|
Be certain to visit the "Truth-Detector" Page that discusses Pinal County Issues - CLICK HERE
Download or Play the Song! -
You Can't Dance Outside in Pinal County
(Written & Performed by Lee Alexander)
(With a PC, Double-Click the above link - Your will have a
choice to open or save the file (which may then be played on your computer or
transferred to your MP-3.)
Several Articles are posted on this page. Please Scroll Down!
Latest Article on San Tan Flats and Pinal County by George Will - CLICK HERE
**********************************************************************************************************************
San Tan Flat wins dancing duel
by Lynh Bui - Apr. 30, 2008 04:07 PM - The Arizona Republic
FLORENCE - Kick off your boots and get ready to two-step because dancing is now allowed at San Tan Flat.
Pinal County Superior Court Judge William O'Neil overturned a decision from the county Board of Supervisors that said the country-Western-themed restaurant was operating an illegal dance hall by allowing patrons to dance to live music on its back patio.
The judge's ruling brings closure to the conflict between the county and restaurant owner Dale Bell, who have been at odds for more than two years after San Tan Flat neighbors complained about noise coming from the property.
The saga of San Tan Flat drew national attention, prompting commentary from actor Drew Carey and conservative Washington Post columnist George Will. The case also received several comparisons to the 1984 Kevin Bacon film Footloose, in which a small town bans rock music and dancing.
The Board of Supervisors had said Bell violated a zoning ordinance from 1962 that bans outdoor dance halls. The county contended the ordinance was designed to prevent excessive or disruptive noise and threatened to fine Bell $700 a day for each day he was found out of compliance.
But O'Neil said the wording of the ordinance has nothing to do with noise. He added that Bell's business and profits rely on food and beverage sales, not dancing.
County officials knew full well that San Tan Flat would have noise, sell liquor and have a stage and "at each step they approved" Bell's plans for the building in the rural area near Ellsworth Road and Hunt Highway, O'Neil said. The neighbors of San Tan Flat "have every right to be disappointed" in the county for giving the restaurant the green light, O'Neil said.
O'Neil, who lives on a rural 12.5-acre parcel, told Bell, "I would not be happy with your restaurant near me."
Bell opened his business in November 2005 and said the county should have objected to the project before they let him build it. Bell sued the county for $1, saying the dance-hall ordinance violated his constitutional right to freely run his business.
"That $1 is about freedom and about civil liberties and the government not being allowed to overreach," Bell said Wednesday.
Heather Murphy, Pinal County spokeswoman, said Wednesday that the county was looking for certainty from whatever ruling O'Neil sent down. However, she said the county hadn't decided how to address residents' noise complaints.
"Hopefully, the citizens can work privately with Mr. Bell and find a compromise," she said.
Bell said he hopes to move on and run his business with fewer interruptions.
And the bright yellow signs that surround the dance floor of his restaurant warning patrons that dancing is illegal in Pinal County?
"Those are going to be collector's items," Bell said.
Comment posted to the AZ Republic Blog site: Wilt - Apr-30 @ 5:12 PM
Hey Heather,
Was it too difficult to just say; Hey, we made a mistake when we approved this
zoning?
Maybe "Hey Dale, we really screwed up. Can you help us, here?"
Why didn't you address the issues and complaints from residents in a logical
manner such as asking that outdoor entertainment be limited to the hours prior
to 10 pm? Going after STF for dancing when the real issue is noise is not only
intellectually dishonest, but made everyone in Pinal county government look like
a fool. Seymour Guber didn't need any help in that regard after today’s display
of judicial prowess.
Good luck getting Dale to consider any form of compromise, now!
**********************************************************************************************************************
Dance is on at San Tan Flat for now
Pinal County judge stays $700-a-day fine for steakhouse while case is pending
By SARAH J. BOGGAN TRIBUNE - CONTACT WRITER: (480) 898-6574 or sboggan@evtrib.com
Two-step if you must — popular Pinal County steakhouse San Tan Flat won’t be
fined for the dancing that takes place there while a lawsuit aimed at that
subject works its way through court.
