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Home My WebLink AboutPlanning Report CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS PLANNING REPORT CASE NUMBER: 2007-0903 DATE: August 21, 2007 TO: Columbia Heights Planning Commission APPLICANT: City of Columbia Heights REQUEST: Zoning Amendment to the Zoning Code as it relates to Nightclub Uses PREPARED BY: Jeff Sargent, City Planner BACKGROUND Staff recommends amending the Zoning Code to better regulate nightclubs uses throughout the city. On October 9, 2006, the City Council adopted an Emergency Moratorium for the future issuances of Class “A” liquor licenses, for a one-year period. A Class “A” liquor license allows an establishment to serve hard alcohol with no requirement to serve food and non-alcoholic beverages. The question is whether the City should continue to offer the Class “A” liquor license as a means to sell intoxicating alcohol. Upon further study of the issue, it was determined that the Class “A” liquor licenses did not cause the problems that the City had been experiencing, rather it was the combination of the nightclub-type of use with the Class “A” license. The Star Bar is the only establishment in the City of Columbia Heights that has a Class “A” liquor license and is a non-restaurant use. Police Chief Johnson stated the Police Department had been called for service to The Star Bar on a very frequent basis. He stated that it is a great strain on the City’s limited resources for police protection at the time of night when the calls were placed. Since the introduction of the Class “A” liquor license, the number of calls for police service to The Star Bar is as follows: Year Number of Calls 2003 28 2004 52 2005 72 2006 86 These calls related to a number of issues, but most dealt with disturbing the peace, noise complaints, robbery, and medical and detoxification emergencies. The trend City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission August 21, 2007 Text Amendment, Nightclub Uses Case # 2007-0903 appears that each year yields more calls to The Star Bar for police services. Police Chief Johnson stated that he feels this is directly related to The Star Bar’s issuance of a Class “A” liquor license. The issuances of Class “A” liquor licenses to nightclub uses create opportunities for these problems to persist. Not only is there an increased demand on the police service, there are also neighboring properties that are affected. In the case of The Star Bar, the City has received numerous complaints from the Park View Villa housing development to the east. The noise generated from live bands performing at The Star Bar disrupted Park View Villas residents on many occasions. The City also received complaints from the property management group responsible for the well being of the municipal parking ramp across the street from The Star Bar. The complaints ranged from people loitering on the property after the bar closes to property damage and graffiti. Since then, The Star Bar discontinued the live performances and reduced the overall bar space by half. Although The Star Bar still obtains a Class “A” liquor license, it no longer provides live entertainment, and the calls for police service in that area have decreased significantly as a result. ANALYSIS The current zoning code allows for a full service restaurant or nightclub in the GB, General Business and the CBD, Central Business Districts. Prior to the moratorium, these establishments had the opportunity to obtain the Class “A” license, which would enable a nightclub to not serve food. The problem is that these types of establishments generate a high number of police calls, creating a strain on the City’s enforcement services. The problems are a direct result of an establishment selling only alcohol, while providing live entertainment in a nightclub environment. Without regulating nightclub uses, there would be no other course of action that could be taken to insure that this problem would go away. The combination of the nightclub use and the Class “A” liquor license generates an opportunity for its patrons to cause the problems that the City’s police department has to respond to. The City conducted a study relating the number of police calls generated by Buffalo Wild Wings and The Star Bar. Both of these establishments have a Class “A” liquor license, however Buffalo Wild Wings is considered a restaurant, while The Star Bar is not. The following indicate the number of police calls to each of these establishments in 2006: Establishment Number of Police Calls Buffalo Wild Wings 33 The Star Bar 86 Page 2 City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission August 21, 2007 Text Amendment, Nightclub Uses Case # 2007-0903 The Star Bar had over 2-½ times more police calls generated than Buffalo Wild Wings, which is evidence that the combination of a non-restaurant use with the Class “A” liquor license produces a high number of police calls and puts a strain on the police department’s resources. This is why staff proposes an amendment that defines a “Nightclub” use and prohibits these types of uses from obtaining a Class “A” liquor license. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN Discussion of regulations begins with identifying the community’s goals for economic and commercial vitality found in the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan identifies the goals; the purpose of the zoning ordinance is to guide private activity toward the achievement of those goals. The City’s Comprehensive Plan indicates several goals for the economic and commercial vitality of the city. Some of these goals include: 1. Establishing and maintaining a strong sense of community. 2. Strengthening the image of the community as a desirable place to live and work. 3. Encouraging the continuation and enhancement of existing businesses within the community. 4. Improving the image of commercial areas as friendly and safe environments for residents and visitors. Establishing a set of regulations for nightclub uses will enable the city to maintain a strong sense of community, as well as improve the image of these commercial areas. The goal of the proposed amendment is to make nightclubs a more community-friendly environment by reducing the number of police calls generated by such businesses. FINDINGS OF FACT The City Council shall make the following four findings before granting approval of a request to amend the City Code. These findings are as follows: a) The amendment is consistent with the comprehensive plan. The goals of the Comprehensive Plan are to maintain a strong sense of community and improve the image of commercial areas. Regulating nightclubs uses will result in a more community-friendly environment and will clean up the image of Columbia Heights. b) The amendment is in the public interest and is not solely for the benefit of a single property owner. Page 3 City of Columbia Heights Planning Commission August 21, 2007 Text Amendment, Nightclub Uses Case # 2007-0903 The public interest is solely represented by the proposed zoning amendment. Regulating nightclubs uses will reduce the amount of police calls generated to existing and future establishments, benefiting the entire city. c) Where the amendment is to change the zoning classification of a particular property, the existing use of the property and the zoning classification of property within the general area of the property in question are compatible with the proposed zoning classification. The proposed amendment does not change the zoning classification of a particular property. d) Where the amendment is to change the zoning classification of a particular property, there has been a change in the character or trend of development in the general area of the property in question, which has taken place since such property was placed in its current zoning classification. The proposed amendment does not change the zoning classification of a particular property. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommend approval of the proposed zoning amendment as outlined in the attached draft ordinance. This ordinance amendment will define a “Nightclub” use and would not permit these types of uses from obtaining a Class “A” liquor license. Motion: The Planning Commission recommends that the City Council approve the text amendments as outlined in the attached draft ordinance. Attachments Draft Ordinance  Page 4