i like the design. i think it works. i think the variations on the windows shows that you're willing to work on variations of it. and work with the department. and i have no problem with having the metal cladding. i think it can work. this is nearly a semi-industrial area as it is a residential area. depending on how you put the history together on it. and what has happened to a over the years. commissioner antonini: long ago it was all residential but that was before the first earthquake. i am ok with the 12 or 15 feet. there is a 15 foot setback. that upper floor is more than the rest of the area. the rest of them are at the height of the adjacent buildings. it is important that of her story be made less visible as much as possible. i will go along with the motion which includes the 15 foot. >> the motion on the floor is for approval per staff recommendation. on that motion, commis? thank you. that motion passes unanimously on the variants. >> closing public hearing. >> you're on item number nine. case no. 2011. 1111 california st.. >> before the item starts, i have to ask the commission to recuse myself. my condominium is within the designated 500 feet of property that this concerns. therefore i have a conflict of interest or whatever it is called. >> move to reduce. >> second. >> on the move to recuse. commissioner sugaya is recused. >> the afternoon. i am with planning department staff. the request before you is a condition to use authorization to continue the nonconforming entertainment and assembly use of the masonic center. the change permits in nonconforming use to request authorization to continue operation of a non-conforming use beyond its termination date. by way of background the commission approved the request for the center to change the existing nonconforming use to another entertainment use through the provision of code section 182-b. as part of this the sponsor propose to configure the interior of the center, reconfigure to remove permanent seating, add new food and beverage stations and upgrade the of equipment. because the center had operated since 1958 without substantial operating conditions, part of this included numerous conditions intended to limit the type and number of annual events, cord made and control parking and loading activities and minimize noise to protect the welfare of the surrounding area. this approval was upheld on appeal at the board of supervisors. in april 2011 the process was rejected which invalidated this operation. the request before you would continue the existing operation of the center in its current form. without the physical improvements and increases in capacity that were part of the pervez project. staff has included many of the same operating conditions from the previous comparable period these are proposed to maintain operating conditions and minimize impact to the surrounding neighborhood. staff has reviewed a list of events held that the center and severally counted those events that would be considered live entertainment such as concerts' and comedic performances. during this time, the center hosted an average of 54 live entertainment events and 179- live events. this number varies from year to year. staff has proposed a condition that would limit the center to a maximum of 68 live entertainment events in 219 non-live events. this will account for annual fluctuations in the frequency of a man's while limiting the maximum number to reflect historic conditions where no limitation currently exists in order to address the concerns of the surrounding everette. the sponsor proposes to operate five food and beverage stations within the center. alcoholic beverages have been sold at previous events, there is insufficient information to establish a historic average in terms of the number of service stations. the draft motion does not include any conditions on this issue. staff should note the commission may consider whether to have such conditions as part of the conditional use approval. staff has received a substantial number of comments from the public eye in opposition. the most commonly expressed concern is traffic, noise from patrons and loading, parking impact, crime, vandalism, and public drunkenness. several comments or raised questioning the accuracy of the information regarding the historic frequency of events at the center. staff has received letters in support of the project which stressed the importance of the masonic center as a venue for the spectrum of activities. in considering this project, staff considered the potential impact. staff has considered the importance of the masonic center as a venue to host entertainment, cultural, and civic events of importance to the region. the plan stresses the importance of sustaining such events. i should make one note to with respect to the staff report in motion that was submitted. regarded -- regarding the termination, the request for the cu -- it reflects no change in existing physical conditions and the city attorney may have some precise language that could be read into the record. i wanted to make the clarification. in conclusion staff recommends and approval of the authorization but recommends the condition imposed the conditions of approval shown in exhibit 8. this concludes my presentation and i would be happy to address details or questions regarding the request. thank you. president miguel: i will open this for public comment. oh, the project sponsor. i am sorry. thank you. you will recall you approve the use for alterations and intense vacation in 2010. the court overturned and boarded the cu. they are -- a new round of hearings will be scheduled. the hearing is to continue the masonic to continue to operate. no enlargements or intensification. let's review this story record. the masonic was completed in 1958 and has hosted live entertainment events, business meetings, and other events ever since. the masonic is