A Pinal County Superior Court judge decided Tuesday to stay the $700-a-day
fine that San Tan Flat, located on Hunt Highway just south of Queen Creek, might
have faced for every day someone dances in its outdoor dance area.
County officials say San Tan Flat owner Dale Bell violates a county ordinance
that requires dancing be done indoors.
“This is a big victory,” said Jennifer Perkins, attorney with the Institute
for Justice, which represents San Tan Flat owner Dale Bell. “This is the
difference between Dale getting his day in court or not. He shouldn’t be
punished for his right to be heard.”
Perkins said the fines could have amounted to more than $200,000 a year if
enacted.
Judge William O’Neil said Bell’s request for a jury trial would be taken
under advisement and will be decided at a later time.
“It could be days, or it could be weeks — it’s up in the air,” Perkins said.
“Judges are directed to make these cases priority.”
Seymour Gruber, a Pinal County attorney, said neighbor complaints of noise
prompted the county’s action against Bell and San Tan Flat.
Bell has never violated the county’s strict noise ordinance.
Pinal County spokeswoman Heather Murphy said the case is not about dancing,
but rather activities that are appropriate for the zoning that Bell acquired for
San Tan Flat.
“The use of the facility is in conflict with the zoning that was obtained,”
Murphy said. “In simplest terms, it’s a restaurant and a bar with an open
courtyard where music and dancing take place, which equals a dance hall.
“I compare it to a Laundromat that decides to open a drive-through coffee
shop — you might need a different kind of zoning to do that.”
Bell said he does not operate a dance hall, but rather that he’s created an
atmosphere of a Western mining camp under the stars. He does not invite people
to dance, does not charge for nightlife and does not encourage dancing.
“For me, this is about the Constitution and freedom,” Bell said. “This has
harmed our business.”
Bell said he is pleased with the judge’s ruling because it allows him to “not
have to be the dance police.”
Dale
Bell
**********************************************************************************************************************
Dance Gestapo
Colorful San Tan Flat's owner says Pinal County's out to get him, and he's probably right
By John Dickerson - Published: September 13, 2007 - www.newtimes.com
·
courtesy of Dale Bell
Outdoor dancing seems to be prohibited in Pinal County only at Dale Bell?s restaurant.
Pinal County Supervisor Sandie Smith stood at her front door, barefoot, and she did not want to talk. She had ignored three phone calls, opportunities to answer claims that she is running restaurateur Dale Bell out of business.
"That's between the county attorney and him," Smith said. Actually it was Smith, not the county attorney, who ruled on June 30 that Bell pay as much as $189,000 in fines because patrons dance at his restaurant, San Tan Flat.
Now a national legal team is helping Bell sue Pinal County for a measly $1 and, more importantly, they say, for the right to operate his restaurant without government interference. Attorney Jennifer Perkins works for the Institute for Justice, an ACLU-like advocate for small businesses. Perkins argues that Pinal County has breached Arizona law and the U.S. Constitution by outlawing outdoor dancing.
"Requiring Dale to be the dance police is not reasonable," Perkins said, adding that Bell has the constitutional right to make a living without government harassment.
On September 18, Perkins will argue before the Pinal County Superior Court that Bell's rights have been violated. In return for Bell's $1 lawsuit, Pinal County Attorney James Walsh has asked the court to award the county a lien on Bell's land and restaurant if he doesn't pay all dance fines, an unspecified lawsuit amount for "damages," and the County Attorney's legal fees.
So if Bell doesn't pay what could total $189,000 in dancing fines as well as a lawsuit payout and the legal fees of county-paid attorneys, the county could take ownership of his mountainside property and buildings.
Officials claim San Tan Flat isn't a restaurant but a dancehall. And by Pinal ordinance, outdoor dancehalls are illegal.
"Outdoor dancing is not allowed in any zone in our county," deputy director of planning Dennis Rittenback said during Bell's January hearing. In a New Times interview last week, Deputy County Attorney Chris Roll contradicted that: "I've never heard that it's illegal to dance outside in Pinal County."
