Coyotes Has Neighbours Howling
Monday, March 12, 2012 @ 4:00 AM
Proposed look of night club in top photo, while bottom photo shows building as it looks now. (Photo, courtesy Coyotes)
Prince George, B.C- A proposal for a new night club for downtown Prince George has raised plenty of reaction, both for and against. This evening, Council for the City of Prince George will be asked if it wants to move the application to the next stage.
Cameron Thun and Ted Coole, want to rent the old Good time Bingo/Cinema building at 3rd and Vancouver, to develop a 400 person capacity country night club.
The club would operate from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. each day, although it could be booked earlier for special events.
The applicants says they will sign a “good neighbour” agreement which promises everything from tight security to a clean up of the area on a daily basis . But there are concerns on how that agreement would be enforced.
The City’s planning department is suggesting the application be denied because “The operation of a night club on the subject properties does not fit within the strategic direction for the area surrounding 3rd Avenue and Vancouver Street because it is directly north of the Crescents Neighbourhood.”
None the less, this application comes with hundreds of signatures on petitions both for and against the proposed night club and dozens of letters representing both sides of the argument.
Council will have to decide tonight if this proposal ( which is to rezone the location from C1-C11) should be given 1st and second readings which would open the door for a public hearing.
Comments
Wow! What a difference! lol
Four reasons I say they allow it. But first, may I point out that I don’t drink or go to nightclubs.
1) Cameron Thun has a reputation of respect of this town and its communities. His other establishments are run clean and respectfully.
2) The friggin’ new RCMP station is right next door (for cryin out loud!)
3) This redneck cow town needs to come into the 21st century. People leave PG because there is no decent classy places to dine or go out for entertainment.
4) Do we want lots of vacant unused buildings in this town. If we don’t fill them, then how do we expect to grow?
Oh. And another thing, I don’t know this guy but I seen him on Dragon’s Den, he is no dummy. He invented the door trap thingy where the clerk can trap robbers, drunks and various bad guys for the police. Common sense, naysayers, how do you control risky business? Bring it out in the open! Home parties are very dangerous. Bars and saloons are more controllable!
Thun ran the Iron Horse one 1St ave at one time did he not? happen there? And all that was was the place to watch bar fights on a Friday or Saturday night, is this going to be the same? Probadly just like the other clubs downtown
There is a similar business on the corner of 5th and Dominion where cigarette butts and assorted garbage are strewn up and down the sidewalk. Yesterday morning I saw an empty beer bottle and further up there was a smashed bottle. I don’t know if they have a similar “good neighbor” agreement, but if they do, it’s not being enforced.
Ditto, totally agree western2. It will be nice to have a nightclub again and go dancing again…long overdue. The building just sits empty and is an eyesore. Let’s do something with all these empty buildings downtown & let some businesses in. Hopefully council will agree tonight.
If they want it so bad why not put it back at the Iron Horse or the Cadillac Ranch? Why this spot? If all you want to do is dance then open it up without a liquor license.
“3) This redneck cow town needs to come into the 21st century. People leave PG because there is no decent classy places to dine or go out for entertainment.”
By opening up a hee haw bar is going to bring us into the 21st Century? Sounds like it will just make PG more rednecky.
You must not get out western2 as there are many nice places to eat in PG.
Brownshoe , yes Cam did run the Iron Horse on 1st , but not for many years before it closed. He sold it long ago. I worked there in 03 and not under Cam. If it was under Cam’s ownership the efforts we put into cleaning it up would have worked. I do not know Cam personally or Ted for that matter but from my time working the bar I know they run a tight ship.
Personally I couldn’t care less which way they side since I don’t drink or go to those establishments anymore, but I have a feeling council is going to kill this project. Too much business opposition to it. They aren’t going to let one business open and risk several businesses closing or relocating elsewhere.
I believe Cam also owned/ran the Party Shack over by the hood as well?
Does the city own this building? If not, the city should buy it as the inventory of city owned property downtown is such a hot commodity.
