CITY OF VANCOUVER
SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING
A Special Meeting of the Council of the City of Vancouver was held
on Tuesday, January 23, 1996, in the Council Chamber, commencing at
approximately 10:30 a.m., for the purpose of hearing a review of the
issuance of the 1996 Business License to Big Star Investments doing
business as Club NRG at 99 Powell Street.
PRESENT: Mayor Owen
Councillors Bellamy, Clarke, Ip, Kennedy,
Kwan, Price and Sullivan
ABSENT: Councillor Chiavario (Leave of Absence)
Councillor Hemer (Leave of Absence)
Councillor Puil (Leave of Absence)
CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE: Judy Rogers
CLERK TO THE COUNCIL: Jean Sharpe
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Cllr. Clarke,
SECONDED by Cllr. Bellamy,
THAT this Council resolve itself into Committee of the Whole, Mayor
Owen in the Chair.
- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
1. Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street
Mr. Terry Bland, Corporation Counsel, advised that Council was
convened today to review the issuance of the 1996 Business License to
Big Star Investments doing business as Club NRG. He recalled that the
Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission, at its meeting on November 9,
1995, recommended to Council that a Show Cause hearing be held regarding
the business license to operate a Cabaret at 99 Powell Street. Mr.
Bland introduced Mr. John Dobbin, counsel, representing Big Star
Investments Inc., together with Mr. Rahim Jinah, owner, and Mr. Brad
Pilling, Operations Manager.
The following documentation was pre-circulated to Council:
- Letter dated January 10, 1996 from Terrance Bland, Corporation
Counsel, to Big Star Investments Inc. advising of hearing.
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
- 1995 Business License - Big Star Investment Inc.
- Report dated December 12, 1995 from A/Inspector Wilton to
Inspector Greer advising of December 3rd shooting incident at
Club NRG.
- Letter dated November 24, 1995 from the Liquor Control &
Licensing Branch to Big Star Investments Inc., re "C" Cabaret
Liquor License #43788.
- Excerpt from minutes of the Vancouver Liquor Licensing
Commission meeting of November 9, 1995, and Administrative
Report dated November 3, 1995.
- Fire Prevention Inspection Report dated November 6, 1995.
- Letter dated November 6, 1995 from Liquor Licensing & Control
Branch to Big Star Investments Inc., advising of a number of
infractions under the Liquor Control & Licensing Act.
- Letter dated November 8, 1995 from Lore Krill, President of
Four Sister Housing Co-operative, urging Council to revoke
Club NRG's business license.
- Letter dated November 9, 1995 from Margaret Prevost, asking
Council to revoke Club NRG's application for renewal of its
license.
- Letters of complaint dated September 5, 1995 from Sue Atherton
and Lisa Sinclair to Councillor Kennedy.
- Minutes of March 28/April 4, 1995 Special Meetings to address
community concerns with Senorita Frogs.
- Letter dated December 6, 1994 from Jag Jhajj, Senorita Frogs,
to Jack Perri, Director of Permits & Licenses, confirming
agreement to operating guidelines of the Club.
- Letter of complaint dated November 24, 1994 from residents of
Captain French, 41 Alexander Street.
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
- Vancouver Police Department log of complaints regarding
Senorita Frogs.
Mr. Bland briefly related some historical background of the
problems with the club operating as Senorita Frogs since its purchase by
the current owners in mid-1994. As a result of a number of complaints
from residents, staff from Permits & Licenses and the Police Department
met with the owners on December 6, 1994. The owners, at that time,
agreed to a set of operating guidelines to improve compatibility with
the neighbourhood. In March and April, complaints had again increased
as a result of noise from patrons waiting to be admitted and with the
sound system creating problems to the upstairs residents. At the
request of the Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission, meetings were held
by the Assistant City Manager with staff, residents and owners at which
the owners agreed to certain actions and conditions. As the problems
continued, Council, at the request of the Vancouver Liquor Licensing
Commission, resolved to hold a hearing to review the issuance of the
1996 business license.
