centers. we hope to be a model institution and provide the city with an example of an m.p.d. we can all be proud of and what better place than the heart of the mission. the mission district is the longtime community of immigrants, artists and forward-thinking people. this is the perfect location. new ideas, new art and new organizations are born from the mission every day. we look forward to being part of this creative mix. we are also a part of the medical block full of doctors and dentists. one of our long-term goals is to include a center in the area for our members that provide acupuncture, herbs, massage and other holistic health practices. our other goal is to become a neighborhood institution that benefits the nonprofit center. there was recently a "the new york times" article about a medical grove in santa rosa created specifically to provide much-needed resources for artists and art activities. later we will testify more on this concept. we feel our dispensary would bring new businesses to the neighborhood and help fill in the high vacancy rates in our block between 19th and 21st street. for our members, it is strategically located between the 16th and 24th street bart station with the parking garage a block away on barlet and on the 14 and 44 bus lines. we do not anticipate parking problems. we have already employed many businesses and residents in the area and have talked for lots of people searching for employment. we see our entire operation of medical cannabis, patient support, nonprofit net working, local hiring and advertising to be a huge boom for our struggling san francisco economy. our organization is set up as a co-op. the driving forces in this state include myself, a longtime mission and small business owner and a general contractor. each new member of our co-op will have access to meetings, systemized feedback and input on our funds to nonprofit organizations. please note that in your packet is later of support from our esteemed supervisor david compos and land use specialist commissioner debra walker as well as many artists, activists, mother, doctors, et cetera. we have support from all sides of the aisle. if you did not make that analogy. we see our goals as a win-win for our neighborhood and city. we worked hard with the planning department. we have been shepherded through this arduous process by the wonderful edgar oropeza and have talked to local businesses. we heard firsthand about people suffering from illness and pain that was-suffering from illness that was mitigated by cannabis. we firmly believe what we are doing is the right thing and our efforts might make a difference. our hope is we help people in our community find their shangri-la, their shambala of health, happiness and well being and we hope you see our response is one of commission that people do not need to suffer. thank you. >> thank you. number of speaker cards, stella adelman, lila rarderian, aerial vargas. >> my name is della adelman. i currently live in the mission district and work there as well. i submitted my own letter in support of the shambala healing art center. however at this moment i would like to read the letter of support by the super veezer of district nine. dear commissioners, i am writing in support of the shambala healing center's propose project on 2421 mission street to be heard at the december 16th planning commission meeting based on what i know of the project. the shambala heating arts center was formed with the purpose of providing safe access to medical cannabis for those suffering from debilitating illnesses. the site has already been fully renovated to meet requirements of the department of public health, the department of building inspection and other pertinent agencies. if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office, sincerely david compos, soup irvisor, district nine. thank you. >> thank you. >> hello, my name is laila. i am a working artist. i have been living and working in the san francisco mission district for the last ten years. i also wrote a letter of support -- in support of the shambala healing center. today i will read a letter from debra walker. dear commissioners i'm writing this letter as a personal reference in support of christy kiefer. i have known miss kiefer as a friend and fellow artist for over ten years. we have worked together to forward positive planning in the eastern part of town. we've also worked together on issues affecting the arts community. christy and i served with dozens of or the representatives on the arts task force. her contributions to the mission, to the arts community and to the women's community have enriched our community for decades. miss kiefer has run a world renown dance company, two major dance centers and has mentored many of the dancers and organizations thriving in san francisco. she's well respected for her integrity, commitment to stake and neighborhood. i know she's starting a new venture for the very purpose of helping folks who are in need of medical cannabis. her own experience with loved ones experiencing extreme and chronic suffering or the basis of this effort. i support her, the neighborhood supports her and i know she will continue to be a positive contributing great neighborhood in the mission. debra walker. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. i have done public health and violence prevention work with youth in the mission district for over 20 years. my family has been in the mission district since the 1950's. my work has been in the san francisco unified full district and local university and community-based organizations. i support this project because it provides safe access to medicine near public transportation. i have also been a cannabis caregiver for several patients. this is also a unique model that creates community benefit resulting in free and subsidized dance classes for children at the dance mission space and use of space at a time when space is at a premium and art services for low-income communities are difficult to sustain and when childhood obesity is reaching the alarming rate of half the patient population of at least one local mission community clinic. i'm a parent of children attending school in the mission district and believe this is a project that if one examines the details, we will benefit both patients and families in the mission district. i also have a letter that i would like to submit in support and a letter from a retired mission native and licensed clinical social worker retired from the san francisco department of public health who is also in support of this project. thank you. >> thank you. >> aaliyah, tina banchard and michael deign. >> good evening, i'm a dancer and i have been working in the mission district for the last 15 years. i would like to read a letter of support from a licensed acupuncturist. to whom it may concern -- i'm writing this letter in full support of the shambala healing center's application to open an m.c.d. at 2441 mission streefment as a licensed acupuncturist in private practice for over 15 years in san francisco i have witnessed and been a part of the evolution of alternative health care in our city. when i opened my practice in 1994 there were few, if any, medical insurance plans that covered acupuncture. in fact, the san francisco city health plan was one of the few plans forward thinking enough to provide that benefit. now dozens of large insurance companies such as anthem blue cross, united health care, health met, blue shield of california, cigna and aetna provide coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. i believe that the medical cannabis movement is now where acupuncture was 15 years ago. the shambala healing center is poised to provide a high quality, holistic alternative and complimentary health care in the art of the mission. its organizers are people who are deeply committed to the well being the neighborhood and its residents and who understand the area's culture and needs. for this reason, i fully support the shambala healing center's application and urge you to approve this highly worthwhile project. please feel free to contact me with any questions. sincerely, sharon, licensed acupuncturist. thank you. >> commissioners, good evening. philip lesser, mission merchants association. this is the first time i have spoken on behalf of a medical cannabis dispensary and the way i got roped into this one is i got a telephone call from al shawa in august. al and i have known one another for 25 years. he was my tenant. yes, landlords and at theants can have good relations. i wouldn't have thought 25 years later i would be sitting here in room 400 next to him. but he knows i'm involved in many organizations in the mission. i'm vment of government -- vice president of government affairs and media relations. i'm executive director of mission miracle mile business improvement district. i'm also the treasurer on the board of mission housing development corporation, the foremost affordable housing provider in the mission district with about 2,000 residents. what can i do for you and he said can you do outreach? go out and talk and see what the sensitivities are. obviously, everybody knows how sensitive this is. i did that since august and basically what netted out of it is people feel that if these n.c.t.'s really operate to the letter and spirit and codes they are positive, got that across the board, the sensitivity was will they? and the reason i got involved in this one is because of what you were hearing from chrissy, who by the way took 8% of the vote away from inp in where she ran against her in 2006. so you have a very high visible person here. al shawa can see people walking up and down the street in clothing that he sold to them in the last 25 years. chrissy, when we go out done outreach together. i know you. oh, my daughter, she danced at your studio and her daughter is now going to dance at your studio. these are people who are embedded in the mission district. the only organization that was vehemently opposed this idea was the mission miracle mile. and the property owners there basically said, well, they're property owners so very xavier, the entitlements go to the property and not chrissy and al. what happens when chrissy and al aren't there? that was the main argument that i heard from them. they also felt that medical marijuana should be treated more like how prostitution is treated in amsterdam, we should have a red light district as it were for medical cannabis dispensary. i promised i would pass along their sentiments. this is the foremost medical block in the mission with farm sies on it, mission medical center, two dental offices, two optical offices, across the street clinical latina, two community starts, bart station four blocks way and two garages. it's the right location. these are right people. has my endorsement. thank you very much fpblet >> thank you. tina, michael dane. >> good evening. my name is tina and i'm a professional dancer and teaching artist in the mission district. i taught for last ten years multiple thousands of children and i have submitted a letter and i'm also here to read a letter on behalf of ricardo garcia accostia. esteemed commissioners, i'm writing in support of the placement of a new healing center and medical marijuana dispensary in the mission district. my name is ricardo garcia acosta, program director for the northwest region of the community response network of san francisco, a 501-c3 nonprofit collaborative program serving the san francisco mission district. specializing in gang intervention and crisis response services. the following correspondence is not being submitted on behalf of my agency but on behalf of my own personal experience working the last ten years for various c.b.o.'s in the mission district community. throughout my work it has been very clear much of what is at the core of youth violence is the lack of culture and artistic opportunities that are affordable for low-income families to access. over the years limited and decreased funding for both arts and nonprofit services in general have led to a slow decrease of community vibrancy. creating a community benefit fund that grants support to local community-based organizations and provides subsidiaries, subsidizes use of dance mission space and dance scholarships for children would truly be a benefit to the broader community. this new healing center will not only provide medicine at a local -- at a location that is safe and accessible to patients and caregivers by public transportation, it also provides a unique opportunity to support an arts-based service provider in the mission. dance mission. it is for this reason that i hope you will consider the positive effects on the community that will follow the approval of this permit. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is michael dane and i'm a resident in san francisco mission district. i have been an activist for medical marijuana since 2001. i know several of you people on the commission. i am truly supporting this project that chrissy kiefer is now involved on and representing the medical cannabis community here in san francisco. i thoroughly endorse it. i think it is a good addition to our community and i hope that all of the commissioners who wrote for this proposal as is -- would vote for this proposal as is. >> is there additional public comment on this item? if not, public comment is closed. >> i want to thank the staff for your hard work on this. i know there were some questions that i had around the location and playgrou.
