A year ago, popular Arlandria/Del Ray bar Hops N’ Shine faced a contentious city review as it faced criticism from both the Planning Commission and City Council zoning violations.
Now, a new staff report for a special use permit one-year review paints a much rosier picture of the situation with the bar.
The bar is returning to the Planning Commission and City Council next month for a one-year review along with a request for some additional outdoor activities at the bar and opening the garage door to offer indoor live entertainment.
Noise complaints from the bar had previously been a major point of contention between bar owners, neighbors and city administration. But the staff report said in the last year, Hops N’ Shine has operated in compliance with all conditions and has not violated its noise ordinance.
The staff report recommends supporting limited outdoor events at the bar, small-scale outdoor cooking events, outdoor games and opening the front garage door.
“Regarding the SUP one-year review, staff recognizes that the applicant has operated in compliance with all conditions and without violations of the noise ordinance,” the staff report said. “Given this demonstration of compliance, it supports some of the applicant’s requests to slightly add more business offerings, closer in line with what has been allowed in other restaurants’ SUPs.”
The outdoor cooking would mainly consist of cooking classes and cooking s’mores, which the report says should not produce excessive or offensive odors.
One part of the application that isn’t supported by the staff, though, is the extension of outdoor dining hours.
According to the report:
Given the history of complaints related to this use at this location, the Planning Commission and City Council amended Condition #10 in 2023 to restrict the outdoor dining area to be open to patrons from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. The applicant has requested increasing these restrictions to stay open one hour later. Given the proximity of the neighboring properties and the recommendation to support limited live entertainment, cooking, and accessory games, staff does not support increasing the hours of operation.
The report says Hops N Shine met with representatives from nearby neighborhoods for a demonstration of the new sound system and the bar’s amplifier, which has a music governor inaccessible to performers to keep the sound within the noise limits. The report said the neighbors and community organizations didn’t support more outdoor activity, but did support opening the garage door during indoor live entertainment, with the Del Ray Civic Association supporting the limited outdoor cooking activity.
The application is scheduled to go to the Planning Commission on Tuesday, June 4, and to the City Council on Saturday, June 15.
Photo via Hops N Shine/Facebook
