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Record of Proceedings

Public Safety Committee Meeting on Cannabis Equity and Anti-Asian Violence - September 23, 2021

Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee — Thursday, September 23, 2021
BodySan Francisco, California
SessionPublic Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee
DateThursday, September 23, 2021
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

The meeting will come to order.

0:02

Welcome to the Thursday, September 23rd, 2021 meeting of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee.

0:08

I'm Supervisor Gordon Maher, the chair of this committee, and I'm joined by Vice Chair Catherine Stephanie and committee member Matt Haney.

0:14

Thank you to this committee's clerk, John Carroll.

0:17

And I'd also like to thank Colina Mendoza from SFGov TV for staffing this meeting.

0:22

Mr.

0:22

Clerk, do you have any announcements?

0:24

Yes, thank you, Mr.

0:25

Chair.

0:26

The minutes will reflect that the committee members are participating in this remote meeting through video conference to the same extent as if they're physically present in their committee room.

0:33

The board recognizes that public access to city services is essential and invites public participation in the following ways.

0:41

First, public comment will be available on each item on this agenda, either channel 26, 78 or 99, as well as sfgovtv.org, are streaming the public comment call in number across the screen at this time.

0:54

Each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak.

0:57

Your opportunity to speak during any of today's public comment periods will be available to you via phone by calling 415 655001.

1:08

The meeting ID for today's meeting is 2495033.

1:15

Following that, you should dial the pound symbol twice to connect to the meeting.

1:20

When you're connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but your line will be muted and in listening mode only.

1:25

When your item of interest comes up on the agenda, please dial star followed by three to be added to the speaker line.

1:32

Best practices are to call from a quiet location to speak clearly and slowly and to turn down your television, your radio, your streaming device, or whatever you may be using to access our proceedings.

1:43

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

1:48

You may email them to myself.

1:49

I'm the public safety neighborhood services committee clerk.

1:52

My name is John Carroll, and my email address is J-O-H-N.

1:55

Period C A R O L L at SFGO V dot O R G.

2:03

You could also send your written comments to our office in City Hall via U.S.

2:07

Postal Service.

2:08

Our office is City Hall 1, Dr.

2:11

Carlton B.

2:12

Goodlit Place, room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102.

2:17

Of course, all this information appears on the front page of every agenda for your consultation.

2:22

And finally, Mr.

2:23

Chair items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of October 5th, 2021, unless otherwise stated.

2:34

Thank you so much, Mr.

2:35

Clerk.

2:36

Can you please call item number one?

2:40

Agenda item number one is a hearing to consider that the transfer of a type 48 on sale general public premise liquor license to Presidio Cocktail Corporation doing business as Presidio Cocktail Corp at 907 Post Street will serve the public convenience or necessity of the city and county.

2:58

Members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this hearing should call the public comment call-in number, which is 415-6550001.

3:06

Enter the meeting ID of 24950338403.

3:12

Press the pound symbol twice to connect to the meeting and then press star, followed by the number three to enter the queue to speak.

3:18

And then await a system prompts that will inform you that your line has been unmuted and that will begin your opportunity to provide your comments.

3:27

Thank you, Mr.

3:27

Clerk.

3:28

I'd like to welcome Officer Salmondson from the SFPD ABC liaison unit to present the ALU report on this item.

3:37

Officer Salmondson.

3:39

Good morning.

3:40

Okay.

3:40

Presidio Cocktail Corporations applied for a type 48 license, and if approved, this would allow them to operate an on-sale general public premise.

3:49

There are three letters of protest.

3:51

I have no letters of support.

3:53

They're in plot 542, which is considered high crime area.

3:56

They're in census track 12201, which is considered a high saturation area.

4:02

Central station has no opposition.

4:04

And ALU approves with the following conditions.

4:06

Number one, that the petitioners shall actively monitor the area under their control in an effort to prevent a loitering of persons on any property adjacent to the licensed premise as depicted on ABC 253 form.

4:17

And number two, no noise shall be audible at any nearby residence.

4:21

And as of uh September 16th, I was able to speak to uh Greg Lindgren over the telephone.

4:28

And at that time, he uh he was in agreement to those two conditions.

4:35

Thank you for that report, Officer Salmonson.

4:38

Um I have a question.

