Quidi Vidi Brewery gets green light for patio, neighbours fearful of noise
Sharon McCann had hoped her home in Quidi Vidi Village would be a quiet place to retire in.
She fears that a new patio addition to the brewery across the street means that won't be possible.
"It's a unique geological area which has any ambient noise bouncing off the rocks," McCann told reporters on Monday evening.
"I can't imagine what that's going to be like on a warm summer night with half the patrons being out on the deck drinking."
McCann said she is not against the brewery, but isn't happy with the "unbridled expansion" in the area that is affecting some people who live there.
And that is something that city hall worked to fix.
At Monday evening's council meeting, Coun. Hope Jamieson offered up an amendment to the proposal that would see the patio shut down at 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday.
But those hours extend to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights.
"I spoke with some residents this afternoon and we discussed the potential for an earlier closure to help mitigate that," Jamieson said.
"To create a compromise, shall we say, between those who live around it and the needs of the brewery itself."
The application to the city states there will be no outdoor speakers to amplify sound.
The city rules say that an outdoor eating establishment, like the Quidi Vidi Brewery, is allowed to operate within 150 metres of a residential zone.
But parking is always a problem in the village.
The city's decision note said that it's improved thanks to 30 formal parking spaces on Cadet Road and an additional 30 spots on the north side of Cuckhold's Cove Road.
Parking problems
Resident Randy Walsh thinks the deck will mean more parking woes.
"They've got 30 employees and there's 30 parking spaces," he said.
"They're not all rubber stamped for the microbrewery. There's other people in the village."
Walsh, who attended a public meeting on the outdoor expansion, isn't happy with city hall who voted unanimously to approve the application.
"We're not impressed with council and its deceitful presentation — traffic has never been addressed down there and it's about time to do it right," he said.
Jamieson, who spoke with Walsh before Monday night's council meeting, understands the residents concerns when it comes to parking.
"Traffic and parking is a perennial concern in the village and the city is taking consistent steps to look at that and see what we can do," she said.
"We're working on new signage to direct people to places they can park around the village that will ease the disruption on residents."
Those signs should be erected in 2020.
As for McCann she hopes silence will fill her golden years.
"This was meant to be a quiet place where we came to spend our retirement years and that sure backfired."
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