Private Silicon Valley Social Club Draws Noise Complaints
MENLO PARK (KPIX 5) – A private social club for Silicon Valley's elite is ruffling feathers over reports from neighbors of excessive noise.
The Cuckoo's Nest sits in the back of an office building along busy Willow Road. On its website, the club is billed as a private location for tech entrepreneurs and investors to mingle and share ideas.
But people who live nearby told KPIX 5 that sometimes private events are so loud, the noise can be heard all the way across San Franciscquito Creek into neighboring Palo Alto.
Gary Britton lives directly across the creek from the Cuckoo's Nest outdoor patio. "I have noticed that there is music over there and they are partying," Britton said.
For about two years, the club has been hosting events with temporary permits. But now, in this filing with the city, the club is asking for a permanent use permit to serve alcohol and host social events in what is currently zoned as an "administrative and professional district."
Some neighbors are venting in online forums. One wrote, "…there goes the willows neighborhood. This is a really bad idea."
Britton's take? "I am from Santa Cruz and so I am lenient. As long as they keep it down it is fine as far as I am concerned," he said.
KPIX 5 made multiple attempts to contact the managing partner of the Cuckoo's Nest and did not receive a reply as of late Thursday night. The city is taking written comments on a proposal through the end of this month.
