like the cliff was years back, where you can go in and have a nice dinner and then you can go here some live music, quality entertainment in a nice venue, in that particular area. so i am all for it. i just hope other people follow suit and there that pocket could have quality entertainment because it gets c.d. down there right now at late night and that is concerning. thumbs up for these guys. >> all right. seeing no more public comment, public comment is closed. [roll call] >> congratulations. thank you for coming in. please follow up with our deputy director for next steps. thank you that was my time --

thank you. that was my time. moving along. >> okay. the next permit application is for place of entertainment and change of ownership for dimples cocktail lounge. the new owner intends to keep the business operations exactly as they are, a small karaoke bar -- a small bar with karaoke rooms. they received a letter of support from the president of the japan town merchants group as well as signatures of support from the neighboring businesses, which are included in your file. the new manager worked at dimples under the previous ownership so she is very familiar with the operation. northern station approves this permit with no added conditions. here to tell you more is the owner. parker -- is the owner, mr. parker. >> good evening. i am the new owner for dimples. dimples is a bar that has been around, i have heard about 30 years and it has gone through

several changes over its time. i believe it started as a piano bar at some point, early in its existence and it has changed ownership a couple of times. the previous owner, to me, i have known her. she has owned the bar for about 18 years, 16 or 18 years, and she has developed the bar into what it is now, and i'm pretty much taking over as is with not much changes planned. of course, you know, this is a new experience for me. i have never been a business owner before, but i have attended bars -- tended bar as before. i am still trying to get my feet under me. it has been a hectic three weeks since we have had the bar, but it has come a long, and i would appreciate your consideration for the entertainment license. >> so, you know, to get that bar

is -- you are lucky. to get places like that these days are not easy, and are you planning to do any new promotions, or just keep running it the way it is? >> you know, i have my ideas for the future. i would actually like to talk to the gentleman who was here before. this is a small venue, a very small bar. eventually i dream of upscaling it's a bit and getting maybe two or three piece, maybe one guy singing, a keyboard, that kind of thing. right now we have a jukebox. it is a really nice jukebox, but maybe on a slow night, maybe if it might enhance some business, try to get some live entertainment in there, and also , in that vein, once i get to this point to start developing that part of it, once again, i would be looking for

local artists, honestly. i already found a couple. i've got their cards. i said, hey, be ready. maybe here in the near future and might have room for some -- >> you don't plan to changes sound system? >> the sound system is existing jukebox. it is a good sounding system. the customers like it. and then the karaoke rooms, there are a couple of speakers that are not performing so well, but i have to change those. >> same power, just replacement. >> yeah. >> thank you. >> as far as i know, the bar has never had a complaint from any of the neighbors. the previous owner has told me that i have never had a complaint and we are a basement bar, and it is pretty well isolated from pretty much anything around there. >> thank you. >> thank you for coming in.

part of the requirements is for you to do some neighborhood outreach and on your application , it says no, i do see you have a letter from japan town merchants association and you have a thing here with four or five signatures. i was wondering, what was your experience like in talking with some of your neighbors about this? >> my manager and i, we walked around to the different things around businesses. some just didn't care. they just signed it. this bar has been around and they know dimples, and some i just couldn't get a hold of the owners or the managers so i left this sheet with them. some of those i just couldn't get back. i did have a couple of sheets with other signatures on them but i have lost them, so you've got the one with the immediate neighbors around us, but i really didn't know what else to

do, not having much experience in this, so i talked with the owners and i also reached out to the japan town merchants group because i knew that they would have experience in this, so i have talked with him and i will become a member with them and try to contribute. >> i just hope that based on what you have heard with the last two applicants that you will reach out to your neighbors , whether they are complaining or not, and be a good neighbor and really find out how you can be a good neighbor to the residents. >> i plan to. thank you. >> thank you. >> i have seen dimples a lot on post street, i have never been inside so i'm actually really curious. i just wanted to congratulate you on becoming a new business owner. i am just curious also. in terms of -- how late do you think the general -- i guess,

