As most of us know who were around this past summer, the King Solomon’s Temple at the corner of Rhode 
Island Ave NE and Thayer Street (next to the Family Dollar) was renting out their public hall to a night club promoter. According to residents in the area, this promoter was selling alcohol and having parties until all hours of the night on the weekends, and the result were kids getting shot, patrons urinating on neighbor’s yards, loud music, loud patrons walking through neighborhoods, etc, etc, etc. It became so contentious, the Mayor, Police Chief, and DCRA Chief held a press conference to revoke/suspend the public hall license for the Temple. As well, the alcohol license was revoked for the establishment as well.
Now, it seems that the DCRA is finally trying to get ahead of the ball in regards to how organizations apply, obtain, retain, and lose their Public Hall licenses.
1600. PUBLIC HALL LICENSES
1600.1 No person shall operate a public hall without obtaining from the Director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (“Director”) a basic business license with an Entertainment (Public Hall) endorsement unless:
(a) The establishment has a capacity of four hundred (400) or fewer occupants; and
(b) Has a class C or D license issued pursuant to the District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, D.C. Official Code §§ 25-101 et seq.
1600.2 For purposes of this chapter, a “public hall” means any building in which a ball, dance, exhibition, lecture, concert, or convention is conducted for profit or gain.
1600.3 Any license issued under this chapter shall be renewed every two (2) years and shall be subject to the restrictions on the presence of minors at the licensee’s premises in accordance with D.C. Official Code § 47-2820(c).
I am interested in the exception portion at the end of the proposed new regulation but as long as we stay vigilant, we can ensure that places like King Solomon’s Temple NEVER gets its public hall license again.
1607. EXCEPTIONS
1607.1 A licensed applicant who holds a valid class C or D license issued pursuant to the District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, D.C. Official Code § 25-101 et seq., shall be exempt from the notice and hearing provisions of this chapter.
See attached for the full report. DCRAPublicHallRulemaking
