Century City : Agreement on Serving Alcohol

Operators of the Century City Shopping Center and nearby homeowners have reached an agreement over the hours that alcoholic beverages can be served at five new restaurants in an expanded portion of the mall.

The Los Angeles City Council’s Planning and Environment Committee on Tuesday approved the agreement, which allows the restaurants to serve alcohol until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and until midnight Sundays through Thursdays. The agreement also requires the restaurants to close their doors to new customers at the same times.

The agreement comes two months after the Board of Zoning Appeals voted to prohibit alcohol sales at the restaurants after 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and after midnight Sundays through Thursdays. The board did not impose closing times on the restaurants.

Homeowners from the Tract 7260 Assn., which includes about 600 homes southwest of the shopping center, were dissatisfied with board’s action because it did not include closing times. Operators of the shopping center were also unhappy. They wanted to serve alcohol after 1 a.m. on weekends.

As a result the two sides, through Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky’s office, worked out the compromise approved Tuesday. As part of the compromise, the shopping center also agreed to close several parking exits on streets near the residential neighborhood during late night hours.