The following witnesses were called by Mr. Bland to give evidence:
Mr. Michael McCoy, resident of Gastown for 3 years, described the
impact on the neighbourhood. He recounted his observations with
drinking and drugging outside the premises and the lack of safety and
respect for the neighbourhood. Mr. McCoy advised he attended several
meetings arranged by the Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission and City
Manager's office, but bus pub crawls still continued after verbal
agreements were reached with the owners. He concluded, there was no
improvement at all since the agreements were reached in December 1994.
Ms. Lisa Sinclair, residential manager of apartments above the
Club, advised of problems inside and outside the Club since the owners
took possession in August 1994. Actions discussed at the meetings with
staff to mitigate problems were never taken by the owners. No meetings
were held with community residents until a couple of weeks ago, almost a
year later from when the owners agreed to meet. She reported some of
the solutions were workable if the Club could control the patrons. Ms.
Sinclair referred to
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
her earlier letters and petitions that documented her concerns. At this
point, Mr. McCoy advised that no individual notices had been handed out
by the owners regarding the recent neighbourhood meeting, notification
was via a notice posted on the door of the Club.
Mr. Paul Teichroeb, Deputy License Inspector, advised the operation
of the Club was first brought to his attention in October 1994 when
complaints were received from area residents. At that time, the owners
were made aware of the complaints and the matter was discussed at the
Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission. The owners indicated that some
of the problems were due to inexperience on their part. The Chief
License Inspector met with the owners in December 1994 and agreement on
operating guidelines was reached. Mr. Teichroeb advised the Club owner
met with the Commission, and also with the City Manager's office and
community representatives, in early 1995, but the agreed upon meetings
in the community never came to fruition. He felt that if the Club had
put the guidelines into operation and had liaised with the community,
the impacts may have lessened.
A member of Council noted that during the March 28, 1995 meeting,
the owner had proposed changing the license to a neighbourhood pub, with
a 65-seat capacity. Mr. Teichroeb responded that such an application
was never received by the City.
Constable Russ Foster, Gastown Patrol, reported he had met with the
manager at that time (Rodney Turner) in July 1995, when made aware of
the potential for a pub crawl through Gastown, and explained the
negative impacts of such activity on the neighbourhood. When
questioned, the owners were not aware of how many tickets had been sold
for this event. Subsequently, a meeting was held on September 14, 1995,
at the Gastown office with staff, management of the Club and Lisa
Sinclair, to highlight and resolve the various issues, i.e., noise level
of the Club inside and outside, overcrowding, serving of liquor after
hours. At that time, operators agreed to work with the Health
Department to monitor the sound levels, and turn the sound volume down,
but noise complaints continued to be received as there were no changes
made by the Club management. In response to Mr. Bland, Constable Foster
reported that from the September 1995 meeting to January 12, 1996,
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
the Police have responded to 67 calls to the Club. Since September
1994, the Police have attended approximately 214 incidents at the Club.
This calculates to a total of 131 hours of police services. Constable
Foster advised that compared to other clubs in Gastown, the Lamplighter
is the closest with approximately 70 calls. From February 1995 to
January 12, 1996, the Police have attended to calls at Club NRG
approximately 137 times. Mr. Bland pointed out that this information
was documented and provided in the material for the meeting.
The following were questioned by Mr. Dobbin:
Constable Foster advised that of the 137 calls listed, 36% were
noise related and the percentage of calls to other establishments is
much lower. Mr. Dobbin noted that the club owners have recently
introduced the following mitigation measures: employed a security
service that patrols the neighhourhood; the DJ makes a closing
announcement to patrons to respect the neighbourhood - a notice to the
effect is also posted on the Club's door; committed to meet with the
neighbourhood every two weeks; installed an answering machine in the
Club. He also pointed out that 35-40 people attended the first meeting
with the owners and two people attended the second meeting. Constable
Foster reported he was not aware of some of the mitigation measures
taken by the Club owners.
