Aurora moves to require cabaret-style licenses, tighter oversight for event centers

Aurora — The City Council advanced an ordinance Monday to create a new open-floor cabaret license and to require private event centers that permit alcohol and dancing to obtain cabaret permits and follow stricter safety and alcohol-service rules.

The measure, sponsored by Council member Jurinsky, would add a new cabaret classification for standing-room venues holding more than 250 patrons and would require fire-department-approved crowd-control plans, limits on glass, new rules for bottle service, a 14-day video-surveillance retention requirement and other controls to curb noise, violence and overconsumption.

Trevor Vaughn, manager of licensing, told the council the ordinance has “two separate goals.” He said, “The first is creation of an open floor cabaret license for places that have standing room only. So this allows locations that wanna have more of a concert venue.” Vaughn said the 250-person threshold is based on the National Fire Code guidance for when crowd-control measures are needed.

The ordinance would also bring private event centers that currently have no liquor license into the liquor-code framework when alcohol is consumed and dancing occurs. Vaughn said the change is intended to add enforcement and accountability after a string of violent incidents tied to private events: “We attributed 4 shootings at event centers just in this past year,” he said, and he described examples where lack of surveillance and accountability complicated law-enforcement responses.

Council members asked how enforcement would work for neighborhood impacts. Vaughn and sponsor Jurinsky said the cabaret-style permit would allow the city to place conditions on holders’ operations and to deny or revoke the privilege if rules are repeatedly violated. Jurinsky added that a liquor-catering requirement or an improved alcohol-service plan would make the alcohol-service responsibility professional rather than left to transient renters.

Key provisions discussed by the council included: - a 250-patron threshold for the open-floor cabaret classification (based on National Fire Code crowd-control guidance); - a requirement for fire-department-approved crowd-control plans and 14 days of retained surveillance; - limits on bottle service (limited to 750 milliliters and to groups of three or more patrons, with adequate staff monitoring); - a prohibition or restriction on glass bottles when operating as standing-room-only venues; and - a requirement that event-center operators demonstrate “good moral character” consistent with liquor-license standards and either hire a licensed liquor caterer or implement a city-approved alcohol-service plan until state caterer licensing is available.

Council members also discussed insurance and enforcement mechanics. Staff said the ordinance will include an insurance requirement (amount to be set by the finance director) and that licensees must reapply each year; repeated violations can affect renewal. The sponsor said exemptions would apply where events already hold special-event liquor permits.

After discussion, the council advanced the ordinance to the next step with no objection. City staff said they will return with the ordinance’s final language and any required amendments for the formal-reading process.

The ordinance will return for formal readings before final adoption; advancing it does not enact the new requirements until adoption.