Council Backs Law to Curb Restaurant Hours : Government: Eateries would be pressured to close from midnight to 6 a.m. Plan stems from neighbors’ complaints.

The City Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday to an ordinance designed to pressure fast-food restaurants near residential neighborhoods into closing between midnight and 6 a.m.

The proposed law stems from complaints by residents about increased noise, litter and loitering during those hours around a Taco Bell at 2425 W. Magnolia Blvd.

If given final approval, the ordinance would affect 19 of the city’s eateries, including pizzerias, doughnut shops and fast-food places, City Planner Rick Pruetz said. It would require eateries located within 150 feet of residential zones to apply for a conditional use permit in order to remain open after midnight.

The vote Tuesday night was 4 to 0.

Getting a permit would take up to three months and require a hearing before the city Planning Board, enabling city officials to choose which restaurants were allowed to remain open, and to impose conditions on them.

“Some people who are affected by these noise problems want some relief from that,” Pruetz said. “Once the conditions (of the ordinance) are in effect, I would think . . . you’d notice a difference.”

According to Burbank police, about half of all calls they responded to near Taco Bell and Tommy’s Original World Famous Hamburgers, at 1310 N. San Fernando Blvd., during 14 months in 1992 and 1993, were made between midnight and 6 a.m.

During a recent 14-month period, Tommy’s had 179 incidents reported in its area--many of them involving traffic stops--and Taco Bell had 22.

In September, residents and employees of a pediatrics office near Taco Bell petitioned the council to curb nighttime traffic noise, gang fights and graffiti taggers by limiting the restaurant’s business hours.

“It’s hard to keep up with,” Ellie Fox, a registered nurse, said of the litter left behind by morning. “When you have sick children, you don’t want them walking over the debris.”

During a public hearing last month before the Planning Board, representatives of Taco Bell and Tommy’s opposed the ordinance, saying they have voluntarily taken steps to deal with the late-night problems, such as hiring guards to work on weekends.

The lighting outside Taco Bell was improved early this year and restaurant officials have reduced the volume of the drive-through loudspeaker.

Janis Smith, a spokeswoman for Taco Bell Corp. in Irvine, declined to comment on the proposed law, except to say that the company will comply with the city council’s final decision.

Tommy’s thrives on late-night customers and would be “substantially hurt” by any restrictions to its 24-hour business, said Brent Maire, president of Koulax Enterprises Inc., which owns the Tommy’s hamburger stand in Burbank.

“We think our customers appreciate that we’re open and they can come down anytime of the night and grab a burger,” he said. “They never think about when is it OK to come out and see us.”