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HomeMy WebLinkAboutO-1671 - Adds Sec. 5.20.075; amends Sec. 5.20.040, 5.20.050(6) and 5.20.055(2)(c), entertainment clubs (5.20)CIT Y 0 F MAR Y S V ILL E Marysville,Washington ORDINANCE NO.1671 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE AMENDING SECTION 5.20.040 OF THE MARYSVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR THE ISSUANCE OF AN ENTERTAINMENT CLUB LICENSE;AMENDING SECTION 5.20.050(6)RELATING TO HIRING POLICE OFFICERS FOR SECURITY PURPOSES AT ENTERTAINMENT CLUBS;AMENDING SECTION 5.20.055(2)(c) RELATING TO TEEN CLUBS WHICH ARE LOCATED IN MULTI-USE FACILITIES;AND ADDING A NEW SECTION 5.20.075 RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF AN ENTER- TAINMENT CLUB LICENSE. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MARYSVILLE,WASHINGTON DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: section 1.section 5.20.040 of the Marysville Municipal Code is hereby amended to provide as follows: 5.20.040 Procedures for Issuance or Denial of License.After receiving a complete application for an entertainment club license,as specified in section 5.20.030 above,the city shall follow the following procedures: (1)The City Clerk shall forward copies of the application to appropriate city officials for their comments regarding compliance with regulations under their jurisdiction.The City Clerk shall consider all materials and comments submitted and shall issue or deny the license within ten (10)working days after the date on which a completed application was filed unless the applicant agrees to an extension of said time period in writing. (2) denied by following An entertainment club the city Clerk on one grounds: license may only be or more of the (a)If the business premises do not comply with all applicable regulatory codes of the city, the Snohomish Health District and the State of Washington relating to pUblic health,safety and welfare. (b)If the application is incomplete or if it contains any material misrepresentation. Ordinance - 1 (c)If the application does not propose adequate measures for the protection of the public health,safety and welfare in terms of traffic control,crowd protection and security,both inside and outside the premises,and the mon- itoring of the ages of patrons admitted to the club. (3)If the City Clerk denies a license,written notice of said denial stating the reasons therefor shall be sent to the applicant within one (1)working day thereafter.The applicant shall have a period of ten working (10)days after the date of license denial to appeal the same to the City council.Upon receiving written notice of appeal the city Council shall hold a pUblic hearing within twenty-one (21)days thereafter to consider,de novo,whether to issue or deny the license.The applicant shall be given not less than seven (7)days'advance notice of the hearing.The decision of the city Council shall be announced at the conclusion of the hearing and shall be final,SUbject only to a petition for writ of certiorari being filed with the Snohomish County Superior Court within fourteen (14)days following the date of the city council's decision. section 2.section 5.20.050(6)of the Marysville Municipal Code is hereby amended to provide as follows: 5.20.050(6).It shall be the obligation of the licensee to employ an adequate number of qualified security personnel who will be present on club premises during all operating hours to maintain peace and order and to ensure compliance with the laws of the State of Washington and the city of Marysville which are applicable to the club premises.If the Police Chief determines that the club operation is directly resulting in an increased demand for police services in the vicinity of the club,the Police Chief may require the licensee to augment its private security force by hiring commissioned police officers with arrest authority in the city of Marysville to patrol said vicinity during club operating hours. section 3.section 5.20.055(2)(c)of the Marysville Municipal Code is hereby amended to provide as follows: 5.20.055(2)(c).Only one business operates at a time on the premises,and the premises are closed altogether for not less than one hour between the close of one business operation and the opening of another. Ordinance - 2 section 4.A new section 5.20.075 of the Marysville Municipal Code is hereby enacted to provide as follows: 5.20.075 Revocation or Suspension of License. (1)The City council may,at any time,suspend or revoke an entertainment club license on anyone or more of the following grounds: (a)If the licensee,or any manager, officer,director,agent or employee of the licensee,has made a material false statement or representation,or failed to disclose any material information to the City,in connection with obtaining the entertainment club license or any renewal thereof. (b)If the licensee,or any manager, officer,director,agent or employee of the licensee,has caused or knowingly permitted a violation of federal,state or City statute,law, regulation or ordinance which relates to or affects pUblic health or safety on the entertain- ment club premises. (c)If the licensee,or any manager, officer,director,agent or employee of the