>> president bleiman: hello and welcome to the march 3, 2020 meeting of the san francisco entertainment commission. my name is ben bleiman, and i am the president of the commission. if you want to speak on public comment, you need to fill out a speaker card or you can just

come to the podium when it's public comment. i want to thank sfgovtv and media services for sharing this media with the public, and we'll start with roll call. [roll call] >> president bleiman: all right. thank you. the first order of business is general public comment. this is comment on any item that is not on our regular agenda tonight. seeing none, general public comment is closed. [gavel]. >> president bleiman: next agenda item is number two, which is approval of our minutes for the february 18, 2020 meeting, and i'll ask if we have a motion for the approval of the minutes from the february 8, 2020 meeting. >> i move to approve. >> second. >> president bleiman: is there any public comment on our minutes? seeing none, public comment is

closed. [gavel] [roll call] >> president bleiman: all right. the minutes have been approved. next item on the agenda is a report from our director, commissioner weiland? >> director weiland: thank you, president bleiman. from friday to monday and this past weekend, the two of us with ben van houghton, we attended the presidential cities annual social city conference. we were with folks that do similar work as us from across the united states as well as

folks from amsterdam and cancun from outside the united states. president bleiman and i spoke on a presentation sunday, and we were -- on a panel sunday, and we were on the panel with two people from new york and two people from washington, d.c. a lot of what we did was educate people on having an entertainment commission or an entertainment office of some kind to promote the economy but also regulate it. we pride ourselves on being one-of-a-kind in san francisco, and so many people were coming up to us maybe a little bit envious, but also a little bit curious figuring out how they

sort out their cities in regards to night life. did you have anything you want to add? >> president bleiman: yeah. i think it's shocking when you realize we've had this entertainment commission going on for 17 years now, and the city of new york, they have one director with a couple people, and they're going on one year, and in d.c., it's even less than that. >> new york is two years, and d.c. is one year. >> president bleiman: and we have an insurmountable comparison to theirs. it's amazing to see. >> director weiland: and although we're a baby department compared to other offices in san francisco, we're far ahead of where we're at, so

we should be proud of that just because we -- we've had so much time to evolve. and so much of the thanks goes to the folks who built out our groundwork and our founding commission and our founding director, and jocelyn cain, who came after him. so we need to just keep evolving our work into the future. so do you have any questions on that? okay. >> president bleiman: yeah, i did say that our one job on that panel was to make all the other cities jealous, and i think we fully accomplished that. check a box there. is there any public comment on the director's report? seeing none, public comment is closed. [gavel]. >> president bleiman: the next agenda item is -- sorry. number 4, which is the report from our deputy director

azevedo. >> thank you, commissioners. i've highlighted the independent band practice going on. we received 26 complaints since our last hearing. eight of them were from -- for the independent or businesses in that area? our investigators west we-- we to the area, and they were in compliance during both visits. there was a complaint that the back door was open. when inspector fiorentino went, the door was closed, and there was another complaint with

invasive base, and inspector fiorentino went, and they were in compliance. >> i do want to be responsive to the neighbors and the landlord who is reaching out to me on a regular basis on what we can do. >> thank you for that important addition. >> aside from that, there were 46 venue inspections that happened over the weekend -- or rather since last weekend, and the majority of our venues were in compliance? so to director weiland's point or i'm happy to answer any

questions. >> good evening. l let's start with the independent. our executive director used the word neighbors. is it singular or plural. >> so it's anonymous, and it's two neighbors who live in the same unit. >> president bleiman: so the volume of calls that we're getting, is it primarily these two people. are we able to ascertain that? >> for the most part. we also believe that based on the language that's used, it's the same complainant even when it's reported anonymous. we've got used to seeing the complaints coming in so frequently, we've gotten used to the language that's used, and it's similar to the language that's used when they are not anonymous. >> president bleiman: okay. >> director weiland: there isn't any way of knowing because they're either identifying these specific neighbors who are represented by the landlord as i just mentioned or they're

representing themselves as anonymous. >> president bleiman: the 311 trac -- >> commissioner falzone: the 311 distinguishes between 311 and on-line, correct? >> yes, and these calls are being made through the app. >> commissioner falzone: okay. i got it. so my sense is -- i'm just trying to get an understanding of, is there some kind of person vendetta -- is this a community problem or is this an individual problem with one club? i know there's some conjecture in this, but we don't know? >> it's -- we do not know. >> commissioner falzone: so what's our next step then? >> that's a great question. i think that's what director -- >> well, yeah, i've got to be responsive at this point? and i've been responsive along the way, but i've got to -- i guess i would just like to know from the commission if you have any feedback on this or --

>> commissioner falzone: i have some more questions for this. have we pulled the actual police calls for service for the address? >> no. >> there's no need to. >> commissioner falzone: i'm just trying to see what it is, and if there's a lot of police calls for service. that may help substantiate this. on the other hand, if there aren't any, that starts to lend itself to a different scenario. >> that sounds good. i can certainly reach out to northern station for that. >> commissioner falzone: we take the police calls, and we can get pretty granular there, and if we can match it up to the 311, it might be helpful. i'll defer to our director. >> was the star able to contact the residence -- staff able to contact the residents? >> yes, we were contacting them regularly. >> and they were complaining or not complaining? >> when they identify themselves, the inspector has contacted themselves and stated

i've just responded to your complaint. the venue is in compliance. >> president bleiman: so i'm just curious. do we know how long these neighbors have lived in this unit? >> from my understanding, i believe it's been about a year? >> president bleiman: okay. and how long has there been a music venue at this location. >> commissioner falzone: at least over 20 years. >> i believe it's 30-plus in different iterations. >> president bleiman: and prior to these neighbors moving in, were we getting a lot of complaints about this venue? >> no. >> director weiland: no. >> president bleiman: and just so i'm clear, at least two of the calls about a back door and another call seemed to involve an inaccurate description of the venue in that the back door was closed on one of the nig s nights.

