UPDATE: Committee: Gilroy just has to dance

Bob Tapella had just paid $400 for a live cumbia and reggaeton
band and was getting ready to rev up a party Saturday night at
Garlic City Billiards, until he found out dancing in downtown
without a permit is illegal.
Bob Tapella had just paid $400 for a live cumbia and reggaeton band and was getting ready to rev up a party Saturday night at Garlic City Billiards, until he found out dancing in downtown without a permit is illegal.

Tapella had put on live music shows at the Billiards before, and two or three people had admittedly been “shaking a leg,” but the week before it was scheduled, Gilroy Police Officer Kurt Ashley asked Tapella to give him a visit.

“He looked at everything and said it was OK to have music, but we couldn’t have any dancing,” said Tapella, who has owned the billiard venue on the 7500 block of Monterey Street for almost 20 years.

Downtown business owners such as Tapella, who have wanted to host live music events with dancing without obtaining a dance hall permit, have sparked the City of Gilroy to look at regulations that many business owners didn’t even know existed.

The City Council put together the Downtown Dancing Committee in September 2009 to look at ways to relax restrictions on dancing. After a year of deliberations, Councilwoman Cat Tucker, Development Center Manager Kristi Abrams, Gilroy Police Sgt. Kurt Ashley, Downtown Business Association President Eric Howard and business owner Gary Walton are picking up the pace.

“Our goal is to find guidelines that will allow dancing downtown without creating a safety problem,” said Abrams. There have been incidents of violence in large dance clubs, and by asking for a dance hall permit, the police is better able to control the crowds.

But the committee says city regulations are deterring new entertainment businesses from coming to Gilroy while limiting possibilities for coffee shops or other establishments that don’t have a permit to host live music.

The committee is looking to change two city policies.

While Gilroy Zoning Section 19 adopted April 2006, doesn’t allow new dance halls in downtown, Section 8 of the municipal code states all those who give, carry on or conduct public dancing must first get a permit from the city administrator. Section 8, introduced in 2003, also states if a dance event is “detrimental to public health, safety and welfare, the permit maybe revoked by the council.”

“I’ve never heard something like this,” said Walton, committee member and owner of Lizarran Tapas Restaurant in downtown Gilroy. “The only place I could find is Afghanistan, but that’s legal there now.”

Walton has gone so far as to hire a consultant from Responsible Hospitality Institute, a Santa Cruz firm that assists cities and businesses on issues involving entertainment and nightlife. The committee hasn’t presented any official suggestions yet, but Walton has arranged an Oct. 6 committee meeting with the consultant. 

Jim Peters, president of the institute, says regulating the use of venues in cities is not uncommon.

“The idea is that they want to have a designation for a place that is going to create a certain impact,” he said. “So the city will determine what type of businesses there are and what type of activities can be carried out there.”

Peters has advised cities as large as New York and smaller ones such as Stockton in California’s San Joaquin Valley on how to implement plans for nightlife venues.

Though Walton opposes the current restrictions on dancing, he acknowledges there was a time when downtown Gilroy at night was a lot more dangerous and dancing – or rather dance halls – were very much involved.

The restrictions were a reaction to problems that the city was having with clubs and fights, according to Police Department Chief Denise Turner.

“In the past there were a lot of public safety problems and stabbings and all kind of bad stuff,” said Turner.

According to police reports, 11 incidents in four dance halls and bars were reported in 2008 and 2009. In March 2008, a patron of Rio Nilo on the 7400 block of Monterey Street was murdered when leaving the club. In April 2009 a homicide was reported at Aloha Club, down the road. In September 2008, several fights involving suspected gang members were reported at the Oakwood Lounge.

Aside from the safety concerns, Tapella sees the dancing regulations as outdated.

“I think the business owners downtown are different now. Right now we’re just doing anything we can to bring people downtown.”

Turner understands the need to revisit the municipal code. Some of the suggestions coming from Gilroy Police will include enhanced checking of IDs and monitoring alcohol service, said Turner. Section 8 already requires businesses to close their doors from 2 to 8 a.m.

“We don’t want it to be the Wild West again, but we want people to be able to enjoy the downtown area and dance,” Turner said. “What we try to do is look at it from a public safety perspective and make sure there is no adverse impact on the community.”