HAMPTON — The City Council revoked a use permit for a bar in December after a host of public safety calls. Shortly after, the business owners inquired about obtaining a different type of permit — one that would allow continued operations with limited hours and different stipulations.
That’s when the city realized its permitting system for bars and restaurants might need an overhaul. Existing requirements such as limiting business hours to midnight, having “a safety plan,” or having security monitor parking areas during live performances, were too vague to properly enforce, according to City Manager Mary Bunting.
“We just needed to provide more detail so that both the applicant would know what is expected of them and the city would be able to have clear lines to enforce if they weren’t doing what was expected of them,” Bunting said.
So Hampton city leaders are taking a page out of other localities’ playbooks to enact new rules around late-night business operation. The move comes after the city revoked permits for three late-night businesses within a roughly eight-month span following several shootings and police calls for other violent incidents.
Proposed changes
Hampton Zoning Administrator Melvion Fulgham presented potential changes at a council meeting last month, explaining new requirements for a business seeking a Restaurant 2 permit. The city has a three-tier system of use permits for restaurants, and Restaurant 3 permits already have specific security requirements.
Under the proposed changes, security will be required for businesses simultaneously doing all of the following: serving alcohol, operating past 11 p.m., hosting at least 100 people, and offering live entertainment, such as karaoke, bands or DJ events. Live entertainment that’s contained to one person or a singer and someone playing a backup instrument, such as trivia, live comedy or a solo performance would be exempt.
A Restaurant 3 use permit requires Planning Commission and City Council approval, while a Restaurant 2 requires a zoning administrator permit. Both are permitted to have ABC licenses, but a Restaurant 3 may allow a business to operate past the midnight threshold of a Restaurant 2, as well as have larger entertainment areas that allow for more types of entertainment.
When security is required, it must be Department of Criminal Justice Services-certified, with at least one officer per 100 patrons inside, at least two for any exterior areas and parking lots from 11 p.m. until a half hour after the business closes at midnight. The business must also have at least two exterior cameras that are connected to Hampton Police Division software and an ID scanner with records that are retained for at least seven days.
Additionally, third-party promoters will be banned, window transparency will be required and live entertainment areas will remain limited to under 75 square feet.
Fulgham cited other localities, such as Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News, that have similar regulations around late-night business operation, alcohol sales and security monitoring.
The requirements would only apply to new businesses so long as they retain their permits.
Bunting said the city is not targeting any businesses or pushing to take away recreation opportunities for residents, but instead trying to prioritize public safety.
“If we were to look the other way, then what’s the point of the use permit conditions?” Bunting said. “It’s not like we’re trying to kill night life.”
City staff are still drafting the potential amendments, which remain subject to change. There is no timeline for City Council to vote on any finalized changes.
The Downtown Hampton Development Partnership, a nonprofit aimed at improving downtown Hampton’s economy, hasn’t been part of the discussions to date, according to member Iryna Patterson.
Revoked permits
City leaders have said during prior permit revocation meetings that a revocation can be a chance for a business to reset. But so far, that hasn’t been the case.
Chances Restaurant and Lounge lost its use permit in October and is now listed online as closed. Karma Restaurant & Lounge lost a permit in December and its ability to sell alcohol in February after a fatal shooting outside the bar. This week, the restaurant sat empty with boxes stacked inside and a no trespassing sign on the front door.
Southern Comfort lost its use permit last month after an April shooting in the parking lot. As a result, the restaurant’s hours are limited and it can no longer serve alcohol. On a recent weekday afternoon, customers were inside for lunch and hours posted outside the business said it closes at 10 p.m.
Owners for Chances and Southern Comfort could not be reached for comment for this article. Karma owner Courtney Ray confirmed the business’s closure, but declined to further comment on the permitting process.
Chances’ owners pushed back against the council’s revocation, saying at the time on social media that they could not control people’s behavior outside of their business. Ray, of Karma, had promised City Council to amend the public safety concerns near his restaurant. Southern Comfort owner Eddie Gomez told the council during his revocation hearing he was unaware of several of his permit violations and vowed to come into compliance.
A familiar playbook
After a series of shootings in downtown Norfolk in 2022, city leaders took a similar approach. The city revoked permits and shut down five downtown nightclubs, and the council adopted new restrictions for bars and restaurants.
Kevin Martingayle is a local attorney who represented one of the clubs shuttered during the city’s crackdown. He had harsh criticism for the approach, which he believes has led to declining interest in Granby Street nightlife in the years since.
Clear rules are better than vague rules, he said. But Martingayle was saddened to see Hampton run what he considers the same flawed playbook as its southside counterparts.
“The problem with allowing this kind of behavior where localities can be your investigator, your prosecutor and your judge all rolled up into on, you have no neutral decision maker,” Martingayle said.
Local leaders tend to get squeamish around public safety concerns and don’t want to be seen as allowing bad behavior, he said. Businesses that are breaking laws or ordinances should be punished, Martingayle said, but he said it should be the responsibility of police, not business owners, to remove bad actors. He said more could be done to foster positive relations between police and late-night operators. The extra scrutiny makes it harder to open or run a business, and entrepreneurs may opt to open elsewhere, Martingayle said.
“What you end up with is a short-term fix that makes some city leaders feel better, but the long-term problem, you end up losing businesses you never knew you lost because they choose not to open in the first place,” Martingayle said. “It’s a self-defeating strategy.”
Devlin Epding, 757-510-4037, devlin.epding@virginiamedia.com
Dining and Cooking