By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
HOWARD – Despite concerns about noise voiced Monday, Jan. 21, by nearby residents, Howard’s Plan Commission is recommending the village board approve a conditional use permit for the construction of an outdoor patio, bar and dining area.
The construction will be at 2840 Shawano Ave., where Legends is closing this month and will become the Narrow Bridge Brewhouse with a change in ownership.
Director of Community Development Dave Wiese said the permit is required because sales or service would be taking place outside of an existing building.
Wiese noted the proposed addition would be placed on the north side, where the front entrance is located on the existing building, and face the parking lot.
The 2.94-acre property that shares some entry ways with Community First Credit Union is zoned B-1 Business, but is also located near residential homes.
The plans for the incoming business call for having music while using the patio for serving lunch and dinner during the warm weather months.
It was the music that generated the most discussion during the public hearing.
“Normally this is a big issue with neighbors and everything else like that,” said Village President Burt McIntyre. “It generally can be accommodated, but there has to be some detail… We’re going to need some detail on how exactly it’s going to be set up.”
Scott Vann, who owns the Plank Road Pub & Grill in De Pere, is also planning to remodel the Legends site before taking it over as the Narrow Bridge Brewhouse.
He said the existing building would be used as a barrier between the new construction and the majority of residents in the area.
On the side where the addition would be located, Vann said a couple of glass garage doors could be lowered in the evening “to cover any type of noise that’s coming from outside of that building as well.”
Based on his experience operating the Plank Road Pub & Grill in De Pere, where he only received one complaint about noise, Vann said he learned how to reduce the sound level with the placement of speakers.
“Everybody who comes in by us here in our other location plugs into our (sound) system, which is our speakers that are mounted and pointed in the right direction,” he said.
Vann said any live bands must connect to the sound system on the premises, so that the volume is under the control at all times by the sound technician with the business.
“We rarely exceed that 80 decibels where we’re at right now, even with some of those larger bands,” he said. “As a matter of fact, the housing behind us, if you go there, if you can hear anything at all, you can still hear the highway noise over the top of it.”
Vann said smaller speakers would surround the patio area and be pointed in to get a fuller, complete sound without the large volume.
“The more speakers you have surrounding that area, the less issues that you actually do have,” he said.
Vann said the latest live music has performed at the business in De Pere is around 9:30 p.m., which is a half hour before the noise ordinance would take effect there.
“It’s not necessarily because we’re worried about any kind of issues (with the noise ordinance),” he said. “I think it’s just out of courtesy, and then, your normal business that you have at those times, it’s just not that strong at that late at night for live music outside.”
Several residents living near the current Legends spoke during the public hearing and expressed their objections to the expansion plans for the site to become the Narrow Bridge.
For instance, Don Popelka said he would expect more noise and more people there with the expansion.
“Which one of you wants to live right next door to this place with what’s going to be going on?” Popelka asked the commission. “Who wants to buy my house?”
Popelka said he expects to have “louder neighbors” along with his property value “probably going to take a dump.”
Other neighbors expressed similar concerns, noting there has been a problem with trash and beer bottles left outside, along with noise early in the morning from delivery trucks and the sound of a dumpster being slammed on the ground.
Dan Van Lanen, a lieutenant with the Hobart/Lawrence Police Department, said his agency has worked with Vann at Plank Road for the last five years, and the issues there have been “very minimal” with one complaint related to noise taken care of right away.
“He’s been excellent to deal with,” Van Lanen said.
McIntyre, who expressed doubts about property values going down with the expansion, said he expects the patio would upgrade the area.
“The reality is that’s going to be a restaurant, whether they do something with it, or somebody else buys it,” he said.
However, McIntyre said he was “still a little leery of the music” and asked Vann to work with the neighbors on that.
Though Wiese noted the permit conditions could include limiting the hours and number of events in which outdoor music would be allowed, the commission decided not to do that and instead suggested Narrow Bridge self-impose its own hours for music and work with the neighbors.
The village board will consider the permit for final approval at its Jan. 28 meeting.