MARGATE – The owners of the Sunrise Tequila Bar on Ventnor Avenue have notified the city they plan to make improvements to reduce the sound emanating from the bar's second floor deck area.
Residents are not giving up in their efforts to get the city to take action to improve their quality of life, which has been severely compromised since the opening of the rebuilt restaurant and have continued to voice their concerns at commission meetings.
Several residents spoke up at the Jan. 22 Board of Commissioners meeting, repeating their complaints about noise coming from the establishment starting at 10 a.m. and lasting through the wee hours of the night.
City attorney John Scott Abbott advised the commissioners and the public that the owners, Dana and Brian Hiltner and their attorney Eric Goldstein, sent a letter to the municipality indicating they would make several changes to help alleviate residents’ complaints.
In the letter, Goldstein said his clients are award of the issues and that they “desire to maintain a harmonious and peaceful relationship” with residents.
Abbott said he met with the owners and several city officials on Jan. 21 to discuss the issues brought up by residents. Goldstein’s letter followed the “productive meeting” with city officials, he said.
Goldstein said the owners are taking steps to remediate problems with noise and trash.
The Hiltners would be installing by the end of February new glass windows around the perimeter of the second floor at a cost of $178,000. They have also consulted a sound engineer to find ways to deaden the sound.
“The prior carbon fiber screen system did not operate as it was represented” and that plexiglass was installed as a stop-gap, Goldstein said, and that the new system should mitigate noise.
Abbott said they are planning “pro-active patrols” of the neighborhood around the building during peak hours to ensure the area is kept clear of litter, trash and debris.
Goldstein said the owners are aware that the neighbors have photographed dumpsters filled with trash, and to mitigate noise from trash collection very early in the morning, they would continue to have dumpsters emptied later in the morning.
Abbott said they would most likely empty dumpsters after 7 a.m. – the same time as regular trash pickups.
Abbott said the owners would like an open line of communication with residents so they can effectively operate their business and be a good neighbor.
“My clients’ goals going forward are to fix the problems for the present and future, and not dwell on the issues of the past,” Goldstein said in the letter.
To date, the Police Department has issued 14 summonses resulting from noise complaints, to which the owners plead guilty and paid $14,000 in fines.
“We are contemplating other actions against them,” Abbott said.
Several residents said that if the windows are allowed to be open during the warmer weather, the sound complaints will continue.
“If the windows are open, we will have the same mess as last summer,” neighbor Jeff Hoffner said. He invited the Hiltners to spend the night at his house to get the real flavor of what listening to bar noise and loud music is like.
Liz O’Brien said the second floor outdoor deck has a louvered ceiling, and to eliminate noise, the ceiling should be completely enclosed and insulated.
Abbott invited the neighbors to attend a meeting with the owners of the establishment.
O’Brien, who lives 10 feet away from the bar, also complained that the owners park their vehicles in the restaurant’s loading zone and that delivery trucks park at the end of her driveway blocking access to her property.
Police Chief Matthew Hankinson instructed her to call the police when that happens, so police can contact the owners and ask them to move their vehicles before they get a ticket.
Jeanine DePreturo asked if holding workout sessions accompanied by music in the morning hours was an allowable use of the restaurant. The bar also hosts cornhole, which blocks the sidewalks, she said.
Resident Joel Naroff said the Planning Board should not approve any additional rooftop bars in the city.
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