Bartlett wants sound testing at Bannerman's sports bar before a beer garden
Bartlett village board members are asking the new owner of Bannerman's Sports Grill to conduct sound testing on the building in hopes of reducing the noise from bands playing inside, which has drawn complaints from neighbors.
Trustees on Tuesday asked for the testing to be done before they consider a proposed beer garden behind the establishment at 858 S. Route 59.
"Maybe there's a way he could soundproof the building a little bit better," Village President Kevin Wallace suggested at the board's committee-of-the-whole meeting Tuesday.
Bannerman's owner Said "Mac" Maqsood, who bought the 12-year-old business last fall, has asked to convert a fenced-off outdoor space at the rear of the business into a beer garden with 10 tables and 40 seats. The area previously was used by a neighboring tenant of the Bartlett Commons Shopping Center.
After hearing concerns about noise and the business' proximity to the houses on the west, village plan commissioners last month voted 5-2 to recommend the beer garden if some significant changes were made. These included the elimination of televisions and speakers outside, a cutoff time of 9 p.m. most nights and 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, unless bands were playing inside, and replacement of the current 6-foot-tall wooden fence with an 8-foot-high masonry wall.
Board members Tuesday didn't specifically address those recommendations, agreeing instead that testing the outside decibel levels when bands perform inside is the better starting point.
Terry Pearson was among the neighbors who has expressed skepticism about the business' ability to keep additional noise from disturbing residents - the closest of whom live 175 feet and 185 feet away.
Despite village board members' voicing concerns for residents Tuesday, Pearson on Wednesday said he believes they are delaying approval of the beer garden until neighbors stop showing up before the panel.
Maqsood could not be reached for comment Wednesday.