Foot Patrols Hope to Boot Problems

West Hollywood sheriff’s deputies will begin foot patrols this weekend in response to residents’ complaints about excessive noise, rowdiness and illegal parking near area nightclubs, Sheriff’s Capt. Mark M. Squiers told the City Council Tuesday night.

The enforcement team will consist of at least nine deputies from the reserve ranks and special-problems unit who will patrol trouble spots within a three-mile area bounded by Sunset Boulevard, Melrose Avenue, La Brea Boulevard and Doheny Drive, Squiers said.

Initially, officers will patrol the area only on Friday and Saturday nights when most problems occur, Squiers said. He said that as the weather gets warmer, the patrols may increase to seven nights a week. Patrols will begin about 8 p.m. and continue until about 3 a.m., he said.

Issue Parking Citations

Deputies also will enforce parking regulations and issue more parking citations, Squiers said. Residents have complained about nightclub patrons parking illegally and blocking fire hydrants and driveways, he added.

The Sheriff’s Department has also recommended to council members that some business parking lots next to nightclubs be opened at night to serve nightclub patrons and ease the parking problem in residential neighborhoods.

Squiers said his department receives “a steady flow of complaints” from West Hollywood residents about noisy young people and illegal parking on residential streets.

“Lately the residents are really looking for a solution,” Squiers said.

Particular trouble spots are Gazzari’s and the Whisky a Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard and the Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard, Squiers said.

One resident who would not give his name complained of young people yelling, fighting and urinating in his neighborhood, which is close to the Whisky a Go-Go.

The three nightclub owners could not be reached for comment.

Although additional law enforcement units should put a dent in the number of complaints, Squiers said he does not see the patrols as a solution to all the noise and parking problems in West Hollywood--a city with many flourishing nightclubs.

“As long as you have the volume of nightclubs, you’re always going to have noisy people,” he said. “I wouldn’t be so foolish as to say we can eliminate them all.”