Greenacres adopts zoning text amendment to define live entertainment and bar/nightclub rules

The Planning & Zoning Board voted unanimously to approve Zoning Text Amendment ZTA 25-02, a city-initiated update that defines "live entertainment" and "nightclub," revises the definition of "restaurant," and clarifies permit standards for live entertainment and mobile vendors.

Planner Millie Rivera told the board the amendment adds a clear definition of live entertainment as an accessory use that may include amplified or non-amplified performances; it also defines nightclubs and establishes criteria (for example, operating hours past 10 p.m., frequency of entertainment, and characteristics such as dance floors, bouncers or cover charges) that would allow staff to determine whether a business is a nightclub. The amendment states nightclubs are not permitted within the city. Rivera said the revision to the restaurant definition clarifies alcoholic beverage service must remain incidental to food service to prevent restaurant-to-nightclub transitions.

ZTA 25-02 also reorganizes permitted-use tables to list liquor stores and to distinguish bar/cocktail lounge uses, and it refines the live-entertainment section (16-609) to include noise-control, public-safety and permit-review standards. The amendment clarifies mobile food-dispensing-vehicle standards (section 16-721) and notes that additional mobile-vendor criteria are being finalized with the city attorney and will be added before final City Council action. The Development Review Committee reviewed the draft and recommended approval; staff recommended the board approve the amendment, and members voted unanimously.

The board’s action approves the text amendment; implementation will follow typical code-amendment procedures, and staff indicated further legal review will finalize mobile-vendor language before any related enforcement changes.