ENTERTAINMENT COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
ACTION MINUTES OF THE
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
City Hall, Hearing Room 416
Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA  94102

COMMISSIONERS

Present

Bryant Tan
Laura Thomas
Liam Frost
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 5:39PM.

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 Commission meeting. [Action Item]

Vice Chair Thomas moved to continue the minutes of March 20, 2018 Commissioner Perez second the motion
Vote:
Yeas - Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Tan Commissioner Frost Commissioner Lee
Commissioner Bleiman and Commissioner Frost

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

No report was made.

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

No report was made.

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-1437 – Nottage, David, Kawika’s Ocean Beach Deli, 734 La Playa St., Limited Live Performance Permit.

Public comment

No comments were made.

Vice Chair Thomas moved to approve with the addition of Thursday evenings and SFPD’s conditions Commissioner second the motion

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

7. Review and possible action to change the conditions on the #EC-1377 Place of Entertainment and Extended Hours Premises permits, dba Halcyon located at 314 11th Street, San Francisco, CA. 94103. [Discussion and Possible Action Item]

Chair Tan stated there were some items to discuss about sound.

Gina Milano stated she has owned and operated 6 businesses and she loves what she does and does the nightlife.  She added Halcyon was a safe, legal late night venue and she felt their    dba level was unfair.  She added the only person the Entertainment Commission would listen to were Kelly Ellis and Tony Vu.   She added there were other venues who were unlicensed and out of compliance.   She added the noise and sound the unpermitted venues create an issue.   She added they need to be treated fairly.  She added on two separate occasions Sean Burke set her decibel levels lower to 100 db instead of what was allowed at 110.   She added she was not allowed to test above 110 and was bullied into the 110 db.  She added had the testing been conducted the same as a neighbor venue.   She added there was sound testing was inconsistent.  She stated dates that she was not open in 2017.  She added she met with a sound expert.    She added she was asking for respect of the acoustical science experts she brings before the Commission.

Lea Perry is the closing operator for Halcyon. She added she previously worked at Audio Beserack and has dealt with Kelly and she has harassed their clients.   She added SFPD officer stated the complaints was excessive and she felt the vibe from the text’s she read it was an attitude of us vs them.

Rea Gina Milano read a statement.  She added they have not been treated fairly by the Commission and Sean Burke.  She added the test that were conducted were not in the proper place.

Russell stated that Halcyon has been a good neighbor and have done extensive sound proofing on the venue.   He added there were continue misrepresentation by Kelly Ellis.   He added the sound readings are not taken from the center of Halcyon.  Inspector Burke was not taking readings in the center of the floor.

SFPD stated there were no call complaints for violence just for noise at 1AM.

Kelly Ellis stated her complaints against Halcyon was the lack of compliance of going beyond 4AM.  She added there was no one to complain to after hours.  She added Gina Milano disregard to neighbors and said she was suing the Entertainment Commission and she was next.

Tony Vu read some violations of Halcyon in 2017.

Solomon Wong stated he has been working with staff for the past two years. He asked the commission to put stronger restrictions so they can have peace in their home. 

Commissioner Thomas asked how long they have been open until 6am.

Gina Milano stated they have been open once this year.

Commissioner Perez asked how he would decide to use the dates.

Gina Milano stated Sean Burke told neighbors not to include GM in text messages.

Commissioner Bleiman stated there was a serious problem that needed to be addressed.  He added there was a small group of neighbors complaining but the Commission had to respond.  He added it was less common to see the commission from his experience the venue owner and the neighbors have a limited amount of trust.   He added he was hoping they could build a level of trust going forward and get them in compliance.

Commissioner Thomas suggest the citations be paid and the 4AM limit is the limit.  She added she added stick to the sound levels and easier for the Commission to defend her against neighbors and about noise complaints.

Commissioner Frost stated the venue needs to stay on the radar.

Commissioner Bleiman moved to amend Halcyon’s permit to include a calendar of events given to the Director one month in advance and provide a calendar of events to SFPD Commissioner Caminong second the motion.

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

8. Commissioner Comments & Questions. [Discussion Item]

Commissioner Lee commented on the YouTube live shooting and how important it was to have an active shooter plan in place.

Commissioner Frost stated the St. Patrick’s Day Fair went well.  He informed the commission of his Uncle’s passing who was true public servant.
 
Acting Director Maggie Weiland stated she would take a doddle pool for the next Commission retreat.

ADJOURNMENT 7:44PM