grocery store. we have french-inspired food and sushi. new businesses have taken over long vacant storefronts or neglected storefronts. there is a lot of concern about high-priced restaurants and our city is known for culinary establishments. they are motivated to keep their businesses vital and viable. i am not for the proposed legislation. i don't think it solves the problem. >> thank you, next speaker, please. >> hello. my name is ana lisa, and i part of the calle 24th council and i represent the youth and i was asked to read a letter from the community member. one reason i feel grateful is the work of the 24th. i am a 20-year-old white guy with a degree from a top college working on the software start-up. i am gentrification and yet, i moved here and reached out to the people who lived in the mission for many years in hopes of being part of the community. i was welcomed with warm embrace of arms and i was greeted with the stories of friends who lived through the mission in past three to six decades. the perspective of how sf came to be what it is today, the experience with the neighborhoods arts, food, et cetera and ability to contribute to that. many of that has happened on 24th street. through the sand solicitation of working with them i have been able to host conversations with new and old residents >> >> in the culture epicenter that drew me into the neighborhood in the first place, i have witnessed the work with organizations like -- [speaker not understood] i benefited from the safety initiatives, clean-up projects, merchant organizations and promotions. i whittle whistle when thinking about what my community will look like, if not for the work of the calle 24th and in the years since and prior to when i moved here. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, my name is fred sharple. i first moved to the mission in 1987. >> speak louder. >> pardon me. >> can you pull the mic closer. >> thanks. i first moved to the mission in 1987. i was worked at the cafe while in college and i have been part of the community all of these 30 years, nearly. i worry that if we have a legislation that this, that places like de la rosa and mepe, across the street from my house, would not be able to expand, if they needed to. let's say it was a place like that, a place that is cherished in the neighborhood. with which legislation, we cannot make any changes to that. if we have conditional use, we can all talk about it and i think we should all the, in our community, be together and we should discuss these things. i think all of this should be up for debate. i think it's a healthy place for that. and i think that we should all as a community come together, look at how this should go, and not just have one organization describe how all of the rules and all of the planning should happen in the neighborhood that has many different ethnicities, many different types of people and always has. that is all i have to say. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is carlos. i am the ceo for the hispanic chamber of commerce of san francisco. we represent over 300 small business members, 80% of them over the last ten years were located in the mission area. now 75% of them are not there anymore, including myself. i used to have an office there. i cannot afford it anymore and changes with the housing program, we're still having those problems. we need to support small businesss and we need to support moll and pop businesses. we have been working with the city to make more lbes. local business enterprises. we're having this -- the relevance that it has on small latino business in the area is very important. other areas are able to keep their cultural identities. we need to do the same. we need to have the time to consider to work like the bay view has done it. we need your support. we are here to support supervisor campos. we are here to tell you that it is about merging businesses. it is about bringing small businesses, but it's also more important to keep small businesses in the mission, to keep the cultural relevance. we celebrate calle 24 and we're here to convince you that you need to support this initiative from supervisor campos. thank you. >> hi. my name is toby seger and i live on 24th street and walk down it every day. i'm here with the group called open 24th and we advocate getting rid of empty storefronts on the streets. we have a strong request that the proposed prohibition be a conditional use, perhaps reducing the size required to trigger conditional use. there were already 19 vacant storefronts on 24th street. additional moratoriums could make the situation worse. we don't need more business restrictions making it harder to open things when there are so many open storefronts right now. we have a planning department for a reason and we can get conditional use for these smaller mergers. we don't need blunt instruments, but more community involvement deciding what we want on the streets. i think if what the supporters are saying is true that we need to pause, than surely the fact that diego pointed out there is nothing in the pipeline for mergers. we don't need to pause if nothing is happening. so i urge you to reconsider this as a conditional use and not pass this legislation. thank you. >> thank you. i live at 25th and utah and also walk down 24th street every day. i'm speaking on behalf of myself and i also oppose this legislation, this proposal. because i feel that this street is underoccupied