The music has stopped for a proposed under-21 club at Madison Avenue and Southport Road after a city board on Tuesday unanimously denied a controversial rezoning request.
A company called Next Millennium Club LLC, led by Josh Skaggs, had hoped to open a 7,500-square-foot club in a vacancy-prone strip center at 6830 Madison Ave.
But the club faced fierce opposition from community groups, police and neighbors, who feared the large groups of teens the club would attract could grow unruly.
"If it's approved, I guarantee we'll be busy," said Homecroft Police Chief William Murray, at a Board of Zoning Appeals hearing. "It'll be a long hot summer."
Janet Mallett, an attorney representing the owner, countered that the club would bring a productive use to long-vacant retail space, generating new taxes and creating jobs. She said Skaggs would be a responsible neighbor, noting he had already gotten approval to hire off-duty IMPD officers to keep the venue safe. He also vowed to hire private security personnel, and promised to pay for new landscaping to bring the run-down property up to code.
Mallett said the number of club-goers would fall far short of the maximum capacity of 720. The facility would be open mainly on Fridays and Saturdays, and some Thursdays during the summer.
Barbara Kyle Jones, president of the Homecroft Town Council, said the neighborhood is looking for "proper, family-oriented" businesses, not an after-hours gathering place for teens. Putting an under-21 club in the center, which has a Dollar General, Papa John's and an auto repair shop, would have required a rezoning. The zoning board voted 5-0 against the move.
Jones said she was concerned in particular by a sign, already up on the proposed club's door, that warns that no guns, drugs, alcohol or cigarettes are allowed.
"This very clearly denotes there will be problems for this location," she said.
IMPD Detective William Carter agreed. His primary concern is where teens go after they leave such clubs: They typically congregate in nearby parking lots or at gas stations. The crowds are large and can be hard to control. Fights can break out, and in the past they have led to shootings, Carter said.
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The drinking age at 21 issue - come on; if it were a REAL issue, it'd have been dealt with by now - the vote was extended to 18 YOs a long time ago.
No, the real issue is what these kids learn at home long before they get to 18 - or 16, or even 12. In the immediate neighborhood of this locale, we have -
1 gas station; a Speedway.
1 drug store - a Walgreen's
1 bank
1 miniature golf course - if it's even still open
1 Dairy Queen - closes at 10 PM, lats time I saw.
1 Long's bakery - they close even earlier.
a couple of car repair shops; again, closed long before the club would even open.
Oh, and Joyce - the club has said they'd be using off-duty IMPD for security... I'm minded of Picadilly's, though. This place would be a lot smaller, IIRC just where they'd be fitting it into the strip mall. This place has been on the ropes ever since the tornado took out the Marsh grocery store, though, so SOMETHING needs to be done with it.
doesn't want the teens in their area. I can't really blame them either cause most likely it won't be Homecroft teens but will be the thug wanna-be teens from Indy and surrounding areas who will frequent the place and bring the problems with them.
The arguments against it are super-weak. "It will be a long hot summer"?? REALLY? Time will slow down and temperatures will rise because teenagers have someplace to go? I'm being facetious, of course, but it's no worse than comments that a sign forbidding something indicates there will be a problem. The same type of individual would also likely criticize that the owners weren't responsible if they didn't have such a sign, which indicates their double standard.
This is a tragic loss for taxpayers, the unemployed, teenagers, and basically everyone except the cops who probably would have to stop a few fights (but at least they'll know where to be... it's not like the fights won't occur). Oh wait, they win too because they'll be hired at a higher rate for private security...fail.
And my last two cents: Drunk Driving wouldn't be a problem if this city could finally embrace mass transit.
Come on Naptown, I know you're have more foresight than this. At least you're letting the microbrews sell on sundays... thats progress. I will give you that