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One of the few watering holes in Westwood is being called a “public nuisance,” and is facing possible censure for allegedly serving alcohol to underage patrons and because of fights started in the bar, some involving UCLA football players.

Madison’s Neighborhood Bar and Grill is the subject of a public hearing today, which could possibly result in the establishment’s closure or restrictions placed on its operations. The hearing has been called by the Los Angeles City Planning Department, on the recommendation of the Los Angeles Police Department, who said they have received complaints from community members that violent behavior and underage drinking at the bar are adversely affecting the area and endangering the public at large.

Over the past year, Madison’s has been cited by the LAPD multiple times for serving alcohol to underage customers, according to Sergeant Carmine Sasso of the LAPD’s West L.A. Vice unit. Sasso said his officers issued citations on an almost weekly basis to either underage customers with fake I.D.s or to one of the restaurant’s employees for serving them.

“The bottom line is these are issues that could be controlled in certain steps,” Sasso said.

Sasso recently met with Milton Zampelli, Madison’s proprietor, and discussed solutions for the problems Madison’s has faced.

“They (West L.A. Vice) appreciated the difficulties of operating a restaurant/bar in Westwood Village, especially when a high percentage of your patrons are of student age,” Zampelli said in a letter addressing the upcoming hearing.

“We discussed our concerns and they helped us with a number of suggestions which we have since implemented. We are optimistic that these changes will lead to our being a problem-free location from this point forward,” Zampelli said in the letter.

Zampelli was unavailable for an interview.

Sasso agreed that the meeting was successful.

Some Westwood residents criticize Madison’s as being a historically troubled site.

“Selling to minors is a public safety issue,” said Sandy Brown of the Holmby-Westwood Homeowners Association, of the reports of the numerous violations.

Zampelli maintains that his employees do the best that they can to keep underage customers out of the bar, and if employees are caught selling to illegal customers in the future, they will be fired.

But he also said that it’s very difficult to screen out every fake I.D. when there are thousands of underage students living nearby, with at least a portion of them having sophisticated fake I.D.s.

Madison’s has had other problems besides the alleged underage drinking. Over the past year, several fights broke out involving UCLA football players, attracting attention from the media and the community.

Last April, Ricky Manning, Jr., a senior cornerback and All-American candidate, was involved in a fight outside of Madison’s. Manning surrendered to the police after a warrant for his arrest had been issued.

In May, reserve offensive guard Shane Lehmann was involved in a fight at Madison’s. At the time Lehmann was working as a security guard for the bar, though he was not on duty when he got in the fight.

After Lehmann pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for the fight, Head Coach Bob Toledo banned all player’s from patronizing or working as security guards at “certain establishments” historically presenting problems for them.

Zampelli and community members will provide testimony at the hearing, which will be chaired by a representative from the Los Angeles City Planning Department, which oversees land use and zoning codes.

“The hearing will address the concerns of the (police) department and the community,” Sasso said.

According to the public hearing notice given to property owners in the surrounding area, the zoning administrator representing the planning department could decide to place conditions on Madison’s operations, or, in an extreme case, decide that the establishment needs to be shut down.

The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. today in the West Los Angeles Municipal Building, second floor hearing room, 1645 Corinth Ave., Los Angeles.