>> and i may note in one of our inspections, they noted that the door was open, and two other inspections, it was auto body shop was having practice really loud. even i, on one of the occasions, when a complaint was coming in, went out on divisadero and heard the live band practice. >> president bleiman: and that would be a p.d. matter. that would not be our jurisdiction. >> right. >> president bleiman: and i'm just curious. how many times have we visited independent in your best estimate since it starts happening. >> so i've quantified it since september, and we've visited 15 times, and we've found them in compliance 14 of the times. one time, the rear door was open. >> president bleiman: and that's the first time, if my memory serves me. so the next 14 times, the venue

has been in compliance. >> and we've also been checking emporium because they're side by side, and emporium has also been in compliance. >> president bleiman: and each visit is taking time? >> especially, if it's taking time to go to two venues. >> it depends on what their starting point is, but sure. >> president bleiman: i have real concerns about the use of our resources. the poor venue is not acting outside of its purview at all, and in the meantime, we need to address other concerns at other

venues. if the venue's complaint and the neighbor's still having an issue, one thing that comes to my mind is maybe the building requires some extra sound proofing or mitigation. >> where the resident lives? >> president bleiman: where the resident lives, because if the venue is doing something within the code, maybe there's some other issue going on. i don't know if -- is there any precedent for us having a landlord come before us and speaking with them? >> i mean, they're a member of the public. that's one thing they can certainly do, they can come and certainly address you themselves. >> president bleiman: i think we should offer that, at least. every case that i've seen up here, you know, every single time that i've -- since i've been here when there's a repeated complainant, we are finding violations or out of compliance with a venue, so this seems to me to be very one sided in what's going on. but i'd welcome any thoughts that the rest of the commission

has. >> so they get the complaint 311. does it get there within 30 minutes or is it, like, an hour or two hours later? >> so that can vary, and you're looking at a 2.5-week report since that's passed, and some of them are within a 30-minute period, and there's some of them where more than an hour has passed just because there's been another complaint elsewhere, but i think in general, it's within an hour. >> if they're complaining at 11:42, there's not a reason they should be complaining if they're closed. is there a time stamp? >> so there is, on this report in front of you -- >> so is this when they show up or is that the complaint? >> so the first three -- let me tell you how many pages. the first six pages are the complaints, and then, starting

on page 7 are the inspections, and so they coordinate. so they time -- and you can see they correspond to one another, so if we were to look at the first one, saturday, the 15 -- february 15, the complaint came in at 11:52 saturday, the 15, and they were there by 11:57. >> president bleiman: so -- >> commissioner falzone: have we visited the complainant's address? >> yes. >> commissioner falzone: and does it have anything, additional sound proofing, windows, drapes, anything? >> no. >> commissioner falzone: so i can share my thoughts. if we've been there 15 times,

and 14, they had no merit. looking at it from the police department's perspective. at this point, we would stop responding because we have a limited use of our resources. if it's 15 visits, and 14 times they're in complains, i would be incline -- compliance, i would be inclined to have our investigators stop visiting for a while. i can tell you that some people will just keep blowing up 911, and at some point, the police department determines this is not a good use of our resources. we've responded 15 times. 15 calls, and 14 were no merit. i'm seeing an incredibly strong pattern. i can tell you from the work i

used to do, the one thing that bugged me the most is when people would try to exploit city resources for their own vendettas. i can tell you one from my experience. people like massage parlors, but the minute they get 86'ed from a massage parlor, they start blowing up the phones. was there a person who was satisfied until they could no longer participate and then just started blowing up the phone. i'm just looking at the data, 15 visits and 14 no merit, i'm inclined that our investigators take a reprieve from responding. i don't think it's a good use of our resources. >> well, in the -- back in the day when we were on the street,

the a.b.c. would come so many times. we don't come anything, the number is closed. >> commissioner falzone: yes, but the number is three. we go three times, not 15. >> because there are some people that just -- >> i wanted to get a little feedback because especially in cases where we were receiving multiple complaints, and we go out and we visit, and there's noncompliance, and they don't progressively get better, that's when i say, can we bring this business in? can we bring the neighbors in? i just wanted to bring it to you. >> if they're not complying, but you've gone there three times, four times, they're in complains. you just close the -- compliance. you just close the file.

