Condo Dwellers Seek to Muffle Bar’s Noise : Redondo Beach: Residents say they can’t sleep. Operators of the marina’s Chillers Bar and Grille say they are being unfairly blamed. The council sets up a panel to work on a compromise.

Residents of the Seascape II condominiums overlooking the ocean in Redondo Beach say their lives haven’t been the same since Chillers Bar and Grille opened several hundred feet away.

Every time a touchdown is scored during a Monday Night Football game, they complain, the cheering from Chillers resounds through their living rooms as if they are sitting in a stadium. And when live bands tune up at the popular night spot, their homes take on the air of the Hollywood Bowl.

“I think this situation is totally out of hand,” complained longtime resident Sarena Alessio, 46, one of three dozen people who have signed a petition against Chillers. “All I’m looking for is a good night’s sleep.”

Bill Stearns, 27, one of three Chillers owners, says his bar is being unfairly blamed for all the noise in the busy Redondo Beach Marina. He acknowledges that he has unintentionally violated his city permit in the past by having entertainment on the outdoor patio, but he said his attempts to meet with neighbors to resolve the problems have been rebuffed.

The clash over Chillers, which has been brewing for months, finally came before the City Council this week. Some residents defended the bar, saying it was not a nuisance to them. The condominium owners, meanwhile, complained of lost sleep and never-ending aggravation.

After hearing more than an hour of testimony, council members decided not to get involved until the residents and owners have attempted to settle the matter. The council set up a committee that includes Stearns and his attorney and residents Alessio, Lloyd Scott and Michael Heyman. It will report back in January.

The Chillers dispute is just the latest in a string of complaints about noise over the past several years. Earlier flash points included live music at the Strand Supper & Dance Club, cruising along the Esplanade and raucous teen-agers hanging out at the city pier.

“Buying a condominium ‘where the action is’ means putting up with some noise caused by ‘the action,’ ” said Gordon McRae Jr., president of the marina and a defender of Chillers. “The city created a beautiful setting in the harbor for the public to visit and enjoy. That is exactly what is happening and, unfortunately, the city’s successful plan carried with it some noise.”

Chillers is one of the hottest new hangouts in the city’s marina, drawing huge crowds with its large outdoor patio, live music and slushy alcoholic drinks with names such as Pain Killer, Pink Panties and Purple Orgasm.

Ever since it opened in early July at the site of the former Pancho and Wongs on Harbor Drive, complaints have come from a small but vocal group of residents.

The city received 17 noise complaints from 10 residents between July 11 and Sept. 15, according to city records. Police responded to Chillers or the vicinity 77 times between July 2 and Oct. 1, although Police Lt. Tom Doty said Chillers requires no more attention than other harbor nightclubs.

The condo owners say the bar has consistently violated its permit, which prohibits entertainment on the patio and requires that all doors and windows be shut while bands play inside.

City officials agree that Chillers has violated its permit, most flagrantly on Sept. 28 and 29, when the bar held a Mr. and Miss Caribbean Tropic bikini contest on its patio.

Scott, a 51-year-old computer consultant, said he kept his condo windows shut both afternoons and could still hear screams and whistles from spectators, as well as contestants reciting their favorite fantasies to the master of ceremonies.

“It was a real zoo,” he said.

Once the neighborhood complaints began, Stearns hired a Santa Monica sound engineer to measure the noise outside the bar. The engineer’s report said the music and noise coming from Chillers were lower than the surrounding traffic noise and therefore impossible to measure.

“The results of this study,” wrote engineer Paul S. Veneklasen, “indicate beyond doubt that the sound of music from the restaurant will not be detectable, even at the most exposed apartments, because the sound level is so greatly attenuated by distance, and because even the lowest levels of background noise will mask this attenuated sound.”

Stearns says he is eager to reach a compromise with the neighbors. He suggested that the city reroute traffic leaving the marina so it no longer passes the Seascape II complex, which has 171 condos costing in the $300,000 range. And he said he may install a fiberglass windscreen around the Chillers patio to contain the sound.

Assistant Harbor Director Ray Koke has also recommended that the restaurant keep all doors and windows closed after 8 p.m., hire a security guard to patrol the parking lot and remove the large screen television that broadcasts football games from the patio.

Mayor Pro Tem Kay Horrell said she is confident the two sides can work out their differences.

“We all have to live next door to each other,” she said. “I have a neighbor whose dog drives me crazy. I’m trying to work that out. . . . If you don’t work it out, you create war, and you can’t do that.”