New-yorkUnited-statesMission-districtCaliforniaSan-franciscoAmsterdamNoord-hollandNetherlandsRicardo-garciaJose-coronadoChrissy-kieferMichael-dane february 10th or 1r7b? >> 10rks giss. >> 150r? >> february 10th. >> i can respond, what do you think? what is thu1 what's the challenge to you and your calendar? >> could you clarify the date, please? >> february 10 or february 17 in >> i think february 10 is good enough for us. >> thank you. >> commissioner, on the floor is a motion foner, on the floor is a motion for continuance february 10th. public hearing remains open and basically it's to consider a redesign of the project. >> that's correct. >> sorry. i was just going to say, i think the direction of commissioner moore's comments are to lessen the amount -- lessen or eliminate the need for variances and other match nations that are being asked of this commission. >> ok. on the motion, commissioner antonini? >> aye. >> commissioner moore? >> aye. >> commissioner saguy? >> aye. >> commissioner miguel? >> aye. >> thank you, commissioners. all three components of this item are continued until february 10. commissioners, you are now on item number 20. 2010.057od for 2441 mission street. >> good evening president miguel and members o6 c1 street. >> good evening president miguel and members of the commission. before you this evening is mandatory discretionary review of the building permit proposing to establish a new medical cannabis dispensary doing business as shambala healing arts center at the property of 2441 mission street. the healing arts center is performed for providing safe access of medical cannabis for those suffering with debilitating illnesses. they will not allow on-site smoking. the subject property is on the east side of the 2400 block of mission street between 20th and 21st. the 2400 block of mission contains a number of medical uses including mission medical center, several dental offices and several optometrists. other uses include dwellings, sizable amount of retail clothing shops, pawnshop, photo studio and large theater. the site is located one block north of the mission miracle mile, mission improvement district. this is located on the east and west sides of the mission street from 21st to 22nd street. section 790.141 states new medical cannabis dispensaries that were not in operation as of april 1, 2005, must be located more than 1,000 feet from a parcel containing the grounds of an elementary or secondary school, public or private, or community facility that primarily serves persons under 18 years of age or recreation building that primarily serves person under 18 years of age. two sites within the 1,000 foot radius of the project site require further discussion. one is a recreation building located at the jose bay plound at the corner of 21 and fullsom street, second is nonprofit new door ventures located at 2075 21st street. it is a small park and mission district and offers a recreation building. the most recent information from park and rec is that the site is closed and rec connect was the last known tenant to briefly occupy the site. new adventures located at 3525 was not identified by staff as a community center or recreation building during the review of the existing buildings. it's a two-story nonconforming industrial building located within a residential district one block west from jose coronado. it was previously used at the preprocessing center dating back from the early 1930's. staff was made aware of the site after receiving a public inquiry. constrained research confirmed that the property does not have the appropriate land use entitlements and required building permits to be established as a social service use, assembly or recreation use. is in regards to public comment, project sponsors have been meeting on a one-to-one basis with as many neighbors as possible and has held outreach meetings with the mission merchant association, with the members of the mission miracle improvement district and with the bhord of mission housing development corporation. the department has received 19 letters in support of the proposal, including a letter from the office of supervisor david compos of district 9. project sponsor provided 38 signed letters in support of the proposal. the department has received six letters in opposition from small businesses located on the subject block and the unanimous opposition from the miracle mile business improvement district. the department has also received a petition with the names of 80 such persons proposing the m.c.d. use, although we saw some inconsistencies and some names reused. the department has received four phone calls objecting to the use and has stated there are numerous n.c.t.'s close within the society. staff recommends they take the discretionary review and approve it within conditions -- it is no located within 1,000 feet of elementary or secondary school, public or private or active recreation building or permitted community centers which primarily serve persons 18 years or less as defined by 790.141. in addition the proposal satisfies all of the criteria to be considered by the commission in evaluating medical cannabis dispensary. this completes staff presentation and i'm available for your questions. >> thank you, project sponsor. >> good evening, president miguel and commissioners. i'm an artist, activist and executive director of dance mission theater, a nonprofit at 24th and mission. i'm also a mother of a teenager. for the last 15 years i lived at 21st and cap street two blocks from the proposed cannabis dispensary. i have witnessed firsthand or neighborhood of residents and businesses be at times a haven for prostitutes and drunks, mixed with music centers, medical providers, movie theaters, pawnshops and now very high-end restaurants and real estate companies. we are our own unique and diverse social experiment. the perfect place for our medical cannabis dispensary. the proposed dispensary is called shambala healing center, a word that means pure land, a place that fosters health, well being and peace. medical cannabis has a 2500-year-old history and yet one of the most maligned and misunderstood medicines on the planet. as a people's medicine, easy to grow, harvest and dispense, medical cannabis is enjoying a renaissance and what better location for that renaissance than san francisco? as the health care debate rages in this country and health care becomes more and more expensive, the sham bala healing center hopes to be a port in the storm. medical cannabis has many well documented beneficial effects. i'm sure you know. you sat through many hearings. among these are relief of nausea, vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and aids patients. it is shown to be beneficial for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, migraines and depression. there was a time not too long ago that acupuncture, chiropractic and massage were considered way outside the box. none of these were paid for by the insurance industry. now things are different. clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, th clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, the state legalization of cannabis is on the horizon. with the opening of the shambala healing center we hope to be able to forge new ground in the understanding and benefits of medical cannabis and provide our community with the cannabis club that reflects our multiincome, multiculture neighborhood and its need for safe, clean, welcoming and professional help centers. we hope to be a model institution and provide the city with an example of an m.p.d. we can all be proud of and what better place than the heart of the mission. the mission district is the longtime community of immigrants, artists and forward-thinking people. this is the perfect location. new ideas, new art and new organizations are born from the mission every day. we look forward to being part of this creative mix. we are also a part of the medical block full of doctors and dentists. one of our long-term goals is to include a center in the area for our members that provide acupuncture, herbs, massage and other holistic health practices. our other goal is to become a neighborhood institution that benefits the nonprofit center. there was recently a "the new york times" article about a medical grove in santa rosa created specifically to provide much-needed resources for artists and art activities. later we will testify more on this concept. we feel our dispensary would bring new businesses to the neighborhood and help fill in the high vacancy rates in our block between 19th and 21st street. for our members, it is strategically located between the 16th and 24th street bart station with the parking garage a block away on barlet and on the 14 and 44 bus lines. we do not anticipate parking problems. we have already employed many businesses and residents in the area and have talked for lots of people searching for employment. we see our entire operation of medical cannabis, patient support, nonprofit net working, local hiring and advertising to be a huge boom for our struggling san francisco economy. our organization is set up as a co-op. the driving forces in this state include myself, a longtime mission and small business owner and a general contractor. each new member of our co-op will have access to meetings, systemized feedback and input on our funds to nonprofit organizations. please note that in your packet is later of support from our esteemed supervisor david compos and land use specialist commissioner debra walker as well as many artists, activists, mother, doctors, et cetera. we have support from all sides of the aisle. if you did not make that analogy. we see our goals as a win-win for our neighborhood and city. we worked hard with the planning department. we have been shepherded through this arduous process by the wonderful edgar oropeza and have talked to local businesses. we heard firsthand about people suffering from illness and pain that was-suffering from illness that was mitigated by cannabis. we firmly believe what we are doing is the right thing and our efforts might make a difference. our hope is we help people in our community find their shangri-la, their shambala of health, happiness and well being and we hope you see our response is one of commission that people do not need to suffer. thank you. >> thank you. number of speaker cards, stella adelman, lila rarderian, aerial vargas. >> my name is della adelman. i currently live in the mission district and work there as well. i submitted my own letter in support of the shambala healing art center. however at this moment i would like to read the letter of support by the super veezer of district nine. dear commissioners, i am writing in support of the shambala healing center's propose project on 2421 mission street to be heard at the december 16th planning commission meeting based on what i know of the project. the shambala heating arts center was formed with the purpose of providing safe access to medical cannabis for those suffering from debilitating illnesses. the site has already been fully renovated to meet requirements of the department of public health, the department of building inspection and other pertinent agencies. if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office, sincerely david compos, soup irvisor, district nine. thank you. >> thank you. >> hello, my name is laila. i am a working artist. i have been living and working in the san francisco mission district for the last ten years. i also wrote a letter of support -- in support of the shambala healing center. today i will read a letter from debra walker. dear commissioners i'm writing this letter as a personal reference in support of christy kiefer. i have known miss kiefer as a friend and fellow artist for over ten years. we have worked together to forward positive planning in the eastern part of town. we've also worked together on issues affecting the arts community. christy and i served with dozens of or the representatives on the arts task force. her contributions to the mission, to the arts community and to the women's community have enriched our community for decades. miss kiefer has run a world renown dance company, two major dance centers and has mentored many of the dancers and organizations thriving in san francisco. she's well respected for her integrity, commitment to stake and neighborhood. i know she's starting a new venture for the very purpose of helping folks who are in need of medical cannabis. her own experience with loved ones experiencing extreme and chronic suffering or the basis of this effort. i support her, the neighborhood supports her and i know she will continue to be a positive contributing great neighborhood in the mission. debra walker. