Planning Commission Denies Permit for Club

Shortly after closing the Empire Ballroom because of complaints about drunkenness and noise, the Planning Commission denied the owners of Newport Beach’s Thunderbird club permission to open a nightclub nearby.

Planning commissioners said there is not enough parking for patrons at the proposed location, near 17th Street and Newport Boulevard.

“The concern was that the parking would spill over into residential areas or into the businesses on 17th Street,” said Planning Commissioner Chuck Robertson. “Sound familiar?”

Robertson noted that there were striking similarities between the situation at the Empire Ballroom, which was also on 17th Street, and the proposed nightclub.

Insufficient parking at the Empire Ballroom forced patrons to park in surrounding neighborhoods.

After residents persistently filed complaints about drunken customers noisily finding their way back to their cars, the spot was eventually shut down by city officials.

Robertson said the commissioners were also swayed by a presentation by the Costa Mesa Police Department, which asked the commission not to approve the conditional use permit.

“The Police Department was very much against it,” he said. “They feel that restaurants and bars are great consumers of police services.”