Committee Advances Expanded Late-Night Retail Curfew to Combat Drug Markets

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors' Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to expand and extend a controversial but data-backed pilot program restricting late-night retail hours in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods—a move that drew passionate support from residents, businesses, and institutions who described conditions on the ground as dire but improving.

• Late-night retail curfew pilot extended 18 months and expanded to larger Tenderloin/SOMA footprint

• SFPD reports 14% reduction in violent crime and narcotics incidents during pilot's curfew hours

• Unanimous 3-0 committee vote sends ordinance to full Board with positive recommendation

• More than a dozen public commenters—residents, CBDs, small business owners—spoke in favor; none opposed

• Liquor license transfer for beloved Haight Street market approved without opposition

The committee's main event was an ordinance authored by Chair Matt Dorsey that would expand the boundaries of a pilot program restricting food and tobacco retailers from operating between midnight and 5 a.m.—or 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. for establishments regulated by the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control—and reset the pilot clock to run 18 months from enactment.