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. i have done public health and violence prevention work with youth in the mission district for over 20 years. my family has been in the mission district since the 1950's. my work has been in the san francisco unified full district and local university and community-based organizations. i support this project because it provides safe access to medicine near public transportation. i have also been a cannabis caregiver for several patients. this is also a unique model that creates community benefit resulting in free and subsidized dance classes for children at the dance mission space and use of space at a time when space is at a premium and art services for low-income communities are difficult to sustain and when childhood obesity is reaching the alarming rate of half the patient population of at least one local mission community clinic. i'm a parent of children attending school in the mission district and believe this is a project that if one examines the details, we will benefit both patients and families in the mission district. i also have a letter that i would like to submit in support and a letter from a retired mission native and licensed clinical social worker retired from the san francisco department of public health who is also in support of this project. thank you. >> thank you. >> aaliyah, tina banchard and michael deign. >> good evening, i'm a dancer and i have been working in the mission district for the last 15 years. i would like to read a letter of support from a licensed acupuncturist. to whom it may concern -- i'm writing this letter in full support of the shambala healing center's application to open an m.c.d. at 2441 mission streefment as a licensed acupuncturist in private practice for over 15 years in san francisco i have witnessed and been a part of the evolution of alternative health care in our city. when i opened my practice in 1994 there were few, if any, medical insurance plans that covered acupuncture. in fact, the san francisco city health plan was one of the few plans forward thinking enough to provide that benefit. now dozens of large insurance companies such as anthem blue cross, united health care, health met, blue shield of california, cigna and aetna provide coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. i believe that the medical cannabis movement is now where acupuncture was 15 years ago. the shambala healing center is poised to provide a high quality, holistic alternative and complimentary health care in the art of the mission. its organizers are people who are deeply committed to the well being the neighborhood and its residents and who understand the area's culture and needs. for this reason, i fully support the shambala healing center's application and urge you to approve this highly worthwhile project. please feel free to contact me with any questions. sincerely, sharon, licensed acupuncturist. thank you. >> commissioners, good evening. philip lesser, mission merchants association. this is the first time i have spoken on behalf of a medical cannabis dispensary and the way i got roped into this one is i got a telephone call from al shawa in august. al and i have known one another for 25 years. he was my tenant. yes, landlords and at theants can have good relations. i wouldn't have thought 25 years later i would be sitting here in room 400 next to him. but he knows i'm involved in many organizations in the mission. i'm vment of government -- vice president of government affairs and media relations. i'm executive director of mission miracle mile business improvement district. i'm also the treasurer on the board of mission housing development corporation, the foremost affordable housing provider in the mission district with about 2,000 residents. what can i do for you and he said can you do outreach? go out and talk and see what the sensitivities are. obviously, everybody knows how sensitive this is. i did that since august and basically what netted out of it is people feel that if these n.c.t.'s really operate to the letter and spirit and codes they are positive, got that across the board, the sensitivity was will they? and the reason i got involved in this one is because of what you were hearing from chrissy, who by the way took 8% of the vote away from inp in where she ran against her in 2006. so you have a very high visible person here. al shawa can see people walking up and down the street in clothing that he sold to them in the last 25 years. chrissy, when we go out done outreach together. i know you. oh, my daughter, she danced at your studio and her daughter is now going to dance at your studio. these are people who are embedded in the mission district. the only organization that was vehemently opposed this idea was the mission miracle mile. and the property owners there basically said, well, they're property owners so very xavier, the entitlements go to the property and not chrissy and al. what happens when chrissy and al aren't there? that was the main argument that i heard from them. they also felt that medical marijuana should be treated more like how prostitution is treated in amsterdam, we should have a red light district as it were for medical cannabis dispensary. i promised i would pass along their sentiments. this is the foremost medical block in the mission with farm sies on it, mission medical center, two dental offices, two optical offices, across the street clinical latina, two community starts, bart station four blocks way and two garages. it's the right location. these are right people. has my endorsement. thank you very much fpblet >> thank you. tina, michael dane. >> good evening. my name is tina and i'm a professional dancer and teaching artist in the mission district. i taught for last ten years multiple thousands of children and i have submitted a letter and i'm also here to read a letter on behalf of ricardo garcia accostia. esteemed commissioners, i'm writing in support of the placement of a new healing center and medical marijuana dispensary in the mission district. my name is ricardo garcia acosta, program director for the northwest region of the community response network of san francisco, a 501-c3 nonprofit collaborative program serving the san francisco mission district. specializing in gang intervention and crisis response services. the following correspondence is not being submitted on behalf of my agency but on behalf of my own personal experience working the last ten years for various c.b.o.'s in the mission district community. throughout my work it has been very clear much of what is at the core of youth violence is the lack of culture and artistic opportunities that are affordable for low-income families to access. over the years limited and decreased funding for both arts and nonprofit services in general have led to a slow decrease of community vibrancy. creating a community benefit fund that grants support to local community-based organizations and provides subsidiaries, subsidizes use of dance mission space and dance scholarships for children would truly be a benefit to the broader community. this new healing center will not only provide medicine at a local -- at a location that is safe and accessible to patients and caregivers by public transportation, it also provides a unique opportunity to support an arts-based service provider in the mission. dance mission. it is for this reason that i hope you will consider the positive effects on the community that will follow the approval of this permit. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is michael dane and i'm a resident in san francisco mission district. i have been an activist for medical marijuana since 2001. i know several of you people on the commission. i am truly supporting this project that chrissy kiefer is now involved on and representing the medical cannabis community here in san francisco. i thoroughly endorse it. i think it is a good addition to our community and i hope that all of the commissioners who wrote for this proposal as is -- would vote for this proposal as is. >> is there additional public comment on this item? if not, public comment is closed. >> i want to thank the staff for your hard work on this. i know there were some questions that i had around the location and playground. i think that the research really helped us to have a better understanding of how this project would fit in and relate to other we have approved in the past. so i thank you for your work. i support this. i have known mr. kiefer for a number of years and mr. lesser as well so i trust that they are responsible people, responsive to the community with a long history in the mission. we heard from mr. vargas who has lived in the mission, his family is from there -- has been there for, you know, a few generations. so i really trust that we can have full faith in these operators will acknowledge and actually work with the code and -- and the conditions that we're imposing on this project. in the past we have approved project and some some haven't been responsive and they lost their p c1 been responsive and they lost their permits. we just don't go around handing out permits. there's a lot of scrutiny that goes into it from the public health to planning. s to not just something that happens overnight. so there's a lot of work before it gets to us and i have faith it's going to be a good, positive project for the mission. there is none the closest one m mission. i think the closest one might be 15th and mission, which is further down and then there's some on valencia but there really isn't in that location that's close to public transportation and as someone mentioned there are other health services in that area that i think complement this as well. that being said, will move to approve. >> second. >> commissioner saguy? >> i'm supportive. however, that was with conditions, right, commission olague? >> yes, with conditions, definitely. >> i would like to move one -- don't know if it's a finding or whatever, down into the conditions. and that would be the one related to patients who will not be permitted to smoke or inhale product via vaporizes provided on the site. >> the project is not proposing on-site smoking. you want that as part of the finding? >> i do. >> i would be happy to do that. >> that's fine. >> that include vaporizing? >> yes. ok. >> and that's going in the findings, right? right. that's fine. >> commissioners, the motion on the floor is to take discretionary review and approve the project with conditions and one of the findings would be that patients would not be allowed to smoke or vaporize on site. with that commissioner antonini has stepped out. commission fong? >> aye. >> commissioner moore? >> aye. >> commission saguyia? >> aye. >> commission saguyia? >> aye. >> commission olague? >> aye. >> commissioner miguel? >> aye. >> thank you, commissioners. the motion has passed unanimously. you are now on item number 21, case number 2010.0770d for 2278 washington. >> good evening, commissioners. sarah vellve, department staff. proposing to reauthorize a curb cut and parking pad approximately 11 to 15 feet deep by 8 feet wide and authorize a new fence and gate to screen offstreet parking.
New-yorkUnited-statesMission-districtCaliforniaWashingtonDistrict-of-columbiaValenciaCaraboboVenezuelaSan-franciscoAmsterdamNoord-holland all three components of this item are continued until february 10. commissioners, you are now on item number 20. 2010.057od for 2441 mission street. >> good evening president miguel and members o6 c1 street. >> good evening president miguel and members of the commission. before you this evening is mandatory discretionary review of the building permit proposing to establish a new medical cannabis dispensary doing business as shambala healing arts center at the property of 2441 mission street. the healing arts center is performed for providing safe access of medical cannabis for those suffering with debilitating illnesses. they will not allow on-site smoking. the subject property is on the east side of the 2400 block of mission street between 20th and 21st. the 2400 block of mission contains a number of medical uses including mission medical center, several dental offices and several optometrists. other uses include dwellings, sizable amount of retail clothing shops, pawnshop, photo studio and large theater. the site is located one block north of the mission miracle mile, mission improvement district. this is located on the east and west sides of the mission street from 21st to 22nd street. section 790.141 states new medical cannabis dispensaries that were not in operation as of april 1, 2005, must be located more than 1,000 feet from a parcel containing the grounds of an elementary or secondary school, public or private, or community facility that primarily serves persons under 18 years of age or recreation building that primarily serves person under 18 years of age. two sites within the 1,000 foot radius of the project site require further discussion. one is a recreation building located at the jose bay plound at the corner of 21 and fullsom street, second is nonprofit new door ventures located at 2075 21st street. it is a small park and mission district and offers a recreation building. the most recent information from park and rec is that the site is closed and rec connect was the last known tenant to briefly occupy the site. new adventures located at 3525 was not identified by staff as a community center or recreation building during the review of the existing buildings. it's a two-story nonconforming industrial building located within a residential district one block west from jose coronado. it was previously used at the preprocessing center dating back from the early 1930's. staff was made aware of the site after receiving a public inquiry. constrained research confirmed that the property does not have the appropriate land use entitlements and required building permits to be established as a social service use, assembly or recreation use. is in regards to public comment, project sponsors have been meeting on a one-to-one basis with as many neighbors as possible and has held outreach meetings with the mission merchant association, with the members of the mission miracle improvement district and with the bhord of mission housing development corporation. the department has received 19 letters in support of the proposal, including a letter from the office of supervisor david compos of district 9. project sponsor provided 38 signed letters in support of the proposal. the department has received six letters in opposition from small businesses located on the subject block and the unanimous opposition from the miracle mile business improvement district. the department has also received a petition with the names of 80 such persons proposing the m.c.d. use, although we saw some inconsistencies and some names reused. the department has received four phone calls objecting to the use and has stated there are numerous n.c.t.'s close within the society. staff recommends they take the discretionary review and approve it within conditions -- it is no located within 1,000 feet of elementary or secondary school, public or private or active recreation building or permitted community centers which primarily serve persons 18 years or less as defined by 790.141. in