That motion passes 60. Item 12. 3989 17th street conditional use authorization. Good evening. Brigitte hicks Planning Department staff. I cant speak like an auctioneer but ill try and be fast. Its a conditional use authorization for change of use from retail sales and service to Cannabis Retail project site is located within the boundaries of the castro street neighborhood commercial district which requires a conditional use authorization for any project. The subject property is located in a mixed use building on 17 street at the intersection with castro street. The subject tenant space is currently vacant and was previously occupied by a retail store wildcard. Ten apartment space is 940 square feet in size. Theres one dwelling unit on the second floor which will be retained and occupied by the Business Owners. And there are no schools, youth establishments or other Cannabis Retail establishments within 60t property. And there are currently no cannabis establishments within the castro neighborhood. The project sponsors are equity applicants with the citys office of cannabis, the district permits hours of operations from 6 00 a. M. To 2 00 a. M. And the sponsors have designed the space to have a lobby and security checkpoint at the front of the space to limit the visibility of products and the project is subject to the regulations of the office of cannabis and the department of publichealth. To date, the department has received 52 letters of support for the project which members of the public, local merchants, organizations, and neighborhoods associations have expressed support for the proposed tenant and the revitallation of a vacant storefront and the beneficial service to the community. The department received one letter of opposition to the project which opposed the potential for on site consumption and the Cannabis Retail establishment in general. Sponsors have two open houses with the Community Prior to this hearingment staff recommending approval as noted in the executive summary and its a new and active use to an existing vacant storefront and the district is well served by transit. The project meets all applicable requirements to the planning code and the castro neighborhood commercial zoning district. This concludes my presentation. We have the project sponsors to present. Thank you. Thank you. This is the planning commission. My speech is abou about three minutes. Before i begin i would just like to thank our family. My friends, my daughter, members of the community and members of the cannabis industry for being here today. I would like to thank the office of cannabis. Our former director nicole and marissa and thank you for answering all of our questions many times over and thank you for the help. It means the word. Im Chris Calloway the c. E. O. And equity applicant of eureka sky. The path that led can we get the overhead. There we go. The path that led me here today has been challenging, full of set backs, failures, somesments but no regrets. 20 years ago i arrived in the bay area from detroit. I collected all the necessary paperwork from my doctors and issued an i. D. Card and began working with gy jim. I was a kid way dream and meaningful purpose and doctors note and medical cannabis i. D. Card. It turns out just short of everything. Early one morning i was greeted by the Sheriffs Department who claimed there was a strong outsider of cannabis coming from my home. I said dont worry up your paperwork and paid extra money for the cultivation certificate. I presented these documents and showed them the small number of plants in my closet, they tore the paperwork in happen and took we away in handcuffs. Looking back this may be where my confidence was lost in doctors notes. I was arrested and charged with three felonies and after a stressful year, negotiated a deal that avoided a lengthy prison sentence. Oddly enough, one of the conditions of my deal in terms of my probation granted me the ability to cultivate and possess and consume cannabis. The things i was just arrested for. I can assure you the irony was not lost on myself or the judge or the courtroom. I can look back and laugh and Equity Program is creating an opportunity to transform the worst experience of my life into one of the best opportunities ive had. For this i am forever grateful, humbled and honored. The program has a part of much more in my opinion and not only has the power to change the lives of verified its important the cannabis business are are not only blended well with the characters of the neighborhood but support the community in meaningful ways. I founded a Nonprofit Organization and they transform storefronts into temporary Art Galleries until the permanent businesses move in. The project began in detroit 25 years ago, a city familiar with abandoned buildings. The castro is a neighborhood experiencing a high Retail Vacancy rate. Through our arts project we will work closely with the Castro Community to get art in as many storefronts as possible. Through the retail landscape of our society and along with it retail cannabis. Unfortunately, most properties cannot meet the various demands needed to fill all the requirements of a sub category of retail category permit. For the record [ please stand by ] and enabled her to function daily without headaches and tremors. Rae, chris, and i are committed to reinvesting back into the community. We act locally, but the lope the impact is global. We are going to do more for our community. I am an ad hoc member of the neighborhood association. Rae is a board member of the castro merchant association. Today together we will be living in the castro neighborhood and we want to make it a great place to visit and to live. Standing in front of you today thank you, sir. We may have questions. With that, will take Public Comment on this item. I have two speaker cards. [calling names] good evening, commissioners. I am a Small Business owner on castro street and im speaking to you at the request of the rig executive director of the benefit district. The c. B. D. Voted overwhelmingly in favor of this project. The c. B. D. Are the stewards of the plaza. I am sure is commissioner richards knows we have various issues with bad street behavior in the plaza. We come with the addition of security cameras, Security Guard in a viable business on the strip will be a benefit to the neighborhood and i urge your support. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Commissioners, i stand here as the president of the valley neighborhood association. I will keep it short. We have voted unanimously in support of this project and hope you will do, too. It will be a great addition to the neighborhood. It will fill a vacant spot and provide a necessary service. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Commissioners, i am the president of the merchants. Im here for any questions you may have. I also have a personal statement i am a resident of 17th street in close proximity to the proposed site. Im also a Business Owner. Im personally acquainted with desmond morgan, the sponsors of this. I have the highest regard for their integrity and entrepreneurial endeavors. I strongly support the proposed venture in our neighborhood. It is clear that cannabis is and will continue to be a strong market in our community. The proposed bill will bring added business and foot traffic to the area which would benefit neighboring businesses as well. The proposed the proposal by the press includes security by the way of designated staff with benefits to the area as well. Thank you. Next speaker, please. My name is brian springfield. I have lived in the castro for over 21 years. This is the first time i have come to speak at one of these hearings. I am doing so because i think it is important. I feel like an approval of this application will be of great benefit to the neighborhood. I am on the board of castro merchants. Im also on the board as Vice President of the friends of harvey milk plaza going on three years now, i have been really impressed with the generosity of both desmond and desmond and ray in contributing as volunteers to both organizations as mentioned, restoring the board of both of these organizations and serves as our fundraising chair. I am here tonight to strongly support this project. This business of the cannabis dispensary can provide a lot of benefits to a neighborhood. It could create a lot of problems for the neighborhood. The difference between benefit and problems is really the way that the business is operated, and it comes down to does the Neighborhood Trust the people that will operate it . And the gentleman who are the project sponsors have done an exemplary job on this project of neighborhood outreach, transparency, communication with the various neighborhood groups, and taking important work from the neighborhood. We have come to trust and believe that they are going to do just an exemplary of a job of running this business. We hope that you will join us in supporting the application and lets see it open. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Good evening. My name is charles. Im here to support my very dear friend in opening this business. I had the privilege of working with desmond 35 years ago in the hospitality and retail business. They are both very committed to what they do. In addition to that, they are honest individuals and very industrious individuals that i have seen in the past. I see them in seattle and i now see them in San Francisco doing very, very good things. In addition to that, they have a positive attitude in the spirit of aloha that they carried from hawaii. It is very important. I think they are bringing their family over there to the castro area and i think it will be awesome. I hope you approve them. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker, please. Okay. Public comment is closed. Commissioner fong . I would move to approve, but i would add that i would like to codify the prohibition of onsite mac usage. Commissioner, just to add to that consideration, staff did receive comments from one member of the public expressing concern with onsite. In this case, given that there is a rental unit above that has only been occupied by the project sponsor, we were slightly less concerned, and the castro is a destination district , unlike many other districts, but so many people, it is a place to go out, myself included, even though i have never lived there. So the general concern was that we would create a condition where people could consume cannabis in the castro but not have a legal, safe place where they could not have a legal and safe place to consume it, and the possibility that that might cause people to consume it on the street or in the back of the bars of the castro where it is not permitted under the code. Okay. Commissioner richards . Im not sure i accept that comment, but okay. We can chat later. I have been in the neighborhood 27 years. I think this is a needed Retail Service offering for the neighborhood. I originally thought from 6 00 a. M. To 2 00 a. M. , it is really i would actually hope you were open 6 00 a. M. To 2 00 a. M. , to be honest with you i originally had the same thought about the onsite consumption, but if you actually walk out of the business, you will be in a park where you can smoke, and you can go behind the castro theatre parking lot. It will create issues for the neighbors. I would encourage onsite consumption, even though you are not applying for it because there is no legal place for folks to smoke, and if you dont do it onsite, you will do it somewhere where it is not appropriate. If they do it, they need all the Health Department regulations for containing the smoke in the odours. I cannot think of a better place to consume it rather than onsite. If you dont have an onsite permit, how are you going to monitor the plaza when somebody comes into the store, buys something, and decides they want to try it out front . During the open houses that we have, we shared at this point of time in time, that we are asking for