GRAND JURY GETS CLUBS OFF HOOK

Says SoMa venues not to blame for local disturbances

SoMa nightclub owners, who long held that they are persecuted by police, say
they feel vindicated by a civil grand jury report that says the cops blamed
the clubs for problems outside their control.

The report released Wednesday urges The City to take the entertainment
permit job out of police hands.

The jury concluded that police attempts to suspend or revoke dance club
permits were based on drug use, brawls and medical emergencies at the clubs
in the South of Market area.

"Even incidents which take place outside a club's premises and over which
club management has little or no control, such as car break-ins in alleys on
nearby streets . . . are cited in the police complaints and permit
hearings," the jurors wrote.

The jury also pointed out that police have a personal interest in closing
late-night clubs because they must deal with incidents and inconveniences
resulting from the crowds that descend on SoMa every weekend. The Police
Department estimates that as many as 10,000 people visit the area on a
typical weekend night.

The nightclub scene is not new to SoMa. But as the warehouse-strewn area has
increasingly turned residential, the new neighbors, police and club owners
have clashed over noise, trash, drugs and crime.

Police crackdowns resulted in the demise of several venues over the past
couple of years, including DV8, the Trocadero Transfer and V/sf, leaving
about five after-hours clubs in SoMa.

The grand jury is urging The City to form an independent entertainment
commission that would handle club permits, leaving the police to simply
police the clubs.

Unrelated to the jury's findings, Supervisor Mark Leno has been drafting
legislation to create such a commission.

Neither Leno nor the jury will hear any objections from Police Chief Fred
Lau, who is happy to give up the permit job "to take away any perception of
conflict of interest," Lau said.

"It's a victory for common sense," echoed attorney Ken Wine, who represents
Maritime Hall in its fight to stay open. Reports of loitering

Earlier this year, Maritime Hall faced a 180-day permit suspension based on
22 incidents that police said occurred during the last five years, including
reports of persons loitering outside and a police officer smelling marijuana
in the club.

"All of the complaints were relatively minor," Wine said. "I think it was
overreaction by the police, who feel pressure from developers and people who
are living in those areas now."

Wine said Maritime Hall tries to limit problems and kicks out anyone caught
using drugs. Many clubs regularly search patrons, usually patting them down
for weapons, before allowing them to enter. But some things get by, said
Wine.

"To find an ecstasy tablet on somebody, you'd have to do a strip search,"
Wine said.

Ten 15 Folsom, San Francisco's biggest after-hours club, recently won its
fight to stay open but has to meet several new conditions, including an
unusual search requirement. Bouncers not only search patrons, but they must
detain them and call the police when they find any drugs or suspicious
substances.

The grand jury found that police have been demanding that club owners take
many new precautions in order to keep their permits. When DNA Lounge changed
owners, for example, the permit office added 18 new conditions that
effectively revoked the club's ability to stay open after 2 a.m.

In fact, the jury concluded that police had a de facto ban on permits to
after-hours clubs.

Promoter Stephanie Tucker, who books special events at San Francisco
nightclubs, was interviewed by the jurors and said she was thrilled with
their final report. "Not just a culture'

"It's not just a culture," she said about the late-night music and dance
scene. "It's a viable industry that creates lots of money."

Tucker, along with the police chief, the SoMa residents association and club
owners, has helped launch a new era of communication that includes community
meetings and welcome parties for new neighborhood police captains.

Lau said his department's new philosophy includes regular meetings with the
club owners. His next step, he said, is to offer a training session for
owners and their employees to help them identify the new strains of designer
drugs.

"The difference is, we are trying to get a large group of the club owners to
sit down with us," he said.