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Staff presents draft zoning amendments to regulate entertainment venues and event spaces; commissioners give feedback on hours and enforcement
Summary
Planning staff proposed ordinance amendments on June 3 to impose specific standards and enforcement tools for entertainment establishments and event spaces, including a default midnight cutoff for live entertainment unless modified by permit.
Planning staff presented draft amendments on June 3 to the Portsmouth Zoning Ordinance to add use‑specific standards for entertainment establishments and event spaces and to provide the zoning administrator with revocation authority for certificates of zoning compliance.
Planner Patrice Branch and Zoning Administrator Trayvon Boone said the amendments respond to neighborhood complaints about noise, large crowds, parking and, in some instances, violent incidents at properties where restaurants or event spaces added entertainment. Staff proposed adding a new subsection with specific standards, including indoor‑only live entertainment as the default, compliance with the city noise ordinance, building and sound‑proofing requirements, 24‑hour surveillance, and a default live‑entertainment timeframe of 8 a.m. to midnight unless an applicant requests a modification at the time of application.
Branch told commissioners the proposal also would add sections 40‑2‑5556 and 40‑2‑5557 to allow the zoning administrator to revoke a certificate for failure to maintain conditions or repeated violations; revocation would result in discontinuance of the use. Branch said enforcement decisions would be coordinated through an interagency task force including police, fire, commissioner of revenue, permits & inspections, Virginia Department of Health and ABC.
During discussion commissioners asked staff to clarify whether hour exceptions would apply per application or per event and to confirm that applicants would be made aware they can request modifications to the default hours. Commissioner comments urged staff to consider geographic context — for example, longer hours in commercial‑only zones and earlier cutoffs where mixed‑use or residential neighbors are nearby — and to provide at least a short public comment window before finalizing language.
Staff asked whether the commission was comfortable advertising the draft as a public hearing item for July; commissioners supported moving the item forward but requested time to submit written feedback before advertisement so that the advertised language would reflect key commission concerns on hours and enforcement.
