“Right there.”
Dentist Heinz Mikota points a finger out the front window of his second-floor apartment overlooking Literary Avenue in Tremont, through the scrolls of the black metal grill he crafted himself.
He’s recalling a night several years ago when he heard a commotion outside. He looked out that window to spot a young woman on her back in his driveway, legs in the air, having sex with the traffic cone he plants there to keep people from parking on his property.
“That cone has never been the same,” says his wife Janet.
The Mikotas say the drunken young woman had stumbled out of the 806 Martini and Wine Bar, which sits next to their driveway, no more than ten feet from their side windows.
It’s far from their only brush with the bar’s patrons. They’ve had their door damaged, found vomit in their driveway, cigarette butts everywhere. But what really upsets them is the noise. They point to the bar’s three patios — so close to their home they can eavesdrop on conversations. Now “they want outdoor music on their patio,” Heinz says with indignation. “They’ve already had live bands inside dozens of times. In the summer they keep the front door open, and people are going in and out.”
The Mikotas live just off Professor Avenue, the three-block street in the heart of Tremont where businesses abut homes and longtime residents rub shoulders with newcomers who tend to revel in the nightlife. Here, routine culture clashes are inevitable.
What once had been an occasional problem — lots of people descending on the neighborhood to dine and gallery-hop during monthly Tremont Art Walks — has become an every-weekend problem, even an every-day problem in warm weather, when people gather on patios and hang out until early morning. It’s led the city to entertain changes to its ages-old rules governing noise — changes intended to help Tremont coexist with itself, but which would also reverberate across Cleveland’s other nightlife hubs.
But any potential solutions won’t happen for months. And with summer crowds fast approaching, the battle for Tremont is reaching fever pitch.
April hasn’t quite shaken off winter’s chill on a recent Friday night. Yet, closing in on midnight, a sprinkling of twentysomething couples stroll down Professor, smoking and looking for their next drink. The Treehouse’s two spacious patios are empty, its speakers blasting the Smashing Pumpkins’ “Tonight” to a gaggle of young men clustered on the sidewalk just outside the bar. But add some nice weather, multiply these young people by a hundred, and it’s easy for neighbors to project a nightmare vision of the strip they call home.
Of course, it wasn’t always this way. Tremont went through several lifetimes to become what it is today: a trendy neighborhood full of galleries, shops, bars, and restaurants that attract young professionals.
Once it was a working-class neighborhood with a bar on every corner patronized by the people who lived on the block.
“You had Russians and Ukrainians and all the different ethnic mixes in Tremont because of the steel mills,” says Sammy Catania, development director of Tremont West Development Corporation and a resident since 1989. “I grew up in the city of Cleveland off 93rd, between Kinsman and Union, and it was like that too. Everyone had their own neighborhood bar, neighborhood fish place. Every VFW had a different nationality. And there were 50-60 percent less automobiles then, so parking needs were different.”
By the 1990s, the neighborhood had grown rough. The steel mills closed. Housing stock was shabby. But in the mid-1990s, a few pioneers started turning Tremont around. Michael Symon, years away from being an internationally known Iron Chef, opened Lola on Professor. Then the Treehouse was christened a block away. Attorney Jean Brandt turned part of her storefront office on Kenilworth into an art gallery. That led to a host of other galleries and eventually to Tremont Art Walks.
Now three of the corners of Professor and Literary host a destination restaurant: Lolita, Lago, and Dante, all of them celebrated gourmet establishments visited by diners from across the region. Another, Fahrenheit, is two blocks up the street. Then there are the bars: 806, a few steps from Lago on Literary; the Treehouse at the other end of Dante’s block; Edison’s; the Flying Monkey.
“The issues have been rapidly progressing for about 10 years, but it’s been getting worse,” says Jerleen Justice, a community activist who also writes for the small near-West Side newspaper The Plain Press. Her family has lived near the corner of Literary and West Seventh, a block from the Professor strip, for more than 40 years. She says revelers coming out of the bars leave behind used condoms and urinate in the flowers.
To her and others, the frustration starts with the congestion caused by on-street parking.
“It began with the Treehouse — you can see it out our window,” she says. “There, the parking wasn’t quite so bad to begin with. But then the bars went to the [Cleveland] board of zoning appeals and got a variance [for] the number of required spaces. Once that was handed down, they built patios in those spaces. The Flying Monkey did that. Treehouse did that. Lago did it when they were Mojo. Tremont West supported all these expansions.”
