Lake in the Hills will still allow live music in restaurants, with limits

Restaurants in Lake in the Hills can have live music. They can’t, however, charge a cover, have ticket sales or set a minimum drink purchase requirement, thanks to a new zoning change.

The change explicitly allows restaurants to have live music, but, according to village documents, “a restaurant space would not be allowed to be completely converted to being 100% used for entertainment such as a live concert or show, and an operating restaurant must be the primary use of the space.”

The Lake in the Hills Village Board also voted last week to change the zoning code to rename the “entertainment” classification to “indoor amusement establishment,” to separate places that offer bowling, go-cart and laser tag, among other activities, from restaurants.

The board voted to add language to the village’s code saying that “restaurants may provide clearly incidental and accessory indoor entertainment such as live music or stage performances during customary hours of operation and while food is being served.”

Village president Ray Bogdanowski said nobody attended the village’s public hearing on the change.

“It’s really nothing more than clearly defining what these restaurants are doing,” Bogdanowski said.