traffic of your guests that are coming into your bar -- because post street doesn't seem to be that active in the evening. >> it is hit or miss. i have been a patron of that bar in the past. it is hit or miss. sometimes, obviously on the weekends it is a lot busier, but just one sometime things -- sometimes a get a huge crowd going in. until we start shoving them out. the karaoke rooms, a lot of times they are just not used or people are more interested in listening to the jukebox. it is kind of a low-key, it is a pretty relaxed atmosphere bar. the music is pretty good from the jukebox. you can find any song that you want, but we do get groups in that want to sing and that is what the karaoke rooms are there for. it provides a revenue source for

the bar. >> that is great. congratulations. >> thank you. >> i just had a couple quick comments. congratulations, again. i know the excitement of owning a new bar, is really fun. just because you are a little new to the business, i will caution you against a couple things that could get you in trouble with us. the first is using outside promoters. it is totally your right to do it, but sometimes promoters can bring people in and they kind of act with impunity and it gets you in trouble. i would just be very careful on nights where sometimes people promise to bring in 1500 people, it is very enticing to do that, but sometimes that can also lead to serious problems and at the end of the day, it is your problem, not the promoters, in some promoters know that and they prey on small businesses because they know that they can act with impunity. it is just one thing to consider >> what you mean by a promoter? >> promoter can be anything, but generally it is someone who promises to bring a bunch of people into your bar for a cut,

and sometimes you will say, this night is really slow, and somebody says, i can bring in a hundred people, and if you have a d.j. license, and they bring in people and they are not your normal crowd and they cause trouble and you can trouble for it, so that is one thing. the other thing is when doing anything life that you are talking about for the future, i would just encourage you, you don't have to, but i would encourage you to have your own sound system that you personally control. when a d.j. comes in, d.j.s are not great at turning their music down. they actually like to go the opposite direction, usually in our experience so you have to have control of it. you don't have to buy that also can get you into trouble. >> thank you for the advice about promoters, i hadn't thought of that. >> it could come up sometime down the road. have it in the back of your mind a lot of the issues we have our with promoters. summer motors are fantastic, but some of them can cause serious trouble. >> i have been a fan of karaoke for a long time. not that i'm good, but do you

like to sing. i used to be a karaoke d.j., as well. i didn't quit my day job, though i know about sound systems, and of course, i would have my own sound. >> that is good. you should have led with that, you buried the lead. i don't think anybody else has questions, so you can have a seat. we will open it up for public comment. thank you for coming in. is there any public comment on this agenda item? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> it is kind of a no-brainer. the places been around for a long time. jay town is a mecca of karaoke bars and there is a couple in the building, actually, but i want to move to approve this payment. >> i second. >> commissioner perez -- [roll call]

>> congratulations, you permit has been granted. please, sometime in the near future, follow-up with our deputy director for your next steps. thank you very much. >> the next permit applications are for a limited live performance in billiard earlier just parlayed permit for st. mary's pub located at 3845 mission street. the bar is coming into compliance by applying for these permits with the planned to plan to continue having live d.j.s perform if granted. the neighbors living above the bar contacted the deputy director with concerns, which you can find in your files for reference. and response, the owner, maria, sat down with the neighbors to discuss their concerns and solutions. she listened to the volume of the music inside their unit and she gave them her cell phone number, and she plasterwork with an engineer to explore potential sound abatement. she personally reached out to the community and immediate neighbors and received six letters of support which are in your file. ingles i station approved this permit with no added conditions.

here to tell you more is the owner, maria davis. >> hello. so st. mary's pub is a legacy business that has been there since 1933. it is the oldest post- prohibition bar in san francisco we are the classic neighborhood dive bar. we are more of like family. everybody that comes in, most of them live in the area, and so in applying for this permit, i have talked to everybody that has come in about it, and all those surrounding businesses, and we have gotten a lot of support.

we have had some issues with the upstart -- the upstairs neighbors have had some complaints, so i sat down with them and listened from their unit, we have moved the speakers , and we are going to have a sound metering tomorrow, is that what it is called? sound testing, just to continue to work with the make sure that we are all copacetic and nothing is going to disrupt anybody's living situation, and we are happy to continue to accommodate to make it all work. >> i have a question. when did you take over this legacy bar? >> 1933, i'm kidding.

about eight and a half years ago >> and did you have music then? or is this something new? >> we have had d.j.s, which i didn't realize that we needed a permit for, but we have had -- it is a small bar, we have just had people playing records. it is not like a club, not really dancing or anything. >> so it has just been recently -- he started you started getting complaints? >> yes, but we have had complaints on the upstairs neighbors, so it was sort of like that there was noise after 2:00 a.m., so i sat down with the staff, we have had lots of meetings about it and about after 2:00 a.m. it takes some time to close the bar, so there will be some noise , but they are not allowed to turn on the music. >> and then the speakers and the sound has been there for the last eight years. >> yes. >> where did you bring in new stuff? it is all the same? >> yes.

