LAGUNA BEACH : Group Seeks to Open Nightclub in Canyon

Almost three years after the teen nightclub Club Post Nuclear shut down, a group of out-of-state businessmen will ask permission Wednesday night to open another nightclub at the Laguna Canyon Road site.

Members of The Entertainment Group, an Arizona corporation, will ask the Planning Commission for a permit for the club, which would include a cafe and a video bar.

The nightclub would operate Friday and Saturday nights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. and would sell alcohol, something city leaders have objected to in the past for that site.

The Police Department opposes the plan, and city staff will recommend that it be denied.

“The Police Department has some very serious concerns about security and policing this facility,” Community Development Director Kyle Butterwick said Monday. “They strongly recommend against it.”

According to the permit application, the building at 775 Laguna Canyon Road would be converted into an “upscale entertainment facility” with a disc jockey and pool tables. It would cater to adults.

A report from Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr. says that in the past that site has experienced “numerous problems regarding minors drinking alcoholic beverages, narcotic use and sales, sexual acts and thefts from vehicles.”

If the permit is granted, one or more police officers would have to be assigned to monitor the area and be paid overtime, something the department cannot currently do, the report says.

The Planning Commission will meet in council chambers at 505 Forest Ave. at 7 p.m.