S. Lake Union nightclub may be closed as 'chronic nuisance'
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SEATTLE - In the past 13 months, South Lake Union's Citrus nightclub has been the site of a gang-related shooting, an officer-involved shooting, a bathroom peeping, multiple fights and brawls, and more.
Last week, the City of Seattle finally said enough is enough, sending a letter the club's landlord on Feb. 20 notifying him that the nightclub on his property had been declared a chronic public nuisance.
“The city takes a chronic nuisance property declaration very seriously,” Sumeer Singla, the Seattle City Attorney's West Precinct liaison, said in a press release. “Our goal is to always work with property and business owners to address nuisance issues. If, however, we cannot reach an agreement or the problems persist, the city is prepared to use all available remedies under the Seattle Municipal Code.”
After visiting Citrus 55 times from Jan. 1, 2012, to Jan. 23, 2013, the Seattle Police Department hopes the declaration will force the nightclub to shape up and curb its ongoing criminal problems.
According to police, representatives from SPD met with Citrus' managers twice in the past year discuss the problems, but nothing changed.
The club's security staff has also been less than cooperative with officers in the past, at one point claiming gunshots were just some fireworks, according to police.
The city has also received complaints from the neighboring Fred Hutchison Research Center, whose executives claim they have found discarded weapons and broken bottles on their campus. According to the Hutch, Citrus' issues have made it difficult to provide a safe environment for staff and patients, who come and go from the center 24 hours a day.
As a chronic nuisance property, the city can require Citrus to upgrade its security or take other measures to curb crime.
If the club fails to do so, it can face fines of up to $25,000 or simply be shut down.
Citrus club managers did not return a call from KOMO News' web staff.
Ed. Note: It was originally stated David Pitt was the owner of Citrus not the landlord for the property. We regret the error.
I noticed all the comments about hip hop. I blame New York City. They cut their funding for music programs in their public schools in the 70s and 80's. Then the kids started playing their record players like instruments. I like xylophone music myself. Art and music... get what we pay for I guess. It's gonna happen.
Legalize Marijuana, but shut down the clubs?
That's an average of one visit per every 9 days. Police come to my apartment compex three times as much. Will someone please declare them a nuisance as well?
Why should tax payers have to pay for expensive city resources to be repeatedly sent to a poorly managed place or one with a business model destined to attract chronic problems while the owners line their pockets. BS. Close it down.Â
Shut them down. Â After all the police are not allowed to do anything about it. Â If they go after the gangs then they are profiling and racist and then the taxpayers have to fork over a big settlement to the ACLU or the NAACP.
"sending a letter the club's landlord" Soooo article #2 with no proofreading....come on Komo...editing PLEASE!
Myself and others have been pleading about KOMO editing for literally YEARS to no avail. Some have suggested that they insert typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors on purpose to get a rise out of their readers who would not otherwise engage the forums.
I notice they now have a rather active and interesting letters "moderator". Let's see if he makes a difference in this regard. It really is a source of derision for out of town visitors.
This is all so ridiculous!!! I seriously think its about time we start taking some social responsibility! Clubs are NOT the problem! The owners and people who work at the clubs are NOT the problem...SOCIETY is the problem. I think it's time we start looking at people and society as a whole. We can't continue to blame establishments and whatever else for the behavior of people. If people are going to be ignorant in the way they conduct themselves there is really nothing anyone can do to prevent it. I've traveled to many different cities and I've been out in various cities and I will say this...Seattle is very different when it comes to nightlife. I have never seen the extreme ignorance in behavior in any other city as I do here...maybe it's the weather?!? Whatever the reasoning may be we need to start shedding light to the REAL issues at hand. If the "news" was really doing their job and if they were forward thinking and not just looking for an easy "story" they would be able to identify what really needs to be addressed! The same goes for the police...if its such a "nuisance" then why aren't you patrolling the area more like you do in Belltown and/or Pioneer Square?!? Again, lets be a bit more forward thinking and let's actually put effort into identifying the root of the problem.
Shut them down! If they can't operate a safe, non-nuisance business, then they shouldn't be in business, period.
