South Avenue bar owners gain OK for outdoor entertainment

Neighbors are worried about noise because of experiences with another bar.
By JEANNE STARMACK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- The owners of the Youngstown Sports Bar and Grille on South Avenue won the right to convert its front parking lot into an outdoor entertainment center.
The township board of zoning appeals voted unanimously to allow Sean and Kerry Pregibon to proceed with their plan. Zoning inspector Darren Crivelli said he will not issue the permit for 30 more days in case there is an appeal to Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas court by neighbors who are concerned about noise from the bar.
About eight people gathered in the township building for Thursday's hearing. Cecelia DeMichael, who is a resident of Presidential Estates, across South Avenue from the restaurant, said it's possible residents will appeal.
DeMichael and Sue McCrea, another resident of the subdivision, headed a petition drive opposing the restaurant's plan. About 38 people signed it, said Crivelli.
The plans
The owners want to put in two boccie courts, a half-court basketball area, a bar and a raised area where musicians can play while people eat outdoors.
But neighbors said they can already hear the music from inside the bar in their homes at night.
"When it's quiet in my house, all I hear is a base beat. Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom," said Arnold Orning of Buchanan Drive.
Jim Lewandowski said he built his home on Buchanan 20 years ago. He said that restaurants have a high failure rate, and he is concerned that another restaurant could move in and use the outdoor area with no regard for neighbors.
It was the noise issue that appears to be neighbors' biggest concern, though Sean Pregibon said that he has walked across South Avenue and stood in a field there, and he can't hear music coming from inside the bar.
He said the basketball court will be patrolled so playing doesn't get out of hand, and he said that he intends to abide by the township's noise ordinance, stopping the music outdoors by 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 10 p.m. the rest of the week.
He understands
He said he also lives in Presidential Estates, and he understands what the neighborhood went through with noise from the former B & amp;B Backstage, which shut down last summer.
"We heard the Bull & amp; Bear -- we hated it," he said.
Doug Ross, an attorney for the restaurant's landlords, Curtis and Deborah Cunningham, said they would make the Pregibons dismantle the outdoor area if the restaurant closed, so the building would be more marketable.
The Pregibons also resolved a parking issue, restriping their lot and gaining 12 spaces. They also obtained an easement from the owner of the Quad South building behind the bar for 44 more spaces.
The zoning board approved the permit on the conditions that the restaurant allows only three musicians to play outdoors, with no drums and no electric instruments. Sean Pregibon said he envisions an acoustic guitarist playing Jimmy Buffett-style music. The board also says the restaurant must comply with the noise ordinance.