addition the proposal satisfies all of the criteria to be considered by the commission in evaluating medical cannabis dispensary. this completes staff presentation and i'm available for your questions. >> thank you, project sponsor. >> good evening, president miguel and commissioners. i'm an artist, activist and executive director of dance mission theater, a nonprofit at 24th and mission. i'm also a mother of a teenager. for the last 15 years i lived at 21st and cap street two blocks from the proposed cannabis dispensary. i have witnessed firsthand or neighborhood of residents and businesses be at times a haven for prostitutes and drunks, mixed with music centers, medical providers, movie theaters, pawnshops and now very high-end restaurants and real estate companies. we are our own unique and diverse social experiment. the perfect place for our medical cannabis dispensary. the proposed dispensary is called shambala healing center, a word that means pure land, a place that fosters health, well being and peace. medical cannabis has a 2500-year-old history and yet one of the most maligned and misunderstood medicines on the planet. as a people's medicine, easy to grow, harvest and dispense, medical cannabis is enjoying a renaissance and what better location for that renaissance than san francisco? as the health care debate rages in this country and health care becomes more and more expensive, the sham bala healing center hopes to be a port in the storm. medical cannabis has many well documented beneficial effects. i'm sure you know. you sat through many hearings. among these are relief of nausea, vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and aids patients. it is shown to be beneficial for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, migraines and depression. there was a time not too long ago that acupuncture, chiropractic and massage were considered way outside the box. none of these were paid for by the insurance industry. now things are different. clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, th clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, the state legalization of cannabis is on the horizon. with the opening of the shambala healing center we hope to be able to forge new ground in the understanding and benefits of medical cannabis and provide our community with the cannabis club that reflects our multiincome, multiculture neighborhood and its need for safe, clean, welcoming and professional help centers. we hope to be a model institution and provide the city with an example of an m.p.d. we can all be proud of and what better place than the heart of the mission. the mission district is the longtime community of immigrants, artists and forward-thinking people. this is the perfect location. new ideas, new art and new organizations are born from the mission every day. we look forward to being part of this creative mix. we are also a part of the medical block full of doctors and dentists. one of our long-term goals is to include a center in the area for our members that provide acupuncture, herbs, massage and other holistic health practices. our other goal is to become a neighborhood institution that benefits the nonprofit center. there was recently a "the new york times" article about a medical grove in santa rosa created specifically to provide much-needed resources for artists and art activities. later we will testify more on this concept. we feel our dispensary would bring new businesses to the neighborhood and help fill in the high vacancy rates in our block between 19th and 21st street. for our members, it is strategically located between the 16th and 24th street bart station with the parking garage a block away on barlet and on the 14 and 44 bus lines. we do not anticipate parking problems. we have already employed many businesses and residents in the area and have talked for lots of people searching for employment. we see our entire operation of medical cannabis, patient support, nonprofit net working, local hiring and advertising to be a huge boom for our struggling san francisco economy. our organization is set up as a co-op. the driving forces in this state include myself, a longtime mission and small business owner and a general contractor. each new member of our co-op will have access to meetings, systemized feedback and input on our funds to nonprofit organizations. please note that in your packet is later of support from our esteemed supervisor david compos and land use specialist commissioner debra walker as well as many artists, activists, mother, doctors, et cetera. we have support from all sides of the aisle. if you did not make that analogy. we see our goals as a win-win for our neighborhood and city. we worked hard with the planning department. we have been shepherded through this arduous process by the wonderful edgar oropeza and have talked to local businesses. we heard firsthand about people suffering from illness and pain that was-suffering from illness that was mitigated by cannabis. we firmly believe what we are doing is the right thing and our efforts might make a difference. our hope is we help people in our community find their shangri-la, their shambala of health, happiness and well being and we hope you see our response is one of commission that people do not need to suffer. thank you. >> thank you. number of speaker cards, stella adelman, lila rarderian, aerial vargas. >> my name is della adelman. i currently live in the mission district and work there as well. i submitted my own letter in support of the shambala healing art center. however at this moment i would like to read the letter of support by the super veezer of district nine. dear commissioners, i am writing in support of the shambala healing center's propose project on 2421 mission street to be heard at the december 16th planning commission meeting based on what i know of the project. the shambala heating arts center was formed with the purpose of providing safe access to medical cannabis for those suffering from debilitating illnesses. the site has already been fully renovated to meet requirements of the department of public health, the department of building inspection and other pertinent agencies. if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office, sincerely david compos, soup irvisor, district nine. thank you. >> thank you. >> hello, my name is laila. i am a working artist. i have been living and working in the san francisco mission district for the last ten years. i also wrote a letter of support -- in support of the shambala healing center. today i will read a letter from debra walker. dear commissioners i'm writing this letter as a personal reference in support of christy kiefer. i have known miss kiefer as a friend and fellow artist for over ten years. we have worked together to forward positive planning in the eastern part of town. we've also worked together on issues affecting the arts community. christy and i served with dozens of or the representatives on the arts task force. her contributions to the mission, to the arts community and to the women's community have enriched our community for decades. miss kiefer has run a world renown dance company, two major dance centers and has mentored many of the dancers and organizations thriving in san francisco. she's well respected for her integrity, commitment to stake and neighborhood. i know she's starting a new venture for the very purpose of helping folks who are in need of medical cannabis. her own experience with loved ones experiencing extreme and chronic suffering or the basis of this effort. i support her, the neighborhood supports her and i know she will continue to be a positive contributing great neighborhood in the mission. debra walker. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. i have done public health and violence prevention work with youth in the mission district for over 20 years. my family has been in the mission district since the 1950's. my work has been in the san francisco unified full district and local university and community-based organizations. i support this project because it provides safe access to medicine near public transportation. i have also been a cannabis caregiver for several patients. this is also a unique model that creates community benefit resulting in free and subsidized dance classes for children at the dance mission space and use of space at a time when space is at a premium and art services for low-income communities are difficult to sustain and when childhood obesity is reaching the alarming rate of half the patient population of at least one local mission community clinic. i'm a parent of children attending school in the mission district and believe this is a project that if one examines the details, we will benefit both patients and families in the mission district. i also have a letter that i would like to submit in support and a letter from a retired mission native and licensed clinical social worker retired from the san francisco department of public health who is also in support of this project. thank you. >> thank you. >> aaliyah, tina banchard and michael deign. >> good evening, i'm a dancer and i have been working in the mission district for the last 15 years. i would like to read a letter of support from a licensed acupuncturist. to whom it may concern -- i'm writing this letter in full support of the shambala healing center's application to open an m.c.d. at 2441 mission streefment as a licensed acupuncturist in private practice for over 15 years in san francisco i have witnessed and been a part of the evolution of alternative health care in our city. when i opened my practice in 1994 there were few, if any, medical insurance plans that covered acupuncture. in fact, the san francisco city health plan was one of the few plans forward thinking enough to provide that benefit. now dozens of large insurance companies such as anthem blue cross, united health care, health met, blue shield of california, cigna and aetna provide coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. i believe that the medical cannabis movement is now where acupuncture was 15 years ago. the shambala healing center is poised to provide a high quality, holistic alternative and complimentary health care in the art of the mission. its organizers are people who are deeply committed to the well being the neighborhood and its residents and who understand the area's culture and needs. for this reason, i fully support the shambala healing center's application and urge you to approve this highly worthwhile project. please feel free to contact me with any questions. sincerely, sharon, licensed acupuncturist. thank you. >> commissioners, good evening. philip lesser, mission merchants association. this is the first time i have spoken on behalf of a medical cannabis dispensary and the way i got roped into this one is i got a telephone call from al shawa in august. al and i have known one another for 25 years. he was my tenant. yes, landlords and at theants can have good relations. i wouldn't have thought 25 years later i would be sitting here in room 400 next to him. but he knows i'm involved in many organizations in the mission. i'm vment of government -- vice president of government affairs and media relations. i'm executive director of mission miracle mile business improvement district. i'm also the treasurer on the board of mission housing development corporation, the foremost affordable housing provider in the mission district with about 2,000 residents. what can i do for you and he said can you do outreach? go out and talk and see what the sensitivities are. obviously, everybody knows how sensitive this is. i did that since august and basically what netted out of it is people feel that if these n.c.t.'s really operate to the letter and spirit and codes they are positive, got that across the board, the sensitivity was will they? and the reason i got involved in this one is because of what you were hearing from chrissy, who by the way took 8% of the vote away from inp in where she ran against her in 2006. so you have a very high visible person here. al shawa can see people walking up and down the street in clothing that he sold to them in the last 25 years. chrissy, when we go out done outreach together. i know you. oh, my daughter, she danced at your studio and her daughter is now going to dance at your studio. these are people who are embedded in the mission district. the only organization that was vehemently opposed this idea was the mission miracle mile. and the property owners there basically said, well, they're property owners so very xavier, the entitlements go to the property and not chrissy and al. what happens when chrissy and al aren't there? that was the main argument that i heard from them. they also felt that medical marijuana should be treated more like how prostitution is treated in amsterdam, we should have a red light district as it were for medical cannabis dispensary. i promised i would pass along their sentiments. this is the foremost medical block in the mission with farm sies on it, mission medical center, two dental offices, two optical offices, across the street clinical latina, two community starts, bart station four blocks way and two garages. it's the right location. these are right people. has my endorsement. thank you very much fpblet >> thank you. tina, michael dane. >> good evening. my name is tina and i'm a professional dancer and teaching artist in the mission district. i taught for last ten years multiple thousands of children and i have submitted a letter and i'm also here to read a letter on behalf of ricardo garcia accostia. esteemed commissioners, i'm writing in support of the placement of a new healing center and medical marijuana dispensary in the mission district. my name is ricardo garcia acosta, program director for the northwest region of the community response network of san francisco, a 501-c3 nonprofit collaborative program serving the san francisco mission district. specializing in gang intervention and crisis response services. the following correspondence is not being submitted on behalf of my agency but on behalf of my own personal experience working the last ten years for various c.b.o.'s in the mission district community. throughout my work it has been very clear much of what is at the core of youth violence is the lack of culture and artistic opportunities that are affordable for low-income families to access. over the years limited and decreased funding for both arts and nonprofit services in general have led to a slow decrease of community vibrancy. creating a community benefit fund that grants support to local community-based organizations and provides subsidiaries, subsidizes use of dance mission space and dance scholarships for children would truly be a benefit to the broader community. this new healing center will not only provide medicine at a local -- at a location that is safe and accessible to patients and caregivers by public transportation, it also provides a unique opportunity to support an arts-based service provider in the mission. dance mission. it is for this reason that i hope you will consider the positive effects on the community that will follow the approval of this permit. