Proposed Rule Could Lock Doors of Rowdy Cabarets

Under proposed changes in the Municipal Code that are scheduled for discussion today by a City Council committee, San Diego police could close a cabaret if the business owner receives three or more warnings of “patron misconduct” during a 12-month period.

The proposed changes cover various police-regulated businesses--from cabarets to towing companies--and most are minor revisions, but the sections that apply to cabarets have proved to be controversial. If the revisions are adopted, cabaret owners would be responsible for their patron’s conduct inside and outside the business.

Cabarets are drinking establishments that also offer stage shows or other entertainment.

City officials said that the two-year study that resulted in dozens of proposals was done to update portions of the Municipal Code, but a Beverly Hills attorney hired by owners of cabarets and bars said the revisions are unconstitutional and impractical. The proposals, which were prepared by vice officers and the city attorney’s office, will be discussed by the council’s Public Services and Safety Committee.

The recommendations would also require business owners to obtain a police permit, in addition to a city business permit, and authorize the police to conduct background checks on entertainers who work in establishments that offer adult entertainment.

Changes that would affect businesses other than cabarets have generated few complaints.

Under the proposed changes, a cabaret owner could have his police permit revoked if he receives three citations from police during a 12-month period for failure to control patron conduct. The owner would also be responsible for patron conduct in the business’ parking lot and in an area up to 100 feet from the establishment.

Attorney Josh Kaplan, representing the bar owners, said, “If these proposals are enforced strictly the city will end up revoking every cabaret permit in the city. It’s clearly unconstitutional and imposes a burden on licensees to act as a private police force.

“Will the San Diego Police Department allow licensees to hire private security people to go on public thoroughfares, 100 feet from the business, to enforce the law? Assuming that the City Council is irrational enough to pass this nonsense, we will appeal its constitutionality in Superior Court.”

Police Lt. Kraig Kessler admitted that cabaret proposals are “bones of contention,” but Kessler said that police and city officials are only complying with the wishes of owners who have asked for fewer regulations of their businesses.

“Some establishments allow their patrons to get drunk inside and then they push them out the door,” Kessler said. “We’re saying that owners are responsible for the activities that take place inside, in the parking lot and a short distance away from their building.”

Deputy City Atty. Rudolph Hradecky, who helped draw up the proposals, said that pulling a business’ cabaret permit does not mean that the bar will be shut down. A bar can be closed only by the state. If a permit is revoked, the owner could appeal to the city manager and the City Council, and then to the courts.