APPEAL OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MODIFICATION OF A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR ON-SALE ALCOHOL IN CONJUNCTION WITH A RESTAURANT, AND REVOCATION OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND OUTSIDE DINING FOR CLUB 705, 705 PIER AVENUE, HERMOSA BEACH. Continued from meeting of March 27, 2007. Memorandum from Community Development Director Sol Blumenfeld dated April 3, 2007. Supplemental letters from Eric McCall, J. Roethigin, Julia K. Cibes, Cliff Danziger, and Robert Miller were submitted at the meeting.
Community Director Blumenfeld presented the staff report and responded to Council questions. Police Chief Savelli and City Attorney Jenkins also responded to Council questions.
The public hearing opened at 8:05 p.m. Coming forward to address the Council on this item were:
Teresa Gordon – requested the Planning Commission’s action be reconsidered; said she has been salsa dancing for eight years and activities offered at Club 705 such as salsa dancing provide a positive activity for Hermosa Beach;
Ron Miller – Hermosa Beach, said the club was an event venue, not a restaurant, said the noise, parking, garage, and promoter issues need to be addressed; asked the Council to consider the neighbors;
Robert Miller – Rancho Palos Verdes, said he purchased the business known as Point 705 in November 2004 and renovated it thinking Hermosa Beach was a business friendly environment; learned the former owner filed suit against the Police Department which was settled in February 2006; felt he was the victim of retaliation, discrimination and harassment and was denied civil rights and due process by the Police Department even though there had been very few complaints; said he sought restitution for financial loss and health problems because of stress; urged the Council to restore the CUP to its original conditions;
Jess Merresum – Manhattan Beach, said it appeared this business was being singled out for scrutiny even though the owner was willing to comply with the conditions of the CUP;
Linda Miller – Hermosa Beach, said this business was approved as a restaurant and it had turned into a night club; said there had been complaints and a knifing in the parking lot although maybe not when the current owner was operating the business; said it was easy to declare discrimination when one did not have any explanation for problems;
Richard Premac – Hermosa Beach, said he moved here from Florida six months ago and Club 705’s karaoke had helped him get to know people; said he had not seen any of the problems mentioned and preferred this establishment to ones on Pier Plaza which had the atmosphere of drunken people of just barely legal drinking age; said Club 705 deserved equitable treatment and it seemed other businesses were not scrutinized as carefully;
Ginger Lewis – Hermosa Beach, said she was a country music artist and would be pleased to perform in a beautiful and classy place as Club 705; said she was proud to bring industry people from Los Angeles to this club; said she enjoys Pier Plaza but there is a need in Hermosa Beach for good entertainment offered at Club 705 and they needed to have the later closing time;
Ann Sullivan – Hermosa Beach, said she understood the Planning Commission decision permitted no dancing, live entertainment, DJ’s or promoters and she had read in the Beach Reporter the business was originally approved as a restaurant; said it should close at 10 or 11:00 p.m. as most restaurants do;
Charlotte Hochtschmidt – said she was responsible for one of the special events held at 705, her 30th birthday party which was also a fundraiser for Rover Rescue; said when she first visited 705 she did find it to her liking but things had changed to make it appealing to a more sophisticated crowd; said she preferred it to the “whirlwind” atmosphere on Pier Plaza; urged the Council to allow longer hours for this nice restaurant where someone could listen to jazz or dance;
John Schwartz – South Bay resident, said there should have been a City Attorney present when the Planning Commission made its decision to restrict certain activities for this business because the City could face a potential lawsuit by the owner; said he had worked at many similar establishments for many years and saw no problems at Club 705 and felt there were problems at Sharkeez;
Ron Newman – Sharkeez, said the businesses on Pier Plaza are run as local businesses whereas this establishment was run by outside organizers; said this business should mention its good points instead of criticizing other businesses;
Nadia Wright – said she worked for Starlight Karaoke and set up this activity at many establishments, where Karaoke was most popular after midnight; said complaints of squealing tires in the parking structure did not necessarily come from patrons of Club 705 because many others used that structure; said she had not seen any problems at the club; asked the Council to please grant their requests;
Turig Shalong – Hermosa Beach, said at the request of the owner he had collected 1200 signatures of support with an additional 400 signatures collected by a young woman whose parents had become engaged at Club 705; said people of all ages loved the club;
Ron Tansky – said he had been one of the jazz piano players at Club 705 as well as a music teacher at American Martyrs School; said this is an upscale club with sophisticated music which allows patrons to hold conversations;
Eric Warner – said he had known Robert Miller for over 25 years and could vouch for his character; said he had been to the club many times and had never seen a disturbance;
