“This ordinance is about completing the work we began in 2020 to overcome the lingering stigma of a painful chapter in the history of San Francisco’s queer community by once again welcoming these safe, LGBTQ-affirming spaces in our city, and paving the way for queer entrepreneurs to open them up and contribute to our post-pandemic economic recovery,” he said. “During the 1970s and early 80s bathhouses were a focal point of gay social life in San Francisco and were important community meeting places where friends would gather to share stories, or watch a live show,” Mandelman said in a statement.
Mandelman’s latest ordinance would establish a completely new adult sex venues zoning category, paving the way for bathhouses and similar establishments to be permitted in specific neighborhoods.
At the time, the city sued operators of gay bathhouses and other consensual adult venues, citing them as a public nuisance and prompting most to close.Īlthough the 2020 update took into account the advancements in sexual health awareness and preventative measures and was approved unanimously by the Board of Supervisors, the city’s Planning Department determined that bathhouses didn’t fall under the city’s adult business planning code. The proposed legislation builds off legislation drafted by Mandelman in 2020 that updated stringent city health and safety standards governing commercial adult sex venues that were first imposed in 1984 - the height of the AIDS epidemic. Under Mandelman’s proposed legislation, a new zoning category for adult sex venues would be created, making way for such businesses to be permitted in historically LGBTQ-affiliated neighborhoods like the Tenderloin, South of Market, Upper Market, and Castro.