Outer Balboa banquet hall put on hold

by Jonathan Farrell

The anticipation of celebrations with festive tables of Veal Orloff, Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Kiev, caviar and borsch were crushed when Magda Bach and her family had permit approvals placed on hold by the San Francisco Entertainment Commission on Oct. 20.

"We're not recommending denial, but want the owners of Magdalena's Banquet Hall to meet with the community," said Commissioner Jim Meko.

Despite the SF Planning Commission's approval for a "change of use permit" for 3255 Balboa St. on Oct. 1, the panel of five commissioners on the Entertainment Commission all agreed that Bach needed to provide more details about the plan.

Meko noted that various aspects in the application on how permit requirements will be met were "very thin."

"We would like to see more outreach to the neighborhood on this," he said.

Bach said she would comply. But some neighbors oppose the idea of a banquet hall and have done so since they first got word of it this past July.

Opposing neighbors showed up in solidarity at the hearing voicing concerns that a banquet hall on that block would disrupt the peace of the neighborhood. Many of these long-time residents also appeared at the hearing before the Planning Commission. They fear that even though Bach's intentions are well meaning, there is no guarantee that those who rent out the hall will respect the neighborhood.

"Things can get out of control," said Grace Wong, who has lived on 34th Avenue at Balboa for more than 30 years. "And, if a caterer with a liquor license allows hard liquor that will be too many loose ends."

Opponents also fear that loitering and drunken behavior will spill out into the street and, if smoking is allowed, cigarette smoke will waft into surrounding yards and home windows. Bach, who was raised in the Richmond District, was taken aback by the opposition.

"The neighbors think that we are going to open a night club with a DJ and wild dancing girls," she said.

"This is not true," she said.

"All we want to do is provide a gathering place for the community for weddings, birthdays and graduations," she said. "This will be a family-owned business. I know the needs of the area and it will be just for the community, not an open door for just any group. We will screen all those seeking to use the facility."

Yet, residents on the block, like Barbara Scrafford, Don Gerimonte and others, remained skeptical. They claim a banquet hall "just doesn't fit the neighborhood."

Ironically, the 85-year-old wood-framed building, which sits on a block with two schools, a martial arts center, laundromat and pet hospital, was used for jazz events from the '60s until the '80s, according to The SF Examiner.

More recently, it had been a meeting place for "Science of Mind," a religious organization. "Science of Mind people would rent out the place and noise was a real problem," Scrafford told the commissioners. The modest building, which has a stage and kitchen facility, can accommodate approximately 100 people.

Bach said she would work to ensure the gatherings would not exceed established limits, would not have an open bar with hard liquor or play amplified music, and would close at 11 p.m.

"Perhaps earlier, by 10 p.m., if that is what the neighborhood prefers," she said. Parking was a subject of contention for those opposed to the banquet hall.

"Where will all the guests park? There is hardly enough room for us residents to park," said Wong.

Other testimony noted the "Good Neighbor Policy" part of commission's rules for night-time events.

Bach maintains that she will have professional security and valet parking services. She plans to work with California Parking, which in the past has contracted the use of St. Thomas the Apostle Church's parking lot on Balboa and 40th Avenue. Bach also reassured commissioners that soundproofing work, along with required retrofitting and upgrades, would be completed before Magdalena's Banquet Hall officially opens.

Neighbors insisted that Bach was not cooperative and was terse in her initial contact with residents.

Police officers representing Richmond Station requested a postponement of the application.

Prior to the hearing, SF Supervisor Eric Mar had a community meeting about the project. But Beth Hadaad, who lives directly across the street from the Balboa venue, said that meeting was one-sided and attended by barely a dozen people.

"Information provided was vague, unclear and notification to the neighborhood was minimal, she said." "We are eager to meet with residents, yet it has been impossible to come to agreements because of their opinions," said Bach.

Yet Meko pointed out that while the neighbors' concerns were valid, they did not constitute a flat out denial of Bach's application.

"We do not micromanage the way a business is operated and don't adjust the conditions of permits based upon stuff we, or the applicants, have no power over," he said.

Meko recommended that Entertainment Commission reps attend the next meeting scheduled by Bach and the residents to help move the process along.

The Richmond Station will help facilitate the yet-to-be-scheduled meetings with the community. Bach has already signed the three-year lease with the owner of 3255 Balboa.