4:39

You you mentioned that there were three letters of protest.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Cannabis Regulation███████████████████████████████████35%
Public Comment███████████████████████████27%
Hate Crime Response████████████████████20%
Liquor License Transfer████████8%
Health Services███3%
Public Safety██2%
Violence Prevention██2%
Public Health█1%
Civil Rights█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee Meeting - September 23, 2021

The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee met on Thursday, September 23, 2021, at 6:15 PM (remote). Chair Gordon Maher presided, joined by Vice Chair Catherine Stefani and Member Matt Haney. The committee addressed four items: a liquor license transfer, HIPAA designations, amendments to cannabis regulations, and a hearing on violence targeting Asian-American seniors. All items were passed or continued with positive recommendations to the full Board of Supervisors.

Consent Calendar

  • All routine items were handled individually with votes; no consent calendar was used.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Item 1 (Liquor License): One caller, Armando Herman, opposed the transfer, stating it did not serve the public convenience or necessity of a neighborhood 'filled with apron tranny' (transcript unclear).
  • Item 2 (HIPAA): One caller, whose name was unclear, spoke against the legislation, referencing 'universal health care' and 'burning banners high shack' (aweful).
  • Item 3 (Cannabis): Multiple callers expressed support:
    • One equity business owner thanked the committee, calling equity preservation 'the most important piece of legislation' and supporting the ability to sell permits.
    • Lance Williams (equity applicant) supported the 5-year sale timeline and closing loopholes for predatory practices.
    • Damian Poe (equity applicant) supported the ability to liquidate ownership as he sees fit, emphasizing that businesses should be sellable to parent companies.
    • Connor Johnston (partner in first social equity adult-use store) supported the 5-year reduction but asked for a further amendment to allow sale immediately after permit issuance, citing falling business values.
    • Mitchell Salazar (equity applicant with stage four lung cancer) strongly supported the ordinance and thanked Director Rodriguez for support.
    • Angela White (Success Centers) supported the ordinance, saying it 'echoes the voice of equity.'
    • One caller (Paul) made discriminatory remarks and was cut off; the committee reminded the caller of policies.
    • One caller (Francisco DeCosta, Director of Environmental Justice Advocacy) supported the ordinance but requested written education materials in multiple languages.
    • Nina Parks (Cannabis Oversight Committee equity seat) supported shared manufacturing spaces but raised concerns about 100% ownership requirement leaving no room for partners, and urged stronger equity shelf space preservation.
    • Johnny Delaplane (San Francisco Cannabis Retailers Alliance) supported the ordinance, agreeing with Connor Johnston on the 50% permit limit and supporting a reduction beyond five years.
    • Perry Jones (CEO, verified equity applicant) supported the ordinance and emphasized generational wealth and crime prevention.
    • Rudy Corpus (violence prevention leader) expressed full support.
  • Item 4 (AAPI Violence):
    • One caller (unintelligible) made negative remarks and was cut off.
    • Francisco DeCosta criticized the hearing as not having the right people present, claiming he had personally stopped over 150 people attacking Asians during the pandemic, and called for a needs assessment and for the police chief to answer questions about the 272 recommendations.

Discussion Items

1. Liquor License Transfer - 907 Post Street (Presidio Cocktail Corp)

  • Officer Salmondson (SFPD ABC liaison) reported three letters of protest, no letters of support, and location in a high crime and high saturation area (census tract 12201). Central Station had no opposition. ALU approved with two conditions: monitoring premises to prevent loitering and no noise audible at nearby residences. The applicant, John Gasparini, agreed to conditions and cited his 20+ year track record with no violations.
  • The committee voted to send a resolution of public convenience/necessity to the full board with positive recommendation.

2. HIPAA Designation - Health Care Components

  • Bill Barnes (City Administrator's Office) presented a resolution to designate six departments as HIPAA health care components (DPH, Fire, Health Service System, City Attorney, Treasurer/Tax Collector, and Department of Technology). He noted the report was dated 2020, but should be 2021. This is the first such designation under Chapter 22H. The ordinance sets a process for periodic review (approx. every 3 years).
  • The committee voted to send the resolution to the full board with positive recommendation.

3. Cannabis Regulation Amendments

  • Director Marissa Rodriguez (Office of Cannabis) presented an ordinance with three main sections: prioritizing equity applicants, equity preservation, and administrative revisions.
    • Prioritizing Equity: First priority for equity applicants that are sole proprietors or 100% owned by equity applicants; second priority for temporary permit holders that commit to shared manufacturing with equity applicants. Allow equity incubation during build-out stage.
    • Equity Preservation: If equity ownership drops below 20%, businesses must contribute 1% gross revenue to community organizations, purchase equity products, make workforce commitments, or incubate equity businesses.
    • Administrative Revisions: Shorten the 10-year restriction on selling more than 50% ownership to 5 years; exempt transfers due to owner's death; add a 45-day deadline for document requests; clarify withdrawal vs. abandonment.
  • Deputy City Attorney Ann Pearson proposed an amendment to remove a finding regarding planning commission conformity with Prop M (1986); the committee adopted the amendment.
  • The committee voted to send the ordinance as amended to the full board with positive recommendation.

