Willow Glen Resident

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Photograph by Vicki Thompson

Legal or Not? American Legion Post 318 in Willow Glen was constructed in 1941. Neighbors living near the post have been plagued by noise. The legion now has to prove its ability to operate as a private club is grandfathered in under county regulations.

San Jose asks American Legion to prove its status is grandfathered

By Alicia Upano

American Legion Post 318 leaders say its legion hall parties, which have rankled neighbors for years, are legal. Now the city wants the legion to prove it.

In an Aug. 11 compliance order, San Jose's code enforcement department cited the legion for operating a private club in a residential zoning district. Under the current city ordinance, this is not permissible. The club must cease operations by Oct. 11 or prove legion activities are grandfathered in under prior regulations. This, however, will not prevent the city from requiring the legion to obtain the necessary permits when renting the hall for parties.

The compliance order is the first sign of hope for neighbors, who said weekend parties at the legion have flooded their quiet neighborhood with noise, week after week, year after year.

San Jose City Councilman Ken Yeager got involved when his office received complaints from De Anza Way resident Fran Conte. His home borders the legion hall. Willow Glen Neighborhood Association past president Helen Solinski also contacted Yeager's office, advocating on behalf of the neighbors.

Yeager's aide, Tony Filice, arranged a meeting among the neighbors, Yeager's office, police, planning and code enforcement representatives in June.

The neighbors learned at the meeting that the legion lacked the appropriate permits, including an entertainment permit and a business-tax license. If the legion could prove it was a nonprofit, its members or tenants could apply for a one-day dance permit and beer and wine permit for the parties.

The only permit on file is a one-day dance permit requested more than 15 years ago, according to Leonard Lim, an officer in the San Jose Police Department's permits unit. Lim wrote the legion a letter on June 28, advising it to apply for the necessary permits based on need.

If the legion continues to operate without permits, the police may administratively cite it and shut down the hall, Lim said.

The legion was constructed at 1504 Minnesota Ave. in 1941. At the time, the area was under county jurisdiction, and the neighboring homes did not exist.

Four decades later, residences surrounded the hall, and the city annexed the land in 1986. If the hall operated legally as a private lodge in the county before it was annexed, it would have been grandfathered in, giving it "legal nonconforming" status, according to code enforcement deputy director Mike Hannon.

"Then they can continue that use indefinitely," Hannon said. "We can't take away their right to operate as a private club."

Neighbors first called code enforcement in mid-2005, and the case was quickly reviewed and closed, finding no fault by the legion, Hannon said. Since the beginning of the year, neighbors and legion leaders have tried to reach a compromise until their talks came to a standstill in June.

If the legion cannot prove its grandfathered status, it will no longer be allowed to rent out the facility for parties and will be able to use the hall only for businesses that are in line with the residential district, including a daycare center, church, community center and library, according to city code.

In recent months, while the neighbors implored the city to help, Conte's home was vandalized twice. In July, vandals threw eggs and apples on the back of his house. Conte later installed a motion-triggered light. In August, vandals came to the front of his home, egged cars in the driveway and the front of his house. They also sprayed insecticide on his lawn to kill the grass, and placed a bag of feces on his doorstep and lit it on fire.

Conte describes the incidents as "juvenile" and "insane." San Jose Police Western Division Capt. Richard Fairhurst said there are no suspects.