Rock and a Hard Choice : Ventura: Mayfair Theatre gives youths a place to dance and listen to music, but neighbors’ complaints may close it.

It’s Friday night and a local heavy metal band is raging at the Mayfair Theatre in downtown Ventura.

Teen-agers and a handful of adults are lining up to get inside the drafty 1940s movie venue that has been transformed into a dance and concert hall.

About 10 rows of seats from the theater’s center section have been removed to make room for a dance area.

Most Friday nights, when local heavy metal and punk bands perform, the space is used as a slam-dancing pit. The crowd is mostly white; some are skinheads shouting White Power slogans, but most are there for the music.

Some Friday nights--maybe once a month--the dance floor is used by a young and predominantly Latino crowd for “raves,” a ‘90s disco scene where revelers get heavy doses of hip-hop and techno sounds played furiously by a DJ.

The Mayfair patrons say the punk concerts and rave dances give them something to do in a city that offers little for teen-agers after 9 p.m.

But in recent months, complaints from the theater’s neighbors have escalated and so have the number of calls received by the Ventura Police Department about the place.

Citing numerous permit violations, from a lack of adequate parking to litter, Assistant City Planner Phil Johnson has recommended that the Planning Commission revoke the Mayfair’s conditional use permit. The matter will be brought before the commission for a vote at tonight’s 7:30 meeting.

Johnson said the Mayfair’s managers have failed to comply with requests to make minor upgrades and keep loiterers off neighbors’ lawns and away from driveways.

Ventura Police say the theater has failed to provide adequate security during events.

“They try to preach that they want an alcohol-free environment, yet they’re not screening people in line,” said Cpl. John Leach. “That’s where your problems start.”

On Jan. 8, a gang-related drive-by shooting occurred during a rave party at the theater. Although no one was hurt in the incident, police and other officials say the situation isn’t getting any better.

The letters of complaint have been stacking up, Johnson said, but so have the arguments for keeping the theater open. More than 30 people showed up in support of the venue at the most recent Planning Commission meeting.

“It’s a cool place,” said 17-year-old Cameron Lynde of Ventura, tearing back and forth on the skateboarding ramp Friday night at a heavy metal concert.

“What sucks is that once people started digging it, they close it down,” Cameron said.

He was still optimistic, though. “If it closes, it’s not like people are going to croak. They’ll find somewhere else to go.”

Sitting in the center row about 10 rows away from the slam pit, 15-year-old Brian Dexter of Oxnard was taking a break from the rough stuff.

“It’s a great adrenaline rush,” Brian said. “You get hurt every once in a while, but it’s worth it.”

He said his dad knew where he was and didn’t mind him being at the Mayfair. “In here, we’re not doing anything bad,” Brian said. “Everybody comes here to have a good time. My dad’s all for it. He’s glad we have a place to go.”

Brian said he developed a taste for heavy metal three years ago. If the Mayfair closes, it will be difficult for him to see live bands.

“All the raging bands play here,” said Brian, who signed a petition to keep the Mayfair open. “There’s nowhere else to go.”

But Leslie Bell, who lives across the street, said she is tired of the noise, litter and gang fights in front of her home. “I hope they do something about it,” said Bell, 31. “There’s no need for something like this. It’s ridiculous.”

Bell, who works at a fast-food restaurant in Ventura, said she and her husband get up for work by 4:30 a.m. The late-night fights, yelling and drag racing on the streets outside her home have cost them sleep, she said.

“When we had that shooting, I feared for my life. I’ve lived here several months and I’ve never heard shots like that. I’ve asked myself, ‘Do I want to live here anymore? Is this the kind of neighborhood I want to live in?’ ”

Other neighbors, like Steve Zielsdorf, said the bright Mayfair marquee has kept them up.

Zielsdorf, 21, who, with four roommates, shares a house across from the theater, is himself a former member of a rock band. Even though he empathizes with the teen-agers’ “need for a place to go,” he said the theater owners need to control the crowds that gather outside.

“They need to run it better,” Zielsdorf said. “They have kids lining up a long time before the shows. I’ve had to yell at people who park in front of the house to shut up.”

Zielsdorf said he has had ringside seats for fights in front of his house while people are lining up for concerts.

“I don’t want to see it get closed,” Zielsdorf added. “They just need to handle things differently.”

Police and a Ventura recreation official said the youths need to get involved in something that doesn’t involve violence.

“There’s a zillion things going on,” said Gary Ray, an official with the Ventura Parks and Recreation Department. “Whether the kids choose to participate in those activities is a whole different story.”

But to many teen-agers who frequent the Mayfair, some of the official city offerings are “for dweebs.”

Ray concedes that the city lacks a formal gathering center for teens like the Thousand Oaks Teen Center, where high school bands practice and others shoot hoops or just sit and watch TV or talk.

“It would be nice to have (a youth center in Ventura), but we’re talking about money.” He said the city is in no position to consider that kind of expense.

Ray added that he is not opposed to the dances at the Mayfair. It’s the violence that has him worried.

The Mayfair’s Chris Schertzer said he doesn’t think the venue should be the scapegoat for other problems facing the community.

He has a lot of support from his teen-age patrons and their parents, he said, and he expects a big turnout at tonight’s Planning Commission meeting.

“We’re new,” Schertzer said. “We’re learning.”