>> commissioner falzone: we can literally use that phrase that we close out the case. because if we can't substantiate it. my feeling is if the investigator felt something, they would be saying that. we picked up on the vibe of the place and the complainants and their willingness to participate and what the under lying issues were, but i really feel like we're chasing something that may not exist, unfortunately. >> so i do have a question. outside of these -- outside of this current report, have -- has -- have -- has these callers actually registered complaints in the past? >> in the past? outside of it? >> yes. >> yes. >> and in terms of your dialogue with the neighbors, are they aware that they moved into a district that provides

night life and entertainment? >> yes. he wants to get a better sense of the unit there might be and what kind of sound he was picking up from the venue walls when they were operating. >> in terms of the times that they complain and call, it ranges from saturday to sunday anywhere from 6:00 p.m. to 12? and that they're very different he from from a lot of the calls that come in generally, which is -- i'll be generous, 11:00 until 3:00 a.m., so i'm just concerned that the time frames where somebody would decide to register a complaint. and the fact that the sound is traced to two, potentially

three different venues, and one be being a permitted venue, but a garage, that there's band practice happening, happen. i -- i actually am very aligned with my fellow commissioners and the majority of their comments. >> okay. thanks. >> president bleiman: all right. no further thoughts on that. i don't have anymore thoughts on the -- on the report unless anybody wants to bring up any other -- wanted to bring up any other similar things. i'm so glad that we have salt and straw. >> we've determined there's no live entertainment at salt and straw. >> president bleiman: all right. is there any public comment on the deputy director's report? seeing none -- oh, there is.

it is open. step to the microphone. please state your name, and you have two minutes, please. >> hello. my name is umbra, and this report -- it was caused in muscle stress -- it was only, what you call it, recycle, reduce, and it had went to a -- to a different area. and the area that it went to, i

had no idea. the counselors and the missionaries seeing over at -- [inaudible] >> -- needed to be more responded to it was in the hallway, and i knew that i needed to explain this to the health department because there is a certain thing that he had to do to stop a lot of these infections that's going in the water, and which it's already been in washington, d.c. i used to call the state up and all these departments to, you

know, put more -- you know, substantials on a lot of these informations to, you know, explain to them a more, you know, brief it and the police and deputies. and this was closed because of one reason, i had the evidence that needed to get -- and all of a sudden, because of the evidence that i had, it was due to what i had said in -- [inaudible] >> -- was that deputies on this -- >> president bleiman: all right. thank you. thank you very much. is there anymore public comment? seeing none, public comment is closed. [gavel]. >> president bleiman: our next agenda item is number 5, which is hearing and possible application regarding

applications -- possible permits regarding applications for the agenda. >> thank you, president bleiman. the first matter is at nightingale, located at 239 fillmore street. one of their businesses is located across the street. the applicants are applying for a p.o.e. permit to host live d.j.s and entertainment in the premises. they reached out to supervisor peskin's out, four community groups, and reaching out from the venue. here to tell you more is brian

sheehy. >> can you, commissioners, and as always, thank you for your guidance, and to the director, thank you for your guidance on this process. we're very fortunate that there are no residential neighbors on this side of the street. we are a six-day-a-week business, closed on sundays. we just opened in december in this location which, for the previous two years, was a bar, and for eight years prior to that, it was a restaurant called gaetan. since we opened in december, business has been pretty good. we're a happy hour bar, but by 9:00 at night, people are pretty much moving on their way home. that is basically the reason for our application for a permit. we'd like to offer different types of jazz on weekdays and late night. we do a lot of corporate business in this location, as well, and a lot of our venue

events need to have the opportunity for live entertainment. officer matthias came to visit and tour the space two days ago, and he was happy with what he saw at the location. be happy to answer any questions you have about the location. we also have our general manager, daniel shield. if you have any questions for him, and my business partner, doug dalton. . >> the location is kind of across the street from your other location. >> yes. this is the end of it. >> we've got little storefronts a little further up. perfect for you. >> i don't have any further questions. i've already seen it. >> hello. thanks for coming in.

i have a question about your neighborhood outreach? i think you commented that there was no neighborhood in the facility, but you had a neighborhood outreach. how did that go? >> we had to incentivize people to come out. we had 12 of our guests at the neighborhood home that had been neighbors at our wreckhouse bar, so 12 of them joined us for beverages at our bar. that was the attendance. >> and would you let us know your process, if there are complaints from any people in the neighborhood, how would you address those complaints? >> sure. so we have our good neighbor policy listed at our business. our general manager and owner telephone numbers are listed along with the good neighbor

policy. my cell phone number as well as doug's is available to the commission 24 hours, as well as officer matthias. first, they would call the bar, and the bar manager would take care of it. and the bar manager would offer minor doug's number if they are not happy with the response, and we would work with them to resolve it. >> thank you very much. >> yeah. >> how many businesses do you have? >> i can tell you how many locations we have. >> yes. we have seven. >> how many l.l.p.s? >> we have seven. >> okay. thank you. is there any public comment on this agenda item?

two minutes per item here. >> so my name is umbra, and on the kearney street, that i -- last night, the application, i don't know if this is going on tonight or not. we're needing, you know, some kind of reasons on the list, you know, to, you know, make a better company in our rediscovery and, you know, try to improve our state, you know, in this difference. and i would appreciate for any comments on that. thank you. >> president bleiman: thank you very much. seeing no more public comment, public comment is closed.

