New Balboa banquet hall approved

At the conclusion of a two hour hearing on Thursday, the Planning Commission voted 4 to 1 in favor of allowing the new Magdalena Banquet Hall to begin operations at 3255 Balboa Street.

Over twenty residents showed up at the hearing to voice their opposition to the proposed banquet hall, which has been trying to open as an event rental facility. The single-story building, at the corner of 34th Avenue, has sat empty for more than a year.

The neighbors’ concerns stemmed primarily from the students at nearby schools and neighbors that might be affected by the banquet hall. Opponents felt that the business would not fit in with the quiet Balboa Street community.

Mr. Jin Lee, who filed the original request for a discretionary review of the project told the Commission that his neighborhood “welcomes all kinds of businesses except the nightclub business”.

Lee, along with many other residents, worry about the spillover from late night events where alcohol would be served, as well as noise violations from loud music and guests who might step out to loiter and smoke on the sidewalk.

A few Balboa Street business owners were also on hand to register their opposition. “We want responsible development in our area. This business is not an investment in our community,” one merchant said.

The biggest issue was around parking for the banquet hall. Like most San Francisco neighborhoods, parking in the outer Richmond can be tough, especially if residents have to compete with a surplus of cars coming in for events.

The business owners included valet parking in their original proposal, however where the valets would actually put the cars was called into question. One proposed parking lot at 36th and Balboa has been vacant and fenced for thirty years, according to one resident. And parking at the nearby St. Thomas School backlot would not be possible during school hours.

PAR President Raymond Holland also spoke in opposition to the project. His concerns were that the food and liquor licenses would be held by the catering companies hired for events, rather than by the facility itself. “Where would the community complain to if there’s a violation?” he pointed out.

Holland also recounted that during a recent community meeting at the hall, the room quickly heated up with just twenty people in attendance, forcing them to open windows. “The facility is not air conditioned. Doors and windows will be forced open so any soundproofing will be useless,” Holland warned.

In the second half of the hearing, project sponsor for the Magdalena Banquet Hall, Ms. Bach, led a series of people who spoke in favor of the new business. She explained that the intent of the banquet hall is to offer low-cost event space for local residents, non-profits and other businesses.

She assured the Commission that contrary to residents’ claims, the hours of the hall would be reasonable, 11am to 8pm on most days, and efforts were being made to curb noise issues, including prohibiting live music Monday through Thursday. She also pointed out that 3255 Balboa housed a jazz club from 1960 until 1989.

However, Bach’s assurances about adequate parking and noise prevention were vague. She refered to discussions with California Parking and St. Thomas School, but no concrete evidence was shown for where the visiting cars would be parked.

To address noise concerns, the original project proposal included a copy of a Wikipedia article on soundproofing, perhaps to demonstrate their knowledge or attention to the issue. Whatever the intent, Planning Commission President Ron Miguel was not amused and urged other applicants to not try that again.

Other Richmond residents that spoke in favor of the new banquet hall included local Rabbi Shimon Margolin, who said his congregation and non-profit groups would benefit greatly from low-cost rental space for their services, events and parties. Another 32 year Balboa resident echoed this sentiment, and said he would be one of the first customers to book the space for an upcoming family anniversary party.

David Heller, President of the Geary Merchants Association, also spoke in support of the banquet hall. He provided one of the more humorous moments of the hearing when he projected a picture of the adjacent San Francisco Institute of English adult school with nearly a dozen students loitering outside and smoking. The very behavior that neighbors fear from the banquet hall was clearly already happening just across the street.

Initially, President Ron Miguel put forth a motion to deny the banquet hall’s application, citing concerns about parking and the hall’s suitability for the neighborhood. “I’m very uneasy with the project,” Miguel said.

While the Commission did approve the project, the nod came with conditions. The first was that the hall hire a professional sound engineer to assess and report on the building’s acoustic conditions, and that they implement recommendations from the report.

In addition, the Commission told the hall to cut their Sunday hours from 12noon to 8pm, rather than a 10am start as originally proposed. The business is also up for evaluation in six months and if there are any outstanding issues, they will return to the Planning Commission for review.

And finally, the hall was asked to continue their discussions with local residents. President Miguel urged both sides to “keep talking to each other”.

Sarah B.