The decrease in dedicated parking spaces in favor of more party space created a glut of on-street parkers.
Justice points to a handicapped space that was put in for residents like her mother, who at 79 has had two knee replacements. But she says restaurant and bar patrons don’t respect handicapped zones — or hydrants, crosswalks, or even residents’ own driveways.
“Commander [Keith] Sulzer has been great trying to get enforcement down there,” says Justice. “But they can’t babysit. As soon as one car moves, another pulls in. [Sulzer] said it’s a low priority for police, and I agree. But if you don’t have enforcement, it puts you to square one.”
Heinz Mikota sees it all the time.
“Outside my house is a tow-away zone, and every single weekend cars are parked there,” he says. “Police cars cruise by; they don’t notice anything. They don’t notice people standing outside 806, yelling and screaming. Police cars drive by slowly while there is a dozen people in front of 806 with beer bottles in hand, yelling and screaming. A few weeks ago there was a truck parked on a sidewalk next to a hydrant. A police car went by and did nothing.”
Councilman Joe Cimperman isn’t convinced that the problem is so bad.
“Ten years ago we had a huge debate about the 806 wine bar,” he says. “It was the largest-attended zoning board appeal meeting ever — 140 people attended. People said they were leaving the neighborhood because they didn’t get what they wanted. To this day, I haven’t met a person who has left the neighborhood because of parking. It’s serious, but we’re clearly making progress.”
But to residents like Justice and the Mikotas, the parking problem is emblematic of larger woes brewing on their streets, and the Treehouse and 806 draw the bulk of their ire. Both buildings are owned by Tom Lenaghan, and both businesses attract crowds of drinkers and lingerers who take up residence on the patios in warm weather.
“We have sleep deprivation,” Heinz says. “When they are closed on Sunday and Monday, the street is half-empty. On weekends, it’s bumper to bumper. Commander Sulzer is supportive: He says, ‘Call when you see anything.’ But then we get a letter from the safety director about how excessive calls are expensive.”
He displays a letter dated March 11, 2011, from Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask citing him for “repeated calls” that place an “undue and inappropriate burden on the taxpayers of the city of Cleveland and on our safety forces.” The letter says Mikota called police eight times in the previous year. Mikota doesn’t think that’s excessive for someone who lives spitting distance from a bar. He says Sulzer told him it’s a form letter and to ignore it.
“He’ll complain about anything,” counters Lenaghan. “He has to realize he lives next door to a bar.”
Paul Jones, Lenaghan’s managing partner at the Treehouse, says the vitriol stems from the neighborhood’s old-timers. “There’s been some bad blood between old neighbors and new neighbors,” he says. “One of the neighbors called to complain on a Saturday three or four months ago, and there was nobody performing.”
He says much of the neighborhood, and especially the younger generation, supports the bar. “I think there’s a small amount of people angry — people who have been here for years and years. But we’re not here to steamroll anybody.”
Look around the place on an early spring weekend, and it’s hard to see who’s being bothered. Perched on the corner of Professor and College, the Treehouse is ringed by vacant lots and a power station. Across the street on Professor is St. John Cantius church. Across College, Jones points to a couple of houses and names the residents. “They’re always in here,” he says.
And in a few weeks, the Treehouse will shed its status as a bastion just for drinkers when it begins full food service. Lenaghan and Jones have constructed a kitchen from scratch on the second floor and added booths in back. More people coming in for meals will likely cut down on the number of sidewalk cruisers looking for drinks and a flower bed to urinate in. It leaves the Flying Monkey Pub, a block away, as the only place on the street that’s solely a bar.
And, says Commander Sulzer, “We’ve never once gotten a complaint about the Flying Monkey.”
Tremont resident Henry Senyak is an earnest little man with a professorial air, who is fond of marshalling armies of facts to bring to bear on a situation. A longtime neighborhood activist — and, to some, a troublemaker — he once took on a bar that disrupted his corner of the world, and he won.
That bar is now the Tap House on Scranton, which Senyak calls a good neighbor. In August 2009, he was appointed to the board of Tremont West, a group many veteran Tremont residents consider “the enemy,” alleging that it favors business and upscale newcomers. Senyak was elected to a two-year term shortly after, and this year he was voted its first vice president.
“Henry was — I don’t want to say anti-Tremont West, but very scrutinous,” says Tremont West’s Catania. “But he offered solutions. Does he take a negative position? Absolutely. But people like Henry stuck it out when the neighborhood was being burnt down.”
