Supes pass mayor's pilot program closing some Tenderloin stores overnight

Some corner stores in and around the Tenderloin will have to close during the middle of the night as part of Mayor London Breed’s two-year pilot program aiming to improve street safety in the neighborhood.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the proposal, which would bar some shops selling prepackaged food, produce and/or tobacco from operating between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. The pilot includes establishments located between O’Farrell and McAllister streets, as well as those between Polk and Jones streets. The ban does not apply to restaurants, bars and other non-retail businesses.

Breed introduced the proposal in April, which she said would address late-night crowding in the Tenderloin and shut down the open-air drug markets that city officials said are proliferating in the area.

The Department of Public Health and the San Francisco Police Department will be tasked with enforcing the ordinance, and businesses found in violation will be fined up to $1,000 for every hour they remain open after midnight.

San Francisco police officers said that the pilot program largely stemmed from addressing two concerns brought up by residents: crowds, which police said sometimes number in the hundreds, and markets and smoke shops that had become meeting hubs.

SFPD commander Derrick Lew said during Monday’s Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting that the ordinance would be “a very important and impactful tool to help the community and The City with the very overwhelming conditions that we see here during the nighttime, in particular in the Tenderloin.”

According to the police department, crowds gathering in the area have prompted safety concerns from neighbors in the Tenderloin. Officers said that they frequently respond to crimes in the area, ranging from robberies to homicides.

The board passed an amended version of Breed’s initial proposal Tuesday following conversations between the mayor’s office and Supervisor Dean Preston , whose office includes the Tenderloin. Corner stores are able to stay open until 2 a.m. — aligning with the last call for alcohol in California — and officials will have to issue a six-month progress report on the program’s effects on the neighborhood and surrounding businesses.

The passed measure also calls upon The City to “ensure that community ambassadors, enhanced regular street and sidewalk cleaning, and trash pickup are prioritized” in the affected area. The Office of Economic and Workforce Development must also solicit feedback from affected businesses.

“It would have, in our view, unfairly punished some long-time small businesses in the community that have really been playing by the rules and in fact often enhance neighborhood safety,” Preston said of the previous version at Monday’s meeting.

Some neighbors said Monday they hoped the legislation would have extended the hours in which particular businesses could not operate. No members of the public testified in support or opposition of the ordinance at Tuesday’s full board meeting.

Kimo Crossman, a Tenderloin resident, said Monday that closing stores at midnight was too late, as most crowds start forming as soon as the sun begins setting.

“If anything, it should be earlier,” Crossman said, suggesting 8 p.m. as an alternative.

Other community members in favor of the ordinance expressed frustration and dissatisfaction over their belief that the Tenderloin is dealing with the consequences of some of The City’s most pressing issues, such as drug addiction and the housing crisis.

“We are often in this unfortunate position to choose between amenities enjoyed in other neighborhoods of San Francisco and public safety,” said Kate Robinson, the executive director of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District , at Monday’s Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting. “We will always choose safety.”

Robinson said that many of her co-workers live in the Tenderloin and that their daily lives are impacted by the street conditions, whether it be staying home to avoid crowds or losing sleep due to fights and noise outside their apartments. She added that it was community members’ hope that the pilot program become another resource in curbing problems like open-air drug dealing or illegal vending.

Breed’s ordinance would become effective 30 days after she signs it into law.