Sleepless Nights : Neighbors, Councilman Yaroslavsky Won’t Rest Until the Insomnia Cafe Turns In Early

Since the Insomnia Cafe opened on Ventura Boulevard in March, nearby homeowners say they haven’t had a good night’s sleep.

Neighbors claim that customers of the trendy Sherman Oaks coffeehouse park by their houses and party on their lawns. The cafe-goers reportedly rev their engines as they cruise residential streets and yell while they loiter in front of the establishment--which stays open until at least 3 a.m. seven days a week.

“At this point, it’s like, ‘Just give us a day off. Give us some sleep,’ ” said Ann Douglas, who lives near the cafe.

But even sleep-deprived homeowners have enough energy to wage a fight.

The residents have enlisted the help of Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who is working on a number of fronts to lessen what they say is the aggravation of Insomnia. “We’re determined to bring some sanity back to the neighborhood,” he said.

It is currently the biggest complaint in the Sherman Oaks-Studio City area, Yaroslavsky said.

Late-night coffeehouses have created problems in neighborhoods throughout the city, the councilman said. He added that he is working on a motion to require cafes that want to operate near residential neighborhoods until the wee hours to seek conditional-use permits. That would give the city more leverage in restricting the restaurants’ hours of operation.

But Insomnia co-owner John Dunn said that the alcohol-free cafe, which will soon be the site of a weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, is good for Sherman Oaks. “Kids and families who choose not to drink come to this place,” he said.

Teen-agers and screenwriters alike frequent the small cafe for cappuccino, cafe latte and wedges of peanut-butter fudge cake, he said. Customers can nestle into 1920s-vintage couches and overstuffed armchairs to scribble in notebooks or talk with friends.

Dunn denied or downplayed most of the neighbors’ complaints, saying that some of the problems may be caused by customers from other establishments. But he said he was trying his best to resolve whatever issues he could.

A busboy scours the area every night to pick up bottles or trash on the street. A doorman makes sure no one under 18 enters the cafe after 10 p.m. And a sign on the front of the place warns that customers who have parked on certain side streets will be ticketed.

“Our attitude is, ‘We’d like everybody to be happy,’ ” Dunn said. “Their attitude is, ‘We’d like to close them down.’ ”

Members of the Studio City Homeowners Assn., working with Yaroslavsky, have used a glitch in a remodeling permit to apply pressure to Dunn.

The city Department of Building and Safety granted the permit believing, as the application noted, that the site had previously been used as a restaurant, said Donald Hubka, a building inspector for the agency.

It was, in fact, an antique store before Insomnia moved in.

Using this information, the department last week issued an order for Insomnia to obtain a change-of-use permit. That will trigger a city review to see whether the cafe satisfies the regulations of the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan, which governs development along the thoroughfare.

At present, Yaroslavsky said, it appears that the cafe would need about 10 additional parking spaces to be in compliance. Dunn declined to comment on the order.

Yaroslavsky said that if the cafe does not limit its hours, police its patrons or simply move, he will request a zoning hearing to determine whether the place is a public nuisance and can be forced to close earlier or shut down altogether.

“They’ll either stop it voluntarily, or they’ll be in a fight with us,” he said.