NEWPORT BEACH : Council Amends Pool Table Code

Trying to determine the legal difference between a billiards hall and a restaurant that has a few pool tables has been a much-discussed issue in Newport Beach in recent weeks.

Last week, the City Council, siding with the Planning Commission, unanimously decided that any establishment with three or more pool tables is, in effect, a pool hall.

The subject of the debate was the popular Ellis Island International Eatery on Coast Highway, where the owner wanted to add two billiards tables to the two that are now in the restaurant.

City planning department staff said such an addition would cause a significant enough change in operations at the restaurant that its owners would have to apply for a use permit. The staff said adding two tables would change the restaurant from a dining place to one where patrons would come specifically to shoot pool.

Restaurant operators countered that a few pool tables would not take up much space, and thus wouldn’t detract from ordinary dining operations.

The Planning Commission originally sided with staff recommendations that even one pool table would change the dining environment, but later agreed to a revised proposal saying that three pool tables--or 10% of the net public area of the restaurant--would significantly change the character of the restaurant.

The council last week unanimously agreed with that decision, and amended the city zoning code accordingly. The council’s action allows the Ellis Island International Eatery to keep its two existing pool tables without the need for a use permit.