ENTERTAINMENT COMMISSION

  City and County of San Francisco

 

ACTION HEARING MINUTES OF THE 

Tuesday, December 4, 2018 HEARING

City Hall, Hearing Room 416

Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

San Francisco, CA  94102

 

 

 

COMMISSIONERS

 

Present

 

Ben Bleiman

Dori Caminong

Al Perez

Laura Thomas

Steven Lee

Dave Falzon

 

 

STAFF

 

Present

 

Executive Director, Maggie Weiland

Deputy Director, Kaitlyn Azevedo

Senior Sound Inspector, Sean Burke

Senior Analyst, Community & Cultural Events, Dylan Rice

Commission Aide, Crystal Stewart 

 

 

 

 

CALL TO ORDER

 

The meeting came to order at 5:38PM.

 

ROLL CALL 

 

Members of the public may address the Commission on items of interest to the public that are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Commission. With respect to agenda items, members of the public may address the Commission for up to three minutes at the time such item is called.  

 

Absent were: Bryant Tan 

 

General Public comment.

 

Public comment  

 

Ace Washington stated he is on the case in front of the place to talk about a place in my community. He added I don't know how to characterize this without mentioning what is going on I am here as the Fillmore corridor ambassador.  Not the bastard but ambassador and czar of out-migration celebrating the tenth year and great, great-grandfather. Grandfather and father, I am here as ace. The community assistance service enterprise. What you are going to hear is these pop-up organizations but I am ace I go back 40 years.  I was 24 when that happened and I am 64 now. He added Most of all of you I haven't seen before. You will get to know me. Most people will say they have been organizations for 30, 40 years. I have been there from the inception.  I am not here to impress you but to impress upon you the important decision to make coming up here. The history of people that look like me.   I am black, not from African-American. I am from the good black dirt in America. I want to celebrate Ed Lee. I am ace on the case I will respect your time. Here we go.

 

2. Approval of Meeting Minutes.  Discussion and possible action to approve the minutes of November 20, 2018 Commission meetings. [Discussion and Possible Action Item]

 

Public comment

 

Ace Washington stated his concerns about the Fillmore Heritage Center and their public outreach. 

 

Public comment closed. 

 

Commissioner Lee moved to approve the minutes of November 20, 2018 Commissioner Falzon second the motion

Vote:

Yeas -, Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Falzon and Commissioner Lee 

Absent - Commissioner Tan

Commissioner Thomas absent at the time of the vote. 

Noes - none

 

3. Report from Executive Director: Legislative/Policy Update: Nothing to Report; Staff and Office Update: Nothing to Report; Update on Board of Appeals Actions: Appeal filed by Ms. Gina Milano dba Halcyon, #EC-1377 POE & EHP, located at 314 11th Street, of Administrative Citation No. 21841 Issued by the San Francisco Entertainment Commission on October 13, 2018, Controller’s Office Hearing scheduled for January 3, 2019; Corrective Actions: Nothing to Report. [Discussion Item]

 

4. Report from Senior Inspector: Inspector Sean Burke reports on recent venue inspections and activities. [Discussion Item]

 

NEW COMPLAINTS 

                                                      

11/25/18 10:22 PM RS94109 837 Larkin LLP 11p "RS94109 coffee shop super loud music above in my apartment after 10pm. Exceeds the noise level of 5 DBA. Contacted non-emergency but no response" (SUNDAY)

11/29/18 11:40 PM Noir 581 Hayes NA "This bar has loud live music many nights of the week past 11:30p. There is no soundproofing. They have the doors open and it's very loud in surrounding apartments." (THURSDAY)

11/30/2018 8:26:00 PM & 8:30:00 PM Kenu 560 Alabama NA "The jerks at Kenu (manufactures plastics on site without EPA permits for emissions) are illegally loud again. No permits, super loud adjacent to homes and other businesses" & "Extremely loud recorded music next to residents" (FRIDAY)

12/3/18 1:45 AM   

Mission Street Sports Bar 

2565 Mission POE "The loud music from this bar/club keeps disturbing neighbors at all hours of the night - it's unacceptable" (MONDAY)

INSPECTIONS                                                  

11/24/18 8:30PM 

Emporium 616 Divisadero   

POE Inspector Savino visited as part of an ongoing investigation into a complaint. Operator found to be out of compliance with internal sound limit. Issued verbal warning and reduced sound level.

