Ventura : Theater Allowed to Keep Operating

The Ventura Planning Commission has decided to give the Mayfair Theatre a second chance, declining to revoke its operating permit over the objections of neighbors and business owners.

Residents, nearby business owners and police say the theater’s teen-age patrons are disrupting the neighborhood. Based on complaints of littering and trespassing, city planners had recommended that the Planning Commission revoke the theater’s permit.

In October, the commission warned Mayfair co-owner and manager Chris Schertzer that he was not complying with the conditions of his permit.

Schertzer said the rave dances and punk concerts that have prompted the complaints sustain the theater because they draw large crowds of teen-agers.

After more than three hours of public testimony Tuesday, planning commissioners decided to give theater owners 30 days to comply with the permit’s conditions, which include hiring two security guards to patrol the area near the theater at 793 E. Santa Clara St.

The Planning Commission also told Mayfair owners that they must change their operating hours and close by midnight. If complaints continue, commissioners said, they will probably revoke the permit.