Fullerton Council Shoots Down Sports Bar

By a 3-2 vote, Fullerton’s City Council on Tuesday voted against allowing a proposed sports bar downtown on Harbor Boulevard, overturning the city’s Planning Commission.

The City Council considered the project after the Planning Commission’s decision was appealed by 20 downtown merchants, who said the project wasn’t compatible with area businesses.

The $600,000 sports bar, which would have included a dance floor and sidewalk patio seating, would have taken over a pair of storefronts just north of Amerige Street. The council’s staff determined that the sports bar would have been compatible, and said that the police did not object to another downtown bar. However, Police Chief Patrick McKinley did oppose the bar’s proposal to stay open until 4 a.m.

Albert Bushala, who sought approval to open the bar, told the packed City Council chambers the merchants should give him a chance.

“I’m sure everybody in here will change their minds about this,” he said.

Bushala told council members that if they rejected his permit, he would take his money elsewhere. Opponents erupted in cheers and applause.

Though a few merchants spoke in favor of Bushala, most argued that another bar didn’t fit with the image they wanted to see downtown.

“We want a nice image,” said Jan Fontes, a downtown antique-store owner. “We don’t need another bar.”

Officials from the First Christian Church, located downtown, also spoke against the bar, pointing to potential parking problems. Councilwoman Jan M. Flory, who is a member of the church, was one of two council members supporting a permit. The other was Councilman Chris Norby. Flory pointed to a city study from the 1980s that said increased night life in a downtown area “helps trigger retail” later on.

Flory said she came to the meeting thinking she would vote against the sports bar, but after hearing the opponents, was reminded of the movie, “Footloose” in which the townspeople opposed letting the young people dance.

“It’s very important to me that downtown survive because there are very few downtowns left in this country,” she said. “We are lacking foot traffic.”

Councilman Mike Clesceri and Mayor Don Bankhead opposed the bar.

The swing vote came from Councilman F. Richard Jones, who appeared at first to speak for the bar but changed his mind, saying it was one of the hardest decisions he’s had to make as a councilman.

Later, a disappointed Bushala said he wasn’t sure of his next move.

“I’ll regroup, think it through again,” he said.