Tempest in Espresso Cup

When patrons jabber on the patio at Los Alamitos’ Jabberwocky Java, they are rattling the nerves of some residents in an apartment building behind the cafe.

“The teenagers from the high school come out, and they’re out there drinking their coffee, hooting and hollering on the patio, then they get in their cars and race down the alley,” said Paul Stevens, who has lived in his Old Town West unit with his family for 10 years.

“Summertime is the worst,” he said, because he sleeps with his windows open and can hear patio conversations, plates and saucers clanking, and patrons’ auto alarms.

When Stevens took his concerns to City Hall in August, officials said they discovered that the Los Alamitos Boulevard restaurant’s permit does not specifically allow outdoor seating or a deck.

City employees said they urged Jabberwocky to apply for a new permit.

But Hap LeCompte, who runs the cafe with his brother, Lance, rejected the city’s request. He said he told officials of his intentions and proposed a garden area in his site plan before opening in 1995. He did not wish to spend more than $400 on another permit application.

“We feel that we have a conditional use permit that covers all this and says what we’re going to do,” LeCompte said.

When it was clear that the city and the LeComptes were at an impasse, officials filed a lawsuit in March seeking an injunction to stop outdoor seating and remove the deck.

LeCompte said his permit does not ban outdoor seating. It does not even address it, he said, so he assumes that to be an allowable use. The permit does not mention indoor seating, either, he said.

City Hall agrees that outdoor seating is not mentioned in the permit, but they take the opposite side: If a use is not stated in a permit, it is not allowed.

“The Jabberwocky Java owners are in violation of the city zoning ordinance,” Mayor Ronald Bates said. “What we’re asking here is that the owners just follow the law.”

LeCompte acknowledges that applying for a new permit at a cost of about $400 would be cheaper than going to court, but the situation is now a matter of principle. He said his attorneys have filed a response to the lawsuit defending the cafe’s position.

“If this is such a big issue now, why didn’t it come up when we went through the process?” LeCompte asked. “They’re acting like we designed this deck for no reason at all.”

Patrons are supportive, saying the establishment is a business that offers upscale dining and a setting unlike anything else in Los Alamitos. They say they are baffled by the lawsuit.

“All I can tell you is it’s a great place, I love going there, and it would be a crying shame if the city drove them out of Los Alamitos,” said Emil George of Rossmoor. “There’s plenty of support for the place. It’s packed every day.”

Others said they do not understand why the matter cannot be settled out of court--or why objections were not raised until two years after the patio opened.

“It seems a little extreme,” patron Patty Thompson said. “They built that beautiful patio and the garden and the pond in full view of the city. The Planning Department is located two blocks away.”

City Manager Robert C. Dominguez said the city was unaware of the problem until the city received complaints. Also, he said, the city does not know for certain when the patio was built.

“It’s a very well-received restaurant, and we don’t want to see him go away,” Dominguez said, referring to Hap’s father, Ray LeCompte, a co-owner.

“On the other hand, we know he’s had a code enforcement violation, and we’d like to see him comply.”

Dominguez said the matter could be resolved out of court if the restaurant would go through the proper permit application process.

Mayor Bates read a statement on Los Alamitos TV during last week’s council meeting denouncing the cafe’s practices and explaining that the city cannot give special treatment to any business, no matter how popular it is. The message made clear that the city will not back down.

“Just because we like it, just because our families go there doesn’t mean we can treat this business differently,” he said. “This is about fair and equal treatment under the law for all businesses.”

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NEIGHBORHOODS / Old Town West

Bounded by: Los Alamitos Boulevard on the east, Coyote Creek on the west, Katella Avenue on the south, Cerritos Avenue on the north

Population: About 3,000

Hot topic: Noise from outdoor patio at the Jabberwocky Java cafe