Agenda Item Wording:
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Live Entertainment Review and Discussion - Review of the Conditional Use Permit process for Live Entertainment, conditions applied to these uses, and potential City Council consideration and/or direction on a Live Entertainment Ordinance.
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Prepared by:
Colleen Moreno, Assistant Planner, colleen.moreno@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4031;
Paul Bernal, Planning and Community Preservation Director, paul.bernal@visalia.gov, (559) 713-4025
Department Recommendation:
Receive the staff report, presentation and provide staff with comments and/or direction on changes to the current process of live entertainment, additional conditions that should be applied to businesses that host live entertainment or provide direction for staff to begin the process of drafting a Live Entertainment Ordinance.
If staff receives direction to begin the process of drafting a Live Entertainment Ordinance, staff will present a future work session item to the City Council on items that may be included in this type of ordinance before a full draft is presented to the Council and the public. Similar to other new draft ordinance considerations, staff will also conduct public outreach to businesses and others that host and/or inquired about the possibilities of hosting live entertainment within their commercial establishments for their input prior to presenting a draft ordinance to City Council at a future meeting.
Summary:
The purpose of this work session item is to provide the City Council with an overview of how the City of Visalia processes live entertainment request for businesses seeking to host live entertainment within their establishments, the standard operating and security conditions applied to these types of request, which have been revised over time, and to seek potential Council direction on whether staff should pursue the framework for a comprehensive Live Entertainment Ordinance to streamline permitting, improve compliance, and support economic vitality while maintaining public safety and neighborhood compatibility.
History of Conditional Use Permit Live Entertainment Process:
The City of Visalia has long recognized the importance of the downtown area, which represents the center of the city offering a wide range of commercial establishments, stores, restaurants, mixed with offices and some residential uses. In addition to being a major center for employment, there are several commercial establishments that have been approved, via a discretionary review process and subject to operating conditions, that offer various live entertainment options in the latter part of the evening which are intended to be ancillary to the primary commercial establishments use (i.e., bona fide restaurant). These live entertainment approvals are recognized as a way to provide the downtown with a variety of entertainment options for patrons to enjoy dancing, singing, and listening to local artists in the late evening hours, and on the weekends.
The Visalia Zoning Ordinance (Title 17) defines Live Entertainment as follows:
"Live Entertainment" means the performance by one (1) or more of any of the following performed live with amplified sound by one (1) or more persons, whether or not done for compensation and whether or not admission is charged: (I) musical act, including karaoke; (ii) theatrical act, including a play, revue, or stand-up comedy;(iii) dance;(iv) magic act;(v) disc jockey; or (vi) similar activity.
Any business seeking to offer live entertainment as part of their business requires the submittal and approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for that establishment to host live entertainment, which may include live amplified musical act, DJ performances, dancing, comedy shows, karaoke, and/or similar activities. The CUP process ensures that conditions/requirements are applied and adopted to help safeguard and protect patrons and compatibility between the entertainment use and adjacent properties. The CUP process includes staff review (Building, Fire, Police, and Planning), public hearing notices to property owners and businesses/tenants within 300-feet of the site, and Planning Commission approval which is subject to a 10-day appeal period.
Currently, there are 14 establishments that have obtained CUP live entertainment approvals with a majority of these establishments in the downtown/east downtown area, one along the East Main Street near Mineral King Avenue and the other on South Fairway Street east of Mooney Boulevard. For a full list of the business establishments, location, and the year their CUP was approved along with additional information, please see Attachment ‘A’.
With all live entertainment CUP’s, each has been approved with a variation of general conditions, operating conditions, and security conditions adopted for each live entertainment use, although the wording over time for these conditions has been refined with each new live entertainment CUP. The following are abbreviated examples of conditions from more recently approved live entertainment CUPs that have been adopted:
Standard Operating Conditions:
• That the site be developed and maintained in substantial conformance with the site plan, floor plan and operational statement. Any changes to their operation are subject to review by the City Planner and may subsequently be required to be reviewed by the Planning Commission.
• For restaurants: That the establishment be maintained as a bona fide restaurant. At all times during normal mealtime hours, the site shall act as a bona fide restaurant with a full menu offering complete meals. The land use shall not operate primarily as a nightclub or live entertainment venue.
• For microbreweries: That the land use shall maintain operation primarily as a microbrewery or taproom as defined in VMC 17.63.030. This operation allows for the service of brewed beverages with or without the service of food. The land use shall not operate primarily as a nightclub or live entertainment venue.
• Public sidewalks shall be kept clear for pedestrian use. Patrons waiting to enter the business shall be formed in a single orderly line outside of the front door of the business.
• Public sidewalks directly adjacent to the site shall be monitored to prevent loitering, noise, littering and related issues during and after any activities.
• Patrons shall use only the main entrance doors of the business to enter and exit the business except in the event of an emergency.
