Wile Calls for Review of San Pablo Ave. Beer Pub Application
City Councilwoman Joanne Wile said Tuesday night that she would like the council to discuss a beer pub application for 745 San Pablo Ave, which was approved last week by the planning commission.
Detail: 2012-1-10 P&Z SR 745 San Pablo Beer Pub CUP
City of Albany
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A beer pub application planning commissioners approved last week, which they said they hoped would help revitalize San Pablo Avenue, will be appealed by Councilwoman Joanne Wile following concerns expressed by neighbors about safety, noise, parking and trash.
Wile announced her intention to appeal the application during Tuesday night's council meeting after six neighbors said, during public comment, that they were worried about smoking, noise, parking, safety and garbage problems that could result from the business opening.
(About 20 neighbors from a nearby condominium complex, Villa De Albany, turned in a petition to the city in October citing these concerns. Several of the people who spoke Tuesday said they live in the complex.)
Neighbors asked the city to put more restrictions on the pub and limit its operating hours.
"There's a lot of children living in our complex," said Orwin Juntanamalaga. "We don't want people standing in front of our complex smoking. They're going to be parking in front of our complex. They're going to be stumbling home drunk and that's going to be kind of scary for our children."
Another neighbor, Jordan Sampietro, said parking is already difficult in the area, and asked for the council to enforce the police-recommended closing time of 10 p.m. nightly for the pub.
(Currently, the pub is set to close at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and at 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. These hours will be the same as the next door hamburger restaurant. Commissioners were clear last week that the business should close promptly, rather than serving food or drinks all the way through to closing time.)
Shannon Dillon asked what would be done about "the noise and the smoke from all their cigarette butts."
"I can't have that right down from my building," she said. "I'd like to see some more conditions on the permit that was granted."
Another neighbor, Roger Oberholzer, said it's time for the city to put an end to new eateries and bars in Albany altogether.
"The concern I have is that the amount of restaurants and drinking establishments we already have is fine as it is," he said. "If we allow another beer drinking establishment to open up, the city needs to be able to make sure the other city residents are safe and that the city remains clean."
After the public comment session, Community Development Director Jeff Bond explained the process for an appeal, which must take place within 14 days of the decision being questioned.
There's a $550 fee, unless a council member takes up the cause on his or her own. (Each council member is allocated one free appeal each year.)
Following Bond's explanation, and some gasps from people in the room in response to the cost of the appeal, Councilwoman Wile said she planned to appeal the decision.
Her announcement was met with cheers from several people in the back of the room.
WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
The beer pub application, for 745 San Pablo Ave., would be run in conjunction with a grass-fed burger restaurant set to open next door to it, owners said last week before the Planning & Zoning Commission. (Owners said they hoped both businesses would open later this year.)
The pub does not yet have a name.
According to last week's Planning Commission staff report, which is attached to this story as a PDF, the property is a 7,500-square-foot lot that includes three commercial spaces. The pub would be built in the middle space, measuring 1,834 square feet, and would have an interior doorway connecting it to a gourmet hamburger restaurant next door, at 747 San Pablo.
The pub, which would include seating and has a capacity of 50 people, would offer beer on tap for on-site consumption, as well as bottled beer to go.
From the staff report: "According to the applicant, the beer establishment is loosely modeled on 'Beer Revolution' located at Jack London Square in Oakland."
The pub first came before planning commissioners in October.
A "SOLANO CELLARS" FOR BEER
In October, one of the partners in the pub, Saed Toloui, said he saw it as a place to educate people about a variety of beers.
It would be a "specialty store," he said, similar to Solano Cellars in terms of its goals of education and appreciation. It would carry 150-200 types of beers, and have a refrigerator where people could select bottles to take home.
The pub would have taps that rotated weekly or biweekly, and offer simple food and snacks such as cheeses and cold cuts.
"The focus of the whole business is about tasting and understanding beer," Toloui said, "consuming it and enjoying it. It's completely different from the businesses and bars around it."
Neighbors said at the October meeting that they were worried about the same issues that came up Tuesday: parking, noise, disorderly conduct and smoking chief among them.
ON PARKING
In October, commissioners asked city staff to assess the availability of parking on San Pablo and neighborhood streets by the proposed pub on a typical weekend night.
Last week, city planner Anne Hersch said she surveyed the area, within a 500-foot radius, and found that about 70 percent of nearby parking spaces were full at both 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on a Friday night.
Planners said they found that to be sufficient to approve a nine-spot parking exception for the pub, which, according to the planning application, used to be a grocery store. (It has, however, sat vacant for a number of years.)
ON CLEANLINESS
According to last week's staff report, the pub owner, Faramarz Pakzad of Berkeley, met with the president of the homeowner's association for Villa De Albany to address concerns.
