MISSION VIEJO : Opposition Faced by Proposed Teen Club

A proposed nightclub for teen-agers might be a tough sell to the Planning Commission tonight, after a monthlong hearing delay in which efforts to work out potential problems failed to sway city officials.

The city planning staff has recommended that commissioners deny a permit to convert a former restaurant into a teen dance club called Shout West on Marguerite Parkway near Avery Parkway.

The club, which would have a capacity of 600, would not serve alcoholic beverages.

The plans also failed to win the support of Sheriff’s Lt. Randy Blair, Mission Viejo’s chief of police services.

In a memo to commissioners, Blair expressed concern about adults socializing with teen-agers.

“If the petitioners intend to admit adults over 21 to mingle and associate with juveniles,” Blair wrote, “a potential exists for possible less-than-wholesome circumstances.”

Mission Viejo sheriff’s deputies also received a negative report from Anaheim police about a club for minors called Kaleidoscope.

Blair said he was told the nightspot experiences gang-related problems.

“While Mission Viejo is not ‘claimed’ by any gang, we nevertheless have known gang members and associates who live in the city,” Blair said in the memo.

The proposed club’s owners say they just want to provide a safe environment for South County teen-agers who have long complained about the lack of youth entertainment opportunities in the area.

Security guards will regularly patrol the parking lot and other potential problem areas, said Les Wilson, who wants to open the club.

Wilson feels his Mission Viejo location is not comparable with Anaheim because Anaheim has a greater gang problem.

As for teen-agers socializing with adults, Wilson said men in their late 20s and older aren’t likely to frequent a nightclub that doesn’t serve alcohol.