OXNARD : Planners to Study Crime Effects of a Billiard Hall

The Oxnard Planning Commission has decided it needs to evaluate how a proposed billiard center in downtown Oxnard might affect crime in the area before giving the project a permit to operate.

As proposed by Los Angeles businessman Sung Ho Park, the center would feature 30 professional billiard tables and a video arcade, and be a possible site of international pool tournaments.

No alcohol would be sold or consumed at the center, which would open at the northeast corner of A and 7th streets after two existing buildings on the site are renovated.

The commission’s approval of a special permit is needed because billiard halls are not among the businesses automatically allowed in the downtown district.

Building owner Eva Bravo of Oxnard is willing to invest $50,000 to renovate a vacant second-hand shop and a bar, enhancing their Art Deco appearance to reflect an architectural style from the city’s early years, said architect Michael Faulconer of Oxnard.

Park, who has experience in entertainment centers, will lease the 15,000-square-foot center and invest up to $400,000 to furnish the establishment and then operate it, said Sam Lee of Oxnard, who represents the businessman.

There are two other billiard halls within several miles of the proposed center, the nearest a small billiard hall several blocks to the east on 6th Street.

Park plans to spend up to $8,000 each on the pool tables so that international tournaments could be held at the center.

At their meeting Thursday, several commissioners said they were concerned about the presence of nearby bars and the center’s proposed 2 a.m. closing time. The commission will reconsider the project on June 3, after Oxnard police evaluate the potential effect of the center on downtown crime.