For the second city council meeting in less than a month, residents of the Holly Hills neighborhood off Highway 45 raised concerns about the noise they claimed was coming from Patio 45 Restaurant.
Karen Johnwick, who lives “six or seven houses behind” Patio 45 on Puckett Street, said she has been hearing music from the restaurant at night during the weekends. She told the council she has talked to elderly neighbors who feel the same way.
“We like Patio 45,” she said. “It looks beautiful, but the music at night is really getting to us.”
Johnwick said her daughter is a nurse who works 12-hour shifts and often has to be up at 4 a.m., which is difficult for her if she hasn’t been able to sleep because of the music.
Johnwick is the latest in a string of neighbors to complain about the restaurant’s music, with multiple Holly Hills residents getting into a back-and-forth with restaurant owners for more than 30 minutes at the council’s April 6 meeting.
However, unlike those residents, Johnwick said she has not been hearing music on weeknights, nor has she been hearing profane lyrics or music during the day.
“I’m not hearing lyrics,” Johnwick said. “I’m hearing the bass line.”
She added she “hates” calling the police on the restaurant, but said her daughter needs to be able to sleep.
Patio 45’s owners, Curtis and Eurie Bordenave, have repeatedly said they are not violating the city’s noise ordinance. At the April 6 meeting, Curtis asked council members to rewrite the ordinance so that it specifies a particular noise decibel.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Eurie spoke, emphasizing again that the restaurant is not breaking any laws. She said the restaurant’s music is not loud and that the restaurant closes at 11 p.m.
“Our music is off,” she said. “… You guys have a noise ordinance that goes into effect at 11 (p.m.), which we have been abiding by. Our music is not on at 1 or 2 (a.m.) as some of my neighbors who have (come) to the restaurant to tell me that the people who have been coming to their home trying to get them to sign a petition against us are telling them.
“You can’t go south down (Highway) 45 to build,” she added. “You only can go north. So if this city is going to continue to build, it’s going to be things coming on Highway 45. So 45 is not considered the country. It’s the city for a reason. That’s like someone saying, ‘I wanted some peace and quiet so I’m going to go live on Bourbon Street or Beale Street.’ It’s going to grow, and the noise is going to come, whether it’s coming from traffic, whether it’s coming from businesses. That’s where the businesses want to be, in the city, not the country.”
City Attorney Jeff Turnage said the council has been and will continue to discuss ways to resolve the noise issues between neighborhood residents and Patio 45.
“The council tabled any action on this last meeting,” Turnage said. “I don’t want to get into what specific plans are in the works, but I’ve advised the council tonight to just listen to complaints and then we’re going to discuss it in executive session tonight, and maybe at the next meeting or the one thereafter we’ll have something that will resolve the issues between all the parties.”
Council members discussed an issue dealing with “prospective litigation” during an executive session at the end of the meeting. State law says local governments may discuss only a handful of topics outside of the public’s hearing, including issues dealing with prospective or ongoing litigation or personnel issues.
In other matters, the council approved Columbus Parks and Recreation to hire six summer employees for $8 an hour and two seasonal employees for $10 an hour.
Parks director Greg Lewis told The Dispatch after the meeting the summer workers will work about 25 hours a week for eight weeks at Townsend and Sim Scott parks helping with summer camps for children. The two seasonal employees will cut grass.
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