The DeKalb City Council is looking for input and suggestions from residents and students concerning the regulation of teen clubs in the city.

At tonight’s regular city council meeting, a public hearing will be held on the issue of teen clubs and non-alcoholic entertainment clubs in DeKalb.

“The impetus for this hearing is the public concern recently raised by the operation of Phat City, a non-alcoholic teen club that has been operating in the 100 block of N. Fourth Street for about one month,” stated DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas in a memo to the council. Phat City has stayed open until 4 a.m. and lets in both minors and adults.

Phat City, the only such club operating in DeKalb, recently lost its home when the city bought the property with intention to demolish the building. The owners could not be reached to find out if they had plans to move the business to another location.

Phat City can continue to stay open for 30 days from Nov. 5, the day the deal for the property was closed, Nicklas said. He also said the city has no obligation to find them a new building.

Nicklas said the public reaction so far was concern over a host of points, including the lack of age restrictions, a lack of enough seating, the milling about of patrons on the sidewalk and street in front of the building and the lack of prescribed occupancy levels for teen clubs.

City Attorney Ron Matekaitis outlined possible ideas for regulation that could be discussed at the hearing, using the lessons of Phat City as a guide.

“Since DeKalb has not previously had a teen club operate for any length of time, the current Phat City experience provides some insight into the types of issues the council may wish to consider,” Matekaitis said.

Age of the patrons presents one problem, Matekaitis said. “Since there are no age restrictions, a situation is present where people over the age of 21 are mixing with 14- and 15-year-olds,” he stated.

Also, the 4 a.m. closing time gives kids a place to be after curfew, which is 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 12 p.m. on Friday and Saturday for persons age 17 and under, he said.

A suggested solution for these concerns would be to license teen or dance clubs, Matekaitis said. There would be two license categories, one for 14- to 17-year-olds and one for 18 and over, he said.

“It would then be unlawful for someone under the age of 18 to be in an 18-and-over dance club (and vice versa),” Matekaitis stated.

The closing time under the first license could be a half-hour before curfew, he said. For the 18 and over license, closing time could be made parallel to the closing time for the bars, or it could be made the same as the 14- to 17-year-old license requirements.

There are also a couple of alternatives for seating requirements.

“We can adopt the same 10 square feet per person standard as provided in the liquor code as the seating requirement in dance clubs,” Matekaitis said. “(Or) we could require that seating be provided for 50 percent of the maximum occupancy.”

Regulations are being considered to avoid the problems the public has discovered so far in the experience with teen clubs, Nicklas said. “It is possible for teen clubs to operate in DeKalb in a more positive fashion,” he said.

Nicklas said he knows of no one who is planning to open another teen club in DeKalb at this time.