Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee Meeting - December 12, 2024
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Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee Meeting - December 12, 2024
The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors met on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at approximately 10:00 AM (the agenda lists 18:15 UTC, but the transcript begins with "Good morning"). The meeting was chaired by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, with Vice Chair Joel Engardio. The clerk was Monique Creighton. The committee heard three items: a liquor license application, a hearing on traffic enforcement and street safety, and a hearing on law enforcement data dashboards.
Liquor License Issuance - 969 Market Street - Vita Brevis Club
- The committee considered a Type 48 on-sale general public premises liquor license for VBC SF LLC (doing business as Vita Brevis Club) at 969 Market Street, located in District 6. The applicant plans a cocktail lounge with an art gallery and live performances.
- Officer Freunds from the SFPD Alcohol Beverage Control Liaison Unit reported zero letters of protest or support. The area is in a high-crime census tract. Tenderloin station had no opposition. The Alcohol Liaison Unit recommended approval with three conditions: active monitoring of loitering, no audible noise beyond the premises, and two licensed uniformed security guards during live entertainment.
- Chair Dorsey expressed enthusiastic support, noting the business’s role in the mid-market comeback and positive feedback from constituents.
- The applicant’s counsel, Nick Cola, stated acceptance of all proposed conditions.
- No public comment was received.
- Motion: To prepare a resolution finding the license serves public convenience and necessity, and forward it to the full board with a positive recommendation as a committee report. Passed unanimously (2 ayes).
Public Comments & Testimony
- On the traffic enforcement item, two members of the public spoke:
- Jody Madeiris, Executive Director of Walk San Francisco, expressed support for the committee’s oversight and Commander Jones’ efforts, but noted citation numbers are still insufficient. She called for traffic enforcement to be a departmental priority and for better data transparency.
- A resident near Market and Octavia supported increased enforcement, specifically at the Octavia Boulevard and Gough Street corridors, and urged collaboration with SFMTA for physical street improvements.
- On the data dashboards item, one member of the public recounted a wrongful arrest due to a name mix-up, criticizing the accuracy of criminal justice data.
Discussion Items
1. Hearing on Traffic Enforcement and Street Safety (Item 2)
- Supervisor Rafael Mandelman called the hearing to review SFPD’s traffic enforcement progress and the 2025 plan. He noted that despite improvements, enforcement levels remain far below pre-2020 levels and that departmental prioritization is needed.
- Commander Jones presented the 2025 Traffic Enforcement Plan. Key data:
- 12,467 citations issued through October 2024 (preliminary November totals near 13,000), up from about 5,000 in all of 2023—the highest in four years.
- 42 traffic fatalities through December 12, 2024, potentially the deadliest year in a decade. 25 of 42 involved pedestrians.
- SFPD staffing: 29 motorcycle officers assigned to traffic company, but three retiring and two on long-term disability, leaving 18 riders in January. Department-wide deficit of over 500 officers below the authorized 2,074.
- Strategies include directed enforcement, enforcement waves (50 wave operations since May 2024), integrated enforcement, and education. New focus on speed and pedestrian safety, with 11 priority crash locations and a list of pedestrian crash locations.
- Technology: drones for sideshow enforcement, radar/LIDAR equipment needed for motorcycles (estimated $1,200 per bike, 30 sets needed), and automated speed enforcement cameras from SFMTA.
- Goals for 2025: obtain radar/LIDAR equipment, expand publicity, partner with DPH to measure enforcement outcomes, deploy message boards, and improve court data feed.
- Supervisor Engardio asked about the feasibility of stationing an officer at a single intersection; Commander Jones explained the wave concept covers more locations.
- Supervisor Mandelman stressed the need for departmental-wide prioritization, measurable targets (while avoiding illegal quotas), and a future discussion with the Chief of Police. He moved to continue the hearing to the call of the chair.
- Motion: To continue the hearing to the call of the chair. Passed unanimously (2 ayes).
2. Hearing on Law Enforcement Data Dashboards (Item 3)
- Vice Chair Engardio called the hearing to explore how the Superior Court and Sheriff’s Office provide public access to criminal justice data.
- Superior Court: Brandon Riley (Court Executive Officer) and Michael Corrier (Chief Data Officer) presented:
- A criminal case information portal launched in April 2024, providing online access to calendars, registers of action, and case indexes for criminal cases—previously not available online.
- A criminal case data dashboard (first in California) launched in November 2024, updated daily, showing aggregate data on filings, clearances, pending cases, dispositions, trials, and outcomes by felony/misdemeanor. Legal constraints under Penal Code 13300 prohibit sharing summary criminal offender record information, limiting publicly accessible details.
