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Board upholds Live Nation America’s Cup Pavilion permit, adds conditions
Summary
After a lengthy hearing with neighborhood residents, city agencies and Live Nation, the Board of Appeals upheld the Entertainment Commission’s conditional permit for the America’s Cup Pavilion at Piers 27–29 and adopted CEQA findings and additional conditions addressing capacity, curfew extensions and site removal; vote was 5–0.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals voted on May 8 to uphold a conditional Place of Entertainment permit issued to Live Nation for the America’s Cup Pavilion at Piers 27–29, and adopted the Board of Supervisors’ CEQA findings on the project record. The board also imposed clarified conditions on capacity, curfew extensions and removal of site improvements, and made the decision by a 5–0 vote.
The Board first accepted a request from port and city staff to assume jurisdiction over the appeal of the Entertainment Commission’s permit. Appellants — Recreation and Open Space for the Waterfront and neighborhood groups — argued the Entertainment Commission had not properly applied CEQA findings and that the permit’s noise and traffic mitigation were vague and insufficient. Live Nation and the Entertainment Commission said the EIR and adopted mitigations had been considered, a detailed noise control plan and traffic/people plan were in place, and that the Police and Fire code standards govern permit issuance.
City agencies including SFPD and the Municipal Transportation Agency described operational and enforcement plans based on prior America’s Cup work, and Live Nation outlined noise‑mitigation investments (acoustic curtains and $150,000 in sound‑attenuation material), monitoring, staffing and a neighborhood hotline. Neighbors raised concerns about noise, night truck movements and the potential for a semi‑permanent venue.
After hearing witnesses, reading the planning record and adopting CEQA materials from the Board of Supervisors and Port Commission, the Board upheld the Entertainment Commission’s conditional permit and added three explicit conditions: a clarified capacity limit (no more than 30 concerts at a maximum capacity of 9,287 or a lower fire department‑specified capacity), the ability for Live Nation to request up to six 30‑minute curfew extensions that require SFPD approval (requests submitted at least 10 days in advance), and a requirement that all site improvements be removed and any damage repaired by October 31, 2013. The Board also encouraged SFPD to work with the immediate neighborhood on curfew requests and required incorporation of specified commitments into the permit record. The vote to uphold the permit and adopt the conditions was unanimous.
