ENTERTAINMENT COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
ACTION MINUTES OF THE
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
City Hall, Hearing Room 416
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA  94102

 
COMMISSIONERS

Present

Bryant Tan
Laura Thomas
Al Perez
Dori Caminong
Ben Bleiman
Steven Lee

STAFF 

Present
Acting Director, Maggie Weiland
Sound Inspector, Sean Burke
Senior Analyst, Community & Cultural Events, Dylan Rice
Commission Aide, Crystal Stewart

CALL TO ORDER

President Tan called the meeting to order at 5:45PM.

Absent were Liam Frost.

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. 

1. General Public comment.

No public comment was made.

2. Approval of Meeting Minutes.  Discussion and possible action to approve the minutes of February 6, 2018 Commission meeting. [Action Item]

Commissioner Thomas moved to approve the minutes of February 6, 2018 with    Commissioner Bleiman second the motion with one minor change.

Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Perez, Commissioner
Thomas, Commissioner Frost Commissioner Lee and Commissioner
Bleiman
Absent - Commissioner Frost

3. Report from Acting Director: Legislative/Policy Update: Nothing to Report; Staff and Office Update: Update from Acting Director on EC Summit 2018; Update on 1842 Sound Inspector Hiring Process; Update on Board of Appeals Actions: Nothing to Report; Corrective Actions: Nothing to Report. [Discussion Item]

4. Presentation by Nicole Elliott, Director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis, providing an overview of the office as well as the intersection of cannabis and entertainment regulation. [Discussion Item]

Nicole Elliot Director of the Office of Cannabis stated pre Prop 64 the activity that was regulated was the retail side of it.   She added anticipation of Prop 64 passing and commercial adult purposes Supervisor Weiner put in place at the time a cannabis state legalization task force.  She added the purpose of the task force was how to contemplate how the city could comprehensively regulate adult use commercial activity.  She added the task force was in its third year.  She added in response to all of the City & County of San Francisco put forward the office of Cannabis as part of last year’s budget it was approved and has three staff members, A Director, Deputy Director and Associate Director and both of those positions are filled.  She added it tasked them with proposing policies to regulate commercial cannabis activity as well as coordinating the city’s agencies implementation of the regulatory structure moving forward. Sher added the office is to serve as an entry point and final permit for cannabis business and activity.

5. Report from Sound Inspector: Sean Burke reports on recent venue sound inspections and activities. [Discussion Item]

Sound Inspector Sean Burke was absent. No report was given.

6. 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 for Community and Cultural Events Dylan Rice stated he was looking at 2018 about deepening and expanding the work he has already started to do positioning and expanding his role as a concierge service for outdoor events to be compliant, safe and successful.   He added
The outdoor event guide which is officially called 
The Outdoor Event Planning & Permit Guide has been reviewed by 22 agencies and he has gotten great detailed feedback.  He added the point of the guide was to increase transparency and aggregate all the forms and information together so it’s an easier way to find information consolidated and organized. He added they invited 10 event producer to join a user test group and they will give their feedback.   He added the Entertainment Commission will become the owner of a citywide shared event calendar in partnership with DEM.   He added the idea was to help make more informed decisions about strategy and a hub for the industry and will as a Google based document that is updated frequently. He added there would be another SF Outdoor Events and was looking to do them quarterly and possibly to do one in the spring and will keep the commission informed.

7. 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 comments were made.

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

Consent Calendar:

All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Calendar, are considered to be 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.

Consent Agenda:
a) EC-1433 – Lukezic, Christopher and Thomas Mich, Phonobar, 370 Grove St., Limited Live Performance Permit.

Commissioner Perez asked what his process would be for handling noise complaints was.

Christopher Lukezic stated they would make sure there would be two security people and make sure they are aware of events and give his personal number to them.

Public comment

Gentleman stated he his relationship with the previous owner resulted in 12 police calls and 100’s of complaints.  He added the result was accountability he added it was the only locations that had issues with sound with music from the venue and patrons noise.

Commissioner Lee asked were there previous complaints from Luca which had a limited live permit.

Stefano Castellano stated the applicants have been proactive and stated it He added he gave points for their efforts.

Trent Barry head of Hays Valley Face Book page supports applicant from a neighborhood perspective. 

Commissioner Lee stated the applicant took a great step to hire Charles Salter which was not required but shows they are trying to do the right thing.

Commissioner Lee moved to approve the LLP until 10PM with additional sound check Commissioner Caminong second the motion

Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Frost Commissioner Lee and Commissioner Bleiman
Absent - Commissioner Frost

b) EC-1434 – Capovilla, Paula et. al, Venga Empanadas, 443 Valencia St., Limited Live Performance Permit.

No public comment

Commissioner Thomas moved to approve Commissioner Perez second the motion

Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Frost Commissioner Lee and Commissioner Bleiman
Absent - Commissioner Frost

9. Review and Possible Action to Amend the Recommended Noise Attenuation Conditions for Chapter 116 Residential Projects. [Discussion and Possible Action Item]

Commissioner Lee suggested to add an outdoor lighting plan to protect patrons of the club.

Commissioner Bleiman stated the main issue is the date of sound testing to identify the busiest evening peak time during the event and immediately following the event.  He added Friday or Saturday nights or readings to reflect peak times and communicate sound test with the applicants.

Commissioner Tan stated a draft report will be presented to the Commission for suggestions given to RDR applicants for guidelines to do sound testing.

Public comment.
Stefano stated the guidelines for the applicants would be great to give the project sponsors what they need to address their issues.

Andrew with Charles Salter stated the guidelines were helpful and his experiences of doing sound testing.

Public comment closed.

10. Commissioner Comments & Questions. [Discussion Item]

No comments were made.

ADJOURNMENT 7:00 PM