Fed up with a local restaurant they say is a law-breaking bar in disguise, Charles Village residents plan to make their case today that the business should have its liquor license revoked -- a rare penalty.

The city's liquor board will consider at 2 p.m. allegations that Rootie Kazooties either sold alcohol to minors or allowed underage patrons to bring in drinks in January and May; bought liquor from someone other than a licensed wholesaler last month; and isn't selling enough food to qualify as a restaurant.

"This is not an appropriate establishment for a residential neighborhood," said Art Buist, an attorney for the residents. "If it were a restaurant, as it had been in the past, everything would be fine."

Rootie Kazooties, at 2701 N. Charles St., has appeared before the board twice this year on underage drinking violations.

But Ronald Schwartz, the lawyer for the bar, said his clients dispute the violations and don't understand why they're being asked to appear months after police issued reports about the drinking incidents.

"We're going to vigorously defend the restaurant against the charges we're facing," Schwartz said. "We'll present our evidence at the time of the hearing."

The board could issue a fine, suspend the liquor license or revoke it. A "subsequent offender" may be fined as much as $3,000 for each violation, said Jane Schroeder, the panel's deputy executive secretary. Liquor licenses aren't often revoked, "but certainly it's not impossible," she said.

Buist said he will focus on data collected by private investigators sent into the restaurant by the landlord. That information, he said, shows that Rootie Kazooties is not meeting the requirement to do at least 40 percent of its business in food sales. That would be a violation of its restaurant license.

Neighbors have been aggravated for several years by college students leaving Rootie Kazooties in the early morning and yelling, fighting and urinating in the community, Buist added.

Pamela Wilson, 57, who lives near the business, said the situation has become intolerable.

"No one wants to have screaming kids wake you up and have property damage as well," she said.

Schwartz characterized the dispute as age warfare. The business, just south of the Johns Hopkins University and not far from Loyola College, "does cater to a young crowd," he said.

"I think the people in the neighborhood don't appreciate young people. I really think it's a kind of generational problem," he said. "I don't think Rootie Kazooties is any different from any establishment that is going to be patronized by young people."

He said neighbors had asked the business to call cabs in at closing time, but when the cabs arrive, the neighbors call police complaining that the taxis are blocking traffic.

"Their only answer is for us to go out of business," Schwartz said.

Buist disputes that. "Charles Village in particular is a very tolerant neighborhood," he said. "People tend not to like it, though, when people come into their back yard and urinate."