Back in December, we wrote about La Urbana's plans to install outdoor seating on the Grove Street sidewalk outside the restaurant, and the objections of some neighboring residents. The application from La Urbana to the city has been moving through the pipeline, and on May 14th a Conditional Approval order was filed, giving La Urbana preliminary permission to install sidewalk seating.
Since the original permit was filed last winter, 28 neighbors submitted letters to the Department of Public Works to oppose the sidewalk seating. Concerns ranged from noise to increased foot traffic to trash and public misconduct.
The opposition appears to be spearheaded by the Grove Residents' Rights Resource, which was formed last year to address issues affecting "tenants and homeowners on and around Grove Street and the Popeye's Gulch neighborhood." So far, La Urbana's outdoor seating appears to be the main focus of the group, and the individual behind its blog posts chimed in on our last story on the issue, noting that noise was a major concern:
"There are already three restaurants with outdoor seating within earshot of Grove Street apartments on that one intersection, plus La Urbana’s open-to-the-street 70 person open-garage-door seating area. That’s about 130 seats of outdoor seating already on that one intersection ... In La Urbana’s case, they’re way louder and more intrusive than everything else in earshot combined, and all efforts by neighbors to work with them were not only useless, but ... they definitely haven’t shown an inclination to see anybody else’s point of view at all, let’s put it that way."
According to the Conditional Approval order on January 7th, a hearing on the issue took place wherein La Urbana owner Eduardo Rallo testified that he would continue working with the neighborhood regarding noise concerns and other issues. But residents expressed dissatisfaction with La Urbana's communication and outreach thus far, voicing concerns that outside tables would lead to more noise.
In response to the letters and the January hearing, the original permit allowance was altered by the city. The original sidewalk seating plan included 14 tables and 36 chairs, which would be available from 11:30am to 11pm Sunday through Thursday, and 11:30am to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. In the Conditional Approval order from May 14th, that number was edited down to include only 10 tables and 20 chairs, with 9:30pm as the cut-off time.
But reduced tables and hours aside, it appears some neighbors still don't want La Urbana's sidewalk seating to go through. An appeal was filed with the city on May 28th, putting plans on hold yet again. If the residents and La Urbana cannot resolve the dispute in the next few weeks, a hearing will be held on July 15th to review the case.
La Urbana currently has its main dining area and bar, a private dining room for ten and a large adjoining informal garage used to highlight events like Taco Tuesdays and sports games. A rooftop patio was rumored to be in the works at one point, but so far no plans have emerged. We've reached out to La Urbana for comment on the sidewalk seating issue, but have yet to hear back.
We'll let you know when a final decision on Grove Street sidewalk seating is made.
