Committee approves banquet hall permit at 2120 N. Green Bay Rd.; members pressed on hours, parking and security

The Waukegan Community Development Committee voted to adopt an ordinance granting a conditional use permit for a banquet hall at 2120 North Green Bay Road (zoning calendar 02/08/2003). Applicant Elizabeth Marrero described the property layout and operations and answered committee questions on parking, hours and crowd control.

Marrero said the site has a rear parking lot with roughly 99 spaces and two banquet spaces downstairs, each with its own bar; the restaurant on the same address is upstairs and will close earlier. Committee members asked how alcohol service and last calls would be handled; Marrero said she expects last call at about 1:00 a.m. so that the facility can be closed by about 2:00 a.m. She also said the business would provide security and that she had met with the police department and signed related paperwork.

Committee members pressed about responsibility for post-event crowd control and whether a police-approved security plan should be a condition of the permit; staff said the conditional use permit process allows the city to require a police-approved security plan and the committee agreed to include the security-plan requirement. The motion was moved by Alderwoman Bolton and seconded by Alderman Martinez; a roll call recorded aye votes and the motion carried.

The applicant invited the committee to her grand opening once operations begin.