Board of Adjustment approves extended hours and limited outdoor music for Mount Rose lodge

The Washoe County Board of Adjustment on March 6 approved amended conditions for an administrative permit at the Lodge (Burkhart Management Group LLC) on Mount Rose Highway, allowing longer seasonal hours and limited outdoor live music while prohibiting amplified sound.

The change updates a 2018 administrative permit for a wine/coffee bar. Under the new approval, the establishment may open Tuesday–Sunday, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. during May–October and Tuesday–Sunday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. during November–April; the facility will be closed Mondays. Staff and neighbors said the request also includes outdoor music on the lower patio May–November, Tuesdays–Sundays, 4–8 p.m., limited to small ensembles.

County planner Julie Olando told the board that staff recommended approval but imposed conditions after previous code-enforcement issues. "Most of noise is enforced by the sheriff's office," Olando said, describing Washoe County's noise code as limited and better suited to long-running industrial sources.

Neighbors who testified said past amplified music had been audible on adjacent properties. Karen Mullen, representing nine nearby property owners, said she submitted a video of music heard from her lot and urged denial if amplification were allowed. "We are not opposed to it being non amplified; we're opposed to it being amplified," Mullen said.

Several nearby residents and regular customers supported the amendment as appropriate for a neighborhood commercial use. Robert Berardi, a retired law-enforcement officer who spoke in favor, urged care in crafting conditions to avoid constitutional problems with categorical musical-genre bans. He warned against a condition that banned "rock music," calling it an overbroad restriction on expression.

Board members and county counsel agreed to remove a genre-specific ban and focus the conditions on amplification and group size. "I'm okay with approving it with no amplification, no more than trio groups," Board Member Don Christensen said during deliberations.

The board approved the amendment with conditions in Exhibit A and a modification to remove the rock-music language; the motion was made by Board Member Peter Gishon and seconded by Rob Pierce. The vote was recorded as unanimous among members present (Pierce, Christensen, Gishon, Kathy Julian); Leo Hirschni was absent.

The conditions require no amplification of outdoor music, limit performers to small ensembles (no more than three musicians) on the outdoor patio, and retain other operational conditions from the original permit. Staff noted three prior code-enforcement notices related to music at the site when recommending specific conditions.

The approval does not change the underlying special-use classification; it amends hours and the authorized outdoor activity. The board and staff emphasized enforcement would remain largely complaint-driven, with the sheriff's office and code enforcement available to respond to alleged violations.

Votes at a glance: amendment of conditions, WAC25-1 (Burkhart Management Group LLC) — motion to approve with Exhibit A and revised Condition J5 (strike genre ban), moved by Peter Gishon, second Rob Pierce; outcome: approved (unanimous among members present).

The board closed the matter after voting and moved to the next agenda item.