Planning Panel Approves Opening of Sports Bar

The Oxnard Planning Commission has approved the opening of an upscale sports bar in downtown’s Heritage Square, but will require the bar to offer food to circumvent a ban on new bars in the central business district.

Plans for Heritage Square always included provisions for a restaurant and bar, but the city has been unable to attract a restaurant operator, said City Planner Matt Winegar.

Oxnard Police Sgt. George Pultz said he anticipated no problems from the establishment, despite its presence in an area with 30% more police calls than the city average.

He cited a decrease in criminal activity in the vicinity since the Heritage Square complex--a square block featuring a dozen historic buildings that have been restored--opened last year.

Although the commission unanimously approved the permit for the sports bar, several commissioners expressed concern with the saturation of liquor licenses in the downtown area.

Commissioner Edward Castillo questioned whether the commission was acting consistently in approving the bar when it denied a beer and wine license a month earlier to Sara Martinez, the proprietor of Dona Mickey’s restaurant on 6th Street.

“If you voted no there because of oversaturation, then you should have voted no on this one,” Castillo said. An appeal of the commission’s denial of Martinez’s application will be heard at the council’s meeting Aug. 17.

Other commissioners pointed to the presence of a homeowners association and a property manager at Heritage Square as safeguards.

Despite the proximity of Heritage Square to Dona Mickey’s, Commissioner Edward H. Flores said the two neighborhoods were different.

“Even though it’s around the corner, it’s really far, far away,” Flores said.