Committee backs Greater Downtown activation master permit, restoring entertainment commission authority

The Land Use and Transportation Committee voted Sept. 16 to recommend an ordinance that would establish a Greater Downtown Activation Program to coordinate permitting for community‑benefit‑district sponsored events and designate certain areas as entertainment zones allowing off‑site alcohol consumption during events.

The ordinance would amend the administrative code to create a master permitting framework for CBD‑sponsored public events, add a new permit type to the fire code, and amend the public works and police codes to streamline requirements for limited live performance and amplified sound. The clerk said the ordinance will be forwarded to the California Building Standards Commission upon final passage by the Board.

President Aaron Peskin, who moved non‑substantive amendments, said those changes restore the Entertainment Commission’s permitting authority after that language was deleted from the initial draft “at the request of the CBDs and the Entertainment Commission.” The committee accepted his amendments and voted to forward the item to the full Board with a positive recommendation.

There was no public comment on the item at the committee meeting. The clerk recorded a 3–0 roll call vote (Preston, Peskin, Melgar); the committee’s action will be considered by the full Board of Supervisors on Sept. 24, 2024.

If passed by the full Board, the ordinance would centralize event permitting for the downtown CBDs and create designated entertainment zones; the ordinance text also affirms relevant CEQA and regulatory steps and instructs the clerk to forward the measure to the California Building Standards Commission.