Rooftop Bar on appeal

The owner of Casa del Camino will ask the Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday to overturn a Planning Commission decision that prohibits using the historic hotel’s roof for a public bar.

Chris Keller, the hotel’s owner, was told the popular Rooftop Bar, which affords unrestricted views of Laguna’s scenery, violates restrictions set in the conditional use permit issued by the Planning Commission.

Keller is appealing the commission’s decision against allowing the open-air bar and he is getting support from residents who would be barred from the rooftop.

Disagreement on the interpretation of existing permits prompted hotel officials to ask for a clarification of the existing permit’s meaning. The commission’s staff report states permission to run a rooftop bar open to the public was never granted.

The Planning Commission unanimously agreed with the report’s clarification of Casa del Camino’s use permit. The report states the rooftop was never approved for a bar or for any use other than small events for hotel guests.

Keller said the bar and K’ya Restaurant are important to his business. A petition supporting the bar has been circulating among locals who want the bar to remain open to them and not restricted to hotel guests.

“It’s hard to run a hotel with these kind of restrictions,” Keller said.

Keller said the historic hotel, built in 1927, and its views should be enjoyed by everybody.

“It was really built for Laguna Beach,” Keller said.

Planning Commissioner Anne Johnson said businesses are required to get conditional use permits so the city can ensure the safety of its residents and visitors.

“Just because people say it’s nice to go up there and watch a sunset doesn’t mean it’s a safe public venue,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Casa del Camino sidestepped the necessary process for opening a bar like the Rooftop. She said there was no way to tell if a newly submitted permit application would have been approved, but what is for sure is the bar is not permissible under the current one.

“There was nothing [in the permit] about opening it up and bringing a bar up there,” Johnson said.

Keller said his next move will have to wait until after he finds out the city council’s decision.

In the meantime, the Rooftop has been welcoming the public.