Santa Monica : Restaurateur Files Appeal
The owner of Santa Monica’s 29-year-old Chez Jay Restaurant, Jay Fiondella, appealed to the City Council to amend the Main Street Plan and allow him to move his establishment from Ocean Avenue to Main Street between Hollister Avenue and Ocean Park Boulevard.
The Main Street Plan prohibits the addition of restaurants to the area.
Council members said they were reluctant to make an exemption to the plan but would do so if residents near the proposed restaurant site had no objections. They told the city staff to convene a meeting between Fiondella and the residents to hear neighborhood concerns over the proposed project.
“We’ve committed ourselves to the neighbors. I’m willing to try to get neighbor concurrence, but I’m not willing to override the commitment the council already made,” Councilman Dennis Zane said.
Chez Jay’s lease ends in January. Fiondella said, however, that his landlord told him he could remain for some time after the lease runs out.
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