Or just take away their liquor license then the city won't have to worry about the place, because they won't have any customers anymore.
@Tattooed_Angel2 are you completely clueless?
I am aware that this is a hip hop club but I don't want to engage in stereotyping. Is there any way KOMO can give us a breakdown of the average customer and the perps by race? With that information those who do engage in stereotyping will be able to see how wrong they are.
Personally, I will avoid this club because it apparently attracts a violent crowd for whatever reason.
Why should the taxpayers have to pay for policing a business that can't control it's customers? Â Their product , booze, is as dangerous as selling bullets to kids and druggies.
The club security needs to step up and prevent these types of problems from coming up in the first place. They need to work closely with SPD when they can't handle the problem. Â Close Citrus now and that crowd will just move over to Volume or ??? Â Better coordination between club management, security, and SPD is what is needed to solve these problem.
@Jimmy JamPolice have tried to work with them. "The club's security staff has also been less than cooperative with officers in the past, at one point claiming gunshots were just some fireworks,"
@Jimmy Jam This is all so ridiculous!!! I seriously think its about time we start taking some social responsibility! Clubs are NOT the problem! The owners and people who work at the clubs are NOT the problem...SOCIETY is the problem. I think it's time we start looking at people and society as a whole. We can't continue to blame establishments and whatever else for the behavior of people. If people are going to be ignorant in the way they conduct themselves there is really nothing anyone can do to prevent it. I've traveled to many different cities and I've been out in various cities and I will say this...Seattle is very different when it comes to nightlife. I have never seen the extreme ignorance in behavior in any other city as I do here...maybe it's the weather?!? Whatever the reasoning may be we need to start shedding light to the REAL issues at hand. If the "news" was really doing their job and if they were forward thinking and not just looking for an easy "story" they would be able to identify what really needs to be addressed! The same goes for the police...if its such a "nuisance" then why aren't you patrolling the area more like you do in Belltown and/or Pioneer Square?!? Again, lets be a bit more forward thinking and let's actually put effort into identifying the root of the problem.
@RealTalkPMFÂ No judgements, just curious: Â what do you suggest, who will do it & how will it be funded?Â
@Jimmy Jam NO they should not have to work with the police- it is their job to police their customers.
55 visits. So basically every weekend officers have to go to Citrus. Amazing.
@Iconoclast ...and that doesn't include the times they went there due to complaints.
Does it really matter, most of Seattle is already a open gunfire zone anyway...
Unfortunately hip-hop brings a bad element in. I enjoy hip-hop but including it in their business model should come with a heavy dose of risk management which would likely price the majority of their customers out of being able to attend.
Nightclubs that close due to violence almost always are clubs that play hip hop/rap. So what's the common denominator here???
Shut it down, and they'll go somewhere else. The problem isn't the location, or the staff, it's the people themselves which are idiots.
@RandomShiz2Â Obviously it's not just the people. If that were the case then EVERY club would have these issues. It is the staff of this particular club that is the problem.
Cronic nuisance. But I thought it was legal now?
Shut them down!! Will this problem business continue for YEARS before the city does its job? How many more shootings,assaults, rapes and robberies are needed to stop this nonsense? We know its a problem, the city knows it a problem, the neighbors certainly know its a problem, and Citrus is ADVERTISING AND BRAGGING about its " street cred" and cashing in on it!! Shut them down and let a legit business move into that spot.
@SeattleRexx At the very least start applying that $25,000 fine each and every time the police have to respond. Threatening a punishment does not work with children or anyone else.
BTW, a Citrus employee will be along shortly to explain how they welcome "a diverse crowd" and how they "do not discriminate against anyone."Â
@lakeview Discrimination is NOT a bad word. It is the mark of a thoughtful person to discriminate against that which is dangerous and distasteful.
So they close Citrus, and the problem goes to which club next?
@aintno1special One in California?
Just hoping
@aintno1special It goes back to Pioneer Square where it belongs.Â
@lakeview @aintno1special It's already there, as well as, Belltown, all this needs to stop. You should be able to visit the legitimate businesses that are there after dark. The druggie crowd are like caged animals.