Commission approves Rec Room patio expansion with new policing, noise limits

The Lakeland City Commission on a unanimous vote approved Ordinance 25-04 to allow a major modification and expansion of the Rec Room, an arcade-bar at 202 North Massachusetts Avenue, while adding conditions aimed at limiting noise and disorder.

City staff and police described the expansion and the safeguards that accompanied it. Chuck Barbee of Community and Economic Development presented the plan and the staff analysis, saying the expansion would add roughly 1,125 square feet of outdoor assembly area and bring the total indoor area to about 2,863 square feet (3,988 square feet total, indoor plus outdoor). He said the site is the former Firestone building, immediately north of the Main Street parking garage and south of the CSX rail line, and summarized the planning review and public-safety concerns raised at Planning & Zoning.

The commission’s action followed detailed public-safety testimony from Captain Kevin Kimball of the Lakeland Police Department and remarks from a Rec Room representative. Captain Kimball explained the distinction between proactive and reactive police work and described the department's analysis of roughly 30 incident reports tied to the location since late 2022; he said about 18 of those were on the property itself and that two calls were initiated by the Rec Room staff seeking trespass…