Lisa Sinclair responded that:
- she was aware of the consultant's proposal for sound proofing
of the premises at a quote of $18,000 and that the owners had
agreed to use a sound limiter compressor;
- understood Star Security had been hired since January 1, 1996,
but due to her illness had not noticed an improvement;
- was not aware the neon signage had been removed in keeping
with the heritage structure of the building, as there have
been many different signs installed;
- noises on the street are still evident, i.e., boom cars,
people yelling;
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
- to her knowledge the last time valet parking was in operation
was early summer;
- thelast
timeshewitnesseda
line-upoutsidethe
ClubwasOctober/November;
- she attended the first meeting with the Club management on
January 7, 1996, but due to illness was unable to attend the
second meeting;
- at the meeting Mr. Pilling advised that nothing would be done
with the sound system until after the hearings, but his
suggestions were acceptable;
- last Monday, the recently installed answering machine had no
message and there was no answer.
Mr. Michael McCoy responded to Mr. Dobbin, as follows:
- to his knowledge the graffiti was not removed except he
believed Lisa Sinclair removed it from her building;
- was aware the valet parking was discontinued;
- the signage which was incompatible with the heritage building
was definitely not removed. As a member of the Heritage
Committee for the area, Mr. McCoy was aware of several
requests to the owner to remove it;
- was given contact telephone numbers, but answers range from
"hello" and a hang-up to no answer at all;
- November was the last time there was a pub crawl with six
buses.
Mr. Dobbin called the following witnesses:
Mr. Brad Pilling, currently Operations Manager, Club NRG, stated he
commenced work at the Club in August 1995, as the bartender, with seven
year's experience in the business, and three years as a manager at the
North Burnaby Inn. Mr. Pilling responded to questions, as follows:
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
- the tenants were advised at the neighbourhood meeting that plans
for the sound system, estimated at $18,000, were with the landlord.
The landlord has requested $20,000 to cover the cost of
soundproofing the upstairs floor as well;
- reviewed sound tests with the City and propose to use a compressor
limiter on the CD sound system;
- hired Star Security as of December 26, 1995. Responsibilities
include security inside and out, checking I.D., controlling line-
ups, patrolling and providing a neighbourhood watch on Friday and
Saturday nights. Security have a cellular phone to permit contact
with the Club and Police, if necessary;
- signs posted on the inside and outside of the doors asking patrons
to be quiet when leaving in consideration of the neighbours;
- door onto Alexander Street not opened at any time - duty of
security firm to keep it closed;
- DJ instructed to advise patrons several times at closing time to
leave quietly and security to disperse them from the area;
- notification of previous neighbourhood meetings was via posted
notices on the Club doors, entrance to Powell Street residents'
door and at two convenience stores. Further meetings will be
arranged in consultation with Lisa Sinclair;
- last time there was a line-up at the Club was mid-November;
- there have been no pub crawls since late October; the management
team who organized them are no longer working at the Club;
- with the aid of a compressor limiter, he is prepared to reduce the
sound level to 85 dba at the mezzanine level to produce 52 dba on
the upper level pending completion of the sound proofing; he is
prepared to measure the sound upstairs with a sound meter to
achieve this;
- installed an answering machine and provided business cards so as to
be more accessible.
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
Mr. Rahim Jinah, one of the owners, responding to questions from
Council, advised he was at the meetings with staff and the Vancouver
Liquor Licensing Commission and was aware of the commitments made to
improve the situation. The parties that had attended previous meetings
with him and Mr. Jhajj were looking at possible partnership/ownership of
the Club. He clarified he was still in partnership with Mr. Jag Jhajj,
and was of the opinion
that Mr. Jhajj he was looking after and responsible for the commitments
made at these meetings. Mr. Jhajj no longer works at the club and Mr.
Pilling has taken his place. Mr. Jinah explained promoters are hired
who specialize in theme nights, a practice that is followed by other
Clubs such as Madison's. When he assumed ownership of the Club he was
not aware of the close proximity of residences. Mr. Jinah advised he
now has a good crew working with him and is willing to put any kind of
guarantee in writing.
