Petaluma theater approved for upgrades

The transformation will include beer and wines sales and comfy seats.|

A home-grown movie theater company with locations across California and Idaho got the go-ahead last week to transform its downtown Petaluma cinema into a new flagship, one offering beer, wine and restaurant-quality food on top of plush seats and upgraded auditoriums.

The Petaluma Planning Commission, which reviews many of the city’s significant development projects, approved a special permit during a public hearing last Tuesday to allow the company, Cinema West, to serve alcohol at its Boulevard 14 Cinemas along C Street. The sales are part of a broader revamp planned for the venue, one that will decrease the sheer number of seats in favor of increased creature comforts.

While some commissioners expressed skepticism over the idea, the board ultimately voted unanimously to grant the permit to allow the project to go forward.

“One thing to consider is, patrons will not be returning if the situation is disruptive,” said City Councilman Dave King, the council’s Planning Commission liaison. “ I think giving the theater the opportunity to expand its profit line in what I understand is a very difficult business...if we lose that theater, that’s a hole in downtown that’s not going to get filled.”

Planned to take place in a phased approach that will ultimately encompass each of the 11-year-old theater’s auditoriums, the remodel will reduce the total seats in the cinema from 1,549 to 823, according to commission documents. The new seats will be larger and more comfortable, with the ability to recline and a built-in table.

Alcohol sales are planned to occur from a separate area at the current concession counter, said Ellen McDowell, assistant planner, during a presentation on the project. The permit also allows table service.

While a first for Petaluma, the approach is far from new, with multiple movie theaters in Sonoma County already selling beer and wine to customers. McDowell said planning staff consulted with theaters selling alcohol in Healdsburg, Sebastopol and Contra Costa County before recommending approval of the permit for the Boulevard 14.

“None of the contacted cities have experienced any issues or operating nuisances with the conditional use permits,” she said.

Having previously expressed support for the permit after an initial review, the Petaluma Police Department will sign off on a final plan to prevent sales or transfer of alcohol to minors, said Petaluma Planning Manager Heather Hines. The planning commission would have the authority to revoke the permit at a later date.

Cinema West owner Dave Corkill told the commission his company had four other conversions in the works across its 10-theater footprint. Three of its theaters – Tiburon, Livermore and Meridian, Idaho – already sell beer and wine to patrons.

He refuted the need for a conditional use permit in the first place, arguing that the conversion would qualify the cinema as a full-service restaurant in the context of the city’s zoning rules. Such businesses do not require the special approval.

“If you were to turn off the projector, what would be left would be a restaurant,” Corkill said.

It was a position that Santa Rosa-based attorney Mark Peters, representing Corkill, asserted in a February letter to the city. Yet the city’s own legal counsel refuted the argument, with some on the commission expressing their own criticism.

“It’s primary function is that projector, even if it has a restaurant – just like putting a projector in a restaurant doesn’t make it a theater,” said Commissioner Bill Wolpert.

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will grant Cinema West its own permit once the city’s conditions are satisfied, McDowell said. The venue will serve alcohol from noon to 10:30 p.m.

Several commissioners refuted the idea of requiring specific security measures like wrist bands at the theater, arguing that the business model would be somewhat self-policing since unhappy patrons would not return.

“You’re bringing in an experience you’re not going to be able to get at your house,” said Commissioner Richard Marzo. “The police have examined this, and if it’s OK with them, and these conditions were part of this, that’s good enough for me.”

The theater will remain open during the ongoing remodel, as only some of its auditoriums will go offline for changes at any given time, Corkill said. Construction could start as soon as this fall.

(Contact Eric Gneckow at eric.gneckow@arguscourier.com. On Twitter @Eric_Reports.)

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