A Clash of Lifestyles : Cafes Play Musical Chairs to Conform in North County

The strains of Sunday morning classical guitar solos have been stilled at a trendy Del Mar coffeehouse, having fallen victim to a rarely enforced city ordinance.

Neither owner Tim Sullivan nor many of his irate customers can understand why city officials--who have received noise complaints in the mixed-zoned area--suddenly pulled the plug on the weekend guitar gigs at the Stratford Coffee House.

Five miles up the road in Encinitas, dining al fresco is now frowned upon as officials have ordered several restaurants to remove outdoor tables from the city’s quaint downtown strip along Highway 101.

City officials have stated their case in no uncertain terms. Either remove the tables, they’ve told business owners, or we’ll come calling with a truck and haul them away.

Call it a clash between urban and suburban lifestyles, but eatery owners in the North County are shaking their heads over what they call restrictive enforcement by city officials striving to preserve the small-town atmosphere.

Driven by citizen complaints, several North County cities in recent years have passed laws--including several noise ordinances--as a way to keep the peace and preserve the treasured low-key way of suburban life.

Del Mar and Solana Beach have ordinances against bothersome leaf blowers. In Solana Beach, a well-known music venue--the Belly Up Tavern--is doing battle with neighbors over nighttime noise limits and may lose its operating license after receiving several complaints.

Linda Marie, however, never dreamed that the rules enforcers would pay a visit to her unassuming little 24-hour cafe--the one that serves pastries and international coffees in a cozy family atmosphere.

“I really am amazed at officials in this town,” said the owner of Marvelous Muffins in Encinitas. “They encourage you to build up your business. And then the moment you get somewhat successful, they slap your hand and close you back down again. It’s just so foolish of them.”

Marie recently received a letter from the city’s code enforcement department notifying her that her downtown shop was in violation of several ordinances--including the illegal operation of a 24-hour business.

A few months ago, the 35-year-old business owner decided to keep her cafe open round the clock to cater to the demand of students and late-night suburbanites who wanted a touch of the urban lifestyle.

But city officials say that to operate such hours she needs to apply for a major use permit at a cost of $1,700. Marie was also ordered to remove three small tables from the street outside. The reason: They represented a public health hazard.

To keep her outdoor tables, Marie says, she must up her insurance to $1 million and excuse the city of any potential liability. She must also apply for a minor-use permit to run an outdoor cafe. The cost: $400.

Shoja Naimi, co-owner of Roxy’s, an Encinitas ice cream and health food restaurant, said city officials last year hauled away his table and chairs for ignoring their order.

This time, he says, he’ll comply on weekdays but return the tables on the busy weekends when code enforcement officials are off duty. “I’m already losing business,” he said.

Cindy Adams, code enforcer for the city of Encinitas, said her office has received public complaints that downtown restaurants had placed outdoor tables in the public right-of-way.

While the code has always been on the books, she said, the city chooses to enforce it only if complaints are received. “It’s a liability issue,” she said. “If someone falls and busts their mallet, the city is responsible and we can’t have that.”

Marie says she would like to know who has been doing the complaining--a fact the city keeps secret. She claims to have been visited in recent months by more than a half-dozen city, county and federal agencies in search of violations and suspects that she has become victim to a malicious complainer who has singled out her business.

“When the city recently showed up, I just said ‘Auuuuggghhh! Here, take my business if that’s what you’re after. You’ve already taken my sanity!’ ”

Clarence Owen has table troubles of his own. Owen runs the 101 Diner in Encinitas, a funky, down-home 50s-style eatery with a pink 13-seat counter and a smiling red-haired waitress named Bubbles.

Owen got a similar notice about his two tiny outdoor tables. And while he knows city officials are just trying to do their jobs, he feels singled out from the crowd of local restaurants with outdoor seating.

The table ordinance, he says, is one he may not comply with. “The inspector told me she was going to come by on Thursday and asked that I please not have my tables out,” he said.

“It was as though she understood what the score was here. It was like she was saying ‘I don’t want to cause you any trouble. Just don’t let me see the tables.’ ”

Owen said a local business group would approach the city council and ask for an exclusion from the table ordinance for eateries in the downtown area.

Encinitas Mayor Gail Hano acknowledged that sometimes, cities enact too many rules. “For us, we wanted to fix all the wrongs the county had done to us when we became a city in 1986,” she said. “But we overcompensated with too many rules and regulations.

“But the current council is looking forward to smoothing things out. But whatever we do, it’s going to be done on a citywide basis and not just concerning one area.”

Tim Sullivan is still confounded over the sour note he hit with Del Mar city officials earlier this month. Last summer, he began featuring live jazz during the afternoons at his Stratford Coffee House--a wooden porch area adjacent to a converted old New England-style home in downtown Del Mar.

The two-man band played from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for an appreciative after-work crowd who sipped cappuccinos as they socialized or read poetry or the daily newspaper.

Sometimes, he said, doctors and psychologists in the neighborhood would take a break from their patients and listen to the music from nearby balconies.

When the winter came, Sullivan switched to a classical guitarist who performed on Sunday mornings--a musician educated in Spain who played low-key classical and popular selections.

Two weeks ago, however, city officials arrived at the outdoor restaurant--which sits nestled behind a row of trees on a residential street.

Sullivan was told that officials only enforced their ordinance against live music in mixed-zones areas after receiving a complaint--but that a complaint had been received.

Customers have promised to try and throw their weight around city hall to get an exemption. But the soft-spoken Northern California native says he doesn’t want trouble from either the city or his neighbors.

Noting that some downtown hotels and restaurants have received voter-approved exemptions, the 40-year-old Olivenhain resident says he just wants to see the rules enforced the same way for everyone.

“Hey, if I had a noisy neighbor, I’d complain too,” he said. “But I don’t think it was noise in this case. The music wasn’t that loud.”

Now Sullivan says he’ll have to go through some bureaucratic steps to return live music to his cafe--including taking his case before the city planning commission.

“I want to feel real militant about this--I went to college and remember all that kind of spirit,” he said. “But I guess I’m older now. I realize you can go through all the proper channels and still get things done.”

Heather Steven-Smith of the city’s planning department says that’s just fine. But it’s going to cost Sullivan $120 to register to appear before the planning board--where neighbors within 300 feet of his eatery will have a chance to also say their peace.

If it indeed comes down to a bureaucratic battle, Sullivan can count on support from his friends--including neighbors who aren’t bothered by the music.

“The Del Martians are on the warpath again,” said one nearby artist who identified herself only as Zinetta. “I think the music was wonderful. But people in Del Mar have their own special ideas about things.

“After all, this place is their little planet--their refuge from the big city. And they want to protect it at all costs.”