not a private lunch with only incidental assembly events but rather as a fully permitted commercial entertainment venue. it would be lawful for you in this hearing to simply continue the status quo and impose no limitations or conditions on the interim operations. in this proceeding we and planning staff are not asking you to do that. we're asking you to impose operating conditions to ensure the ongoing operations remain neighborly. the masons along with live nation have operated -- implemented these conditions. managing traffic, parking, loading, noise reduction, neighborhood safety and security, alcoholic beverage service limitations and restrictions on hours of operation. a vibrant cultural scene is what makes an francisco a great city. the general plan memorialize the city's commitment to preserve existing performance spaces in an interview to that vibrancy. this is a city-wide cultural institution and should be treated similarly to other concert halls in towns such as davies hall and the opera house and the golden gate theaters and phil gramm auditorium. the masonic has lived side by side with apartments and hotels and will do so for more years. they were built after the masonic opened. fear was expressed that it would be rendered more destructive to the neighborhood. it is belied by the last three years of professional management by live nation. they have operated the venue since 2009 and there have been no incidents requiring police or other emergency response at the masonic. number of events, their operations have fluctuated. there is a wide variety of activities and events hosted since 1958. we have submitted evidence of the range in number of events. there have been 237 days. an average of 54 being live entertainment. because the masonic was approved as a permitted use rather than conditional in 1956, there have never been any limits on the number of bands, the time, or or any other operation can -- operating conditions. we recommend you impose a limit. during this interim period we have an absolute maximum of 25% over the historic average. we have 68 live entertainment events. we do not believe the limit is necessary, in the interest of being good neighbors, we are willing to accept that limitation. this is an upper limit, not a minimum. this is an intensification of the masonic's operations. there is no number to the limits amount -- allowed. i urge you to follow the established practice for what constitutes an intensification of the nonconforming use. the maximum of 287 event days a year compared to an average of 229 is a continuation of existing operations, not an intensification. the coalition continues to urge the strict limitations for -- be placed on alcohol service. this has resulted in any external offense or nuisance complaints. alcoholic beverages were served at some events but not others. alcoholic service was provided at 88% of live entertainment events and 34% of all limits. of gollott beverages were available. farrs were set up in five locations. multiple points of sale at each bar. masonic has a permit concession. since 2010 thpermits have been issued. the masons, livenation and avatar do not anticipate any change in events. to continue current operations, we expect the commission to leave this issue in the state of the abc which has considered granting a permanent license. that is all i have for now. i would like to reserve time for rebuttal. nex>> we do not allow rebuttal time. we will have general public comment, two minutes per person. our firs speakers. >> hello. thank you for hearing me. i came to talk about life nation. i live near the venue. i have a couple of hats. i have a rental property. i think that will be impacted in my life style and rental property. based on what is being asked for. if one looks at the public record, looking at the website and the financials of live nation, first of all, there is an ongoing conversation about good citizenship. people carrying their own share. the contributors to the overall good. live nation is a company that in their financials last year did $1.6 billion worth of business and created $81 million worth of cash. this is good for their shareholders and paid $0 tax. in fact, they asked to recoup tax from previous years. this is not the company the city of san francesco should want to deal with. secondarily, live nation, if you analyze their financials, it will show that they make more from the sale of liquor than they do as a contribution for the sale of tickets. this is completely different from san francisco jazz which makes money from ticket sales or business meeting. these are people who were in the business of getting people drunk. >> good afternoon. i am a union member and i have moved back to san francisco last year. i have been two different commission meetings regarding workforce development in san francisco and the different boards and commissions regarding that. i have met with the mayor's office of the -- entertainment. i think that san francisco needs to remember that we have lost many great venues over the years due to gentrification and when we have those losses of the news we have losses of income. there is an entertainment tax when you purchase concert tickets, is that true? yes. we have a 9.5 revenue or sales tax and we have the entertainment tax. we have revenue from all performances and entertainment. we have jobs also. i work at one of the venues like this and so do many of my colleagues. we have tax income, we have san francisco being a vibrant city supporting the arts and entertainment which brings further people who want to come and visit and bring their industries here. there are several things at stake. i hope you support this venue. it is operating for 60 years with the interest of arts entertainment and working with the neighborhood and community. i have heard arguments before the meeting of congested and traffic. it seems