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is michael dane and i'm a resident in san francisco mission district. i have been an activist for medical marijuana since 2001. i know several of you people on the commission. i am truly supporting this project that chrissy kiefer is now involved on and representing the medical cannabis community here in san francisco. i thoroughly endorse it. i think it is a good addition to our community and i hope that all of the commissioners who wrote for this proposal as is -- would vote for this proposal as is. >> is there additional public comment on this item? if not, public comment is closed. >> i want to thank the staff for your hard work on this. i know there were some questions that i had around the location and playground. i think that the research really helped us to have a better understanding of how this project would fit in and relate to other we have approved in the past. so i thank you for your work. i support this. i have known mr. kiefer for a number of years and mr. lesser as well so i trust that they are responsible people, responsive to the community with a long history in the mission. we heard from mr. vargas who has lived in the mission, his family is from there -- has been there for, you know, a few generations. so i really trust that we can have full faith in these operators will acknowledge and actually work with the code and -- and the conditions that we're imposing on this project. in the past we have approved project and some some haven't been responsive and they lost their p c1 been responsive and they lost their permits. we just don't go around handing out permits. there's a lot of scrutiny that goes into it from the public health to planning. s to not just something that happens overnight. so there's a lot of work before it gets to us and i have faith it's going to be a good, positive project for the mission. there is none the closest one m mission. i think the closest one might be 15th and mission, which is further down and then there's some on valencia but there really isn't in that location that's close to public transportation and as someone mentioned there are other health services in that area that i think complement this as well. that being said, will move to approve. >> second. >> commissioner saguy? >> i'm supportive. however, that was with conditions, right, commission olague? >> yes, with conditions, definitely. >> i would like to move one -- don't know if it's a finding or whatever, down into the conditions. and that would be the one related to patients who will not be permitted to smoke or inhale product via vaporizes provided on the site. >> the project is not proposing on-site smoking. you want that as part of the finding? >> i do. >> i would be happy to do that. >> that's fine. >> that include vaporizing? >> yes. ok. >> and that's going in the findings, right? right. that's fine. >> commissioners, the motion on the floor is to take discretionary review and approve the project with conditions and one of the findings would be that patients would not be allowed to smoke or vaporize on site. with that commissioner antonini has stepped out. commission fong? >> aye. >> commissioner moore? >> aye. >> commission saguyia? >> aye. >> commission saguyia? >> aye. >> commission olague? >> aye. >> commissioner miguel? >> aye. >> thank you, commissioners. the motion has passed unanimously. you are now on item number 21, case number 2010.0770d for 2278 washington. >> good evening, commissioners. sarah vellve, department staff. proposing to reauthorize a curb cut and parking pad approximately 11 to 15 feet deep by 8 feet wide and authorize a new fence and gate to screen offstreet parking. the concern involves the construction of the parking be done without a valid permit, the front area where cars are parked is not deep enough to accommodate the parked cars on the parking pad and regularly projects on the property line and sidewalk. the curb cut is not wide enough to accommodate an area needed by two cars that consistently are parked in the parking pad. put ago parking pad in front of the house that used to be a landscaped area is out of character for the neighborhood and diminishes its aesthetic appeal and value. the parking impediment were originally constructed as a permit signed by by the department of building and inspection. they never saved final inspection and permit expired. as a result complaints about the project and expire permit, the department issued notices of violation and director held in 2008. an order of abatement was issued requiring an owner to obtain the work or remove the parking pad or restore the curb. in 2009, a building permit was submitted for review to reauthorize the curb cut and parking pass and authorize a new gate and fence to screen the parking. this is the subject of today's hearing. at this time the department is recommending the commission take discretionary review and modify the project to eliminate curb cut and restore the curb, require restoration of the curb at the property line and as far as cocompliance of the fence above the curb reaching no higher than three feet.
New-yorkUnited-statesMission-districtCaliforniaWashingtonDistrict-of-columbiaValenciaCaraboboVenezuelaSan-franciscoAmsterdamNoord-holland thank you. additional public comment? >> i think our point was made, the tenant was marilyn allen. i'm tom church. he's been a pretty good land hoard for us overall. that's not the issue. i think our point has been made, i will say quickly again to reiterate the one thing about the tree. if we have to go, you know, we witnessed a house next door to us get demolished. the -- and at that time the owner said, we want to save those three trees in the back and -- you know, i'm not the owner of the prts, so i can't dictate terms. i'm wondering if the city has some kind of policy about special trees. this is a -- a very tall avocado stree in the backyard that -- you know our estimation is 80 years old. it is a special tree. just like -- to take that into consideration, maybe -- maybe in the building or the new building and -- whatever you decide. we respect. >> additional public comment? if not, public comment is closed. additional public comment? >> no. >> if not, public comment is closed. commissioner moore? commissioner moore: i like to discuss that we're in a r.m. 2 district. we're seing a lot that is being proposed for four drawing units. staff recommendation analyzes that the prevailing height is not more than three stories, however, what is in front of us is a four-story building. in addition to that this particular project requires a variance and i am in no position to have a building which is excessive in height and excessive also in bulk to be approved without trying to challenge it. i'm not opposed for this large of family to build a -- a four-dwelling unit house. however,, i am looking for more skillled architecture, this project puts an extreme emphasis on stairs galore. i would say briefly glancing at drawing -- i would say easily 15 to 20% of this house is in multiple stairs. instead of combining stairs and minimizing stairs because we are being confronted with the family where we're told that there would be elderly and handicapped people who have -- who have difficulties moving up and downstairs, i would assume that concentrating, common stairs, with perhaps an elevator on four stories would be a building which would be much more suitable to the intent of how the family represents its case. again i'm all interested in multi-family. i'm all interested in this family to really find the home of their dreams. i do believe that the architectures in front of us is not meeting the challenge or is anything i can approve as it is in front of me. we can perhaps -- yeah. >> continue the project. i don't think i have a time limit on my speaking. i think we can continue the project. we have worked with this architect before. asked him to really create a unit or a -- or a combination of units which really expresses the needs of the family and then on top of that is really more in keeping with the overall neighborhood and not to exceed three stories. i would also like to have some cut-ins for the smaller -- two unit dwelling as to either side and instead of -- having in stetback -- setback at all or no notching. i think there should be a respect for the smaller units if indeed we're going in our r.m. 2 to what basically is an r. 4. i put this to the commission for consideration. my motion would be to continue this project, no decisions made as no-no, we're not saying you can't doo this. but we want to basically more responsive design. >> second. >> motion and second to continue. what date? >> i think it takes easily eight to 10 weeks to redesign the building. >> february at some point. february 10th or 1r7b? >> 10rks giss. >> 150r? >> february 10th. >> i can respond, what do you think? what is thu1 what's the challenge to you and your calendar? >> could you clarify the date, please? >> february 10 or february 17 in >> i think february 10 is good enough for us. >> thank you. >> commissioner, on the floor is a motion foner, on the floor is a motion for continuance february 10th. public hearing remains open and basically it's to consider a redesign of the project. >> that's correct. >> sorry. i was just going to say, i think the direction of commissioner moore's comments are to lessen the amount -- lessen or eliminate the need for variances and other match nations that are being asked of this commission. >> ok. on the motion, commissioner antonini? >> aye. >> commissioner moore? >> aye. >> commissioner saguy? >> aye. >> commissioner miguel? >> aye. >> thank you, commissioners. all three components of this item are continued until february 10. commissioners, you are now on item number 20. 2010.057od for 2441 mission street. >> good evening president miguel and members o6 c1 street. >> good evening president miguel and members of the commission. before you this evening is mandatory discretionary review of the building permit proposing to establish a new medical cannabis dispensary doing business as shambala healing arts center at the property of 2441 mission street. the healing arts center is performed for providing safe access of medical cannabis for those suffering with debilitating illnesses. they will not allow on-site smoking. the subject property is on the east side of the 2400 block of mission street between 20th and 21st. the 2400 block of mission contains a number of medical uses including mission medical center, several dental offices and several optometrists. other uses include dwellings, sizable amount of retail clothing shops, pawnshop, photo studio and large theater. the site is located one block north of the mission miracle mile, mission improvement district. this is located on the east and west sides of the mission street from 21st to 22nd street. section 790.141 states new medical cannabis dispensaries that were not in operation as of april 1, 2005, must be located more than 1,000 feet from a parcel containing the grounds of an elementary or secondary school, public or private, or community facility that primarily serves persons under 18 years of age or recreation building that primarily serves person under 18 years of age. two sites within the 1,000 foot radius of the project site require further discussion. one is a recreation building located at the jose bay plound at the corner of 21 and fullsom street, second is nonprofit new door ventures located at 2075 21st street. it is a small park and mission district and offers a recreation building. the most recent information from park and rec is that the site is closed and rec connect was the last known tenant to briefly occupy the site. new adventures located at 3525 was not identified by staff as a community center or recreation building during the review of the existing buildings. it's a two-story nonconforming industrial building located within a residential district one block west from jose coronado. it was previously used at the preprocessing center dating back from the early 1930's. staff was made aware of the site after receiving a public inquiry. constrained research confirmed that the property does not have the appropriate land use entitlements and required building permits to be established as a social service use, assembly or recreation use. is in regards to public comment, project sponsors have been meeting on a one-to-one basis with as many neighbors as possible and has held outreach meetings with the