Tony D’Fazio – owner of Starlight Karaoke, said he had been associated with the club for almost two years; said it was a nice establishment offering a variety of entertainment and said the owners take their responsibility seriously, had stepped up security and were escorting customers to the parking lot; said they would comply with City requirements;
Dan Elf – Hermosa Beach, said he had been to 705 a couple of times would like to see it stay open but it should be looked at as a bar instead of a restaurant;
John Bowler – Hermosa Beach, said the group of new owners had taken a troubled institution and worked diligently to address the problems; said the one call this past New Year’s Eve was a fight at the skate rink and one of the 705 managers called the Police to report it; said they are addressing security in the garage and walking customers out so they do not disturb the residential neighbors; said he enjoys the piano bar in the nice restaurant where you could enjoy conversation;
Jennifer Gossman – Hermosa Beach, said she lived nearby in Marineland Mobile Home Park and had no complaints about noise, loved 705 as a great place for the over 25 crowd to dance;
Ann Acondo – Hermosa Beach, said she was a Marineland resident also and had no noise complaints; thought the club was beautiful; was concerned if the club was forced to close at midnight, the Police Department would no longer patrol that area after midnight;
Patty Egerer – Hermosa Beach, said this club has had a flagrant disregard for the terms of the CUP and it had been turned into a bar; said the City Council needed to safeguard the interests of the residents; said the noise could be heard in the 800 block of 15th Place; said this was becoming a favorite party zone organized by promoters; said she had hoped the Council was going to establish an entertainment permit but discussions had ended eight months ago;
Xavier Flamenco – Club 705, apologized to Mr. Newman and said they did not intend to compare themselves to any other establishment; read a letter of support from Shane McColgan which stated it was very expensive to operate a sophisticated entertainment venue where people could enjoy upscale entertainment and dining and a business could survive at that location if it was limited to dining only; said the business was located away from Pier Plaza and needed the entertainment and later hours to attract customers; said as the City was contemplating a plan for Upper Pier Avenue, it would not be good to have a vacancy in this location;
Dan Miller – said he was general manager of 705 and he had been pleased to hear stories of how the club had been a part of so many patrons’ lives; said 705 was operating responsibly;
Eric Samore – said he was one of the Club 705 partners and serious changes had been made to create an environment for people 25 to 55 to dine, have a glass of wine, and enjoy classic entertainment; said an acoustical study had been performed as the City requested and any issue raised by the City or the Police Department was addressed; said they deserved a chance to prove they were responsible business owners in the community; and,
Joseph Hoffman – attorney for the business owner, said the 1600 signatures indicating support would be submitted to the City; said the business owners had spent much time and money to transform a troubled business into an elegant establishment; said many people who criticized the establishment had never actually been there; said there had been no noise complaints and the one Police call in January involved an incident at the skate park and the manager of the club was being a good Samaritan to call the Police; said the owners deserve a chance to continue their responsible operation.
The public hearing closed at 9:05 p.m.
Proposed Action:To sustain the action by the Planning Commission.
Motion Tucker. The motion died for lack of a second.
Proposed Action:To sustain the Planning Commission decision, with a midnight closing, but to allow dance music and live entertainment, with a six-month review. The motion was then amended to have an 11:30 p.m. closing Sunday through Thursday and a 12:30 a.m. closing Friday and Saturday.
Motion Keegan, second Mayor Edgerton.
Substitute Motion/Proposed Action: To allow Club 705 to continue operating under the old conditional use permit (which identifies the primary use of the business as a restaurant, with ancillary dancing and live entertainment), with a City Council review in six months (at the October 23 meeting), or sooner (with a 10-day hearing notice) if any major infraction occurs anytime during the six-month period.
Motion Reviczky, second Bobko.
Substitute Motion/Proposed Action: To continue the item for two weeks to allow staff’s (1) review of an acoustical study expected to be completed before the next meeting, and (2) modification of the conditions to include: a midnight closing of the restaurant Sunday through Thursday, usage of the patio until 11:00 p.m. every night, a grounds maintenance program, locking the gates each night after closing, and to address the parking and promoter issue, with the understanding the business will operate in the interim under the current conditional use permit as it has for the past two weeks.
Motion Bobko, second Reviczky. The motion carried, noting the dissenting votes of Keegan and Tucker.
City Attorney Jenkins noted the public hearing was closed but the item was being continued to the next Council meeting on April 24, 2007
The meeting recessed at 10:08 p.m.
The meeting reconvened at 10:22 p.m.
