City of San Mateo Law Library
City of San Mateo Municipal Code.

23.58.020 VISIBILITY IN BARS.

(a) No bar shall be configured so as to provide private rooms for patron use unless one of the following conditions is met:

(1) the activities of patrons in the private room may be readily observed by a person entering the bar through its primary entrance; or

(2) visibility into areas not readily observable upon entry through the primary entrance is provided through doorways without doors or other obstructions; or

(3) visibility into areas not readily observable upon entry through the primary entrance is provided through the installation of a 12 square foot window measuring 4 feet in width by three feet in height, the lower edge of which shall be installed at a point 4 feet above the floor (if desired a larger window may be installed.) If visibility is provided through the installation of a window under this subsection, each of the following conditions must be met:

(A) the window shall remain clear and unobstructed at all times;

(B) the doors to the room shall not be equipped with locks of any kind; and

(C) no private room shall be configured so that the installation of the required window will not provide substantially complete visibility into the room to a person standing outside the room on the other side of the window.

(b) For the purposes of this chapter, a "bar" shall mean a business establishment primarily engaged in the business of selling alcoholic beverages for on site consumption.

(c) The visibility requirement established in this section does not apply to restrooms.

(d) Those bars offering private rooms for patron use in a manner inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter as of the effective date of the ordinance adding this chapter shall be remodeled to satisfy the requirements of this section within 30 days of the effective date of that ordinance.