As a board member, Senyak straddles both sides of the divide, continuing to take a resident’s point of view while working as an insider with business interests. And he seems to relish his role as unofficial sheriff of clubland.
“I’ve helped shut down a dozen clubs all over the West Side,” he says with pride. “I make people paranoid. I can recite code.”
Now he can rewrite code too.
The City of Cleveland’s codes pertaining to bars, restaurants, and places of entertainment haven’t been spruced up since the late 1920s. The billiard parlors and roller rinks they once regulated have long since given way to nightclubs blasting DJs and live bands. Senyak was part of a committee organized over winter by Councilman Cimperman to propose changes and updates.
On an early April Friday morning, Senyak has rounded up a couple dozen folks for a meeting of the planning commission called to discuss the problems in Tremont.
Heinz Mikota has come to tell his cone sex story.
Mary Ann Ludwig, who owns Scoops ice cream parlor on Professor, is in a hurry to get back to preparations for the fast-approaching peak season. But she’s taken time to talk about how the parlor is often empty on prime Saturday afternoons and evenings in summer because people can’t find a place to park for six blocks. She adds that she can’t book kids’ birthdays on Saturday either because of the behavior and foul language of bar patrons.
By the end of the meeting, proposed changes to the code governing patio noise have been tabled until a few amendments can be considered. But Senyak sees progress. The commission seemed to like his idea to increase permit fees for businesses that are more likely to generate police calls, and to use the money to hire a nighttime inspector to deal with noise problems.
“I think they were surprised at the amount of people who turned out,” he says. “I don’t think they thought I could throw a good party. I could have tripled the number of people in the room, but I brought the people with the worst problems.”
Two weeks later, the revisions are taken up at the planning commission’s regular meeting. Among them is a stricter proposal to outlaw patio music between the hours of midnight and 8 a.m. — paring two additional hours off the last meeting’s recommendation. Senyak has brought some of his army back, but this time numerous bar owners, many from bar-saturated West Park, have shown up to fight for their patios.
A representative from the Velvet Dog on West Sixth Street in the Warehouse District says that he’ll be out of business if he has to shut patio music off at midnight or negotiate with neighbors like the owners of the upscale Pinnacle condos just behind him.
Jason Beudert of Panini’s in West Park claims that a Cleveland bar owner has only 30 days a year to make money off his outdoor spaces, a reference to Friday and Saturday nights for about 15 warm-weather weeks. And patios don’t get busy until 11 p.m. He calls the noise restrictions a “major hindrance.”
But the patio restriction is approved, including a provision allowing input from neighbors who live within 1,000 feet — what’s called “conditional use” — to make sure an establishment’s music plans aren’t disruptive to others. Lenaghan and Jones of the Treehouse say they’re glad to work with neighbors.
Senyak is pleased with the new patio regulations, though relief still lingers out of reach. The planning commission now must finalize a draft of code revisions that would go to city council early this summer. While the changes are aimed at diminishing the resident-business conflicts over time, they won’t be in place fast enough to keep the peace in Tremont anytime soon.
As for parking? That battle rages on.
“The parking situation in any urban area that’s regenerating is actually a result of a good thing,” Tremont West’s Catania says. “It means people are moving back into the urban area and people are opening businesses.”
But he and Senyak recognize that tempers will continue to flare if the issue isn’t addressed. So Tremont West is crafting what they hope will be at least a partial solution: a neighborhood-wide valet service to replace restaurants’ individual leased parking lots and current valet services that often clog the narrow streets.
Answering criticism that the valets themselves often park cars on the streets, Senyak is working with Tremont West to negotiate with area schools, churches, and libraries to use their lots at night. Three designated valet stations would serve the area, taking the cars to attended lots. For a few bucks, visitors could drop their cars at any of the stations and pick them up at any of them — the better to browse shops or grab a nightcap after dining. Purchases at area businesses could yield discounted or free parking. Tremont West is studying bids from valet companies and hopes to award the contract by summer.
As always, there is opposition. Jerleen Justice points out that while valet parking might work for the couple who spend $100 or more on dinner at Dante or Fahrenheit, those who drop by for a quick drink at a local watering hole will continue to park on surrounding streets, forgoing the hassle of valet parking. And in Tremont, “quick drinks” have a way of turning into festive hours spent at the bar.
To Catania, no agreement in the world could silence Tremont’s vocal minority.
“Some people like to drive a divisive wedge,” he says. “It gets old. It’s that rich/poor, have/have-not ’60s thinking. When you live an urban lifestyle, you have to have an attitude of accommodation and negotiation.”
