HomeMy WebLinkAbout19911121_special269
IIINUTES
OF THE SPECIAL IEETING OF THE
EDIL'?A CITY COUNCIL BELD AT CITY HALT,,
NOVEMBER 21, 1991
A special meeting of the Edina.City Council was held on November 21, 1991, at
5:OO P.M. for the purpose of considering suspension or revocation of a public
dance permit for Arnold's Hot Roxx Music Cafe, 5125 Industrial Boulevard.
Minutes thereof are written in summary form.
R0I;LCAI;L Answering rollcall were Members Kelly, Paulus, Rice, Smith and Mayor
Richards.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION PRESEIUTED
this special meeting on short notice, following a telephone call from Danny
Stevens, to hear the circumstances and facts concerning the events of Saturday
night, November 16, 1991 and the staff meeting with the restaurant owners on
Wednesday, November 20, 1991. Mayor Richards asked if the principals were
present. Mike Palm stated that he was one of three owners of Arnold's Hot
Roxx Music Cafe. He identified Danny Stevens, also an owner, as present and
said that the third owner, Roger Moberg, was not able to attend. Mayor
Richards said that he had requested the City Manager to compile a packet of
background information relating to the subject public dance permit and events
of Saturday night. Further, that a copy be provided to the permit applicant.
Mayor Richards stated that he had called
TESTIMONY BY CITY
submitted an application for a public dance permit on September 30, 1991,
together with a tentative schedule of dates, for Arnold's Hot Roxx Music Cafe,
5125 Industrial Boulevard, On October 1, 1991, the owners were advised by
certified mail that the permit had not yet been approved pending correction of
certain health and fire code violations. Issuance was further conditioned
upon payment of past due invoice for services provided by police officers
working at dances held in June, 1991. On October 3, 1991, payment was
received and on October 7, 1991, the City issued a public dance permit for the
period from 10/07/91 to 09/30/92, to be reviewed for continuation quarterly.
Manager Rosland informed Council that Mike Palm had
Chief Swanson stated that Deputy Chief Kleven had reached agreement with
Mr. Palm verbally on certain permit requirements, i.e., off-duty police
officers, hours, etc.
in June, 1991, he did a thorough fire code inspection of the premises and
orders for correction were reduced to writing prior to issuance of the first
permit.
TESTIMONY BY OWNER/APPLICANT Mr. Palm provided information in response to
questions of the Council, summarized as follows.
permit as to police officers and hours; by verbal agreement they started with
four officers which was subsequently reduced to two officers. Dance hours
were from 9:00 P.M. to 11:45 P.M. Music was stopped at 11:30 P.M. and the
parking lot has been cleared by 12 midnight.
dance; Danny Stevens has been there every Saturday night since August and
Finess Whittley has been their black belt bouncer for Friday and Saturday
dances with the exception of Saturday, November 16.
for determining age has been setup; those who appear younger than high school
Fire Inspector Landry stated that on first application
No written requirements with
He has attended every Saturday
No formal carding process
11/21/91 270
I age are questioned.
nine years and interest is to develop a friendship with the kids and provide a
place to keep them off the streets. Attendance started with about 20 kids and
has grown to about 300 or more on Saturday night.
of mouth and by distribution of flyers. Admission began at $5.00 and has been
raised to $6.00 to limit numbers.
southern suburbs and represent a diversity of life styles.
is Rap. Capacity of restaurant is posted at 265, but based on building
construction, leaving back door open, etc. they had assumed maximum exit capacity
to be 299.
some leave others are allowed in.
building so as not to conceal anything.
On Saturday night there were approximately 25-30 kids waiting outside to be
admitted.
dance managers.
Has been involved with Young Life at Edina High School for
Advertising has been by word
Participants have come mainly from the
Type of music played
Capacity is regulated by ticket cutoff when capacity is reached; as
Kids are not permitted to wear coats in the
Smoking issue has not been addressed.
Parking lot has been monitored by police officers and also by the
TESTIMONY BY OFFICERS
Saturday, November 16, 1991, and as reflected in police reports: Officer Eidem,
Officer Nibbe, Officer Long and Sargent Clabo.
was that the entire night shift was tied up at the subject location and unable to
respond to other parts of the City.
The following testified as to events occurring on
Sargent Clabo stated his concern
Chief Swanson stated that on Monday, November 18, 1991, he heard a condensed
version from the police officers.
felt that by having police officers at the dance they become agents for the
establishment.
not do what it did 10 years ago.
officers because of the introduction of gang activity.
things have gotten out of hand and that this has turned into a regional event.
Based on the facts and issues relating to that event his recommendation was to
suspend the dance permit.
From testimony given at this meeting he had
A cultural change has been occurring and a police presence does
There is great potential for injury to police
His conclusion was that
Fire Inspector Landry spoke to the recommendations he had submitted in his
memorandum dated November 18, 1991, based on his observations at the event on
Saturday, November 16.
