SAN CLEMENTE : Plan for Jazz Club Approved by Council

The City Council on Wednesday night approved a plan to open a neighborhood jazz club in a small shopping center, a move that many residents said would be a welcome addition to the beach community’s night life.

The action came after residents who live near the shopping center had blasted the proposal by Ray Campbell of San Clemente and local jazz saxophonist George Butts for a 140-seat nightclub.

Residents who live on Avenida Esplanade and Avenida Barcelona began their crusade against the nightclub plan at a September Planning Commission meeting. Claiming the club would increase traffic and noise in the neighborhood, they collected 62 signatures from residents opposing the club and wrote letters of protest to the council.

But before the 4-1 council vote on Wednesday night, nightclub supporters outnumbered opponents 2 to 1.

“For years, we starved because people didn’t come to this sleepy village,” resident Wilma Bloom said. “Now we’re coming alive.”

The new club is the third night spot in the city to offer live entertainment.

Proponents of the plan claim that the club will not cause problems for neighbors. Michael Luna, the project architect, said that studies of people who listen to two Los Angeles-based jazz radio FM stations, KKGO and KTWV, show that the typical customer of the club would be unlikely to be disruptive.

Mayor Brian J. Rice said he favored the nightclub on the condition that the council have the power to review the operation in six months.

Agreeing with residents who opposed the plan, Councilman Thomas Lorch cast the only dissenting vote, saying he was worried that the parking lot was too small to accommodate the number of cars expected each night.