Willow Glen Resident

News

San Jose appeals board orders Alano Club West to close doors

By Alicia Upano

The San Jose Appeals Hearing Board voted unanimously to order Alano Club West to cease operations by Oct. 31 or face penalties of $500 per day.

"Our view is enough is enough," said Mike Hannon, San Jose code enforcement deputy director. "We've given them two years to submit a conditional use permit application, and we have no reason to believe they will."

The judgment places a financial burden on the nonprofit private club, which has evaded nine compliance orders since 2004 to correct code violations. The club has been assessed $914.72 to reimburse city administrative costs, and $5,000 in administrative penalties. The club will be allowed to reopen once it obtains its conditional use permit.

The most recent compliance order, on June 23, cited 12 code violations, including operating without a conditional use permit, insufficient parking and building code issues. These violations came to the city's attention after neighbors complained about excessive noise from the club in October 2003.

The Alano Club West has operated at 1139 Minnesota Ave. since 1976, providing a place for recovering alcoholics and substance abusers. Currently, 150,000 people pass through the club's doors each year seeking recovery some by court mandate. The club holds meetings from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., according to the city and the Alano Club.

Alano Club representative Michael Kelly told the appeals board the club fulfills an important need.

"Members can share their experience, strength and hope with each other," he said. "We feel by doing this, it does a service both to the city of San Jose and the general area of Willow Glen."

The board agreed, but said the club still needs to comply with the city's code.

This was reiterated by the residents and business owners who border the club, many testifying to the ongoing noise and parking problems.

Siena Bistro owner Don Skipwith, Our Secret owner Julie Painchaud and Willow Glen Business and Professional Association executive director Norma Ruiz said Alano Club members flood the lot behind Lincoln Avenue businesses before using club parking.

"If one particular business or nonprofit is going to use 70 parking spaces at one time, where does that leave the rest of us?" Painchaud asked.

Painchaud has witnessed a member urinate in her driveway, and many frequently loiter in the parking lot. Likewise, Skipwith said members' conduct is generally inappropriate for the business district, including changing their clothes in the lot.

"They have got to be better neighbors," Skipwith said. "I'm in favor of closing them down until they get their house in order."

Chris Piekarski, who has been the most vocal about the noise, said the noise occurs all day, including music, car repair work and construction projects. His property borders the club. Motorcycles and unsupervised children are frequently in the club's gravel parking lot, he said, and smoking and profanity often drift over the back fence.

Other neighbors pointed to the club's unwillingness to work with residents and said the situation has reached a breaking point. Iris Court resident Trevor Cox said he has approached the club on numerous occasions, with no resolution.

Kelly said the club was committed to working with the community and obtaining a conditional use permit.

Throughout the five-hour meeting, the controversy took several turns. The club's conditional use permit application was deemed complete only hours before the hearing began, despite nine compliance order requests over a two-year period. However, club property co-owner Bradley Hindley of Stringfellow Properties stood up and told the appeals board that he was not willing to sign the current application, which requires his signature as well as that of Alano Club representatives.

"We have seen none of the paperwork," said Hindley, who drove down from Santa Rosa to speak. "If that application is submitted, we withdraw our signature. Nobody's talked to us, nobody's called us."

Alano Club representative Mike Formico said Hindley's revelation was a shock and that the co-owners were informed of the club's plans.

However, after listening to the comments, Ed Rast, president of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association, told board members, "I've lost faith the Alano Club will follow through on their commitment, particularly because the co-owners cannot get along."

Further, Appeals Hearing Board member Jose Hernandez said he was disappointed in an Alano Club representative "bragging" how the permit application was submitted in a couple weeks' time, given the two years they had to apply.

"I'm disappointed that an organization that has operated for 30 years is having so many internal struggles," Hernandez said.

Giving the club more time to comply would only exacerbate the problem, board member Clark Williams said, and mimic city efforts that have tried and failed to make the Alano Club comply.

The club's attorney, Sean Cottle, also tried to prove the club's 1976 establishment was grandfathered in and therefore did not require a permit, but the board disagreed.

Once the club has completed a conditional use permit application with both owners' signatures, it would that have to be approved by San Jose Planning Commission. Residents and businesses would also weigh in prior that at a community meeting.