The Richmond Police Department isn’t singing the praises of a proposal to locate a karoke club in the Southwest Annex neighborhood.
Applicant Tommy Cheng is requesting approval from the city’s Planning Commission to operate an 11,692-square-foot karaoke club within a two-story building at 5221 Central Ave. The club would consist of 23 karoake rooms and its proposed hours would be 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily.
If approved, the project would be the third karaoke club approved in the city since 2013, including Sky Music KTV at the Pacific East Mall and W Club at 5327 Jacuzzi St. But in this case, three times might not be a charm for approvals of karaoke clubs in Richmond.
A Police Department Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Assessment raised issue with the project’s impact on public safety and noise, among other issues. The RPD ultimately found the space to be unsuitable for a karaoke club.
“The assessment cites the concerns regarding parking, access, and police surveillance as the overriding factors,” according to city documents.
In light of the Police Department’s concerns, city staff is recommending that the Planning Commission deny the proposal for the karaoke club when it next meets on the issue. The Planning Commission is set to review the proposal at its next meeting on Thursday, July 18.
