City Limits Club Neo In Response to January Shooting

Pleasanton city officials imposed some new restrictions on Club Neo, the city's only Vegas-style nightclub, in the wake of a Jan. 14 shooting there.

According to the Contra Costa Times, the Pleasanton Planning Commission voted anonymously to decrease the maximum number of guests allowed inside the Hopyard Road club from 812 to 300, and opted to force last call for drinks at 1 a.m. instead of 1:45 a.m.

However, the number could go back up if there are no incidents for 30 days, according to the article.

The club, which opened in Oct. 2011, has had six incidents requiring police presence between Nov. 26 and Jan. 14, when a , according to the article.

That night, a fight broke out inside the club, then spilled out into the parking lot — it was then that the man was shot. Because between 100 and 200 people were involved in the melee, Pleasanton police had to call on the Dublin Police Department for help.

The club's attorney, George Mull, that Pleasanton officers refused to help break up the fight even though they were on scene. A Pleasanton police official told Patch the department would not even comment on that assertion.

The Times article states that the city tried to suspended Club Neo's operating permit after the shooting, but the club filed a federal lawsuit against the city and received a temporary restraining order against the city action.

According to the article, Mull argues in legal documents that the city violated the owner's First Amendment right to free expression by limiting the type of music the club can play as part of the conditions approved in August 2010. Mull also argues, according to the article, that the city violated 14th Amendment rights by forcing the club to discourage blacks from coming to the club.

The music condition has been removed, rendering the First Amendment allegation moot, according to the article.

Do you think the city's actions are justified? Tell us in the comments.