A special city task force unveiled a proposed overhaul to Dallas’s permitting process for bars, clubs, and restaurants after several popular establishments were cited for violating city code.
Task force chair Terry Lowery said the hope is to “bring code into the 21st century.”
The task force was formed last fall, after enhanced code compliance efforts aimed at combating crime resulted in restaurants in Bishop Arts and Deep Ellum receiving ticket-like citations.
The businesses were accused of violating a never-before-enforced city code prohibiting anyone licensed to operate as a restaurant from charging a cover fee for live music. At the time, Dallas city council member Chad West said the city was using a sledgehammer for what really called for a scalpel.
In October, he created a 14-member task force that was charged with finding solutions.
The task force unveiled its proposal to the public on Wednesday night at a meeting where they got a lot of feedback from stakeholders in the industry.
The task force suggests that the city implement a new tiered permitting system. They would be issued based on capacity, hours of operation and venue category.
A dance club operating until the early hours of the morning would face different scrutiny than live piano music in a restaurant.
“If you’re a good operator, you can serve food and charge for musicians. If you’re a bad operator, your permit can be denied,” West said.
“It’s a way to hold people more accountable but also opens the door for more people to participate.”
Several venue owners were hoping for more clarity on whether it would add or take away a layer of regulation.
“There’s a gray area in Deep Ellum on whether you’re a restaurant, music venue, club,” said Jeff Biehler, owner of Dusty’s on Elm Street. “Obviously, there are a lot of questions about what we can and can’t do.”
“I don’t think this meeting necessarily answered those questions, but it did give us guidance on where they’re moving to try to answer those questions.”
The task force is operating in a tight time frame.
They will tweak their proposal based on the feedback they received from stakeholders and will present their findings to a Dallas City Council committee in March.