ENTERTAINMENT COMMISSION
City and County of San Francisco
ACTION MINUTES OF THE
Tuesday July 18, 2017
City Hall, Hearing Room 416
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA  94102

COMMISSIONERS

Present

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

STAFF

Present

Executive Director, Jocelyn Kane
Deputy Director, Maggie Weiland
Sound Inspector, Sean Burke
Commission Aide, Crystal Stewart

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Bryant Tan called the meeting to order at 5:33PM.

Commissioner Liam Frost was absent.

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. 

General Public comment.

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. 

No Public Comment was made.

2. Approval of Meeting Minutes.  Discussion and possible action to approve the minutes of June 20, 2017 Commission meeting. [Action Item]

Commissioner Thomas moved to approve with minor correction Commissioner Lee second the motion

Vote:

Yeas - Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Tan, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner and Commissioner Bleiman
Absent – Commissioner Frost

3. Report from Executive Director: Legislative/Policy Update: Update on File #170443, cleanup legislation regarding amplified sound; Staff and Office Update: Update on Board of Appeals Actions; Update on meeting with SFPD Chief Scott; Corrective Actions: Nothing to Report [Discussion Item]

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

NEW COMPLAINTS                                                      

6/24/17 311        Pink Mammoth Block Party   Utah btwn 15th and Alameda  "Club is playing music extremely loud outside, can hear more than three streets away and from inside."
6/25/17 311        Pride  Golden Gate and Van Ness  "Noise from the bass of the music at City Hall is affecting life at the Opera Plaza. No need to have it so loud. Please tell them to turn it down."
6/30/17 Text       Mezzanine  444 Jessie  4 complaints from guests. Handled directly with operator.
7/8/17   311        Noise  3427 Balboa  "...very loud amplified live music in the record store 3-5 times a week… It can be heard loudly from more than 2 blocks away..." - In process of permitting

RESOLVED COMPLAINTS                                            

Hawthorn 46 Geary No complaints since last hearing. Never found to be in excess of internal sound limit. Never found to be audible outside premesis.

ONGOING COMPLAINTS                                             

Original: 2/4/16                Hue            447 Broadway     Complaint(s): 7/8 - Never found to be in excess of external sound limit.
Original: 11/14/16            Halcyon      314 11th St.        Complaint(s): 7/2 - Not found in excess of internal sound limit since last hearing.
Original: 1/15/17              Codeword   917 Folsom         Complaint(s): 7/13, 14 - Not found to be in excess of internal sound limit since last hearing.

SITE INSPECTIONS                                                        

7/8/17   10:45 PM             Little Giant Lighting & Grip  3050 23rd St.      One time permit. Amplified sound. No complaints.
7/9/17   1:45 PM               Mayes Oyster House    1233 Polk     Spoke with security about keeping door closed and the possibility of adding a drape.
7/14/17 10:30 PM             Bastille Day @ Aventine Hotaling Pl   Ended prior to conditioned time. No incidents. No complaints.
7/14/17 11:45 PM             Bastille Day @ Irish Bank Mark Ln Not audible past 250'. Spoke with SFPD on site. No incidents. Security Controlling crowd. No complaints.
7/15/17 11:30 PM             SPARC  1439 Egbert        Not audible past 250'. Spoke with security on site. No incidents. No complaints.
7/16/17 1:30 AM               Hue     447 Broadway    Large event. Not in excess of external sound limits. Controlled crowds. No incidents.

5. Report from the Senior Analyst – Community & Cultural Events: Nothing to report. [Discussion Item]

No comments were made.

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 comments were made.

7. 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:

EC-1410 – Google Inc., Google Inc., 188 The Embarcadero, Limited Live Performance Permit.

Deputy Director Maggie Weiland stated the first permit application for this evening is for a Limited Live Performance permit for Google Inc. located on the Embarcadero. This Google space is a community event space for nonprofit organizations that wants to provide its nonprofit guests the opportunity to host entertainment such as singing, bands, and poetry readings during their meetings and events. We received nine letters of support and no letters of protest. Southern Station approves this permit application with the attached conditions. Since there were no issues with this application, it is on the consent agenda.