Apparently, Pinal County officials aren't on the same page about their dance ordinances. They do, however, agree that Bell should be fined. To do so, they cite a 1950s-era ordinance that dancehalls must be fully enclosed. Since San Tan Flat has an open courtyard, it's illegal, they contend.
The problem is, any fourth-grader could tell you San Tan Flat isn't a dancehall. Not unless dancehalls serve cold-water Maine lobster, shrimp, and salmon. Not unless dancehalls grind their own beef every morning, serve filet mignon for dinner, and sell beers at a bar until closing time.
While reports about Pinal County's poor roads and embryonic economy accumulate, county officials are spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours observing and fining Bell because his patrons dance outside.
Pinal County records paint San Tan Flat as a raucous dancehall in a sleepy Mayberry of picket fences. You get the idea that residents tending to their backyards are shaken from their gardening trances by cataclysmically loud music.
Actually, San Tan Flat is in the middle of nowhere. The restaurant's driveway turns directly off Hunt Highway. The closest neighbor is almost a quarter-mile away, and the closest complaining neighbor has a stockpile of junked cars reflecting the sun out of her neighbor's backyard.
An abandoned airplane hangar, some snake-infested RVs, and a mobile home sit in the vacant desert separating San Tan Flat from the closest residential street, nearly two city blocks away. Stand under the moon out here, and you'll hear more whirring from traffic on Hunt Highway than music from San Tan Flat.
Recently, it was Dale Bell's lucky night. It was raining, so nobody would be dancing in his courtyard. But even on this drizzling Thursday night, 53 vehicles dotted the oversized San Tan Flat parking lot.
While the rain fell on the outdoor stage and controversial courtyard, families and couples sat inside, enjoying their dinners. In the restaurant's dining room, wagon wheel light fixtures illuminate aged leather and rusted Western artifacts - lanterns, saddles, and memorabilia.
"Sandie Smith is committing political suicide by coming after this place," Bell declared, walking to his office. "People love this restaurant, and she's trying to close it. That's not a smart move."
In his office, Bell walked past a wall of oil-painted Western heroes, each donning a Stetson: John Wayne, Ronald Reagan ("My old boss," Bell said), Roy Rogers, and WWII ace and first American Football League commissioner Joe Foss ("My old neighbor in South Dakota," he said).
Bell lifted a 400-page brick of legal documents from his spat with Pinal County. Next to that sat a background check the FBI ran on him when he worked for the Ronald Reagan campaign and then was a staffer for the president.
"The FBI spent $80,000 checking me out, but apparently I don't make the grade in Pinal," Bell said. "Had I known about all this, I never would have started a restaurant out here."
Bell furrowed his brow, looking a bit like Jack Nicholson "I really don't care if people dance or not," he said. "It's freedom of [expression]. I'm not going to infringe on their right I happen to believe in the Constitution."
In 2003, Bell rode into Pinal County with a proven hand at steakhouses in Wyoming and South Dakota. What better place for a Wild West entrepreneur to set up shop than the mountains of Pinal County?
Smith and Pinal officials gave a standing ovation when Bell first presented San Tan Flat, a circle of five buildings with a courtyard, a stage, and enough cowboy memorabilia to put many museums to shame. The timing couldn't have been better. Just as Pinal County was bursting with Valley overgrowth, San Tan Flat opened its doors.
Then the war began. Rural neighbors complained about the noise from San Tan Flat's outdoor stage. A former politician (Bell organized Ron Paul's first campaign and lost a congressional seat to incumbent Tom Daschle in 1984), Bell wooed each naysayer. He visited in their homes, had them down for drinks. One by one, they agreed to support San Tan Flat.
Except one. Kristen Guerra, whose home is nearly a quarter-mile from San Tan Flat, vowed to call the sheriff every night to complain about noise. "She's certainly kept that promise," said Bell, who's now spent thousands of dollars in a yearlong legal battle with Pinal County.
