Three bars on Lower Greenville in Dallas have late-hours permits approved

by Avi Adelman of Barking Dogs

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The Libertine, Crown and Harp, and Zubar are good to go, but a proposed new bowling alley is not.

The first four applications for the Lowest Greenville Planned Development Late-Hours Permits and Bar/Lounge Tavern (say that five times really fast) were presented to the City's Plan Commission on Thursday afternoon. And so far, it's three up, one down, and down hard. The goal of the plan is to limit the impact and number of high-intensity, regional bars, and the problems their drunken patrons cause in the neighborhoods.

The applications for Libertine Bar, Crown and Harp (fka The Cavern), and Zubar were approved with some conditions not in the original applications. With only a few technical issues, these three petitions were supported by representatives of the neighborhood associations.

The application for the so-called bowling alley inside the Beagle's building went down in temporary flames when all six neighborhood associations -- speaking through one lawyer -- showed the application was strong on really cool photos of people bowling but lacking on some of the details required by the new permit -- impact on community, parking issues, and a history of being a good neighbor. The idea of a 27,000 square-foot six-lane bowling alley and its impact on the surrounding area (don't forget the rooftop patio and all its noise) just made no sense to most of the Commissioners who worked on the Planned Development District concept. No matter how much lipstick you put on the pig, it's still a regional bar concept. The issue will come back up in two weeks when the Commission revisits the proposal to see if new information meets the guidelines or not.

Fireworks were generated during the Libertine presentation, when the Commission questioned why their parking spaces were costing $8 a pop even for patrons, in violation of the requirement for free and clear parking spaces. The Madison folks stuttered and stammered, saying that they had to control the parking in order to keep the spaces clear for patrons, that they are not required to post signs at the parking lot about the free parking for patrons, that having a valet on the lot kept crime down, but yeah they were gonna keep on charging for parking spaces.

Replied one CPC member (not sic):

The issue of parking is going to be bigger than ever as the permits and applications are processed. BD has learned that a number of applicants thought they had plenty of parking spaces, only to learn (gasp!) they had none at all. Darn, do you think the landlords are lying to them? A weekend survey of parking lots by teams of residents determined that every parking lot in the area managed by a person at the gate required -- no, demanded -- $8 or more for a parking space no matter where you were going. That's not gonna work too well when it comes to parking for all the so-called cool restaurants promised for the area. Smacks on the head were also given to Madison for allowing parking on the empty Arcadia lot (no surface, no permits) and a food truck (no permits).

Stay tuned, there are about dozen SUP hearings coming up in the next few months. The deadline to have a permit in order to stay open after midnight is September 24, 2011.

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