we can deliberate. >> i would like to make a motion to approve this permit with our good neighbor policy. >> i'll second it. [roll call] >> president bleiman: congratulations. you've been approved. please follow up with our deputy director at your earliest convenience. all right. your turn. >> thank you. okay. the next permit on the regular agenda is for a place of entertainment minor amendment to the parkside's existing p.o.e. permit. the parkside has held a p.o.e. since 2010. the original permit is not include the use of their outdoor speakers. they are here tonight to come into compliance and are requesting to use their outdoor

speakers on their patio until 10:00 p.m. as such, senior inspector roberts took a sound measurement and is recommending we set their sound measurement at 75 d.b.a. over 85 d.b.c. southern station recommends adding the three listed conditions below, and additionally, we wanted to cleanup their existing p.o.e. conditions as their current conditions are all covered by the regular conditions and good neighbor policy. to view their existing permit, please turn to the last page of the section. it's on pages 2 and 3? and here to address the commission is owner malia

spanyol. >> hi. how's it going? malia spanyol. i've had the parkside since 2007, and we've always had those outdoor speakers there. they're just for entertainment. we keep it quiet. it's just nice, subtle ambiance. they get turned off at a nice early hour, and the patio dies down just about every day. any questions? >> so the outdoor speakers are just, like, serial muzak? >> yeah. they're about this big. >> you're not piping any d.j.s or bands? >> no. >> just ambient stuff.

>> yes. >> hi. thanks for coming in. on your application, i don't see anything about outreach, but you do have signatures. you're across from a park, right? >> right. >> there are not any residents in that neighborhood. so no other questions, just want to check about the neighbors. thanks for coming in. thank you. >> president bleiman: i don't have any questions, you can have a seat. is there any public comment on this agenda item? seeing none, public comment is closed. and deliberate. >> i just have a question. regarding southern station's condition number one, i don't know how you enforce that? >> i don't, either.

that's their cleaned up section. >> i know malia worked with officer lawrence about this? and so they came to an understanding about that although it wasn't further defined within this condition, but she agreed with it after a conversation. >> no. i totally understand that, but the spirit of a condition is that it's enforceable, and i totally get the well intended efforts, but i'm not sure we're being fair to the department let alone the applicant with a condition like this because it sets a condition to the public that we can do something like this. the word efficient is too ambiguous. i'm just saying i don't know how we would enforce it. >> can you just remind me -- is this redundant? >> we have a standard fire occupancy. >> one per every 100 patrons. >> we may not need this. >> well, deputy director

azevedo, what was the agreement with malia? >> i think malia would best be able to answer this. >> president bleiman: talk into the microphone. >> i can look at the e-mail, but i think i have the same question, what's what? i think we can just common sensing. if we're having an author come in and do a book reading, our standards are going to be a little bit different than if we're having, you know, a busy show. and so it -- >> no, i understand that. >> and it's a matter of -- i guess, i asked to clarify that, and i got sort of a rational answer, and i would hope that, you know, that who was that was working with me, that we would both be, you know, verify understanding about this, and

proactive. >> president bleiman: yeah, no, that's okay. it's already in our code that you need to have certain security based on your size. so i think what commissioner falzon was asking, what would you think, based on your size. >> commissioner falzone: i think it means working collaboratively with the police department when an issue comes up. the only thing i'm thinking is this is unenforceable, so it sets up an expectation that is in the long-term problematic with our commission. >> whatever is agreed, i understand completely. i'm just trying to work with whoever i need to work with. >> commissioner lee: can i ask a question, how are these speakers powered? >> they are powered with one

single amp and a tiny mixer. >> commissioner lee: so the amp has 100 watts? >> if that. >> commissioner lee: so you're not going to be using it with a d.j. >> it would blow the speakers. >> i mean, it's just a patio. to have a security guard when they're turning on the speakers. >> this is because we're also cleaning up all of the conditions that was previously on the place of entertainment permit? because a lot of them were outdated and a lot of them were already unenforceable? >> commissioner lee: why can't we recommend, like, the one security for -- >> commissioner falzone: we already have that. >> commissioner lee: but it's only when she has events -- real events. >> president bleiman: all that's implicit in our code. it's not even implicit, it's

explicit in the code -- >> statute. >> president bleiman: statute. i'm in the same mind of commissioner falzon that this may not be enforcement and a recipe of disaster. >> and they did reach out to southern station with their calendar regarding their events, so that could potentially be the bridge. >> commissioner falzone: right, and i'm not suggesting that be removed. this is no suggestion of the department or the applicant or one individual. but i think it's the commission's role to make sure that our staff is capable of enforcing these, and i did look at these 16 original conditions which are suitable for framing, they're so flawed. so we're certainly heading in a great direction, but i'm prepared to make a motion if people want to entertain it. >> president bleiman: you can have a seat again. you can make the motion. >> commissioner falzone: so i'd like to make the motion that we

approve it with the conditions provided by the staff minus condition one of southern station. i would like to strike southern station's number one, but go with the other two conditions, that the permit holder be responsible for outside promoters, and that southern station's provided a list of events in advance. >> i second. [roll call] >> president bleiman: congratulations. been approved. please follow up with our deputy director at your earliest -- >> great. so the next item on your agenda is amendment for the permit for the midway. this is 900 marin street. this is just something that for