>> so either the volume has gotten louder, or people have gotten more sensitive since you moved into the buildings. >> yeah, i'm not sure. >> have you done any soundproofing at all in the ceiling? >> i took over the bar, there was a drop ceiling, but it was just this thin layer of tiles that were moulding and rotting, and then there was just the ceiling, i took that out and put in a layer of sheet rock, and then put acoustic tiles on top. >> i see. >> and installation in the air space between the rafters and the sheetrock -- >> i didn't hear that part. >> i didn't hear, but you put anything in between this sheet rock and the joists? >> no, we didn't open it up, we did not open up the ceiling.

>> you just slapped sheetrock and put the tiles on. >> yes. >> i see. there is no airspace in between? >> i'm not sure. >> the reason why i say that is airspace helps dampen noise. >> right. i see. >> if you are just hitting that, you are vibrating the floorspace upstairs. >> right. i have also found a sound engineer to come in. >> so it has been the same for nine years? >> yes. >> all right. and the sound equipment is in there right now, you said it is just speakers? powered eons because that plug-in?

>> yes. >> you don't run a board, like a little dg board? >> when we have had d.j.s, they have a little bored, and there is a main soundboard so with -- so there is volume control. it is just a little thing -- >> when these d.j.s come in, the plug into your unit? >> yes. >> so you have every control of that. >> yes. >> okay. thanks. >> good evening. it sounds to me like the noise is really two issues. it is at times when the music is playing, and at times when you are closing. would that be fair? >> i think so. >> with regard to closing, when you close, how many employees are usually there? >> they're usually two. >> okay. and then once you are closed, the staff say inside and clean up and all that, or not so much? >> yes. >> okay. it sounded to me like you tell

them not to play music when they are closing up. >> yes. >> as far as when all of your customers leave at 2:00 a.m., do they tend to hang out in front and everyone is talking and it is kind of echoing? i know your location very well. >> sometimes, but we definitely do whatever we can to get them to move along, but i mean, there's not really anything around, so. >> correct, there's absolutely nothing. >> it is an island. there isn't really any other reason unless they're waiting for a cab or something like that >> right. okay. i think it sounds to me like at least you are aware that that was an issue and you are trying to address it with staff. >> absolutely. >> that is what i would continue to encourage. what i'm curious about is when you met with the neighbors up above, how did it go? >> i thought it went fine. it was the first time, the first chance we had gotten to sit down and really talk. i was able to do the volume at different levels and go back and forth, and i thought that it was

really productive and i encourage them to call me if there were sound complaints, and even if it was 1:00 a.m. and they felt like it was too loud. i need to know what is happening i need to know what is really disturbing them. if i am able, i'm willing to go up there to say, okay, this is what is happening, because i like to billy get to the bottom of it. when i went up there, i felt like it wasn't too loud unless it was at the maximum volume that it could go, which, you know, we don't play it at that, ever, but obviously they are getting disrupted, so i am being totally cooperative in figuring it out. >> okay. this is ongoing. you are continuing to communicate with them and see if you can find middle ground. >> absolutely. >> okay. thank you very much. >> hello. are you on site at the bar every

night? how often are you there? >> i am there during the day mostly. i am a single parent so i am at home at night most times, but i am there at night as much as i can be. >> okay. >> i definitely do my poppins when i can, on a don't have my daughter, to make sure everything is going okay, or just to, you know, have your face in the place, and -- >> when you are not there, who is in charge and how did they know when to escalate something to you or not? >> i am always through communications with whoever is there. all of our staff have worked there for a minimum of five years, and i am in constant communication with them and i have a camera. >> i'm assuming you have a bar manager or a house manager or something like that, or no.