RESPONSE BY APPLICARl?/OWNEX Mr. Palm stated that he had seen no fists thrown at
the event on Saturday, November 16, that the reports have been blown out of
proportion, and questioned the charges of disorderly conduct. Further, he
submitted that the animosity shown by some of the kids was created by the conduct
of some of the police officers.
they had been treated with respect.
they could to provide a positive environment for the kids.
He suggested that they would have cooperated if
Mr. Palm said they were doing everything
Finess Whittley explained his background and told of his involvement with the
kids who attend the dances at Arnold's Hot Roxx Cafe. He indicated that there
are a few bad apples but those will be weeded out.
but police officers who deal out of fear and do not how how to work with black
people.
Also, that if he had been there the problem would have not occurred.
The problem was not the kids
He said the dance should not be prejudged without giving it a chance.
Danny Stevens commented that most of the officers that have worked the dances
have been superior. He criticized sending two female officers on Saturday,
11/21/91 271
November 16 to deal with macho type males. Further, that
want to deal with the situation because of the numbers of
dance.
the police do not
blacks coming to the
Jim Sandford stated that he was an attorney, a new resident of Edina and a
friend of Mike Palm.
commitment to kids and that cross-cultural involvement is a good thing. In
reference to the previous Saturday dance, he said something got out of hand
but that rather than revoking the permit some rules of conduct should be
established.
to work with the Police Department and the principals.
He commented that these people are trying to make a
Good suggestions have been made and the focus should be on a way
Steve Richardson, committee chair for Young Life in south Minneapolis, said
that the Hot Roxx dances were not endorsed by Young Life but spoke in support
of the effort to reach out to kids. His concern was that if a decision is
made to not permit the dances these 300 kids will go somewhere else that is
less positive.
place for kids.
He suggested that the Council help develop
Jerry Sand, property manager for Northco Corporation, said
Lutheran Brotherhood was supportive because they encourage
youth. He said the lease use clause does allow dances but
dances would not affect the lease.
this as a positive
that as landlord
involvement with
non-conduction of
OPINION OF CITY ATTORNEY Tom Erickson, City Attorney, stated that the Council
has the following options/powers:
1. The statute though repealed, is still in effect as it relates to
Ordinance No. 201 regarding public dance permits. Repealing, without
further action by the City, does not repeal the City's ability to
operate thereunder. Ordinance No. 201 states that the permit must be
issued by the governing body of the City in accordance with M.S. 624.42
through 624.46.
it was reviewed and signed by the City Manager; therefore the Council
has never issued the permit.
the affidavit of two residents that the applicant is a person of good
moral character and reputation.
The statute requires that the permit be issued to the owner of the
premises or the manager of the dance. In this case the permit was
issued to Arnold's Hot Roxx Cafe, which is neither the owner of the
premises or manager of the dance.
In this case the Council never acted on the permit as
2. The application, in accordance with the statute, must be accompanied by
No such affidavits were submitted.
3.
Based on the above and research that indicates that a permit not validly
issued is void, Attorney Erickson opined that there is no valid permit for
operation of the dances. This is true not withstanding the fact that they
have been operating under what they call their permit for some time.
the language is clear in the ordinance the permittee is charged with knowledge
of the laws regulating the granting of the permit and any action taken is at
permitte's own risk.
Where
Although the statute and ordinance gives no guidelines on how to revoke or
suspend a permit, that power is implied. The power of the Council to grant
218 11/21/91
also inch-2s the power to suspend or revoke.
must be essentially what the City is following, i.e. charges, a hearing and
opportunity for the permittee to refute the charges and then a decision by the
Council which must be based upon the public health, safety or morals of the City
or must be based upon a violation of the ordinance or of conditions imposed on
the permit.
conditioned by the issuing authority as it may determine necessary.
if it wishes to consider further an application by the alleged permittee, could
impose conditions.
were subsequently violated, the permit could be revoked.
The procedure to suspend or revoke
The statute also states that a license when issued can be
The Council,
If conditions were imposed and made a part of the permit and
Council Comment/Action Mayor Richards commented that the only issue is the
proper conduct by individuals as it relates to the safety and welfare of this
community. At present the City does not have enough terms and conditions in
place to properly regulate this activity to meet community standards for conduct.
He suggested that the principals set out rules of conduct as the basis on which
they would propose to hold the dances and then submit those to the City.
Further, that the Council not allow the dance activity at the subject premises
until a set of terms and conditions have been submitted, been reviewed by the
Council and the Council will then decide whether or not to issue the permit.
Discussion followed with Council Members stating their concerns about the events
that had occurred and the standards of conduct they felt would be appropriate or
not appropriate. These included, but were not limited to, age level of
participants, drinking in the parking lot, smoking, noise level, only one person
that could effectively control the crowd, use of police officers, limited police
protection for other areas of City, and appropriateness of site/building for the
activity.
Member Paulus made a motion that this matter be held in suspension until the
applicant submits terms and conditions relating to conduct as part of the
application for a public dance permit for the premises at 5121 Industrial
Boulevard. Motion was seconded by Member Rice.
Rollcall :
Ayes: Kelly, Paulus, Rice, Smith Richards
Motion carried.
I
Mayor Richards declared the meeting adjourned at 9:22 P.M.
City Clerk