Pakzad reported that he employs someone who cleans the interior and exterior of the business twice a week. To address security and noise issues, he has offered to hire security at the front door if the "business is successful and has substantial foot traffic."
VIBRANT... OR OVERLY BOISTEROUS?
Planning commissioners said last week and in October that this type of business is exactly the type that could improve Albany's atmosphere.
"This is the vitality," said Planning Commissioner David Arkin in October. "Taverns, along with restaurants and bookstores are the sort of walkable environment that a vibrant district tends to have."
Commissioner Stacy Eisenmann said that filling empty storefronts would be an improvement on San Pablo Avenue.
"Here's a business that wants to try to fill a space that's empty," she said. "It's good for Albany to fill that space. That pulls people into the community."
Commissioner Leo Panian said it would come down to what residents would like Albany to look like in the future, but acknowledged the neighborhood concerns.
"Do you want a place that's filled with nail and hair shops, or the alternatives: restaurants, bar types, dispensaries," he said. "San Pablo is a tough space to be a family, and a tough space to be a business.... We try to make tough compromises."
Panian said he saw the pub as "maybe not a family kind of place, but an alternative to driving to Pyramid" brewery in Berkeley. "The closest thing (in Albany) is The Pub on Solano... It's less formal and it doesn't impress you as the kind of place The Mallard is. It's associated with food, food culture and pedestrian traffic."
Last week, commissioners approved a one-year review of the business to address any concerns and assess how it was working in the neighborhood.
"Call it 'vibrant' or 'overly boisterous,' depending on your opinion," said Panian last week. "We'll make sure to have a review period to discuss the real impacts."
Members of the public can write to the City Council directly at cityhall@albanyca.org, addressing it to "City Council" in the subject line, or Community Development Director Jeff Bond at com-dev@albanyca.org.
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If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at albany@patch.com.
In This article
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The Pub
1492 Solano Ave, Albany, CA -
Club Mallard
752 San Pablo Ave, Albany, CA
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Solano Cellars
1580 Solano Ave, Albany, CA
Skip Moore
8:13 am on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I suppose City Councilwoman Joanne Wile and those neighbors complaining about the prospect of introducing a vital business would like to see these storefronts vacant, letting their preconceived notions to affect their concept of reality. A similar small brew-pub opened next to the Cerrito Theater last year and there are no problems associated with its operations.
I sympathize with those Commissioners that consider vitality on the major commercially zoned arterial through Albany desirable. If these condominium dwellers are concerned about such activity, why on earth did they decide to live on San Pablo Avenue?
I wish Mr. Saed Toloui and Mr. Faramarz Pakzad success in Albany's ever increasing void of vital businesses (and jobs).
Karen McKeown
8:42 am on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
When those folks moved into/near a building with 3 commercial storefronts, what, exactly, did they think they were getting? San Pablo is a commercial street. To think that you can move/live there and not suffer any of the inconvenience of the environs is naive. I live across the street from the BART tracks and on the corner of a very busy thoroughfare. It has not occurred to me to petition Ms. Wile to make BART go away or divert traffic because it's dangerous to my children.
Dawn
8:56 am on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
If Albany is going to allow developers to build mix used buildings, how are we then going to allow neighbors (who chose to move onto a major road) to stop businesses from actually moving into the spaces? Yes, there are parking issues; this is an urban area!! When you chose to live in an urban area, you get parking problems, people hanging out on sidewalks, and noise. Do we really need another nail salon?
Dan Lieberman
10:25 am on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Let the record show that I would definitely frequent such an establishment!
Tracy Arrowsmith
7:56 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Me too!
Howard McNenny
11:16 am on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I support this application wholeheartedly, and I agree that it is ridiculous and selfish for the neighbors to object to such a use next door. Many of us would welcome such an establishment in Albany. And I am very disappointed in Councilman Wile's action. If she does not think there should be bars on San Pablo, she should try to get the zoning ordinance changed. Just another example of how anti-business this council has become.
Amy Smolens
11:34 am on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Maybe the neighbors should check out Pyramid or Elevation 33 to see the atmosphere there - they are not "stumbling home drunk" places, nor would this be.
Kenneth Wan
11:47 am on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I'd love to see both the pub and burger restaurant move in. Like others have said, who moves into a place on San Pablo Ave expecting it to be quiet?
Ehren
12:51 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I agree entirely with what has been said above – this would be a well suited development for a commercially zoned street in need of revitalization.
Paul D
12:53 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I'll take an IPA, burger medium rare with grilled onions and a big plate of fries on the side.
Brian Parsley
1:16 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I to was disappointed in Council member Wile's decision to grant a automatic appeal. Council member Wile was on the City's Economic Work Group and has always been pro small business but that has apparently changed.