licensee,has caused or knowingly permitted any violation of the operating rules and regulations of entertainment clubs specified in this Chapter. (d)If the operation of the entertainment club is the proximate cause of a significant increase in criminal activity on the premises or in the immediate vicinity,is endangering the safety or health of persons on the premises or in the immediate vicinity,or is rendering such persons insecure in life or the use of their property. (2)Whenever the city Clerk determines that there is probable cause for suspending or revoking an entertainment club license,the Clerk shall notify the licensee by registered or certified mail,return receipt requested,of such determination.Notice mailed to the address on the license shall be deemed received three (3)days after mailing.The notice shall specify the proposed grounds for suspension or revocation.The notice shall also specify that a hearing shall be conducted by the City council at a time and date denominated in the notice,not more than twenty-one (21)days thereafter,to determine whether Ordinance - 3 or not the license should be suspended or revoked.The notice shall be mailed to the licensee at least seven (7)days prior to the date set for the hearing.The licensee may appear at the hearing and be heard in opposition to such suspension or revocation.The decision of the city council shall be announced at the conclusion of the hearing and shall be final,subject only to a petition for writ of certiorari being filed with the Snohomish County Superior Court within fourteen (14)days following the date of the City Council's decision. section 5.Severability.If any section of this Ordinance is adjudicated to be invalid,such shall not affect the validity of any section not so adjudged. PASSED by the City council and APPROVED by the Mayor this 6th day of February,1989. CITY OF MARYSVILLE Attest: BY~~)(J ~RK Approved as to form: BY~7 &,z- MAYOR By (g. Ordinance - 4 "... STATEMENT OF PURPOSE REGARDING ENTERTAINMENT CLUB LEGISLATION The Marysville City council has adopted,and may adopt in the future,certain legislation regulating the operation of entertainment clubs.The governmental interest in such legisla- tion,and the scope of the restrictions contained therein,have been studied by the city council at pUblic hearings commencing on September 6,1988 and continuing through December 5,1988.At these pUblic hearings testimony and exhibits were received from members of the general pUblic,the operator of a teen club known as Chita's located at 1225 Third Street,patrons and employees of chita's,the owners of property within the vicinity of Chita's, and police officers from Marysville,Everett,the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office,and the City of Seattle.The city Council also considered a petition from property owners affected by the conduct of Chita's,police reports relating to incidents at Chita's over the past 12 months,City of Everett ordinances 1454-88 and 1488-88 (dealing with teen clubs)and the testimony of expert witnesses before the Everett City Council which supported the adoption of said ordinances.(Said testimony was taken at pUblic hearings held on February 3,1988,March 2,1988 and June 8,1988.) BASED UPON THE FOREGOING,THE CITY COUNCIL HEREBY ENTERS THE FOLLOWING FINDINGS: 1.Entertainment clubs,both adult and teen,constitute a greater threat to pUblic health,safety and welfare than other businesses in the city and require special regulation for the following reasons: a.Such clubs attract a large number of patrons in the evening and late-night hours,often exceeding 300 persons. b.The patrons come to club premises for socializing, dancing and partying.These types of activities tend to be unfocused and unorganized (unlike activities which are conducted at theaters,restaurants or sports arenas). c.Entertainment clubs attract crowds of persons who remain outside of the premises and carryon their own activities which are unrelated to the entertainment occurring inside the building. d.The crowds attracted by entertainment clubs are noisy,are prone to fighting and abusing alcohol and drugs, and they tend to have little respect for the privacy and property of other persons in the surrounding neighborhood. Trespassing,littering,defecating in yards,use of obscene language and reckless driving are common activities in neighborhoods surrounding entertainment clubs during and Statement of Purpose - 1 shortly after the operating hours of such clubs. 2.The commercial zones of the City are relatively narrow in configuration and are not significantly separated from residential zones.Moreover,older residences remain inter- spersed with existing businesses in commercial zones.Therefore, it is particularly important to regulate the pUblic nuisance aspects of businesses which operate late into the evening and night-time hours so as to minimize disturbances to persons who are trying to sleep in their homes in the immediate vicinity. Further,these persons should be allowed a reasonable measure of security from criminal activities by patrons of entertainment clubs who may be driving or loitering in nearby residential areas. 