City New Club Regs In West Seattle
There’s a good story in the West Seattle Herald today about how Mayor Greg Nickels’s proposed new nightclub regulations would affect bars and clubs in West Seattle. Under the proposed regulations (which would apply to any establishment that serves liquor and has “amplified music” after 10 pm), Salty’s on Alki would be considered a “nightclub,” prompting Salty’s owner Gerry Kingen to vow to fight “tooth and nail” against the regulations.
As the ordinance is written now, Salty’s, which has live music two nights a week and closes by 11:30 p.m., would be considered a nightclub.“We have a trio band and a piano player,” said Kingen. “To call us a nightclub is just ludicrous.”
James Keblas, director of the Mayor’s Office of Film and Music, told the Herald the new nightclub license would “do away with ‘subjective Good Neighbor Agreements’ and instead impose the new operating standards to solve problems between residents and club owners.” However, those good neighbor agreements have been aimed primarily at bars (like Twist in Belltown) and restaurants (like Slices pizza on Alki, which has no live music and closes at 10 pm) that would not be affected by the club regulations. Which raises the inevitable question: What problem, exactly, is Nickels trying to solve?
I want more clubs in West Seattle... especially since my partner and I are moving over there next month.
When Guppys was open (one of the few gay bars not within the Pike/Pine/Broadway ghetto) we actually went out more. A little amplified music would do some parts of the city some good.
As a side note, does "amplified music" include Karaoke? I want to see how that works when Nickels himself is shutting down some of those venues around the city.