Or, as Heinz Mikota puts it: “I just want to get some sleep.”
This article appears in May 11-17, 2011.
Apparently the only solution according to this article is to close down the bars and restaurants, which would have the galleries following suite. Then of course have it revert back to its old crime ridden place with shootings, cars and houses being broken into and people being mugged constantly. Though i agree that some of the actions of people after having a few drinks are disgusting, you cannot deny the fact that tremont is hundred’s of times better than what it use to be even ten years ago. If you want to live in a suburbia-type setting, then move to the suburbs. For my part, i welcome even more restaurants to Tremont. Bring more bars, as long as the have some type of artistic integrity. Last thing i would want to see is a Velvet Dog in Tremont.
I don’t know if it’s as much about rich vs poor as it is about respect — or the lack thereof. The attitude is clearly shown in the actions of some — “Piss on your flowers, piss on you. Eff your traffic cone and eff you too.” I sympathize with those who don’t appreciate being treated this way. I’m sure not all visitors to Tremont are like this, but it only takes a few. The noise issue is one where cooperation and accommodation is definitely needed from all concerned.
I get that people are upset about loud partying, vomit, etc. However, I feel like all the bars, restaurants, etc. make the neighborhood an attractive place to live. Local businesses are thriving and home prices in Tremont are increasing… so really, should we be complaining? Get a grip- you live in a city that is finally starting to behave like a true city. If you don’t like it move to the suburbs.
Mas, we agree with you. TWDC staff and committees are working with the restaurants and bars to solve some of their parking compliance and entertainment zoning matters. We have spent two years coming up with short term and long term solutions. Yes, we can fit in a few more restaurants but we do not have much usable space left. Our storefronts are close to 100% occupied, which is a good thing. We are striving to achieve a balance. I work very closely with Sammy Catania we are a dedicated duo, as Chairperson of the TWDC Economic Development Committee we have moved the ball down the field along way in 18 months. Its going to take another year to see results and the Neighborhood wide Valet program will solve many problems once every operation signs on when their current contracts end.
One thing we have heard throughout the process is Tremont is still a neighborhood, and not to disparage the Warehouse district but I agree with you that type of nightlife would cause mayhem in any neighborhood that has residential properties right next to it.
One small thing the story was somewhat inaccurate about was on April 1st residents from eight different near-west neighborhoods attended the City Planning Commission hearing. Ohio City, Clark-Fulton, Flats, Stockyards, Old Brooklyn, Brooklyn Center, Detroit-Shoreway, and Tremont. Each group discussed the same type of problems. Representatives from the St. Clair – Superior Community were involved too.
Yes, one Tremont business was discussed, but not to discount the troubles their, we heard about dozens of places outside of Tremont and some of the nightmare’s Flats residents endure with noise who lived close to the now defunct Mirage and Dream nightclubs.
We have created proposed new ordinances that will enhance business operations, and try to rectify the quality of life for residents all over Cleveland.
It was my suggestion to allow acoustical performances in any business including Tremont Galleries and Retail. We want our businesses to succeed and thrive. We need to give them the tools to do this. On the same hand we need to be able to ensure the noise doesn’t even effect one person.
There are 18 pages of new legislation for zoning and licensing coming down the pike.
We need are elected leaders to create overlay districts to make exceptions to the rule for neighborhoods like the Central Business (Warehouse District) or Kamm;s Corners. But they need to respect the Cleveland neighborhoods. Most of those large operators do not even live in Cleveland.
Overall the new laws will make it easy for businesses, but clearly define rules and regulations that can be heavily enforced for nuisance operators.
I love Tremont, this is not just about Tremont. When there is a problem in there neighborhoods they call me, elected officials call me. I know how to solve problems.
Trust me the responsible operators in Tremont or any neighborhood do not want some of the operators on Storer, Clark, or even as close West 25th Street. nor do they want the prostitutes and drug dealers seen on every corner of these streets.
respectfully
Henry P. Senyak
I’m surprised to see that there is no mention here of alternative transit options. Tremont is a wonderful place to bike with tons of spots to lock your ride. Also, the 81 bus zips through the neighborhood, connecting to downtown and more for $2.25. The red line is a bit of a hike, but a lovely walk through Lincoln Park will connect you and it’s a great stroll for summergoers. I’m a proud car-free Treemonter, so the parking doesn’t bother me one bit and I find it super easy to come and go! Besides, drinking and driving stinks!
So please, come and enjoy our neighborhood… but leave the cars at home, ESPECIALLY if you’re planning on enjoying a few of the great local drinks!
