Courtside CUP renewal challenged by neighbors
By Nathan R. Huff
Several neighbors, who are concerned over the activities at Courtside Club, succeeded in getting the town to investigate a number of alleged conditional-use permit violations.
At the March 8 Planning Commission meeting during Courtside's one-year conditional-use permit (CUP) review, several residents complained that the club serves alcohol without proper licensing, violates noise ordinances, and advertises its facility for use by nonmembers, among other things.
Commissioners agreed the matter warranted an investigation, and directed town staff to serve violation notices of potential CUP infractions for noise, alcohol and nonmember use. After the town investigates, Courtside will be mandated to reply. The Commission then will decide if a public hearing is necessary, which could lead to a revocation of the club's CUP.
The March 8 hearing was a routine one-year review, community development director Paul Curtis said, and not a response to any particular violations. However, he added, since a few "red flags" went up, the town will investigate.
"It seems they're not following the terms of their CUP," commission chairwoman Laura Nachison said, adding that the commission acted only on the complaints by neighbors, since no one from Courtside showed up at the meeting.
Courtside general manager, Peter Jones, said the notice for the March 8 hearing arrived on his desk the day after the meeting. Courtside has hired an attorney, he added, to respond to any violations the town may cite.
"Our position is we take the conditions of our use permit very seriously," Jones said, "and we've done our best to respect them."
Courtside received its current CUP in late 1998, and the permit allows for a limited number of member parties and events, and the serving of alcohol. However, Courtside was subsequently denied a liquor license by the Bureau of Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC), due to the concerted efforts of Courtside neighbor, Carol Shultz. Courtside appealed the decision, and will return to ABC this summer.
Shultz said that, despite the ABC ruling, Courtside served alcohol to its members and guests on numerous occasions. She added that enforcement of alcohol and noise codes was ineffective.
"There is no appreciation for the requirements of the noise ordinance," Shultz told the Planning Commission, "and alcohol continues to be consumed illegally." Shultz later said that, while she did not want to bash the police department, she was concerned over the enforcement of the CUP. The police log, from October 1999 through late February, showed police had responded to three incidents, one noise and two alcohol complaints.
Jones said that any potential violation of alcohol laws by Courtside was a matter of misunderstanding. He acknowledged alcohol was consumed on the premises, but he denied it was ever provided by Courtside. Members are allowed to bring their own, and caterers with proper licensing also may serve alcohol at the club, Jones said.
"This was an interpretation by us," Jones said. "If we have made any mistake it certainly wasn't to flaunt the law."
Jones also said the club was very mindful of noise and did not host bands, other amplified music, or outside parties that go beyond CUP restrictions. He said that while other clubs owned by parent company, DDR Partners, had the facilities to do wedding and large banquets, Courtside facilities could not do the same.
He added that the Courtside events calendar, cited by Schultz as advertising its facilities to outside groups, was published prior to the CUP, and that the club is currently doing no advertising whatsoever.
Shultz remains unconvinced. She said her dealings with both the past and present club management have led her to believe that Courtside is not acting in good faith.
Jones said Courtside had received no neighborhood complaints, other than those by Shultz. "I think our members are happy here," Jones said, "and I think the club has a good reputation among the people who use it."
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
