(This story was updated to add a photo.)
Restaurants in Greenacres are breathing a sigh of relief after the city changed key sections of a new ordinance that could have kept them from offering live music to their patrons.
As written, the ordinance would have classified restaurants where music is played as nightclubs, which city code does not allow.
Many of the restaurants that the original ordinance would have affected cater to central Palm Beach County’s growing population of people from the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Greenacres’ Hispanic population has surged in the past 30 years and even casual eateries host local musicians and create spaces where clients can dance next to their tables.
After listening to residents and restaurateurs at a meeting on April 21 and a workshop on May 9, officials removed the most stringent sections from the proposal, which passed unanimously June 16.
“It’s not one size fits all,” Deputy Mayor Susy Diaz said in an interview after the meeting. “What works for Greenacres isn’t necessarily going to work for somewhere like Wellington or even somewhere like downtown Lake Worth.”
“This was such a perfect example of how government is supposed to work.”
Mike Melendez opened Dominican restaurant El Chivo Linero on 10th Avenue North about seven months ago. He describes his restaurant as being on the smaller side, hosting singers about once a month, performances he sees as far too modest to be nightclub material. “It’s just live entertainment. It’s not a nightclub,” Melendez said in an interview. “It’s a big plus for Greenacres to have multicultural restaurants that have live entertainment.”
Ordinance would have denied restaurants ‘perks’ of nightclubs
Planners say the proposed ordinance was meant to clarify rules Greenacres approved in 2022 to crack down on venues illegally operating as nightclubs. Its language mirrored that of similar ones in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach. Under the original provisions in the ordinance, many of the local restaurants would have been considered nightclubs, which aren’t allowed in Greenacres. The section that defined the restaurants as nightclub was completely stricken in the version the council passed.
Alan Cassarubias, who runs El Rey del Taco with his family on Lake Worth Road, said he wouldn’t have minded some of the changes in the original ordinance, so long as it didn’t affect his business.
But he said that nightclub label wouldn’t have come with the perks of being a nightclub, like extended hours of operation.
“It does affect us, because now we’re having to pay security, off-duty police, another permit,” he said.
So he joined about 30 to 40 other community members down at city hall to voice his concerns.
“I think it was very productive,” he said. “I think they were going in the wrong way until they saw the presence of all of us at city hall at the first meeting.”
Gionni Gallier, assistant director of development and neighborhood services, said the council also adjusted the ordinance’s language to focus on indoor live entertainment after many business owners said they weren’t looking to hold outdoor performances. “To make it easier for the ones that do it indoors and not to fall under the same boat, really our live entertainment permit is for indoor entertainment,” Gallier said in an interview. Outdoor entertainment is still considered live entertainment, Gallier said, but focusing the rules on indoor events made the standards far less restrictive for businesses applying for permits. If businesses want to expand their entertainment outdoors, they can apply for a special events permit. However, the ordinance keeps the original rule that the entertainment can’t be the main event. It has to be an accessory to the main business, whether it’s a restaurant, bar or even a salon or barbershop.
Permits for live entertainment still require descriptions of the performances, information on the venue and plans to keep patrons safe and manage noise that come from the venue, Without that permit, businesses could still face fines up to $5,000. Many of the conditions of approval and review were kept from the last version, along with conditions for transferring those permits. However, businesses no longer have to provide a surety bond for their application, removing what could have been a heavy financial constraint for many restaurant owners.
Additionally, Gallier said that the city is continuing to reach out to the community and is implementing a grace period suspending application fees.
The application fees are being waived so businesses can get approved before the business renewal cycle on Sept. 30. The ordinance retained some changes to how mobile food vendors can operate and standards for restaurants, such as keeping the kitchen open and a cap on alcohol sales.Melendez said hosting performers has given his business a huge boost and thinks the council made the right decision in scaling back restrictions on entertainment. “If you’re a city and you’re business-friendly, people are going to come; they’re going to want to move there and they’re going to want to do business,” Melendez said.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Greenacres restaurants that offer music relieved as city opts not to call them nightclubs
Reporting by Elise Catrion Gregg / Palm Beach Post
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