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Burnville planning board approves Bistro 73 site plan, ties parking variance to restaurant
Summary
The Borough of Burnville Planning Board approved Bistro 73’s request to convert the first floor at 69 Minebrook Road into a 40-seat event space while keeping a 90-seat cap across adjoining lots, and attached conditions requiring the venue to remain tied to the adjacent restaurant, recording restrictions with the county clerk.
The Borough of Burnville Planning Board voted to approve Bistro 73 LLC’s preliminary and final site plan for 69 Minebrook Road and a parking variance that applies the restaurant’s existing Lot 8 relief to the adjacent Lot 9. The approval, moved and seconded after public comment and professional review, included conditions limiting the new event room to 40 seats and preserving a 90-seat cap across both properties, plus requirements to record key restrictions in the county clerk’s office.
Why it matters: Board members and the planning consultant said the relief will not increase the total number of seats offered to patrons but reassigns where seats may be located across the two properties. Neighbors raised noise and off-site parking concerns; the board made those enforcement obligations explicit in the approval, and counsel agreed to resolution language tying the variance to the restaurant and kitchen operations.
Applicant testimony and board concerns: Efren Bresha, who identified himself as a majority owner of Bistro 73 and the landlord for the subject property, said the restaurant currently operates with two dining rooms and seasonal outdoor seating for a total of 90 permitted seats and that the new space would be limited to 40 seats. "It is a BYOB," Bresha said, describing the restaurant as a sit-down operation with an Italian-influenced menu; he added, "My kitchen couldn’t handle anymore anyway," explaining that kitchen and staffing capacity inform the seat limits.
Board members asked how staff would move food from the kitchen on Lot 8 to the event room on Lot 9, where patrons and employees would park, and how trash and loading would be handled. Bresha testified that staff would use the patio and a new opening between the properties to transport food and that waste would be taken to the dumpsters behind 73 twice weekly. The planner told the board the conversion reduces the site’s prior martial-arts-related parking demand and recommended tying the parking relief to the restaurant’s use so a future owner could not separate the event venue from the kitchen without returning to the board.
Neighborhood concerns and noise: During the public comment period neighbors said they had experienced loud music and DJs at events in the atrium/patio. Charles Hoitzman told the board, "I would like to express my concern about noise… live music does occur. Also, DJs, and it is very loud at times." Board members noted enforcement options under the state administrative code and local noise ordinances and said prior noise- and safety-related conditions would remain in force.
Conditions and outcome: The board’s approval included the following conditions: maintain the aggregate 90-seat cap across Lots 8 and 9; limit the new room to 40 seats; continue to follow prior resolution conditions (fire, safety, noise); include a condition about trash removal and loading; and record the resolution language and any deed restriction or restrictive covenant in the county clerk’s office so future purchasers are on notice. The application was approved on a roll-call vote.
What’s next: The board directed staff and counsel to prepare resolution language that memorializes the agreed conditions and the recording requirement. The board then moved into executive session on separate litigation matters and indicated no further public action on this application would occur that evening.