11/30/18 10:15 PM

Jones 620 Jones LLP 10p Inspector Savino visited in response to text/311/email complaint. Complaint has been for events held on patio. No entertainment on patio at time of inspection. Entertainment was being hosted inside with doors open. Indoor entertainment is conditioned to end at 10pm. Operator is aware of time condition and Good Neighbor Policy.

11/30/18 10:30 PM Kenu 560 Alabama NA   Inspector Fiorentino visited in response to 311 complaint in real time. Property owner was found to be hosting entertainment without a permit. Notice of Violation issued.

11/30/18 11:30 PM 1436 Polk 1436 Polk NA Inspector Fiorentino visited in response to 311 complaint in real time. Small gathering with DJ at private workspace. Educated promoters about One Time Event permits.

12/1/18 1:00 AM 

Noir 581 Hayes NA Inspector Savino visited in response to 311 complaint from last week. Wine bar is hosting jazz trios every other week. Educated operator regarding permitting process.

12/1/18 1:00 AM   

Halcyon 314 14th St 

POE/EHP Inspector Fiorentino visited in response to text complaint from neighbor. Sound system was found to be peaking in excess of interior sound limit. After working with operator, volume was brought into compliance. No NOV or Citation issued.

12/1/18 12:45 AM   

One dome 1025 Market NA Inspector Savino visited at the request of Inspector Burke. Entertainment being hosted without a permit. Operator is in touch with staff and working towards compliance.

12/1/18 8:00 PM

RS94109 837 Larkin LLP 11p Inspector Fiorentino visited in response to 311 complaint from previous week. Spoke with security about complaint. Will follow up with operator to address neighbor concerns.

12/1/18 9:00 PM 

Stuffed 2788 Mission NA Inspector Fiorentino visited at the request of Inspector Burke. Comedy show operating out of café basement. Referred to SFPD and SFFD due to dangerous conditions including open flame in basement and steep ladder for entrance and exit.

12/1/18 11:30 PM Sabrosa 3200 Fillmore NA Inspector Savino visited at the request of Inspector Burke. Entertainment being hosted without a permit. Operator is in touch with staff and working towards compliance.

12/2/18 1:45 AM Verdi Club 2424 Mariposa POE Inspector Fiorentino visited in response to 311 complaint. Entertainment had finished prior to arrival. Anonymous complaint. In touch with operator. Will continue to monitor.

NOTICES OF VIOLATION                                              

                                            

12/1/18 10:15 Jones 620 Jones LLP 10p in violation of Good Neighbor Policies #7 (doors open) & #12 (permit holder agrees to be responsible for all operation under which the permit is granted), and permit condition that states no entertainment past 10pm.

12/2/18 1:45 AM 

Kenu 560 Alabama NA Operating without a permit.

                                                            

ONGOING COMPLAINTS 

                                             

Original:  Since last hearing:

11/14/16 Halcyon 314 11th St POE/EHP Saturday, November 24, 2018, 1:29:00 AM - "…bass more pronounced…" Saturday, December 1, 2018, 3:05:00 AM - "The volume keeps fluctuating and at times it's super loud." Sunday, December 2, 2018, 1:34:00 AM - "Volume is just as loud tonight…"

7/15/18 Verdi Club 2424 Mariposa POE   Sunday, December 2, 2018, 1:27:00 AM - "Excessive noise and building vibration from live band concert at 1:30am"

9/25/18 Jones 620 Jones LLP Friday, November 30, 2018, 9:00:00 PM - "620 Jones --- The bar has been holding events that exceed the allowed decibels. They are not to exceed 68 decibels and only until 9:00 pm and they have been also going past 9:00 pm"

11/1/2018 

Charmaine's 1110 Market FPAS 

No complaints since last hearing.

