Commission approves Lot 46 permit and extended hours despite police request for trial period

The Entertainment Commission voted to approve both a place-of-entertainment permit and an extended-hours permit (until 5 a.m.) for Lot 46 at 46 Geary, after a lengthy discussion about public safety, staggered closing times and police capacity.

Applicants Chadwick Bombach and Gabriel McWilliams said they will downsize the existing multi-floor club to a single basement dance floor, reduce occupancy and introduce new security measures including wide‑angle surveillance cameras and staffing ratios: “We plan to staff 1 security personnel for every 50 to 75 patrons,” Bombach said. He also described neighborhood outreach and several letters of support.

SFPD Central Station asked for precautions and recommended a conservative approach to extended hours, telling the commission it would prefer a six‑month observation period before granting late-night operations. Officer Steve Mathias told the commission he would like video footage retained for 30 days and that outside promoters should not sublet without an on-site manager. “Our point is that providing that they can manage that well … we’d like to examine it after 6 months,” Mathias said.

Commissioners debated staggered closings as a crowd-management tactic and whether the commission could legally ‘continue’ an extended-hours application beyond the 45-business-day limit; some members said staggered close times reduce street crowding while others emphasized police staffing constraints. Despite the debate, the motion to approve both permits with police conditions (30‑day video retention and on‑site manager for third‑party promoters) passed by roll call.

The commission recorded the permits with those conditions and noted staff will monitor compliance and recondition permits if public-safety problems arise. The permit approval includes standard Good Neighbor commitments and requires the licensee to supply surveillance on request by the police.