Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Commission Report topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Entertainment commission report: neighborhood summit set, venue suspensions and rising party-bus concerns
Summary
The commission's director outlined outreach and training plans (Neighbors Summit April 6; officer night-watch trainings) and reported corrective actions including a five-day suspension for El Rincon and pending appeals; staff also warned of an increase in party buses and related disorder.
The Entertainment Commission's director told commissioners at the Feb. 22 meeting that staff have scheduled a Neighbors Summit for Wednesday, April 6, from about 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Jean Friend Community Center to engage neighbors, SFPD and the mayor's neighborhood services team on nightlife issues.
The director said night-watch trainings for patrol officers in the city's four busiest nightlife districts are under way and that the commission will continue outreach with SFPD's entertainment liaison, Commander McEachern, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control training units. The director also said he will attend a nightclub and bar industry conference in March and report back on operations and liability topics.
On enforcement, the director reported that the commission served a suspension at El Rincon (2700 Sixteenth Street) running Feb. 18 through Feb. 24 in response to continued permit violations; staff and venue representatives had met to review permit conditions and expectations. The director said two appeals remain pending, including a limited suspension issued in December for Suite 181; that venue remains closed and the permittee asked that the appeal be held indefinitely while the venue is inactive.
A staff member briefed commissioners on recent citations and enforcement work: Noble (600 Polk) was cited for sound/Good Neighbor Policy violations and staff will meet with the owners; the Milo Lounge in Japantown received education after an ownership change and will apply for a new permit. The ALU night-watch trainings were described as three-to-three-and-a-half hour sessions that have included crash courses in ABC and entertainment law for night-shift officers.
Staff also reported a notable increase in "party buses" traveling between venues, often carrying heavily intoxicated patrons who then create problems outside establishments. The staff presenter said agencies are still clarifying jurisdiction and enforcement approaches and that further coordination with SFPD and ALU is underway.
The director closed by noting that at least some corrective outcomes have been achieved where transfers or new ownership resolved longstanding problems; a new place-of-entertainment application for 2080 Van Ness is scheduled for the March 8 hearing with neighborhood outreach planned beforehand.
The commission did not take a formal vote on these informational items; the report closed with no public comments recorded on the matter.
