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Entertainment Commission to study permit system for amplified sidewalk performers, forms subcommittee
Summary
The Entertainment Commission opened a months-long review of permitting for amplified sidewalk performers, heard hours-and-sound complaints from businesses and neighbors and pleas from performers to avoid costly permits, and agreed to form a three-member subcommittee to draft recommendations.
The San Francisco Entertainment Commission on Cinco de Mayo opened a months-long conversation about whether and how the city should create a permit system for sidewalk performers who use amplified sound, with staff warning that changes raise free-speech and enforcement issues and public speakers urging a lightweight approach.
Executive staff told the commission that an ordinance on residential development and entertainment venues recently passed first reading at the full board and is slated for final action next week; that timing means the commission may need to prepare hearing guidelines quickly. The presentation traced the issue to a 2005 legislative analyst report and a 2006 Board of Supervisors resolution that was filed but never passed, and staff said the commission must weigh jurisdictional overlaps with the Port, Recreation & Parks and BART as it considers rules.
"We can regulate free speech with respect to time, place and manner," a staff presenter told the commission, while stressing the need for city-attorney review before adopting a program that could face legal challenge. Staff also noted that existing amplified-sound permits are costly and time-limited, which is often infeasible for performers who earn tips.
Public commentators including Brian Compton, Edward Jackson and performers who identified themselves as Larry ("Bucket Man") and others urged the commission to avoid heavy-handed rules. Larry (Bucket Man) said police previously confiscated his buckets and described his livelihood as dependent on sidewalk performances. Brian Compton suggested practical technical limits—"Put a cap on the wattage. 30 watts... you should be heard by everybody"—as a possible compromise.
Commissioners pressed staff on enforcement, whether permitting would assign fixed "pods" or instead create avoidance zones, and how to manage non-amplified acts that nevertheless generate complaints. Several commissioners said they wanted rules that protect performers as well as nearby businesses.
President Bridal Tan proposed, and the commission agreed, to form a three-member subcommittee (Commissioner Joseph to chair, with Commissioners Lee and Perez) to work with staff and return draft recommendations to the full commission. Staff said the subcommittee will review existing programs (including the Port's street-performer pods and the Arts Commission's street-artist permit for vendors), consult the city attorney and consider fee or wattage limits.
The commission did not adopt any rules at the meeting; it set the next step as a subcommittee process that will gather more detail on legal risk, enforcement resources and cross-agency roles.
