The City Council on a split vote declined to challenge plans for Il Boccaccio restaurant on the Pier Plaza to remain open past midnight. Closing hours for downtown establishments have triggered debates on and off the council dais because of persistent allegations of rowdiness and noise on the part of late-night patrons.
The state Alcoholic Beverage Control agency gave Il Boccaccio permission to remain open after midnight, rejecting a request for a midnight closure by Hermosa Beach Police Chief Greg Savelli. The ABC made the decision as it approved the transfer of Il Boccaccio’s liquor license to its new owners, Ron and Greg Newman, who also own the nearby Sharkeez.Â
The council discussed the matter in closed session, but made no move to appeal the ABC decision until Tuesday’s regular meeting. On the meeting agenda was a letter from resident Jim Lissner, a critic of the downtown nightlife, who asked for an appeal, and 264 postcards supporting his position.
Mayor Michael DiVirgilio and Councilman Jeff Duclos asked for a special meeting to consider appealing the ABC decision. They were countered by Councilmen Pete Tucker and Howard Fishman, who stressed that they opposed a saturation of late-night alcohol serving downtown, but believed they should abide by the ABC decision.
With Councilman Kit Bobko absent, the 2-2 vote defeated DiVirgilio’s motion to consider an appeal. To meet the appeal deadline, the council would have had to schedule a special meeting.
Tucker said the ABC’s written decision cited an absence of liquor-license violations by Il Boccaccio and pointed out that the City Council declined to challenge late-night hours in two other recent liquor-license transfers. He said the council could trim Il Boccaccio’s operating hours in the future, as it has for other establishments, if they violate the terms of their city-required conditional use permit.
“Any time someone breaks the rules we’ll roll them back,” Tucker said.
Fishman said he wants across-the-board rules for restaurants and bars.
“Lacking a policy, this has become a matter of picking a place and deciding what to do with it,” he said.
DiVirgilio and Duclos said the council has been consistent in seeking midnight closures in an attempt to limit late-night alcohol service.
“We have spent a lot of time putting a cap on downtown,” DiVirgilio said. “Standing for a limit on our nightlife would be consistent with what we’ve been trying to do.”
Bobko, who could have provided a tie-breaking vote, was unavailable Wednesday before press time. In January he voted to back the police chief’s request for a midnight closure along with DiVirgilio and Duclos, while Fishman and Tucker opposed the request.
At the time, Bobko proposed the creation of a formal policy concerning citywide nightspots, and the council is scheduled to discuss that Tuesday, May 25. ER
