Commission staff issues 15-day suspension for Club Atmosphere after SFPD sought emergency ban

San Francisco Entertainment Commission Executive Director Jocelyn Kane told the Commission on Jan. 6 that staff had received a Dec. 30 written request from the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) seeking a 72-hour, nonappealable emergency suspension of Club Atmosphere’s place-of-entertainment permit under Police Code section 1060.20.0.3 for public-safety concerns. Kane said staff reviewed the situation and instead issued a 15-day suspension under Police Code section 1060.20.2, effective Jan. 6 through Jan. 20, 2015, and that the permittee was given five days to appeal; as of about 1:00 a.m. that appeal had not been filed, she reported.

Kane said the director’s decision was based on multiple factors, including the permittee’s indication that he would voluntarily surrender the permit for New Year’s Eve and that no entertainment would have occurred on Jan. 1. She characterized the SFPD’s requested 72-hour measure as an emergency tool intended for immediate safety threats such as retaliatory violence and said staff considered the history of chronic problems associated with the venue when selecting the 15-day authority instead.

Lieutenant Dave Fowles of the SFPD’s ALU unit told the Commission the department pursued the 72-hour action because it is immediate and nonappealable and that the request reflected the department’s concern about a sell-out event with inadequate staffing, unlicensed contract workers and other conditions the department found alarming. Fowles said the department’s intervention contributed to the licensee agreeing to close for New Year’s Eve, but that SFPD documented ongoing problems and plans to return to the Commission seeking revocation rather than another short suspension.

Commissioners asked staff whether the director’s action prevented the SFPD from pursuing a longer suspension or revocation; staff and SFPD representatives said a revocation or a 30-day suspension would come before the Commission for a hearing and that administrative procedures differ from criminal double-jeopardy concerns. The Commission did not vote on the suspension—the 15-day suspension was an administrative action taken by the director under the municipal code; Kane offered to provide the suspension document as a public record and to answer further questions.

Next steps: SFPD told the Commission it intends to prepare documentation to support a revocation action and to present that case to the Commission in a future hearing if the department pursues that route. Kane said staff would forward inspection and ALU reports to the Commission as they become available.