Downtown Long Beach. Photo by Brian Addison.
The moratorium preventing nightclubs without kitchens from opening in the Downtown Dining and Entertainment District (DDED) that was enacted in August of last year has been extended for six more months to allow Downtown stakeholders to better evaluate how to move forward.
The move came at last night’s City Council meeting, where the vote to extend the moratorium was upheld 8-0 (with 4th District Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell absent).
Last year, Vice Mayor Suja Lownethal had proposed a one-year moratorium on all entertainment permits within the DDED, much to the chagrin of business owners and residents alike, including Downtown newbies David Cohn of Bo-beau and Morgan Margolis of Federal Bar. Lowenthal, hearing the complaints about the moratorium loud and clear, altered the proposal and instead opted to block the issuance of AB48 licenses, or licenses for nightclubs and bars that operate without a kitchen.
What prompted Lownethal’s alteration was the fact that two of Downtown’s most infamous examples of non food-serving nightclubs, Cohiba and Lush, were largely the main targets of residential complaints years ago. Both are now closed.
Following the moratorium against AB48s last year, a task force was formed consisting of Downtown residents and business owners. They were asked to evaluate the current policies in regard to entertainment licenses and recommend changes over the course of their six meetings throughout the moratorium.
That task force included Downtown Residential Council President and Downtown resident Eric Carr, who spoke alongside DLBA President and CEO Kraig Kojian in favor of the extension.
“Since our first meeting, we have made progress in taking on this initiative that will benefit both the business and residential communities of Long Beach,” Carr said. “At this point, we feel we need more time to take the due diligence required to gather public feedback from both the resident and business communities before moving forward.”
Kojian went onto echo Carr in the fact that, rather than compulsively take action now, extending the moratorium and creating a public meeting where all stakeholders can express their opinion on the matter would be best. He also emphasized that he hopes to resolve the issue short of the extended moratorium.
“Based on the approaching deadline, which is today, the DLBA supports the recommended action put forth this evening,” Kojian said. “I am hoping we can get this matter done within 90 days, or 120 days, rather than the six months.”
The public meeting regarding the DDED’s approach to entertainment licenses will be held on Thursday, August 21, 6:30PM to 8PM at the Small Business Development Center, located at 309 Pine Avenue.
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