Costa Mesa council to consider allowing live performers for bar
Costa Mesa leaders on Tuesday will consider whether to allow Holiday, a new speakeasy-style bar and lounge on the city’s Westside, to host live performers.
Planning commissioners signed off on the bar’s request for live music in September, despite concerns from some neighbors about noise from the venue drifting into their homes.
The bar, which opened in July at 719 W. 19th St., is already permitted to have disc jockeys and dancing.
As part of their approval, commissioners directed Holiday to study how much noise is emanating from the venue and submit the data to the city within a month of the decision.
However, less than a week after the Planning Commission’s action, Councilwoman Sandy Genis submitted an application to review the decision based on neighbors’ concerns.
The council could decide to uphold, modify or reverse the Planning Commission’s action. If it chooses to reverse the decision, the bar would be prohibited from submitting another application for live music for six months, according to a city staff report.
Neighborhood concerns over noise are nothing new at the site. City records show it has been used as a bar and lounge since 1963.
Maison, a previous bar and nightclub there, ran into permitting troubles with City Hall last year and was caught hosting live music without permission, which drew ire from residents living near the establishment.
Karen Martin with Pacific Planning Group, a consultant for the property owner, the Pange Family Trust, has pointed out that several improvements have been made to the property to limit sound spilling into adjacent neighborhoods — such as upgrading doors and seals, putting in new insulation and installing a device that will warn employees if it gets too loud.
The bar’s supporters said at the September hearing that adding live music would help expand entertainment offerings on the Westside and likely wouldn’t be much, if any, louder than the recorded music already permitted.
“There are far too few places in Costa Mesa where one can enjoy live entertainment, and not only is Holiday an excellent location for such, but it will have little, if any, negative impact acoustically for surrounding residents,” Costa Mesa resident Donald Bassler wrote in an email to the commission in September.
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