Tempo Cantina’s expansion plans opposed by neighboring residents

DOWNEY – A proposal by a popular Downey bar and restaurant to expand its outdoor seating area is receiving pushback from neighboring residents.

Tempo Cantina, located at 12056 Paramount Blvd., filed for a conditional use permit that would allow it to more than double its outdoor dining area.

The restaurant has 3,405 sq. ft. of indoor space and it opened a 944 sq. ft. outdoor patio in 2020. The proposed permit would give Tempo Cantina an additional 1,000 sq. ft. of outdoor dining with alcohol service.

Residents and property managers living near the restaurant, however, said they already suffer from excessive noise, trash and parking congestion, and increasing the bar’s capacity would make matters worse.

Victoria Fujimoto is a property manager for the Villas at Downey, an apartment complex adjacent to Tempo Cantina. She said she has lost tenants due to issues attributed to the restaurant.

“As you can imagine this is disruptive to the quiet and enjoyment of our residents,” Fujimoto said. “The residents are looking at us for answers and our hands are tied, we cannot seem to get the help we need. We’ve had more unit turnover in the building than ever before due to the noise, lack of street parking, debris and pest issues.”

Ron Kolar, owner of L’Abri Management, said the city has done little to nothing despite more than two years of complaints.

“We first brought this issue to the city via phone calls and messages to the city code enforcer back in January 2021,” Kolar said. “We didn’t see any improvements and we then wrote a letter back on July 15, 2021 addressed to city councilmember Sean Ashton and copied to code enforcement. In this letter we addressed the ongoing noise level, loud gatherings in the patio, debris and traffic congestion. We addressed the fact that we had lost two residents due to the noise level coming from the establishment.”

Kolar said “numerous residents” also called or wrote letters to the city complaining about the noise levels.

“Zero response from the city and no resolution to our problem,” Kolar said.

According to a report prepared by the city’s planning department for the Planning Commission, Downey Police were dispatched to Tempo Cantina 272 times between Oct. 20, 2018 and Oct. 12, 2023; of those calls, 81 were noise complaints.

As part of the permit application, city officials stipulated that the restaurant provide a noise study “with determinations for how to control noise generated by the new outdoor dining.” Televisions and speakers would also be required to be equipped with noise monitoring devices that limit the equipment from surpassing a specific decibel sound.

Tempo Cantina is also requesting a permit to operate on-site valet parking. Of the property’s 53 parking spaces, 37 would be designated for valet services.

The Planning Commission is expected to consider the permit applications at a later date.