 

5. Report from the Senior Analyst: Dylan Rice shares an update on current projects to support the vitality of community and cultural outdoor events. [Discussion Item]

 

Senior Analyst Dylan Rice gave updates on a

few educational and networking initiatives.  He added the next Outdoor Event Mixer will be held on January 28, 2019 at Manny's in the Mission from 6:00PM to 8:00PM and the topic would be on Cannabis and special events.  He added with the passage of the state bill in 2020, which would allow local jurisdictions to decide if and where cannabis temporary events can happen and what are the considerations for regulations and the market for this extremely potentially viable revenue stream for all kinds of community and cultural events and how they can be ready when the floodgates open which is anticipated to be 2019.  He added he was in 

conversations with the Office of Cannabis and they will be involved in some capacity.

 

He added he is working with President Blieman and Terrance Allen on developing more presentation.  He added he would like to have some actual people who have produced cannabis events legally in the state of California to talk about best practices and rules. There are certain things we don't know about the rules and things we do know like how to be responsible and prepare for a secure and safe event.  Ems plans and things like that. 

This program continues to gain traction. I am excited about that in terms of, you know, positioning events to be compliant and I am developing a couple faq sheets. One of them came out of conversations with people that want to do a wine walk to activate a commercial corridor. It could be wine or other alcohol. There is very low awareness how to do that you can do it but there are specific pathways to do that for

nonprofit or for profit. I am developing an faq sheets to link to the documents I have done. The other piece of it is indoor pop up events. I think there could be an faq sheet for that to dovetail perfectly with the wine walk faq sheet. Those are slated for January. I will be working closely with the deputy director and Director Weiland and ABC the local San Francisco office on the Wine Walk faq. 

 

6. Police Department Comments & Questions. This item allows any member of the SFPD to address the Commission regarding matters related to nightlife and public safety.  [Discussion Item]

No police comment s were made. 

 

7. Hearing and Possible Action regarding applications for permits under the jurisdiction of the Entertainment Commission. [Discussion and Possible Action Item]

 

Consent Calendar:

All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Calendar, are considered routine by the Entertainment Commission, and will be acted upon by a single roll call vote of the Commission.  There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Commission, the public, or staff so requests, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Calendar and considered as a separate item at this or a future hearing. 

 

Commissioner Lee recused himself from agenda item A.  

 

Consent Agenda:

 

a) EC-1468 – Bovis, Nick of LOD Ballpark Buffet, LLC, Lefty’s Ballpark Buffet, 145 Jefferson St., Limited Live Performance Permit. Change in Address.

 

Deputy Director Kaitlyn Azevedo stated the only permit application on the consent agenda is a change of address for a Limited Live Performance application for lefty's ballpark buffet at 145 Jefferson Street in Fisherman's Wharf.   She added it was in Union Square and has been operating for 30 years, and they would continue to have live music and group meetings. They have reached out to surrounding neighbors and received letters of support including the benefit district and Fisherman's wharf merchants association in the file. Central station approves this with no conditions therefore; it is on the consent agenda.

 

Public comment - No public comment.

 

Commissioner Thomas moved to approve the consent calendar Commissioner Falzon second that motion

Vote:

Yeas - Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Thomas Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Caminong and Commissioner Falzon 

Recused - Commissioner Lee 

Absent - Commissioner Tan

 

Regular Agenda:

 

b) ECOTE-18-388 – Sanchez, Javier of Non Plus Ultra, Zygerman Winter Party, 88 5th Street, amplified sound from 7pm-11pm, One Time Outdoor Entertainment Event Permit.

 

Deputy Director Kaitlyn Azevedo stated the first is a one-time outdoor entertainment event application with arm fid sound seeking to extend past 10:00 P.M. This will buy hosted in the courtyard of the San Francisco minute at 88 Fifth Street they plan to host this winter party in the courtyard. They have previously hosted indoor events. She added this is their first outdoor event, there will be a dj and a tent will be set up.  She added they have reached out to neighbors and provided contact information if thing have any concerns during the event.  She added Tenderloin approves this with no conditions and Javier Sanchez was present to tell you more about this.