Part of our long-term solution will be a 250 car public parking area adjacent to Sokolowski’s underneath the areas of the two new innerbelt bridges. This will be secured, we are researching ways to operate a shuttle service into Tremont to stop near then valet zones, this shuttle can even swing west and tie in the business district and Market Square Area of the great Ohio City neighborhood.
This is at least five years out. We have also made the streets of Tremont more pedestrian friendly and for people on bicycles. This is strongly encouraged. We have made sure the City of Cleveland has restored signage and we have a zero tolerance and encourage police enforcement from our Safety Committee in blocking crosswalks, fire hydrants etc. . TWDC secured $600,000 in funding partnering with the City of Cleveland, NOACA, and TLCI and McKnight and Associates for a complete new streetscape along Professor Ave.
We need everyone’s help. Tremont residents contact Tremont West at 216-575-0920 and ask how you can participate in our committees, or attend our affiliated block club groups.
Henry P. Senyak
Granted, currently there is a lot of work being done in an attempt to update old laws, which should be commended. However, the crux of the situation is simply – if the bars and nightclub owners could not or would not obey the old laws – what makes anybody t hink that they will obey new laws?
I don’t think the suggestion that people who don’t like some of these goings-on should just pack up and leave is very helpful or fair. If you had someone move in next to you who pulled some of these stunts and told you “if you don’t like it, move?”, how would you feel?
BTW, it was flats resident Linda Barley who lives in Stonebridge that actually brought the amendment for high yearly fees for especially full nightclubs and increased fees for any location offering live entertainment with a existing zoning variance or the new Conditional Use Permit.
Linda has helped Councilman Cimperman close many trouble spots in the Flats and is the resident advisor on the new Flats Visioning project. Which does not include more nightclubs and is much more family friendly like the new Aquarium.
Many also support Councilman Cimperman’s personal stance of not wanting any entertainment or even speakers on outdoor patio’s (private property) or Temporary Outdoor Rest. Occupancy permits. (Like on West 6th and West 25th on the sidewalks) Councilman Cimperman testified that he does not want more noise complaints. The current laws are unclear but the City of Cleveland Zoning Administrator interprets the needing a variance for such actions.
What is also not covered is last July 2010 Councilman Cimperman sponsered new fines and penalties for loud noise from organizations (businesses). Council passed unanymously.
I have included. If these bad operators start getting these fines and the police start enforcing the laws on the books we should not have to deal with many of these complaints.
WHEREAS, this ordinance constitutes an emergency measure providing for the usual daily operation of a municipal department; now, therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CLEVELAND:
Section 1. That Section 683.99 of the Codified Ordinances of Cleveland, Ohio 1976, as amended by Ordinance No. 1172-07, passed June 9, 2008 is amended, respectively, as follows:
683.99 Penalty
(a) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a fourth degree misdemeanor and, upon a first offense, shall be fined two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00), which fine shall not be suspended, waived or otherwise reduced below that amount, and subject to up to 30 days in jail. In addition, the equipment or device used in the commission of a violation of Section 683.01 or 683.02 is hereby declared to be contraband and shall be seized and disposed of in accordance with RC 2933.43.
(b) Whoever violates any provision of this chapter upon any subsequent offense shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree, and shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500.00), which fine shall not be suspended, waived or otherwise reduced below that amount, and subject to up to 60 days in jail.
(c) An organization that violates any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a fourth degree misdemeanor and, upon a first offense, shall be fined two thousand dollars ($2000.00) under Section 601.99(c), which fine shall not be suspended, waived or otherwise reduced below that amount. In addition, the equipment or device used in the commission of a violation of Section 683.01 or 683.02 is hereby declared to be contraband and shall be seized and disposed of in accordance with RC 2933.43.
(d) An organization that violates any provision of this chapter upon any subsequent offense shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree, and shall be fined three thousand dollars ($3000.00) under Section 601.99(c), which fine shall not be suspended, waived or otherwise reduced below that amount. In addition, the City of Cleveland shall revoke any Music Entertainment permit issued to the organization under Chapter 692. The equipment or device used in the commission of a violation of Section 683.01 or 683.02 is hereby declared to be contraband and shall be seized and disposed of in accordance with RC 2933.43.
(e) Each day upon which a violation occurs or continues shall be a separate offense and punishable as such hereunder.
Henry
How about the business owners all chip in, buy a vacant lot and turn it into a parking lot for the benefit of the neighborhood and themselves? Or buy the lot and donate it to the city for that purpose?