The county has since snagged Bell's steakhouse on a number of beefed-up violations. First, they tried to penalize him for noise, but Pinal County didn't have a noise ordinance. So it created one of the strictest in Arizona and then sent sheriff's deputies to take hundreds of decibel measurements. San Tan Flat has never exceeded the strict, 60-decibel limit.
Next, Pinal officials went after San Tan Flat's number of paved parking spots. Bell would be fined, they said, unless he paved more desert. After Bell spent $40,000 to pave the "required" spots, officials reduced the required number by half.
Pinal officials gave Bell rules for his firewood, his entrances, his motorcycle patrons, and his signs. Bell adhered to them all. Then, one year and nearly $64,000 of legal fees, fines, and asphalt into the San Tan saga, Pinal officials got creative. On January 17, the county fined Bell $5,000 per day for allowing patrons to dance to country-Western music at San Tan Flat.
With a Stetson pulled over his copper hair, singer Lee Alexander was sipping an iced tea between performances at San Tan Flat. Pinal planning officials approved the stage Alexander would perform on, but at a January hearing, the same officials said they expected mimes and comedians to perform at the country-Western restaurant, not country-Western musicians.
"They're singling Dale out for some reason," Alexander said. "If you use the county's logic, every day care where kids dance outside is a dancehall, so is every charismatic church."
Alexander has been playing Western music in Arizona for about a decade. He's seen multitudes of folks dance outdoors in Pinal County, and never before has he seen a restaurant fined for being a dancehall.
About 20 minutes north of San Tan Flat and five minutes from Sandie Smith's mountainside home sits the Mammoth Steakhouse and Saloon, where Lee Alexander plays every Friday and Saturday night.
There, Alexander has watched Pinal County Supervisor Sandie Smith, who upheld fines against Bell, sit by while patrons danced under the stars.
"Sandie Smith sent a little girl to request my Johnny Cash medley," Alexander said of a recent gig at Mammoth. "Folks were dancing outside, and Sandie Smith sat there watching. She hasn't done anything to Mammoth or any other venue. It's not about dancing. She's just after Dale."
(Reader Comment) Speculation is that a developer would like this property. In any case, why is a Pinal County Supervisor the catalyst behind wasting Pinal County Taxpayer Dollars on something as ridiculous as this? Is this a reason that the Pinal County Property Taxes are the highest in the State?
**************************************************************************************************
Steakhouse
owner refuses to toe line on dancing
Oct. 3, 2007 12:00 AM
He is, to hear the bureaucrats tell it, a nuisance, a threat to the health and
well-being of the people of Pinal County.
Almost every day when the sun goes down, Dale Bell allows what amounts to outlaw
behavior, right there before God and country-music fans. First comes the
toe-tapping, an involuntary response to the beat of the music. Then, the
occasional bobbing of the head.
The danger arrives when the person so afflicted stands. Swaying ensues and then,
chaos: the shuffling of demon feet.
Oh, the horror of it all.
In Pinal County, there shall be no dancing. At least, no dancing outdoors.
On Tuesday, Bell will take county officials to court, convinced that their
attempt to put the kibosh on the Cotton-Eyed Joe is a slap to civil liberties.
He's suing for $1 and the right of his customers to break out in spontaneous
renditions of the Honky Tonk Twist.
Meanwhile, the county is hoping to put an end to his "dancehall activities" and
a lien on his property, to cover $700-a-day fines and other costs associated
with this "threat," as they call it, "to the health and welfare of the public."
Bell, 57, and his son, Spencer, 17, opened San Tan Flat, just south of Queen
Creek, in late 2005, after getting not only unanimous approval from the Board of
Supervisors, but a standing ovation. The steakhouse is in the middle of nowhere,
or nearly so. It's a rustic spot where the family can grab some grub, roast
marshmallows over a campfire and, if the mood strikes, dance.
Five nights a week, there is live country-Western music on the outdoor stage, a
development that irritated a few neighbors and surprised the bureaucrats of
Pinal County. Though the plans they approved showed the stage with a nearby
concrete slab, the bureaucrats apparently never dreamed it would be used for
anything more than puppet shows, poetry readings or that staple of cowboy
restaurants everywhere: mimes.