9:00 p.m. they've already gone through all of the approvals, and it's been on their application. it just wasn't actually agendaized, so this is a formality. as you know, they've been hosting outdoor venues prior to now? there was no opposition to the permit, and bayview station approved the permit with no added conditions, so pete and andrea are going to address you. >> hi. >> president bleiman: hi. >> yeah. so we are looking to bring everything up to code and be in compliance with what's going on and extend the after-hours permit to the outdoor patio area. so that would continue till 10:00, and then, anything special one-off events, it would go later, we'd continue to go through that process. any questions? >> commissioner lee: none. thank you --

>> commissioner falzone: oh, actually, i apologize. i do have one quick question. just to clarify, do you have any residents? >> residents in the area? no. >> commissioner falzone: thank you. >> president bleiman: all right. is there any public comment on this agenda item? seeing none, public comment is closed. thoughts? motions? >> i move to approve -- sorry. >> commissioner lee: i second. >> with staff recommendations. >> commissioner lee: i second. [roll call] >> president bleiman: all right. it's been approved. thank you very much for coming in. please follow up with our deputy director at your earliest convenience. >> okay. the final permit on the regular agenda is a place of entertainment minor amendment at 26 mix located at 3424 mission street to revise their existing security plan.

the current owner of 26 mix has held a p.o.e. license since 2011, but they're here to -- okay. you threw me off there -- at the request of director weiland because we've seen an uptick of incidents occurring inside and outside of the address. i've included a list of the occurrences for your review. we also wanted to modernize their existing permit conditions as many are now covered by statute, the good neighbor policy, or the revised security plan. the revised security plan was reviewed by s.e. plan and sfpd mission. please note the applicant is also requesting to extend their hours until 2:00 a.m. daily as

their current permit conditions allow them to end at 1:00 a.m. daily. the easiest amendment is just to strike all the amendments on their permit and adopt the ones listed below. in the back of your packet is their existing p.o.e. permit to take a look at what their current permit conditions read? and here to tell you more is mark bernie. >> mr. president, commissioners, staff, glad to be back. i'm here today with william tony mayorago who's the general manager of the past few years of 26 mix. we don't know how long this bar goes back, but it goes back at least 20 years, and the president owner has had it 11 years. i half kiddingly call it the

last real mission bar in the mission. it's very interesting. it's primarily a latino crowd, and it's really -- it's a fun place. it's fairly large, about 3,000 square feet. it's located on the corner of 26 and mission, and there were some issues. we're trying to clean them up. i think they've done a good job in the last month or so. i have some feelers out for a good security team, and i know one that's interested and is going to come and look at the place. i've reviewed the -- we've reviewed the 14 conditions that were outlined by staff, and we have no problem with any of them. we did -- we did some outreach, even though we've been there forever. i think it's a good idea to, hey, go meet all your neighbors, go meet all the people who own stores in the neighborhood. we did talk to james who owns a

wig store nearby, the stop and store market, dylan, g.m. of the fedex office across the street. knocked on some doors. there were six residents that we talked to. they were very reticent to give out their phone numbers, but we gave them our phone numbers, let them know hey, we want to be a good neighbor. tony is here to answer any questions that you might have. but we went -- the security plan is fairly robust. i got it back from kaitlyn, and it was all marked up. it was about a two-hour fix, but that's all right. i'm glad to see that kaitlyn really does hawkeye these things and doesn't miss a trick. we want to be a good neighbor out there. we want to preserve what's the last bar of its type in the outer mission, and we would

request a grant tonight. [inaudible] >> i didn't? i did, too. [inaudible] >> so the manager has been there ever since for the last ten years? >> that is correct. >> and so you're changing your security plan, which is great. but at the same time, you know, security plans are only good if you follow the security plans, so what i'm wondering is, what's the difference between this new updated security plan to what you were doing when there's almost, like, two or three, even four complaints a month? i mean, what were you doing then or what you were not doing then to where it's happening now or what you think is going to happen and we went get these complaints on you are on records anymore.

>> right. well, our main concern is keep a good relationship with our neighbors. unfortunately, there were some incidents. there was some shortage of personnel management, and we've addressed that. we've hired an extra manager to address any issues in real-time with the neighbors. we have given our phone numbers to our neighbors so they can reach us at any time so we can respond in real-time and address any issues that we have. a lot of the complaints i think have been more of the patrons have been too loud outside rather than the music. i think for the last month or so or more, we have been really working on trying to get everybody out as fast as we can

as soon as possible, even though we have rig, right in f of our door, a bus stop. we usually try to do it by 1:50, i would say -- by 1:50, the street is clear. >> commissioner lee: so this is a security team that used to work for you, or were you instructing your team to get the people out. are you on the premise pretty much every day? >> yes. >> commissioner lee: so who's in charge of enforcing these people, you know, to get them on their way or maybe not even let certain people come in, you know, that don't have an i.d. maybe or something like that? is that you specifically or is that a head of security that you have on staff? >> i'm the person right now that is taking over that. we let the security handle that in the past, but now, i'm doing

it. i direct security to go outside and push people out, tell them, hey, do us a favor and leave. >> commissioner lee: before that, you'd let the security guards handle it. >> that's correct. i figured they'd do a better job than i do. >> commissioner lee: and are they still with you? >> we're in the process of changing them. we gave them a 90-day notice to improve or quit, but in the meantime, i've been working with mark to consult with some new security companies, and if we find someone that can -- we can come to some kind of arrangements, we're -- definitely, we're changing because just we want to start over and be able to run our business in a good neighborhood manner with our neighbors. >> commissioner lee: and what's the capacity of your -- >> it's 198.