The planning department says it “does not fit within the strategic direction for the area”.
What is the strategic plan for Haldi road? I think this only proves that the planning department only follows their “plan” when it benefits certain people.
I’m sure the city will kill it.. Destroying the nightlife in Prince George started with the Rogers crew and will continue with the Green crew. She was part of the crew that helped Rogers destroy it. I’m sure she will do it again. The Coole’s are professionals and will do the right thing but the complainers will likely win even though they never go out anyway.
There are homes right across the street from the parking lot, how would you like a business to be operating from 9:00pm to 3:00am across the street while you try to sleep? I would like a place to dance but I do not like country and I hate going to places where there is a lot of drinking. So if this is really a place where people can go and dance don’t serve alcohol and have a mix of dancing on different nights. That way young people and adults can enjoy a night out together. As a older teen I was to be able to go to dances when I was under age (21)as the emphasis was on the dancing and not the drinking.
I heard earlier that this **joint** would be open from 11am till 3am. They now state it will open at 9pm to 3am. Which one is true??
You lose a lot of liquor selling time if you do not open until 9pm.
They could have put it back into the Cadillac Ranch. In fact I beleive that was the plan a few years ago. They could also locate it at 2nd Avenue in the old City Furniture building. Or they could use the old legion building.
My sense is that the City does not want these types of facilities in the downtown area, because of the **big** plans they have for the area over the next few years. So like they did with the prostitues, they will push it into a residential area.
Yeah, I really have to question why they need to locate it on the edge of a residential neighborhood. What’s wrong with the Cadillac Ranch site?
Contain the bar fights and the drunks to the downtown area.
“People leave PG because there is no decent classy places to dine or go out for entertainment”
Dear, we are leaving PG because there are no decent classy places to dine or go out for entertainment.
Ya, whatever!
“Do we want lots of vacant unused buildings in this town. If we don’t fill them, then how do we expect to grow?”
Whats wrong with empty buildings besides the fact that someone isn’t collecting rent? Oh right, all that matters is money.
Who says we need to grow?
Oh right those that make money on making things grow.
” Home parties are very dangerous. Bars and saloons are more controllable!”
We have saloons?
Yup, thats just what we need, more control of the people!
Speaking of the 21st century!
I seem to recall that taxpayers (the City) paid $2.5 million to shut down the Roadhouse. It was a ridiculous amount to pay, but crime in the downtown dropped by 80%.
Now the same operator of the Roadhouse wants to start it up again at a slightly different location. This is an operator who took no responsibility for his patrons after they left his establishment at 2am. Windows were smashed, people were smashed, it was a bad scene all around.
Wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume that the same operator running a similar business would run things the same way? Once he gets his zoning, we really have no say in how he runs his establishment.
Who in their right mind would think this was a good idea? It would seem that if you are in favour of this that you are also are okay with the crime rate increase 5 fold in this area.
Money and “pull” will rule on this one.
How many places have these people owned/run? So far, it appears to be 4 and counting…Something does not sound right ….
I agree Icicle, and the First Litre Pub is another little gem of a place owned by the other partner of this proposed Yahoo bar.
It’s all about the money, like they give a crap about providing PG with “a place to dance” it’s all about how much liquor they can sell and how many dollars they can put in their pockets. And Dragonmaster I think your statement is true as well. It’ll be interesting to see how this all shakes out. If they put the kibosh on it…I might have to leave town if there’s no place to “dance” LMFAO
Another thing about this proposal is that they purport it to be a place for an “older crowd” so that it sounds all benign and fuzzy wuzzy, but it will be interesting to see who the real patrons will be. Would be a scream if all the 40ish, 50ish peeps get over run by bikers, gang bangers and drunken punks.
The path of least resistance. Yeehaw!
The older crowd will go there to dance not drink.So which patrons would you want if making money was your goal?
Look at what is happening to the Legion. Not the classiest place in town but the only one set up for dancing.
“The older crowd will go there to dance not drink”
LOL! Thanks for the laugh!!!
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