Retailers, local and big box and just about everybody and nobody could make it work. Even using the global reach of our company, we couldnt make it happen. Nowhere in this country is there a shopping sent we are as many floors as westfield San Francisco center. Not in chicago, not in new york. The retail is why they succeed which is why the body amended the planning code to eliminate the need for a cup for the seventh and eighth floors and above. So we believe this investment is good for San Francisco center and mixed use buildings are inherently complementary with the office use supporting the retail and retail an amenity for the office. And we are going to do a full renovation and that includes improved lighting at the street level and the largest nordstrom in the portfolio and will remain one of the largest in the country. Letters of support including one from nordstrom and they couldnt make it br are supportive of this project. We believe they must continue to be the Retail Destination for San Francisco with the approval of the allegation and give us the tools to help make stay that way. I ask for your support to approve the project with staff recommendations. Thank you very much anymore presentations . I am going to try something a little weird here for Public Comment. Do we have supporters and opposition . Do we have any opposition to this project . I am still going to open up for Public Comment. If you would like to show your hands for support, that is fine, too. Anyone else who does want to speak, please come up. Good evening, commissioners. I am jessica low with the San Francisco travel association and here to express our support for the plan to modernize and the Retail Industry and experience is rapidly changing and this project would help westfield stay relevant to retailers, shoppers, visitors and many employee who is support this industry. Last year San Francisco welcomed 25 million visitors who spent 10 in hotel, dining and restaurants and shopping in the Department Stores and boutiques. This generated 770 million in taxes for general funds and we are supportive of this effort to modernize the property and so it can continue to attract visitors, shoppers and world class businesses to support San Franciscos strong and vibrant economy. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker please. Good evening. I am kim and i am with cultivate labs in support of the retail to Office Conversion that is right sizing nordstrom and bringing reinvestment into the center. Cultivate labs is a Community Conscious nonprofit Business Accelerator that is dedicated to promoting Economic Opportunity and developing a vibrant commissioner corridor. There are in proms that cultivate labs and divisions and is targeting the corridor and we work with the ground floor at the westfield and increasing activity and engagement at 814 mission where the location of the current San Francisco filipino cultural senter is that is a special place for the community. And in the mutual interest and that the community has in visiting this neighborhood. The retail environment is as you know changing rapidly and customers are either producing online or looking for specific retail experiences that are unique and can attract people into the area. And so for example, our really successful Night Market Series has attracted 10,000 people yearly with over 75 Small Business owners offering products that speak to our community and our culture. And so in the end of this year in 2019, we have estimated over 300,000 in Economic Activity in some of the area alone. This is an added value to the city and San Francisco sent arenaed working with the westfield on the undiscovered market this sunday to the dome and expect 800 people at this event. This is one example of how we are working together to keep working in the future promote this. Thank you. Next speaker please. Good evening, everyone. Director for the filipino Cultural Heritage district. The mission is to preserve the thriving Filipino Community as well as the community institutions. I want to acknowledge the letter provided by westfield to work with the community as a Cultural Center serving the Filipino Community. We are hopeful to preserve the space as this overall effort to increase the visibility of the community as an integral part of the neighborhood with the community regionally and is an important asset and practice and place for the reservation and the growing inequality pricing our community out of the city. To now this is a job center for many in the Service Retail and working with cultivate labs to promote Mission Street for Small Businesses and community institutions. We look forward to strengthening our commitment and the Cultural Assets and support Economic Development for Small Businesses. Thank you. Thank you. Next speaker please. Good evening, commissioners. I have some letters from the Construction Trade council. And a longstanding relationship with westfield and the mall and the ongoing operation and turn around. And ultimately the work that is being proposed here. Here are the letters. This is mee neighbor. I dont object this this as all. You are part of the community in westfield and a low Income Community and Filipino Community that is right there. I am glad they are speaking for you and have a relationship already. Who you buy the t. D. R. S from is