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Entertainment commission grants limited live-performance permit to Jones (620 Jones) with curtailed hours and monitoring
Summary
After extensive testimony from neighbors, police and the applicant, the commission approved a limited live-performance permit for Jones at 620 Jones Street but limited performances to earlier hours (approval conditioned on hours and Good Neighbor outreach; six commissioners voted aye).
The San Francisco Entertainment Commission voted Feb. 5 to grant Jones (620 Jones Street) a limited live-performance (LLP) permit for indoor live music, subject to conditions restricting operating days/hours and requiring neighborhood outreach.
Applicant Pete Glitchtern told commissioners he planned Sunday afternoon piano performances and described an enclosed patio room; he estimated capacity of about 70 people for the patio room and said music would not be amplified outdoors. "It's a piano. I think people tend to enjoy that sort of thing," he said.
Central Station officer Steve Matthias presented CAD logs and photographs of previous one-day events where amplified music and other service issues generated complaints, including a December CAD about outside amplified sound. Several neighbors testified. Stuart Seligson, who lives at 620 Jones, said the patio noise interferes with residents' ability to use their apartments. Lainie Eichler, another resident, said staff at the venue had been accommodating, offering double-paned windows and advance notice to residents. Robert Garcia, president of a tenants-and-merchants group, urged denial, saying complaints reached hotels and multiple neighbors.
Commission discussion focused on mitigation: whether sound curtains, door closers or relocation of the piano could reduce noise. Commissioners proposed a limited pilot approach so the commission could review results. The motion that passed limited permitted live music nights to Friday–Sunday with an 8 p.m. curfew (initial motion cited Sat/Sun then was amended to include Friday), included the commission's Good Neighbor policy, and asked the applicant to return in six months for review.
Outcome: the motion passed by roll call unanimous 'Aye' and the commission instructed staff to monitor compliance and enforce permit conditions. The permit requires indoor-only performances and must conform to planning department accessory-use limits (not more than 200 sq ft) and the LLP requirement that performances conclude by 10 p.m. when applicable; for this permit the commission set the earlier 8 p.m. limit on approved nights.
What’s next: staff will monitor noise complaints, require the applicant to schedule a follow-up review in six months, and enforce that the applicant not operate beyond the permit's final sign-offs.