• The City Planner may initiate a Conditional Use Permit revocation hearing pursuant to Visalia Municipal Code Section No. 17.38.040, based on documented evidence of failure to comply with any conditions, or if the business is declared a Public Nuisance.
Live Entertainment Conditions (Please note the entertainment conditions listed below are examples of conditions recently adopted for a live entertainment use that identified only three days entertainment is to be provided and elected to not have DJs as an option for live entertainment within their establishment. This condition is not intended for Council to interpret that staff is recommending only three days live entertainment be allowed nor is staff recommending DJs being prohibited as a live entertainment option.)
• Live entertainment shall only be permitted on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and only during the hours of 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Live entertainment shall be restricted only to comedy shows, karaoke, and live amplified musical acts as defined in Visalia Municipal Code section 17.04.030. Live musical acts are defined for the purposes of this conditional use permit as a vocal or instrumental performance by a natural person(s) who is physically present in the establishment while delivering the performance and while this definition shall include karaoke performances involving the live singing of songs over prerecorded backing music, it specifically excludes disc jockeys. For purposes of this Conditional Use Permit, a disc jockey shall be defined as a person(s) whose performance consists of selecting or manipulating prerecorded music on equipment, and a disc jockey shall not be considered a live musical act. Disc jockeys are hereby expressly prohibited from performing within this establishment. Karaoke performances are an exception to the prohibition on disc jockeys to the extent these two defined terms might be considered overlapping. Any form of dancing by patrons and guests at this restaurant establishment is permitted during live entertainment. This condition does not prohibit unamplified musical accompaniment in the micro-brewery by no more than two (2) performers, including patrons, without dancing. In addition, ambient music, whether amplified or not amplified, that is recorded or being played from a radio, jukebox, or similar device that is not audible to a reasonable person within twenty feet from any portion of the exterior of the building that is intended to provide ambience and not to entertain shall also be allowed, this includes playing prerecorded music during karaoke performances or in between persons singing during a karaoke performance. Any subsequent change to the nature of live entertainment shall require an amendment to the Conditional Use Permit.
• There shall be no adult entertainment as defined in Visalia Municipal Code Chapter 17.62, including no lingerie/bathing suit shows.
• During live entertainment, the operator shall regularly maintain the area under their control in an effort to prevent loitering of persons about the premises. No alcoholic beverages shall be consumed on any public areas adjacent to the licensed premises under the control of the licensee.
• During live entertainment, patrons waiting to enter the business during days and hours live entertainment is permitted shall be required to form one single orderly line outside of the front door of the business for any patron(s) waiting to enter and/or for any patron(s) that exited the building and are seeking re-entry, and shall keep the public sidewalk area directly in front of the business open and clear for public pedestrian use. This standing waiting area shall be defined by use of a portable non-permanent rope or metal railing fence style system that creates a separation between the area patrons waiting in line and the public use area of the sidewalk. The sidewalk shall have a minimum of four-foot clearance for unimpeded pedestrian traffic use. The uniformed licensed security personnel shall require patrons to remain in line and shall regularly maintain the area under their control free of alcohol, monitored to prevent patron loitering, and litter during and after live entertainment activities cease.
Security Conditions:
• A copy of the approved and signed Security Plan shall be provided to Visalia Police Department and Visalia Code Enforcement prior to beginning live entertainment hours.
• That the owner/operator shall hold and implement the security plan, as approved by the Visalia Police Department, on the premise at all times.
• During the days and hours live entertainment is permitted, all security personnel hired to ensure the safety of patrons within the establishment and patrons waiting to enter the establishment shall be licensed security guards and shall comply with the uniform requirements set forth in California Business & Professions code section 7582.26
• During the days and hours live entertainment is permitted, the licensed uniformed security personnel and management staff shall maintain a count of and accurately report the total number of persons in the building upon immediate request by either the Building Official, Fire Marshall, police officer, or code enforcement officer.
• Designate an adequate number of security personnel who will monitor and control the behavior of customers inside the building, any portable non-permanent rope or metal railing style system patron queue on the public sidewalk for the business, and any private parking lot under the establishment's control. The security personnel must all be security guards with a valid license issued by the California Bureau of Security and Investigative Services. The licensed security personnel may be employees of the establishment or licensed security personnel retained from a licensed security firm. All on-duty licensed security guards shall comply with the uniform requirements set forth in California Business & Professions code section 7582.26.
For a full comprehensive overview of general, live entertainment, and security conditions that have been adopted for recent live entertainment CUP’s, please refer to Attachment ‘B’.
When these establishments fail to properly comply with the conditions/requirements imposed on them to ensure entertainment activities are done in a manner to protect their patrons, unruly behavior can result. The City of Visalia has to apply significant staff resources to monitor and combat this type of behavior to avoid negative impacts to the downtown area, surrounding businesses, and to the safety of visitors to the downtown area. As a result of failing to adhere to their live entertainment conditions, two businesses that host live entertainment were issued CUP suspension letters and staff initiated the revocation process. One business opted to revise the type of live entertainment provided while the other elected not to appeal the revocation and ceased their business operation.
