Neighbors oppose Hacienda Chivilin expansion; council takes no action pending site improvements

Residents living near the restaurant Hacienda Chivilin urged the Greenfield Common Council to deny a special-use permit to allow the property to serve as a home base for a food truck, citing repeated late-night noise, lighting and trespass concerns. The council heard two residents' testimony and the applicant's response before choosing not to decide on the permit at the Aug. 19 meeting. Tabitha Meyer, who lives three houses from the restaurant, told the council the property's bass noise has repeatedly woken her household. “the bass is so loud that it keeps him up,” she said, describing how the sound travels into nearby homes and how police reports and citizen complaints have followed. Another nearby resident also described traffic in the parking lot, unshoveled snow, bright lights and what he characterized as sketchy activity around the site. Applicant Floralia Tellez Ortiz told the council the restaurant has made landscaping and lighting changes since taking over and apologized for neighborhood disturbances. “we're gonna work hard in a 100% to do our best we can,” she said, and described efforts to remove junk from the lot and trim trees. The applicant said the food truck would use the restaurant kitchen for restocking, and it would not operate parked on the property full time. Council members and staff identified outstanding issues with the site's landscaping plan, site maintenance and noise control. The city forester's review found the landscaping submission was not approvable as presented; councilmembers said the property must show measurable improvements and that noise must be controlled or the restaurant's underlying special use could be at risk. One council member summarized proposed conditions: require an approved landscape plan, installation of a solid fence along the western property line and verification that noise controls keep bass and amplified music within the building before allowing the truck to be parked at the site. The council voted to close the public hearing and did not approve the food-truck base at the meeting; staff said the minutes should reflect the body would not take action that night and that notices and next steps would be communicated to neighbors. The council suggested returning with an approved landscape plan, evidence of completed exterior improvements and a plan to limit noise before granting the new special use or a related amendment.