mission merchant association, with the members of the mission miracle improvement district and with the bhord of mission housing development corporation. the department has received 19 letters in support of the proposal, including a letter from the office of supervisor david compos of district 9. project sponsor provided 38 signed letters in support of the proposal. the department has received six letters in opposition from small businesses located on the subject block and the unanimous opposition from the miracle mile business improvement district. the department has also received a petition with the names of 80 such persons proposing the m.c.d. use, although we saw some inconsistencies and some names reused. the department has received four phone calls objecting to the use and has stated there are numerous n.c.t.'s close within the society. staff recommends they take the discretionary review and approve it within conditions -- it is no located within 1,000 feet of elementary or secondary school, public or private or active recreation building or permitted community centers which primarily serve persons 18 years or less as defined by 790.141. in addition the proposal satisfies all of the criteria to be considered by the commission in evaluating medical cannabis dispensary. this completes staff presentation and i'm available for your questions. >> thank you, project sponsor. >> good evening, president miguel and commissioners. i'm an artist, activist and executive director of dance mission theater, a nonprofit at 24th and mission. i'm also a mother of a teenager. for the last 15 years i lived at 21st and cap street two blocks from the proposed cannabis dispensary. i have witnessed firsthand or neighborhood of residents and businesses be at times a haven for prostitutes and drunks, mixed with music centers, medical providers, movie theaters, pawnshops and now very high-end restaurants and real estate companies. we are our own unique and diverse social experiment. the perfect place for our medical cannabis dispensary. the proposed dispensary is called shambala healing center, a word that means pure land, a place that fosters health, well being and peace. medical cannabis has a 2500-year-old history and yet one of the most maligned and misunderstood medicines on the planet. as a people's medicine, easy to grow, harvest and dispense, medical cannabis is enjoying a renaissance and what better location for that renaissance than san francisco? as the health care debate rages in this country and health care becomes more and more expensive, the sham bala healing center hopes to be a port in the storm. medical cannabis has many well documented beneficial effects. i'm sure you know. you sat through many hearings. among these are relief of nausea, vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and aids patients. it is shown to be beneficial for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, migraines and depression. there was a time not too long ago that acupuncture, chiropractic and massage were considered way outside the box. none of these were paid for by the insurance industry. now things are different. clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, th clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, the state legalization of cannabis is on the horizon. with the opening of the shambala healing center we hope to be able to forge new ground in the understanding and benefits of medical cannabis and provide our community with the cannabis club that reflects our multiincome, multiculture neighborhood and its need for safe, clean, welcoming and professional help centers. we hope to be a model institution and provide the city with an example of an m.p.d. we can all be proud of and what better place than the heart of the mission. the mission district is the longtime community of immigrants, artists and forward-thinking people. this is the perfect location. new ideas, new art and new organizations are born from the mission every day. we look forward to being part of this creative mix. we are also a part of the medical block full of doctors and dentists. one of our long-term goals is to include a center in the area for our members that provide acupuncture, herbs, massage and other holistic health practices. our other goal is to become a neighborhood institution that benefits the nonprofit center. there was recently a "the new york times" article about a medical grove in santa rosa created specifically to provide much-needed resources for artists and art activities. later we will testify more on this concept. we feel our dispensary would bring new businesses to the neighborhood and help fill in the high vacancy rates in our block between 19th and 21st street. for our members, it is strategically located between the 16th and 24th street bart station with the parking garage a block away on barlet and on the 14 and 44 bus lines. we do not anticipate parking problems. we have already employed many businesses and residents in the area and have talked for lots of people searching for employment. we see our entire operation of medical cannabis, patient support, nonprofit net working, local hiring and advertising to be a huge boom for our struggling san francisco economy. our organization is set up as a co-op. the driving forces in this state include myself, a longtime mission and small business owner and a general contractor. each new member of our co-op will have access to meetings, systemized feedback and input on our funds to nonprofit organizations. please note that in your packet is later of support from our esteemed supervisor david compos and land use specialist commissioner debra walker as well as many artists, activists, mother, doctors, et cetera. we have support from all sides of the aisle. if you did not make that analogy. we see our goals as a win-win for our neighborhood and city. we worked hard with the planning department. we have been shepherded through this arduous process by the wonderful edgar oropeza and have talked to local businesses. we heard firsthand about people suffering from illness and pain that was-suffering from illness that was mitigated by cannabis. we firmly believe what we are doing is the right thing and our efforts might make a difference. our hope is we help people in our community find their shangri-la, their shambala of health, happiness and well being and we hope you see our response is one of commission that people do not need to suffer. thank you. >> thank you. number of speaker cards, stella adelman, lila rarderian, aerial vargas. >> my name is della adelman. i currently live in the mission district and work there as well. i submitted my own letter in support of the shambala healing art center. however at this moment i would like to read the letter of support by the super veezer of district nine. dear commissioners, i am writing in support of the shambala healing center's propose project on 2421 mission street to be heard at the december 16th planning commission meeting based on what i know of the project. the shambala heating arts center was formed with the purpose of providing safe access to medical cannabis for those suffering from debilitating illnesses. the site has already been fully renovated to meet requirements of the department of public health, the department of building inspection and other pertinent agencies. if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office, sincerely david compos, soup irvisor, district nine. thank you. >> thank you. >> hello, my name is laila. i am a working artist. i have been living and working in the san francisco mission district for the last ten years. i also wrote a letter of support -- in support of the shambala healing center. today i will read a letter from debra walker. dear commissioners i'm writing this letter as a personal reference in support of christy kiefer. i have known miss kiefer as a friend and fellow artist for over ten years. we have worked together to forward positive planning in the eastern part of town. we've also worked together on issues affecting the arts community. christy and i served with dozens of or the representatives on the arts task force. her contributions to the mission, to the arts community and to the women's community have enriched our community for decades. miss kiefer has run a world renown dance company, two major dance centers and has mentored many of the dancers and organizations thriving in san francisco. she's well respected for her integrity, commitment to stake and neighborhood. i know she's starting a new venture for the very purpose of helping folks who are in need of medical cannabis. her own experience with loved ones experiencing extreme and chronic suffering or the basis of this effort. i support her, the neighborhood supports her and i know she will continue to be a positive contributing great neighborhood in the mission. debra walker. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. i have done public health and violence preventn work with youth in the mission district for over 20 years. my family has been in the mission district since the 1950's. my work has been in the san francisco unified full district and local university and community-based organizations. i support this project because it provides safe access to medicine near public transportation. i have also been a cannabis caregiver for several patients. this is also a unique model that creates community benefit resulting in free and subsidized dance classes for children at the dance mission space and use of space at a time when space is at a premium and art services for low-income communities are difficult to sustain and when childhood obesity is reaching the alarming rate of half the patient population of at least one local mission community clinic. i'm a parent of children attending school in the mission district and believe this is a project that if one examines the details, we will benefit both patients and families in the mission district. i also have a letter that i would like to submit in support and a letter from a retired mission native and licensed clinical social worker retired from the san francisco department of public health who is also in support of this project. thank you. >> thank you. >> aaliyah, tina banchard and michael deign. >> good evening, i'm a dancer and i have been working in the mission district for the last 15 years. i would like to read a letter of support from a licensed acupuncturist. to whom it may concern -- i'm writing this letter in full support of the shambala healing center's application to open an m.c.d. at 2441 mission streefment as a licensed acupuncturist in private practice for over 15 years in san francisco i have witnessed and been a part of the evolution of alternative health care in our city. when i opened my practice in 1994 there were few, if any, medical insurance plans that covered acupuncture. in fact, the san francisco city health plan was one of the few plans forward thinking enough to provide that benefit. now dozens of large insurance companies such as anthem blue cross, united health care, health met, blue shield of california, cigna and aetna provide coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. i believe that the medical cannabis movement is now where acupuncture was 15 years ago. the shambala healing center is poised to provide a high quality, holistic alternative and complimentary health care in the art of the mission. its organizers are people who are deeply committed to the well being the neighborhood and its residents and who understand the area's culture and needs. for this reason, i fully support the shambala healing center's application and urge you to approve this highly worthwhile project. please feel free to contact me with any questions. sincerely, sharon, licensed acupuncturist. thank you. >> commissioners, good evening. philip lesser, mission merchants association. this is the first time i have spoken on behalf of a medical cannabis dispensary and the way i got roped into this one is i got a telephone call from al shawa in august. al and i have known one another for 25 years. he was my tenant. yes, landlords and at theants can have good relations. i wouldn't have thought 25 years later i would be sitting here in room 400 next to him. but he knows i'm involved in many organizations in the mission. i'm vment of government -- vice president of government affairs and media relations. i'm executive director of mission miracle mile business improvement district. i'm also the treasurer on the board of mission housing development corporation, the foremost affordable housing provider in the mission district with about 2,000 residents. what can i do for you and he said can you do outreach? go out and talk and see what the sensitivities are. obviously, everybody knows how sensitive this is. i did that since august and basically what netted out of it is people feel that if these n.c.t.'s really operate to the letter and spirit and codes they are positive, got that across the board, the sensitivity was will they? and the reason i got involved in this one is because of what you were hearing from chrissy, who by the way took 8% of the vote away from inp in where she ran against her in 2006. so you have a very high visible person here. al shawa can see people walking up and down the street in clothing that he sold to them in the last 25 years. chrissy, when we go out done outreach together. i know you. oh, my daughter, she danced at your studio and her daughter is now going to dance at your studio. these are people who are embedded in the mission district. the only organization that was vehemently opposed this idea was the mission miracle mile. and the property owners there basically said, well, they're property owners so very xavier, the entitlements go to the property and not chrissy and al. what happens when chrissy and al aren't there? that was