SLO County dance studio closes after 16 years. Owners say cannabis business is to blame
Coastal Dance and Music Academy in Grover Beach is shutting its doors after about 16 years of offering dance lessons in the Five Cities.
Owners Kathy Schultz and Tara Behnke confirmed in a Facebook post Thursday morning that the Huston Street dance studio will close Feb. 2.
“Words can never express the deep love and respect that we have for each and every one of you and the honor it has been to create a place for children to explore the arts, develop as individuals and enjoy a family of support,” they wrote in the post. “We did this together; we must always remain proud of what we have accomplished and focus on the hundreds of lives that have been enhanced because of what we each gave so lovingly from our hearts.”
The dance studio began out of Schultz’s garage in 2004.
She told The Tribune in 2012 that she started the school to create a supportive, noncompetitive atmosphere for students to dance.
Schultz and Behnke said they had to close the studio because of pressure from the nearby Natural Healing Center cannabis shop.
Grover Beach dance studio feuds with cannabis shop
Natural Healing Center opened in a space across the parking lot from Coastal Dance and Music Academy in 2018.
According to the post, Schultz and Behnke were told by the owners of Natural Healing Center — who purchased the buildings that housed the studio at 1030 Huston St. — that they would be moved into an “equal or better facility” to make way for a cannabis campus.
That changed quickly, the post claims, to the cannabis shop owners threatening to run the dance studio out of business if they did not relocate. The owners also never offered “a viable and cost neutral option for us to relocate,” Schultz and Behnke wrote. “We had no choice but to remain where we are and to pursue legal options.”
In late 2018, Schultz filed a lawsuit against the city of Grover Beach, claiming the city violated state law by allowing a cannabis business within 600 feet of a school or youth center.
The lawsuit was denied, with the judge saying the studio waited too long after the permits were issued to file litigation and failed to prove the business had suffered from its proximity to the cannabis shop.
Why Coastal Dance and Music Academy is closing
Schultz and Behnke cited the litigation and the actions of the city and Natural Healing Center in their decision to shutter Coastal Dance and Music Academy.
“The decisions and actions of the city of Grover Beach and Natural Healing Center and partners has caused CDMA, over the previous three years, to lose students to the point that simply makes it financially impossible to continue in business,” they wrote.
“We are determined to see this through, but tragically CDMA cannot continue in business,” they concluded. “We will forever cherish the time that we had together and will miss you dearly. We wish for you all the best that life has to offer.”
In a statement to The Tribune on Thursday, Natural Healing Center representatives said they were “dismayed at CDMA’s misleading and inaccurate statements.”
“From the beginning, NHC has been engaged in a good faith effort working hand-in-hand with both the City of Grover Beach and CDMA to relocate their business,” read the statement. “While we adamantly deny that we have damaged CDMA in any manner whatsoever, we will continue to act in good faith to try to bring this dispute to resolution.”
In an emailed statement to The Tribune on Thursday afternoon, Grover Beach City Manager Matt Bronson said the dance studio owners’ Facebook statement saying that the city issued competing permits for Natural Healing Center and Coastal Dance and Music Academy is not accurate.
He wrote that the dance studio’s permit, approved in 2006, did not have restrictions on the types of uses that could operate in its vicinity, and that the studio is located in an industrial zone that permits manufacturing and other types of uses such as commercial cannabis.
“It’s unfortunate when any business in the city closes, though this is ultimately a private business issue between a tenant and their landlord,” Bronson wrote.
How to say goodbye
From Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, Coastal Dance and Music Academy will offer free classes for current and past students, as well as “any community members that wish to be a part of our Farewell Week,” according to the owners’ Facebook post.
“We know this is a huge shock,” read the post. “We are here to support you through this process and to spend our last month together celebrating you, CDMA and our accomplishments.”
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 2:20 PM.
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