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Council revokes outdoor music permit at Rainey Street bar
The sounds of live outdoor music will not waft into the Rainey Street nights — at least for now.
The Austin City Council voted late Thursday to uphold a neighbor’s appeal of an outdoor live music permit for the Lustre Pearl, which in 2009 became the first bar to open in the historic Rainey Street neighborhood located on downtown’s southeastern edge.
The 7-0 vote on a motion by Council Member Mike Martinez shortly before midnight means that bar owner Bridget Dunlap’s permit to host live, outdoor music is revoked. Dunlap was issued a city permit last August to host live, outdoor music at the venue on 97 Rainey St.
Martinez said he wanted to give the city, neighborhood residents, Dunlap and other bar owners an opportunity to seek both short-term and long-term fixes to parking, traffic, pedestrian safety and other issues impacting the neighborhood. Opponents of the permit said adding live outdoor music would bring more people into the neighborhood, making those problems worse.
“I’m going to ask that we engage in this process and encourage the venue operators to come back and apply at a later date once we’ve seen these improvements,” Martinez said. “I believe we can compromise and come together … once we’re able to come back with a comprehensive plan.”
Martinez said that he and Council Member Chris Riley had been talking with city staff about possible infrastructure improvements on Rainey Street, steps that might include allowing surface parking on vacant lots, continuous sidewalks, more street lighting and creating a parking improvement district. He said council members hoped to bring a resolution addressing improvements to their next meeting.
Thursday night’s vote overturned the recommendations of city staff.
Gene Sanchez, who lives just south of Lustre Pearl, appealed the permit based on the proximity of the music stage to his home, traffic problems on Rainey Street and the public health risk associated with the inability of emergency vehicles to reach individuals on the street.
Sanchez said he and his elderly parents have lived on Rainey Street for 45 years in a house located about 20 yards from Lustre Pearl. “The decibel level is going to affect our quality of life,” Sanchez said.
City staff, however, said traffic is not part of the review process for an outdoor music venue permit. It recommended denying Sanchez’s appeal because the venue is located in the downtown zoning district and because outdoor music hours at the venue would be adjusted to end at 10 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday, 11 p.m. on Thursday, and midnight Friday and Saturday. In its recommendation, staff said Lustre Pearl would build a music stage that will be oriented north and away from residences and speakers would be mounted low and at a downward angle.
Dunlap handed council members a petition she said was signed by 496 people supporting live music at her bar. She said she was more than willing to make concessions and to work with opponents, “but I do feel that we did get that permit fair and square.”
“I’m responsible for making Rainey Street the pretty gem that she is today,” said Dunlap, who owns two other bars in the neighborhood. “When I found her she was down and needed a little love.”
About half a dozen people spoke in support of the live music permit. About the same number spoke in support of Sanchez’s appeal.
In the city that bills itself the Live Music Capital of the World, complaints about live music creeping into residential backyards are not uncommon, but the Rainey Street flap was seen by some as the latest concern tied to the neighborhood’s recent transformation — from a sleepy residential enclave into a burgeoning entertainment destination, a metamorphosis that has brought complaints about parking, traffic, noise and pedestrian safety.
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