There could soon be no new Koreatown karaoke bars in Los Angeles because there are already so many with officials concerned with “late night noise and traffic.”
The world-famous, 3-square-mile district has been a hub for the city’s Korean community for decades and is a popular nightlife spot for locals and tourists hoping to visit a karaoke bar.
Councilmember Heather Hutt, though, filed a motion on Wednesday calling for an Interim Control ordinance on any applicable permits within the Los Angeles Police Olympic Division - which contains Koreatown.
“In the last several years, there has been a proliferation of karaoke bars permitted and opened in the City of Los Angeles, particularly in the densely populated neighborhood of Koreatown,” she wrote in the motion, noting that conditional use permits had been issued previously.
"As more and more housing is built in Koreatown, we field calls from constituents who deal with late night noise, traffic, and its related issues. We have seen the entertainment and nightlife grow in the area and want to ensure this growth is more thoughtful and creates a safe environment for everyone."
In her motion, Hutt suggested that the pause would be effective for 45 days but could even be extended for a year.
“As the City has streamlined permitting for alcohol and related uses, the City no longer has a good sense of the unique requirements needed, nor the enforcement resources required, to ensure that businesses with karaoke rooms operate within the law,” she continued.
Hutt’s office told CBS LA that there are 500 applications for alcohol permits within Koreatown.
The possible freeze of new karaoke bars in the city, though, has not struck the right note for some locals.
Siddharpha Erma, who often visits the area’s karaoke bars, said that law-abiding bars could be impacted by the measure.
“It’s a bummer for sure,” Erma told CBS LA. “If, you know, a lot of good karaoke places get into trouble because of a couple of these bad ones, it would be sad.”
“Me being an architect, I know how tricky it is to get permits and liquor licenses and things like that. So it’s already pretty hard in L.A. I don’t know how much harder they could make it for them.”
Hutt’s move would also transfer $75,000 from one fund into a police department fund, which the LAPD would use to enforce existing laws in karaoke rooms in the Olympic Division, her motion states.
In a statement given to ABC7, Hutt’s office stressed that the freeze on new establishments would be temporary.
“Our motion to pause new karaoke establishments is just that, a pause,” the statement read.
Hutt’s motion must clear the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee before moving on to the City Council for a full vote on the ban.
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