in terms of its storefronts and i see that many of these vacant storefronts and many of the storefronts that close early, often are a host to -- i would consider this dangerous activities at night. i see drug dealing. i see defecation on the streets. i see open intravenous drug use in the storefronts at night and frankly, i don't feel safe when my female friends walk down the streets and get verbally and physically assaulted. i don't love the fact that gunshots are a regular ocurrence on the street at night. my house has several bullet holes in it right now as a result of a shooting that occurred on utah street about 2.5 weeks ago. and frankly, i'm against any of these blanket proposals that make it more difficult for businesses to move into the district and basically become a steward of the property that they are inhibiting. i think that they have a vested interest to keep the area clean, to keep the area safe. i think that anyone with children, who walked down those streets should understand that that kind of safety is a huge benefit to the community. and i would just like to make sure that my voice and everyone's voice is heard equally all members of the community. >> i'm sorry, i have a couple of questions for clarification on your talking points. you are not in favor of this ordinance, because you believe that the businesses already in existence, shut down, you know, their normal business hours they shut down and because they are shut down it then attracts -- . >> i see vagrancy in front of current businesses, but mostly in front of the completely vacant storefronts, which there are quite a few. jack's has been sitting vacant, along 24th between potrero and bryant, i would say the majority of those storefronts. >> so it sounds like to me the issue is vacant storefronts, not necessarily the legislation, but that the merchant corridors are struggling and it's not just happening on 24th and not just protest, potrero and across san francisco. i want to make sure that they are not conflating two issue, . >> they are not keeping up the areas that they are inhibiting. >> if they are not keeping it up, you are saying that they are supporting the drug dealing and defecation, et cetera? >> no, i'm not saying that. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. my name is steve [tkwa-eufs/], davis, one of the founders of open 24th and you heard from toby another member. i would like to thank the supervisors and for everyone here for engaging on the issue. the mission is a vibrant neighborhood that we all want to live with. there are two issues with the current legislation. the first is the process and the second is some of the tactics it's pursuing. the process pares to be one that wasn't terribly inclusive. we gathered 400 signatures from other residents in the mission that feel that the process doesn't recommend them. malia cohen, your district is not part of this, but served by 24th street. so regardless of what happens with the legislation today, supervisor campos i would like to engage in conversation with everyone in the mission and everyone in neighboring districts that use the area. the other issue is with the tactics. we're talking about something very narrow, talking about whether or not you can combine two storefronts in a larger storefront? a lot of what we heard is why doing that will bring in businesses not good for the neighborhoods. if the concern is to make businesses serve the neighborhood, the conditional use permitting seems sensible. a large 1600 square feet business could easily serve the neighborhood by going through this business. i would love to see something like this than a blunt instrument that blocks new businesses. starting business is hard and if we put more blocks in place and force people into a smaller space, it may be impossible for them to start the business or have a suboptimal one that doesn't survive. it's very important for 24th street and the neighborhood. don't change our neighborhood from a vibrant, evolving neighborhood into one frozen in time. thank you. >> i agree in terms of connectivity of the districts and how many folks who live in potrero hills, my district who do interface and, in fact i have a legislative aide, who lived on 24th. i am doing a better job in working in a more streamlined way, meeting with both the opponents of this, as well as the proponents of the legislation, to streamline the communication. supervisor campos and i also had some conversations about ways to better communicate so that i can better inform my constituents that are interested in this issue. so thanks for bring that up. that is actually a good point. >> thank you, i look forward to the dialogue. >> thank you. next speaker. >> my name is leslie and i live in malia cohen's district. i am proud to be raising a third generation here. i mention that because a lot of the rhetoric is around new technocrats changing the neighborhood and a lot of people who are concerned and have been here a very long time. today you heard claims that investor types are taking over 24th corridor and you also heard that absolutist legislation will stop the patent. this is not the first time, with due respect supervisor campos has employed these care tacticks and that we address this with a a myopic rule change. we hear about natural turnover, often with significant gaps with businesses being forced out. to bring up the point earlier, those 19 stores are vacant and we hear that businesses are being forced -- yet businesses sit vacant. if you dig a little deeper, you find these are part of the natural business cycles. we heard of health issues and slowing businesses and shifting priorities. they are not evidence of strong-arm tactic. rather i see strong arms on the other side. proposing legislationing without consulting neighborhoods that don't necessarily share the heritage [speaker not understood] we have heard it's a temporary measure, but really it sets the default this. is precisely why we have the conditional use permit to ensure measured, fair and evolutionary neighborhood change. san francisco has very real challenges experiencing explosive growth in the community. we need to figure out how to change together. >> good afternoon, commissioners, my name is barbara and i have been a resident of the mission since about 1973. i have lived for a long time for about 40 years at bartlett street at 24th and mission. and i raised my family -- my daughter a latina has attended schools on the 24th street corridor for many years. so we walked 24th street and saw -- and know the stores and know the community. interacted with the people and the newspapers. also we have watched the big changes that have gone on valencia street and now mission street, and now it's happening to 24th street. it's very, very sad, because 24th street had remained independent of this with lavictoria, with la palma, with all of the important cultural institutions and commerce areas. we don't want to let it go and we're asking you to safeguard it for the people, for the community who live and work here. thank you.. >> good afternoon. supervisors,ply my name is eric -- president and co-founder -- i want to submit to each one of the supervisors petitions. we have 2922 signatures supporting the interim controls. [ applause ] i would like to submit this for the supervisors. and we also have 53 merchants, who have also signed the petition. and we're continuing to collect signatures. one thing, there is is a lot of misinformation out there right now. we have been proud for 24th street for quite a few years. the lowest vacancy rate in the you city. currently it's 4%- living in the neighborhood for 50 years, i know what is behind every door in the corridor. there are artists, samis, that have their office space next door to them. it's not an open retail space where people are coming in, but office space and someone is utilizing it. right next door to that is a tv repair man and that gentleman was been in the space over 40 years. so the experience that we have on 24th street and the folks that have empowered 24th street are folks that have been in the neighborhood for many years and also new people. i wanted to talk about the crime and we talked to captain perreira and you said right now he is getting more calls out of dolores park on the weekends rather than 24th. it was really interesting to us. his point where there is more foot traffic and where there is more people accumulating is where you have more crime and he stated that you have nightlife with people vulnerable coming out of the restaurants, who have been drinking. [ inaudible ] thank you. >> i'm sorry, eric, we have a lot of people that we want to hear their voices. please, next speaker. >> my name is christia aquinn. i am a member of ace. and i would like to speak strongly in favor of this measure, and i wish it was more that we could do as an interim measure. since there is no commercial rent control, i think this is least that we can do, especially since mergers storefront mergers as i understand can be approved over the counter. i found that disturbing to learn. that we enact something as soon as possible and allow the special use district conduct the plan moving forward by calle 4 to move forward and to eventually -- a set of condition and clear criteria for approving new mergers with conditions. i am in favor of this measure, also because i am extremely concerned and distressed at the exodus of low-income families, elders, and people of color in the city. and not just in the mission but also in the southeast sector, like the bay view and excelsior and that the city develop a clear set of policies, aside from developing housing we need to arrest this. so i really do hope that you support this plan. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hello everyone. my name is kate walker and member of the gray panthers, but speaking as an individual. i am in favor of this ordinance and it is modest and will help to pause some of the horrific gentrification going on in the city, in this one district. i am hoping that maybe a model will develop from this where other districts, which haven't been hit yet, because there are a lot of small business districts in san francisco that haven't had this kind of thing happening to them as yet, but it will, if we continue -- not "we" but if it's allowed if the invasion of the wealthiest is allowed to go on. my daughter and son-in-law are small business people and their struggle -- somebody should write a book about it. this business, of vacant store lots in different districts a lot of that has to do with the fact that they are too expensive and people are displaced. they may want to stay there. there are five openings, but they are way over the head of the people being evicted or rents being raised. to me this is a non-item. my daughter has a clothing store. she is a designer. she makes everything. and she has had to adapt her business. she