What’s next for the Hayes Street Closure?
permit renewal update
UPDATE : November 20, 2025
We’ve issued a statement summarizing what occurred at the SFMTA Board hearing this week and our takeaways.
—> Read our full statement on the outcome
more updates to come
UPDATE : November 17, 2025
Thank you to everyone who has reached out, shown support, and continued to pay attention during a very intense week for Hayes Valley.
Over the last couple of days a few parallel tracks have unfolded:
- Our Letter to the SFMTA Board Is Live
We’ve published the full letter we sent to the SFMTA Board this morning regarding tomorrow’s permit-renewal hearing.
You can read it -> here
The letter outlines the unresolved issues with the Shared Spaces program, the ongoing harm to small businesses and residents, and the widening gap between official narratives and what people actually experience on the 400 block. - A New “One-Time Outdoor Event” Permit — With Serious Concerns
We also learned just days before the hearing that HVNA filed for a year-long amplified sound permit covering Friday and Saturday programming through November 2026. This filing moved forward with almost no public notice. Neighbors and merchants who have been deeply engaged in the Shared Spaces process report receiving no outreach at all.The scale and timing of this filing, paired with the lack of notice, raises legitimate questions about transparency and whether parallel permit pathways are being used to normalize year-round entertainment activity before core policy decisions have even been made.
You can read our correspondence about this -> here
Why This Matters: A Pattern of Controlling the Narrative
We’ve also seen increasingly sharp efforts to suppress even basic information sharing including our advocacy flyers and petition being removed from public spaces, and online channels controlled by the permit holder being used to distort or gatekeep the conversation. That behavior speaks for itself. When a single organization is allowed to control every lever regarding the closure, the programming, the outreach, the messaging — it becomes very clear why even small attempts to circulate independent information are treated as a threat. But the community deserves more than a single authorized voice. And the ongoing pattern of gatekeeping is exactly why our work exists.
Tomorrow’s Hearings Info
SFMTA Board – Closure Permit
The window for written public comment has now closed, but you can still make a two-minute public comment in person tomorrow. For those wishing to make public comment in person please note: the Hayes Street item will not be heard before 4:00pm.
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
Room 400, City Hall
Entertainment Commission – Sound Permit
5:30 pm
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
Room 416, City Hall
Remote access: Participate or watch live on Microsoft Teams: https://shorturl.at/a5uAK
click here for agenda
For a deeper look at the facts behind this hearing, explore our supporting analyses: the full breakdown of how SFMTA blended sales tax data across three separate blocks, our full SFMTA hearing materials debrief, and our latest survey analysis capturing resident and small business sentiment.
• Sales Tax Analysis
• Hearing Debrief
• Hayes Street Survey Analysis
UPDATE: November 13, 2025
This item will now advance to the SFMTA Board for final vote on Tuesday, November 18.
Click here to send your letter of support to OPEN Hayes Street.
UPDATE: October 24, 2025
We’ve issued a statement summarizing what occurred at the ISCOTT SFMTA hearing and our takeaways.
—> Read our full statement on the ISCOTT outcome
The permit holder was denied a 3rd day and the permit advances to the SFMTA Board hearing – coming up soon.
More updates to come.
UPDATE: October 20, 2025
The permit holder/HVNA has applied for a new permit which entails adding another day of programming (3 days vs. 2). This Thursday this item will be heard at the SFMTA ISCOTT hearing. Read our brief outlining why the permit should end and normal street access restored, and send a letter in support.
UPDATE: August 26, 2025
Weekly monitoring continues to show that the current street-closure permit remains out of compliance — with recurring unpermitted vendors, parked vehicles, and unauthorized event setups along the block. Despite dozens of documented violations, enforcement has been repeatedly deferred by SFMTA. The permit holder has been allowed to operate without accountability, further undermining public trust in this process.
See Closure Permit Violations
UPDATE: March 14, 2025
We received a prompt that the permit holder/HVNA and the HVMC is aiming to establish Hayes Street as an entertainment zone which would allow open container drinks. We were stunned to hear this development and find it to be unsubstantiated as a need for our business corridor. Moreover this brings into further focus and question the overreach of the permit holder to change and alter the business landscape of Hayes Valley.
UPDATE: November 22, 2024
The permit holder/HVNA has applied for another year term of the Hayes Street Closure; this matter was heard and approved by the SFMTA Board at this week’s hearing. Their new approved term includes an extension of Saturday hours thereby expanding the street closure programming.
UPDATE: November 16, 2024
The permit holder/HVNA has applied for a new permit which entails adding another day of programming (3 days vs. 2). This Tuesday this item will be heard at the SFMTA hearing. Please take a few minutes to read our stance and to lend your support in preparation of the hearing.
UPDATE: October 8, 2024
The permit holder/HVNA has applied for a new permit which entails adding another day of programming (3 days vs. 2). This Thursday this item will be heard at the SFMTA ISCOTT hearing. Please take a few minutes to lend your support in preparation of the hearing.
UPDATE: October 1, 2024
The Market & Octavia Community Advisory Committee Resolution (MOCAC) recently passed a “resolution” urging the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to pedestrianize the 400 Block of Hayes Street.
Our takeaways from the MOCAC June meeting
Our communications to SFTMA and SFPlanning
UPDATE: May 8, 2024
We received the following update from SFMTA:
“We recently made the decision to delay the MTA Board 6 month report back regarding pedestrianizing the block of Hayes, which was supposed to be now/this Spring, until Fall.”
Turns out the HVNA (permit holder) has requested a 6 month delay due to fact that they are working on activation/programming for the block. We continue to monitor the closure while petitioning citywide for support to restrict this closure to the weekend verses 24/7. More updates to follow.
UPDATE November 19th, 2023
Last week this resolution was passed and adopted by the SFMTA board; because concerns and questions have emerged from this we will be continuing to monitor this initiative and provide updates accordingly. At this time we encourage you to sign and share our citywide petition to stave off a permanent street closure on Hayes St.
JOIN the CITYWIDE PETITION
We urge every San Franciscan who believes in a fair and equitable process for SFMTA initiatives/policies that impact Neighborhood Small Business and Residents to show support.