Banquet hall zoning code under review

Josh Kleinbaum

Two years after the city changed its zoning code to include banquet

halls, several City Council members have questioned the effectiveness

of the code and have asked city staff to revisit the issue.

Based on restrictions contained in the code, a banquet hall must

include more parking than a restaurant and cannot be within 200 feet

of a residential area. Additionally, a restaurant cannot use more

than 30% of its serving area for a private party. The city added

those restrictions in March 2002 as part of its effort to take more

control over the sale and consumption of alcohol.

But those restrictions, Councilman Bob Yousefian said, make it

impossible to put a banquet hall in many parts of the city.

“Basically, you can have it in only two locations, next to

railroad tracks or in a [commercial/ business] zone,” Yousefian said.

“Would you like to have your wedding in a banquet hall next to a

railroad track?”

Three council members -- Yousefian, Rafi Manoukian and Mayor Frank

Quintero -- discussed banquet halls at Tuesday night’s council

meeting. Planning Director Elaine Wilkerson said she had discussed

the issue with council members before Tuesday’s meeting, and she will

bring a report back to the council after her staff concludes a

reorganization of the code. The reorganization is expected to be

completed in April.

“Obviously, we’re having trouble, so we need to look at it,”

Wilkerson said. “It may be that the way we’ve done it creates a

problem. The regulations may be appropriate, but they may have

permitted banquet halls to locations too restrictive.”

Yousefian said that having a restrictive code will cause some

people to try to find a way to circumvent the code. The city has

prevented two restaurants from opening in the past year because of

issues related to banquet halls -- Dream Palace at 510 E. Broadway,

and Renaissance Restaurant at 1236 S. Central Ave.

Attorneys for both establishments said that the facilities were

restaurants, not banquet halls, although some residents and city

officials have questioned that interpretation based on size and

structure.

“You can’t get a banquet hall in Glendale, period,” said Albert

Abkarian, attorney for the owners of Dream Palace. “To say they’re

going to make it easier means you can actually get a banquet hall in

there now.”

Abkarian said he still hopes to get Dream Palace opened, and said

a ruling on one of the restaurant’s major zoning issues could come

today.

Dream Palace and the Renaissance Restaurant are owned by Armenian

Americans, and Yousefian said banquet halls are an important part of

Armenian culture.

“We do a big thing about christenings. We do a big thing about

weddings. And if somebody passes away, it’s a tradition to have a

last supper,” Yousefian said. “These are all religious ceremonies,

but after the ceremony, it’s been traditional that you go someplace,

and you invite all your relatives and friends to celebrate or to

commemorate.

“It’s not only the Armenian culture. [Banquet halls] are important

in the Chinese culture, the Korean culture and the Hispanic culture,”

he continued. “That’s what we have. The majority of the population

here is between Hispanic, Armenian and Koreans. Very few left are not

connected to those cultures.”