Seven's fate up for debate

Club Dress The fate of Seven Ultra-lounge, the downtown Santa Rosa nightclubonce home to drunken brawls, assaults, noise complaints andallegedly abusive security guards, could be decided Wednesday. An independent hearing officer will conduct a 1 p.m. session atCity Hall to decide if the nightspot should remain in business orif its permit should be revoked and club owners forced to adopt newoperating rules if they wish to reopen. The hearing officer's options include: Allow the club to continue operating under the original permit thecity granted in late 2005. Require the club to continue to adhere to new operating rules thecity demanded in November. Revoke the club's operating permit, which would force the owners toseek a new permit and operating conditions from the PlanningCommission. City Attorney Mike Casey had been seeking the severest penalty sixmonths ago but said he has softened his stance in light of thetemporary conditions club co-owner Gianni Messmer put into actionat the city's request in November. Prior to those new conditions, police had responded to 520 calls inand around the club since it opened in January 2006. "It was totally out of control before, but from what I've seen andbeen told by police, there has been a major turnaround in the waythe business has been conducted," Casey said Monday. "There has been far less trouble. Now I'm not so inclined to pushfor the max," Casey said. Instead, Casey said he supports making permanent the operatingstipulations the city and Messmer agreed to last year. Those include eliminating hip-hop music from the club's playlist, astricter dress code and a change in personnel, particularly aprevious security firm blamed for abusive behavior. Sgt. Andy Romero, who heads up downtown police patrols, said thechanges, particularly in music and dress code, have had an enormousimpact. "Before, we had to have 20 officers a night around there when theyclosed. Now you may have an occasional drunk," Romero said. Romero said the real test of the club, and its commitment to thetougher operating rules, occurred during the annual Cinco de Mayocelebration that often draws large, boisterous crowds. "Bars get real busy that day," he said. "I went over to the club and watched. They did a very good job withsecurity. It worked out very well." The changes apparently have had other impacts as well. Despite the dramatic reduction in problems, Romero said it doesseem the club's crowds are smaller these days. "There is a crowdthere, but it's not like they are spilling out onto the street," hesaid. Messmer did not return calls for comment. But he said in late January, two months after the new conditionswere imposed, that problems at his club had virtually come to ahalt, as had calls to police. Messmer said the shift from hip-hop to Billboard's Top 40, '80stunes and rhythm-and-blues had changed the nightclub's clientele"from the ghetto crowd to a nice, classy, upscale crowd." He said the shift did cost him some customers. He estimated hisFriday and Saturday night crowds number around 250, down about 30percent from pre-November totals. Messmer stepped in to take greater control of the club when thecity threatened to shut it down. "I don't think it's impossible to run a good nightclub. The problemis when you have management that doesn't take control," he said inJanuary.