>> no. that's me. i do everything. >> so who manages when you are not there? >> the bartender. i have given them all privileges -- they know who to call for everything, they know the protocol, they all are key holders, and, you know, it is a very small bar, it is just a little -- >> it is great that you talks of the neighbors it seemed productive and positive. i started off reading that there was a comment about the bartender, as usual, not responding to a complaint, so i am partly wondering what your management is, because, you know , if you agreed at something and it has to trickle down, and your staff has to enforce that. i'm curious how you make sure that happens. i get that you are a single mom, i get you may not be able to be on site, but still having a strategy to make sure that every

employee under you can be consistent about whatever you agree with is important. so i'm kind of curious how you plan to do that. >> every time there has been a noise complaint, my staff -- we have spoken about it they have told me that they have turned the music down or, you know, whatever he needed to happen. i am guessing that the neighbors were not happy with that. i mean, you know, any time there is a noise complaint, we respond to it. >> okay. i am supportive of this permit, but i want to make sure you do have a tight communication plan and a way to make sure that you hold yourself accountable. you know, you're telling us all the right things, but in actual practice, if we start seeing more complaints, it will come back to this question. like i said, it is great that you have reached out and you

have had face-to-face time with your neighbors. that is almost the most important thing that you have that direct line of communication. >> again, like i have encouraged the neighbors to call me directly. and also, i think that was why we wanted to do the sound metering so we can literally mark on it, this is as loud as it can go, and put a piece of tape there, you can't go any louder than that. if there is a problem or somebody breaks that rule, then it won't work -- they weren't worked -- they won't work for me anymore. >> okay. thank you very much. >> thank you for coming in. i grew up in that neighborhood. i will have to stop by your bar, i haven't been there yet. my question is, besides the neighbor that has been complaining, did you get a chance to do outreach around the neighborhood. >> i did. i spoke to all of the businesses around and, you know, many of

the neighbors, and everyone has been really supportive. >> all right. would you be open to doing a ledger of when the complaints come, write it down, so at the end of the time period you can evaluate if it is happening on certain days, different types, the frequency. >> absolutely. >> those are my thoughts. you might be able to check what is going on. >> definitely. >> yeah,. >> thank you. >> all right. i just have a couple comments. thank you for coming in. as an owner of many small bars myself, i know exactly what you are going through with neighbor negotiations. i just have a couple things that we have learned and i just want to pass him over to you. the most important thing that we have found is that if the neighbors feel like they have realtime control over the sound in your space, that it usually -- usually mitigates a lot of the issues.

if they have a number they can call or text they can send, but some way that when it is happening, in realtime we can say, hey, it is too loud. ninety-nine out of 100 times with us, with 11 bars and neighbors lived -- living above them, is they can text and solve the problem. that is one thing. i would just recommend that as a best practice. >> and they have my phone number >> perfect. sometimes if you have a daughter , maybe it will be easier if -- sometimes there are group apps if your neighbor is texting, but if they are capable of texting sometimes they can send a single text message and it goes out to everybody at once there are things to look at. if you miss it, you are asleep, it is midnight, the next day is too late, and then they are angry and they can't sleep and they are up night. so if there is a direct way to do it, like a bat phone, you know, even if it is an old phone

in the bar that they can call that says, hey, can you turn it down? that is one thing. is very helpful. it is almost of our problems. it is worth its wait in gold. the other thing i say is not all soundproofing is equal and not all acoustical engineers are equal. sometimes you pay them 2,000 or $3,000 and they tell you, you know, we did some readings and you say thank you and you get this report, and it is not so helpful. there are some best practices around soundproofing that we have put together and other bar owners, and there is a group of bar owners that is free to join, it is on facebook. we can connect through our staff and help you get on there. you can ask what is the best. you can say, hey, what is the best thing that you use? you can post that on there. is really helpful. we learned through that that you can do, for example, double she rocked. it is not even a third of the price, a quarter of the price,

then you hang these acoustic springs off of it and you do another layer of sheetrock and the acoustic springs absorb it. it doesn't make your ceiling go down too far. and then you put the acoustic tile on top of that. when you are looking at sound techniques, you can spend $50,000 and end up with a worse solution than tried-and-true methods that other people have tested out. i encourage you to take a look at that. i would encourage sound mitigation for peace of mind. >> yeah,. >> i think what will help, since you are not on premise, and you have read our good neighborhood policy, share it with your bartenders and everybody that they have to go by that, and that will help make your life a lot easier so you don't get the full thing. >> would just revised it and it is actually very meaningful. it is much more meaningful than it was before. i think it is very specific about what we expect. all right. have a seat.

