Board upholds approval for cannabis retailer at 4835 Mission Street after public hearing

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to uphold the Planning Commission’s September 29 approval of a conditional use authorization for a 1,300-square-foot cannabis retail store at 4835 Mission Street in the Excelsior district, and tabled motions that would have disapproved the permit and directed staff to prepare written findings.

Neighbors who appealed the approval told the board the project sponsor failed to conduct proper multilingual outreach, submitted suspect support cards and collected signatures from people outside the 300-foot community-notice radius. The sponsor and its counsel disputed those claims and said they exceeded notice requirements and followed the Planning Department’s procedures. City planning and Office of Cannabis staff told the board the project met the applicable notice and land-use rules.

The appeal hearing included presentations by the appellant, a planning department overview, a statement from the Office of Cannabis, a ten-minute presentation from the project sponsor and roughly two dozen public speakers, including residents who opposed the store and community members who supported the applicant. After public comment and rebuttals, Supervisor Asha Safa Yi moved to approve the Planning Commission’s decision (Item 11) and table the related motions to disapprove and to prepare disapproval findings (Items 12 and 13). The motion passed 11–0.

Why it matters: The case illustrates tensions between the city’s neighborhood protections — including outreach and the Planning Code’s buffer rules — and the Office of Cannabis licensing process.…