SAM’S TO PUT ITS CASE BEFORE CITY COUNCIL

Owners of Safari Sam’s nightclub in Huntington Beach will ask the City Council, at a council meeting on Oct. 20, to allow live entertainment to resume at the club, the attorney for the club said late Thursday.

The hearing before the City Council is the latest step in the club’s effort to continue its eclectic offerings of music, poetry and theater, which were halted on Sept. 7. Earlier this week, City Administrator Charles W. Thompson formally denied the club owners’ application for a new entertainment permit.

The City Administrator’s decision to deny the permit upheld a Police Department recommendation for denial based on complaints of noise and vandalism from neighbors. City officials also cited Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control restrictions against entertainment at the location that were placed on the club’s liquor license under a previous owner. Those restrictions are being appealed.

Safari Sam’s attorney Gene E. Dorney on Thursday filed an appeal of the City Administrator’s action to the City Council. Dorney said he hoped to appear before the council sooner, but said the Oct. 20 date “was the best we could do.”

Since live entertainment was halted, club owners and supporters have staged two public demonstrations outside City Council chambers, but the Oct. 20 meeting will be the first time the council will hear the Safari Sam’s issue as part of its regular agenda.