Sam Dunn, co-owner of the Barn, Bowl and Bistro (BB&B) in Oak Bluffs, went before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) at a public hearing last Thursday night to ask for more flexibility in the conditions the regional permitting body imposed when it approved the project as a development of regional impact (DRI) in March 2014.
The amendments Mr. Dunn asked for included expanded business hours, later last-call and closing times, fewer restrictions on how often the event room can be used, an increase in the number of people allowed to use the room, and a removal of the ban on live music.
Mr. Dunn asked that the proposed changes to the DRI conditions be made on a temporary basis, until October 2017, at which time the MVC could decide whether or not the changes could be made permanent.
“We’ve learned a lot about our business,” Mr. Dunn said. “We’ve been open almost a year now. Consumer demand was much greater than we expected. Everything we’re asking for has been requested by customers.”
Mr. Dunn requested that the BB&B be allowed to open at 8 am instead of 9 am, and that last-call and closing time, set by the MVC at 10:30 pm, Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30 pm on Friday and Saturday, be set according to town bylaw, last call at 12:30 am, and closing time at 1 am.
BB&B manager Michael Sawyer said the earlier opening time was primarily so groups of children could have access to the facility. “This is almost exclusively for the schools, and YMCA and Boys and Girls Club,” he said.
Mr. Dunn said that the current MVC condition on closing time was hurting business and frustrating customers.
“League bowling has been so popular we have to run two groups a night, which means the people that start at 8 pm can’t get a burger or a beer when they’re done,” he said. “I think we’ve shown it’s not a place of debauchery. We promised safe, family-oriented, affordable, and we have met that. We’re just asking for the same rules that apply to everyone else in town.”
“Two days ago I had a men’s league team get upset with me; they’d just spent $200 and they wanted to have a beer before they left, and they didn’t understand why they couldn’t do that,” Mr. Sawyer said. “It happens all the time.”
Oak Bluffs chairman of selectman Gail Barmakian, speaking on her own behalf, said the later operating hours could place an undue burden on the police, since all the establishments that sell alcohol will be closing at the same time. She also noted that Mr. Dunn would have to go before the board of selectmen for the change in his liquor license.
Responding to an email to The Times on Friday, Chief Erik Blake wrote, “If they were to serve until the same time as the other bars, then yes, it’s very likely that more of our personnel would be needed at their bar closing. I’m not sure if they are seeking to have bowling that late, or just for the bar to remain open and serving. Either way, I envision more complaints and more time dedicated to that area.”
Mr. Dunn also asked for an increase in the capacity in the event room from the MVC-mandated 50 people to the legal limit of 94 people, and to allow the room to be used more than twice a week, which was also a condition of the MVC approval. In asking for the live-music restriction to be lifted, Mr. Dunn pointed out that under the current MVC conditions, there were no restrictions on the volume of recorded music. “If we wanted to, we could play it as loud as we want to, but we don’t want that kind of place,” he said. “We’ve had music on every minute we’ve been open, and I just don’t think it’s been an issue.”
Sound judgement
The major source of contention is noise. The BB&B is built on a commercially zoned (B-1) lot which abuts residentially zoned parcels. Since the BB&B opened last summer, police, and building inspector Mark Barbadoro, have received numerous noise complaints from abutters.
MVC chairman Jim Vercruysse of Aquinnah said that the impact of noise on abutters was the commission’s greatest concern.
Mr. Dunn said that the issue had been addressed at an earlier MVC compliance committee hearing where he presented data that showed BB&B was in compliance using two different acoustic measurements. An acoustic engineer measured the sound coming from the wall that abuts residential lots had a sound transmission class (STC) rating of 62, the condition of the DRI approval. According to the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), at STC 50, loud sounds like musical instruments can be faintly heard, and “99 percent of the population is not annoyed.” Anything over STC 60 is considered superior soundproofing.
Mr. Dunn said the requirement that exterior noise be at or below 10 decibels above ambient noise had also been met.
Mr. Barbadoro said there are vagaries about sound measurements that complicate the situation. “Sound transmission class doesn’t mean there’s no sound coming through,” he said. “That just means it meets a certain transmission standard. There was a gentleman [abutter] complaining; I sat on his porch, and I definitely heard bowling.”
Mr. Dunn then read from a letter from Mr. Barbadoro which stated that the BB&B was “in compliance with the noise threshold condition required by the MVC.”
Mr. Dunn also had a Sept. 28 letter from acoustic consultants Cavanaugh, Tocci Associates. The firm measured sound levels at property lines between the BB&B and abutters after additional sound-dampening measures were added over the summer. The report said the reduction in noise was “significant” and concluded, “Based on our Sept. 24 measurements, the bowling noise was six decibels louder than the continuous background noise.”
“It’s true you can hear it,” Mr. Dunn said. “The question is, ‘Is it within the legal limit?’”
In public comment, abutter resident Byron Barnett strongly opposed the change in conditions, telling commissioners that the establishment had already severely diminished his quality of life. “Our property is directly behind the balls dropping and pins crashing, and we hear them from the minute the bowling alley opens to the time it closes, every day,” he said. “We can already hear the music from the bowling alley late at night. Inside our home and out. More people, longer hours, means more noise. If you’re going to do a trial period, let’s at least have better soundproofing. That’s the major issue here.”
Mr. Barnett also said the HVAC fans on the roof of the building that were pointed at his house were out of compliance with the approved DRI.
Peggy Barmore, owner of a condo at 10 Hiawatha, also an abutting lot, said the BB&B “has grossly underestimated the impact it has on the neighborhood. I can be sitting in my living room and I can hear bowling balls from the time they open in the morning to the time they close at night,” she said.
Ms. Barmore asked that BB&B install a sound-deadening fence between their properties. She added that traffic and parking had also become problematic in the neighborhood.
Oak Bluffs park commissioner Amy Billings, speaking on her own behalf, opposed the expanded hours of operation, and expressed concern that the increased car traffic posed a safety risk to the children who will be going to the newly renovated Niantic Park, which was closed last summer.
After lengthy discussion and deliberation, the commission decided to continue the public hearing on Thursday, May 19.
