From the Arizona Republic this morning. I would only add that thousand-dollar fines are a drop in the bucket for these operations. They accidentally spill more than $1000 worth of drinks in one night:
3 Scottsdale bars hit with after-hours fines
By Edward Gately, The Republic | azcentral.com
Three nightclubs in downtown Scottsdale’s entertainment district were found in violation of their conditional-use permits for staging after-hours parties into New Year’s Day.
The nightclubs are SmashBoxx at 7419 E. Indian Plaza, El Hefe Super Macho Taqueria at 4425 N. Saddlebag Trail, and Hi-Fi Kitchen & Cocktails at 4420 N. Saddlebag Trail.
All three establishments were found in violation of their conditional-use permit stipulation regarding hours of operation and did not obtain special-event permits, said Raun Keagy, the city’s neighborhood resources director.
In addition, the two that opened at 3 a.m., SmashBoxx and Hi-Fi, were found in violation of not obtaining an afterhours license, he said.
The fines levied include $1,000 for Smashboxx, $1,000 for Hi-Fi and $500 for El Hefe, Keagy said. The fine for conditional-use-permit violation and no special-event permit total $250 each, while no after-hours license carries a $500 fine.
“The responsible parties can either pay the fines or request a hearing,” he said. “If a hearing is held, the court ultimately determines the fines.”
The fines can be lowered but not raised.
The owners of the three establishments couldn’t be reached for comment.
In a Dec. 31 e-mail to Councilman Bob Littlefield, Randy Grant, the city’s planning, neighborhood and transportation administrator, said all three clubs planned the after-hours parties.
“They were informed that, absent approvals for special events, the bars would be subject to the requirements for their individual bar conditional-use permits and that proceeding with the after-hours events could result in enforcement action,” Grant said. “Staff could not prevent them from following through on their plans for the events, but they were advised of the potential consequences.”
Littlefield said the City Council needs to revoke the establishments’ conditional-use permits, and he plans to “pursue this relentlessly.”
Regarding potential noise complaints or disturbing the peace, the Scottsdale Police Department received one call for service at 4:22 a.m. on Jan. 1 for loud music at Hi-Fi, Officer David Pubins said.
“Though our officers were unable to verify that the music was too loud, they still informed the Hi-Fi staff of the complaint, and Hi-Fi agreed to turn down the bass (no report taken),” Pubins said. “So, there are no pending charges or citations that were written.”
Bill Crawford, president of the Association To Preserve Downtown Scottsdale’s Quality of Life, urged downtown residents who were disturbed by the noise to call the Police Department and file a complaint.
“We expect people to enjoy the New Year,” Crawford said. “However, there are some special events planned … that are not consistent with the expectations of the neighbors who live around the bar district.”
8 Comments
How does this continue to happen in Scottsdale? 4:30 am 1/1/14 loud music complaint. $1,000 fine is not enough. Close those bars down when they violate noise ordinances.
Party pooper.
It’s called NYE. Ever looked at a calendar?
“Bill Crawford, president of the Association To Preserve Downtown Scottsdale’s Quality of Life, urged downtown residents who were disturbed by the noise to call the Police Department and file a complaint. ”
Bill is trying but it will do no good.
Nope, Scottsdale is making a name for itself with its entertainment district. Bars > art galleries. Embrace the extra revenue.
According to our City Treasurer the bar district costs the city twice as much to police and clean up than it generates in revenue.
Other than the abuse of homeowners is the bars intentional abuse planned in advance. It was premeditated because the bar owners knew the fines were minor. Clearly the meetings Mayor Lane had with bar owners was premeditated also..
Mayor Lane took responsibility for the bars along with his deputy city council members Klapp, Milhaven and Robbins. Bars were campaign contributors to Lane and his possy.
Maybe because Scottsdale isn’t Sun City and doesn’t want that reputation?
I don’t object to bars per se, but I do object to bars (or any business, for that matter) that negatively impacts the quality of life of surrounding residential neighborhoods. My Council colleagues have allowed the largest concentration of bars in Maricopa County to develop right next to residential neighborhoods, some of which have been there for 50 years – which gives the lie to the argument that if the residents don’t like the bars they should just move, they were there first. The Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process was put in place not to prevent bars from operating to to insure they operate as good neighbors. The three bars mentioned in this article simply thumbed their nose at our rules (designed, I say again, to insure they operate as good neighbors) and for that blatant disregard of the law they should have their permits revoked.