Heather Murphy, the county's spokeswoman, says the dispute isn't about dancing
but about zoning, and more specifically, amplified music.
"It's absolutely not (about) dancing," she said. "That's what certain
individuals have latched onto and made the cause celebre."
Maybe that's because in a hearing earlier this year, it was all about dancing,
as Bell was told to police the premises lest anyone break out in a rogue
two-step. Dennis Rittenback, a top county planner, put it best: "Outdoor
dancing," he testified, "is not allowed in any zone in our county."
If it is truly about music, however, one might wonder why. After Bell opened his
steakhouse, the county enacted one of the strictest noise ordinances in the
state. Yet San Tan Flat has never been cited, even with the county dispatching
sheriff's deputies to take noise measurements, sometimes up to three times a
night.
Still, county leaders have decreed that people may dance no more. These days,
the Bells risk monumental fines if someone so much as scoots a boot across the
floor. They're appealing to Pinal County Superior Court with a little help from
the Institute for Justice, the civil-liberties law firm that came to the aid of
Randy Bailey a few years ago when Mesa tried to seize his brake shop. Now, IJ
hopes to strike a blow for dancers everywhere, or at least in Pinal County.
"It's something I would have thought might happen in Soviet Russia 30 years
ago," Bell said. "It's not something I ever would have expected in America, let
alone in Arizona."
Next week, he'll ask Judge William O'Neil for a jury trial. Bell is hoping
regular people will see that there are indeed threats to the public health and
welfare in Pinal County.
They just aren't set to music.
Reach Roberts at
laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com <mailto:laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com>
or (602) 444-8635. Read her blog at robertsblog.azcentral.com.
**************************************************************************************************
WELL SAID -
JENNIFER
PERKINS - THE STAFF ATTORNEY FOR THE
INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE ARIZONA CHAPTER WAS REACTING TO THE PINAL COUNTY’S BOARD
OF SUPERVISORS RULING ON WEDNESDAY THAT DALE BELL, CO-OWNER OF SAN TAN FLAT,
VIOLATED THE COUNTY’S ZONING ORDINANCE BANNING OUTDOOR DANCING. THE BOARD ALSO
IMPOSED A $700-PER-DAY FINE IF ANY ONE DANCES OUTDOORS AT SAN TAN FLAT .
“Forcing
Dale and his son and business partner, Spencer, to act as the dance police is
not only making Pinal County a national laughingstock, it is unconstitutional.
The Board of Supervisors today had the opportunity to do the right thing by
overturning the hearing officer’s ridiculous decision and rejecting the county’s
interference with Dale’s economic liberty, but it chose to go along with the
continued injustice.”
DEFENSE: Institute for Justice attorney Jennifer Perkins speaks on behalf of San Tan Flat owner Dale Bell during the Pinal County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday in Florence. THOMAS BOGGAN, TRIBUNE
(Perhaps justice would be served if we all sent Supervisor Sandie Smith an E-Mail advising her of our feelings on yet another ill-conceived decision (Remember, she did support Stan Griffis, the former County Manager. Does she have any realization how much of the Pinal County Taxpayers money will be spent to defend this irrational decision?) - CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL MS. SMITH
(reader Comment received May 5, 2007 - An E-Mail
sent to Sandie Smith)
Get Real! - We realize that all of you are liberals but there must be some
thread of common sense even in you county supervisors. Let the dancing go on at
the San Tan Flat restaurant. Next thing we will be having in this county is you
and sheriff fining and arresting people who dance on their own property while
having a party or a wedding reception! Get off of an honest business' back and
at least make an attempt it look like you three are working in the positions
that the unenlightened voters of Pinal County have elected you to do!
Art Fesler-Butts - Apache Junction
*****************************************************************
San Tan Flat owner loses dance-off
Pinal County Supervisors reject appeal of $700 fine for every day patrons cut a
jig
By SARAH J.