 

Javier Sanchez stated he was representing the current tenants of the MINT located in the he California historical museum.  He added they have held events there since 2015.   He added it is a holiday party on the December 14th of this month between 7:00 P.M. and 11:00 P.M. The client has requested to have music outside until 11:00 P.M., which is why he was present.  He added they would reach out to the neighbors, friends in the plaza, cityscape, minute collective and some of the businesses.  

 

Public comment 

 

Ace Washington stated the Fillmore are doing some events. I am not here to criticize. I am here to analyze, all the lies. 

I am here to find out what is going on. The next item I am suspect on.    He added he wanted to  see how you all operate. To see if you all cooperate with the community. You talked about outreach. When you get up here to talk about outreach, see if they outreached. He added nobody outreach to him.  He added he was the Fillmore corridor ambassador.  He added it seems like something is wrong.  I am Ace on the case. Queen bee knows me.  We came from the same community. I was right by the projects, Thomas pain.    He added he raised his family there.  He added when you deal with the Fillmore you have to tell the untold story.  I will display something on the next thing. Dedicated to former Mayor Ed Lee. 

 

Public comment closed.

 

Commissioner Falzon moved to approve Commissioner Bleiman second that motion

 

Vote:

Yeas, Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Thomas Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Lee and Commissioner Falzon 

Absent - Commissioner Tan

Noes - None

 

c) EC-1452 – Montecinos, Jose, Stratos Night Club, 358 Ocean Ave., Place of Entertainment Permit. Change in Ownership.

 

Deputy Director Kaitlyn Azevedo stated the second application is a change in ownership place of entertainment permit application for Stratos Nightclub located at 358 Ocean Avenue in the outer mission.  She added the club will continue to host salsa dance nights with live music and local DJs and they have reached out to surrounding neighbors to notify them of name change of the venue.  She added they hosted a meet the neighbors gathering and SFPD approved the permit with no conditions.

 

Jose Montecinos stated they are going to hold salsa nights basically two nights a week, then the wrist of the night and the rest of the nights just plain DJs.  He added they were are actually trying to get more outreach with their community and to try to host more of a toy

drive for this season, and we are thinking about doing also free salsa classes as well for our community.

 

Commissioner Falzon stated something he was always interested in was some continuity.  He added reviewing the previous operator there were some conditions on that location that he felt were very effective.  He added he would like to propose them to him and then talk about them.  He added the first one was the permit holder shall provide a minimum of one security guard per 100 patrons secondly, the security guards shall be easily identifiable and be in procession of a valid guard card.     He added his monthly calendar of events would be provided to Ingleside police station and the Entertainment Commission at least seven days in advance and in the event, the ABC put conditions on your license to abide with all of them.   He added the applicant should familiarize himself with the current laws because as an employee you had to be licensed by the state.  

 

Chair Bleiman stated one of the duties of the commission was to promote nightlife but it also came with some responsibility on his part.  He encouraged him to be proactive in outreach to his neighbors.   He added there were two kind of operators the first was they hide their head in the sand and pretend it didn’t happen or take on an advisory relationship with neighbors that were complaining.  He added or you can be gracious and understanding and listening and doing all of those things that take effort and time, so I would just encourage you to do that, and it will keep you from having bigger issues in the future. 

 

Public comment

 

Ace Washington stated he supported the permit and it was great because it was a family business.  He added more of his concerns about the Fillmore Heritage Center.   

 

Mark Meza stated he was the prior owner of the place and ran it for many, many years, and they got along with the neighbors, such that we never had any impact inside, outside business.

He added it was a successful business but it was hard to deal with, hard to manage, and hard to deal with the people. He added when I decided to sell this his business he I did not put it in any real estate.