EC-1413 – Waugh, Masaye and Jerrid Wood, Ho’s Bootleg Tavern, 2360 Van Ness Ave., Limited Live Performance Permit.

Deputy Director Maggie Weiland stated the second permit application for this evening is for a Limited Live Performance permit for Ho’s Bootleg Tavern located at 2360 Van Ness Avenue. This is a bar with a full menu of American food that wants to have events such as trivia and karaoke to entertain their customers. We received 44 letters of support and no letters of protest. Northern Station approves this permit application with the Good Neighbor Policy as the only condition. Since there were no issues with this application, it is on the consent agenda.

Commissioner Thomas moved to approve item a & b of the consent calendar Commissioner Lee second the motion

Vote:

Yeas - Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Tan, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner and Commissioner Bleiman
Absent – Commissioner Frost

Regular Agenda:

EC-1411 – Good Food Brothers Inc., Hermitage Banquet Hall, 5633/5641 Geary Blvd., Place of Entertainment Permit.

This item was continued on the request of the applicant.

No public comment.

Commissioner Bleiman moved to continue the item Commissioner Thomas second the motion.

Vote:

Yeas - Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Tan, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner and Commissioner Bleiman
Absent – Commissioner Frost

EC-1412 – Natali, Les, Hamburger Mary’s Patio Cafe, 531 Castro St., Place of Entertainment Permit.

The final permit application for this evening is a Place of Entertainment permit for Hamburger Mary’s Patio Café at 531 Castro Street. Hamburger Mary’s is a restaurant that plans to have comedy and drag shows, lip syncing, live and recorded music, music videos, charity events, bingo games and karaoke while patrons eat in the restaurant. The Planning Commission has already limited hours of entertainment during a lengthy community involved process. As a part of your packet, you will see the attached Case No. 2014.0417C and Motion No. 19288 as they pertain to this business. The owners and operators will tell you a little more about that process when they come up to the podium, but I would ask that you please include adopting the Planning Commission’s Case and Motion numbers when you make a motion this evening. We received 16 letters of support regarding this application and no letters of protest. Here to tell you more about their application are Chloe Angelis from Reuben, Junius, and Rose followed by Larry Metzger from the venue.

Cloe Anderson spoke on behalf of the permit and explained the Planning Conditional Use authorization and sound proofing.

Commissioner Lee moved to approve with the Planning’s Condition Commissioner Caminong second the motion.

Vote:

Yeas - Commissioner Perez, Commissioner Caminong, Commissioner Thomas, Commissioner Tan, Commissioner Lee, Commissioner and Commissioner Bleiman
Absent – Commissioner Frost

8.  Commissioner Comments & Questions. [Discussion Item]

Commissioner Lee stated when the Commission first started his Venue Glas Kat was one of the first permits that was transferred over.  He added he has known Jocelyn a long time and has learned a lot from here and he would miss Executive Director Jocelyn Kane.

Commissioner Bleiman stated he was started his first bar in San Francisco he was introduced to Jocelyn by Mark Rennie and she was literally one of the first people he met in the entertainment industry in San Francisco and since then they have become friends and considers her as mentor and to be one of the best source of gossip he could find at City Hall.   He added she has always had a great deal of fairness when dealing entertainment and neighbors who have concerns and she understood what fun was.

Commissioner Perez thanked Jocelyn for her years on the commission and her years of service and she would be missed.

Commissioner Thomas stated Jocelyn’s mix of qualities and willing to be a strong advocate and push for things and be a mediator and it was a rare that people have the ability to be a stubborn and persistent champion and listen and pull people together.

Commissioner Caminong stated it was an honor to serve on the commission with Jocelyn and she has learned so much and she loved her leadership style and beyond bringing people into compliance she brought the Entertainment Commission to an innovative stage in San Francisco.   She added whoever came into her role they had great shoes to fill.

Chair Tan stated he hopes to be able to channel Jocelyn on the commission going forward and commended her for her service.   He thanked her for her commitment and time

ADJOURNMENT 6:23 PM