Thomas MacMillan Photo
City zoners made it legal for a State Street bar to serve drinks, but limited how late it can serve them.
That was the result of a unanimous vote by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Tuesday evening.
The BZA voted to approve special zoning permissions for Da Legna restaurant, at the corner of State and Clark streets. The restaurant won permission to have a full liquor license and fewer parking spaces than regulations require — with some conditions.
Da Legna applied for those permissions after the city mistakenly signed off on permits allowing it to expand its operation in the wake of a fire that destroyed the restaurant in January, 2012.
Christopher Martin’s, a bar and restaurant across Clark Street had urged the BZA to deny Da Legna’s application, citing a lack of parking in the neighborhood.
The BZA’s approval came with five conditions: Da Legna has to close at 11:30 p.m. every night. It can’t have live entertainment or outside seating. The restaurant should look for off-site parking, with or without valet service. And it should install a bike rack, if possible.
“Eleven-thirty is a tough condition,” Da Legna manager Derek Bacon said after the vote. He said the prohibitions of live entertainment and outdoor seating aren’t “congruent with the rest of the establishments on the street.” He said “everybody else” in the area stays open until 1 or 2 a.m.
He said Da Legna will file another application to modify some of the conditions: “We’ll try to pursue them getting lifted.”
Thomas MacMillan Photo
No outdoor seating? This town needs more outdoor seating. It keeps eyes on the street and it just makes the city a better place to live.