 

He added he decided to sell it to these people, that I knew that they are hard-working people, and I knew they were going to respect this place, and I'm going to have my rent secured because I feel that these people are concerning to follow the same management.   He added he has been giving his advice, and they have followed it and he felt like these people were going to make it a good business.

 

Public comment closed.

 

Commissioner Falzon moved to approve with the following conditions.  Condition No. 1 the permit holder provide a security guard for every 100 patrons, No. 2, security shall be easily identifiable and be in possession of a valid California guard card through the Department of Consumer Affairs, No. 3 that a monthly calendar of events shall be provided to Ingleside station on the day on the first day of every month, the next, if any outside promoter is used, applicants shall notify Ingleside station permit officer and the station at least seven days prior to the event Commissioner Bleiman second that motion

 

Vote:

Yeas, Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Thomas Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Caminong Commissioner Lee and Commissioner Falzon 

Absent - Commissioner Tan

Noes - None

d) EC-1467– Hansen, Christopher of San Francisco Housing Development Corporation, Fillmore Heritage Center, 1330 Fillmore St., Place of Entertainment Permit. Change in Ownership.

 

Deputy Director Kaitlyn Azevedo stated the final permit application for this evening is a change in ownership place of entertainment permit application for the Fillmore Heritage Center, located at 1330 Fillmore Street, previously before this commission in 2016, and prior to that, known as Yoshi’s.  She added it is currently being operated as the san Francisco Housing Development Corporation, or SFHDC.   They currently have a short-term lease agreement with the city and county San Francisco, but their long-term goal is to continue leasing the venue in connection with

another nonprofit agency. She added they will host live bands, deejays, and comedy shows and have done extensive outreach and hosting community meetings.  She added in your file are multiple letters of support from community partners. Northern station approves this permit with no conditions.  Prior to hearing from the department, we have the aide from district five Supervisor, Vallie Brown to say a few words on this item. 

 

Shakirah Simley stated she was the aide to Supervisor Vallie Brown.   She added for this past five months, our office has worked with a group of nonprofit and African American community leaders who have initiated a robust campaign to bring new life to the Fillmore heritage center. She added the collaborative, named the Fillmore Heritage Center equity partners and with the support of commissioner brown and the office of workforce development, these partners have put forth a program that not only offers live music and community events, but housing community workshops, on-site job training and voter registration services at a site that's been long vacant.    She added in a neighborhood still dealing with the terrible aspects of redevelopment and the widespread displacement that has disproportionately affected African Americans and people of color, this activation is more important than ever. Supervisor brown sees this as an opportunity to work with the local opportunity to test options and see what really works in that space and to hopefully inform any comprehensive community benefits for the future operation of the site. The activation is also critical to ensure that the current residents of the Fillmore-western addition have

access to services, goods, and jobs in their own neighborhood and bring back economic

vitality on a well-lit lower Fillmore corridor.

It's been one month since the activation begun, and our office has seen the amazing benefits of this activation. They have held three significant community events, including the 40th Anniversary of the Jonestown tragedy, and a free community house with a live band. They have held workshops on ticks like credit repair, rental readiness and home buying. You will see them this Saturday; you're welcome to join this, for a community wide resource and hiring fair, which is being done in conjunction with our office and the mayor's office. We feel like there is something for everyone at the Fillmore Heritage Center and they we're excited to see this community-based vision continue to manifest and fully support the leadership of the Fillmore equity partners for this pilot.  On behalf of supervisor Vallie Brown, we ask the commission supports the continued activation of the Fillmore Heritage Center and the allowance of this permit. 

 

Chris Hansen of sfhdc stated he also had Majid Crawford present who is with the New Community Leadership Foundation.  He added they have conducted significant outreach to the community over the course of the last two months.  He added as Shakirah mentioned, we had four community meetings.  We had an open house with over 200 people in attendance, including Mr. Ace Washington here and really, the goal is to revitalize the commercial corridor on the Fillmore, so the place of entertainment permit allows us to have events that that will generate revenue for the nonprofits that

are involved, but more importantly, you know, we're doing daytime and night time activation of the space to promote housing counseling,

credit repair, first-time home buyer workshops, and it's -- it's all bundled into what we're trying to do for the space, and nothing has changed as far as what was previously Yoshi’s or the addition.  The sound system is still in place.

