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After Board of Appeals, commission staff says HUE must end live entertainment at midnight; owner urges review
Summary
Public commenters and venue managers urged the Entertainment Commission to re-evaluate a midnight live-entertainment restriction on HUE’s permit; acting director reported the Board of Appeals upheld most commission conditions, added a sound-attenuation requirement, and left a six‑month review window.
At its August meeting, the San Francisco Entertainment Commission heard multiple public comments about a recently imposed condition on HUE (a nightclub) that requires live entertainment to end at midnight. The HUE owner, speaking during general public comment, said his venue has operated for more than a decade with no ABC violations and asked why similar conditions were not applied to other nearby venues with more serious incidents.
Jordan Pauley, a former Entertainment Commission inspector, and Steve Funkhauser, general manager at Q nightclub, echoed concerns that conditions applied to HUE were punitive and urged the commission to treat the restrictions as temporary and consider review sooner than the standard six-month window. Funkhauser said the business impact of the condition had cut revenue and could threaten the venue’s viability.
Acting Executive Director Miss Wyland later told the commission that on July 26 the Board of Appeals reviewed the Entertainment Commission’s changes to HUE’s permit and "granted the appeal and ordered that the change in conditions...be upheld," while also adding a new condition requiring a sound attenuation plan and a sound test to establish ambient levels. Wyland said HUE must end entertainment daily at 12 a.m. as indicated and that some conditions will be reviewed in six months or earlier at the commission’s discretion.
Inspector Sean Burke reported he currently listed HUE as "resolved" because no complaints had come in since the last hearing; he said he would perform a new sound test at HUE to establish the internal limit and ambient level, per the Board of Appeals’ direction. Several commissioners discussed the Board of Appeals’ decision and noted that the commission retains discretion to re-hear the venue before the six-month mark if warranted.
Public commenters asked for a re-evaluation of the evidence used to impose the restriction, pointing to discrepancies in police-report numbers and asking for transparency; the HUE owner requested returning to the commission agenda to present additional materials. Commission staff confirmed they will continue enforcement-level sound testing and said they can bring HUE back before the commission earlier than six months at the commission’s discretion.
