Board of Appeals upholds Jones restaurant's amended live‑performance permit despite neighbor noise objections

The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Sept. 11 upheld amendments to a limited live performance permit for 620 Jones Street after a contested hearing that split the board 3–2.

The board denied an appeal filed by neighborhood residents and hotel representatives who argued the amended permit would worsen nighttime noise and that notice and sound testing for the permit application were inadequate. The Entertainment Commission had amended the LLP to allow indoor entertainment Tuesday through Saturday until 10 p.m., capped at 76 dBA indoors, and a 90‑day trial for outdoor entertainment on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at ambient or 68 dBA, whichever is lower.

An appellant representing nearby tenants told the board the proposal would “escalate the patrons’ negative behavior,” extend disturbances and that the Entertainment Commission’s report lacked late‑night and low‑frequency dBC testing the appellants said municipal code requires. The same speaker said many residents had not received mailed notice of the application and urged the board to require broader testing ‘including late night hours’.

Pete Glickstern, speaking for the permit holder, described Jones as “a restaurant and a bar” and said the business is not “categorically… a music venue.” He said most entertainment would be private, invite‑only events that generally end by 10 p.m., and told the board that during a six‑month trial period the venue had generated only two formal noise complaints, one tied to a citywide event.

Jocelyn Kane, Executive Director of the Entertainment Commission, told the board the Commission had balanced neighborhood and business interests, explained that LLPs historically were indoor‑only but now may include limited outdoor spaces after recent legislation, and summarized the Commission’s sound testing thresholds and conditions used to amend Jones’s permit.

Members of the public and affected businesses presented mixed views. Several residents and the venue’s management said Jones had been responsive and had outreach channels for neighbors; representatives from the adjacent Hotel Adagio and other nearby lodging said the courtyard’s configuration produces an echoing funnel that transmits loud patron noise and bass into guest rooms and reduces the quality of stay.

During deliberations board members said the indoor permit conditions and the Commission’s testing guidance were within the Commission’s authority but expressed differing views about the risks of allowing outdoor entertainment. Vice President Anne Lazarus moved to deny the appeal and uphold the amended permit on the basis that it was code‑compliant; the motion carried in a 3–2 roll call.

The board’s action upholds the Entertainment Commission’s conditions for Jones, including the indoor decibel cap and the limited outdoor trial. The decision does not alter the Commission’s requirement that the venue maintain a neighbor phone line and comply with its good‑neighbor policies; the Commission indicated it would follow up if other nearby venues were operating outside their authorizations.

The board hearing record includes the permit application (EC‑1172LLP), the Entertainment Commission’s report and sound inspector recommendations, neighborhood letters, and public‑comment testimony from both supporters and opponents of the venue’s amended permit.