Lawsuit forces Manhattan Beach to reconsider 900 Club’s rules - The Daily Breeze

Lawsuit forces Manhattan Beach to reconsider 900 Club’s rules - The Daily Breeze

Manhattan Beach City Council rescinded changes in operating rules it granted the 900 Club two years ago — and then reinstated them, after following the Los Angeles Superior Court’s direction to assess safety concerns at the members-only club, at the council’s Tuesday, Feb. 18, meeting.

The court in late January ruled that Manhattan Beach must set aside a 2018 resolution that allowed its downstairs bar to serve alcoholic drinks until a 1 a.m. closing time on Thursdays — the same as Friday and Saturday — and to grow the number of special events each year from 18 to 24. Formerly, the club’s Thursday night “last call” for drinks was 11 p.m., with closing time at midnight.

The City Council on Tuesday adopted a similar resolution, on a unanimous vote, after retroactively evaluating the 900 Club’s floor plans for safety issues, a process that didn’t happen when the requests were granted two years ago.

The council’s decision was fueled by a lawsuit that Don McPherson, who lives one block away from the 900 Club, filed against the city in 2018 for approving the establishment’s changes despite what the suit declared a history of non-compliance.

The new resolution installs the provisions challenged by the lawsuit, as well as other new rules — while noting that the city has now reviewed the floor plans, as directed.

The nightclub’s owner did not present updated floor plans to the city in 2018, the complaint argued, which was required review by the council to assure that the club operated at a safe capacity. The city’s fire marshal and building official have since assessed and approved the floor plans, said Carrie Tai, community development director for the city.

“In the request for (extended) hours, there is no request for construction or modification of the facility then or now,” Tai said Tuesday. The 900 Club’s layout is the same and the plans were submitted “as built,” she added.

• A back door to the 900 Club in Manhattan Beach faces residences on Bayview Drive. Residents have complained for years about the nightclub’s noise and after-hours operation. (Photo by Tyler Shaun Evains, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

• An entrance to the 900 Club in Manhattan Beach directly faces residences on 9th Street. Residents have complained for years about excess noise and other permit violations. (Photo by Tyler Shaun Evains, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

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• Patrons of the 900 Club cannot enter or exit through this back door, on Bayview Drive facing homes, after 10 p.m. (Photo by Tyler Shaun Evains, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

• An entrance to the 900 Club in Manhattan Beach directly faces residences on 9th Street. Residents have complained for years about excess noise and other permit violations. (Photo by Tyler Shaun Evains, Daily Breeze/SCNG)

The bar and social club, located at 900 Manhattan Avenue, is a former home in a residential neighborhood converted into a two-story nightclub. The building’s back door opens onto Bayview Drive and its entrance to the Downstairs Bar opens onto 9th Street. Both doors face neighboring homes.

According to other new rules:

• Patrons must only use the front door on Manhattan Avenue after 10 p.m,:
• The entrance on Bayview can only be used for emergencies and by people with disabilities;
• And a downstairs window on 9th Street must be replaced by one that cannot be opened.

McPherson is president of Coastal Defender, a non-profit organization that vows to protect Manhattan Beach’s quality of life. He said the council should have sent Tuesday’s changes back to the planning commission for additional review.

“By considering increased entitlements tonight, Council decides to side-step public review of the use permit amendment,” McPherson said. “Receiving new plans only two weeks ago, the city rubber stamped them as approved without written analysis,” he said.

Michael Rendler, an architect who McPherson hired in 2018, said Tuesday that the stairwell clearance and lack of movable seating could make entering and exiting the building unsafe.

A representative of the 900 Club’s owners, however, maintained those issues had already been resolved by city Building Official Sal Kaddorah.

Members of the city staff, during the one-year review of the establishment’s permit, told the council that the venue had not been compliant. Conditions for the 900 Club’s annual permit review were put in place in 2014 after the city considered revoking its operating permit.

Since opening in 2003, the club has faced resident complaints for noise disturbance and operating after hours.

In 2004, the club’s owner agreed to only allow the rear door on Bayview Drive to be opened only from the inside, according to a 2014 staff report. Nonetheless, there were 19 police calls for service and five self-initiated police responses to the site  between 2011 and 2013.

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2020-02-19 05:33:00Z
https://www.dailybreeze.com/2020/02/18/lawsuit-forces-manhattan-beach-to-reconsider-900-clubs-rules/
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