I think a bottle shop,tap room and grass fed burger place would be an interesting new addition to Albany and I was really looking forward to it. I think if you look at the popularity of other such establishments like City Beer Store in San Francisco, Beer Revolution in Oakland, and the new ØL Beercafe & Bottle Shop in Walnut Creek you will see there are very few, if any, problems associated with these.
I am planning on starting a petition in support of the Albany Bottle Shop and Burger restaurant but in the mean time you can show your support by contacting the City Council directly at cityhall@albanyca.org addressing it to city council in the subject line or Community Development Director Jeff Bond at com-dev@albanyca.org.
Emilie Raguso
3:30 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Thanks for sharing the contact info, Brian. I will add that into the story.
Michael Cabanatuan
2:10 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I don't have a problem with Councilwoman Wile's appeal. Some neighbors have raised complaints, and it's fair to consider them as part of the process. But the council should reject the appeal, and give the pub a fair chance. San Pablo is a commercial corridor, and it would be nice to have something other than empty storefronts and auto-oriented businesses. I live less than a block away, and I'm not particularly concerned about the parking or the noise. The conditions put on the business seem reasonable, maybe even a bit overly restrictive. Instead of shooting everything down out of fear, we should insist on reasonable restrictions and give businesses a chance to thrive. If the burgers and beer are worthy, I plan on giving this place plenty of business, even if I'm no longer able to park right in front of my house.
C Hopkins
2:40 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I am disappointed to have this application appealed. It is unjustified.
I live a few blocks away from the proposed pub location (I can see it form my window). I was excited when I heard that these businesses were looking to join the community. One of the reasons I bought a house in here was the access to neighborhood, local businesses. A pub that intends to open with an adjoining organic burger restaurant and serve over 150 different beers sounds like a place I would go with my family for dinner.
I find complaints by folks living in nearby condo complex to be unreasonable. It is hard for me to understand how a person who chooses to live on busy thoroughfare (San Pablo Ave), in a commercial zone between Sizzler, Taco Bell, a gas station/mini-mart, and the Mallard is concerned about their children's safety, parking congestion, and an increase in noise and smoke. It just not a supportable position to argue from.
These 2 commercial spaces are very nice and have remained empty for years. Let's give these guys a chance to bring something new to our community with a pub and organic burger restaurant. I think the risk of problems is very low. Our community is bettered by the business folks and entrepreneurs that take a chance on our community with these types of businesses. Let's support them and avoid the chain stores and nail salons that add little to our community culture.
Amy Smolens
2:52 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Neighbors who support the business, such as C. Hopkins, need to make their positions known directly to Council via the avenues that Brian described a few messages ago. Often the people who show up at meetings are those who object to a particular proposal or plan. People don't tend to take the time to attend a public meeting to say "great idea" so writing a brief letter will make your opinions known by Council and City Staff.
Emilie Raguso
5:20 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Just wanted to add a little bit of nuance, which wasn't clear to me in the meeting. I just spoke with Community Development Director Jeff Bond and he explained to me a bit more about this process. A council member can call for review an issue like this, just to bring it to the council's attention and allow for additional discussion. Though it has a similar outcome, in terms of getting the item before the council, Wile herself is not filing paperwork and appealing the planning decision. Bond said it doesn't necessarily mean she would even vote one particular way about the issue.
I felt like I understood the process better after speaking with him, and just wanted to share that. I believe the councilwoman said something like "I'll appeal it" (not at all a direct quote) after Bond explained the process last night -- but it seems that it's not technically an "appeal" per se.
Brian Parsley
5:47 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
I have a issue that all this occured during the "Good of the City/Public Forum" which states:
"For persons desiring to address the City Council on an item that is not on the agenda please note that City policy limits each speaker to three (3) minutes. The Brown Act limits the Council’s ability to take and/or discuss items that are not on the agenda; therefore, such items are normally referred to staff for comment or to a future agenda."
While it may not have technically violated the Brown Act it probably would have been better to refer it back to staff and that way the applicant could at least answer some of the issues raised.
Dan
9:32 pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
when we moved back to albany a couple yrs ago, we never imagined there'd be such a nimby-istic subculture. despite strips of empty storefronts and rundown thoroughways, the mindset prevails in our planning/zoning affairs and continues to arrest reasonable building and business efforts. if i had wanted obstinate and unusual incursions against new business, i would've moved to berkeley.
Diane
9:55 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
I live in the neighborhood and would love a brew pub close by.
Brian Parsley
10:43 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
If you support the proposed taproom and bottle shop please come to the City Council meeting when the appeal is agendized. If you can't come in person, contact the City Council by email. I can't stress how important this is. You can email the City Council directly at cityhall@albanyca.org addressing it to city council in the subject line. You can also leave a voice mail for Council members at (510) 559-7250.
