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Commission approves three Mission Street medical cannabis permits with conditions and neighborhood liaison requirements
Summary
After hours of testimony for and against, the Planning Commission approved mandates for Green Cross (4218 Mission) and two additional Mission Street storefronts (TreeMed 5234, Mission Organics 5258) with conditions requiring security coordination, lighting, facade improvements and a community liaison; commissioners voiced concern about clustering but found the applications met current code.
Following a lengthy hearing that drew hundreds of speakers, the Planning Commission voted Feb. 16 to approve three medical cannabis dispensary permits for Mission Street storefronts, attaching conditions intended to address neighborhood safety, nuisance and outreach concerns.
Green Cross (4218 Mission) Planning staff testified that the Green Cross delivery operation has a multiyear record in San Francisco and that the proposed walk-in location complies with current zoning and the city's MCD provisions. Opponents including the Outer Mission Merchants and Residents Association argued the location is near childcare facilities and a YMCA and expressed concern about clustering. Supporters, including multiple patients and the Ingleside Station permit officer, described Green Cross as a professional operator that provides patient discounts and has assisted police with evidence from security footage.
The Commission declined to take discretionary review and approved the Green Cross permit unanimously, adding conditions recommended by Supervisor John Avalos and commissioners: improved lighting, contributions to public safety and security (including a police-reviewable security plan), façade and streetscape improvements (graffiti removal, new plantings where feasible), and appointment of a community liaison (with multilingual outreach capacity).
TreeMed (5234 Mission) and Mission Organics (5258 Mission) Two additional mandatory discretionary review items for storefronts three doors apart on the 5200 block of Mission Street were presented together. Planning staff found each met the code criteria for MCDs (section 790.141) and documented extensive outreach. OMRA and other speakers submitted petitions and signatures opposing the permits on clustering and proximity grounds. Sponsors presented security plans, patrol arrangements, on-site cameras and outreach efforts.
The Commission voted 5-2 to deny discretionary review and approve both Mission-block permits with the same set of conditions applied to Green Cross, including police coordination on security camera standards and a community liaison requirement. Commissioners emphasized that while the clustering concern is real, the current code places limits on where MCDs can locate and that each application met the statutory criteria; several commissioners urged the Board of Supervisors to consider code changes on clustering.
Police and security: Officer William McCarthy (Ingleside Station) said the department had no factual evidence to recommend denial but asked that sponsors work with the PD and that surveillance systems be reviewed by SFPD for evidentiary adequacy; the Commission included a condition to coordinate cameras/security with police review.
Neighborhood outreach: Commissioners required a neighborhood liaison and encouraged bilingual outreach in the diverse Excelsior/Outer Mission community. Several commissioners asked staff and supervisors to study clustering and proximity rules at the Board of Supervisors level.
"Discretionary review historically has only been used in exceptional cases..." an attorney for one sponsor said, urging the Commission to allow the permit so the operator could continue serving patients; the Commission approved all three permits with the added conditions.