thank you for standing there on your coaches of mac -- thank you for standing there on your crutches. [laughter] is there any public comment on this item? please step up to the microphone please state your name into the microphone. you have two minutes. >> my name is michael. i am one of the tenants above st. mary's. i put together a statement, but i think it covers a lot of what is already in the record, pretty much describing it. i don't know if i should read the whole statement or just give you a copy. >> your two minutes is counting. >> i don't think i've time to read the whole thing but i thank you guys have most of it. we are not opposing the permit, we do want to work with maria and we are very happy that she has been amenable to that. i guess you have that on record. i don't know if i can submit this? >> please.

we are happy that things hopefully will get resolved and i think that should be it for right now. >> thank you. >> thank you for coming down. >> is there any more of the comment on this matter? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> i would like to make a motion to approve this with conditions. >> second. >> there is a staff recommendation. >> just the good neighbor policy >> and setting a sound limit? >> yes. with a staff recommendation. >> wonderful. >> i would second that. [roll call]

>> congratulations, your permit has been granted. just follow up with our deputy director at your earliest convenience. thank you very much. >> the next permit applications are for limited live performance and billiard parlor permit for the blue light located in 1979 union street. they are a bar and restaurant in -- i do come into compliance by applying for these permits with the l.l.p., they intend to continue hosting d.j.s for their weekly taco tuesday and other dance nights would live music. as previously mentioned in the enforcement report, there have been some hurdles with the blue light regarding neighborhood complaints and a citation issued for hosting entertainment without a permit. they didn't submit any neighborhood outreach to the staff, but we also did not receive any direct opposition. northern station approves this permit with one added condition, which as listed below on your memo, and the owner is here to tell you more.

>> hello, i am johnny, thank you for listening to us. i recently took over blue light a couple of months ago as part of the group that bought it. they left that business. since i have been back, first of all, i want to address the one incident. that was against my better judgement, i guess. i made a mistake and i do take full responsibility for it. we did think it was not against the permit to have a hidden d.j. where they can make playlists and try to not have our ipad behind the bar controlling the music that somewhere out of the distractions of bartenders, as well as we didn't want to have -- we did not want any customers

to see that we were doing that. it was a mistake. i called and as soon as i got the e-mail and she explained to me why it was a mistake. we will not do it again. since we did take over the blue light, we did make quite a few changes. blue light has been a busy place for a long time. right away we have applied for a permit, as well. we reached out to about every neighbor and there have not been any issues as -- at all. i gave the bartenders my cell phone numbers. i probably have ten neighbors with my cell phone number. any issues they have they can contact me. i have contacted them about this hearing as well. i feel like i am in a pretty good relationship with everybody i have quite a few happy fourth of july weekend his from quite a few of them as well. they tell us they are pretty appreciative of all the work we have done it? have turned on the speakers because that is where most of the issues were.

i have met with the caption of the district and i have met with the 850 bryant street with michael in the cbc liaison. we have gone through issues in the past and there is no d.j.s at all at 10:00 p.m., but what we would like to do here is -- i am a big fan of acoustic music and acoustic shows. i have quite a few friends over the years who play acoustic guitar. somebody could come in and sing and they could do something similar with their shows. that places a great place to go to. live music has been dying out, especially acoustic music. i can even tell you a good place to go and listen to it. we want to see if we can bring that back. it would be before 10:00 p.m. and hopefully we can increase our early hours and hopefully we can bring some pretty good

talents and have some nice shows we did, after a lot of neighborhood outreach, we did something on the street. i have quite a few signatures of support as well as -- while i was doing that, quite a few people got my cell phone. if they have any problems or issues that all they can contact me. i respond to everybody. he is also on quite a few of these chains as well. our goal is to be good neighbors and hopefully we will have a new and nice element into the industry versus anything else that could cause troubles. >> we have known each other for many years. >> yes, we have. >> if anybody would know the

rules, you would, because i remember your old places back when the police had your permit. i am glad you own up to it, and whatever it is, having a d.j. in the backroom, you know, it is not a good message, so i question to staff is, you know, because i live -- before buchanan and silver street, i was there when they owned the bar, and to didn't have a full entertainment p.o.e.? he used to play there. is that allowed now? >> it is not allowed. the limited live was actually restricted to extend to 11:00 p.m. within the union street and c.d. that was lifted two years ago, so they actually could apply to go to 11 after a year of good behaviour or lack of complaints given our office and police department. no p.o.e. allowed.

