Editorial: Neighbors have rights to peaceful nights

Alcohol-fueled boisterousness, argumentativeness and physical combativeness have recreated this millenia-old conflict in Palo Alto's California Avenue area, where a man was severely injured in early August during a disturbance -- on a Tuesday special-drink-promotion night.

It was an isolated incident, owners of the Edge nightclub and the nearby Antonio's Nut House maintain. That may be true of the severity of the case -- but not of the underlying conditions in the area.

Palo Alto police have blanketed the Edge with everything from cops on bikes to helicopters, and called in back-up from other jurisdictions to prevent any further violence. Owners of the Edge report they have a dozen security guards on duty as well.

But neighbors complain the problem is incessant and disruptive, and have demanded that the city move to calm things down.

They have a strong case.

And if Police Chief Lynne Johnson is right that some members of the nightclub-bound crowd are heading for Palo Alto for more than dancing, drinking and socializing, it becomes more urgent that something effective be done.

"People from out of the area made no bones about it, they came for the purpose of fighting," Johnson reported last week. Granted that she is referring only to a tiny percentage of the Edge-bound crowd; the vast majority are there for good, clean fun.

And businesses do have a right to exist and thrive in a community -- within limits.

Antonio's has been around almost long enough to qualify as a historic landmark. The Edge has had a spotty history. Its location has housed everything from musical performances in a nightclub-like setting, to the garish, German-theme Oom Pah-Pah beer-hall, to its more-recent incarnation.

In the distant past, most residents lived blocks away from the commercial center -- until condominiums were added at the end of California, within a block of the Edge and Antonio's.

Yes, residents who moved there knew of Antonio's and the Edge or its earlier counterparts, and because of that knowledge there should be some tolerance of sound levels from the operations.

Johnson said the owners have a right to be in business, and that officers are there just to keep the peace. But she expressed concern about the cost of the heavy police presence, and notes the officers are also needed elsewhere in town.

"They blame me for everything but the rain," Antonio's owner Tony Montooth said of the neighbors' complaints. He is appealing a recent city restriction that he close at midnight instead of the usual 2 a.m. on weeknights. He also objects to being asked to hire a security guard to patrol the city's parking lot used by many Antonio's patrons, expressing concern about lawsuits if the guard were to intervene in a fight on public property.

Besides, he said, the real problem is with people going to the Edge.

Antonio's permit is due for a renewal hearing this fall by the city.

A noise study is underway relating to the Edge's operation, but Manager Jimmy Arcenaux said he doesn't think it's the sound residents are concerned about -- "it's the 'element'" drawn to the club. If he means people heading for Palo Alto spoiling for a fight, he's right.

Kathy Neville, business manager for a partner of the Edge, said they have spent much of the summer building up the crowd coming to the Edge and critics overlook it's being "a bonus for everyone because of the tax dollars it brings."

If the bonus is swallowed up by extra police costs that already dubious argument completely washes out.

The city is on the right track in curtailing week-night business hours if nearby residents are being awakened by raucous patrons of either Antonio's or the Edge. Both operations should hire whatever security it takes to fix the parking-lot-noise problems. The Edge in particular must help spread the word that California Avenue is not Madison Square Garden -- that anyone looking for a fight better look elsewhere or face a fast, determined police response and full prosecution.