onsite consumption, but we have room to grow on the premise, and it is our policy that we are going to be able to monitor with the six cameras that we are going to install on the side of the building, and so we would be able to see if anybody is going out and consuming in public spaces, and then we will have to address it with them because of the fact that it is not one of our policies to consume in public spaces. It would be like me going into a liquor store, buying a bottle of bourbon, and not having a place for a bottle of wine in a once directed taste it , which is not allowed, either i think i am trying to look at this as just like an alcohol consumption. I think if i could add one thing, when we are giving one property cannabis entitlement that involves multiple subcategories, that property may not be the best use of this category, there may be another property within 600 feet that is more suited for those purposes. It seems like the zoning law is a little restricted. I know this isnt the hearing for that, but i do think we have plans and ideas that add consumption to the castro in the way that fits the neighborhood really well, and i know that as if anybody we find is consuming it out there, they would not be allowed to come back in and purchase from our store. That area is something that needs some sort of work. Do you have the Legal Authority to tell someone in the plaza, which is a city park, that they cant smoke . It is not their legal right to do that. We are going to have notices inside the store that there is no consumption of public space in public spaces, and when they come in, they need to show their i. D. If we get a complaint, or if we see them, then we will take them outside. That also goes for members of the community that are in the plaza. [indiscernible] commissioner moore . Why not then leave the application for consumption for later . I believe for the time being, it will set a precedent where we take exceptions for one group, but not allowing anyplace else in the city. We have their own Business Model , and i am supporting what they are asking for this moment. Thank you. I will just chime in that i also support that. With all due respect, commissioner fong, i think that the castro is the destination. There are lots of folks who come to the castro for the first time folks to come back and back again, who dont live there, and , you know, i really wonder about your ability to ban someone from your store and have that be enough of a deterrent not to do it. I no longer live in a neighborhood that i lived a block away from them, many, many years, so it is like disneyland for adults for some folks, and i think that is great. We want to support that. I also want folks to have a safe place. I dont want them to consume marijuana with alcohol. I dont think it is a safe thing , that is the other alternative. When folks dont have a safe place to consume it, they might try to do it where there is open public spaces, and it is usually in a place where they serve alcohol. I dont want that to happen either. I support what other commissioners have said and i will allow this to go on as planned. Someone has to make a motion, not me. Commissioner richards . I moved to approve what is outlined by staff. Second. Very good, commissioners. We have a motion and a second to approve this item with conditions. On that motion. [roll call] so moved. That motion passes 51. [applause]. Thank you. Warriors just took the lead a 7270. Item 13, 1398 california street. Good evening, commissioners. Department staff. I haight standing between you or dinner and the game. I will be brief. If you could pass out the additional comment letters here. Four Additional Support letters, and then the nearly 200 letters in support to save a few trees. I did not print those, but they are available for commissioners. And the summary, it is a northwest california, and this is the ground floor, 100 Corner Retail space for the cable car. There is no onsite consumption. The location is well outside the area for schools and or other schools. The project is supported by community members. The department is very supportive of the project. I will conclude with that. Ill hand it over to the project sponsor. Thank you. Thank thank you. Hello, project sponsor. Good evening, commissioners. I am the registered equity applicant of the california street Cannabis Company. I will be working alongside ben and duncan, handling the daytoday opposition operations of the business. I am a San Francisco native and a product of the San FranciscoPublic School system. I was born in the potrero hill section eight project and moved to the north beach second section eight apartment when i was ten. And now i currently live on the corner of pacific and larkin. I have lived in San Francisco my entire life, with the exception of four and a half years that i was in college i graduated with a degree in business management. I was also given the opportunity to study abroad of course, i was the reluctant to go abroad. I live on my own and live on my own on the other side of the world, the been pushed me to get out of my comfort zone and go experience something new, something different. The experience changed my life, it changed my outlook on the world, and he gave me a greater appreciation for different cultures. I have worked closely with ben and duncan for eight years. My relationship with these guys goes far deeper than business. Since then, then has ben has been a regular fixture in my life, attending football games, graduation, and even family events. During the same time, i also met duncan. Being raised by a single mother with three kids, i looked to ben and duncan for mentorship, and later on, employment. At the age of 15, they started to bring me in as a dishwasher at one of their establishments. From the age of 15, i worked my way up through every position available. During summers, and all throughout my college career. At the age of 21, they decided to make me a bartender, and shortly after, they trusted me to manag