This past week, Q-line asked:
Residents living near restaurants that operate more like sports bars have complained recently about noise generated from these establishments and their patrons when leaving at 2 a.m. Planning commissioners recently talked about creating a special classification for sports bars with possible limits on operations.
Should sports bars be regulated differently than restaurants and not be allowed to open within a certain distance from residential areas?
Here are your responses:
“Sports bars have no place in a residential area. Look at the sidewalks outside any of them, literally covered with stains from vomit, chewing gum and cigarette butts. The noise drunken patrons make at closing time is totally unfair to those who wish to sleep at night. They should not be in a residential area.”
“Sports bars should definitely be regulated more strictly and certainly not be allowed to open in residential areas. Actually, in today’s world of excesses of all kinds, bars of any kind should be kept out of residential areas. So many rowdy and uncontrolled drinking people have made living near these establishments a nightmare.”
“I speak from experience. Prudence dictates that one does not purchase a house nor rent an apartment in the first block either north, south, east or west of a major commercial thoroughfare that is lined with commercial businesses unless one enjoys parking congestion, heavy foot traffic, and every form of noise, including ambulance and fire engine sirens. The unfortunate truth regarding bars and nightclubs is that they bring a great deal of noise, foot and automotive traffic both day and night to nearby adjacent neighborhoods. I do not believe that sports bars should be singled out.”
“I think that the sports bars should be regulated differently. Because I don’t believe that serving drinks is very good. The question is what comes first? The homes or these bars. The city needs to put some restraints on these establishments that are closing at 2 a.m.”
“I definitely think that sports bars should be a long distance away from residential areas, that way they can run until 2 in the morning without disturbing people and those in neighborhoods can have the peace and quiet they deserve. It is absolutely imperative that they are regulated.”
“Well of course sports bars should be allowed near neighbors especially if they are on major thoroughfares. Neighbors complaining should take a look at themselves and shut their mouths because people have to make a living.”
“It’s a very good idea that sports bars be regulated differently than restaurants. I don’t know which one is causing neighbors more problems: The Parlor, Busby’s or South. Certainly the City Council should deny The Parlor’s request for an appeal of a Planning Commission, reasonable, restrictive policy on a trial bases. The Wilshire-Montana Neighborhood Coalition at their last meeting voted to support the city staff in urging the City Council to deny The Parlor’s request. Sports bars are not restaurants and they are causing many, many neighbors many, many problems.”
“Sports bars should be regulated differently from restaurants and not be allowed to locate within a certain distance of residential areas. I feel very strongly about that.”
“I agree that sports bars should be regulated differently than restaurants and not be allowed to open within a certain distance of residential areas.”
“I just wanted to say that any sports bar or business that brings people into residential area very early in the morning or late at night should be regulated and kept away from residents. That’s why we have business districts.”
“Should sports bars be regulated differently than restaurants and not be allowed to open within a certain distance of residential areas? I wholeheartedly say yes. I live in a neighborhood where there is a sports bar and there are continuous problems.”
“No I don’t believe that sports bars should be allowed to open near a residential area. As a neighbor of a sports bar that was previously an upscale restaurant, we have been subjected to loud patrons coming and going at all hours on all days, especially late at night since the bar stays open until 2 a.m. Patrons are speeding down our previously quiet street looking for free parking because they don’t want to pay the minimal charge for valet parking. They are very drunk by the time they go back to their cars at night, vandalizing, urinating, etc. on our neighbor’s property.”
“Restaurants that have liquor licenses that require them to be restaurants should be regulated to not be sports bars. If your liquor license requires that you sell food to the vast majority of your customers, then the vast majority of your customers should have food. If not, you shouldn’t be allowed to stay in business. That is the law. Enforcing the law is more important than changing any regulations.”
“Have you ever had neighbors who had a party once a month and their so-called guest made noise until 2 a.m. until the police finally arrive. This is the same narcissistic attitude that the owners of the sports bars have. Everything is about them. We are in the self-indulgent generations. Jets, helicopters, loud motorcycles, car stereos, bicyclists taking up a whole lane, people stepping out in front of traffic. Everything revolves around the self-centered scum. City Hall is responsible for granting a permit to these new-age entrepreneurs. Who cares about you as long as they make a lot of money? What happened to civility in our town. City Hall has purposely divided us to further their own political utopia.”
“Sports bars definitely have to be regulated so that they do not disturb people in residential neighborhoods. There seems to be plenty of complaints from neighborhoods where these sports bars are operating right now. So something has to be done to not disturb the residents and to also allow them to remain in business. There has to be some kind of balance.”
“After-hours bars, including sports bars are not compatible with residential neighborhoods and shouldn’t be anywhere close to residential neighborhoods.”
“I have very strong feelings that these sports bars are very disturbing in our area where there is a lot of residents. I happen to live in one of those areas and find that in order for them to have a successful business they should be in an area in a place where they can stay open later and not disturb people. They should be regulated and not be near residential areas. It’s best for the community.”
“A sports bar is just another name for a bar. They attract the scum of the Earth, deafen them with loud music, intoxicate them, wash their hands of them and turn them loose on our quiet residential neighborhoods. These misfits loiter, yell, scream, trespass, vomit, urinate on private and public property, destroy private property, illegally park and damage our cars. … Clamp down on these guys and put them in industrial areas far away from homes. A right to a peaceful night’s sleep should be a top priority.”
“Everyone seems to have forgotten that the Third Street Promenade and the adjacent streets originated as both an entertainment and retail district. In the early days of the promenade there was a sports bar at Third and Arizona, a nightclub on the ground floor of an office building on Fifth and Santa Monica Boulevard, and a nightclub on the second floor of what is now Forever 21. The city and Bayside District has never been particularly supportive of the entertainment component of the promenade. Just look at the prolonged agony of getting a state-of-the-art movie theater built there. And just look at the Bayside District’s reaction to the loss of Borders book and music store when the consultant of Bayside shrugged off the loss of Borders, saying, “Who needs two bookstores within a few blocks of one another?” The promenade and the adjacent streets should be the select and exclusive location for sports bars and also other entertainment venues as businesses fail on the promenade or are pushed out by higher rents. The city should rededicate itself to attracting and regulating entertainment uses there. Sports bars should move to the promenade an downtown district as part of the entertainment zone that was envisioned for the promenade, and residential neighborhoods should not be burdened by the problems that entertainment venues cause.”
