CITY TO EXAMINE CYBER CAFES RULES NEEDED FOR NEW, HIGH-TECH TEEN HANGOUTS?

Byline: Nicholas Grudin Staff Writer

To some, cyber cafes are a combination computer lab and coffee shop. Others see them as a runaway mix of arcade and peep show.

On Tuesday, the Glendale City Council will try to reconcile those conflicting views and discuss regulating Glendale cyber cafes - an issue cities throughout California are wrestling with.

As it stands in Glendale, there are no special regulations for cyber cafe businesses, which cater largely to teenagers. Councilman Bob Yousefian thinks that needs to change.

``If you have office space, you can turn it into a cyber cafe and be in compliance,'' Yousefian said.

``The problem is that there are no standards to deal with this particular new use - regulation is always lagging behind when you have new technology.''

There are no mandates about what hours the cafes can be open or age limits for who can spend their time there - nothing that says how many computers can be in one space, or what kind of games can be played by what age groups.

Joshua Meador, who works at Glendale's NetForum, 1418 W. Glenoaks Blvd., said cyber cafes are just like any other business - in order to succeed, they must make sure they're taking care of their own problems.

``We are totally self-policing,'' Meador said.

``For example, if I see somebody browsing a Web site that our filter isn't catching, then we kick them out,'' Meador added, explaining that pornography and other materials are generally inaccessible because of filters that are installed into the browser software.

Friday at NetForum, a group of teenage boys clustered around glowing monitors hollered as they played the interactive video games WarCraft and Counter Strike.

``We come here every day after school,'' said Salvador Castillo, 15, a sophomore at Hoover High School.

The teens come to the cafe for two to three hours a day and shell out about $2.50 an hour for the service. Most of them play games, but computer users also can check e-mail and browse the Internet.

``It's not as bad a place as people think - it's a place for kids to come and hang out in their spare time,'' said Ara Nazari, another employee of NetForum.

But David Wallis, a landlord who owns property next door to the cyber cafe, said that when the teens are done playing video games, then problems start.

``What we have in the neighborhood now are gangs of young people making dope deals on their cell phones,'' Wallis said. ``I've seen green money change hands as cars pull up in the intersection. It didn't happen before that cyber cafe.''

What Wallis describes has reportedly been seen at some cyber cafes in the Los Angeles area.

The city of San Dimas recently decided not to allow any new cyber cafes to be opened while city officials consider implementing new regulations.

And in Orange County, cyber cafes came under attack after a 14-year-old boy was gunned down outside an Internet hangout.

While nothing so tragic has occurred in Glendale, Yousefian is acutely aware of the overall trend and wants to stop it before it grows out of control.

``Cyber cafes seem to be the next thing. We need to be proactive dealing with these issues instead of getting caught with our pants down,'' Yousefian said.

At Tuesday's council meeting, Yousefian and the rest of the council will discuss the types of regulations that need to be considered to ensure cyber cafes are safe.

IF YOU GO: The Glendale City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 613 E. Broadway Ave.

CAPTION(S):

box