Inside City Hall

-- Compiled by Jennifer Kho

WHAT HAPPENED: The Planning Commission on Monday decided to continue

its scheduled review of the Q-Club Cafe until its next meeting Dec. 11.

WHAT IT MEANS: The commission had planned to review the club’s

compliance with modified permits approved in August for the restaurant,

which is at 1525 Mesa Verde Drive East.

The cafe is allowed to have a small smoking area in back of the

restaurant but is not allowed to serve food or alcohol there. It also

must supervise the area to minimize noise.

Q-Club Cafe had originally applied for permission to create a smoking

patio, but withdrew the application after the commission received several

complaints in August about customers smoking and loitering in front of

the cafe.

At the time of the review, the cafe was expected to provide receipts

showing the ratio of alcohol to food sales, but no representative of the

club attended the meeting.

Managers of a nearby bookstore and dance studio, who had filed

complaints against the cafe, arrived too late to attend the meeting.

Susan Roshan, whose daughter is a member of the neighboring Dancers in

Motion studio, said efforts to stop cafe patrons from smoking and

loitering outside the cafe have not been successful.

“I asked some people to put their cigarettes out and they totally

ignored me,” she said. “So I called the Q-Club management and they asked

those people to put the cigarettes out, but they totally ignored the

management, too.”

But Howard Brown, who said he is a longtime Q-Club Cafe customer, said

the cafe should not be punished for its customers’ bad habits.

“There is a lot of smoking, but it is outside the property,” he said.

“What can you do if people are smoking outside the confines of the

property?”

WHAT HAPPENED: The commission unanimously approved a plan to expand a

restaurant at South Coast Plaza.

WHAT IT MEANS: If the City Council approves the project, South Coast

Plaza will be allowed to expand a vacant restaurant space by 662 square

feet and reduce its outdoor dining patio by 172 square feet to make room

for Z’tejas Grill, a new Southwestern cuisine restaurant with a bar.

The restaurant space was previously occupied by Piret’s.

WHAT THEY SAID: “I think it will be nice architecture and will add

some life to that section,” said Commissioner Tom Sutro. “And another

restaurant can never hurt.”

WHAT HAPPENED: The commission voted unanimously to allow St. Matthew’s

Church to operate a temporary facility at the Daily Pilot building, 330

W. Bay St.

WHAT IT MEANS: The church will be allowed to occupy the building with

offset hours of operation from the Daily Pilot to share parking.

FYI

WHAT: Planing Commission meeting

WHERE: City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Dec. 11

INFORMATION: (714) 754-5245.

FYI

WHAT: Planing Commission meeting

WHERE: City Hall, 77 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa

WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Dec. 11

For more information, call (714) 754-5245.