After having to wait for the Los Gatos Town Council to get back from a month-long vacation, Wine Cellar owners Lisa and Steve Hauck were denied their request to play amplified music and offer dancing in their upscale-casual restaurant.

Sitting through more than three hours of other council business on Aug. 1, Steve Hauck missed his opportunity to speak at the public hearing because of a misunderstanding by the applicant about when he would be given a chance at the podium.

"We were left feeling abandoned," Lisa Hauck said, explaining she thought it was concluded in the June 20 council meeting that they would work with the planning staff to come to a compromise, and then have another discussion Aug. 1.

After the town voted, 3-1, denying the Wine Cellar's request, Steve Hauck, who raised his hand at one point during the meeting hoping for an opportunity to speak, walked in front of the council after the decision.

"Do I have a chance to say something?" he asked the council.

After members of the public finishing voicing their opinions, Hauck was given two minutes to explain his point of view.

But the decision had been made.

Council members had first considered the Wine Cellar's request at a June 20 meeting, but at one point during the meeting they decided to continue discussion at a future meeting.

Lisa Hauck said she and her brother are very disappointed.

"We were extremely close to a favorable decision after a more-than-two-hour discussion at the meeting in June—the only issue was the time we would close," she said.

At the meeting on Aug. 1, about a half-dozen residents voiced their opposition, including Councilwoman Barbara Spector, who recused herself from voting because she lives within 500 feet of the Wine Cellar, and Sandy Decker, former Los Gatos mayor.

The residents were concerned that by allowing the Wine Cellar to have entertainment, it would be considered a nightclub, which is not consistent with town codes.

"Once you start adding dancing and amplified music, you start getting into nightclub territory," Vice Mayor Diane McNutt said after the meeting.

Other residents expressed fears about drunks being loud and "vomiting in the bushes," as one neighbor put it, after the establishment closes. Some residents said that's what happened when a reggae club existed near the site several years ago.

Council members and residents were also concerned that while the Haucks have run a quality business, the conditional-use permit runs with the property, not the owners, and there is no telling how future owners will operate the restaurant.

Councilman Steve Glickman opposed the motion, explaining that he understands the need for musicians to have amplified music.

"If you're going to have music, you need to have a little flexibility," Glickman said.

The council considered five alternatives; three alternatives were prepared by director of community development Bud Lortz, one by the Haucks and one by the planning commission.

These alternatives were never presented to the Haucks during the meeting, Lisa Hauck said.

"Planning staff failed to work with us and council allowed no discussion," she said, adding that they only learned of the alternatives the Friday before the meeting. At the meeting, council members said they had their chance to speak at the public hearing.

One option allowed amplified acoustic music and dancing when there was a private party, up to 14 per year. The applicant would be required to inform neighbors before each private party.

Another alternative was developed by the applicants, which asked for dancing and amplified music until 1 a.m. on Friday, Saturday, holidays and nights before holidays, and midnight Sunday through Thursday.

The other alternative proposed allowing acoustic music to be hooked up to the house sound system, and another alternative suggested reducing hours of operation.

The alternative that passed retains the existing conditional-use permit, with a modification that allows additional seating. There is no change in entertainment use.

Earlier in the meeting, the council discussed another restaurant application.

In trying to stay consistent with the town's general plan, the council prevented applicant Nicholas Difu from opening a restaurant that would have forced Café Rouge and Biba Salon for Children out of business.

Rahad Proushani, owner of Café Rouge on Elm Street, said that after the threat of business closure, he is relieved that he could continue to run his 12-seat restaurant.

The town rejected the application by Difu, who proposed a 50-seat restaurant, on several grounds, including that by destroying a hair salon it would be considered as a loss of retail store.

"I move to deny the application to preserve the space for retail business," McNutt said, adding that she encourages the applicant to look elsewhere in Los Gatos for a location.