The building had been vacant for three years, and we have come in to reactivate that.

So any activity that had been

taking place when it was Yoshi’s, we're just picking up the baton where they left off,

and while we have a short-term permit, our goal is to do a long-term activation. We've been very cognizant of the need for security for these events, and we have been working hand-in-hand with special police officers association, SPOA, which provides security seven days a

week for us, but we're also working with security companies to ensure that all of these

events are safe, and we've also been working with the homeowners association, and

we've been reaching out to the northern district police station to ensure that

everything that we do is in, you know, compliance and conformance in what the

neighborhood wants to see.

 

Madrid Crawford stated he was born and raised in the Fillmore and I lives about three blocks from the Fillmore Heritage Center.  He added his uncle was a musician who also played in the Fillmore and he was featured in the Harlem of the west.    He added he played during the 60's, in the heyday. I wanted to tell you how we got here because this is not something that happened overnight. He added he has been advocating in the Fillmore for ten years to help undo the mistake of urban renewal and the displacement in many of the communities that were moved out.  He added I want to just let you know that there is so much depth to us being here in this historic moment and I'm just really honored that you all have us here.  He added as you know, Yoshi’s closed in 2014, and the owner Michael Johnson, established an addition that lasted about three month and during that time, a bunch of community leaders, black community leaders wanted to come together to talk about unity, so we met with Michael

Johnson, and he allowed us to use the screening room in the space and he liked what we did, and then, with Ken Johnson’s leadership, he was able to get permission of Michael Johnson to allow us to use the screening room and just have it as our home base.  He added they did events, we had community nights, we leased it out to community organizations when the addition finally was foreclosed on by the city.  In May of 2015 and June of 2015, we held a rally. Each rally had 40, 50 people from the community.  These rallies were not protest rallies; they were informational rallies to bring people together to talk about the closure of Yoshi’s and the fact that we wanted the space open. We continued to organize the community and continued to build momentum. He added he wanted to do was to ensure that whoever bought the building, it would be a true community plan that really 

would impact the community. 

 

 

 

Chair Bleiman stated he wanted to echo what everybody else said and he looked forward to supporting the permit. 

 

Ace Washington stated his concerns about the permit application for the Fillmore Heritage Community Center and their public outreach. 

 

Several community members came out and spoke in support of the in support of the Fillmore Heritage Center’s permit. 

 

Vice Chair Caminong stated tonight there was something very special that happened in all of the testimonies that we heard tonight. I think it was a gift of story telling. In Filipino culture, they have a saying if you don't know where you came from; you don't know where you're going. Today, I think there was this excellent job of the past, the present, and future mingled in this one agendized item, and I hope the community will be able to hold onto the space past the six months. She added it is a story of people, place, and power, and I look forward to being a supporter of this and also to bear witness to this very powerful evening. One thing that I do want to recognize is you guys are the people that are in the room, and I know that there are hundreds of people who couldn't be here tonight, that you guys are standing for their point of view.

 

Public comment closed.

 

Commissioner Thomas moved to approve the change in ownership for the Place of Entertainment permit for the Fillmore Heritage Center Commissioner Perez second that motion

Vote:

Yeas, Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Thomas Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Caminong Commissioner Lee 

and Commissioner Falzon 

Absent - Commissioner Tan

 

8. Commissioner Comments & Questions. [Announcements]

 

Executive Director Maggie Weiland stated she had 1200 rsvp's for the Entertainment Commission’s holiday party and the confirmed speakers would be herself and President Ben Bleiman.   She added Honey Mahogany at the scene, Senator Wiener, and Mayor London Breed.  She added there would have two bands, a deejay, and photographers, and food booths and it was going to be big fun.  She added the party would be held at August Hall, located at 420 Mason at 5:45PM.

 

Adjourned at 8:01PM