BREA : Council Postpones Club Permit Action

Neighbors of the Purple Heart Saloon have complained about the music from the pop and country-Western bands that drifts their way until 1:30 a.m.

And the manager of the Purple Heart doesn’t appreciate being nearly put out of business by city officials responding to those complaints.

But such is the stand-off between Ken Harmon, who runs the saloon on South Brea Boulevard, and some of his neighbors. The winner will be decided by the City Council.

Last week, the council postponed until February a decision about whether to renew Harmon’s permit for live entertainment. Meanwhile, however, Harmon is without a permit--and without any entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights.

The situation has very nearly “put me out of business,” Harmon said.

Dan and Linda Kelley, who have lived almost directly behind the Purple Heart Saloon since January, complained to the council on Oct. 3 about music from live bands keeping them awake until 1:30 a.m. The couple also complained of fights in the alley between their house and the bar, and of people urinating on their wooden fence.

“I don’t think Ken needs live entertainment to survive like he says, and if he does, he’s doing something wrong,” Dan Kelley said at last Tuesday’s meeting.

Since the Kelleys made their complaint and the city discovered that an extension on the entertainment permit is needed, no bands or groups have performed at the Purple Heart Saloon.

“For six weeks, they haven’t had any live entertainment, and it’s been very peaceful,” Linda Kelly said.

The city staff, based on its investigation, had advised the council to deny the permit.

“In recommending a denial, the city staff analyzed the difficulties which had occurred with the loud music and noise,” said Donna M. Rhine, city clerk. “The investigation showed that all kinds of problems were occurring, and most of them were related to the entertainment.”

Councilman Ron Isles agreed.

“Live entertainment attracts a certain type of clientele and behavior,” Isles said. “When you have a band, people go there to dance and get rowdy.”

Harmon, who has managed the saloon for four years, said he has made repeated efforts to accommodate the Kelleys.

“If I didn’t care, I wouldn’t give them my home phone number and invite them to come to me and let me know when they have a problem,” Harmon said. “The city has no idea how clean this business is being run. They’re listening to one guy.”

The Brea Police Department helped the city staff investigate the complaints of other neighbors in the area. Of the five residents affected by noise from the area around the saloon, two complained of loud music. All reported hearing fights, screams and the sounds of broken bottles in the alley, according to the report.

Laura Harmon, Ken’s wife, said the city is to blame for the problems behind the saloon.

“The alley is dimly lit and the kids like to hang out back there,” she said. “That’s the city’s fault. If the city wants to light that alley, we’re all for it. Lights would make all the difference.”

“It’s not my job to patrol that area,” Ken Harmon said. “If they’d park a police car back there, I’d love it. There’s nothing that goes on in this bar that I wouldn’t want them to see.”

Jerry Busleta, 42, who lives next to the Kelleys, agreed with Harmon.

“The people out in back of the bar can get pretty loud, but there’s nothing (the Harmons) can do about that,” said Busleta, who said he enjoys going to the Purple Heart. “People throw bottles, yell, make a lot of noise. But you don’t hear any music from the bar. The music’s not the problem.

“If he doesn’t have an entertainment permit, the same things are going to happen,” Busleta said.