- Future plans: online criminal records requests and a kiosk at 850 Bryant Street, targeted for spring 2025. Technical challenges include sealing records and consistent user experience.
- Sheriff’s Office: Tara Moriarty (Director of Communications) and Lucas Jennings (Senior Administrative Analyst) presented:
- Currently available data: jail population stats, historical trends, inmate locator (requires partial name), and reports on sfsheriff.com. Data is de-identified to protect privacy. Partnerships with DataSF, BSCC, and other agencies enable additional public dashboards.
- Challenges: outdated software, staffing constraints, manual record keeping. A new jail management system under development will improve data tracking. A $5M MacArthur Foundation grant supports jail population analysis; the Sheriff’s Office took over data oversight from the DA in November 2024.
- Future steps: expand booking data with charge-level detail on DataSF, but must avoid re-identification of individuals.
- Supervisor Engardio emphasized transparency for public trust and journalists. He noted the importance of reducing barriers to data access.
- Motion: To file the hearing. Passed unanimously (2 ayes).
Key Outcomes
- Liquor License (Item 1): Approved and forwarded to full board with positive recommendation (2-0).
- Traffic Enforcement (Item 2): Hearing continued to the call of the chair; committee will reconvene after Q1 2025 for updated data and discussion with departmental leadership (2-0).
- Law Enforcement Data Dashboards (Item 3): Hearing filed; committee pledged continued collaboration with the Superior Court and Sheriff’s Office to improve data transparency (2-0).
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned after completing the agenda.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. This meeting will come to order and welcome to the December 14th, 2024 regular meeting of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I'm Supervisor Matt Dorsey, Chair of this committee, and I'm joined today by Vice Chair Joel Ingardio. Our very capable clerk today is Ms. Monique Creighton. Um, and together we would like to express our gratitude to Mr. James Kawana and the entire team at SFGov TV who are facilitating and broadcasting today's meeting. Madam Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes, um, please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic devices documents to be included as part of the file should be submitted to the clerk. Public comment will be taken on each item on this agenda. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, please line up to speak on your right. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. First, you may email them to myself, the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee Clerk at M O N I Q E dot C R A Y T O N at SfGov.org, or you may send your written comments via U.S. Postal Service to our office in City Hall number one, Dr. Carlton B. Goodlit Place, room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. If you submit public comment in writing, it will be forwarded to the supervisors and also and also included as part of the official file on which you are commenting. Finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors agenda of January 14th, 2025, unless otherwise stated. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Uh, we please call the first item. Yes, the first item is a hearing to consider that the issuance of a type 48 on sale general public premises liquor license to VBC SFLLC doing business as Vita Brevis Club, located at 969 Market Street District 6, will serve the public convenience or necessity of the city and county of San Francisco. This item will be presented as a committee report at the December 17th Board of Supervisors meeting. Thank you, Madam Clerk, and I want to welcome up uh Officer Freunds from the SFPD. Good morning, thank you. ABC Lee is on unit. Floor is yours. Good morning. Um you have before you a PCN report for V VBC SF LLC as Vita Brevis Club. They have applied for a type 48 license, and if approved, this would allow them to operate in on sale general for public premises at 969 Market Street. There are zero zero letters of protest, zero letters of support. They are located in Plot 210A, which is considered a high crime area. They're in Census Tract 167 176.02, which is considered a high concentration area. Tenderline station has no opposition. The Alcohol Liaison unit recommends approval with the following conditions. Petitioners shall actively monitor the area under their control in an effort to prevent the loitering of persons on any property adjacent to the licensed premises as depicted on ABC 253. Number two, except as provided in condition two below, no noise shall be audible beyond the area under the control of the licensee. Lastly, number three, at any time the premise is providing live entertainment, the petitioners shall have two uniformed security guards on the premises and shall maintain order therein to prevent the any activity which would interfere with the quiet enjoyment or the near for the nearby residents or the surrounding community. Uniform security guards must be licensed by the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs. That's it. Thank you. Thank you, Officer. Um this business will be located not just in my district, but in a mid-market um block that is very much my stomping ground as a neighborhood resident. I want to express my appreciation to the business for being part of a mid market comeback that I think is getting underway. Um from my own enthusiasm as a neighborhood resident, I have heard only positive things from constituents and neighboring businesses. So assuming the license wins approval from my uh colleagues, I am excited to welcome this establishment to District 6. Um are there any applic representatives from the applicant present? Great. Thank you, Mr. Collard. The floor is yours.
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