Commission approves SFMOMA amendment to allow limited outdoor events and later indoor hours

The Entertainment Commission voted to approve a major amendment to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s place-of-entertainment permit to add outdoor entertainment and to provide additional hours of operation for indoor events.

Noah Bartlett, SFMOMA’s director of operations, said the expansion reflects changes from the museum's 2016 physical expansion and that the museum’s event program "is an integral part of SFMOMA's charitable mission." Bartlett said outdoor activity would be limited to specific events (no permanent outdoor sound installations) and that most events remain capped at 10 p.m. except for one annual gala that may extend later.

Under the approved amendment, staff described the requested flexibility as allowing amplified indoor entertainment until 2 a.m. and outdoor entertainment until 10 p.m. daily; commissioners approved the permit with staff-recommended conditions 1 through 8, plus the Good Neighbor policy and listed PD conditions to monitor and mitigate noise. Bartlett told the commission SFMOMA has coordinated with immediate neighbors and submitted letters of support from two hotels, a neighboring residential building and the Yerba Buena Alliance.

The motion to approve passed on a roll call vote with all commissioners recorded as 'Aye.' Commissioners and staff emphasized sound monitoring best practices and recommended having high-quality decibel meters if monitoring is performed regularly.

The commission requested that SFMOMA continue advance notice to neighbors and coordination with Southern Station and affirmed that the museum must comply with the cited code sections and PD conditions.