Council Bucks at Cowboy Ranch Call for Support
Prince George , B.C.- The Cowboy Ranch was looking for support for its application to increase its seating but that support wasn’t going to come from Prince George City Council. .
Brock Gable , the operator of the Cowboy Ranch, has submitted a great deal of material to Council for consideration, including results of his canvassing of the neighbourhood which he says is 75% in favour of the expansion. But it wasn’t enough to sway support for his request.
Brock Gable was calling on Council to support his application to the Liquor Control and Licensing Branch for increased seating and hours of operation.
“The old 80 seat pub model is outdated” says Gable, who says with new liquor rules allowing families to attend neighbourhood pubs. He has filed an application with the Liquor Control and Licensing branch to increase the number of seats to 268 . He pointed out that there are liquor seats all over the city and not necessarily in the central business district where the City would like such places to be. He pointed to the BX Pub, College Heights pub and Shooters, which all have more than the desired number of seats and some of which are in residential areas
He also noted most of the major restaurants have 250 seats, and sell liquor. If the City rejected supporting his application, Gable could turn around and open a restaurant without having to undergo a rezoning application.
“Its not that I am intent on 268, it’s just the number that came up based on the size of the building” says Gable. He says he is willing to revise that number to 180 or 200, and is willing to invest in what he calls an aging property.
But the downside to opening a restaurant model is that patrons can’t be active participants. “They can listen to music, tap their feet, but they aren’t allowed to get up and dance” says Gable.
“I don’t want to get into horse trading or negotiating with the applicant” says Councillor Lyn Hall, who says different Councillors may have different thresholds. “I’m a little nervous about where this conversation may go regarding seating capacity because I can tell you I have a concern around 268.”
Michael Hilton lives in the neighbourhood and told Council he does not support the expansion as the noise levels have increased over the past few months and that is with just 80 seats. He says there is noise from people yelling and screaming, and the music is very loud.
Gino de Louis who identified himself as a promoter, expressed support for the expansion, saying Gable would be willing to add more sound proofing because he likes to work with the community.
Several neighbours came forward to say they oppose the expansion, saying the plan is to turn this neighbourhood pub into a night club. They cited increased noise levels and concerns about vandalism as their reasons for opposing the expansion.
Those who support the application say there is a need for this type of establishment as there are few options for such entertainment in the City for those over the age of 30.
After nearly two hours of submissions from neighbours and employees, Council voted to reject the application. “This is about maintaining the integrity of the neighbourhood” says Councillor Brian Skakun “A development this big belongs in the downtown, period.”
Councillor Dave Wilbur recognizes there is a need for this kind of venue, but says he is not comfortable with the number of seats requested.
Councillor Frank Everitt says he supports this kind of entertainment, but “It’s a problem with location, it’s a problem with size.”
Council voted to reject the proposal and to send a letter to the LCLB expressing that rejection. Councillor Dave Wilbur was the lone dissenting vote.
Comments
this kind of development belongs in the downtown?? it was there, and the City shut it down!
Then…. Why not approve this type of application downtown….?
Where are these restaurants that can seat 268 People??
Denny’s seats 152. The keg 340. Boston Pizza 180 to 225…
Reject this, are you kidding me? Telling business where to locate shows no votes need be cast for him..
Wilbur..go there on a weekend evening. Do a survey…count ppl.. Then you will have a grasp of what you are voting for/against
Every it..downtown is DEAD. Has been for decades.. Let it go
Increase in noise levels.. Did you protests against bc rail, now CN with the shunting of. Railcars at all,hours of night. You live just off of Queensway, you choose to buy/rent there.. One of the,noisiest streets in town. And now complain about music.. So traffic noise is better over music……
Anyone that voted against this should be enjoying last few months on council.
The place is always packed full, that’s why there is noise- because people can’t get in, its too small
oh yeah, PG is open for business… *eyeroll*
When voting this fall here is what everyone needs to do. If you have NEVER heard the name before then vote for it. Do NOT pick any of the familiar old names. We need an overhaul.
Jeepers, year after year, decade after decade, council after council always get their knickers in a twist whenever somebody wants to provide some decent nighttime entertainment in PG. I shake my head. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Who in their right mind would want to live in the vicinity of a pub?
The pub owners don’t even live near pubs.
I lived near a proposed pub and liked the proximity. The non-drinkers in the area convinced council to squash the proposal. So I had to drive to the next nearest pub for a couple of brews instead of walking to one in my neighborhood.
Too close to election time. Check back in February brock.
P VaL aren’t you being awful hard on Wilbur… he was the only one who Voted for the expansion, yet you are dissing him? It sounds like you were for thr pub so Wilbur should be your friend not your enemy? or did I read your post wrong?
I am actually shocked… this has to be the first time that I can remember where council has turned down anything alcohol related…
Then again maybe council has something against Brock Gable, or one of our council memebers lives in the area.
First of all. I dont agree with the comment that downtown is dead. Thats simply incorrect. I’m not going inot the reasons that is incorrect, but it is.
