Club owner, city gear up for lawsuits

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Club owner, city gear up for lawsuits
By Bethania Palma Staff Writer


AZUSA -- The owner of the D-Club and the city are ready to battle in court over the fate of the nightclub.

City Manager Fran Delach said the city's pending lawsuit is a result of two zoning violations. The D-Club's litigation is "asking for an injunction to keep us from enforcing the fact that they don't have an entertainment permit."

David Martinez, who owns the club on Foothill Boulevard, says the city wants the property for redevelopment and is seeking to kick him out before his lease expires in 2011. He said he filed last week with Los Angeles Superior Court downtown.

"We feel good about it," he said. "We'll be able to stay open until the court (makes a decision)."

The City Council last Monday voted to initiate litigation against Martinez "to ensure compliance with the city's zoning and entertainment permit requirements."

City officials said the D-Club's lease stipulates the building be operated as a restaurant, not a nightclub.

Last month, the City Council backed the police chief's decision to deny Martinez's application for a cafe entertainment permit, citing concerns over public safety and increased criminal activity.

The permit would have brought the

D-Club, located in the city's industrial west end, into compliance with zoning, officials said.
"Food is supposed to be a major portion of what he's selling," Delach said. "We have no problem with a nightclub operating with a restaurant. Acapulco is an example of one that has operated fine."

Police officials said the city council's decision was based on an increase in crime. But Martinez blamed the rise on officers who are regularly stationed at his club, generating calls. Authorities said the police presence was necessary to deal with the level of criminal activity.

The city bought the property late last year to relocate Wimpey's Pawn Shop, which was on a key downtown redevelopment site, but its owners chose another location.

"We didn't think we'd be in the restaurant nightclub business for very long," Delach said, adding that the city then tried to sell the D-Club parcel, but didn't get reasonable offers.

Martinez said he believes his business is being targeted unfairly by the city.

"They're going to run me out of town without paying me," he said.

Documents on the city's Web site say the location has been marketed for redevelopment and contact with commercial developers has been ongoing.

"We disclosed on (requests for proposals) that there was an existing lease on the property," Delach said. "If his allegations were accurate, we wouldn't have disclosed that information. There was never an attempt to try to get rid of the business."

But Martinez said an e-mail from the Azusa police department chief to a sergeant shows otherwise.

In the May 2006 e-mail, Chief Bob Garcia said he got an inquiry from city hall asking about the type of clientele attending the club and the types of problems being encountered there. He asked for an e-mail from evening watch commanders on the club's crowd.

"The reason for the inquiry," he wrote, "is that the city may consider buying the property `Club D' sits on as part of its ongoing redevelopment."

Garcia said Thursday he didn't recall who made the request a year-and-a-half ago.

"It's not unusual to get inquiry," he said. "But to have that specific of an inquiry would be unusual."

He added he is not involved with the city's plans and land acquisition, but "when I get a request from city hall, I've got to do it."

Delach said such a request would be routine.

"I think we were more concerned about, is it a problem, is it a nightclub with a lot of crime and issues," he said. "We didn't want to get into a situation like we're in now. That would have been the only concern. You don't want to walk into a hornets' nest of problems."

Martinez said his problems with the city began days before Club Rumors, a weekly gay-themed event, was set to open.

"They shut me down illegally last November because I wanted to hold a gay event," he said.

City officials said the event got the club on their radar because a parent complained a teenager had received a flier that promoters were distributing, but denied allegations that they were opposed to a gay-themed night. Delach said last month anyone is welcome in the city as long as they are law-abiding.

The club has its own security team that patrols the parking lot and inside the club. The team also checks identification at the door. Neon wristbands notify staff if a patron is over 21.

At the club last month, people said they did not feel safety was an issue.

Martinez, 41, said he bought the club in 2002, changing its name from El Toro Bravo to Cafe Tequila. He said he specialized in Mexican entertainment, but the business was tanking.

About a year and a half ago, he said, he changed the format and name and things started picking up. Now, he said he draws an average of 1,500 people per weekend, from as far away as Ventura and Riverside counties.

"I tried different things, some didn't work and some did," he said.

The D-Club now hosts a weekly '80s-themed night on Thursdays, Mexican music on Saturdays and the gay-themed "Club Rumors" on Sundays.

But city officials said as his business evolved and became more successful, he fell more and more out of compliance.

"If you look at David's business (before), it wasn't as successful," Garcia said. "He didn't have promoters back then. It's a different business."

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