Would a beer garden at Bannerman's be OK for its Bartlett neighbors?
Bartlett's village board tonight will discuss potential restrictions for a proposed outdoor seating area behind Bannerman's Sports Grill that's drawn complaints from some of the business' neighbors.
Among the tweaks recommended by the village's plan commission are a reduction of the seating area's hours of operation, a ban on televisions and speakers, and replacement of a 6-foot-tall wooden fence with an 8-foot-high masonry wall. With those restrictions, the plan commission supported the proposal by a 5-2 vote.
Bannerman's has occupied a 12,573-foot space in the Bartlett Commons Shopping Center on the northwest corner of Stearns Road and Route 59 since 2007, but was bought by Said "Mac" Maqsood last fall.
Maqsood said converting the fenced-off area behind the center was not planned when he bought the bar. But he later came to see its potential as a beer garden that could accommodate 10 tables and 40 seats.
Concerns about the garden's proposed late hours and proximity to homes were discussed by the village board at a committee-of-the-whole meeting in May and raised again by neighbors during the plan commission's public hearing in June.
The garden's hours originally were pitched to mirror those of the business - closing at 11 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, midnight Wednesday, 12:30 a.m. Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
But with neighbors' concerns about noise, the plan commission recommended closing the outdoor area at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and on weekends when a band is playing inside. The outdoor seating could remain open until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday when a band is not performing, under the recommendation.
Neighbor Terry Pearson said he is unconvinced the recommended measures would adequately dampen the noise unless the masonry walls were even higher or included more sound-muffling material.
"I'm pretty sure the people don't want it - period," Pearson said. "I'm all for having a good time, but if you had a family you wouldn't want it here.
"That's what I'm asking people - put yourselves in our place."
The village staff measured distances to four homes with no other structures between them and the outdoor area at 175 feet, 185 feet, 240 feet and 325 feet. Pearson said his house is four doors away.
Maqsood said Monday that he'll decide whether to move ahead with plans after hearing what the village board recommends tonight. The plan commission's recommendations to eliminate speakers and televisions changes the concept of the beer garden he originally had in mind, Maqsood said, while construction of masonry walls is also beyond that plan.
Today's meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at village hall, 228 S. Main St.