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Planning Commission Recommends Approval for Bridgeport Plaza Live Entertainment and Markets; Neighbor Urges Noise Limits
Summary
The commission voted 7-0 to recommend approval of CUP 2024-024 to allow live entertainment, flea markets and farmers markets at the Bridgeport development, with outdoor music limited to 10 p.m.; a nearby resident asked the commission to include a decibel limit.
The Suffolk City Planning Commission voted 7-0 at its January meeting to recommend approval of conditional use permit CUP 2024-024 for the Bridgeport mixed‑use development, allowing indoor live entertainment after 10 p.m. and indoor/outdoor flea and farmers markets subject to conditions in the staff report.
Staff planner Shannon Wolf told the commission the CUP would formalize existing special-event activities at Bridgeport Plaza and several adjacent businesses and bring them into compliance with the Unified Development Ordinance (sections 31-306 and 31-406) without requiring repeated special-event permits. The application covers the Bridgeport Plaza outdoor stage, Knott’s Coffee, The Silos and West Side Burgers, and a market area along Bridge Road. Hours proposed in the packet include outdoor activities ending at 10 p.m. and indoor operations that, for some businesses, may extend later.
Chandler Cutright, who identified himself as a resident of Suffolk, spoke in favor of the request, saying Bridgeport’s events were intended to “create a dynamic community for all Suffolk residents and visitors” and that recent concert series had ended promptly at 10 p.m. Charles Parkinson, a nearby resident, opposed extending hours and asked the commission to impose a decibel limit so outdoor music would not regularly disturb homes. Parkinson said he lives about 100 feet from the site and that late-night drums have rattled his windows; he told the commission, “I’m over 80, and I go to bed a little bit earlier.”
In rebuttal, the applicant’s representative reiterated that the packet specifies outdoor events will not go past 10 p.m. and that Bridgeport has sought to be respectful of nearby residents. Commissioners asked staff to confirm enforcement procedures; staff said noise enforcement is complaint-driven and that city inspectors will investigate potential violations of the city’s noise ordinance.
A commissioner moved to recommend approval with the 20 conditions in the staff report; the motion passed on a 7-0 vote. The commission’s recommended approval will be transmitted to City Council; staff said the council will consider the item on Feb. 19.
