Residents of a Mission Hill condo complex have asked the city to rezone a noisy bar in the hopes of silencing it.
Brian Bernhardt went to council last week to ask for its help in dealing with the noise issues, which he said has been a problem virtually since the space opened up.
Bernhardt is among several residents of Mission Hill Grande who have complained about the nearby bar, Old Wasted Space. He said any time the bar is open with a live band he feels like they are playing in his living room.
“It was so loud both my wife and I were able to distinguish the songs and sing along,” he said.
Before the latest bar moved in last fall, the bar had been briefly vacant and before that it had been the Taphouse, a similar establishment.
Bernhardt said he and his wife never imagined they would be able to hear the bar when they first moved in and the Taphouse was still operating.
“The first night here, it was like ‘oh my god’ what have I done.”
The condominiums are near a busy road and a school and Bernhardt said he never expected silence, but the noise interferes with his sleep.
“It is being respectful of the fact that it is 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. and people need to sleep.”
Beyond the music, Bernhardt said many of the bar’s patrons make a lot of noise coming and going.
“Anytime you have people and alcohol, you know how the night goes,” he said. “They get fuelled with alcohol and the voices get raised.”
Coun. Cathy Heron said she is not sure rezoning the bar would be a workable solution.
“You can’t have all the bars and restaurants way out in the commercial or industrial areas.
Rezoning the bar to commercial zoning that doesn’t allow bars or restaurants would not close Old Wasted Space, but it would prevent another bar from opening if Old Wasted Space were to close.
Heron said she doesn’t like the notion of dealing with a noise problem through zoning laws.
“I just don’t think you want to piecemeal out potential restaurants or potential business, when we are trying to be business friendly.”
She said the city is monitoring the establishment closely for noise issues and she believes that is the best way to deal with the issue.
“I think the long term solution is just enforcement of our noise bylaw
The Gazette attempted to contact the owner of the bar through email, but did not receive a response.