>> are you going to be on-site mac when the music is going on most of the timer will you have a manager on duty? >> it will be a manager or myself. i live right there. >> at 10:00, turning off the music at 10:00 p.m., we have been in the industry so long, we just get the party started and then we have to shut it down. you are all okay with -- all okay with that. >> there is a skylight in the back which i think that is where most of any kind of sounding with the pool taper is -- pool table is. i thank you have customers interacting. we put quite a bit of soundproofing and we put five pains of soundproof fabric to help.

>> and you plan to have your musicians more in the middle? >> in the front. >> so to have enough ventilation to keep that door shut? because that is part of it. >> we have a full ventilation system. >> keep the doors shut while the music is playing. >> yes. >> okay. so you read the whole good neighbor policy? >> oh, yeah. we posted it. >> it is quite a bit different from before. >> sure, things are changing i enjoyed it. this commission is easier to work with. >> i saw that coming. >> i have known you before, and i have known you. >> i know you are a great operator. i will give you that. thank you. >> i am done.

>> you are saying a fan of acoustic music and that is what you want, but the complaint and the incident with the d.j., that is not acoustic music. so what is -- what do you think is the type of invoice -- the type of music that will be played most frequently? >> i will reach out to quite a few musicians. it is not that big of a space and we can't do anything big. but if we do the two or three piece -- if there is a d.j., i don't want them the d.j. to play something fun. we serve for venues as well. it is like a dinner business going on. i don't want to scare that away. the goal -- i've had nothing more then a two-piece acoustic band and a singer that would be phenomenal, or a d.j. that is playing for fun and a sing-along you could use it like that.

>> okay. thanks. >> good evening. more of just a comment. i just want to say i really hope your sincere about bringing in some live music because something this commission has been very passionate about is finding homes for these people, like you said earlier, it is almost impossible to even tell people where to go, especially when it comes to jazz and stuff, so i hope you are sincere about that because there's a lot of talent out there looking for places to work. >> there is. i know quite a few. >> and some really good talents. >> i went to a club up to the redwoods and we watch them play. >> i'm up there, too. [laughter] >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i have a question for staff. we don't usually see billiards -- we don't see many billiard parlor permits, and i think it was the planning department's who recommended up to two. is there a need for a limit to billiard tables?

>> it comes -- it becomes more than ten. billiard par lures, you don't even need a permit if you only have one. >> we only have room for one. >> right. it looks like there's only one on the map. >> okay. >> i am just kind of curious because -- >> whatever, we just went through this last week because both caitlin and i were confused so planning is trying to restrict them to two pool tables >> -- >> i have never seen that before >> it is a recommended approval, up to two billiard tables permitted. i'm not sure what is up, but it doesn't matter because you can only fit one anyway. >> it was an interpretation from a commission in 1998. must have been from a previous.

>> okay. i would hate for the code to even care how many billiard tables are at any given place, but anyway, i trust my colleague here who has worked with you for 25 years. i have not worked with you that long, but i think that -- >> hopefully we will be. >> yeah,. but i think we are always supportive of more spaces that run -- that are run by good operators. i want to take the commissioner 's word for it and i'm supportive of this proposal. thank you. >> thank you. >> all right, i don't have any questions or comments. you can have a seat and we will take it to public comment. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> i have worked for johnny -- i started when he first opened the bar and then it switched over for a while, and i still work for him, and i also work in the music industry, so i have been wanting him to get live music and entertainment for a while.

we have a lot of bands in my day job, and the bar affords me to work my day job, so i definitely am passionate about that. that is something that we definitely want to do. >> thank you for sharing. is there any public comment on this agenda item? seeing none, public comment is closed. >> the blue light has been around for so long and, you know , he has been an icon, and it is good at least an experienced operator is taking over, you know, i'm disappointed about the d.j. in the back room, though, but the problem now is union union street is dying. when boss was around, it was a lot more entertainment stuff that was going on, but now it seems like union street is on the down again. i'm hoping that the blue light and you bringing in more live music to the neighborhood, which

they love, will work and keep this bar alive. i am in support of the permit and moved to approve with the good neighborhood policy. and please share the good neighborhood policy with your staff if you are not there. >> did you want to add the northern station recommendation? just emitting the calendar to the commission and the station? >> in the request would be to differentiate between the e.c. staff's recommendation, and our interpretation of the northern station's conditions. >> i was going with your interpretation. >> great. >> that is fine. >> i will second. [roll call] >> congratulations. your permit has been granted.

