SEAL BEACH : Restaurant Gets OK to Have Live Music

Over the protests of some residents, the City Council has given the go-ahead for a popular Main Street restaurant to offer live entertainment.

Under the entertainment license granted last week, Papillon’s restaurant will be allowed to present a single performer nightly from 7 to 11 p.m.

The entertainment cannot be amplified and should not encourage patrons to dance or sing.

Acceptable acts include a guitarist, pianist or harpist.

The license request was approved on a 3-1-1 vote. Councilwoman Marilyn Bruce Hastings opposed the measure, and Councilman Frank Laszlo abstained.

Hastings said she voted against the request partly to protest the city’s lack of a comprehensive policy covering such conditional use permits.

Some residents also opposed granting the license out of fear that the entertainment would bring more people and cars to their neighborhood, which already suffers from a parking problem.

“The restaurant already is doing well. They want to offer entertainment so they can do better. That brings in more people,” one resident said during a council hearing. “When more people frequent the area, they need more parking places.”

Other residents have expressed support for the restaurant, saying that live entertainment would be a welcomed addition to the community.