Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting: Hinode Conditional Use Approved - August 27, 2013
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Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting: Conditional Use for Restaurant Entertainment - August 27, 2013
On the evening of August 27, 2013, the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) convened to consider one new business item: a conditional use application from Hinode restaurant (50 Carroll Creek Way) to offer entertainment (DJ, live music, dancing) Thursday through Saturday evenings. The board also approved the minutes from the June 25, 2013 meeting and discussed procedural updates. After public testimony and deliberation, the board voted unanimously to approve the application with several conditions.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of June 25, 2013 Minutes: The minutes were approved as written by a unanimous voice vote (motion by Member, second by Member).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Barbara Mann (Maxwell Place resident): Expressed support for Hinode as a good neighbor but requested clarification on entertainment type, noise levels, frequency, and hours. She asked for a six-month review to ensure compliance and that the entertainment remain entirely indoors. She also noted that the 6:00 p.m. start time conflicted with prime dining hours.
- Applicant Rebecca Kuhn (Hinode owner): Testified that entertainment would be sporadic (once a month or by request), primarily for events such as salsa dancing or comedy nights. She stated that the entertainment would be kept inside, not outside, and that voluntary coordination with the police department for a 100-foot sound measurement sticker would be pursued. She also confirmed that hours of operation would need to be extended to 12:30 a.m. and that she would seek liquor board approval for that change. She noted a prior event (salsa night) generated no complaints.
Discussion Items
- Staff Report (Pam Rupert, Planner): Read the staff report recommending approval with conditions. Key findings included that the restaurant meets the 80% seating requirement (currently 83% of the 139-person fire capacity), that alcohol sales constitute 15–18% of quarterly gross revenue (well below the 40% threshold), and that the site is zoned DB (Downtown Commercial Residential) where restaurants with entertainment are permitted as a conditional use. Staff noted that the applicant must change hours of operation and provide proof of liquor board approval. A nearby business (Wine Kitchen) and the NAC11 neighborhood advisory council expressed concerns about noise and indoor-only entertainment.
- Board Deliberation: Board members discussed the seating capacity issue—particularly the applicant’s plan to reconfigure tables for a dance floor, which could reduce seating below the required 80% at times. The board noted that the revenue condition (alcohol sales less than 40%) would help enforce compliance. They also considered the requested hours: the applicant sought Thursday through Saturday until 12:30 a.m. Some members expressed concern about late Thursday hours due to proximity to residential units across Carroll Creek. The applicant clarified that salsa nights would only run 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. and that the 6 p.m. start was to cover any entertainment type. The board ultimately found 12:30 a.m. acceptable on all three nights, given the planned six-month and one-year call-for-service reviews.
- Procedural Items: The board noted that a letter had been sent to the mayor and Board of Aldermen recommending consistent regulations for restaurant entertainment. They also discussed updating the board’s rules of procedure and an upcoming appeal case (Montague) scheduled for an October hearing.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Approve (ZBA13-554CU): The board approved the conditional use for Hinode restaurant to offer entertainment (DJ, live music, dancing) with the following conditions:
- The applicant must apply for and receive a zoning certificate lawfully establishing the restaurant-with-entertainment use within two years of approval (per LMC Section 312(g)).
- The applicant must change hours of operation and provide proof of approval from the liquor board for sale of alcohol until 12:30 a.m.
- The applicant must provide quarterly revenue reports for one year from the date entertainment commences to document compliance with LMC Section 856(c) (alcohol sales not exceeding 40% of total quarterly revenues).
- The applicant must provide police call-for-service reports at six months and one year after entertainment begins (to monitor noise complaints and other issues).
- Entertainment is limited to Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, from 6:00 p.m. until 12:30 a.m.
- The applicant must comply with all applicable city noise ordinances (Section 15–21).
- The approval is automatically revocable if any violations occur.
- Vote: Motion passed 4–0 (Chair Jim Racheff, Vice Chair Lawrence Aronow, Bob Sisson, Dixon Hicks, Stephen Colar; new member Sean Butcher voted in favor).
- Next Steps: Staff will work with the applicant to issue the zoning certificate, send the liquor board confirmation request, and coordinate with the police department for call-for-service reviews.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the August 27th, 2013 meeting of the City of Frederick Zoning Board of Appeals. I see we have some new faces uh here tonight, so I will uh review the um rules of procedure uh for tonight's cases, and uh then we've got a couple of housekeeping measures to take care of and and we'll get on with tonight's business. Uh the members of the zoning board of appeals were all volunteers for all residents of the city of Frederick. We are appointed by the mayor, and those appointments are confirmed by the Board of Alderman. Um addition to uh the members of the zoning board uh also speaking tonight and supporting uh the activities of the zoning board of appeals is uh are some members from the city staff. Um just to introduce them to my far right and your far left is Ms. Pam Rupert, she is a planner with the City of Frederick. Uh sitting next to Ms. Rupert is Ms. Rachel DePo. She is the assistant city attorney with the City of Frederick. And then seated next to Ms. DePo is Ms. Gabrielle Dunn, and she is the division manager of current planning for the City of Frederick. Uh to go over tonight's uh procedures. Uh I'll call uh a case. Um we don't have a big crowd here, so I don't think there's any reason to to hustle up and move your way to the front. Uh um I'll ask the staff for re for uh excuse me, I'll ask the staff report to be read into the record. Uh at the end of the staff report, the staff will make a recommendation regarding uh the particular case. That's one criteria that we use in our consideration of tonight's cases, but not the only criteria. Um we'll then ask the applicants if they have any information they'd like to add or anything that they would like to expand upon from the staff report or disagree with. Uh following the applicant's comments, we'll see if anyone uh has public comment to offer regarding the case. And then following public comment, we'll give the applicant uh final opportunity to kind of tie up uh anything they'd like to say. That'll close the public testimony part of the case. Um following public testimony, I will call for a motion from uh the board members regarding the case. Um just so every for everyone's aware, um our rules of procedure require four members to vote in the affirmative for motion to pass. Um and so tonight, all four members will have to vote in the affirmative for for any motion to pass uh that's before us tonight. Uh when you come to the microphone, if we could have your name and address for the record, that would be uh helpful. Reason for that is is everything tonight is being recorded. And if anyone is aggrieved by a decision of the zoning board of appeals, they have the right to appeal that decision to the Circuit Court of Maryland. And that's one way that a judge reviewing the transcripts from tonight can kind of keep straight who happens to be talking at any time. So there are any questions about our procedures for tonight. No. Okay. Well, if uh anyone has uh uh cell phones, which I guess these days just about everyone do. If you could just send them to to silent or vibrate, that would be great. Um we have a couple of uh, like I said, little housekeeping measures on our agenda before we get to tonight's cases. We'll get through those and then we'll get to tonight's case. Thank you. First order uh business on the agenda tonight is uh review and approval of the June 25th, 2013 minutes. Uh members, you have those minutes before you and I will entertain a motion. I move to approve the minutes of June 25th, 2013 as written. We have a motion for approval with minutes as written. Do we have a second? I'll second the motion. Second by Mr. Patchant. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye.
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