Springfield Official Speaks On Illegal Nightclub Closure

BY JEFF SKINNER

SPRINGFIELD - Last month, thanks to the tireless efforts of residents in the city reporting and coordinating communication, an illegal nightclub was shut down on North Limestone. Not long after the closure, which brought heavy police presence, residents noticed the occupancy notice from Springfield code enforcement had been taken down and the ‘open’ sign was once again illuminated. With questions looming over what transpired, Logan Cobbs, Director of Community Development, has offered some clarification into the code enforcement side of the investigation, and what could possibly happen next. 

“We received multiple complaints from the community regarding 2200 N limestone suite 106,” Cobbs said. “After investigating, we did confirm that it was operating outside its approved certificate of occupancy (CO). The CO is listed under mercantile, which is just a general store, but they were utilizing it as a night club. So for safety reasons, the city did take action and we did placard that building, citing Section 1311 of our Springfield codified ordinances. We posted a letter to the structure, that was a white letter that gave notice of the violation and a red notice that did state that no occupancy was permitted.” 

Many residents noted not long after the police intervention of the Samedi festival rave that was scheduled, the notice had been removed and the business front appeared to be back open, leading many to question what exactly transpired. On the code enforcement side, Cobbs stated at this time, the city had granted a return to their original certificate of occupancy. 

“So the property owner requested to occupy their space in line with their approved certificate of occupancy and the city did grant that,” Cobbs said. “They do have a front office space, like a normal office space, with a computer for record keeping, and they requested to utilize that front space so our new role has shifted to ensure that space is only utilized in that approved manner and proper steps are taken if they want to change that use.” 

According to Cobbs, failure to comply with the approved certificate of occupancy could result in additional enforcement action under city code from everything including fines and criminal prosecution. According to Cobbs, the enforcement of the business was a joint intervention from multiple departmental leadership teams across Springfield government. 

“I will say that when we are looking at this underground nightclub scene we really took a comprehensive approach here and that included representatives from the City Manager's office, Springfield fire rescue division, Springfield police division, and from my office, community development as well,” Cobbs said. “PD is looking at the subject property across the board when it comes to individuals engaged and LLCs but that is something they pursuing on the investigative front, where my end comes in is more enforcing code.” 

Independent investigation into individuals linked with the illegal nightclub scene in Springfield turned up the name Jacob Payen, a local Haitian community advocate who is currently facing charges related to bringing a firearm into the court house. Code enforcement was made aware of the potential for a larger network of nightclub operations within the city due to the rapid change of venue reported on the night of the scheduled rave.

“Yes, I was made aware of that and the police division continues to monitor properties throughout the community,” Cobbs said. “The bottom line is we occasionally see situations where a property is used outside of its approved occupancy or when someone starts work without permits or when someone's property is not within compliance. I wouldn't say any of those are necessarily increasing, but what we do see increasing is our communities willingness to reach out when something doesn’t seem right or when they have questions and that helps us take swift action, as we have and will continue to do. The important part is the system is working as it's supposed to, people report concerns and the city steps in and ensures buildings are used safely and appropriately. So we encourage the community to continue to do so. They can call my department in community development or after hours they can contact the non-emergency police division.”

According to Cobbs, while code enforcement in Springfield has seen many instances of CO violations, the current nightclubs operating out of markets is definitely new territory for the city.

“It is not something that I have seen before. While lounges operating out of markets may be unique situations, properties operating outside of their approved COs are not unique,” Cobbs said. “We have various spins on things more often than I would like to admit that make you say ‘huh I’ve never seen that before’ but when it comes to operation, permitting or code compliance, this happens in any community, not unique to Springfield.”

According to Cobbs, code enforcement continues to monitor the situation involving Z Spot Lounge. Should another underground nightclub be noticed, citizens are encouraged to report it to the local authorities. According to Cobbs, though citizens may not hear about outcomes in commissioner meetings, she does want residents to know the city is keeping an eye on things behind the scenes at this time.

“I think it's important to note that the safety and security of our community is a top priority and we have a lot going on in our community,” Cobbs said. “So while you may not hear about certificates of occupancies outside of compliance which happens, it certainly does not mean we are not working behind the scenes to ensure that we are enforcing the codes that are in place to protect the people utilizing those buildings and surrounding neighborhoods.”