The City Council voted unanimously to maintain the city’s card
room ordinance as-is, keeping in tact the regulations and fees that
would apply to a new proposed card room on Fifth Street.
Hollister – The City Council voted unanimously to maintain the city’s card room ordinance as-is, keeping in tact the regulations and fees that would apply to a new proposed card room on Fifth Street.
After approving a fee schedule at its last meeting on March 21, the council had asked city staff to review the card room ordinance as a whole, as the current regulations have been on the books since 1964. Although the council approved an updated fee application of $625 for proposed card rooms at its last meeting, council members had been concerned about the possible proximity of card rooms to schools and the availability of alcohol on the premises.
After reviewing the current ordinance, which states no intoxicated person is to be allowed into a card room and the rooms must be located at least 1,000 feet away from any public or private school, the council accepted the current ordinance unanimously.
David Kaplansky, one of the two applicants hoping to open a card room next to Mavericks Barbecue on Fifth Street, told the council he was confident he and his partner Charles Felice would operate a card room that would surpass the ordinance’s standards.
“We feel we have a safe card room that we can present to the community,” Kaplansky said, adding he and Felice hoped their card room would bring more business to its neighboring restaurant and the downtown area. “We really feel we’re making the right decisions to benefit the community.”
The card room Kaplansky and Felice are proposing would be a three-room building, with only one room devoted to gaming, Kaplansky said. Last night’s re-approved city ordinance restricts card rooms to three card tables with nine players and one dealer each. The other two rooms will be used for a lounge area, where cards will not be allowed, and an office space. Alcohol will be prohibited and smoking will only be permitted outside, Kaplansky said.
The card room would be open from noon to 2am, he said, with security guards present from 6pm to 2am. However, Kaplansky added, if the council wanted security guards during all hours of operation, he and Felice would be open to discussion.
Marle Holte, chairman of Marle Holte Dinners, made a pitch to the council in support of Kaplansky and Felice’s proposed card room, telling them the two men, both teachers, would run an upstanding establishment.
“We’re always saying, ‘There’s not enough for kids to do here. But what about us?” Holte said. “Personally, if this thing gets through, I plan on spending some time down there. I know these young men, and I know they’ll do a heck of a job with this.”
Next up, Kaplansky and Felice will go through the city’s application process, which will include a background check of the two men through the police department.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at [email protected].
