ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: September 17, 1998
Author/Local: Guy Gusdal/6461
RTS No. 00078
CC File No. 2614-11

TO:	Vancouver Liquor Licensing Commission
FROM:	Chief License Inspector
SUBJECT:	810 Granville Street - Cabaret (Non-Alcohol Dance Hall) John Margetis

RECOMMENDATION

THAT Council endorse the request by John Margetis for a 160-seat cabaret without alcohol at 810 Granville Street, having considered the support of residents and business operators of the community as determined by neighbourhood notification and subject to the following conditions:

i) a time-limited Development Permit with a condition that the sale of alcohol will not be permitted;

ii) the LCLB be informed that the City does not support a liquor license at this location;

iii) a Good Neighbour Agreement signed prior to the issuance of a Business License;

iv) exotic dancing not be permitted.

GENERAL MANAGER’S COMMENTS

The General Manager of Community Services RECOMMENDS approval of the foregoing.

COUNCIL POLICY

There is no Council policy or guidelines regarding non-alcohol dance halls.

PURPOSE

John Margetis is requesting a Council resolution endorsing his application for a non-alcohol cabaret to be operated as an after-hours dance hall at 810 Granville Street.

BACKGROUND

Until recently, John Margetis operated an after-hours dance hall at 1369 Richards Street called “The World”. The building has been demolished and he wishes to open a new dance hall in the basement of 810 Granville Street.

The Zoning & Development By-law defines a Cabaret as the use of premises for dancing by customers and where entertainment may be provided. There is no separate definition for a “dance hall” under the Zoning & Development By-law.

The License By-law regulations permit dance halls to be open Monday to Thursday, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. and on weekends the dance hall can be open 24 hours a day, from 7:00 a.m. Friday morning to 2:00 a.m. Monday morning.

Mr. Margetis is willing to commit to a “good-neighbour” agreement and intends to ensure that line-ups will be contained within the building, the music will be kept at a volume that will not be audible on the street, there will be a slow dispersal of patrons from the premises to lower the impact on the neighbourhood, and no advertising will appear at street level. The purpose of this dance hall is to provide a safe, quiet facility for regular patrons from the entertainment industry and general community to dance and relax after-hours.

The subject premise is located in the Theatre Row Entertainment District and the surrounding area is a mix of retail, office, restaurant, cabaret, billiard hall, hotel, neighbourhood pub and residential uses. See Appendix A.

There are three Class ‘A’ Lounges (699 seats), seven Class ‘A’ Pubs (647 seats), nine Class ‘C’ Cabarets (471 seats) and approximately 27 licensed restaurants in the survey area. The above figures do not include the recently approved Theatre Row liquor license establishments or the Commodore Ballroom none of which are operating at the present time. The closest Provincial Government liquor store is located at 1120 Alberni Street.

DISCUSSION

There are presently no policies for Dance Hall applications within the city and there has not been an application for many years. There are currently no approved after-hour clubs although there are various illegal clubs that operate for short periods of time in various locations.

There are some staff concerns that once the location is approved as a “Cabaret”, the business owner might then apply in the future to LCLB for a liquor license having already received their municipal approval for the use. A temporary Development Permit with a condition of no alcohol sales permitted along with a Good Neighbourhood Agreement should address this issue.

This particular application appears to be well suited to this location and should not negatively impact the surrounding neighbourhood. The small size (160 seats) and basement location will help to mitigate any possible noise issues and the Development Permit process will include a noise assessment. The Good Neighbourhood Agreement will address the other issues of not allowing patrons to exit into the lane and the door control. The applicant is aware that he must fully comply with all the City’s permitting process before the business can operate and that the Presite Clearance endorsement is just the first step in this process.

The Theatre Row Liquor Licensing Policy Report to Council addressed the number of establishments and liquor licensed seats for the 700, 800 and 900 blocks of Granville Street. It was envisioned that other types of entertainment would develop to complement the licensed establishments. This application would provide an alternative type of entertainment which operates without liquor and at different hours from the hotels and cabarets.

The results of the neighbourhood notification process will be provided to the Commission at the meeting.

COMMENTS

The Police Department is not opposed to the application provided the rear lane access to the basement is not used as an entrance because this would cause safety concerns as people would be coming and going in the lane without the benefit of a sidewalk and therefore the chances of someone standing in line getting hit by a passing vehicle is increased. The front entrance is presently inaccessible and will need to be re-opened. As the majority of the clients will likely be under the influence of alcohol as they will be arriving from other cabarets and hotels at closing time, the club should employ people for door control. The Police Department recommends the license to be reviewed every six months.

The Planning Department reviewed the application and records indicated that the site is currently approved for retail. The subject site is located within the Downtown (DD) Zoning District where a Cabaret is listed as a “conditional” approval use in the DD Official Development Plan (DDODP). Any proposal to change the use of the basement area to a Cabaret (no alcohol) would require a development permit. As part of the review process, staff would include an assessment of the anticipated impacts on nearby sites. In addition, Council adopted guidelines regarding cabaret uses would also be applicable to an application for this change of use.

The Director of Central Area Planning indicates that there are a significant number of individuals who want to continue dancing after the 2:00 a.m. closing of cabarets. This is resulting in a number of illegal dance halls appearing, sometimes adjacent to residential high rise buildings in Downtown South. The closing of a dance hall “The World” last year meant there are very limited City-approved opportunities for dancing after 2:00 a.m. City staff have met with the owner of “The World” who wants to open another after-hours establishment and have suggested he locate it in the Entertainment District where impacts on housing will be minimized. The Granville Street (Downtown South) Guidelines require commercial entries to be on Granville Street to animate the street.

The Environmental Health Division of the Vancouver/Richmond Health Board has no comments.

The Social Planning Department has no comments.

The Housing Centre has no comments.

CONCLUSION

Staff acknowledge that there is a need for this type of establishment in the City and that the location within the Entertainment District is suitable. Therefore, in absence of guidelines pertaining to Dance Hall/After Hours Clubs staff recommend endorsing the application with the conditions stated in the recommendation.

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(c) 1998 City of Vancouver