Cleaning Up Their Act

The nightclub owners of the Sunset Strip have found civic pride like wayward souls find religion.

No more beer bottles shattering in the gutters, no more public drunkenness on nearby streets, no more parking lot fights, they say.

In response to mounting complaints about persistent nuisance problems along the strip and rampant crime at two nightspots, a cluster of clubs have joined ranks to police themselves--an unprecedented action among businesses known more for raucous parties and blaring music than goodwill.

Pledging to become good West Hollywood neighbors, the clubs have revived a dormant “Nightclub Council” and say they will pool funds to hire extra security and trash crews. They intend to meet with residents and seek additional parking at office buildings to keep cars off nearby side streets.

“We have a responsibility to keep the neighborhoods safe, clean and quiet,” said David Shuler, operations manager at the Comedy Store. “We can’t ignore the people who live here. They are as important as the people who drive 40 miles to come spend money.”

No one--not officials, club owners or residents--expects the problems to disappear altogether. After all, they say, the Sunset Strip has earned a reputation as a rock-and-roll playground with wild clubs that offer everything from bondage acts and topless shows to ear-thumping punk bands.

To many, the boulevard is a must-see landmark, a celebrity haunt where Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix cut their teeth in the 1960s and where actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose on the sidewalk outside the Viper Room in 1993.

“This is the world-famous Sunset Strip. If you want to be old and quiet, move to Simi Valley or Diamond Bar,” said Michael Mirisch, a club promoter whose office overlooks the Strip. “People come here to relieve their stress, to relax, to forget about the week.”

Most nightclub owners, however, see a need for basic reforms. If they don’t clean up their acts themselves, they believe, the city will do it for them by imposing stiff laws and taxes.”Before we get on the chopping block, let’s make the city aware that we’re taking the matter into our own hands,” said Mikeal Maglieri, controller of the Roxy, Whisky A Go-Go and Rainbow Bar & Grill. “We’re trying to do this before the city comes up with its own restrictions.”

West Hollywood leaders have fought for years to keep the clubs in line and have stepped up their efforts recently. Two months ago, officials cracked down on show promoters with a new law requiring them to get city licenses.

City authorities have also floated the idea of a moratorium on new clubs and a proposal to charge Strip businesses fees to pay for security and other services.

Local leaders applaud the club’s self-help strategy and say the effort will help set a precedent. They point out that Billboard Live, the latest nightclub planned for the Strip, is participating in the Nightclub Council long before its doors are scheduled to open in July.

“This could be a watershed period for solving one of the city’s most difficult problems,” said Mayor Paul Koretz. “The club owners are starting to take responsibility.”

But officials and residents alike are waiting to see if the clubs deliver on their promises.

“Don’t hold your breath,” said Bettie Wagner, a vocal nightclub critic who lives in the hills above the Roxbury nightclub. “After all these years, I don’t have high hopes about this. I’m very skeptical.”

The spurt of nightclub activism comes at a time when the city is doing battle with two errant clubs accused of ignoring warnings about their operations. The city Planning Commission last week revoked the operating permits of Club 8240 and the Sunset Room because of rampant crime, noisy patrons and other nuisances.

According to city records, police were summoned to the Sunset Room 98 times over a two-year period, including 40 calls for assault. At Club 8240, police responded 77 times over the same period, including 12 calls for assault and one alleged rape in the basement of the establishment.

Operators of both clubs argued before the Planning Commission last week that they took steps to address the problems by hiring extra security and canceling acts that attracted rowdy crowds.

But frustrated city officials said the efforts came too little, too late.

“We met with them. We warned them. And they didn’t respond,” said Lisa Heep, the city’s planning manager. Both clubs plan to appeal the commission’s decision to the City Council. They remain open pending the appeals.

Meanwhile, a third club, the Roxbury, is fighting state regulators to keep its alcohol license. The state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is seeking to revoke the club’s permit partly over accusations that employees assaulted patrons on numerous occasions during the last three years.

The West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, concerned about the image of city businesses, insists that most nightclubs are responsible--and eager to establish good relations with the community.

“This is the first time that all of the clubs have come together to address a unified mission,” said Donald Savoie, the chamber’s executive director. “Hopefully, it will not only alleviate the problems but improve the perception of them with the city.”

The idea for nightclub involvement came from the City Council during hearings last fall on the Sunset Specific Plan, a long-term development blueprint for the Strip.

City officials asked the Chamber of Commerce to arrange a meeting with the nightclub owners to discuss solutions to problems including security and parking. At the same time, the council directed its staff to look into the possibility of creating an assessment district that would require nightclubs to pay mandatory fees for security and other services.

After an initial meeting in January, the club owners, spearheaded by Maglieri of the Rainbow Bar & Grill, began to make their own plans.

They now meet monthly under the guise of the Nightclub Council. But concrete solutions are only part of the equation. The club owners say they are seeking to repair the unresponsive, bad-boy image they have developed.

“We’re like the kid who cleans his room before his parents ask, so he can have ice cream later,” said Shuler of the Comedy Store. “We want to be good kids.”

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Citizenship on the Strip

A cluster of 11 nightclubs on the Sunset Strip have joined forces to address vandalism, littering and other problems in neighborhoods surrounding the famous thoroughfare. The new group plans to hire extra security to relieve some of the trouble.