Planners roll dice on Vegas club

Lolita Harper

Looking to turn downtown Costa Mesa into the place to be for

nightlife and entertainment, Planning Commissioners ignored staff

recommendations Monday and gambled on supporting an upscale nightclub

on Newport Boulevard and 19th Street.

Planning Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to approve the nightclub, to

be called Vegas, at the large mission-style building that introduces

freeway traffic to the heart of downtown.

Planning Commissioner Eleanor Egan dissented, saying the proposal

lacked adequate parking and noise control.

“Basically, I like the project very much. If they could have

solved the noise and parking problems, I would have enthusiastically

voted for it,” Egan said. “But since it has been approved, I wish it

success.”

The success of the downtown area is what commissioners had in mind

when they deviated from planning staff recommendations.

Planning Commission Chairwoman Katrina Foley said all the concerns

about noise and parking have been taken care of in the plans or can

be worked out as the project develops.

The applicants are extremely willing to work with surrounding

homes and businesses, she said.

“I think this will help establish that area as an entertainment

district with nightlife restaurants, which is what I believe was

intended for downtown when we redeveloped Triangle Square,” Foley

said.

The upscale club proposed for the basement portion of 1901 Newport

-- the Spanish-style building that sits across from Triangle Square

in the heart of downtown Costa Mesa -- would be about 11,000 square

feet and contain a dance floor, three bars and distinct lounge areas

surrounded by a typical nightclub setting. It is designed to

entertain about 800 persons from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through

Friday and from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

During the earlier hours, the club will operate as a restaurant,

tentatively called La Fondue. Later, the Vegas nightclub will come to

life.

Club owner James Raven avoided a probable denial a month ago when

the idea of a nightclub obviously did not have the support of the

Planning Commission. Commissioners voted to postpone the project so

that some of the parking problems could be addressed in the plans.

Raven and his associates came back to the city with a combination

of valet and self-parking for a lot they would share with Turnip Rose

banquet facility.

The venues would require 528 parking spaces, according to a staff

report. While Raven’s parking plan can accommodate that many cars,

many of the spaces are designated for valet and leave only 139 for

self parking.

Turnip Rose officials told city planners their patrons are not

required to valet park and, potentially, the banquet customers could

fill 125 of the self-parking spaces, leaving only 14 for the

nightclub.

Planning Commissioner Bill Perkins said he brokered a meeting

between Raven and officials from Turnip Rose, in which the business

leaders agreed on a workable parking solution.

That solution would have Vegas using the valet parking and the

restaurant providing a mix of both.

Councilman Gary Monahan, who has been supportive of the effort to

enliven downtown, said Perkins did a good job creating consensus.

“They went into that meeting screaming at each other, and by the

time the issue was heard, Turnip Rose had written a gleaming letter

of support to the city,” Monahan said.

The councilman also touted Foley with team building.

“If Katrina supports it, I’m sure it will pass,” he said.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at [email protected].