the main argument that i heard from them. they also felt that medical marijuana should be treated more like how prostitution is treated in amsterdam, we should have a red light district as it were for medical cannabis dispensary. i promised i would pass along their sentiments. this is the foremost medical block in the mission with farm sies on it, mission medical center, two dental offices, two optical offices, across the street clinical latina, two community starts, bart station four blocks way and two garages. it's the right location. these are right people. has my endorsement. thank you very much fpblet >> thank you. tina, michael dane. >> good evening. my name is tina and i'm a professional dancer and teaching artist in the mission district. i taught for last ten years multiple thousands of children and i have submitted a letter and i'm also here to read a letter on behalf of ricardo garcia accostia. esteemed commissioners, i'm writing in support of the placement of a new healing center and medical marijuana dispensary in the mission district. my name is ricardo garcia acosta, program director for the northwest region of the community response network of san francisco, a 501-c3 nonprofit collaborative program serving the san francisco mission district. specializing in gang intervention and crisis response services. the following correspondence is not being submitted on behalf of my agency but on behalf of my own personal experience working the last ten years for various c.b.o.'s in the mission district community. throughout my work it has been very clear much of what is at the core of youth violence is the lack of culture and artistic opportunities that are affordable for low-income families to access. over the years limited and decreased funding for both arts and nonprofit services in general have led to a slow decrease of community vibrancy. creating a community benefit fund that grants support to local community-based organizations and provides subsidiaries, subsidizes use of dance mission space and dance scholarships for children would truly be a benefit to the broader community. this new healing center will not only provide medicine at a local -- at a location that is safe and accessible to patients and caregivers by public transportation, it also provides a unique opportunity to support an arts-based service provider in the mission. dance mission. it is for this reason that i hope you will consider the positive effects on the community that will follow the approval of this permit. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is michael dane and i'm a resident in san francisco mission district. i have been an activist for medical marijuana since 2001. i know several of you people on the commission. i am truly supporting this project that chrissy kiefer is now involved on and representing the medical cannabis community here in san francisco. i thoroughly endorse it. i think it is a good addition to
New-yorkUnited-statesMission-districtCaliforniaSan-franciscoAmsterdamNoord-hollandNetherlandsRicardo-garciaJose-coronadoChrissy-kieferMichael-dane district. this is located on the east and west sides of the mission street from 21st to 22nd street. section 790.141 states new medical cannabis dispensaries that were not in operation as of april 1, 2005, must be located more than 1,000 feet from a parcel containing the grounds of an elementary or secondary school, public or private, or community facility that primarily serves persons under 18 years of age or recreation building that primarily serves person under 18 years of age. two sites within the 1,000 foot radius of the project site require further discussion. one is a recreation building located at the jose bay plound at the corner of 21 and fullsom street, second is nonprofit new door ventures located at 2075 21st street. it is a small park and mission district and offers a recreation building. the most recent information from park and rec is that the site is closed and rec connect was the last known tenant to briefly occupy the site. new adventures located at 3525 was not identified by staff as a community center or recreation building during the review of the existing buildings. it's a two-story nonconforming industrial building located within a residential district one block west from jose coronado. it was previously used at the preprocessing center dating back from the early 1930's. staff was made aware of the site after receiving a public inquiry. constrained research confirmed that the property does not have the appropriate land use entitlements and required building permits to be established as a social service use, assembly or recreation use. is in regards to public comment, project sponsors have been meeting on a one-to-one basis with as many neighbors as possible and has held outreach meetings with the mission merchant association, with the members of the mission miracle improvement district and with the bhord of mission housing development corporation. the department has received 19 letters in support of the proposal, including a letter from the office of supervisor david compos of district 9. project sponsor provided 38 signed letters in support of the proposal. the department has received six letters in opposition from small businesses located on the subject block and the unanimous opposition from the miracle mile business improvement district. the department has also received a petition with the names of 80 such persons proposing the m.c.d. use, although we saw some inconsistencies and some names reused. the department has received four phone calls objecting to the use and has stated there are numerous n.c.t.'s close within the society. staff recommends they take the discretionary review and approve it within conditions -- it is no located within 1,000 feet of elementary or secondary school, public or private or active recreation building or permitted community centers which primarily serve persons 18 years or less as defined by 790.141. in addition the proposal satisfies all of the criteria to be considered by the commission in evaluating medical cannabis dispensary. this completes staff presentation and i'm available for your questions. >> thank you, project sponsor. >> good evening, president miguel and commissioners. i'm an artist, activist and executive director of dance mission theater, a nonprofit at 24th and mission. i'm also a mother of a teenager. for the last 15 years i lived at 21st and cap street two blocks from the proposed cannabis dispensary. i have witnessed firsthand or neighborhood of residents and businesses be at times a haven for prostitutes and drunks, mixed with music centers, medical providers, movie theaters, pawnshops and now very high-end restaurants and real estate companies. we are our own unique and diverse social experiment. the perfect place for our medical cannabis dispensary. the proposed dispensary is called shambala healing center, a word that means pure land, a place that fosters health, well being and peace. medical cannabis has a 2500-year-old history and yet one of the most maligned and misunderstood medicines on the planet. as a people's medicine, easy to grow, harvest and dispense, medical cannabis is enjoying a renaissance and what better location for that renaissance than san francisco? as the health care debate rages in this country and health care becomes more and more expensive, the sham bala healing center hopes to be a port in the storm. medical cannabis has many well documented beneficial effects. i'm sure you know. you sat through many hearings. among these are relief of nausea, vomiting, stimulation of hunger in chemotherapy and aids patients. it is shown to be beneficial for people suffering from multiple sclerosis, migraines and depression. there was a time not too long ago that acupuncture, chiropractic and massage were considered way outside the box. none of these were paid for by the insurance industry. now things are different. clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, th clearly through the work of forward thinking lecters, the state legalization of cannabis is on the horizon. with the opening of the shambala healing center we hope to be able to forge new ground in the understanding and benefits of medical cannabis and provide our community with the cannabis club that reflects our multiincome, multiculture neighborhood and its need for safe, clean, welcoming and professional help centers. we hope to be a model institution and provide the city with an example of an m.p.d. we can all be proud of and what better place than the heart of the mission. the mission district is the longtime community of immigrants, artists and forward-thinking people. this is the perfect location. new ideas, new art and new organizations are born from the mission every day. we look forward to being part of this creative mix. we are also a part of the medical block full of doctors and dentists. one of our long-term goals is to include a center in the area for our members that provide acupuncture, herbs, massage and other holistic health practices. our other goal is to become a neighborhood institution that benefits the nonprofit center. there was recently a "the new york times" article about a medical grove in santa rosa created specifically to provide much-needed resources for artists and art activities. later we will testify more on this concept. we feel our dispensary would bring new businesses to the neighborhood and help fill in the high vacancy rates in our block between 19th and 21st street. for our members, it is strategically located between the 16th and 24th street bart station with the parking garage a block away on barlet and on the 14 and 44 bus lines. we do not anticipate parking problems. we have already employed many businesses and residents in the area and have talked for lots of people searching for employment. we see our entire operation of medical cannabis, patient support, nonprofit net working, local hiring and advertising to be a huge boom for our struggling san francisco economy. our organization is set up as a co-op. the driving forces in this state include myself, a longtime mission and small business owner and a general contractor. each new member of our co-op will have access to meetings, systemized feedback and input on our funds to nonprofit organizations. please note that in your packet is later of support from our esteemed supervisor david compos and land use specialist commissioner debra walker as well as many artists, activists, mother, doctors, et cetera. we have support from all sides of the aisle. if you did not make that analogy. we see our goals as a win-win for our neighborhood and city. we worked hard with the planning department. we have been shepherded through this arduous process by the wonderful edgar oropeza and have talked to local businesses. we heard firsthand about people suffering from illness and pain that was-suffering from illness that was mitigated by cannabis. we firmly believe what we are doing is the right thing and our efforts might make a difference. our hope is we help people in our community find their shangri-la, their shambala of health, happiness and well being and we hope you see our response is one of commission that people do not need to suffer. thank you. >> thank you. number of speaker cards, stella adelman, lila rarderian, aerial vargas. >> my name is della adelman. i currently live in the mission district and work there as well. i submitted my own letter in support of the shambala healing art center. however at this moment i would like to read the letter of support by the super veezer of district nine. dear commissioners, i am writing in support of the shambala healing center's propose project on 2421 mission street to be heard at the december 16th planning commission meeting based on what i know of the project. the shambala heating arts center was formed with the purpose of providing safe access to medical cannabis for those suffering from debilitating illnesses. the site has already been fully renovated to meet requirements of the department of public health, the department of building inspection and other pertinent agencies. if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office, sincerely david compos, soup irvisor, district nine. thank you. >> thank you. >> hello, my name is laila. i am a working artist. i have been living and working in the san francisco mission district for the last ten years. i also wrote a letter of support -- in support of the shambala healing center. today i will read a letter from debra walker. dear commissioners i'm writing this letter as a personal reference in support of christy kiefer. i have known miss kiefer as a friend and fellow artist for over ten years. we have worked together to forward positive planning in the eastern part of town. we've also worked together on issues affecting the arts community. christy and i served with dozens of or the representatives on the arts task force. her contributions to the mission, to the arts community and to the women's community have enriched our community for decades. miss kiefer has run a world renown dance company, two major dance centers and has mentored many of the dancers and organizations thriving in san francisco. she's well respected for her integrity, commitment to stake and neighborhood. i know she's starting a new venture for the very purpose of helping folks who are in need of medical cannabis. her own experience with loved ones experiencing extreme and chronic suffering or the basis of this effort. i support her, the neighborhood supports her and i know she will continue to be a positive contributing great neighborhood in the mission. debra walker. thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. i have done public health and violence prevention work with youth in the mission district for over 20 years. my family has been in the mission