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Council approves entertainment permit for Woodruff Avenue restaurant with security conditions
Summary
Bellflower City Council voted unanimously to approve an entertainment permit allowing live music, dancing and karaoke at a restaurant at 14074 Woodruff Avenue, adding conditions on hours, the designated dance area and a security plan that will include an alarm on an emergency door.
The Bellflower City Council on Monday approved Resolution No. 25-29 to grant entertainment permit EP25-01 for a restaurant at 14074 Woodruff Avenue, allowing live musical and dance performers, DJs, karaoke and stand-up comedy with conditions to limit noise and require a security plan.
City planning staff told the council the restaurant has been operating since 2009 and previously used temporary use permits for events. Planner James (staff member) said the facility’s interior includes a stage and a designated dancing area and that the applicant has installed interior and exterior cameras. Staff recommended approval after the applicant worked with city staff to meet new municipal entertainment regulations in Municipal Code section 5.36.
The council’s approval includes several explicit conditions of approval: entertainment may not be audible outside the premises; doors and windows must remain closed during live entertainment except for ingress and egress; performances and dancing must be confined to the stage and adjacent dancing area shown on the floor plan; private security must be present for events; the unpermitted wrought-iron fence surrounding the outdoor patio must be permitted or removed; and the director of public safety must approve a security plan that will include an alarm on the patio/emergency door.
Juan Alarcon, speaking for owner Agustin Fernandez through an interpreter, said the intent is cultural, family-oriented programming rather than a nightclub. “We are not a specific one to build a place for a nightclub… it’s a place like all Latinos can feel better inside,” he said.
Council members pressed staff and the applicant on specifics. Council member Wendy Morris asked for a clear limit that the dance area remain the area shown on the plan; staff agreed to add that as an explicit condition. Council members also sought assurances about hours and occupancy: staff confirmed the approved hours limit entertainment to midnight Sunday–Thursday and to 2 a.m. Friday–Saturday as conditioned, and noted the plan shows a maximum occupancy of 155 based on the floor plan and building-code calculations. The permit record also notes the business currently holds a Type 41 ABC license for beer and wine; any future request to change to a Type 47 (full liquor) would require a separate process.
Morris moved to adopt Resolution No. 25-29 with the added alarm/security condition; Mayor Pro Tem Sonny Santinez seconded. The council voted unanimously: Morris, Victor Sanchez, Mayor Pro Tem Santinez, Dan Coops and Mayor Ryan Dutton each voted “Aye.”
The resolution approves the entertainment permit as conditioned; staff will return only if future changes (including a change of operator) trigger further review.
Details recorded in the city’s staff report list specific conditions of approval (including COA Nos. referenced in the staff report): COA No. 6 (substantial conformance to the floor plan), COA No. 9 (permit or remove unpermitted fencing), COA No. 18 (entertainment not audible outside the premises), COA No. 27 (security plan to be approved by director of public safety) and other standard operational conditions.
The new permit formalizes activities the restaurant has run under temporary permits and ties future enforcement and potential requirement changes to the director of public safety and building/fire-code enforcement.
