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Committee recommends permit for Outside Lands festival, with hiring and sound conditions
Summary
The committee recommended approval of a multi‑year use permit for Another Planet Entertainment to hold the Outside Lands festival in Golden Gate Park, subject to negotiated local hiring (First Source) language and sound/traffic mitigation measures. Residents and vendors widely supported continuation of the festival.
Supervisor Eric Marr introduced a resolution authorizing a use permit for Another Planet Entertainment to stage an annual three‑day music festival in Golden Gate Park. Rec & Park staff described the competitive selection, the commission’s unanimous April approval and contract terms: the promoter pays either a base $950,000 or 10% of gross ticket revenues (whichever is greater) plus a $1 per‑ticket fee, with the base rent increasing by $50,000 each year under the draft permit.
Jared Blumenfeld (Rec & Park) told the committee the event attracted about 130,000 people in the Polo Fields in 2008 and generated roughly $815,000 in department revenue; if attendance approximates last year, Rec & Park would receive about $1.25 million this year. Blumenfeld described required event logistics oversight (timing, closures, security, stage configuration), reimbursement of city costs, a joint public outreach plan and pending noise engineering controls to set hard sound limits in the permit.
Supervisors pressed for local‑hire (‘First Source’) language and assurances on parking and transit plans. Rec & Park staff and the promoter agreed to craft First Source language appropriate to temporary festival labor and to refine parking and Muni shuttle arrangements; Rec & Park committed to a sound‑engineering plan that hard‑limits the soundboard output.
Public comment was broadly favorable: neighborhood residents and business owners from the Richmond and Sunset districts, musicians, vendors and local restaurants described minimal long‑term park damage, fast cleanup, strong vendor revenues, and local hiring opportunities. Festival organizers said they employed roughly 2,500 people for the event with about 90% from San Francisco and surrounding ZIP codes; labor representatives said they had not finalized a new collective bargaining agreement and urged further negotiation, but did not oppose permit approval.
The committee moved the resolution forward with a recommendation to the full Board with conditions to address First Source language, sound limits and community outreach.
What’s next: The permit will be considered by the full Board; Rec & Park and the promoter will refine the First Source language and technical sound and traffic mitigation plans before Board action.