we get to about 120 on a busy day or on a weekend. >> commissioner lee: do you impose any dress code? sk >> we don't allow, like, gang type of colors and stuff like that, but otherwise, we're kind of flexible. >> commissioner lee: i see. i guess in this new security plan, i didn't read it, all of it, but there's no dress code. it's just basically, it's up to you guys. >> right. >> commissioner lee: okay. all right. all right. that's all. thank you. >> hello. thanks for coming in. are you familiar with this report that we're looking at, a series of complaints dating back since may 2019, are you familiar with this? >> yes. >> okay. so it's a period of about nine months. so were you personally aware that this was going on in your venue? >> there were some issues, but we really didn't know the amount of it at the time until

we were contacted by the -- by the -- some of the people in the entertainment commission. ev even though we have a good relationship with our neighbors above us, but there was more of a concern with the neighbors across the street. we've been trying to reach out with them, as well to try to get a communication with one of the ladies -- it's a real concern. we give our numbers, and we have talked to her a couple of times that she feels this there's an issue, and like i said, we're not there, take care of it, and she -- and we're right there, take care of, and she seems to be pleased with it lately. >> i'm just concerned because there seems to be a lot of issues, and it doesn't seem like you did a lot of things to rectify the problem. can you tell us what you're going to do -- besides -- the security plan is the plan, but it's not going to be enforced

by you if you're not concerned about these issues coming up. it's kind of an issue, so can you tell us what will be different moving forward, as far as the management? >> we -- like i said, we've been consulting with some people to help us out to control different type of issues and prepare ourselves in the learning process of how -- dealing with things, like, the different persons that have run out of the businesses. we've talked to some other cab owners in the area so they can help us out and how to deal with that issue. i think the concern right now is to try to work in our relation with our neighbors, which i think has been the issue that we haven't had -- that closeness to them, and i think that would be the major

issue. if we can keep -- continue being close to the neighbors, any issue before it blows out of proportion, we'll be able to solve it and -- >> are you yourself tracking it down or writing it down in a notebook when it comes in, a complaint. >> we are starting a log in on a report, which we're going to keep in there for -- whether it be for review or just for personal information, yes. >> okay. thank you. >> thank you. >>. >> commissioner falzone: hi. good evening. how are you? >> good. >> commissioner falzone: good evening, mr. renne. how are you? >> i'm good. >> commissioner falzone: actually, i want to start by paying a compliment to you.

i think you did a great job of taking our original 24 conditions and condensing it down to 14. by reviewing it, i feel there was a lot of effort and logic that was put into it, and i want to applaud that. i'm also appreciative of the owner's willingness to drop the limit down to 80. one sentence reads the ratio of security to patrons shall be one security guard to every 80 patrons, but the next line reads there will be three to four security guards outside at all times. >> on-site at all times. >> commissioner falzone: on-site, thank you. so my only thing i'm wondering from an interpretation point of view, so that means if the place is empty, you're going to have three to four security guards on-site at all times? >> the -- >> commissioner falzone: and we can come up with -- we can fix this. i just want to make sure you understand it. >> yeah, the -- bottom line,

yes. the whole idea is to try to get enough personnel to try to keep our patrons going. the reason we're asking, as well, for the 2:00 a.m. extension is so with that 1:00 to either 2:00 a.m. venue that we're going to be able to make, we'll be able to pay some of the extra costs of security. >> commissioner falzone: sure, no, i'm following you. i'm just going to make a suggestion, although i'm okay with leaving this. it might make more sense, and i'm putting this out to my fellow commissioners, the second condition where it says there will be three to four security outside at all times, it might be helpful if we add when the ratio exceeds one guard per 80, there will be three to four security guards

on-site. that will at least give you a bit of a buffer, so when staffing, when occupancy is lower than that, you won't be committed to the three to four people possibly. sometimes i confuse myself. please jump in. >> my only thought is the main reason why we're here tonight is because of outside patron noise on the outside of the premises. >> commissioner falzone: yeah, i'm aware of the complaint. >> that being said, if there's only one security guard on-site, and they're not outside, the real thing that we're trying to resolve is the outside patron noise, and so -- >> commissioner falzone: well, let me look at this a different way, then, would it be logical that we should consider striking the ratio one per 80 if we're going to keep the condition that says there will always be three or four on-site? >> commissioner lee: i don't think that's viable for a business. >> commissioner falzone: well, i'm agreeing.

that's why i'm bringing it up. >> commissioner lee: yeah, i'm agreeing with you. >> commissioner falzone: i'm just giving you the letter of the law. >> commissioner lee: we just say a minimum of two. if our staff believes we should have one inside and one out, a minimum of three to four outside, does that mean -- >> i think it's a timing concern, too, right? the business opens much earlie

three security guards when there's 50 people, and that's what's going to have to happen until you come back to us and say i can't afford it anymore.

