Neighbors Want Fast-Food Noise to Go : Dispute: They say drive-through’s loudspeaker keeps them awake past 2 a.m. The restaurant says it has tried to make amends, but now the city may intervene.

When thoughts of cheeseburgers, onion rings and milkshakes awaken Lynda Krueger from a sound sleep, it’s not because she’s in the mood for a late-night snack.

The fast-food urges belong to other people--customers of a Jack-In-The-Box restaurant, where the drive-through loudspeaker stands just 50 feet from Krueger’s bedroom window.

She and other residents along 8th Street have long complained about losing sleep when drive-through customers order their food by moonlight. It’s worse when customers arrive with blasting stereos or think that honking their horns will move the line forward, they said.

“I can tell you the prices of their orders,” said resident Jim Cook, who said his sleep is interrupted at least once a week by amplified requests for tacos, french fries and cheeseburgers. “The noises just blare out. It’s keeping us up at night.”

For two years, residents, city officials and the owner of the restaurant have tried to arrive at a solution. Residents thought they had won a partial victory last winter when the restaurant, then open 24 hours, agreed to close at 2 a.m.

But the noise, residents claim, persists until 2. So two weeks ago, Cook went before the City Council demanding that officials do something. Council members promised to investigate.

City action won’t come a moment too soon for Krueger, who said the noise at times is unbearable.

“It wakes you up in the middle of the night and your adrenaline gets worked up,” she said. “By the time I cool down and get to sleep, it’s 4 a.m. Then my alarm rings at 5 a.m. and I have to go to work. My whole day is shot.”

Krueger and Cook said that in addition to the noise from the speaker, they must contend with customers who shout and scream in the car line. Closing time is the worst, when “rabble-rousers” demand service after the restaurant has closed, Cook said.

Manuel Rodriguez, the manager of the Jack-In-The-Box, acknowledged that the restaurant’s late-night hours attract customers who just want to go through the car line rather than go inside. But he stressed that he and the franchise owner have taken steps to reduce noise.

In addition to reducing hours, Rodriguez said, the restaurant recently installed a new drive-through speaker that is supposed to be less noisy than the old one. He said that the franchise owner regularly discusses the noise problem with residents and has expressed a willingness to find a solution.

One reason for the Jack-In-The- Box’s late-night popularity is that it remains open past 11 p.m., when most other restaurants on Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street close.

“It’s the only game in town,” Cook said.

The residents want the restaurant to close at 11 p.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends. They also demand that the loudspeaker’s volume be reduced.

“We just want to be able to sleep,” Cook said. “We want some peace and quiet.”