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The show must go on: Barleens outdoor concert venue in Apache Junction allowed

Posted 9/23/20

The Barleens Dinner Show Theater can temporarily --- during the COVID-19 pandemic --- operate an outdoor concert venue with lawn seating and drive-up parking in addition to its indoor shows, an …

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business

The show must go on: Barleens outdoor concert venue in Apache Junction allowed

Posted

The Barleens Dinner Show Theater can temporarily --- during the COVID-19 pandemic --- operate an outdoor concert venue with lawn seating and drive-up parking in addition to its indoor shows, an Apache Junction commission decided.

A conditional use permit valid for a maximum of two years or seasons, expiring May 31, 2022, for the business, 2275 E. Old West Highway, was approved at a recent meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission.

“I’ve attended concerts there --- quite a number --- through the years and it is marvelous, and I think whatever we could possibly do to support their operation during this difficult time I think is not only in their best interest but it is in the best interest of the city,” Vice Chair Peter Heck said prior to the vote Sept. 22. “Because it truly is a gem and I’m hoping that we can help them continue to function with all the challenges associated with this.”

Chair Tess Nesser said the city of Apache Junction operates an outdoor movie venue at the rodeo grounds.

“Our parks and rec department has all summer long been holding drive-in movies ... at the rodeo grounds --- more or less the same set up already,” she said. “They have their stage where they’re showing the movie and you drive in and you park in your parking spot and you can sit outside with your lawn chairs even there... So, if the city’s doing it, I don’t see why you can’t do it.”

COVID-19 crisis

Barleen Family LLC, represented by Jeff Barleen, sought the permit. The Barleens Dinner Show Theater has been in Apache Junction since about 1987.

“We think about half of our patrons will not be attending an indoor venue until this crisis has passed. And with that in mind, we want to accommodate them with an environment where they feel safe as well as the option to stay in a lawn chair on the lawn,” Mr. Barleen said to the commission.

“We have a large enough area there we can keep them socially distanced or they can stay in their vehicle in the parking lot. And we are working on an FM signal --- there’s a little question of a delay we’re working out as far as the live-stage sound to when the signal reaches the car. I do feel confident that we’ll accomplish that.”

Wearing masks will be encouraged, Planning Manager Rudy Esquivias told the commission.

“For the purpose of protecting their patrons from COVID, they’ll encourage social distancing and mask-wearing --- especially in the lawn area,” he said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, as we all know, has negatively affected many businesses all over the country --- particularly restaurants, bars, entertainment venues. Under the governor’s orders, places have had to close down for months at a time. Of course, a lot of places went out of business, other places are trying to survive, and places that have opened back up again are operating under reduced capacities and challenging circumstances,” Mr. Esquivias said.

“This conditional use permit request is temporary to get Barleens through one or perhaps two seasons,” he said.

The manager of the RV park to the south of Barleens, which also depends on the winter-visitor season, expressed some concerns about noise. Barleens agreed to end shows by 9 p.m., according to a staff report.

Jon Gillespie, land use planner and attorney for Pew and Lake, representing Sundance West RV Park, thanked Barleens for addressing parking and noise- and light-mitigation concerns.

“We are supportive of the Barleens and the initiative and the idea to hold outdoor concerts and certainly excited that we have been able to establish just a couple more parameters that will help to guide the use and make sure that interests of our residents (are considered) --- we could potentially have up to 150 residents in George McGavin’s RV park to the south there,” Mr. Gillespie said to the commission. “So, with regard to noise mitigation, light mitigation, parking of vehicles and some of those factors, we are grateful that we were able to nail those down in the revised stipulations.”

Fourteen revised conditions --- including a cap on how late the concerts may be held --- are required as part of the permit.

Concerts held Dec. 1-Feb. 28 are to end no later than 8:30 p.m. Those held other times in the year are to end no later than 9 p.m. to mitigate neighborhood noise concerns, Mr. Esquivias said.

Also, no more than three evening --- after 4:30 p.m. --- outdoor concerts are allowed per week, and no more than five total concerts per week, he said.

Barleens patrons will be served meals in to-go containers. The building will be open for people needing to use the restrooms, according to city documents.

Commissioner Shirley Ooley asked about the to-go boxes of food to be served to patrons and the trash produced.

“We would collect that from the vehicles, much like we bus the dining room in a regular dinner-show operation,” Mr. Barleen said.