important. I am suspected from lower xhk communities. And if you havent already bought them, do not go to an easy thing but go to a difficult thing where people might need the money. And that ended i have no concern about lighting. They are going to be lit. I am very familiar with the site. Thank you very much. District six supporters and Office Development authorization. Thank you. U a next speaker please. Good evening. I promise i will leave after this. I will speak on behalf of the union square bid and with the longterm relationship with westfield and i know mr. Kitchen and i havent seen you for a while. And that is another topic to discuss. And all i can say is i would ask for your support. Changing times. Thank you. Thank you. Any other Public Comment on this item . With that Public Comment is closed. Public comment is close. There is no additional tdrs to be bought because the building is not changing the height. It is using to convert the upper part and it is well done. And with this historic project on the 50 post Street Building as well and that is another topic. Trying to get that in there. And overall i am pleased that the project has Large Community support not just like a shopping center, but a living and engaged project that addresses the entire project support. I am support of the project and move to approve. Second. A commissioner richards lets vote. There is a motion seconded to approve with questions. Could i procure the t. D. R. . A small bit of new floor area and for that they will have t. D. R. , but they are essentially is because some of the spaces that were considered exempt from floor area are becoming gross floor area because of that torturous definition of gross floor area. Voting aye. Commissioner fung. Aye. U a commissioner moore. An aye. A commissioner richards. An aye. Commissioner koppel. Aye. Commissioner president melgar. That passes 60. Commissioners, before we move on to your discretionary review calendar, i am pleased to i an announce that item 20 for 2517 pacific avenue, the d. R. S have been withdrawn that. Will place us on your final item as items 18a and 18b have been continued. Item 19, case 201901302drp, discretionary. The item is a discretionary review and Building Application which proposes to change the use of an existing market and liquor store to a Cannabis Retail establishment. On site consumption is not proposed at 50 o jones street. Z it may be add tos future if not and sro units on the upper six floors and that Corner Market and liquor store existing in the subject tenant space and restaurant in an adjacent ground floor tenant space. It is in the rc4 and 80t and 130t height and bulk districts. And the existing building is an a rated Historic Resource listed a z a contributor to a National Register historic district. They received seven letters and since packet publication with six letters and 99 petition signatures in support of the application. The d. R. Requester was to pro cure in opposition, but none have been obtained. And support for introducing a regulated Cannabis Market into the neighborhood for persons who rely on it for medical reasons and including support for those recovering from addiction and reference the work the project sponsor has done to ensure the business is a vital and supportive use to the surrounding neighborhood. And in particular, providing a letter of support expressing excitement to work with the proposed Cannabis Retailer to fund programming to provide free consultings and sheltered low xhk participants with medical cannabis as a support for a pathway off harmful drugs and providing candidates to the population targeted to the specific needs. Among those who oppose the application, three principle concerns have been provided. The first concern is that the surrounding neighborhood is oversaturated with drug sales and this is an, thus, undesirable to add a Cannabis Store front. And they recognize the struggle thar many san franciscans are experiencing with drug addiction, particularly in the tenderloin, the particular issue is with heroin and methamphetamine, not cannabis. Prohibiting a regulated market from establishing in the district only ensures that the black market sales will continue without competition from the regulated market. The second is the use are w the surrounding context and the concern over the proximity to the use of the San Francisco city academy and the adjacent religious institution at 4 450 ofarrell. And located more than 600 and project site verified and the school is an intermittent activity and does not provide k12 and is likely used while children are accompanied by guardians to the site. Additionally, the current plans for reconduction would place the sunday school on the third floor of the site raised away from the subject application. The third principle concern raised is of the tenderloin is lacking access to daily needs retail uses such as Corner Markets and that the proposed use would displace an existing market at the site while other large format markets such as trader joes and whole foods are establishing in the larger area, the loss of the Corner Market is impactful on the local population. However t project sponsor is a member of the family which has owned and operated the market for decades and indicated to staff that this is a change that was envisioned as an evolution of the business