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

Present

Laura Thomas
Al Perez
Liam Frost
Dori Caminong
Ben Bleiman
Steven Lee

STAFF

Present
Acting Director, Maggie Weiland
Senior Analyst, Community & Cultural Events, Dylan Rice
Commission Aide, Crystal Stewart 
 
CALL TO ORDER

Vice President Thomas called the meeting to order at 5:35PM.

Absent were Bryant Tan.

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 March 20, 2018 and April 3, 2018 Commission meetings. [Action Item]
Public comment - No public comment was made.
Commissioner Caminong moved to approve the minutes of March 20, 2018 & April 3, 2018 Commissioner Perez second the motion

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

3. Report from Acting Director: Legislative/Policy Update: Nothing to Report; Staff and Office Update: Update on EC Retreat; Update on Board of Appeals Actions: Nothing to Report; Corrective Actions: Nothing to Report. [Discussion Item]

Acting Director Maggie Weiland stated the Entertainment Retreat would be held on June 30, 2018.

4. 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]

Dylan Rice, Senior Analyst for Community and Cultural Events stated he sent a data collection update since January of 2017 he has tracked his interactions with event producers and event industry professionals in terms of technically assistance and outreach.  He added since 2017 up until this quarter he has advised about 350 people through consultation and trainings and presentations and fostering the industry through connections.  He added of those engagements 80% were primarily about permitting and 16% were about making connections and introductions and 8% were about fundraising.   He added Acting Director Weiland suggested in the future he could be more specific if it was for our permits or citywide permits.   He added the outdoor events guide through the advice of the City Administrators office they are going through the review process with different City Attorneys and the stakeholders to ensure everything was accurate, clear and consistent.  He added the next mixer Outdoor event would be held on May 14, 2018 at 111 Minna Street and a presentation would be made on harm reduction as they pertain to special events.  He added he would be including a wants and needs wall at the event to connect event producers to share with one another.  He added he wanted to acknowledge the passing of the founder of Burning Man Larry Harvey.

5. 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.

6. 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-1438 – D’Angelica, Jon, District, 216 Townsend St., Limited Live Performance Permit.
Commissioner Lee asked that the consent calendar be separated so the public could hear it.  He added it was something that will be great for San Francisco. 
Public comment – No public comment was made.

Commissioner Lee moved to separate item B Commissioner Frost second the motion.

Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Frost, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner Bleiman,  Commissioner Cominong, Commissioner Perez and Vice President Thomas

Public comment – No public comment was made.

Commissioner Perez moved to approve the consent agenda item A Commissioner Lee second the motion.

Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Frost, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Cominong, Commissioner Perez and Vice President Thomas
b) EC-1441 – Stearns, Esther, Stagecoach Greens, 1379 4th St., Mechanical Amusement Device Permit.

Public comment - No comments were made.

Commissioner Lee moved to approve Commissioner Frost second the motion.

Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Frost, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Cominong, Commissioner Perez and vice President Thomas

Regular Agenda:

EC-1439 – Karajah, Kamel, El Valenciano, 1153 Valencia St., Place of Entertainment Permit.

Public comment
Mariam S. stated she was a board member with the Arabic American Grocers Association.  She addedshe has seen the applicant run a very successful business corridor and he has a neighborhood relationship. She added as an association and as an individual she was in support of the permit.
Commissioner Caminong moved to approve with SFPD’s recommendations Commissioner Bleiman second the motion.

Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Frost, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Cominong, Commissioner Perez and Vice President Thomas

EC-1440 – Sheehy, Brian, Tradition, 441 Jones St., Place of Entertainment Permit.

Brian Sheehy complimented Acting Director Maggie Weiland, he said he’s gone through the process 6 times over the years and he stated this has been the most efficient.  He added they started the process 30 days ago and he was present with all the government approvals.  He added this was a department of City government that was actually working.

Public Comment

No public comment was made.

Commissioner Perez moved to approve Commissioner Frost second the motion.

Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Frost, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner Bleiman, Commissioner Cominong, Commissioner Perez and Vice President Thomas

7. Discussion and Possible Action to adopt written comments and/or recommendations to be submitted by the Acting Director to the Planning Department and/or Department of Building Inspection regarding noise issues for proposed residential and/or hotel/motel projects per Chapter 116 of the of the Administrative Code. [Action Item]

Regular Agenda:

5 3rd Street, Bl/Lot: 3707/057, Discussion and possible action to adopt written comments and/or recommendations regarding noise issues for the proposed hotel project at 5 3rd Street, which is located within 300 feet of Hakkasan, Dada Bar, Local Edition, and Hawthorn, all permitted Places of Entertainment.

8. Update on the hiring process for the Executive Director of the Entertainment Commission position. [Discussion Item]

Commissioner Bleiman stated they are reopening the search for Executive Director to the Entertainment Commission.  He added he has discussed it with Jennifer Johnston and he will continue to act as the liaison.  He added if any other Commissioners were interested in joining they were welcomed.   He added they posted the job announcement about three weeks ago and have received over 40 responses including many of the first people that applied the first time around. He added they would go through a less lengthy process this time around and it would be very up in the air whether or not if the new Director would be appointed by the current Mayor or the next Mayor.  He added part of the reason the process was not making everyone freak out is that Acting Director Maggie Weiland has been doing such a great job.

9. Commissioner Comments & Questions. [Discussion Item]

Commissioner Perez had one correction to the minutes of April 3, 2018.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:03PM in memory of the founder of Burning Man Larry Harvey.