ANAHEIM : City Council to Consider Appeal on Mr. J’s Relocation
Is Mr. J’s a restaurant and bar, as its owner contends, or is it a nightclub that counts on bikini-clad dancers to draw customers?
That issue will go before the City Council on Tuesday when Mr. J’s owner, Mohammad Johar, appeals a recent Planning Commission decision that denied him permission to relocate his business.
Planning commissioners and city staff members contend that Mr. J’s is more of an adult entertainment business than a restaurant and, as such, is subject to zoning regulations that restrict it to only certain parts of the city.
“The main concern,” said Greg Hastings, zoning division manager “is that there is a conditional use permit in place for a restaurant and a cocktail lounge. And the operation is not being used as a restaurant and cocktail lounge.”
The Planning Commission addressed that issue in June, Hastings said, by placing seven conditions on how dance clubs do business. One of the conditions states that alcoholic beverage sales are allowed only at “bona fide restaurants serving meals” and are not permitted at any nightclub or a “sexually oriented business.”
The council, which meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday, will seek public comment on the issue before taking action on Johar’s appeal.
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