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news
Council
silences music at Java Lanes
By Sé
J. Reed
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
Long Beach nightspot,
Java Lanes, was denied a permit for live entertainment by
the Long Beach City Council July 30 in a decision even council
members admitted was overflowing with discrepancy.
Based on the recommendation of an independent hearing officer,
the council voted six to one, with one abstention, to deny
the permit, despite contradictions in the facts presented
by both sides, which the members of the council recognized.
“Listening to each side is like listening to parallel universes,”
said 4th District Councilman Dennis Carroll . “These people
don’t seem to be living in the same place.”
Indeed, the facts as presented by Java Lanes General Manager,
Nancy Durnin-Schmerl, do not match up with those presented
in the report of the independent hearing officer, independent
counsel Carol Churchill, who was unavailable for comment on
this story.
The report was based on five days of testimony by various
witnesses, including Durnin-Schmerl, residents of Java Lanes’
neighborhood and Long Beach police officers.
Java Lanes, Long Beach’s oldest bowling alley and home to
the Lava Lounge, one of the city’s largest entertainment venues,
first encountered problems in April 2001, when filing a renewal
application for their “live entertainment with dancing by
patrons” permit required by the City of Long Beach. The permit
allows the venue to host live music.
Java Lanes management was shocked to hear new resident Stacy
McMullen, who had just moved into a home more than 100 feet
away from the Java Lanes building, request the council deny
the permit at the council meeting in April.
McMullen said the noise from the live music was disturbing
the peace and complained of “increased vehicle traffic.”
Additionally, McMullen said “attendance at these events brings
an increase in the use of illegal drugs to the area, including
bar patrons who use the quiet residential streets as places
to covertly use illegal drugs.” Yet a detailing of police
calls to the location showed only one drug related incident
- possession of marijuana under 28.5 grams - in a two-year
period.
According to the hearing officer’s report, McMullen and other
residents believed the business was “shifting away from
family entertainment to a night club for 18-22 year olds which
plays punk and hard rock music and draws ‘undesirables’ into
the neighborhood.”
William Aki, head of Java Lanes’ security for three years,
disputes this. He said there are minimal problems with rowdy
patrons.
“If they do act rowdy, we handle the situation,” Aki said.
“We have it under control. The kids respect us.”
The council granted Java Lanes a short-term, one-year permit,
restricting their live music hours to 9 p.m. Sunday through
Thursday and midnight Friday and Saturday. The council put
20 additional stipulations on the permit, including “no sound
shall be audible from any area outside the business, no promotion
of live music via web site shall be permitted” and Java Lanes
must “hire a licensed security company to keep order during
and after any live music.”
Despite the discrepancies, the City Council has made its decision.
Durnin-Schmerl said she believes they must not have reviewed
all the evidence presented, but accepts the verdict. Java
Lanes’ Lava Lounge remains closed and has no plans to continue
to fight.
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