Picus Proposes Curbs on Teen Clubs in Wake of Complaints About 1

Responding to citizen complaints about drug use and rowdiness at a night spot for teen-agers in her West San Fernando Valley district, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus Wednesday proposed legislation to severely restrict operations of teen clubs citywide.

Picus’ announcement came the morning after police cited Phases, a Canoga Park teen-age club, for admitting patrons under the age of 18, which requires a city permit. If the city attorney decides to file the misdemeanor charge, the club owners could receive a maximum $500 fine and six months in jail.

Youths Being Turned Away

Kevin Parr, the club’s manager, said Wednesday night he began turning away patrons under age 18. “We’re telling them we’re trying to get a permit. Until we do so, it has to be 18 and over to get it. There will be several hundred kids milling around the Valley with no place to go, thanks to Mrs. Picus.”

Lt. John Ferguson, a commission investigator, said that the manager will be arrested the next time officers find anyone under 18 inside the club. Ferguson said that officers found two 15-year-olds in the club during a surprise visit Tuesday night.

Picus’ legislation would, among other things, require clubs to close at midnight on school nights, make parents of patrons under 18 sign consent forms in the presence of club owners before their children could be admitted and make club owners responsible for notifying police of drug and alcohol use on the premises.

Similar Bill in Legislature

Similar restrictions on club operations are contained in a bill now before the state Legislature. Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) in February announced plans for the legislation at a press conference outside the Odyssey, a West Los Angeles club that recently had its city permit revoked in response to neighborhood complaints. The club was heavily damaged by a fire last week, which investigators believe was arson.

Picus, who is up for reelection Tuesday, said she introduced her legislation to “cover all bases.”

The Odyssey’s owners, Chris Cox and Scott Harvey, also own Phases. The Canoga Park club, however, is in escrow for sale to Parr and another investor, Ella Grabher, Parr said Wednesday.

“I cannot imagine that anything good is happening at these places between midnight and 5 a.m.,” said Picus, who acknowledged that she had never been inside of the clubs because of a distaste for noise.

Growth in Recent Years

Clubs that cater to minors and do not serve liquor have proliferated in recent years. They are not required to close at 2 a.m., as are adult bars with liquor licenses. Phases, however, closes at 2 a.m., Parr said.

He called Picus’ proposal “too restrictive.”

Responding to the proposal to require teen-agers under 18 to bring along their parents to sign consent forms, Parr said, “That’s ridiculous. There are kids 16 and 17 years old who are out of high school. They have their own cars, their own jobs. . . .”

He contended that the proposal to require a midnight closing on week nights discriminates against teen-age discos. “There are movie theaters that don’t let out until 12:30 a.m.,” he said.

Criticism Challenged

Parr contended the club also has received unfair criticism.

City officials, he said, “got the kids off Van Nuys Boulevard and other cruising spots. . . . Now that they’re inside the clubs, the city is trying to dump the kids right back on the street.”

Although there are many places that permit dancing, only two other clubs in the Valley cater exclusively to teen-agers. Those two clubs have the permits to admit patrons under 18 and have not caused problems, Ferguson said.

Phases has been open about five years, drawing an average of 400 patrons from ages 14 to 21 on weekend nights. Police had been prevented from acting until this week because of a Municipal Court ruling last year declaring the city ordinance regulating teen-age clubs “vague and overly broad.” The Los Angeles Superior Court’s appellate division recently overturned the lower court ruling, giving the police the go-ahead to enforce the law.

Picus’ proposal will be sent to the council’s Police, Fire and Safety Committee, which will hold public hearings before sending a recommendation to the full council for action. Waters’ bill has yet to be assigned to a committee.

Joining Picus at her City Hall press conference was Betty Beaird, a Van Nuys woman who heads a group calling itself Parents Concerned About Teen Discos.

She said she organized the group after her 14-year-old son began sneaking out of his bedroom window to join friends in the “decadent discos.”