Tracy Arrowsmith
8:17 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I currently live in Oakland and I grew up in El Cerrito. I frequent Beer Revolution in Oakland and I would frequent this new pub in Albany as well, via BART, just as I currently do for Elevation 66. In my many, many trips to Beer Revolution, City Beer Store, and OL in Walnut Creek (all similar business models) I personally have never seen any smokers outside. It depends on the community frequenting the establishment, I suppose but that has been my experience. Parking is equally challenging in all of the above named places and I personally take BART because of it!
My 2 cents.
Brian Parsley
9:14 am on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Thank you Tracy, I too have never seen smokers outside Beer Rev., which has a nice deck to enjoy a craft brew and lunch. I don't believe those who oppose this understand that this will have a different clientele than a typical bar.
If you have the time, please contact our City Council directly at cityhall@albanyca.org addressing it to city council in the subject line, and let them know you would like to support a bottle shop and taproom in Albany.
Tracy Arrowsmith
5:16 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Brian: I sent my above sentiments to the City Council and the developer. Thank you for making it so easy to take action. I can't wait to have a beer with you there! :)
Michael Cabanatuan
4:23 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I strolled past the site the other day and fail to see what the problem is. The pub location is inside a deep, narrow enclosed space and separated from the mixed-use apartment building by another business (a beauty salon, er, day spa) and a driveway. Unless Santana's playing live inside ( and wouldn't that be cool?) there's not going to be a noise problem. Since the burger place isn't a fast food joint, I'd be surprised if there were much of a litter problem. And parking is plentiful until you get near Solano, where it's only abundant. As for the patrons, well, I expect a lot of people like myself. And while I can be a bit argumentative, I probably won't wake you or your kids as I stroll home.
Michael Barnes
5:10 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I happened to be the P&Z meeting when the brew pub was discussed. While I've often grumbled about P&Z and the cell tower issue, I think P&Z was right on in their review of this business. I remember thinking to myself, "oh, this is how this is all supposed to work." I thought P&Z raised good issues, understood the context of the situation, listened to a lot of comments, and came to the right conclusion. I don't know what the point would be of reviewing the decision--what is left to say? There is nothing anyone can do in this town that will make everybody happy. If that is one of the criteria, then nothing will ever get done.
Caryl O'Keefe
11:33 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Michaels are right, P&Z did a really good job Jan10 listening, and balancing biz and residential needs on this matter. They confirmed sound from the biz was buffered by the salon, and reiterated that plenty of street parking was available Friday nite. P&Z required earlier closing Sun-Thur (at 10) in recognition of work & school hours Mon-Fri, but said it wasn’t fair to require closing earlier Fri & Sat nites than do nearby competitors. This is how long-term vacant storefronts can get filled, with reasonable balancing, and prompt action. Perhaps Wile will explain, when this comes to Council, what aspects of public policy led her to call for review of P&Z’s actions.
Bears Fan
9:30 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
I'm all for a great eating establishment there but question the wisdom of the owner who wants to open a beer pub directly across the street from the Mallard, and half a block from the Ivy Room and Hotsy Totsy. Will it be profitable enough? Then again, it may do so well that the other bars have to worry. Whatever is there, I'm hoping for a great, fun, and active business.
Brian Parsley
9:57 am on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
From my understanding, brewpub is a really bad title of what is being proposed. It is more of a taproom and bottle shop like Beer Revolution in Oakland or City Beer Store in San Francisco. The organic burger place will have it's own entry but the two businesses will have a common entry inside so you can grab a burger walk through and sit down and enjoy a craft beer.
Emilie Raguso
4:32 pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Yes, the owners were clear that it will be a "beer pub" -- not a "brewpub" -- nothing will be brewed there, as far as I know.
Michael Cabanatuan
12:01 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
Anyone know if this has been placed on the agenda or "agendized" as the bureaucratic butchers of the English language would say?
Emilie Raguso
6:08 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
Thanks for asking. I was told yesterday that this will be on the Feb. 21 agenda; that's a Tuesday meeting due to a holiday.
Brian Parsley
8:04 am on Friday, February 10, 2012
Show your support for the proposed taproom and bottle shop and small businesses by coming to the Albany City Council meeting February 21 at 7:30 PM.
If you can't come in person, contact the City Council by email. I can't stress how important this is. You can email the City Council directly at cityhall@albanyca.org addressing it to city council in the subject line. You can also leave a voice mail for Council members at (510) 559-7250.
Emilie Raguso
12:51 pm on Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wanna know what happened? Here's the update: http://patch.com/A-rdnv