Project 1 Gallery granted place-of-entertainment permit after commission removes preset 78 dB condition

The Entertainment Commission approved a place-of-entertainment permit for Project 1 Gallery (new owner Sean Manchester) on Oct. 15 after amending several police conditions.

Staff said Southern Station recommended carrying forward the previous permit’s conditions. The police draft included adherence to the Entertainment Commission good-neighbor policy, a prohibition on noise that violates the San Francisco Police Code (Sections 49 and 2900), a requirement that doors and windows remain closed during entertainment, an inside amplified-sound cap of 78 dB and a monthly events calendar to Southern Station.

The gallery’s new owner said programming would be largely unchanged. Commissioners debated the appropriateness of a police officer pre-setting a 78 dB cap instead of the commission conducting an on-site sound test. One commissioner argued the commission’s role is to conduct sound tests and set operational levels; commissioners successfully moved to strike the pre-set 78 dB number and to remove a redundant sentence that would have prohibited any sound audible inside adjacent businesses in a way already governed by the municipal code.

The final permit requires compliance with the good-neighbor policy, compliance with the municipal code on noise, keeping doors and windows closed during entertainment, and sending a monthly calendar of events to Southern Station. Approved occupancy was confirmed at 149 persons per the Fire Department.

The motion to approve the permit with those amendments passed unanimously among commissioners present: Acres, Hyde, Joseph, Lee, Campagnoli and President Tann.

Next step: the gallery may operate under the stated conditions; sound tests remain the commission’s mechanism to set or adjust permissible levels for specific configurations or augmentations of any sound system.