A group of Lompoc residents asked the city Friday to stop the demolition of the Ocean Lanes bowling alley to give them time to try to save the center.

While a demolition crew was dismantling the bowling alley at 1420 E. Ocean Ave., Robert Todd, former owner of Ocean Lanes, delivered a letter to City Hall asking the city to issue a “stop work order.”

“We are in the process of forming a formal organization, Friends of the Lompoc Bowling Alley, and will be pursuing an injunction against the demolition of the bowling alley pending review of the project by the City Council,” the letter stated.

The letter was signed by Todd, Robert Manning, Larry Craig, Steve Pruitt and John Harney.

It was unclear what action, if any, the city would take. Both City Administrator Gary Keefe and Mayor Dick DeWees were on vacation Friday.

Property owner Bruno Bornino, who is appealing the city Planning Commission's denial of his proposed commercial center and residential complex for senior citizens at the location, said the group will not save the bowling alley.

“We've already taken everything apart. They have no right to stop us,” Bornino said. “They can't save the bowling alley. We've done everything properly. We've played by all the rules.”

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Bornino said the demolition would be completed “reasonably quickly.” The work began Friday.

Assistant City Attorney Matt Granger said the bowling alley issue is one of policy that is best addressed by the city administration or City Council.

“The bowling alley is private property. What the owner does with his private property is up to the owner,” Granger said.

The group's letter expressed concern that Bornino's proposed project does not meet the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

“In order to comply with CEQA, the proposed project would have to sufficiently mitigate the loss of that recreational space. This is currently not the case,” the letter stated.

Bornino called the argument “nonsense.”

Although the city Planning Commission denied Bornino's plan for a residential and commercial center on the site in March, they did approve a “negative declaration” for the project, meaning that the demolition would not cause significant environmental harm.

The group opposing the demolition indicated Friday that it expects to appeal the Planning Commission's approval of the “negative declaration” because it “was done without determination of the mitigation of the loss of recreational space and without approval of the project itself.”

“They can only challenge that within 10 days after it's issued,” Bornino said. “Time's up.”

Harney, who managed the bowling alley in the late 1990s, said the city should take a closer look at the bowling alley issue “to be sure everything is done right.”

Bornino responded, “We've been very careful. We've complied with all the requirements of the city.”

The bowling alley was officially closed in May when Todd turned over the keys after months of fighting bankruptcy as well as fighting Bornino's plans to raze the 1950s structure. A bankruptcy court's ruling ended his hopes of saving the recreation center, which he had leased since 2005. He was $400,000 in debt.

Bo Poertner can be reached at 737-1053 or bpoertner@santamariatimes.com.

June 14, 2008