like those things have been dealt with for 60 years and have been worked with. i would like you to support this. thank you for your time. >> good afternoon. i am dead co 04 live nation's northern california business as well as california venues. thank you for a time. over three years the nation has provided some of the most quality entertainment in san francisco. we have been in this market for over 40 years during the fillmore and other venues. most recently provided great 49ers event with to montana. -- joe montana. with several personalities. these are not names that strike fear in the hearts of people of san francisco. these are special events. we have improved communication with the neighborhood providing updates. over three years we have passed on business. we felt the events might be right for the neighborhood and the venue, we felt the neighbors might not think it is right for the neighborhood. we have taken a conservative path. most recently were asked by a church to do in eastern band and after communicating with our neighbor across the street about that being their most important day of the year, we bypassed a significant financial opportunity. we wanted to be a good neighbor. we said no. we provided consistent rules and management since 2010. we have abided by the rules that were set forth by you even after those rules and the c.u.p were deemed void. we provided security and a cleaning presence in the neighborhood. thank you for your time. >> good afternoon. richard floyd. this is all about greed. san francisco seems to be more interested in entertainment and quality of night -- life. take for instance, here. people have the right to walk down the street without having huge crowds going to the venue. if you go past 2000 people, it is all right. when it goes beyond, this is we've got here. you have a green light and stopping all over, cable cars come to a stop, that is no good. in 9-for-11, -- 9/4/11, they put on an event and they were bribed by live nation. here is what we were dealing with. it goes on and on, kickbacks and this is the people you like to deal with, i don't know. you voted last time against our neighborhood and i am sure you're going to vote again. and then we were told that we were racist by ms. borden. we have black people in our neighborhood that look just like you. the only difference is they have a brain. president miguel: we appreciate you being civil. >> get over it. a freemason schmuck is what you are. president miguel: i have to consider from home that comes. those of you who are by the door, there is a fire code. please take a seat. >> good afternoon. thank you for the opportunity to speak. president miguel: i am sorry, i have not called your name. our next speakers. >> all of you who are standing here on this wall, the president has asked you to find a seat. if you cannot find a seat, can you stand on the other side of the room? you create a fire hazard by surrounding that door. thank you so much. >> get afternoon, commissioners. my name is michael barrett. i have been a nom hill resident for over 30 years. during those years i have been in the beverage and hotel business and i know quite a bit of what goes on. originally in 1958, the masonic auditorium was billed for a charitable and just causes. they have done an awful lot of that. not an entertainment capital. the same time, grace cathedral was built for worshiping. they do a little of entertainment just like the masonic auditorium used to do. this has been going on, everybody from the live nation have mentioned 2010, 2011, since 2006, they have been running that venue. what they want is a permanent use of liquor license and all that. which everybody -- the neighbors have been complaining since 2006 they do not want it. my attitude is, grace cathedral and masonic should continue doing their charitable and worthwhile organizations. they're not in the industry of entertainment and they should not be. live nation is and should not be given a continual free rein. i would like to see this city 3 you execute non-compliance with licenses for live nation to continue at the masonic auditorium. thank you for your time. president miguel: thank you. >> i am jay glazer, a resident of nob hill. i am concerned about the prospect of an imbalance in the voting by this commission. i have stated this in the past and it focuses upon commissioner miguel's association as a present or past master of the masonic order. i do understand that you did receive from the city and county attorney a pass on this. i understand that. you made mention of it. i appreciate that very much. i would like to ask, however, because of my concerns, that you do obtain a letter or document from the city and county attorney to place in the file that he does not believe that there is any problem with conflict of interest where you are concerned. i would very much appreciate seeing such a letter. i have nothing further to add. president miguel: thank you. i will forward your request to the city attorney and have the city attorney determine how they will handle it. >> that afternoon, commissioners. -- good afternoon, commissioners. i am director of operations for avatar. i would like to say that i have been involved with the food and beverage industry for over 25 years since getting involved with live nation and masons at the masonic center. i have never been involved in an operation that was more careful and more concerned with making sure there is compliance in all aspects of insuring the neighborhood well-being was there and we were complying with all the conditions that have been applied to a venue. as a long-term resident, and a former resident of nob hill, i always enjoyed nob hill and the masonic center for the entertainment events and cultural events that happen there. i would hope i would be able to do so regardless if i am o involved in the project. thank you for your time. prest