Despite a large turnout Tuesday night for a special use permit that would allow live music at Crickets on Roanoke Avenue, investigation by the city attorney, the city planner and city manager determined one was not needed due to its grandfathered status when the building was operated as the former Eagles Club.
The investigation determined that the planning department could issue one administratively .
“This situation regarding Crickets’ accessory use has had a relatively quick turnaround,” City Attorney Geoffrey Davis said.
Davis said under the city’s zoning code live music is considered an accessory use which requires a special use permit in most circumstances for a property in those districts. “On normal occasions you would have to go through a quasi-judicial hearing.”
Between Monday and Tuesday, however, Davis said he, City Manager Kelly Traynham and Planner Kristyn Anderson had several discussions about the matter and received much commentary and evidence that he and the others believed to be important.
On Monday Traynham and Anderson met with Tony Floyd, who had filed the special use permit request. “Some of the information he provided was important to the determination that has been made today by the three of us.”
Davis said he believed it was clear that the Eagles Club operated primarily as a private club — the same kind of use that Crickets and Floyd was requesting. “They had accessory use they operated which was the live music. That’s an important kind of distinction between a primary use and accessory use. Basically I think it’s pretty clear what is the main use of a piece of property and what is something that only occasionally happens.”
The attorney said it was clear from what had been shared with the city over the last 36 to 48 hours that the prior owner operated the Eagles Club in the same fashion that Floyd was requesting. “The Eagles Club operated that for a long period even prior to the current architecture of our zoning ordinance.”
Davis said there has been no change in use. “There hasn’t been any material expansion,” at the building located at 1037-39 Roanoke Avenue. “Prior to Mr. Floyd’s acquisition of this, the Eagles Club was closed for a time, but we all know that was during COVID.”
Since Floyd has taken the building over, he has been engaging in renovations. “Based on that info, Ms. Anderson, the city manager, and myself as city attorney, we have all come to the decision and we are 100 percent convinced that the use that Mr. Floyd is asking now is grandfathered in. The Eagles Club had the same kind of use. There’s been no break in that continuity. We’re not talking about a different piece of property.”
The result of the investigation, Davis said, is that the planning department can authorize the permit administratively, which negated the need for the quasi-judicial hearing.
Davis said he believed if the council were to have held the hearing and made the decision to reject it, “I think he (Floyd) would have pretty good grounds for a lawsuit and I think he would prevail on that. I think there’s only one choice that (the) council could make.”
Traynham said the interpretation was based upon the proposed use presented in the application. “In the application it states that it would be primarily one night a week for live music and concluding that music by midnight. Should the live music aspect of it increase to an additional frequency or a higher frequency, then we would be back in here. As long as we continue in the modest fashion that has already occurred then the outcome would be what has been stated by the city attorney.”
Afterward, Floyd said, “We’re overwhelmed with all the people who showed up for support. The biggest thing for us if we could have a band a couple of nights a month — we weren’t even asking for a night a week — that would pay all the overhead on the place where we can run a private club like we wanted to. We can serve food to the community. We’re overwhelmed is all that I can say.”
Floyd said for the last five months it had been one thing after another which he described as red tape. “I’ve been holding back on a lot of things we want to do, mainly benefits. I usually do 150 to 200 benefits a year. This month I’m already six months into the year — I haven’t even done the first benefit so I’ve got the first one this coming Saturday. We’re going to go ahead and get on with our life. We’re going to eat at our table and we hope everybody else eats at theirs.”
