VENTURA : Coffeehouse Is Granted Permit

Ventura’s Insomniac Coffeehouse has received permission to operate in a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood as long as it continues to lower its sound level and cut down on loiterers.

The Planning Commission on Tuesday granted a permit that requires the coffeehouse to hire two security guards to patrol the area near 793 E. Santa Clara St. Guards must pick up trash within a one-block radius and discourage people from loitering outside the business, which shares its quarters with the Mayfair Theatre. The permit also requires the business to keep its doors closed most of the time to minimize the noise from performers.

The coffeehouse had been operating without a permit since it moved into the Mayfair in June, and neighbors had complained about the large numbers of teen-agers who were hanging around the coffeehouse late at night and making noise, City Planner Mitch Oshinsky said.

But police and residents say the neighborhood has quieted considerably in recent weeks since city officials met with the coffeehouse manager to discuss the problems.

The one-year permit also requires that city officials inspect the coffeehouse in three months, and again in nine months ensure that further noise problems don’t crop up, Oshinsky said.