Second, Not a shocking decision cased on what matters to these people. Votes.
Honestly, I would venture to say the area is going to grow more with commercial real estate and residential will actually drop. With the Prop. Values trending up in downtown people are going to want to captialize on the downtown boom but also keep their money in their wallets. This area is a no brainer.
So, understandable decision, but I would have rejected the denial.
Nightclubs in neighbourhoods do not mix. This was about a pub becoming a nightclub and the city made the right decision for the home owners that live in the neighbourhood… Even if it was favoured by the city as a whole.
Council was right to reject this based on location. Just because one can access cheep land does not make it alright to just re zone inappropriately for the sake of an investor cutting it on the cheep. Nothing stopping anyone from applying for a nightclub in the downtown IMO. I think council could be proactive in designating an entertainment district where these investments are expected and desired by the community so they are all clustered in the same general vicinity.
Eagleone,
I agree.
I think if Council designated an area where they were likely to approve nightlife then maybe they would get more applicants.
As it stands, they are denying everything in sight and have been for a while. I wanted to hear what they had to say about the Lambda wanting to build a patio (a fantastic thing).
Everyone knows it, its the elephant in the room, the perfect location for a club is the old theatre on 3rd. yes, the building needs renovations but, it is already sound proofed, Not that close to residential, its DOWNTOWN, has a small area out front for waiting for cabs/ housing a proper lineup, within walking distance of the cop/shop (serves double pupose).
“This is about maintaining the integrity of the neighbourhood” says Councillor Brian Skakun “A development this big belongs in the downtown, period.
Integrity of the neighborhood : Haldi Road anyone ?
Personally I dpnt care where the bar’s go in this town,we need a nightlife.
But that statement coming from any councilor in this city is laughable at best.
Phje they already tried to put a night club in the old theatre on 3rd (odeon) and council turned it down. It is plain and simple they don’t want night life in PG. The RCMP is against it, council is against it, planning is against it… Even if you have 75 percent support you have an uphill road to climb with this city
No nightlife in PG. No wonder the younger generation can’t wait to get the hell out of here.
The old theatre would have been a perfect venue. Nope. Shot down. Reason being? Too close of proximity to a residential area.
Haldi Road recovery centre – approved (despite a good majority of residents opposing it)
Casino location and expansion – approved (despite bordering on residential area and opposition from residents)
Oh yeah – remember Moxies?? it sits in the back yard of some residential homes and despite the opposition of the neighborhood, it still went ahead, even though there are plenty of other areas it could have gone.
I think the “residential neighborhood” argument is BS. I think it depends on who you are and who you know. There is no consistency.
Now, I’m not positive on this, but I’m pretty sure that quite some time back there was an application to reopen the Cadillac ranch location as a nightclub which was also shot down. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.
Some times it’s not what you want to put into the City as much as it is “who” is trying to put it in. If we look back at the histories for a few venues that came and went, and who the operators were, a strange tangent starts to appear. The Cadillac Ranch was just a sticky slimy little hole in the wall, lets make a drug deal 101. The old Odeon theater location was not a good choice for a location (would have served the purpose by it’s design)right across the street from the 50 million dollar Castle Grey Skull (now you understand why it was turned down).
Yes we need more than two lousy, hood infested venues in this city. Not everyone likes “sports bars” nor do we want to got to a “meat market” for an evening out. To get anywhere here in the entertainment world, you need deep pockets, market research, and an understanding of the demographic you are trying to lure into your premise and access to good entertainment sources. Need lots of Advil to get past the early planning stages for a real class “A” night club in this backwards little village (yeah I know it’s a city but it doesn’t act like one).
Wasn’t the Treasure Cove Casino supposed to have entertainment every now and again, providing Prince George with a bit of nightlife? I looked at the their schedule and the calendar is completely blank.
Has there been anything in the Show Lounge? Or is the casino just a vortex for pensioners and money laundering?
Why don’t they just reapply? Works for others, just do a small mod, pay your fee and reapply. You can reapply infinitely until the zoning bylaw is passed and then you are done. Can’t undo what has been done but you can keep trying to get it done infinitely as long as you pay the fee.
Don’t forget BK Bottle Depot northernspirit – neighbourhood completely against a commercial venture that got rammed down their throats.
Integrity of the Neighbourhood , Miller Connaught, remember us ??We have no Income Housing rammed down our throats. Today about twelve thirty there were four police cars in front of the old Village Towers on 20th Ave. this is government owned. They can’t be screening the people very good. We had hoped as a Neighbourhood it would be a safe place for families to live . What is going on with the Connaught Inn, it also seems to be turned into Social Housing. With hardly any cars in the parking areas and NO Vacancy sign up. Something is wrong. We are going to need that Motel for the Winter Games .
Build it, they will come! Try a night club across from Walmart. No?
The Hart in the shopping plaza? I got it! The BCR Industrial site.
Three good locations.
And yes, the downtown is dead, except for Northern Hardware.
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