The neighbors living directly behind the property are asking the club to buffer the noise by installing a sound wall in the backyard. The backyard is separated from the neighbors' properties by a wooden fence. The neighbors also want the club's parking lot, which is only dirt, to be paved. And they are requesting that the club restrict the use of floodlights, which are shining into one resident's home until midnight.

The club—an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting place—says it wants to make the changes, but that it will need to raise the money needed to bring its property into compliance with the city's code.

The club, located at 1139 Minnesota Ave., has a large backyard where people congregate at picnic tables throughout the day and night. Alano Club manager Trish Lopez said it is not unusual for 1,000 people to visit the club on a daily basis for Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon meetings—support groups for recovering alcoholics and for family members of alcoholics. The meetings are held seven days a week, she said.

Iris Court resident Mindy Whitney, who has been living in her home since August 2003, said that the club's outdoor floodlights that turn on at 8 p.m. and go off at midnight shine right into her master bedroom window, even through the blinds. And she said the sound of Harley-Davidson motorcycles can be heard at 7 in the morning.

Whitney said she knew that when she and her husband purchased the home, it backed up onto commercial property, but she didn't realize how noisy and obtrusive the situation would be.

She added that as homeowners, she and her husband can't go anywhere else when noise or vulgar language bothers them, but the Alano Club members can come and go as they please.

"It's the small things they can do that could make a huge difference," she said. One of those changes would be to ask the club to restrict where its members park in the lot. Whitney said many times the members will pull their cars right up to the residents' fences, which is noisy.

Chris Piekarski, who has lived on Iris Court for 3 years, said the noise occurs as early as 5:30 a.m. and after 9 p.m., and the situation has become worse during the last 1¹/2 years. He said he has called the club six times and contacted the club in person three times, but there hasn't been any improvement.

Lopez said that a new board of directors is elected every year and she has only been managing the club for a year, so it is "unfortunate that he got lost in the shuffle."

Piekarski said that the Alano Club "provides a valuable service to the citizens who live in our community," but that "they should be held to the same standard as the other organizations and businesses in Willow Glen."

Yet code enforcement has been difficult because the club, which has existed since 1958, was grandfathered in under old regulations, before the city established conditional-use permit ordinances that regulate the conditions of use.

Piekarski said when he filed a complaint with code enforcement for noise, security lights and an unpaved parking lot, code inspectors found that some building improvements had been done without permits.

Code enforcement inspector Bruce Kalin said the club had built an enclosed patio without applying for building permits. He said the club had the option to remove the improvements by mid-April or apply for a building permit.

San Jose Planning Department senior planner Carol Hamilton met with Alano Club board member Richard Herrin on March 15 to discuss the issues and the process of applying for a conditional-use permit.

Alano Club board members Robert Hull and Herrin then met with Iris Court neighbors on March 16.

Hull said the March 16 meeting with residents was the first time he had heard of there being any problems.

"We want to be good neighbors, so we're going to work on the issues with the city," he said.

Piekarski said that the two board members indicated they would be willing to put up a sound wall and do a temporary paving of the lot.

Piekarski said that he was pleased with the club's willingness to make changes and said that the neighbors want to continue to work in tandem with the club.

And the Iris Court residents are not the only ones who would like some changes made.

Business owners on Lincoln Avenue whose customers rely on the public parking lot off Minnesota Avenue say most of the Alano Club members park in the public lot rather than in their private, unpaved one.

Lopez said that the club has 15 to 20 parking spaces in its own lot that are used by people who pay for a club-member parking pass. She added that those spaces are rarely full. But merchants insist that parking is a factor.

"Parking is an issue," said Cooking Etc. owner Dean Sales. "The Alano Club takes up a lot of parking. Customers will say they drove around and couldn't find a place to park."

Gold Star Jewelers owner Star Kharmandaryan also said that Saturdays are the most important day commercially and she is frustrated that much of the parking is being used by Alano Club members.

"It is public parking for a two-hour limit," Lopez said.