please follow up with our deputy director as soon as you can for your next steps. thank you. >> all right, last but not least , our final permit on the agenda this evening is for a limited live performance permit for orson's belly. it is a small neighborhood café and tap us bar. they are family owned and operated at her coming into compliance by applying for the l.l.p. permit. if granted, they hope to continue having live entertainment for the guests to enjoy. the reason they are on the regular calendar and not consent is because we have received some sound complaints, however, upon investigation of the complaints, the inspector has waited that most of them were made while the business was closed. they received 186 signatures of support from neighbors and patrons and no opposition with -- was submitted. richman station approve this permit with one condition which was lifted below on the staff memo. here to tell you more is the owner.

>> hello, everybody. i will speak from the heart because i don't know howells to speak. when we have had orson's belly for almost three years now and we are located on balboa between 18th and 19th avenue, right by quan. when we chose that location, everyone said, are you kidding me, you are not going to do anything over there, that place is dead, there is no one there, and that is why we chose it because that area needed something. there is no place for people to gather, no place for people to congregate, talk, have a good time. i feel like we have been that spot for central balboa, for central richmond, you know, we have everyone from the parents and kids coming over, u.s.f., we have state students coming over, old-timers, p.d., fd, everybody.

i want to grow my business with all of my heart and my effort until the last day comes, that is going to be with a permit. please consider it. >> i just want to know where the name othe orson's belly came fr. >> orson well's belly. it is another thing with our performances, so a couple weeks ago we had the culture night. there were as lot of brazilians. i will not have them come back any time soon. a couple days ago we showed a 1933 movie and a local jazz musician was doing sounds with it. it was so quiet we were hearing

the bus pass by. sometimes it is loud, sometimes it is quiet. i am willing to work with people. i don't want to get on anybody's wrong side. in that neighborhood they will kick your ass. that is why we are here right now. i don't want to mess with anybody so that is it. >> i appreciate your candor and it sounds like a fantastic place to hang out. >> thank you. >> good evening, i want to comment you on acknowledging some of the complaints were legitimate. that is honorable. for clarity you operate from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. you don't go later than 10:00? >> when we started we were doing coffee, lunch, some beer and wine. it is not suggestion sustainable

for us any more. my wife and i we are the only people there. we don't have employees. we usually do 9:00 to 9:00 or 10:00. we want to change it to noon to 10:00. we have been trying to change the hours. i think it is the same three one one caller. abc is reluctant to grant us that. we are doing 9:00 to 9:00. >> it is your abc conditions. >> we are in the middle of modifying it. >> you do understand the abc only regulates sales and consumption of alcohol. they don't preclude you from staying open. >> they gave us the noise complaint. the only reason i would say no to your modification is the

noise complaints. >> bear with me a second. i want to comment on giving up on the bureaucracy. i was hoping you listened to the executive director earlier. there are people working hard to make it better for you. number one. abc regulates sales, service and consumption of alcohol. your sales are limited from 8:0. that doesn't preclude you from staying open. you can stay open, you just can't serve alcohol. plenty of businesses do it. it is not ideal. i would work towards ex standing the hours. the other thing is if it is just verbally wouldn't accept that. make application and go through the process. what is critical is to get the neighbors behind you. ultimately it is you and your neighbors.

abc is a possessing agency. you are in a position to navigate. i don't see you not getting your hours extended. >> hopefully, for this permit we collected about 200 signatures. that is nothing. we got double. we can get more people if you need it. >> bear with me. >> abc doesn't look at support. they look at opposition. that is why it is important to work with the neighbors. i would suggest that you try to do it in steps. don't shoot straight for 2:00 a.m. right now. maybe if you are 9:00 or 10:00, think 11:00. do it in baby steps. >> if i did 11:00 then do 10:00? i am doing 11:00. >> i encourage you to work with your neighbors. they are the voice.

