Haunted house err takes owner for ride

Business didn’t get the necessary permit to hold a special event.Debbie Rodgers closed down her Balboa Peninsula bike rental shop, moved the bikes into storage and spent three weeks transforming her store into a haunted house.

Just in time for Halloween, the haunted house inside the Balboa Bikes N Stuff was scheduled to open Wednesday.

But instead of little trick-or-treaters looking for a fright, Rodgers got something unexpected -- an order from the Newport Beach Fire Marshall to shut down all operations.

The business didn’t get the necessary permit to hold a special event, and the building doesn’t meet safety requirements, said Newport Beach Fire Battalion Chief Dave Mais.

Rodgers said an employee applied for the permit; Deputy Fire Marshall Rob Bryg said there’s no record of the application.

After advertising with signs and fliers, Rodgers is disappointed that neighborhood kids won’t be able to visit the haunted house.

“We were trying to really do something cool,” Rodgers said. “I feel bad. I couldn’t take the hit that’s for sure.”

Rodgers closed the shop while the haunted house was being constructed; she estimates she lost several hundred dollars in business each day.

She hadn’t worried about losing the business, because she expected to make it up with a $5 per person admission fee to the haunted house. Now that the house isn’t happening, she’s facing a financial hit she wasn’t planning on.

There’s a good reason permits are necessary, Mais said. Whenever a special event is held, the facility has to be approved by the fire prevention bureau, Mais said.

The city’s community services department receives the permit, and the fire marshal inspects the building, Bryg said.

In this case, the building was never inspected because the permits were not filed, Bryg said.

Rodgers said she understands the safety requirements, but regrets that the haunted house won’t open. This year was going to be the inaugural year; she planned on making it a tradition.