CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

Port Restaurant Goes To City Council

The owner of The Port Restaurant will return to City Council Chambers tonight for a public hearing on his appeal of a planning commission decision not let him extend his hours and have live music.

The commission made its unanimous decision at its Sept. 17 meeting, denying Port owner Ali Zadeh’s request to stay open an extra hour until 1 a.m., to have lunch hours and to have live music. While a crowd of supporters testified that The Port was a high-end establishment with a neighborhood vibe, others testified that the restaurant was trying to become a nightclub, and its patrons were guilty of being noisy and worse when they left the Heliotrope Avenue location. Read our story about that hearing here.

City staff is suggesting that Zadeh’s alteration of his requests — to stay open the extra hour only on weekends and not seven days of the week — isn’t enough to counter concerns that his parking lease could be terminated with just a month’s notice, and that noise levels are too high.

To read the staff report, click here.

Zadeh said this week that he’s tried to work with neighbors and find a compromise, including closing at 11 p.m., an hour earlier, on Sundays through Tuesdays. He invited neighbors to stop by the restaurant on Monday evening to discuss how they can work together. Zadeh has said for months that he wants to run a welcoming local hangout, just as he wants to work to support local schools and other village businesses. He also has said that if his business could suffer severely if he can’t extend his hours, or continue to offer the live music his customers desire.

The City Council meeting will begin at 7 p.m.