and response to a changing retail environment. I will defer to the applicant to elaborate on that further. Copies are available for staff for review and part of the request for discretionary review, the department does not find an exceptional or extraordinary circumstance with the proposed scope of the permit. The presence of black market cannabis sales necessitate support for a regulated market and in a dense, mixed use neighborhood such as the tenderloin. While the department is concerned as a market, it is not clear that the market would continue to exist if the application is denied. We recommend you not take d. R. And approve the permit as proposed. Thank you. Thank you. Do we have project sponsor . Presentation . This is a d. R. , commissioner melgar, so we should hear from the d. R. Requester first. President melgar, commissioners, my name is ella strong. I am the board president for church of christ scientist. And this site directly adjacent to the cannabis proposed cannabis dispensary. I will speak first and we also have a statement from our developer for 450 ofarrell who will bring new workforce in conjunction with providing the church and new Christian Science reading room open to the public in tenderloin community. The applicant has asked to change the use of their current site from convenience market to Cannabis Retail store. The notice we received said that the planning has determined that the site meets their rules. But if we the neighbors believe that theyre exceptional and extraordinary circumstances which exist, that we can present them at this hearing. We strongly believe that such exceptional and extraordinary circumstances do exist. In location. And in this case. Tenderloin Community District benefit on november 13 and the tenderloin has the highest crime rate in San Francisco. 90 of the population is in the fixed income. It is also overcrowded. In addition to there being 37,000 residents in just 35 square blocks, it houses an extra 6,000 Homeless Individuals making it 300 times more dense than any other area of the city. Reportedly also over 4,000 tenderloin residents are children. Homelessness, drug use, open air drug dealing are endemic. Violent crimes and property crimes and we have been experiencing both are common, persistent problems. All the conditions are exceptional and extraordinary circumstances. And in an area with such overwhelming, unhandled problem, a lack of consistent Public Services or law enforcement, in combination with especially vulnerable population, it does not make logical sense to add a recreational drug dispensary. It is contrary to the communitys needs. Secondly, there is a degradation of Community Resources. Express market has been a Neighborhood Convenience store for decades. It provides a variety of items for sale including food and drinks, daily supplies to local residents. Displacing a multiproduct store with one product, a recreational drug, will have a major impact on the residents in the area. It will eliminate yet another Community Resource and service and create hardship to those that need it most. This one product, a drug, is highly controversial and not desirable in an area awash with drugs and drugrelated problem. The Tenderloin Police has difficulties dealing with current problems. In fact, they are already spread so thin that they cant handle all the call. We know. We call them. Sometimes we receive their assistance only sometimes. The logistics of running such a business on the corner of jones would be a nightmare for us as next door neighbors. With armed guards at the entrance when deliveries are made, when cash is removed, when customers come and go with pockets full of money or pockets full of drugs, it is a recipe for disaster. Not only our church, reading room and sunday school will be impacted but also the Senior Center across the street and all businesses around. All other locations allow cannabis december penceries in the Light Industrial areas where they can easily be accessed and not create such a negative impact. 500 jones is just not the right location for this business. Please look beyond the zoning laws to the lives of tenderloin residents and that negative impact that their lives will experience. Please deny this change of use and let the applicants find a more suitable location for their business. A different, better suited location would benefit them also. In addition to 99 signature, we have 330 signatures and we will speak to that. Also, we have here principal from a nearby school that was referred to. That location 302 eddie street from k8 children is just a few more feet than 600. Thank you, maam. Your time is thank you, maam. Your time is up, but you will have a two minute rebuttal. Do we have any Public Comment in support of the d. R. Requester . If you want to support the d. R. Requester, come on up. If you are here in support of the project sponsor, you will get a chance to speak later. The project sponsor is the person who is asking a correct. Are you in support of the d. R. Requester . Yes. I am reading a statement on behalf of the Forge Development partners who are building 300 units of Work Force Housing on the adjacent site also. What they would like to convey is to add their voice to the concerns about the bringing of the facility to the area that already has the problems outlined by ms. Strong. F