SHERMAN OAKS : Zoning Panel Delays Decision on Cafe

Top city zoning officials Tuesday delayed a decision on the fate of the Insomnia Cafe, asking for help in determining whether the controversial business can legally be required to provide security guards.

Deemed a “public nuisance” by a city zoning administrator, the Insomnia Cafe was ordered to cut back its late-night hours and provide security guards after 5 p.m.

Owner John Dunn, who had taken the issue to the Los Angeles Board of Zoning Appeals, said he was encouraged by the development.

“We felt that the (board) looked at this a little more closely than in the previous hearing,” Dunn said. “At least all the facts will be seen this time.”

The cafe does not conform to local zoning regulations and is operating without a certificate of occupancy.

But board members said they would need a ruling from the city attorney on whether such restriction could legally be imposed.

“How can you put a condition on a use that’s not legal?” said Vivian Rescalvo, planning deputy for Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, who supports placing restrictions on the cafe.

Neighbors’ complaints about Insomnia’s allegedly loud and unruly late-night patrons have been the subject of at least two public hearings since the establishment opened more than a year ago at 13718 Ventura Blvd.

Ann Douglas, who has spearheaded opposition to the cafe for the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., said she was dismayed by the postponement to July 13.

“It’s a Catch-22,” she said. “We have to wait because they have been operating illegally, and the neighborhood has to suffer.”

Dunn said he has solved the noise problem among his mostly teen-age and young adult clientele, and claimed that his establishment has been singled out by homeowners bent on driving his business out of the area.