you will have a 550-foot mailer go out. the most compelling are 100 feet people. 500 people you can overcome them. thoughts. good luck. >> thank you. >> how big is your place? >> 900 square feet. >> 4:00 you pan see? >> -- 4:0 49. selling enough to pay your rent? >> yeah. we do 9:00 to 9:00. it is my wife and i, and the majority of the costs go to breakfast, coffee, lunch. then we grew out of that. we were kids getting into the business three years ago. now there is a whole new world. we are doing very mout rver m.o.

we have to do it or she is going to divorce me. she is so done. she is done. >> that neighborhood is sensitive. it is quiet. there are food pockets there. >> on our block there are six vacancies. why isn't anyone biting? >> it could be cool. we don't want to lose you and end up being another vacancy. that is the problem. when you started doing the music part is that recently? >> we have been doing events. it could be a screening. >> how long? >> three years.

>> you have been doing this for three years? >> three years. her cousin was in town. she has a bad voice but likes to sing. i said let's do it. she got on the microphone. it was awful. that is when someone complained about the noise. ever since then i am like careful. brazilian is her cousin. it is over. never again. >> i hope they are not watching tv. >> so as far as that there is no amplified sound? >> we have a neighbor came in and said can i play tonight? what do you play? up right bass. we have nights like that and then we have nights where or days where we break out disco

records and play music on the turntables. that is not that loud. we have people that eat during it. >> the doors are open? >> that was the issue. the doors were open and the officer came out to say the door has to be closed. now the door is closed. ventilation is rough, but i got a big air king deal. we are using that. the door is closed now. i am trying to go legit. >> there is no real sound system, whoever brings in a speaker? >> i have one speaker that we haven't used. i am waiting for this. it is like a powered speaker. >> you want a sound check so you know? >> mr. micro phone.

>> otherwise it is acoustic. >> have you made anything to the interior? >> we spent money for sound paneling for upstairs. we did that. that is about all. >> the complaints. do you know where they are coming from? >> i have my guesses. >> they are not people calling you directly? >> we had one person that came over and said it is loud. that is it. otherwise it is 311 calls at 7:30 a.m. on saturday. >> this is when the door opened, right? if you shut the door do you think you will still get the complaints? >> yes. we shut the door and got complaints. >> that is the fine line you

will walk as a permit holder. if we set a limit at the level that is like legally okay, you might have neighbors upset with that. i just would be cautious how you monitor the doors or any air openings because sound traveling easily. >> yeah. you guys are familiar with the area. if i'm walking up to balboa i can hear he laughing when i am on 19th. stuff bounces all-around there because it is so quiet. when there is no shops there either. there is nothing. that is the problem. i don't think we are loud. i think it is the corridor that has potential and it is so dead. >> i think you want to be careful how you do that. i think we support more entertainment happening not just downtown and the eastern side of the city.

the folks on the west side are sensitive to noise and aren't used to the liveliness that it may have potential for. be cautious how you do it. it sounds like you are. the more people you bring in, the more buzz. you might have to think about a different actual physical location. i can tell you have big dreams. i think you may outgrow that space at some point. we see that in other parts of the city. i want a beautiful great sound box but it might not be the right location. tread lightly. i want be to support more nightlife in the area but the neighborhood has to come around to it to. i am saying it in a different way that the other commissioners here. >> we understand that. >> thank you.

>> i don't think that you are not being honest with us. i will give you that. this is the most honest conversation we have had here. i live in that neighborhood. i have a four-year-old. i am looking forward to checking out what is going on in there. the things i recommend. two issues, us, doing the permitting. i don't know how it is going to go. i am supportive of it. then you have the abc issue. we just went through this removing a license and we had to do the 500-foot mailer and we had a lot of neighbors and the one thing i can say is that the there is actually one

complainant, which could be, nine times out of ten if you can find that person and set down with them and make friends with them and they will support you. if they support you and the a bc knows it and they say i was against it but i sat down with them and i support this. the road is fairly smooth there. i would put out an all points bulletin. many, many people in the neighborhood to track down this person and beg them for coffee, take them out to eat, address their concerns. if you can find them, it is helpful. one-time out of 10 they are not budging. the other thing i would really recommend is abc is a state body, not local. we have the alu. definitely connect with the alcohol licensing unit. you have