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Board suspends penalties, gives Jones bar time to seek CU modification after neighbor complaints
Summary
After neighbors described repeated late-night disturbances at the Jones (620 Jones St.), the Board of Appeals continued a notice-of-violation/penalty matter to the call of the chair, stayed penalties, and directed the operator to pursue conditional-use modifications if it seeks longer outdoor hours.
The Board of Appeals on Oct. 24 put enforcement of outdoor-hours conditions at the Jones restaurant on hold and gave the owner time to pursue a regulatory fix.
Metropole Entertainment Corporation, operator of Jones (620 Jones St.), appealed an enforcement notice citing a conditional-use authorization condition that the restaurantoutdoor activity area close at midnight. Appellant Peter Glichstern said his team relied on planning records that did not show the later-added conditions and that midnight closures would materially damage the business: "Had we reason to believe that we would be required to shut the outdoor area at 12 midnight, we would neither have made the investment nor entered into our lease," he said.
Planning Department staff acknowledged an internal error: Scott Sanchez said the Planning Commission adopted additional conditions at the hearing but staff failed to include them in the published motion for some time. He said the department later amended the motion and that enforcement followed a complaint alleging late-night operation past 12 a.m.
Neighbors across the street described repeated late-night drunken behavior, glass and fights, and interruptions to sleep. "This causes a lot of mayhem between midnight to 3AM," one neighbor testified, asking the board to retain the notice of violation.
Board action: Commissioners discussed options including ordering the operator to pursue a conditional-use amendment, suspending penalties while the operator seeks modification, or upholding the notice. The board voted to continue the matter to the call of the chair, stay penalties during that period, and allow the operator time to seek a conditional-use modification; vote was 3-0.
Next steps: The enforcement matter is continued to the call of the chair; penalties are stayed while the appellant pursues either a conditional-use amendment or other regulatory remedies, which will provide a formal opportunity for neighbor input.