BOGGAN - TRIBUNE
The Pinal County
Board of Supervisors on Wednesday upheld a January decision that San Tan Flat
restaurant owner Dale Bell is running a dance hall.
Bell, who operates the open air steakhouse on Hunt Highway south of Queen
Creek, was appealing a county hearing officer’s ruling that resulted in a $700
fine for every day someone dances at the restaurant.
The supervisors sided with Seymour Gruber, an attorney for the county, who
argued that the case was about a zoning issue and not about what he called a
“cultural issue.”
“This case is not about dancing alone, it’s about enforcement of a zoning
ordinance — about what kind of activities can happen outside and what kind of
activities can happen inside a completely enclosed space,” Gruber said. “It is
designed to protect the peace and solitude of the residents of Pinal County.”
But Jennifer Perkins, an attorney for
the Institute for Justice, which is representing Bell, said the ruling has
constitutional implications and that Bell’s right to earn a living and his
patrons’ right to dance are being violated.
“This case is about the absurd enforcement of an ordinance that does not
apply and the continued failure to demonstrate any rational reason for that
enforcement,” Perkins said to the board. “Dale Bell’s constitutional rights have
been and continue to be violated throughout this process.”
Voting to uphold the hearing officer’s ruling, Supervisor Sandie Smith of
District 2 recommended Bell apply for a special-use permit to allow dancing,
work with the restaurant’s residential neighbors, and do more to suppress noise
coming from the eatery. Applying for a special-use permit would require seeking
public comment.
Bell said he has already taken additional steps to suppress noise, which has
always been below legal levels. He is also quick to remind people that he is not
charged with any noise violations.
“We’ve added to our sound wall in the past month,” Bell said. “We did that as
a courtesy, not because the county has any case against San Tan Flat.”
The board did not take any public
comment at the hearing and have 10 days to issue an official written
decision.
Bell said he plans to file an appeal, which must be done within 35 days, with
the Pinal County Superior Court.
“We anticipated this from Pinal County. We don’t think we’d ever get a fair
shake from Pinal County, and we’ll take this to the next higher level,” he said.
“We’re going to go as far as it requires to get a fair hearing — that means
outside of Pinal County.”
Institute for Justice attorney Tim Keller said the nonprofit public-interest
law firm is prepared to take the appeal case.
Immediately following the hearing, country western singer Lee Alexander, who
performs at San Tan Flat several nights a week, sang the song he wrote about San
Tan Flat, “You Can’t Dance Outside,” on the steps of the historical Pinal County
Courthouse.
Bell was fined an initial $700, but subsequent day-today fines were not
levied because the case was being appealed. Gruber said Bell has 60 days to come
into compliance in the ways suggested by Smith. If Bell fails to comply in that
time, fines will be levied, he said.
—
CONTACT WRITER: (480) 898-6574 - or sboggan@evtrib.com
San Tan Flat Scott Sheils/TRIBUNE
LOSING BATTLE: San Tan Flat owner Dale Bell listens to comments from county supervisors during the Pinal County Board of Supervisors meeting Wednesday in Florence. PHOTOS BY THOMAS BOGGAN, TRIBUNE
REACTS TO HEARING: Lee Alexander, a regular performer at San Tan Flat, talks to reporters Wednesday.
(received and posted May 3, 2007)
This is a sad story. Today the Pinal County BOS, in an effort to further their
Boss Hogg image, denied dale bell's appeal and upheld the hearing officer's
fines.
But
I can smell that steak cooking as i write because I am quite sure there is a
land developer waiting in the wings, with a pocket full of money and the
blessing of the BOS, to buy san tan flats when bell calls it quits.
Maybe then, after my steak, I will buy myself an orange dodge charger to travel
around Pinal county. While I tour in my newly acquired "Gen. Robert E. Lee" I
can continue to tell all who listen what a bunch of A.H.'s
(word edited)
the BOS are and point out how they are proving it.
