Late-Night Shops Could Wake Up to New Controls

Doughnut shops, pizza places and fast-food restaurants face new regulation if they stay open after midnight and operate near residential neighborhoods.

Responding to complaints about noise, crime and nuisances at several all-night businesses, the City Council on a unanimous vote tentatively approved an ordinance Monday giving the city more control of what stays open from midnight until early morning.

Under the ordinance, owners of late-night or early-morning cafes, drive-ins and shops that are 150 feet or less from a residence must apply for a conditional-use permit. Officials who consider those applications will review crime statistics for that area and may require owners to hire security officers, improve lighting or meet other conditions.

The city’s planning commission can also require the business owner to close earlier or open later under terms of the permit. Owners can appeal those orders to the City Council.

Eighteen doughnut shops, 21 taco stands and Mexican restaurants, and 19 other fast-food stores are open between midnight and 5 a.m., according to a police survey. It did not determine how many are within 150 feet of a home.

At issue, said Robyn Uptegraff, executive director of the Planning and Building Agency, are problems that disrupt residents’ daily life.

“We’ve had complaints over the years from people who live next to a fast-food drive-in, for example,” Uptegraff said. “Maybe (the restaurant) used to be open until midnight, and now they’re open until 2 in the morning. Or their speaker used for ordering food wasn’t placed in an appropriate location, or headlights from traffic are shining into homes late at night.”

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Sometimes, late-night businesses “become meeting places for large numbers of people,” Uptegraff said, “and in some cases there are crime problems relating to that.”

Alberta Christy, head of the Valley High neighborhood association, said she supports the ordinance, which would affect a dozen stores in her area.

“People who’d normally visit these a couple of years ago are intimidated by fear,” Christy said.

Shop owners were notified by mail of the proposal.

Hay Ith, owner of Luv’n Donuts at 3605 S. Bristol St., said that her store and the small shops around it are quiet and that she is confused about the permit process.

“I don’t know why the city is doing this,” said Ith, who has owned the shop for 14 years. Her store closes at 10 p.m., but she was told hers was on the list of late-night restaurants because she opens at 4 a.m.--one hour before the 5 a.m. limit.

“I can’t open the store later,” Ith said. “People want to come in early to get fresh doughnuts.”

Lucia Salinas, of Taquerias Guadalajara, told the City Council on Monday night that the action “could really affect us.”

“To pay our bills we need to be open all night, 24 hours,” said Salinas, who added that the restaurant has removed public telephones and installed video cameras to deter crime.

City Council member Robert Richardson said Taquerias Guadalajara and similar businesses that have done “a good job in presenting a positive image . . . have nothing to worry about” and will probably receive permits.

But Legal Aid attorney Harry Simon said he believes the plan is an effort to drive some people from the city.

“The city’s idea is that ‘decent’ citizens should be off the streets between those hours,” said Simon, who represents several homeless people in an ongoing lawsuit against the city. “It makes our clients’ lives more difficult.”

The ordinance will go into effect Feb. 16 if approved on its second reading at the next City Council meeting. Owners of existing shops will have two years to file applications without charge, but new owners must apply for permits immediately and pay all required fees.