SEAL BEACH : Moviegoers’ Noise Disturbs Residents

Carl Pettit doesn’t have to buy a ticket to know when the late show gets out at the movie multiplex next to his condominium.

All he needs to do is wait until car horns start honking, tires begin screeching and exiting film-goers file out of the theater engaged in loud debates over the movie’s merits.

The late-night noise has been a nuisance to Pettit and other condo residents ever since the theater opened three years ago, Pettit said.

And after much complaining to both the city and the theater’s management, the residents might soon get some relief: City officials have vowed to look into the situation.

“It’s like a tailgate party before a football game. People drink beer and laugh and talk,” Pettit said. “It’s quite loud.”

The Super Saver 7 movie complex is part of the Rossmoor Center on Seal Beach Boulevard. Pettit’s condominium complex and three others are located near a portion of the center’s parking lot where moviegoers leave their cars.

“It’s like an echo chamber,” said Pettit, whose home is about 15 feet from the lot. “It feels like they are just under your window.”

Residents said the most logical solution is to simply close off at night the portion of the parking lot closest to the condos. The theater’s managers, however, have so far been unwilling to do this, Pettit said.

Another suggestion is for the Police Department to guard the parking lot at night. But city Planning Director Lee Whittenberg said that would not be cost-effective.

One option being considered by city planners is to erect clear plexiglass panels on top of the wall that divides the parking lot from the condos. The panels would deflect the noise without blocking the view from the dwellings, Whittenberg said.

Shopping center officials contend that the situation has improved in recent weeks after police increased patrols in the area and the cinema hired a security guard to work on Friday and Saturday nights.

In addition, the theater managers recently distributed flyers to patrons asking them to be as quiet as possible when exiting, said Leonard Wilson, marketing director for the Rossmoor Center Merchants Assn.