Kenny Baker - Apache Junction
(Is Pinal County ready to take on the Institute of Justice over the whims of a disgruntled San Tan Resident? Why not, it is only the taxpayers money! They failed to collect development fees during the development of the Johnson's Ranch Area. Now Pinal County has just acquired over $50 million of debt to finish Ironwood / Gantzell Road, just in time for another 2400 homes to be built in that immediate area. Are development fees being collected for those homes or are they part of the pre-approved with NO development fees projects?. It is quite obvious that Supervisor Smith is not aware of the issues. San Tan Flats is in compliance with the applicable ordinances. Who is our District 2 Supervisor, Sandie Smith really representing? - Editor)
****************************************************************
Institute for Justice will stand beside San Tan Flat
Mar. 15, 2007 10:52 AM
During the
past six years, the Institute for Justice Arizona Chapter has established a
reputation as the Grand Canyon State's leading advocate for individuals whose
rights are being violated by the government. In those few years, IJ-AZ has:
• Saved Randy Bailey's brake shop from eminent domain abuse and made all
Arizonans safer in the protection of what rightfully belongs to them.
• Stopped government bureaucrats from driving out of business entrepreneurs like
teenager Christian Alf, who sought to protect the homes of senior citizens from
roof rats without an exterminator's license, and Gary Rissmiller, who merely
sought to spray over-the-counter herbicides, like Roundup, without having to get
a government-issued license requiring 3,000 hours of so-called training.
• Opened educational opportunities for thousands of Arizona youngsters through
school-choice programs when they might otherwise have been consigned to schools
that would not meet their needs.
• Continued to fight government-imposed limitations on free political expression
that come under the misguided euphemism of campaign finance "reform."
With this track record of successfully helping individual Davids fight the
government Goliath, you would think that bureaucrats we confront with the
flagrant abuse of their powers might apologize to the citizen involved and mend
their ways, respecting the constitutional rights they once infringed. But if you
lived in Pinal County, you'd be wrong.
Rarely has IJ seen such a combination of government-issued harassment and
nitpicking as we have witnessed by Pinal County officials in their campaign
against the San Tan Flat steakhouse. Pinal County's latest attack against the
father/son partners Dale and Spencer Bell, who opened the restaurant just
outside Queen Creek a year and a half ago, involves the county's apparent ban on
outdoor dancing. San Tan Flat dares to let patrons dance outdoors, and for that
they could face fines totaling $200,000 a year, enough to drive out of business
even the most successful small enterprise.
Before opening, the Bells were forced to change their restaurant's design, alter
their plans for the parking lot at significant cost, reduce the number of
entrances, settling for one instead of four, and reduce the number of signs to
just one.
Since opening, officials have harassed the Bells about parking, firewood, signs,
guests who ride motorcycles and more. Despite the microscopic oversight, the
county never found a single violation and that includes operating within the
county's strict new noise ordinance - one of the most strict in the state - that
limits noise after 10p.m. to 60 decibels, the equivalent of normal conversation.
Unable to find a rational reason to shut Dale and Spencer down, the county found
an irrational one. On Sept. 20, 2006, county officials cited Dale Bell for
running a "dance hall" outside a completely enclosed structure and a county
hearing officer found Dale personally liable for fines based on this
"violation." The county took the laughable position that the instant a San Tan
Flat patron gets up to dance, this restaurant is somehow magically transformed
into a "dance hall."
The Institute for Justice took up Dale's case because this senseless prosecution
violates Dale's right to earn an honest living free from unreasonable government
interference.
IJ-AZ's mission is to protect individual liberties when faced with government
abuse of power, and Pinal County's actions against Dale Bell and San Tan Flat
reflect a stark example of local big-government bullies menacing honest
enterprise.
IJ-AZ will stand with Dale Bell against such grass-roots tyrants, demonstrating
that hard-working entrepreneurs in the Grand Canyon State need not bow to
government abuse of power.
Jennifer Perkins is an Institute for Justice Arizona Chapter lawyer. For more
information, visit www.ij.org.
(Pinal County already has the
highest property tax rates in the State and a very high budget (as well as a
convicted former County Manager). Isn't it time to really start asking what is
wrong with the Pinal County leadership?)