>> yes, and like i said, our main issue right now is to try to do that, to accomplish that. the -- i'm there five days of the week, and then, we hire the extra person, which is going to be two days of the week, so that way, there's always going to be a manager, and we communicate with kaitlyn basically on every time that there has been a complaint. and i think she acan testify t that, that the complaints has gone down quite a bit since we've been talking. so we're enforcing and doing everything within our power to accomplish that. at this time, i don't mind three security guards if that's what we need to keep the noise happy and neighbors happy. maybe, like i said, in a future, we can amend that, but

at the time if that's what you guys consider that's what we need, we're more than willing to agree to that. >> commissioner falzone: so let me try this one more time. let me try this slightly different approach. i think, are we willing to address one security guard per 80? what i'm actually thinking we should -- i would propose to my fellow commissioners, we strike and leave the rest, that the security guards would patrol a 100-foot radius of the property

in an hour. my only problem is we're getting into a dilemma -- >> that's really hard for us to enforce. >> commissioner falzone: well, you sit out there and watch. how are you going to enforce this? >> well, it's counting, right? they do -- >> commissioner falzone: no, no, i'm still trying to overcome this ratio of 1 to 80, and then, there will be these three to four security guards on-site at all times. i guess my intent is we should strike the first condition. if everybody wants the three to four security guard's at all times then we probably don't need the 1 to 80 because based on occupancy, we've met it. >> i would agree with that. you guys can take that condition further and amend it, and say the owner agree there will be agree to four security

guards on-site at all times. >> director hs >> commissioner lee: they're recommending three guards until they mitigate their problems, why don't we scratch the 1 to 80, and we come back in six months and see. he's willing to try it. we need to reduce these calls for service. >> i think we keep the 180, but then, we change the timing, and we don't do three to four because a minimum of three to four doesn't exist. it's three is the minimum. four is not a minimum. if the range is always -- >> the minimum will be two. based on occupancy, the minimum would be two. and again, our main concern is -- >> no, we would say, the minimum would be three, not three to four. >> yeah, good point. >> commissioner lee: but then have that on a time. >> it does not read minimum of

three. >> commissioner lee: there would be three to four security guards on-site at all times. >> commissioner falzone: i think we will say there will e be -- >> may i point your attention to the bullet point that starts on monday through fridays from 4:00 p.m. to close? >> commissioner falzone: let me try this. what if we leave the first condition of 1 to 80, and then, the language we need to work in the next condition is based on the previously stated ratio. then we go into how staffing gets diverted. i'm just trying to go to the president's point, if there's less than 80 patrons. if we're going to say the ratio

is 1 to 80, then the next thing is based on the previous stated ratio, take out three to four. on weekends, two will be on the inside, and then one to two outside, etc., etc., and that doesn't impact your next condition. i'm just trying to say if people are comfortable with the 1 to 80, which i think is a positive, given the past history, i just think the next condition needs to follow that same ratio, and that addresses the occupancy issue. >> with the understanding there will always be one security outside in your recommendation because that's what we'd like to see. >> commissioner falzone: so what you're saying is if no one's shown up yet, you want one security guard out front. that's what staff's recommending? okay. so we can add that, we can include that -- so i think, then, the first condition perhaps should read at all

times, there shall be one guard on-site during all operating hours. and then go, the ratio of security after that one guard shall be one guard per 80. so we've got one guard at all times. after that, it's one per 80. and then, the next one would read, based on the afo aforementioned ratio. >> i just wanted to restate what i previously stated is it's during these pertinent hours of 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. it's not during all business hours. >> commissioner falzone: correct, but that's why i'm addressing this issue because right now the condition's written, they're going to pick up violations because we are telling them to have three to four. >> you want to dictate that to me if we're going to -- >> commissioner falzone: so i think the first condition, the one that talks about the ratio.

>> yes. >> commissioner falzone: reads in spirit, at all times, there shall be one security guard on premise during operating hours. subsequently, there shall be one guard to every 80 patrons. then, the next condition, strike the first sentence, and it would say, based on the aforementioned formula, staffing shall be as follows. and then, on weekends, towo, ad then, so on and forth. >> okay. >> my only concern is we're forcing them -- >> commissioner falzone: no, no, we just struck it. so this is totally occupancy driven. it's protecting them. >> i definitely want them to have adequate security, but

paying for three people or four people at all times -- >> commissioner falzone: so mr. renne, are you following this? >> yes. >> commissioner falzone: wow. i've never seen him so in the affirmative. >> commissioner lee: so are they going to be able to have three or four security guards on a friday? >> if the occupancy requires it? >> president bleiman: i think it's simpler than this. we just say they're going to have a minimum of one security guard for up to 80 people, and after 9:00 p.m. or -- 9:00 p.m., seven days a week, right now, they have a minimum of three and one of them is posted outside at all times. >> can you redictate that. >> president bleiman: yeah. so they always have one security guard for 80 people, and then, seven days a week, after 8:00 p.m. because there have been major issues, this would be my vote. >> commissioner falzone: yeah, i agree.

