Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the hearing and grant an Entertainment Permit with conditions on the application of Rice & Bean, Inc., dba 4th Street Vine, 2142 East 4th Street, for Entertainment Without Dancing by Patrons.  (District 2)
Item one. Item one requires a note that it does report from financial management recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record. Conclude the hearing and grant an entertainment permit with conditions on the application of rice and beans located at 2142 East Fourth Street for entertainment without them seen by patrons to stick. Thank you to all those who intend to give testimony in the matter of hearing item number one. Please stand and have the clerk administer the oath. Please raise your right hand. You and each of you do solemnly state that the testimony you may give in the cause now and pending before this body shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God. I think I heard around the yeses. Yes. All right. You're going to win one. Miss Frick? Yes, ma'am. Members of the council, Jason McDonald will provide the staff report on this item. Mr. Dome. Good evening, Mayor. Council members Jason McDonald for the Business Services Bureau. Tonight you have in front of you the application for entertainment without dancing for rice and bean diva for street vine at 2142 East Fourth Street in District two, all the necessary departments have reviewed the application. The application and proposed conditions are contained in the packet provided and we are prepared to address any questions or concerns along with the police department regarding the application or those conditions. Thank you. Okay. Is there any public comment on this? Anyone wish to give public comment on this? Hearing an application. Please come forward. Identify yourself. Please make sure you identify yourself. And when you see the yellow light, you'll have 30 seconds left in your testimony. Thank you. I'm Michael McTigue. I'm a resident of that area. I moved in there about 14 years ago, bought. A small apartment building. And I want to show my strong support for the entertainment license application. And the impact this business has had on the neighborhood is measurable in many ways. Prior to their opening the Wilson Little Node on Fourth Street, the area was perceived as stodgy and was over lackluster. Since then, Fourth Street has grown into one of long beaches, most vibrant areas, and the owners of the fourth Street buying played no small part in this renaissance. The Street bustles with boutiques, restaurants, galleries has received national exposure in print and of course, the renovated art theater. This is a true synergy that is homegrown and not dependent on grants or handouts. Throughout the course of opening and operating a business, the owners have worked doggedly to support musicians and artists and have developed a unique atmosphere conducive to conversation and a place where you can meet your neighbors. There are no television sets here. It was interesting. Art shows events to cater to. The diverse nature of that has. Grown up around retro rock. Throughout this time, we have never seen a disturbance, rowdy drunks, squealing tires, vandalism that of late seems to define second and third street areas. In part, this has to do with the hours of operation, but mainly the high standards and hands on management over managers. This type of dedication, hard work, risk taking and forward thinking should be encouraged and celebrated. I do hope you can see that this application, if approved, will not only strengthen the neighborhood and this terrible loss of more jobs, more renovation, greater property and sales tax revenue, and personally allows me to attract good tenants to my property, which a few years ago these people would be hesitant to cross for a street. And Redondo. Thank you. You appreciate that. Next, please again, please state your name. Yellow light means you have 30 seconds left. My name is Porter Gilbert. I'm the executive director of the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach, Mayor and members of City Council. Thank you for the opportunity. To speak this evening. And I'm here because the LGBTQ center of Long Beach strongly supports the application for an entertainment permit, as we believe this will lead to increased public safety along the fourth Street corridor, fourth Street. Bane's presence. On Fourth Street, particularly in the evening. Hours when retail stores are closed. Is integral to the increasing sense of safety our staff. Volunteers and clients report. When entering and leaving our organization, which is just down the street. The center deeply respects and maintains. A strong professional relationship with the owners, management and staff of Fourth Street Vine. And we have never. Experienced any nuisance. From the customers entering or leaving their. Business. On the contrary, the increased foot traffic resulting from customers patronizing for street buying creates a safer fourth street for residents. Customers. And business owners. The customers Patronizing Fourth Street Vine represent the right kind of people. We want that fourth street people who support local business and our local economy conduct themselves with respect and create additional foot traffic in the evening hours. The customers of Fourth Street Vine. In addition. In addition to increased foot traffic. In the evening hours, act as a deterrent to those. Along Fourth Street. Who. Are visiting us with the intent to engage in criminal activity. As businesses keep later hours along Fourth Street, we've. Felt safer entering and leaving our. Organization and have noticed a decrease in graffiti and vandalism along the street. Many of us at the Center Patronize. Fourth Street, buying for both business and pleasure and have never experienced any nuisance associated with their business again. We strongly support this application for an. Entertainment permit. And we support our fourth street line as a thriving local business along Fourth Street and rely on their customers to serve as the eyes and ears and our community in the evening hours. This permit will only serve to improve public safety and create a stronger and more vibrant retro. Roberto, thank you. Thank you. Next to. Good evening, counsel. My name's Janine Pearce. I'm a second district resident. I'm not going to repeat too much of what I did and said. I just wanted to say I live right directly behind the establishment. I think it's a wonderful establishment and the owners have done a great deal to include the entire community and making sure that it's something we can all benefit from and and really feel like it's changing our community. So I really look forward to seeing your support tonight for this great small business. Thank you. Thank you. Actually. Hello, mayor and council members. My name is Joel Family and I'm a first district resident and also an area representative of the newly formed Long Beach Music Council. I'm here this evening to respectfully request that you approve the entertainment permit for Fourth Street Line. I'm also requesting that their permit be extended to host live entertainment at the venue starting at 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays as opposed to 5 p.m. so that they may also participate in Fourth Street Retro World Events. Fourth Street Vine has had a. Positive impact on both the Fourth Street Corridor and the Greater Long Beach area. Since operating at their current location, they have consistently provided a place for Long Beach musicians and visual artists to perform and display their art. Access to quality content is paramount in. Enabling a thriving art. Scene. Supporting life music is a proven economic driver in cities such as Seattle, Austin and Dallas, and with the right supports put in place