More trouble for late nighters coming... San Francisco's late-night club scene is out of control on two levels. First, residents can't believe the level of noise, violence and damage to property. They say there is gunfire, tire-smoking "sideshow" car-skidding, and broken windows every weekend. C.W. Nevius S.F.'s new top cop runs up against politics But the bigger outrage is that these are known problems that no one disputes - yet nothing has been done. There are really only two explanations. The city's Entertainment Commission, which is supposed to regulate the clubs, is either utterly ineffective, or it is so stacked with biased members of the entertainment industry that it chooses not to act. Either way, it is an embarrassment to the city. "The situation is broken right now," said David Chiu, president of the Board of Supervisors and a North Beach resident who says he has gotten an earful from angry constituents. "They feel nothing has been done to address public safety." If the streets around a club repeatedly erupt in gunfire, the police have to go to the Entertainment Commission and request that it consider shutting the club until it can get its security in order. "Property owners in the city have a vested right to feel safe in their neighborhoods," said Capt. Steve Tacchini, who heads the Mission Station. "When you have people breaking into cars, drunk, loud and noisy, they expect us to take control of the situation." The current system is stuck in molasses. Created in 2003 by the Board of Supervisors to make the permit process more transparent, the seven-member board lacked the tools to take prompt action against a problem club. Even commissioners admit that. Jim Meko says that right now he is the only member of the commission who doesn't have a connection with the entertainment industry (two seats are currently vacant). He recalls attempting to sanction a club that was out of hand. "My God, the hoops we had to jump through," said Meko. "We must have had six board meetings on it." Is that much debate needed about a problem club? "We're in a war zone here," said Bob Taxin, who has lived on Alabama Street for more than 30 years, near two clubs with regular problem customers. "I don't have any faith in the commission at all. The whole concept is a built-in conflict of interest." The commission is supposed to have two members from the entertainment industry, two from neighborhoods, one from law enforcement, one from public health and one from urban planning. Until recently, six of the seven have had clear ties to the industry. Commission President Audrey Joseph said her group is as eager as anyone to improve conditions. She says if the measures proposed by Chiu, which include the power to issue citations and make immediate, emergency shutdowns of problem clubs, pass the board, we will all understand they are doing a great job. "We have done a great deal," Joseph said. "And those people who say we are like a fox in the chicken house are not the majority. They are a very loud minority." All I know is they are getting louder. "We are being destroyed," said John LeFan, who also lives on Alabama. "We want to see a complete sea change." And that's when Joseph trots out the old line about how "if you don't provide people with a vibrant nightlife, you might as well turn into Walnut Creek." "Walnut Creek?" sputters LeFan. "That's where people are coming from to throw bottles at us." Suffice it to say this issue has the full attention of city officials. And Chiu intends to make sure new Police Chief George Gascón joins the discussion. For now, ideas supported by the police, like security cameras and metal detectors at entrances, have been put on hold. But if things don't improve, expect changes. "I am willing to give the Entertainment Commission the chance to change," Chiu said, "but if we continue to see this level of violence, I will be open to a number of other approaches, including a move to strengthen the role of the Police Department." Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/08/13/BAS91977P2.D...