CLEARING THE AIR

Concerned residents of Delray,

Bounce has been making some exaggerated claims and wild promises in trying to secure favors from local elected officials and pacify concerned neighbors.  Well, that's not much a surprise coming from and out-of-state nightclub that's seeking to break the rules before their doors are even open.

What's more surprising perhaps, is that several of our Commissioners have been disseminating this Bounce propaganda in their email replies to many concerned Delray residents.  They seem to forget that these are the same residents who elected them .... Some of the items below show a stronger interest in representing out-of-town investors, rather than the many residents in their own town.

We won't mention any names (yet!), but here's a snapshot of what a few of our Commissioners have been sending around - and our rebuttal to clear the air:

I have met with members of the ownership group several times to express my concerns regarding their request to stay open until 2:00 AM.  I believe that there has been misinformation that has been circulated about this establishment.  As such, I wanted to provide you with accurate facts regarding this project.
 

• Bounce is an upscale sports bar, restaurant, and lounge – they are not an open-air nightclub.  Chef Sean Olnowhich, a James Beard nominated chef and Chopped finalist and will be overseeing the kitchen at Bounce   These hard partying videos show that Bounce is a nightclub and not a restaurant… no food to be seen.  Also, there’s nothing award-winning about this (bar food!) menu at the Bounce NY location.

 

• Bounce has agreed to close its patio at 11:00 PM and has agreed to no live music after 11:00PM.  They also have agreed to closing all open doors and windows after 11:00 pm, which significantly reduces any sound that would emanate from their restaurant, due to the impact glass and heavy acoustically treated curtains covering the windows and doors.  Perhaps no “live” music, but VIP DJ’s make the same amount of noise, perhaps more.  Furthermore, the real noise will be from patrons having to cue in line outside before getting admitted… and then being released at once at 2:00am onto the streets and neighborhoods after some hard partying.  That noise will echo in between the buildings and across the ICW.

 

• Bounce has agreed to employ off-duty Delray Beach police officers along with security staff will monitor noise from Bounce and act accordingly.  Bounce will equip staff with noise meters to assist them in this self-policing.  We have a great police force, but instinctively, most on-duty Delray Beach police officers will be soft on their off-duty colleagues (and up to six! Bounce bouncers) whenever there’s an infraction - any enforcement will be unlikely.

 

• The City of Delray Beach has a strict noise ordinance in affect that Bounce and all business must comply with.  Any violations of the noise ordinance could cause their conditional use request to be voided.  This is FALSE.  After consulting with the Delray Beach City Attorney, we can confirm that Conditional Use can NOT be revoked under any circumstance under the existing Code, even as a result of transfer of ownership.  Furthermore, the current noise ordinance is vague, not working and seldom enforced.  That’s why the city attorney started the process of formulating a new noise ordinance with quantitive limits and strict enforcement guidelines - regretfully the first draft won’t be complete until Q3-Q4 2022.  

 

Thank you for contacting me regarding the conditional use request made by the owners of Bounce. I have received over 100 emails regarding this request and will be providing this short-ish reply to all inquiries. 

• I appreciate and thank any business that wants to open a new unit/location in our city. Each addition to our city adds jobs, tax revenue, and an additional amenity for our residents and visitors. However, each new business has to align with our comprehensive plan, rules, regulations, zoning etc.  Fair, but Bounce hasn’t even opened its doors and is already looking to break the rules.  They signed the Atlantic Crossing lease as a “restaurant” - outside the well-established City’s Entertainment District, being fully aware that current zoning and regulations call for a midnight closing.

• The initial request explored the idea of moving the entertainment district line. I was adamantly against this idea - and this is no longer what is being requested by the applicant.  This is silly technical argument, but will have the same result.  The Conditional Use that Bounce is seeking is arguably worse… many other businesses outside the Entertainment District will be requesting similar conditional uses…. Resulting in endless wasted bickering and likely law suits going forward.

• The Atlantic Crossing project is an exciting addition to our city. Over the past decade, our community has done a great job of molding the physical elements of this project to best fit our downtown. Now the responsibility shifts to ensuring the uses, hours, and activities of a completed project align with our community.   Exactly!  Way too many compromises have already been made…this will make things worse again.  How can conditional use even be considered without hearing the opinions of up to 1,000 future residents of Atlantic Crossing.  And what will the effect be on their property values?

• A direct request to simply expand operation hours to 2 a.m. would surely be denied in my opinion. Yet, that is not what is being presented. The applicant is offering to adjust many aspects of allowed operations in return for the additional two hours of operation. Some of the items being discussed in this "trade" include restricted outdoor dining hours, soundproofing, additional security, closed windows/doors, the addition of a lobby with two-door ingress/egress etc.  “Trading”?!  Why should anyone consider “trading” anything when the rules are very clear.  Delray is a very welcoming community, but it is presumptuous to ask long-term (voting) residents to “trade” with an out-of-town business over items that will not benefit our community - on the contrary, a late night Bounce opening will most likely negatively impact the quality of life for all.

The fourth bullet point is probably most relevant to your email. The question for the community is not whether to approve an additional two operating hours. Rather, it is whether or not the community (specifically those living in the neighboring communities), are getting enough in return for approving said additional operating hours.  Name any upside... there is none!  Just lots of downside.

For example: Today, the applicant can have outdoor dining, with open windows and doors till midnight. What if the applicant closed all outdoor dining windows-and-doors at 11pm or even 10pm - and in return was permitted to operate inside a closed soundproof venue till 2am. 

My main point here is that the decision is based on whether or not the tradeoff is in the best interest of our city and our residents. Please continue to follow this request closely and weigh the tradeoff.   Again, established Delray Beach residents should NOT BE MAKING ANY TRADEOFFS.  Delray Beach is a welcoming place and we have a good thing going.  Any tradeoffs should be made by the new arrivals... If you don't like how we do things, don't come!