The Daytona Beach Planning Board voted to recommend a text amendment to the Land Development Code that would add auditorium and theater uses to the RDD‑1 and RDD‑2 redevelopment zoning districts and would add use‑specific standards and definitions for those uses.

Planning Director Dennis Miller presented the amendment on behalf of the Redevelopment and Neighborhood Services Division. Miller said the change would allow auditorium/theater uses where they were previously not permitted in RDD‑1 and RDD‑2, aligning those districts with other redevelopment districts that already allow those uses. The amendment also adds use‑specific standards intended to distinguish theaters and auditoria from nightclubs and to prohibit adult‑entertainment classifications.

Key use‑specific standards presented in staff comments include: performances must occur within an enclosed building; a stage or designated performance area is required; dance floors and dance spaces would be prohibited; the sale and service of food would be permitted as an accessory use; the sale and service of beer and wine for on‑premises consumption would require the applicable license (such as a 2COP); and hours of operation for auditorium/theater uses were proposed as 9 a.m. to midnight (no operations authorized after midnight). Miller said a definition for “live entertainment” would be added and a minor clarification would be made to the nightclub definition to remove “comedic performances” from the nightclub entry so comedy can be treated consistently as live entertainment or as accessory to other uses.

Miller said the initiative grew out of a redevelopment inquiry from a prospective comedy‑club operator on Beach Street and that the amendment would allow small performance venues in appropriate downtown locations. Board members asked whether removing “comedic performances” from the nightclub definition would prevent comedy shows; staff explained that removing the specific reference avoids implying comedy is allowed only in nightclubs and instead makes comedy permitted where assembly uses are allowed. Staff recommended approval to the City Commission; a planning board motion to recommend the text amendment passed unanimously. Staff identified anticipated City Commission readings Oct. 1 and Oct. 15, 2025.

If adopted by the City Commission, the amendment would change where auditorium/theater uses are permitted in redevelopment districts and would impose the new use‑specific standards and definitions in the Land Development Code.