Bitter Brew : Sherman Oaks: The Insomnia Cafe owner says city limits on his business are politically motivated.

The owner of the embattled Insomnia Cafe in Sherman Oaks on Tuesday blamed politics for the troubles his controversial coffeehouse is having with city zoning officials.

Monday, a city Planning Department official ruled that the cafe at 13718 Ventura Blvd. is a nuisance and should close its doors by midnight Friday and Saturday and by 10 p.m. on other nights, or face having its permit to operate revoked altogether.

The ruling is “an obvious attempt to put us out of business,” Insomnia owner John Dunn said Tuesday. The cafe, which does not serve alcoholic beverages, now stays open until 4 a.m. on weekends and 3 a.m. on weeknights.

Dunn contended that Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky’s office and the councilman’s political agenda are behind the unfavorable ruling.

“This is Zev’s only community issue,” Dunn said, referring to the fact that Yaroslavsky is running for reelection against community activist Laura Lake, who has frequently accused the incumbent of not being tough enough on businesses that adversely affect residential areas.

Now, the Insomnia is the victim of Yaroslavsky’s pre-election get-tough attitude, Dunn said.

But Yaroslavsky denied politics is involved. The problem, according to the lawmaker, who has supported Sherman Oaks residents in their squabble with the cafe, is that the Insomnia and its youthful clientele refuse to be good neighbors.

“This started long before this election,” Yaroslavsky said. “It’s a political no-win situation for us. If the residents are happy, the customers are unhappy.”

At a hearing March 25 before city Zoning Administrator James Crisp, angry neighbors testified that the cafe’s patrons are noisy, loiter on the lawns of residents and clog the streets with their parked cars.

In a ruling issued Monday, Crisp wrote that the cafe was a public nuisance and warned that if the establishment--in operation a year--does not comply with a list of 12 conditions he outlined, proceedings would be initiated to revoke Insomnia’s zoning permits.

Besides imposing strict limits on the cafe’s hours of operation, Crisp ordered the Insomnia to hire two uniformed security guards to patrol the area between 5 p.m. and closing time, to post signs prohibiting loitering and to provide 10 off-street parking spaces for customers. It now has three.

Dunn said he expects it will be tough to win a reversal of Crisp’s decision on appeal to the full City Council. “We’re going to have to go to court,” Dunn said. “Hopefully, the courts couldn’t care less if Zev is trying to get reelected or not.”