Compliance Details:
To further aid in ensuring businesses comply with live entertainment conditions, recently the City’s Neighborhood Preservation Division (Code Enforcement) along with the Visalia Police Department have done late night detail checks on establishments that have live entertainment CUPs. Two detail checks were performed by Code Enforcement and Visalia Police Officers on October 18, 2025, and November 26, 2025. Although no major violations were found, staff found that several of these businesses did not have copies of their CUP conditions on the premises, which is a condition of live entertainment CUPs. In addition to the detail, letters to both the property owner and business address that have live entertainment were mailed out reminding “owners” that authorization to host live entertainment activities within their establishment is subject to the conditions adopted when their Conditional Use Permit was approved and adherence to these conditions is required at all times when live entertainment activities are occurring. Copies of the approved and signed resolution for live entertainment activities were also enclosed with this letter. Failure to comply with adopted conditions will result in immediate action to correct non-compliance including potential fines and suspension of the Conditional Use Permit if the non-compliance issues are found to be egregious. A copy of the letter mailed out on September 19, 2025, is provided as Attachment ‘C’.
Considerations for Potential Direction from City Council:
1. Maintain the Current CUP Process (Status Quo)
Council could elect to maintain the current CUP process for live entertainment request, which will result in no additional regulatory changes. Each request will be reviewed on a project-by-project basis. The current CUP process provides a project-specific review tailored to each establishment which provides staff with the ability to impose case-by-case operating conditions. As with all CUPs, the City may initiate the process to revoke or modify live entertainment CUPs if the business fails to comply with their conditions.
However, staff would note that there are some limitations with our current process, including enforcement challenges due to live entertainment conditions that are not similar across all CUPs approved over the past 10 years as the wording in the conditions has changed over time and may not address current operating trends and security guard requirements. In addition, the current process does not distinguish low-impact entertainment that some business owners contend a CUP should not be required.
2. Initiate Development of a Live Entertainment Ordinance
Council may elect to direct staff to begin drafting a live entertainment ordinance that may include the following:
• Clear definitions for the types of entertainment (e.g., amplified, non-amplified, DJ, incidental, special event).
• Standardized operating and security conditions that can be applied citywide to address the following:
- Licensed security guard requirements rather than using employee staffing for security detail.
- Noise standards that put the onus on the business owner to ensure compliance with City Noise Ordinance.
- Hours of operation that live entertainment may be permitted.
- Requirement for a detailed crowd management plan including how patrons are managed in front of the business when the business closes.
- Requirement for a detailed security plan that details the establishment shall use licensed security guards and shall comply with the uniform requirements set forth in California Business & Professions code section 7582.26
- Potential consideration for an administrative live entertainment permit for low impact uses with standard operating conditions. A CUP could potentially not be required if the business ceases live entertainment by 10:00 pm or earlier.
- CUP requirement for venues with high-intensity or late-night entertainment (after 10:00 pm).
- Consideration of potential limitations on the number of live entertainment CUPs issued within a geographical area.
Continued Inquires on Live Entertainment Considerations:
Planning staff continues to receive inquiries from business owners, predominantly small restaurants and micro-breweries, on the process and requirements to host occasional live entertainment within their business. These conversations have resulted in a mix of issues that business owners find frustrating at times due to the cost of the CUP, timing to get the CUP to Planning Commission, and the uncertainty if their CUP for live entertainment gets approved.
While there are several establishments that operate as conditioned, City staff continues to address issues related adequacy of security measures and late-night crowd management. These issues highlight tension between supporting a vibrant business environment and maintaining public safety.
Fiscal Impact: None.
Prior Council Action: N/A
Other: N/A
Alternatives: N/A
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
Receive the staff report and presentation and direct staff to proceed based on either of the two options provided in the staff report.
If directed by the City Council to begin a live entertainment ordinance, staff will return with an overview of a draft ordinance to be presented at a future work session to go over the details contained in the draft ordinance prior to seeking direction to proceed with moving forward with a live entertainment ordinance through the public hearing process.
Environmental Assessment Status: None required. This is an informational staff report and any direction to proceed with potential updates to an ordinance; staff will address environmental processing at that time.
CEQA Review: None.
Deadline for Action: 12/15/2025
Attachments:
1. Attachment ‘A’ - Aerial Map of Live Entertainment Locations
2. Attachment ‘B’ - Comprehensive overview of general, live entertainment, and security conditions
3. Attachment ‘C’ - Compliance Reminder - Live Entertainment CUP Conditions dated September 19, 2025
4. Live Entertainment Presentation 12.15.2025