Council to entertain club’s appeal plea

Marisa O’Neil

Owners of Josh Slocum’s Dinner and Supper Club are appealing the

Planning Commission’s denial of their request to have entertainment

at the bay-view venue.

Citing limited parking and traffic and noise concerns, the

commission in May approved expanding hours to include lunch and

adding to the club’s capacity but not adding entertainment. Club

owners, who include former NBA player Dennis Rodman, are asking the

City Council to overturn the decision.

“I’m hopeful we’ll be able to have the same opportunity other

clubs in the area enjoy,” said Bill Hodge of Hodge and Associates, a

planning firm retained to represent Josh Slocum’s. “I’m not sure why

they came to their decision. It was hard to completely understand the

Planning Commission’s rationale.”

The Planning Commission agreed to allow Josh Slocum’s to open at

11 a.m. and stay open until 2 a.m. as well as increase its capacity

from 133 to 143 people, according to staff reports. But the club

wants to offer entertainment and dancing like other restaurants and

bars along the strip of Pacific Coast Highway.

When the issue first came up, parking was a “huge issue,”

Councilman Steve Bromberg said. The commission requires that the club

maintain at least 13 parking spaces on site and another 30 nearby, as

well as have a valet on site.

The club leases sufficient parking two blocks away, off Tustin

Avenue, Hodge said.

But large lines of people waiting to get into the club can

conflict with cars on the small site, Planning Director Patricia

Temple said.

The club will keep its line limited by turning people away if it

gets too long, Hodge said. And if people need to use the toilet while

they’re waiting, someone can escort them in.

“People coming or leaving would exacerbate conflicts with traffic

on Coast Highway,” Temple said. “And we felt it might produce adverse

noise to residents on Lido Island.”

City officials had asked the club to hire a noise consultant,

Hodge said. They did so and were within acceptable limits, he said.

Hodge will explain the club’s position at tonight’s City Council

meeting.

“We’ve agreed to virtually every condition,” he said. “I don’t

know why it’s a problem.”