district since the 1950's. my work has been in the san francisco unified full district and local university and community-based organizations. i support this project because it provides safe access to medicine near public transportation. i have also been a cannabis caregiver for several patients. this is also a unique model that creates community benefit resulting in free and subsidized dance classes for children at the dance mission space and use of space at a time when space is at a premium and art services for low-income communities are difficult to sustain and when childhood obesity is reaching the alarming rate of half the patient population of at least one local mission community clinic. i'm a parent of children attending school in the mission district and believe this is a project that if one examines the details, we will benefit both patients and families in the mission district. i also have a letter that i would like to submit in support and a letter from a retired mission native and licensed clinical social worker retired from the san francisco department of public health who is also in support of this project. thank you. >> thank you. >> aaliyah, tina banchard and michael deign. >> good evening, i'm a dancer and i have been working in the mission district for the last 15 years. i would like to read a letter of support from a licensed acupuncturist. to whom it may concern -- i'm writing this letter in full support of the shambala healing center's application to open an m.c.d. at 2441 mission streefment as a licensed acupuncturist in private practice for over 15 years in san francisco i have witnessed and been a part of the evolution of alternative health care in our city. when i opened my practice in 1994 there were few, if any, medical insurance plans that covered acupuncture. in fact, the san francisco city health plan was one of the few plans forward thinking enough to provide that benefit. now dozens of large insurance companies such as anthem blue cross, united health care, health met, blue shield of california, cigna and aetna provide coverage for acupuncture and chiropractic treatments. i believe that the medical cannabis movement is now where acupuncture was 15 years ago. the shambala healing center is poised to provide a high quality, holistic alternative and complimentary health care in the art of the mission. its organizers are people who are deeply committed to the well being the neighborhood and its residents and who understand the area's culture and needs. for this reason, i fully support the shambala healing center's application and urge you to approve this highly worthwhile project. please feel free to contact me with any questions. sincerely, sharon, licensed acupuncturist. thank you. >> commissioners, good evening. philip lesser, mission merchants association. this is the first time i have spoken on behalf of a medical cannabis dispensary and the way i got roped into this one is i got a telephone call from al shawa in august. al and i have known one another for 25 years. he was my tenant. yes, landlords and at theants can have good relations. i wouldn't have thought 25 years later i would be sitting here in room 400 next to him. but he knows i'm involved in many organizations in the mission. i'm vment of government -- vice president of government affairs and media relations. i'm executive director of mission miracle mile business improvement district. i'm also the treasurer on the board of mission housing development corporation, the foremost affordable housing provider in the mission district with about 2,000 residents. what can i do for you and he said can you do outreach? go out and talk and see what the sensitivities are. obviously, everybody knows how sensitive this is. i did that since august and basically what netted out of it is people feel that if these n.c.t.'s really operate to the letter and spirit and codes they are positive, got that across the board, the sensitivity was will they? and the reason i got involved in this one is because of what you were hearing from chrissy, who by the way took 8% of the vote away from inp in where she ran against her in 2006. so you have a very high visible person here. al shawa can see people walking up and down the street in clothing that he sold to them in the last 25 years. chrissy, when we go out done outreach together. i know you. oh, my daughter, she danced at your studio and her daughter is now going to dance at your studio. these are people who are embedded in the mission district. the only organization that was vehemently opposed this idea was the mission miracle mile. and the property owners there basically said, well, they're property owners so very xavier, the entitlements go to the property and not chrissy and al. what happens when chrissy and al aren't there? that was the main argument that i heard from them. they also felt that medical marijuana should be treated more like how prostitution is treated in amsterdam, we should have a red light district as it were for medical cannabis dispensary. i promised i would pass along their sentiments. this is the foremost medical block in the mission with farm sies on it, mission medical center, two dental offices, two optical offices, across the street clinical latina, two community starts, bart station four blocks way and two garages. it's the right location. these are right people. has my endorsement. thank you very much fpblet >> thank you. tina, michael dane. >> good evening. my name is tina and i'm a professional dancer and teaching artist in the mission district. i taught for last ten years multiple thousands of children and i have submitted a letter and i'm also here to read a letter on behalf of ricardo garcia accostia. esteemed commissioners, i'm writing in support of the placement of a new healing center and medical marijuana dispensary in the mission district. my name is ricardo garcia acosta, program director for the northwest region of the community response network of san francisco, a 501-c3 nonprofit collaborative program serving the san francisco mission district. specializing in gang intervention and crisis response services. the following correspondence is not being submitted on behalf of my agency but on behalf of my own personal experience working the last ten years for various c.b.o.'s in the mission district community. throughout my work it has been very clear much of what is at the core of youth violence is the lack of culture and artistic opportunities that are affordable for low-income families to access. over the years limited and decreased funding for both arts and nonprofit services in general have led to a slow decrease of community vibrancy. creating a community benefit fund that grants support to local community-based organizations and provides subsidiaries, subsidizes use of dance mission space and dance scholarships for children would truly be a benefit to the broader community. this new healing center will not only provide medicine at a local -- at a location that is safe and accessible to patients and caregivers by public transportation, it also provides a unique opportunity to support an arts-based service provider in the mission. dance mission. it is for this reason that i hope you will consider the positive effects on the community that will follow the approval of this permit. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> good evening, commissioners. my name is michael dane and i'm a resident in san francisco mission district. i have been an activist for medical marijuana since 2001. i know several of you people on the commission. i am truly supporting this project that chrissy kiefer is now involved on and representing the medical cannabis community here in san francisco. i thoroughly endorse it. i think it is a good addition to our community and i hope that all of the commissioners who wrote for this proposal as is -- would vote for this proposal as is. >> is there additional public comment on this item? if not, public comment is closed. >> i want to thank the staff for your hard work on this. i know there were some questions that i had around the location and playground. i think that the research really helped us to have a better understanding of how this project would fit in and relate to other we have approved in the past. so i thank you for your work. i support this. i have known mr. kiefer for a number of years and mr. lesser as well so i trust that they are responsible people, responsive to the community with a long history in the mission. we heard from mr. vargas who has lived in the mission, his family is from there -- has been there for, you know, a few generations. so i really trust that we can have full faith in these operators will acknowledge and actually work with the code and -- and the conditions that we're imposing on this project. in the past we have approved project and some some haven't been responsive and they lost their p c1 been responsive and they lost their permits. we just don't go around handing out permits. there's a lot of scrutiny that goes into it from the public health to planning. s to not just something that happens overnight. so there's a lot of work before it gets to us and i have faith it's going to be a good, positive project for the mission. there is none the closest one m mission. i think the closest one might be 15th and mission, which is further down and then there's some on valencia but there really isn't in that location that's close to public transportation and as someone mentioned there are other health services in that area that i think complement this as well. that being said, will move to approve. >> second. >> commissioner saguy? >> i'm supportive. however, that was with conditions, right, commission olague? >> yes, with conditions, definitely. >> i would like to move one -- don't know if it's a finding or whatever, down into the conditions. and that would be the one related to patients who will not be permitted to smoke or inhale product via vaporizes provided on the site. >> the project is not proposing on-site smoking. you want that as part of the finding? >> i do. >> i would be happy to do that. >> that's fine. >> that include vaporizing? >> yes. ok. >> and that's going in the findings, right? right. that's fine. >> commissioners, the motion on the floor is to take discretionary review and approve the project with conditions and one of the findings would be that patients would not be allowed to smoke or vaporize on site. with that commissioner antonini has stepped out. commission fong? >> aye. >> commissioner moore? >> aye. >> commission saguyia? >> aye. >> commission saguyia? >> aye. >> commission olague? >> aye. >> commissioner miguel? >> aye. >> thank you, commissioners. the motion has passed unanimously. you are now on item number 21, case number 2010.0770d for 2278 washington. >> good evening, commissioners. sarah vellve, department staff. proposing to reauthorize a curb cut and parking pad approximately 11 to 15 feet deep by 8 feet wide and authorize a new fence and gate to screen offstreet parking. the concern involves the construction of the parking be done without a valid permit, the front area where cars are parked is not deep enough to accommodate the parked cars on the parking pad and regularly projects on the property line and sidewalk. the curb cut is not wide enough to accommodate an area needed by two cars that consistently are parked in the parking pad. put ago parking pad in front of the house that used to be a landscaped area is out of character for the neighborhood and diminishes its aesthetic appeal and value. the parking impediment were originally constructed as a permit signed by by the department of building and inspection. they never saved final inspection and permit expired. as a result complaints about the project and expire permit, the department issued notices of violation and director held in 2008. an order of abatement was issued requiring an owner to obtain the work or remove the parking pad or restore the curb. in 2009, a building permit was submitted for review to reauthorize the curb cut and parking pass and authorize a new gate and fence to screen the parking. this is the subject of today's hearing. at this time the department is recommending the commission take discretionary review and modify the project to eliminate curb cut and restore the curb, require restoration of the curb at the property line and as far as cocompliance of the fence above the curb reaching no higher than three feet. the following are the department's recommendations -- the proposed parking area is an insufficient depth to comment the length of most cars. there is no public benefit of eliminating a 16 foot long curb cut that accommodates many sides of cars for one off-street parking space that accommodates one small car on the side of the property. the proposal is inconsistent with the general plans urban development and section 101.1 of the planning code, and the proposal is inconsistent with the residential design guidelines and eliminates condition between the public and private realms of the streets. i'm available for any questions. >> thank you. you are the requester? larry nolan on behalf of the neighborhood. so, sarah distinctly told the story that permit -- the work was done without a permit and the rework should be done to put it all back together in the same original design because that is what suits the neighborhood. >> thank you. there are any speakers in favor there are any speakers in favor of the g.r. request? >> excuse me, my name is donald. i live and own property at 2263 washington street across the street from this project. and about 18 years i lived there, i have never seen anybody tear anything out quite like this and park two cars perpendicular to the building on a concrete pad. in essence as stated before, cars do not fit
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