But at least one resident is concerned about impact of ordinance change
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
While the Coffee House at Chestnut and Pine may be getting mostly positive reviews, a requested change in city ordinances – and a special request for an event – garnered some opposition Tuesday night.
In the end, the City of Burlington Common Council voted unanimously to change City Ordinance 274 to allow for outside consumption of alcohol at restaurants until 10 p.m. The council also voted to allow the Coffee House to close Chestnut Street from Pine to Dodge streets on July 20 for “Coffee House Rock” from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. – pending approval from other affected businesses.
While the request to close the street for 12 hours drew some concern – that was ultimately resolved by approving the motion contingent upon no complaints from the other businesses, which would then send it back to council – the possibility of serving alcohol to those dining outside drew a 10-point ordinance adjustment from City Attorney John Bjelajac.
Those ordinance changes would address concerns that require the business to be a restaurant (defined as deriving 50 percent sales from non-alcoholic beverages and food) to have proper additional licenses, to not allow beverages to be carried off the designated area and to re-applying for permits each year.
“I think, as drafted, this will serve us well,” Bjelajac said.
Not so fast, said Judith Schulz, who lives in the downtown area. For one, she wanted alcohol sales limited to 9 p.m., and also wanted to see if the City Council would consider not allowing outdoor alcohol sales before 1 p.m.
She was concerned about the noise and how it would affect other businesses and residents in apartments in the downtown area.
The council was quick to say the city already has noise ordinances, and any violations will be dealt with there and with the liquor penalty points system as well.
After cracking a joke about a man “getting drunk and throwing his croissant at a car,” Alderman Tom Vos added, “We try it for a year, and if it doesn’t work out, they don’t get their license (renewed).”
Coffee House owner Paul Sullivan also said, “We do understand the responsibility that we have.”
Schulz also worried about the number of people smoking outside on downtown streets, and whether this outdoor drinking change would contribute to that.
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