for all stakeholders. The kind of sensible foundation that has helped other cities to succeed is well within our grasp, and our community has commonly held a commonly held belief that Long Beach is a complaint driven city. And although I understand the needs of residents, it is it seems reasonable to allow our businesses to freely operate within appropriate restrictions so that they may effectively provide the kinds of content that bring people to choose to spend their dollars within our city's borders. Increased traffic to areas during times when live entertainment is being provided is a good indicator that this is something our community values in terms of numbers are simply more people supporting music and art than there are people complaining about it. The recommendations provided by the Department of Financial Management Chief of Police Jim McDonnell in the Planning Bureau of. The Department. Of Development Services appear to be more than adequate to ensure that noise issues are managed in a way that is fair to both Fourth. Street Line. And the surrounding neighborhood. So we ask you respectfully to please approve the Fourth Street Band Entertainment Permit, and thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. Next to. I am Jim Ritson, one of the owners of Fourth Street Vine. And I just wanted to thank you for your consideration for our application permit and just just request one change if we are granted the application for the permit for entertainment, if we could adjust the hours on Saturdays and Sundays to allow us to begin entertainment at 11 a.m. instead of the 2:00 time. Noted. Thank you. Thank you. Everyone's got to remember the window. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I wanted to thank those residents and stakeholders that came out to provide some comment. We also had just just so folks know that there were a lot more interested parties in this issue than those that were able to come today. We had several letters and emails sent to us, Mr. Mayor, just to get the conversation going, or at least make a motion. I'd like to make the motion to close the hearing and approve the permit with conditions, but also make some comments and amendments to the conditions. If I could have a second. Second. Councilmembers. And Mr. Mayor, this item was postponed from our last meeting, as you know, to allow the applicant an opportunity to work with neighbors and give certainly my office some time to consider whether any additional conditions might address concerns presented by neighbors whom we heard from last Tuesday. Those concerns mainly focused on music, volume, noise and smoke emanating from customers on the patio, open doors and rooftop windows open during entertainment and trash or recycling being emptied late at night, creating further disturbances as individuals rummaged through their containers, which is all very understandable. Those of us who have entertainment venues in our districts and certainly in the dining and entertainment district and downtown, these are similar concerns that we've heard and not unreasonable. They're very real concerns, but ones that I believe that the owners and our city staff can address through responsible operation and enforcement. We have experience with that through also the venues that have come through our dining and entertainment district. I appreciate the residents who suggested additional conditions for the permit in an effort to seek compromise. I'm also very appreciative of the owners, Jim and Sophia, who reached out to and listened to the concerns of their neighbors and are taking action to address these concerns. I've actively witnessed them doing so, and I'm very thankful for that. Those actions include moving and delineating a smoking area on the patio away from residents, installing baffling, which is a sound wall on the property line to reduce noise and installing signage and changing protocol to eliminate loitering and dumping of trash and recycling at night. I'd also like to point out that the conditions required for entertainment include language that also protects residents, such as requiring that all doors and windows, including rooftop windows, be closed during entertainment, prohibiting loitering by entrances and exits. No speakers on the patio, no dumping of trash or recycling into outside dumpsters between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.. Requiring the owners to monitor and reduce any nuisance to neighbors, including loitering and loud talking and sound, shall not be audible beyond 50 feet from exterior of the premises in any direction. These are all articulated in in the agenda item. I'm pointing them out just to illustrate that the owners are very aware of these conditions, are very amenable to them, and have been working with the community to accommodate them. I believe these actions and conditions mostly address the resident concerns but want to modify the recommended conditions in the following manner. Number one, in recommended condition number 12, it is stated that should the permits operations give rise to a substantial increase in complaints, calls for service or trash found in the parking lot or neighborhood, the perimeter shall increase staff or employ uniformed licensed security guards as directed by the chief of police. So that would be that would be something new, and that would certainly be something that is very doable and honoring and understanding that this is a neighborhood as well. Number two, I would like to amend the condition to read should the permits operations give rise to a noticeable increase in complaints or calls for service concerning noise, loitering or other elements of the entertainment permit, the permittees shall be required to make changes as directed by the Chief of Police. Finally, number three, I would also like to amend condition number three to read as follows Entertainment activities indicated on page seven of your entertainment application shall be restricted to Sunday through Thursday, and this is, as it was stated, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.. I know there's currently a request to have it start earlier. I think we can start that with sweeps and revisit that at a later date, but we can do the occasional event permanent to accommodate that request and then look at it again. And I'm very open to doing so and I think that that would not be problematic. If we can start with an EP, I think the neighborhood is amenable to that as well. But if we start with OPI, I think it's a good show of faith. I believe these amended conditions strike a compromise. Enable enabling live entertainment to be offered on retro road while protecting residents from the noise impacts associated with the patio late at night. This is not the downtown dining and entertainment. District or even Belmont Shore, but rather a small business corridor in the heart of our residential neighborhood. And I want to commend both the owners for being. Very. Dynamic with their business operation in an area that is really just a neighborhood and a business corridor and being very much a part of the vibrancy of that community. The hours and conditions of entertainment are in keeping with other operators on Broadway and Fourth Street, and therefore I hope that this Council can provide their support for these conditions and also provide their support for these business owners that have done a tremendous job over the last several years in growing their business and really becoming a part of a fabric of that community. With that, Mr. Maher, I'd like to call for an eye vote. Okay. We have a motion as amended. Sorry. Council discussion. All right, members, cast your votes on hearing item number one. Motion carries seven zero. Thank your members. We're going to hearing item number two, which also requires an oath clerk read.