You know, I feel for these residents in Tremont. Currently I am in a similar situation with, believe or not a coffee shop that has a beer license. Not only do we deal with the music, thankfully now only on the weekends (but it used to be weeknights as well) till whenever, but the crowds out side that linger after the place is closed. People don’t realize or care that there are residents in the area that they like to party in. Granted you want to support businesses especially in this economy, but spending money does not grant people the rights to be as loud and as obnoxious as they can possibly be. I’m sure that the people who do this go home to their nice quiet neighborhoods after they’re done. There has got to be a happy medium. Also similar comment as mentioned above, why do you want to be accomodating with parking for people spending hours drinking?
I lived in Tremont for 11 years because it was cetralized and affordable – it was good for me when I was at the beginning of my career, often free-lancing and when I became a graduate student. But Tremont failed to steward me from hand-to-mouth renter into a tax-paying property owner. The focus of TWDC and other Tremont leadership is aimed at businesses and the transient visitors at the sacrifice of residents.
I understand it is a destination neighborhood, and I applaud that the businesses are doing well. However, I have rarely seen a destination neighborhood do such a poor job of ensuring its residents are taken care of. Even in Little Italy, there are designated resident parking spots.
When it became clear that this problem was worsening, I began to ask when resident parking was going to be made available, I did get responses, but they were vague and definitely a blow-off. So I started spending my dollars in neighborhoods that offered parking: Coventry, Cleveland Hts, Lakewood, in part because friends finally decided that the nightmare of parking in Tremont was too much of a hassle. The end game was that I moved to Lakewood, and now totally avoid Tremont. And I know I’m not the only disgruntled alum of the neighborhood.
We were treated poorly, perhaps not intentionally, but the message that I received loud and clear for 11 years was that my choice to live in the neighborhood meant far less to those in charge than the choice of all the transient tourists who come in for one evening. So here is your proof that at least one person left the neighborhood because of parking.
I hope this gets sorted out, but to those still facing these challenges, you have my deepest sympathies. Until you turn a house into a bar, I doubt your voice will be heard.
They are so nice
please plut: www . yessoso . com
this is a person who does not go out at night…if they did, the idea of the #81 bus “zipping” thru the neighborhood would not enter their head…once an hour service? and it ends at 2:00…the red line isn’t much better and much more than “a bit of a hike”…get real, if you want your neighborhood to thrive, decide on what you want!
Any time a neighboorhood grows, it will experiance growning pains and Tremont seems to have it’s fair share, which I would say is a good set of problems to have. Parking, unrully conduct and excessive noise are ALL fair points to seek to address, but the method your choosing is really saying: “DON’T COME TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD” Sorry you can’t have it both ways. . You all worked to attract people to come and it has worked (and it’s helped your property values too), but now you don’t want us, or really only want people that want to sit and have a latte at the Art Gallary?. . . Seems to me that people who like music and a beer or two also are also quite capable of respect laws and they are in neighborhood setting. . hopefully noting it to be a vibrant neighborhood setting too that is as much anchored by the Art Gallaries and coffeeshops as it is the Treehouse, 806, Dantes, South Side, and other places… . .It’s nice that Mr. Senyak has made the suggestion to the City to “allow acoustical performances in any business including Tremont Galleries and Retail,” but the theshold question is who and when was it established that noise needs to be controled by banning “Muciscal Amplification” . .
Certainly the residence of the neighborhoood have every right to expect a fair and respectful level of conduct by those in and visiting the neighborhood, but banning uses of patios and Musicial Amplification is not the right approach. Most cities deal with this in more upfront manner by limiting decibles in some way, with some restrictions on hours for when music can be played outside. This proposed law seeks to “stop” the use of Musical Amplification all together (which means not band can play and no music can be played some people will not go to these places). This it’s not the right approach. The “conditional use” idea is “joke,” vitually every bar and tavern in Tremont will be shown to be outside of the “basic factors” leaving the zoning board absolute and total discretion (a power they should be a bit nervous to even beholding) to award or not award the conditional use, which then empowers it to set whatever abitray limits it wants, many of which no doubt will be “whispered” in its ear from the various community groups pushing this.
This Ordinance is frought with consitututial issues from Free Speech to equal application issues. I think I finally get it. . This is not about revenue, it’s not even about reducing noise of a place or two. . this is a way to tell people please come for a quiet dinner then leave.
I really hope the City Council “rethinks” this entire approach.