LA HABRA : Club Gets 90 Days to Reduce Police Calls

City officials have given the owner of the Casbah nightclub 90 days to decrease the number of police calls to his establishment. The bar, which had trouble keeping its liquor license last year, has had six police calls in the past six months that involved fights and other disturbances there, officials said.

City officials last week said that’s too many and ordered bar owner Eric Bewley to face another hearing Nov. 16. At that hearing, the City Council will consider whether to allow the Casbah to keep its entertainment permit, which currently allows it to have a jukebox, two pool tables, a cigarette machine and live music and dancing.

The bar’s attorney, Joshua Kaplan, said most of the police calls recorded in the past six months have been “no biggies.”

He said one incident involved a warning to reduce noise in the bar, while other cases involved verbal confrontations between patrons. Only one incident involved a fight, during which a customer was slapped in the parking lot.

At a meeting last week, Kaplan asked the council to consider reviewing the Casbah’s entertainment permit annually because 90-day and even six-month reviews are costly and burdensome for his client, Casbah owner Eric Bewley.

But Councilman James Flora said he has not seen a reduction in the number of police calls at the bar. Neighboring businesses and residents constantly complain about the place, he said.