ENCINO : Meeting to Address Coffeehouse Proposal

Concerned about noise and parking that could be caused by the opening of a late-night coffeehouse in their neighborhood, Encino residents will meet today with representatives of City Councilman Marvin Braude.

But John Dunn wonders if Encino residents are losing sleep over nothing.

“We’re not even sure we’re going to open in Encino yet,” said Dunn, co-owner of the Insomnia cafes in Sherman Oaks and Los Angeles, who is also considering opening a third cafe in either Encino, Malibu, Woodland Hills, Calabasas or Northridge.

Some residents, however, do not want to be caught unprepared. Two groups, the Encino Property Owners Assn. and the Homeowners of Encino, will have Braude’s representatives brief them on what can be built along Ventura Boulevard, where Dunn is considering the Encino location.

“It’s possible they could turn over a new leaf--be angels and serve cupcakes and tea,” said Gerald Silver, president of the Homeowners of Encino. “But if the past is any indication, we’re headed for problems in the future.”

Acting on complaints from the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., the Los Angeles City Council last year ordered the Insomnia Cafe to reduce its weekend hours. Instead of being open until 4 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the cafe was forced to close at 1 a.m. Sunday’s closing time was moved from 2 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In February, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office charged the cafe’s operators with keeping the establishment open past the ordered time.

Dunn said he is “working out” that charge with the city attorney’s office.

But Dunn is more concerned with working out a location for the third Insomnia with neighbors.

He was disappointed that Braude’s office would hold a neighborhood meeting discussing any aspect of the Insomnia Cafe’s plans without inviting a representative of the coffeehouse.

“The Insomnia should at least have the opportunity to explain what’s going on,” Dunn said.

But Cindy Miscikowski, Braude’s chief deputy, said the meeting was called at the request of the homeowners and property owners.

She said she never received a call from anyone associated with the Insomnia, nor did she feel a need to contact them.

“We haven’t taken a position,” Miscikowski said of the possible Encino coffeehouse. “It’s an information-gathering meeting.”