East Dundee club owner fined $600 for noise violations

Club Royal B&V was found liable for noise violations and has been fined $600, an East Dundee administrative officer decided Wednesday.

Police Chief Terry Mee said owner Jaime Benitez did not contest the violations.

Club Royal, formerly called Club Premier, at 940 Dundee Ave., has been the subject of recent discussion surrounding noise complaints from neighboring residents. These complaints were for not only the volume of the music, but also of the heavy bass.

Benitez had received three noise citations and numerous complaints since he bought the property and opened the banquet hall in March, Mee said. Each noise citation resulted in a $200 fine.

Two nearby residents, John Arnold and Karen Fridstrom, both of Castle Drive, testified against Benitez at Wednesday's administrative adjudication hearing.

Three East Dundee police officers also testified to witnessing Club Royal's loud music and heavy bass, Mee said.

At an East Dundee committee of the whole meeting earlier this month, Benitez told trustees he was being unfairly targeted and that the bass could be coming from another establishment, the Milk Pail. Benitez argued the same case at the administrative hearing, but it was refuted by the witnesses, Mee said.

"Each one of them in turn stated that the music was absolutely in all three citation cases coming from Club Royal," he said.

Benitez also said he has been working to remediate the problem and stifle the sound and bass by purchasing noise canceling equipment, Mee said. Club Royal was formerly a car dealership.

"As much as it's the village's interest that (Benitez) mitigate the problem, it's absolutely the interest of those residents who live adjacent to the property," Mee said.