Good afternoon, everyone.

This meeting will come to order.

Welcome to the June 3rd, 2024 regular meeting of the Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

I am Supervisor Mirna Melgar, Chair of the Committee joined by Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin and Vice Chair Dean Preston.

The committee clerk is Mr.

John Carroll.

Today I also like to acknowledge uh Jeanette Engelauf at uh SFGov TV for staffing this meeting.

Mr.

Clerk, do you have any announcements?

Yes, thank you, Madam Chair.

Please ensure that you silenced your cell phones and other electronic devices you may have brought with you into the chamber today.

If you have any documents to include as part of the file, you should submit them to me.

Public comment will be taken on each item on today's agenda when your item of interest comes up and public comment is called.

Please line up to speak along your right hand side of this room.

I'm pointing it out with my left hand.

Alternatively, you may submit your public comment in writing in either of the following ways.

First, you may email your comments to me at J-O-H-N period C-A-R-R-O-L-L at SFGOV.org.

Or you may send your written comments by U.S.

Postal Service to our office in City Hall.

The address is one Dr.

Carlton Be Goodlit Place, Room 244, San Francisco, California 94102.

If you submit public comment in writing, I will forward your comment to the members of this panel and also include your comments as part of the official file upon which you are commenting.

And items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda of June 11th, 2024, unless otherwise stated.

Thank you, Mr.

Carroll.

Please call item number one.

Agenda item number one is an ordinance amending the planning code to permit liquor stores in the buildings with off-street parking access down Broadwick Street within the Devisadero Street Neighborhood Commercial Transit District.

Affirming the planning department's determination under CEQA and making public necessity, convenience, and welfare findings under planning code section 302 and findings of consistency with the general plan and the eight priority policies of planning code section 101.1.

I have a memo from your desk, madam chair, that requests that this item be agendized as a committee report for potential consideration by the Board of Supervisors at tomorrow's meeting, June 4th.

Thank you, Mr.

Clerk.

Supervisor Preston, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair Melgar.

Uh, and thank you for scheduling the item today.

Also want to thank uh Veronica Flores and Audrey Merlone from Planning and Deputy City Attorney Rob Kapla for their work on this item.

Uh the intent of this uh item before you today is to implement the initial planning commission recommendations from back in 2004, a full 20 years ago, uh, to exempt the mixed use project known as Falletti's Plaza from the alcohol restrictions of the nearby Divisadero Alcohol Restricted Use District, the RUD.

So the RUD places strict limitations on new alcohol establishments, including a prohibition on new liquor stores.

Um and when the Planning Commission heard this item back in 2004, they actually recommended at that time that the mixed-use development at uh 1275 Fell Street, uh the Falletti's Plaza be exempt from the restrictions of the RUD.

In retrospect, I think that exemption was a good idea uh back then to uh that would have maintained flexibility of the site, but it was not ultimately adopted into the ordinance that established the RUD at that time.

This was not an issue for many years because um this uh folks are probably familiar with this site.

This was a Bank of America right across from that DMV lot right next to Fletties.

Um really a key corner location was occupied by the bank for many years.

Uh the Bank of America branch there closed during the pandemic.

Uh and uh there were no banks uh on in the on the landscape or horizon here that were seeking to take its place.

And so it's been sitting empty.

Um and it's really essential uh that there's flexibility at the site to prevent an even longer uh prolonged vacancy there.

So I want to thank you not just for calendaring this, uh, but also for calendaring it as a committee report.

There's some urgency because the current restrictions are uh are and have been a major impediment for activating uh this site.

So we're looking forward to changing the code uh as quickly as possible.

I want to thank uh Tick Falletti, uh, who is here today and his family from Falletti Foods for their longstanding uh commitment to the neighborhood and for uh flagging this issue for our office.

I think we are all uh united uh with uh really seeing the last thing that we want is a prolonged vacancy, abutting this beloved community grocery store that has managed to survive through some tough times and through a pandemic.

Uh so we want to do everything we can to to support uh the overall uh vitality and success of of all the businesses there uh uh at Folletti's grocery store and and the uh the neighboring properties.

Um want to thank the planning commission for their unanimous support, also the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association and Divisadero Merchants Association, uh both of which submitted letters of support.

Uh we have not heard any concerns from community.

I do have some technical amendments that were recommended by the planning commission.

Um and those changes uh have been circulated to the committee at page one, lines three through five, and page four, lines nine through thirteen.

These are just technical amendments the city attorney has confirmed.

They are non-substantive and will not require uh a continuance.

Uh thank you.

Thank you, Supervisor Preston.