>> president bleiman: that they have a minimum of three, and at least one is posted outside during that entire time. so this way, you're not having -- because i run businesses, too. paying for three people all day at 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., it's not economically viable. it's not going to help you. >> are you then recommending to scratch the entire condition that reads, there will be three to four security on-site at all times, that whole condition? >> i'm okay keeping it, i just think that first sentence should be changed to -- >> what you just read? >> president bleiman: yeah. obviously, with these conditions, we want to be specific on what we want them to be doing just so they can be compliant with the plan and we

can enforce it and we're not forcing the poor business -- >> commissioner falzone: can i just make one comment. let me just try this. we leave the first condition the way it is, and maybe the all the next condition has to say is regardless of occupancy, at 8:00 p.m., there shall be three guards or more -- but a minimum, actually -- so regardless of occupancy, there shall be a minimum of three guards on-site at 8:00 p.m., and then, the rest continues. >> president bleiman: i think that's enforceable. >> commissioner falzone: i like that. >> i'm with you. so regardless of occupancy, there shall be three. >> commissioner falzone: a minimum. so the 1 to 80 will always be in play, but come 8:00, there

shall be three guards, one posted on the exterior. and i think that's picking up the essence of both what the president is saying and what i'm trying to ferret through. >> commissioner lee: so basically, the inspector shows up at 8:30, and there better be three there. we're still actually reducing your experience. >> just so for my clarification so i can understand -- >> commissioner falzone: mr. renne apparently completely understands. >> so it would be as soon as we open doors, there should be one security guard. >> commissioner falzone: one guard. during all business hours, a minimum of one. >> president bleiman: also, the staff can help you. we're happy to help you. >> okay. >> president bleiman: yeah. okay. anything else? all right. you can have a seat. thank you very much.

is there any public comment on this item? >> good evening, commissioners. [inaudible] >> one thing i might add is it sounds like people converge outside and talk and hangout. maybe just putting up some signage that say no loitering. and then, the security can explain to the guests that you can't hangout outside because we, as part of our condition, we had to put a no loitering sign up like that. that's what it sounds like where it's at. and the other thing is, you know, mark can get a better security team. it's not the number of the urt sko -- security, it's the quality of his team for the patrons, and i think that's going to

work. >> president bleiman: thank you very much. >> hello. my name's rebel. and on this one, the 26 mix, is that part of the mixture for -- or is that just part of the classroom, because, you know, it's a good idea, but he's explained to you that -- about this security. thank you. >> president bleiman: thank you very much. seeing no more public comment, public comment is closed.

i hope you do the motion. >> commissioner falzone: i'm going to give it a shot. >> president bleiman: i want to hear you repeat what you just said. >> commissioner falzone: so based on our previously mentioned amendments -- would you like to take a shot at it first and see if we have concurrence? >> yes. okay. so i'm just speaking about the condition that you proposed to -- >> commissioner falzone: the one that follows the one to 80 ratio. >> regardless of occupancy, beginning at 8:00 p.m. daily, there shall be a minimum of three security on-site, one of which must be outside. on weekdays, and that goes into the remaining of the sentence. >> commissioner falzone: okay. and the other part we want to get in there is during all operating hours, there always shall be at least one guard, and that can possibly go in

front of the ratio one. >> sure. yes. >> commissioner falzone: and that was the point. there was always one guard, regardless of occupancy. >> there will always be one guard on-site during operating hours. >> commissioner falzone: a minimum of one guard. and with that amendment and the remaining 13 conditions, i would recommend approval -- the 13 conditions from staff. >> commissioner lee: i second. [roll call] >> president bleiman: congratulations. been approved. thank you, and you can follow up with our deputy director, and feel free to ask her as many questions as you need to know what's happened here. thank you very much. all right. moving onto the last agenda item, which is commissioner comments and questions, i

believe, the coronavirus issue, i know we're all being cautious and there's major hysteria going on, but all the businesses, please come and patronize. there's no disease or virus going on in chinatown or any neighborhoods, san francisco at this point. and so right now, businesses are really, really hurting, and even the ones that are related to me. we're forced to layoff or have some unfortunate forced vacations until this crisis is over, so in the meantime, it would be great if people would just, you know, relax and look around and notice it's business

as usual and come to chinatown or any of the communities that -- dinner or lunch. jump in. >> i do want to jump in. this issue is a moving target, and so we are involved, so just wanted to give you all a heads up that we should have substantial updates as we go. we've also just been asked to staff the emergency operations center for 10 or 12 hours a week from our staff so we can be helpful and responsive to large scale events in the city. and we'll continue to take the guidance, leadership and messaging that's coming from

the c.d.c., department of public health, and department of emergency management. >> president bleiman: all right. the only thing i was going to add was we all should be washing our hands. just having visited seattle this week for the conference. i think we need to remember how good we have it, the synergy between our community and the night life. we are the gold standard maybe in the entire world, and everybody let us know that every single time we spoke with them. this was not made overnight, but we are the beneficiaries of it here, and the light. great job, anyone. let's keep it going. any public comment on commissioner comments and questions? seeing none, public comment is closed, and we'll adjourn the

meeting at 6:54 p.m. >> chair ronen: the meeting will come to order. welcome to the march 9, 2020 meeting of the rules committee. i am chair hillary ronen. seated to my right