‘Place’ Kickers

Stealing each other’s spouses and stabbing close friends in the back, the characters on television’s “Melrose Place” are not exactly the kind of people you want moving in next door.

Neither are the crew members who film the racy melodrama, say disgruntled homeowners in the yachting community of Mandalay Bay.

By shining powerful set lights late at night, clogging streets with equipment and feasting noisily during post-shoot buffets, the crew has shattered the neighborhood’s shoreline tranquillity, they complain.

“I feel like I’m locked down on my block,” fumed Marian Solomon, who said she moved to Ventura County from Hollywood in part to escape intrusive film crews.

“I can’t walk my dog because Sheba is afraid of the crowds of people,” Solomon said. “I have blinding lights shining into my bedroom late at night. I want them out.”

Since “Melrose” debuted in 1992, producers have used numerous Oxnard locations. This summer, they transformed the vacant Oxnard Press-Courier building into the “Los Angeles Sperm Bank.”

But it looks as if the campaign to evict the “Melrose” crew from Mandalay Bay will be successful.

Solomon and several other homeowners have bombarded producers and city officials with letters of complaint. In response, the crew has moved big-rigs to a nearby marina, shuttled cast members to the set and cut back on evening shoots--concessions that they say have sent production costs spiraling upward.

About two times a month, a white stucco luxury home perched above the bay’s turquoise waters becomes the Marina del Rey pad of ambitious physician Peter Burns, played by actor Jack Wagner.

Because of the controversy, the crew plans to ditch the Mandalay Bay site once this season’s shooting wraps in April and begin looking for another waterfront site in the city.

But in true “Melrose” fashion, producers are not leaving the neighborhood without some parting shots.

“I’m not going to call her a quack,” said production manager Harry Bring of Solomon. “But she’s fed up with us and we’re fed up with her.

“This woman has taken way too much of our time and made us spend thousands of dollars,” added Bring, who said the producers pay homeowners about $1,500 to $2,500 a day to film at their residences. Next-door neighbors who allow use of their driveways and garages earn about $150 to $350 per day.

Rick Scott, who owns the Victoria Avenue home used by the show, said Solomon lives a couple of blocks away. He said he is frustrated that she continues to protest despite the crew’s responsiveness.

“ ‘Melrose Place’ has answered the complaints,” Scott said. “We love having them here. It’s good for the economy . . . and we’d like it to continue.”

The “Melrose” flap comes as this seaside city of 152,000 is stepping up efforts to lure more Hollywood productions.

Oxnard officials believe that the entertainment industry can bring jobs and boost the image Southern Californians have of their largely working-class city.

Three television shows--”Melrose,” “High Tide” and “Mike Hammer”--currently film here. Permit fees of $25 and location charges--$300 for one day and then $200 daily if the shoot lasts longer--do not generate much revenue for Oxnard; in all, about $11,615 so far this year.

The city-funded Oxnard Economic Development Corp., however, is readying an aggressive marketing campaign pitching the town as a prime coastal film location. It hopes to turn the city into a hub for movie and television production studios that generate high-paying jobs.

“Except for this one little situation, we love Oxnard,” production manager Bring said. “It has regular homes, nice homes, boats, beaches, even some things that L.A. doesn’t.”

At the same time, officials are exploring ways to prevent traffic jams and other problems that Hollywood can bring. The solution might be a tough ordinance like the one recently passed in Thousand Oaks, which prohibits filming past 9 p.m.

“There are certain citizens who have problems,” said Elizabeth Callahan, the development corporation’s business coordinator. “But if we get film production companies to move to the area, it would be a nice fit.”

“Melrose” protesters in Mandalay Bay want tough new restrictions, not more shows coming to town. Even though producers have said they will leave the site after next spring--and will take a three-month filming hiatus this winter to accommodate star Heather Locklear’s maternity leave--neighbors are handing out leaflets demanding that they clear out immediately.

They allege that security guards have forced them to stay inside during shoots and that noxious fumes from power generators are poisoning the air.

They have harshly criticized officials from the Channel Islands Waterfront Homeowners Assn., at least one of whom has rented space to the production company for hefty fees.

Protesters say association regulations prohibit commercial activity, so “Melrose Place” should not be there in the first place.

“They’re greasing a few people around the neighborhood,” said Wade Ambrose, who lives a few doors down from the Victoria Avenue set.

Ambrose, a stock trader who must rise at 3 a.m. to monitor the East Coast markets, said the crew has kept him awake with late filming and post-shoot dinners.

Bill Henry, the homeowners association president, has a more positive view of the crew. A retired Lockheed executive, he received money from producers a couple seasons ago to let them film at his $750,000 Mediterranean-style waterfront residence.

He would like to work out an agreement that allows the show to stay in Mandalay Bay if those with complaints are satisfied.

“I don’t want a cat-and-dog fight,” Henry said. “The ‘Melrose Place’ crew are good neighbors.”