St. Cloud planning panel recommends ordinance requiring full-service restaurants in entertainment district to close at 11:59 p.m.; 3-2 vote

The St. Cloud Planning Commission voted 3-2 to recommend approval of Ordinance 2026-27, a city-initiated amendment to Chapter 3 of the land development code that restores a closing-time requirement for full-service restaurants inside the entertainment district and removes several duplicative restrictions on entertainment activities.

Deputy director of community development Tisha Manning told the commission the item corrects an earlier clerical error and preserves the city’s intended changes for entertainment activities. “We are proposing you close your business at 11:59,” Manning said, referring to establishments licensed by the state as full-service restaurants, and adding that the ordinance would “remove the restrictions on restaurants that may have entertainment activities such as pool tables, video games, stages, live entertainment, illuminated signs, [and] permits dancing.”

Manning listed operational conditions added to the ordinance: compliance with the conditions of a state-issued alcoholic beverage license, a prohibition on cover charges, a restriction on signage advertising alcoholic beverages visible from outside the building, and the restored closing requirement for state-licensed full-service restaurants. She said the ordinance exempts businesses located within the entertainment district from specified subsections of 3.14.0.5.

Commissioners focused much of their discussion on what the 11:59 p.m. closing requirement would mean in practice. Manning clarified that for restaurants licensed by the state as full-service, “that means the entire establishment” would close at 11:59 p.m., not just the entertainment area. Commissioners and one former owner said state licensing determines whether a venue is classified as a restaurant or a bar and noted that the state enforces the 51% food-sales threshold.

“That's a big restriction on the income for these establishments,” a committee member said, citing experience as a former restaurant/bar owner and concerns that limiting operations to 11:59 p.m. could reduce late-evening revenue for businesses that rely on after-midnight customers.

Jeffrey Balmah, the city’s development director, spoke during the public-comment/clarification period and urged caution for prospective business owners: “The state helps you with that because the requirements for each of those is much different,” he said, explaining the difference between SFS (restaurant) licenses and quota/4-COP licenses and noting quota licenses are limited in number and typically more expensive.

After debate, a commissioner moved to recommend approval of Ordinance 2026-27 and the motion was seconded. The commission recorded three ayes and two no votes; the chair announced the motion passed 3-2.

Separately, staff also said the applicant for conditional use Resolution 2026-097R (Divine Guidance) had requested a continuance to the Aug. 18, 2026 Planning Commission meeting; the commission approved that continuance. The commission approved the minutes of the June 16, 2026 meeting unanimously earlier in the session. The Planning Commission’s next regular meeting is scheduled for Aug. 18 at 6 p.m.

What happens next: The commission recommended the ordinance as drafted; any further procedural steps (such as city council review) were not specified on the public record during this meeting.