has gone from union, the haight, noe valley, a couple of other districts and now she is in west portal. she has had to adapt just retail to teaching sewing -- she likes it. her husband is also now in the clothing business in noe valley. they fix up every single store that they have ever gone into, because they find something that is so incredibly messed up that nobody wants it and they put in the hard labor with their friends, put in flooring, et cetera. >> thank you. next speaker. >> hello, my name is sara and i'm a housing rights activist. i am here to support this legislation. mostly i work with tenants, in residential housing that is being pushed out in san francisco. but tenants talk all the time about not having someplace to do their laundry anymore the grocer being pushed out. repair shops, even restaurants that they can afford, let alone the local places that they work. rents are going up throughout san francisco and this includes commercial spaces. there is not a lot we can do because of the state law as round some of that, but these businesses are -- we need to protect the infrastructure of our communities. i mean, over as the non-profit that i work at the rent is being raised and we have a commercial storefront. that is happening everywhere in the city. so i support this measure. i think it's really important for san francisco and we need to listen to people in communities about what they need for their blocks, their sections their neighborhoods, their neighborhoods. because we don't have the same solutions for every neighborhood. we need to let people make those solutions together. >> hello, my name is patricia kerrman, a long time resident of the mission district. i have been there over 30 years. i'm speaking to you today on behalf of the liberty hill neighborhood association. this is an organization of homeowners, renters and businesses in nearby mission community. we strongly support the interim controls for the proposed 24th cultural district. we think the interim control is vital to support and protect the commercial spaces that comprise the unique cultural entities that is the mission. we urge you to support and protection the special part of the mission, the future special use of the district, and future latino cultural district. liberty hill neighbors value the diversity that characterizes the streets of the mission. the heart and soul of this important and vibrant community is 24th street. san francisco would suffer a huge loss if this unique neighborhood is not preserved and is not protected. many of the communities-serving businesses that these interim controls will protect provide jobs for our neighbors, friends, and families. this is where we go to shop for services, to eat, and to drink. this is where we bring our out of town guests. the arts are a particular source of pride. the mission mils murals are a treasure and need to be in their proper environment and not in an antiseptic homogenize the surroundings. the murals must be surrounded by the community and culture that created them. thank you. [ applause ] >> hello. my name is leslie. i have lived in san francisco for about ten years. i, too, am involveded with open 24th and i also work often -- thank you -- with small businesses. i help restaurants, bars and small businesses manage their staff, their kitchens, and so i have a lot of direct contact with some of the places on 24th street. so i have concerns about a blunt measure like this. would i love for us not to allow store mergers to happen over the counter. i'm in favor of that and i'm in favor of having conditional use discussions around this. my thinking here basically is i know a lot of the numbers for a lot of the small businesses in san francisco because i work with their numbers and i'm concerned about the businesses on 24th. i think we all want this area to thrive. we want it to be an area that is inclusive and has a lot of neat things happening. in my experience, with the rents going up, that sucks for small businesss and i'm concerned if we create too many measures that create growth in the corridor, those small businesses won't be able to keep up. that we'll be eliminating the foot traffic that will enable them to be there and provide really neat and helpful things for the area. i am also really excited to be here. i think it's great this was brought up this many people to have this conversation and i love the work that a lot of folks have been doing. whether or not we agree, i am excited to support this area. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> hi. my name is carolina and i own a small print shop in the mission bernal heights district neighborhood. my business has been there since 1982. i took over four years ago. i am currently on a month to month lease. and i don't know how much longer i'm going to be there. i want to say there. i provide a lot of services for the people from the neighborhood. but there is no help for us. the small businesses do not have enough help from the city. and i think even if it's a little bit of help, if we can get it, it would be great. because we want to stay there. i want to stay there. i love my job. i love what i do. i love the services that i provide to my community. but it's a very difficult time. so i am pro on this legislation. thank you. >> thank you, next speaker. >> hi. my name is julian ball and organizer with san francisco ace. i organize in the miss

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