Dancing around details

The Ocean Avenue Brewery won’t know if it can continue to offer music and dancing to patrons for at least another month.

The restaurant’s owners appeared before the Laguna Beach Planning Commission Feb. 13 to hammer out more details on a proposed conditional use permit (CUP) that would legalize dancing and entertainment. A decision on the CUP has been continued to March 26.

The brewery has been operating with live bands and DJs as well as a dance floor for a number of years without permits. The commission told Ocean Avenue owner Jonathan Thomas in November that his establishment was in violation of city codes.

Thomas responded by requesting a new CUP that allowed up to four live musicians or a DJ, and dancing. An online petition was started in defense of the dancing and the Ocean Avenue faithful filled the commission’s last discussion of the brewery.

The commission tentatively granted the Brewery’s request for entertainment, but with restrictions on occupancy and noise.

Police activity in the area

The commission’s main concern was the concentration of drinking establishments downtown and the special police attention the Ocean Avenue area requires, due to incidents of street fighting and public drunkenness.

To ease these concerns, the Brewery drew up a security handbook to help staff handle such issues.

Marshall Ininns, the architect working on Ocean Avenue’s CUP, said the firm had trouble finding appropriate standards for security personnel.

The Planning Commission suggested they would consult Laguna Beach Police officials at the next hearing to define a standard.

Commissioner Anne Johnson said she would like to see a condition that would bring the brewery’s CUP up for review if customers become a nuisance.

Occupancy an issue

Commissioners said they would approve the new CUP on certain conditions. One condition was an occupancy load of 110, but under current parking codes, the Brewery would only be able to get a customer occupancy load of 87, plus a 13-member staff. That would bring Ocean Avenue’s total load to 100.

Commissioner Norm Grossman said he was reluctant to limit the restaurant to only 100 people, but the commission must work inside the law.

Grossman suggested the brewery seek three parking credits from the city which would bring the occupancy load to 109 — three patrons per parking spot.

Ininns said limiting the patrons to 110 would cut deeply into profit margins.

“We’re taking a 32% hit here,” Ininns told the commission. “We’re losing 50 paying customers, we’ve tried it, it’s difficult.”

The restaurant is now operating under the conditions of the proposed CUP.