3.Teen clubs have a greater tendency to attract and cause the problems referred to above.They are a "magnet"for youth gangs,persons who "want to be"members of youth gangs,and spectators who come to watch gang operations,fights and other illegal activities.Gang members will come from as far away as Seattle,Tacoma and Oak Harbor to be at a teen club in Marys- ville,or to loiter on the streets and sidewalks outside of the club.Most illegal incidents which occur on or about teen club premises involve youths who do not reside in or around the City of Marysville. 4.Teen clubs result in increased criminal activity on or about the premises,with particular emphasis on alcohol and drug offenses,firearm offenses,solicitation of juvenile prosti- tutes,and fights and other disorderly conduct. 5.The Washington State Liquor Control Board has no jurisdiction over entertainment clubs where no alcohol is served. Neighboring police jurisdictions,including the City of Everett, Snohomish County Sheriff's office,and the Washington State Patrol,do not have adequate police resources in the field at late hours of the night to respond to criminal activity in the City of Marysville.Marysville typically has only two officers in the field during a night shift.These officers must provide police services for the entire city and cannot focus all of their attention on entertainment clubs.Marysville's budget cannot increase the number of on-duty officers for night shift work. 6.Mixing of age groups at entertainment clubs is not recommended.Junior high students should not be exposed to the influence of youth gangs and drug and alcohol abuse.High school students should not be exposed to the influence of patrons 21 years of age and over who have ready access to alcohol and firearms and who may be soliciting teenage prostitutes.Checking the ages of patrons at the door of an entertainment club is facilitated if they are able to show driver's license i.d. Therefore,it is recommended that teen clubs be limited to Statement of Purpose - 2 patrons who are age 16 through 20.Adult entertainment clubs should be limited to patrons who are age 21 or over. 7.Teen clubs in Marysville should not operate on week nights when their noise and nuisance would disturb residents in the vicinity who must get their sleep so they can go to work the next morning.Teen club operations should be limited to Friday and Saturday nights.They should close at 1:00 a.m.so their patrons can disburse and be off the city streets before 2:00 a.m. when the taverns and other adult facilities discharge their patrons.This restriction relates to the desire to avoid unnecessary intermingling of teenage and adult patrons,the desire to protect the teenagers from inebriated adults on the highways,and the desire to spread out the demands on Marys- ville's limited police patrols. 8.Because of the tendency of entertainment clubs to attract criminal activity it is reasonable and necessary for the owners,managers and employees of such clubs to disclose,in advance,their personal criminal records with respect to crimes involving firearms,controlled substances,sexual offenses, prostitution,assault,or contributing to the delinquency of minors.such information will allow the city police department to monitor the operation of the entertainment clubs with more knOWledge and caution.criminal records should not be used, however,as a basis for denying a business license to an entertainment club. 9.Because of the demand on police resources which results from the operation of an entertainment club,each such club should be required to maintain,at its own expense,an adequate number of qualified security personnel.If the Police Chief determines that the club operation is directly resulting in an increased demand for uniformed police services in the vicinity of the club,the Chief should be allowed to require the licensee to augment its private security force by hiring police officers to patrol said vicinity during club operating hours.Such police officers would be most effective if they were commissioned Marysville officers so that they would be authorized to make arrests at the scene. 10.Club premises may be used for other activities during weekday and week night hours,and the city has no reason to restrict the same.However,there is a risk that on weekend nights a mUltiple-use facility may result in intermingling of patrons of teen entertainment functions with patrons of adult entertainment functions,including those where alcohol is served. Therefore,special rules should be adopted which require segregation of incompatible activities in time and place..A gap of one hour would be necessary,at an absolute minimum,between the closing of a teen club and the opening of a restaurant or adult activity on the same premises. Statement of Purpose - 3 11.Marysville has a need for facilities and clubs which are available for teenage entertainment and activities on weekend evenings.It is the city's policy to encourage the development of the same under conditions which are safe for the teenagers and which will cause minimal nuisance to surrounding neighborhoods. ~(PASSED by th~t~Council and APPROVED by the Mayor this ~day of --"';~7="""'~""----'1989. CITY OF MARYSVILLE ByL~~C- ,MAYOR Attest: By~&L¥!2A;ciTY CLERK Statement of Purpose - 4