Board of Appeals upholds Entertainment Commission’s conditional permit for Warriors arena

The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted on Dec. 9 to deny an appeal by Mission Bay Alliance challenging the Entertainment Commission’s conditional Place of Entertainment (POE) permit for the proposed Golden State Warriors event center in Mission Bay. The Alliance had argued the permit should be denied because of traffic, noise and alleged inconsistency with the Mission Bay South redevelopment plan and CEQA findings.

Patrick Solari, counsel for the Mission Bay Alliance, told the board that CEQA analyses for the project showed significant transportation and noise impacts that counsel said compelled denial under Police Code Section 1,060.5. ‘‘These findings resulted in significant transportation impacts and noise impacts,’’ Solari argued, urging the Board to treat the EIR findings as evidence the POE could not be safely granted.

Project counsel Mary Murphy, counsel for the permit holder, countered that the Entertainment Commission properly applied the Police Code standards and attached enforceable conditions — notably a Good Neighbor Policy, a tailored security plan and a noise control plan — and noted the permit remained conditional until final construction inspections and required sound tests were passed. Warriors operations executive Steve Collins described proposed security staffing levels, CCTV and a shared command center with San Francisco Police Department and SFMTA for crowd management.

Entertainment Commission Executive Director Jocelyn Kane explained the Commission’s authority and noted its practice of conditionally granting permits with enforceable mitigation; Planning and OCII staff explained the EIR, transportation and CEQA context and said the responsible agency (OCII) had certified the EIR and made related land‑use determinations. Public commenters included both neighborhood residents raising traffic and hospital access concerns and neighborhood supporters who urged the board to deny the appeal.

After deliberation the Board voted to deny the appeal and uphold the Entertainment Commission’s conditional grant, adopting additional draft environmental findings and a modified Exhibit H addressing OCII’s land‑use determination. The motion carried 3–1 (President Anne Lazarus: Aye; Vice President Daryl Honda: Aye; Commissioner Frank Fung: No; Commissioner Rick Swig: Aye). The board emphasized that the permit remains conditional and that final operation depends on meeting the conditions and passing the Entertainment Commission’s tests at build‑out.