City Council discusses complaints on nightclub
Published 10:40 am Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Several weeks ago, a resident in the 2400 block of Mill Street attended a Lake Charles City Council regular meeting and voiced her concern over a nightclub that was disturbing the surrounding neighborhood.
The business is in councilwoman Luvertha August’s district and during Tuesday’s agenda meeting, the councilwoman relayed more of the ongoing complaints and provided video proof of what the residents have been dealing with.
An officer from the Lake Charles Police Department showed the council dash-cam footage captured by a pair of police cruisers in the area where the club is located. The footage, taken on Oct. 11, showed the area surrounding a business called the Dollhouse Reloaded, at 2504 Mill St.
The first part of the video showed an officer driving down Mill Street as cars lined the sides of the road, blocked driveways and sat parked in the yards of nearby houses. The footage also captured a number of club-goers walking in the middle of the road, forcing the officer to wait as they cleared a path for the cruiser. The second part of the video showed an officer stuck behind a line of traffic on Mill Street that was at a standstill.
After the video, August talked about how residents in the area have been complaining about the business and the associated noise, debris and traffic for some time now. She said the club opens for a certain amount of time during the year and once the patronage slows down, the doors close until it’s time for the owners to renew their business licenses.
“The neighbors are going through this over and over and over again,” August said. “It’s time for us to be serious about this particular business.”
August said the council should take a look at all businesses similar to the one on Mill Street. She said most communities are composed of a wide variety of family types and many would have an issue with having a business like the Dollhouse Reloaded close to their home.
“If you’re going to worship on a Sunday morning after a Saturday night like that, you’re seeing all these alcoholic containers on your lot, cigarette butts, and who knows what else. Nobody should have to suffer through that,” August said.
“None of us would like to live like that. None of us would want our elderly parents to live in those conditions. We wouldn’t want to raise children under those conditions, and we certainly wouldn’t want our grandchildren to come spend the weekend with us under those conditions.”
City attorney Billy Loftin said he would work with August and the council not only to find a solution to the current issue, but to lay a foundation that would keep future businesses from affecting neighborhoods in a similar manner.
The council will also look at the city’s ordinances on street performers in the downtown area. Eric Cormier with the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance spoke to the council about the concept of street performers. He said it originated with the alliance’s Quality of Life Group looking to promote arts and entertainment in the community.
“Our Quality of Life Group is looking to get more involved and try to promote arts and entertainment,” Cormier said. “The younger crowd has some things that they want to try, and they also want to get involved in the process.”
The council is expected to meet with the Quality of Life Group to discuss the details of the concept while also reviewing existing ordinances on street performers.