In closing, Mr. Dobbin noted a number of steps have already been
taken to rectify the situation. A lot of the problems are generated by
the location and proximity of the residential area to the Club and
pointed out that Mr. Jinah has made the following commitments:
- to carry through with sound mitigation measures to the order of
$20,000 and is prepared to have the noise level at 85 dba at the
mezzanine level until completion of the sound proofing;
- security inside and out is in place;
- no pre-sold tickets to alleviate long line-ups.
Mr. Dobbin felt the owners were young and the learning curve was a
little slow, but were changing to a pro-active style of management
instead of the reactive/ignore management style in place previously. He
recognized Council had to also consider the rights of the residents, but
recommended to Council on behalf of his client that the business license
be issued subject to review.
Mr. Bland advised he has discussed the aforementioned concerns with
the Chief License Inspector and it is recommended that the 1996 Business
License be issued subject to the following conditions:
- that all staff, including security staff have identification tags;
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
- that any persons waiting to be admitted who are engaged in
drinking, fighting or intoxicated, not be permitted to enter the
premises;
- no pre-selling of pub crawl tickets;
- doors and windows to remain closed other than as necessary for
access and egress;
- that the licensee strictly comply with the LCLB Act and
Regulations;
- no over-crowding;
- that the music inside the Club not exceed 85 dbas at the mezzanine
level, and 50 dbas on the upper levels, until such time as adequate
soundproofing measures have been taken to reduce the levels;
- music to cease at midnight on Sunday and 1:45 a.m. on other days;
- that the licensee retain an outside security service satisfactory
to the Chief License Inspector, to carry out the following
functions when the Club is open:
(i) to monitor and control the crowd waiting to enter and to
advise them when the Club's capacity is met and also to advise
the crowd honestly as to when and how many persons will be
admitted in the next hour;
(ii) to deny access to persons who are intoxicated, have been
drinking on the street, or who otherwise indicate they will
cause trouble or drink to the extent they will become a
problem in the neighbourhood when they leave.
Council supported the conditions as presented and expressed concern
with the intolerable amount of staff time incurred as a result of
improper management practices.
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
MOVED by Cllr. Kennedy,
A. THAT the 1996 business license to Big Star Investments Inc. be
issued subject to the licensee agreeing in writing within
fourteen days to the following set of operating conditions:
- that all staff, including security staff have
identification tags;
- that any persons waiting to be admitted who are engaged
in drinking, fighting or intoxicated not be permitted to
enter the premises;
- no pre-selling of pub crawl tickets;
- doors and windows to remain closed other than as
necessary for access and egress;
- that the licensee strictly comply with the LCLB Act and
regulations;
- no over-crowding;
- that the music inside the Club not exceed 85 dbas at the
mezzanine level and 50 dbas on the upper levels, until
such time as adequate soundproofing measures have been
taken to reduce the levels;
- music to cease at midnight on Sunday and 1:45 a.m. on
other days;
- that the licensee retain an outside security service
satisfactory to the Chief License Inspector, to carry out
the following functions when the Club is open:
(i) to monitor and control the crowd waiting to enter
and to advise them when the Club's capacity is met
and also to advise the crowd honestly as to when and
how many persons will be admitted in the next hour;
(ii) to deny access to persons who are intoxicated, have
been drinking on the street, or who otherwise
indicate they will cause trouble or drink to the
extent they will become a problem in the
neighbourhood when they leave.
B. THAT the Chief License Inspector report back to Council in
three months on the licensees compliance with the operating
conditions.
cont'd....
Hearing to Review Issuance of Business License
for 1996 to Big Star Investments Inc. (Club NRG
pka Senorita Frog's) 99 Powell Street (cont'd)
C. THAT the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch be advised of the
operating conditions and the agreement of the licensee to
comply with them.
- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
RISE FROM THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
THAT the Committee of the Whole rise and report.
- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
ADOPT REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
MOVED by Cllr. Bellamy,
SECONDED by Cllr. Clarke,
THAT the report of the Committee of the Whole be adopted.
- CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY
* * *
The Special Council adjourned at 3:30 p.m.