BOUNCE CONCERNS FROM NEARBY RESIDENTS

 



Bounce Sporting Club is an out of town restaurant/nightclub chain that is planning to open a new club in the new Atlantic Crossing project, at the NE corner of Atlantic Ave and NE 7th Ave - where the current zoning requires restaurants and bars to close by midnight.   The club is seeking a "conditional use" permit to remain open until 2:00 am, seven days per week.  Delray already has a large and well-defined Entertainment District that stretches West on Atlantic Avenue, from the Colony Hotel towards Swinton Avenue where restaurants and bars are allowed to stay open until 2:00 am.  This is the area of downtown where many of our restaurants, bars and clubs - such as Johnny Brown’s, Honey, Throw Social, Tin Roof and others are concentrated.  Bounce is located outside these boundaries.  

Neighbors and residents have voiced valid concerns about having a late night club in our backyard.  In addition to noise and late night disturbances, there’s a concern that granting conditional use to Bounce will set a precedent that will eventually lead to the total dismantling of the Entertainment District zoning… and noisy late-night clubs could be popping up all around us.  Perhaps nothing captures the real issues better than this random list of comments and inputs from our neighbors:

  • "Bounce presents itself as a “restaurant”, which seems to be a facade for a hard-partying, VIP-style club that you are expected to find in South Beach or Las Vegas.  They will host a regular lineup of DJs and live music performances.  A wolf in sheepskin!”
  • "The majority of Delray residents don’t eat dinner after midnight… and as our moms used to say “nothing good happens after midnight”
  • “We can already hear the noise from the live music further West on Atlantic on many evenings… imagine how bad this could get."
  • "A quick online search shows many negative customer reviews of the existing Bounce clubs in NYC, Chicago and Montauk - Bounce would not “improve” Delray.”

  • "Numerous social media postings show a party atmosphere with “characters” that don’t seem to align with the wholesome atmosphere that we’re trying to foster in Delray.  I suggest you check it out for yourself.”
  • "Like other clubs, Bounce will have controlled admissions, whereby patrons will have to wait outside before being admitted.  Often such lines block sidewalks and tend to be very loud.  In the case of Bounce, the waiting line will be on NE 7th Ave and the noise will echo in between the tall buildings and most like carry over into Palm Trail and the Marina District the residential neighborhoods across the Intracoastal.”
  • “We heard that Bounce promises to keep a 5-person security staff (bouncers!) at all times and will be hiring off-duty Delray Police officers.  What restaurant needs five bouncers?  More concerning, in the event of an incident, an on-duty Police officer will most likely not confront their off-duty colleagues… akin to the proverbial fox guarding the hen house.”  
  • "And what happens to the party crowd after the 2:00 am closing?  It is very unlikely that all patrons will disperse peacefully and quietly... and they will linger in the area.  As a former night club owner I can tell you that the club noise may end at 2am, but the exiting crowds, departing/racing vehicles and rowdy drunks will linger for an hour or more.  Also it will spread like ripples in a pond into the adjacent neighborhood as the club empties out,”
  • "Delray’s noise ordinance is being re-written, but enforcement will remain the biggest challenge…. So, while Bounce claims to have several noise containment measures, any violations will most likely go unenforced.”
  • “What will happen when all the other eating/drinking establishments that are planned for Atlantic Crossing ask for similar conditional uses (Phase II has not even been started)?  And others on East Atlantic, George Bush Blvd, Swinton,… and elsewhere.  Delray Beach has a well thought out and established entertainment district, which by most measures seems to be working for merchants and patrons alike.  Granting conditional use to Bounce - and potentially others - will be the beginning of an unstoppable crumbling of that entertainment district, a total free for all that will change the character of this area and the surrounding neighborhoods dramatically.  Not just a bad precedent, but a potential for lawsuits from others who are not granted conditional use in the future.”
  • "How will this impact future residents of Atlantic Crossing and their property values?”
  • "Bounce states that the viability of their business model is dependent on being able to stay open late, yet they entered into a lease being fully aware of the midnight closing time….   The figured that their strong-arm tactics elsewhere, may work here as well“

 

 

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