Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Broad Street Cafe gets its permit, gets to keep the rock
From Correspondent Rebekah Cowell, cross-posted from the Indy's Scan blog:
In a packed Durham City Hall Committee Room early this morning, the Durham County Board of Adjustment voted unanimously in favor of issuing a special-use permit to The Broad Street Cafe.
For the past four years, Broad Street has operated as a nightclub in a district that is zoned so that such a special-use permit is necessary to host music after 10 p.m. Less than one year after the first noise complaint was filed by Clarendon Street neighbor Waldo Fenner, who was not present at this morning’s hearing, Broad Street officially received the green light on amping up their regional music bookings in a space that musicians and business owners says is vital to Durham’s art scene.
“Broad Street Cafe is important for more than just music,” says Melissa Thomas, founder of the Durham-based indie label 307 Knox Records. “It provides a great venue space for music, festivals and family events, as well as a place to eat for locals and visitors. This hearing just showed us today how much we all have built in Durham over the past five-plus years.”
Paul Brock, one of four Broad Street owners, says he’s relieved to finally get the permit. “I was very impressed with the board. They were gracious to us, and they asked very smart questions and got a feel for what we are doing,” explains Brock.
“The applicants came back to the board with evidence for the record addressing certain issues the board had questions about,” says Michael Stock, Durham City-County Planning Department’s senior planner. The evidence presented to the board indicated Broad Street’s continued commitment to ironing out the details surrounding concerns over noise and parking.
This special-use permit allows Broad Street to operate as a nightclub, but it doesn’t allow for adult entertainment, something Stock says people often confuse. Broad Street’s special-use permit, which outlines that distinction, will be finalized at the next Durham County Board of Adjustment meeting.
“Years down the road the ownership could change,” says Stock, “and the board’s conditions for the allowing the permit will take into account those kinds of issues so that whoever operates a nightclub at that venue will follow the specific permit conditions.”
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I forgot to add that, as smoking is no longer allowed indoors, bar patrons who choose to smoke will loiter outside of the establishment at all hours, not only smoking but talking loudly and disturbing nearby residents.
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I feel so sorry for Mr. Fenner. I was in a similar situation once, living near a tavern that was grandfathered into a residential area. Those who have not had that experience do not know how bad it is. Music carries a long way when you are trying to sleep at night, and there is no such thing as quiet when people have been drinking. Sometimes they would hang around for more than an hour after closing, yelling abuses at me and my family who were just trying to live our lives in peace. The police were not sympathetic to our complaints, both because they were friendly with the tavern staff and because the town was getting lots of tax money from liquor sales. I would advise Mr. Fenner to do what I finally did: buy a digital camera that captures movement and sound, make some movies of those disturbing the peace, and threaten to post the videos on the Internet to let everyone know what sort of behavior is routinely tolerated by city government. Then the authorities may listen to you, as they did to me. In my case, it was too little, too late, because I had already been driven out of my home, which I sold at a loss, since its proximity to the tavern was of great concern to most prospective buyers. If Mr. Schelp and others who have been quoted in the press like the late night music and drinking so much, let them have it in their own backyard.
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