I'm not buying it. The civic center is a public building, and there is no way the SF Planning Department is being kept in the dark about who is using it and how it will be used. In fact, I would think the proposed use of a public building would need to be part of the public record.In an interview with SFGate, the project director for the Civic Center said he had no knowledge of what the building was being used for, while a spokeswoman for the Planning Department said the "trade show" information was all department was told.
Bill Graham was(?) a big time music promoter
Yes, "was" is correct. Sadly, Mr. Graham died in a helicopter accident about 25 years ago.