Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Restaurant Noise Hours topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Neighbors, commissioners debate reopening terms for riverside restaurant; staff recommends conservative initial hours
Summary
Commissioners debated a conditional‑use preview for a riverside restaurant reopening (former Max Barge) that would include extended hours, outdoor dining and live entertainment; neighbors raised noise concerns and staff recommended narrower outdoor hours and a two‑year review to demonstrate coexistence with the neighborhood.
A widely discussed conditional‑use preview at the Aug. 14 planning meeting focused on the proposed reopening of a riverside restaurant (former Max Barge, 4300 Cali Ave.) with extended hours, live entertainment and alcohol sales. Staff described neighborhood opposition centered on noise from the outdoor deck across the water and suggested conditions to limit late‑night outdoor activity.
Staff said the applicant proposes operating hours of 6:30 a.m.'2:00 with entertainment options in some plans, and staff noted prior operations had been permitted with later hours. Commissioners and staff described a history of noise concerns when garage doors were rolled up and guests were on the deck. "We are thinking closing at midnight for the first two years," a staff member said, adding that they would consider requiring doors and garage doors to remain closed during outdoor entertainment and setting an earlier cutoff for amplified outdoor sound.
Commissioners discussed applying neighborhood protection standards (which default to a 9 p.m. cutoff for outdoor dining within 150 feet of residential uses) by analogy because the deck's sound echoes across the river to residential areas. Several commissioners supported allowing some later weekend hours if strictly conditioned; others favored a conservative initial limit to give the new operator time to demonstrate effective noise mitigation.
The conversation also covered similar nearby operations and prior special exceptions: staff said the previous Max Barge special exception limited outdoor use to 11 p.m. Sunday'Thursday and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, while some other nearby operations had required doors closed by 9 p.m. under their conditions. Staff told commissioners that the applicant had not included some promised mitigation details in the application packet and that civic leagues and several residents had expressed concerns.
Next steps: staff will include suggested conditions in the formal public hearing packet (recommended shorter outdoor hours, door‑closing during entertainment and a two‑year sunset/review for late‑night privileges) and will return for the public hearing with recommended conditions.
