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Planning commissioners order enclosure of Trigger’s front smoking patio after repeated noise violations
Summary
After neighborhood testimony and repeated failed sound checks, the Planning Commission unanimously approved staff’s request to require Trigger (2342–2348 Market St.) to enclose or remove its front smoking patio and pursue a code‑compliant relocation, with enforcement and building/fire review for any new smoking area.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved staff’s recommendation on Dec. 9 to require Trigger (2342–2348 Market St.) to enclose or remove its front smoking patio, after planning enforcement and the Entertainment Commission documented ongoing noise and vibration problems.
Planning staff told the commission that repeated sound tests and numerous neighborhood complaints showed noise and vibration emanating from the venue and its sidewalk‑facing patio; the department recommended eliminating or enclosing the front smoking area to abate the nuisance. "The noise from people using this outdoor smoking patio has continued to exceed permissible levels according to the Entertainment Commission sound technicians' reports," staff said.
Trigger’s representative, Jeremy Paul, said the operator will close the front patio immediately and explore moving smokers into a fully enclosed, acoustically treated room inside the property, but acknowledged that a larger enclosed space could require a separate conditional‑use authorization because it would increase the facility’s square footage. "We are agreeing to close off the smoking patio starting today so there will no longer be an opening to the street," he told the commission.
Neighbors and neighborhood associations described a long history of failed mitigation and repeated enforcement visits. Pat Tura and others from the DuBose Triangle Neighborhood Association emphasized ongoing disturbance and lack of reliable complaint response: "People have called repeatedly and people have basically given up and people are fed up," Tura said.
Commissioners stressed that any future plan to relocate smoking areas must meet building, fire and public‑health requirements and be reviewed for sound mitigation. The motion to require enclosure or elimination of the front patio and to leave any new smoking‑area proposal for a future conditional use application passed unanimously.
Provenance: Topic initiated at staff presentation (SEG 4323) and concluded with unanimous vote (SEG 5006).