4. Hearing on Crime and Violence Targeting Asian-American Seniors

  • Brittany Chikwata (Chief of Staff, HRC) and Sarah Sang (Policy Director, Office of Racial Equity) presented findings from a landscape analysis. They noted that hate crimes due to racial bias have quadrupled since 2015, with Stop AAPI Hate receiving over 350 reports in 2020, including 71 physical assaults. They identified gaps in services, lack of standardized reporting, language access issues, and a disconnect between intent and impact. They proposed six recommendations: standardized reporting, language access, citywide response protocol (like SHARP), civil rights enforcement, community partnerships (e.g., resilience navigators), and investment in cross-cultural activities.
  • Supervisors Stefani and Haney requested to be added as co-sponsors and asked for a follow-up hearing to hear from other departments (e.g., police, DA) and get updates on budget investments.
  • The committee voted to continue the hearing to the call of the chair.

Key Outcomes

  • Item 1: Motion to send resolution to full board with positive recommendation passed unanimously (3-0).
  • Item 2: Motion to send resolution to full board with positive recommendation passed unanimously (3-0).
  • Item 3: Motion to amend the ordinance (remove planning commission finding) passed unanimously (3-0); motion to send amended ordinance to full board with positive recommendation passed unanimously (3-0).
  • Item 4: Motion to continue the hearing to the call of the chair passed unanimously (3-0), with Supervisors Stefani and Haney added as co-sponsors.

Meeting Transcript

The meeting will come to order. Welcome to the Thursday, September 23rd, 2021 meeting of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee. I'm Supervisor Gordon Maher, the chair of this committee, and I'm joined by Vice Chair Catherine Stephanie and committee member Matt Haney. Thank you to this committee's clerk, John Carroll. And I'd also like to thank Colina Mendoza from SFGov TV for staffing this meeting. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes, thank you, Mr. Chair. The minutes will reflect that the committee members are participating in this remote meeting through video conference to the same extent as if they're physically present in their committee room. The board recognizes that public access to city services is essential and invites public participation in the following ways. First, public comment will be available on each item on this agenda, either channel 26, 78 or 99, as well as sfgovtv.org, are streaming the public comment call in number across the screen at this time. Each speaker will be allowed two minutes to speak. Your opportunity to speak during any of today's public comment periods will be available to you via phone by calling 415 655001. The meeting ID for today's meeting is 2495033. Following that, you should dial the pound symbol twice to connect to the meeting. When you're connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but your line will be muted and in listening mode only. When your item of interest comes up on the agenda, please dial star followed by three to be added to the speaker line. Best practices are to call from a quiet location to speak clearly and slowly and to turn down your television, your radio, your streaming device, or whatever you may be using to access our proceedings. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. You may email them to myself. I'm the public safety neighborhood services committee clerk. My name is John Carroll, and my email address is J-O-H-N. Period C A R O L L at SFGO V dot O R G. You could also send your written comments to our office in City Hall via U.S. Postal Service. Our office is City Hall 1, Dr. Carlton B. Goodlit Place, room 244, San Francisco, California, 94102. Of course, all this information appears on the front page of every agenda for your consultation. And finally, Mr. Chair items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of October 5th, 2021, unless otherwise stated. Thank you so much, Mr. Clerk. Can you please call item number one? Agenda item number one is a hearing to consider that the transfer of a type 48 on sale general public premise liquor license to Presidio Cocktail Corporation doing business as Presidio Cocktail Corp at 907 Post Street will serve the public convenience or necessity of the city and county. Members of the public who wish to provide public comment on this hearing should call the public comment call-in number, which is 415-6550001. Enter the meeting ID of 24950338403. Press the pound symbol twice to connect to the meeting and then press star, followed by the number three to enter the queue to speak. And then await a system prompts that will inform you that your line has been unmuted and that will begin your opportunity to provide your comments. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. I'd like to welcome Officer Salmondson from the SFPD ABC liaison unit to present the ALU report on this item. Officer Salmondson. Good morning. Okay. Presidio Cocktail Corporations applied for a type 48 license, and if approved, this would allow them to operate an on-sale general public premise. There are three letters of protest. I have no letters of support. They're in plot 542, which is considered high crime area.

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