DATE: Wednesday, August 27, 1997            TAG: 9708270561

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   68 lines

NORFOLK ADOPTS STRICTER RULES TO LIMIT OPENING OF GO-GO CLUBS CONCERNS WERE RAISED WHEN RESTAURANTS SUDDENLY WERE CONVERTED INTO NIGHTCLUBS.

Responding to longstanding neighborhood concerns, the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt tighter rules over where go-go clubs and other nightspots may open for business and what kind of entertainment they can offer.

Among other things, the changes to the city zoning code will prevent a restaurant from adding exotic dancers to its menu without first going through a city review and obtaining a special-use permit.

No longer will family-style restaurants with ABC permits be allowed to change into go-go bars without first going through a public process - a common complaint that sparked creation of the new rules.

Bars springing up seemingly overnight in former neighborhood eateries had been a citywide concern, but it was a major irritant for residents along the Shore Drive, Little Creek Road and Ocean View Avenue corridors. Residents complained about late-night noise, litter and crime.

Civic leaders who spoke Tuesday at a public hearing on the new regulations welcomed the change. They said some locations simply weren't suitable for nightclubs and that residents should have a say in the matter.

``All communities ever wanted was not to be blind-sided,'' said Jim Janata, chairman of the Ward 5 Partnership, a group of civic and community organizations. ``We want to understand what is proposed and help those good proposals succeed and not have to worry about sleeping giants.''

Janata said residents wanted more sweeping rules but said the changes ``are good for the communities, good for the city as a whole and good for decent, honest, reputable businesses.''

City Council members said the new regulations aim to preserve the integrity of neighborhoods but also benefit business operators by steering them away from locations that could create problems.

``I think it's a tremendous protection for these communities,'' Councilman W. Randy Wright said. ``And one thing that I think keeps getting missed is that this is going to help family restaurants who want to open because people won't have to worry about what it might become.''

The new rules were about two years in the making and represent a compromise between residents and business owners, officials said.

Some business people worry that the new rules add another layer of unneeded regulation and could harm Norfolk's economy by scaring off business or preventing existing businesses from expanding. However, nobody from the city's business community spoke at the public hearing.

Vincent J. Mastracco, a Norfolk attorney who represented business officials in helping soften the final rules, said Tuesday's vote was a fait accompli, that restaurant owners had nothing to gain at this point by opposing the rules.

While the new regulations had unanimous council support, two members, Paul R. Riddick and Herbert M. Collins Sr., voiced concern that all business owners, particularly blacks, be treated equally under the new rules.

Under the change, restaurants will be grouped into three categories, based on services offered. The definitions are:

An ``eating establishment,'' which serves food but no alcohol.

An ``eating and drinking establishment.'' It can sell food and alcohol, but cannot offer entertainment except as an accessory function restricted to a live performance with only one non-electric musical instrument or recorded background music.

An ``entertainment establishment.'' It can offer entertainment, such as live bands or go-go dancers, and can have a dance floor larger than 10 percent of the space used for seating.

Existing businesses will be grandfathered and can continue to operate under former rules. Any new business or an existing business wanting to provide entertainment will have to first receive city approval. KEYWORDS: ZONING NORFOLK CITY COUNCIL

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