PORTSMOUTH -- One of the first businesses in Portsmouth to receive a newly created use permit to operate as an entertainment establishment has had it revoked following zoning violations and a fatal shooting that recently occurred nearby.
But Renata Brown, the owner of Bar 9, says she is being unfairly targeted and the city hasn't given her a chance to address the violations. Further, Brown says the homicide that triggered the review happened in a parking lot and her security staff never allowed the people involved in the shooting inside.
Portsmouth City Council on Tuesday voted 4-3 to revoke a use permit for Bar 9, located at 4806 George Washington Highway. The council granted Brown a use permit in August to operate as a bar. It's been open as a restaurant since March.
The vote means Brown can continue operating as a restaurant but will be unable to operate as an entertainment establishment, or bar, unless she applies for another use permit. Brown said this week she is considering reapplying but may also appeal the decision through her attorney Tim Anderson, who spoke on her behalf at Tuesday's meeting.
"She's been in business since March without one single problem with her business," Anderson told council members. "Maybe there has to be some collaboration with zoning. Maybe there has to be another 'i' dotted or 't' crossed, but to shut her business down is an outrageously punitive action to take against her."
Anderson told The Virginian-Pilot he believes city staff were "picking on" Brown with technicalities that can easily be addressed.
This marks the first time a use permit has been revoked by council for an entertainment establishment since council adopted new rules and regulations in August for nightclubs, restaurants and entertainment venues looking to serve late-night crowds. The regulations were meant to help address public safety concerns stemming from past violent incidents such as shootings and fights, and came amid a wave of applications from businesses looking to set up shop.
The new zoning regulations outline instances when council can revoke permits for entertainment venues. When a venue sees two or more "violent incidents" within the same year, City Council will automatically review those permits and consider revoking them. Permits can be revoked for restaurants that serve alcohol if police respond to three or more times in a year for alcohol-related issues or disorderly conduct and fights.
Though the policy states that two incidents trigger a permit review, the city and the council did not cite a second incident at Bar 9 beyond the homicide. One man was killed and two others injured in the Nov. 1 shooting. One man was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
However, one of the conditions in Brown's permit states the police chief can notify the business and zoning staff of a "significant law enforcement issue" or violations of the approved security plan, "which may result in the initiation of proceedings for the revocation of the use permit by city council."
A city staff memo states Police Chief Stephen Jenkins sent a letter to the city and Brown detailing the public safety concern on Nov. 3, and city staff issued violation notices and an intent to revoke the permit the same day. Brown has since appealed the zoning department's findings.
Permits can also be revoked if applicants don't adhere to zoning regulations and other conditions of approval aren't met. Much of the discussion at Tuesday's meeting centered on what city staff considered Bar 9's lack of an adequate security plan. City staff also said Brown didn't have the appropriate "zoning business clearance" license to operate as a bar, though Brown and Anderson dispute that.
Brown and Anderson said Brown submitted a security plan in August, but Planning Director Rhonda Russell said it wasn't approved because it fell short of all necessary requirements. Some of those requirements include measures for crowd control, the number and placement of licensed private security guards, screening, age verification, emergency evacuation, and exterior lighting and surveillance.
Council members Bill Dodson Jr., Yolanda Thomas and Vernon Tillage voted against revoking Brown's use permit for the bar. Tillage said he thought the issue amounted to technicalities that could be worked through with city staff. Anderson also requested council postpone a vote to allow Brown time to get into compliance.
Council member Mark Hugel told The Pilot he voted to revoke the permit because the conditions of approval weren't met, and said Brown had several months since approval in August to address the violations. He said the homicide prompted the review the restaurant's application to ensure compliance.
"The fact that that incident occurred outside of her establishment, while she didn't have an approved security plan, left the business vulnerable and the community vulnerable, which is the reason that we impose in the conditional use permits a condition that a security plan be submitted and reviewed and approved," Hugel said.
In Jenkins' letter, he said "an individual in line at Bar 9 engaged in a gun fight." But in recounting the night of the homicide, Brown believes she acted in the best way she could and did her due diligence. She said her security team didn't allow the people involved in the shooting into the bar before it happened because they were already rowdy. When she heard shooting, she rushed to direct patrons to move to the back as she locked doors. She eventually opened the door to allow outside a patron who claimed they were the girlfriend of the victim. Brown said she spoke with law enforcement the next day and provided them with camera footage.
"It was our footage that helped the city of Portsmouth come to the conclusion of what happened that night," she said at Tuesday's meeting.
Brown said she left the council meeting feeling confused and believed city staff "dropped the ball" because she didn't receive direct communication from the city on how to address the zoning violations or security plan requirements. She also said she's operated another restaurant called Seven Bistro in Newport News for years without any issues or similar obstacles with her permit.
City Manager Steven Carter said Tuesday that the onus is on the business owner to adhere to conditions of approval. Russell said Brown can reapply for a use permit to operate as a bar.
Jenkins said in an interview that it's not his job to recommend how council votes, but an adequate safety plan, including lighting, heightened security measures and surveillance, can help prevent the need to revoke permits.
"My goal is not to shut businesses down because that takes away from the city, that takes away people's livelihoods," Jenkins said. "But we all got to make sure we're working together to provide a safe environment for the city."