Diamond Bar still doesn’t feel like dancing

Despite objections from Councilwoman Ling-Ling Chang, Diamond Bar maintained it’s ban on new businesses that include dancing:

DIAMOND BAR – The City Council has decided not to seek changes to an ordinance banning live entertainment and dancing at new businesses. When enacting the ordinance in January, council members asked planning officials to consider possibilities of loosening the regulations. But at a meeting Tuesday to discuss the matter, the council opted to leave the rules intact.

“It’s really important that we maintain control for our residents,” Mayor Carol Herrera said at a study session before the regular council meeting. Passed with little public opposition, the ban also caps the number of parties with live entertainment at community centers, lodges and hotels with exemptions for schools, churches and some city-sponsored events.

Businesses with existing approvals for live entertainment are allowed to continue.

Councilwoman Ling-Ling Chang, a vocal opponent, pushed to relax what she has called an “extremely restrictive” ordinance.

Though she voted for it, she said she considered it a “temporary” fix as a city moratorium on bars was expiring.

Chang wants to allow live entertainment and dancing – citing flamenco music at a potential Spanish restaurant as an example – but still enact security, parking and other regulations modeled after other California cities.