At its August meeting the Daytona Beach Planning Board voted to recommend approval of a rezoning at 512 Main Street that would allow a bar or lounge use in an existing building and would grant a sign-code waiver for a projecting (blade) sign slightly larger than currently permitted. The recommendation will go to the City Commission for final action.

City planning staff said the request would rezone roughly 0.03 acres from Redevelopment Beachside Specialty Retail (RDB-2) to Plan Development Redevelopment (PDRD) so the existing building — constructed in the 1920s and most recently used as retail — may operate as a bar or upscale lounge. Staff said the property lies in the Main Street redevelopment area and, because it is in a redevelopment district, review by the Beachside Redevelopment Board was waived after that board lacked a quorum. Planning staff recommended approval to the City Commission.

Applicant Jessica Gallo, representing the project, showed conceptual exterior and interior renderings and said the ground floor would be an upscale cocktail lounge with “soft live music.” Gallo said the upstairs space is planned with an aeronautical theme intended to serve Embry–Riddle students. She said the applicant will not propose wall signage and instead requests a single projecting blade sign; the waiver request is to allow a 12-square-foot blade sign where the code limit in the district is 10 square feet.

The applicant and operator said they had limited any live music or entertainment to end by midnight even though an extended-hours business permit could allow operations to 2 a.m. The planning board and public asked multiple questions about an existing balcony feature on the building. Christian Bain, a proposed operator who identified himself as “Bam Bam,” said an engineer had previously worked on the balcony, that timber members are new, and that an aluminum railing would be replaced with a cast-iron railing. Bain said they plan to post a 10-person limit sign and that the building official would determine whether the balcony must be re-engineered or otherwise withheld from use during the building-permit process.

Public commenters raised mixed points. One neighbor asked that the board approve the rezone and encouraged loosening Main Street restrictions; another resident who owns nearby property said he was concerned about losing opportunities for upstairs residential units if the zoning changes. A separate public speaker emphasized that balconies on Main Street have been used for years and urged they not be removed.

The planning board member motioned to recommend approval of the rezoning and sign waiver to the City Commission; the motion passed unanimously. Planning staff identified tentative City Commission hearing dates as Oct. 1 and Oct. 15, 2025, but said the applicant requested expedited processing that could bring an initial reading in mid-September (applicant and staff mentioned Sept. 17 or Sept. 18 in discussion); staff said final scheduling will be confirmed with the City Clerk.

Approval by the City Commission would change the permitted land use on the property and allow the bar/lounge use subject to any conditions the commission applies. Any structural change that would open the balcony to patrons would require building-permit review and sign-off by the city’s building official.