Volusia County’s Code Enforcement Board ruled Sept. 20 that the owners of a restaurant and bar north of DeLand had violated the county’s outdoor-entertainment ordinance, but the panel took no punitive action.

“Don’t do it again,” Code Enforcement Board Chair Chad Lingenfelter told Paula Outzen and Pete Ferrentino, owners of City Limits Taproom and Grille.

In the ongoing saga between the county and the business, the board unanimously determined that Ferrentino and Outzen had not complied with the county’s law on special events with the Aug. 19 CannaFest on the property.

CannaFest was not a pay-ticket event.

The county had notified the restaurant/bar’s owners of the alleged violation on Aug. 22. Code Compliance Coordinator Margaret Godfrey said CannaFest had been an event intended to attract “500 or more per day,” according to the county’s ordinances. Such a gathering would fit the definition of an outdoor-entertainment event requiring a special permit.

The business owners’ attorney, Michael Tuma, said CannaFest was not actually entertainment, as the law would define entertaining as a musical, dramatic or athletic event. Rather than a performance, he added, CannaFest was more like an outdoor market.

“CannaFest is vendors showing up to sell gummies, candles, bracelets, and so on,” he said.

“They’re advertising a venue and events,” Godfrey said. “They only have 42 parking spaces.”

The parking issue became a prime talking point. As well as parking at a nearby church — without permission to do so — much of the traffic pulled off the highway and parked alongside it.

“You’re not allowed to park on state-road right of way,” Lingenfelter said, identifying himself as an employee of the Florida Department of Transportation.

Ferrentino offered to guard against illegal parking in the future.

“I have no problem putting up tow-away signs,” he told the board.

Ferrentino said he had hosted several events and gatherings on the City Limits property at 4425 North U.S. Highway 17, but he denied he had ever reached or exceeded the attendance threshold.

“The place is a popular place now, but I am not designed for 500 people,” he told the board.

County officials pointed out an unsigned and unnamed Google review of a prior Easter-related event at City Limits had likely drawn 500 or more people.

“That’s clearly not accurate,” Outzen said.

As for the actual patronage at CannaFest, Allen Werner, an employee of Ferrentino, said there were only two entry points for vehicles coming to the event. Werner said he was at one entry point and another person was stationed at the other, and they were counting the people in each vehicle coming to the event.

“I was coordinating the event that was going on at the time,” Werner said. “There were 418 people counted. … 418, through the gates.”

Assistant County Attorney Sebrina Slack argued the attendance was probably greater than what Werner said, noting a fence around the business’s property does not secure the site.

“You can get into that property about seven ways,” she said.

In any case, the Code Enforcement Board voted to find City Limits owners not in compliance with the county’s law on outdoor entertainment.

“You haven’t told us what to do,” Outzen said.

“Don’t do it again,” Lingenfelter replied.

City Limits and its owners are scheduled to appear before the Code Enforcement Board once again on Oct. 18 to determine if the business has come into compliance on previous alleged code violations. The board July 19 ruled City Limits had not adhered to zoning regulations and late-night noise restrictions, as well as lacking a site plan for outdoor improvements.

“We’ve received a lot of complaints about the noise,” Amy Munizzi, president of the DeLeon Springs Civic Association, said at the board’s Sept. 19 hearing.

The Code Enforcement Board gave Ferrentino 90 days to come into compliance or face possible fines for the previous violations.

“This case is concluded,” Clay Meek, attorney for the board, said, regarding the latest hearing.