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A San Luis Obispo neighborhood worried about how rowdy bar and concert noise will impact their residences could not sway the SLO City Council from approving The Hub, a new project bringing a mix of food, drinks, and entertainment to upper Monterey Street.
Led by Central Coast Brewing, The Hub ties together eight local businesses, including Krobar Craft Distillery, Nautical Bean Coffee, Art's Cyclery, What the Truck Mobile Cuisine, Lone Oak Seltzer, SLO Axe, and Whalebird Kombucha.
The impetus behind it, according to Central Coast Brewing owner George Peterson, was his brewery getting kicked out of its original location on 1422 Monterey St., a property that's slated to be redeveloped into 106 units of affordable and senior housing.
Described as "an integrated eating, drinking, and recreational experience," The Hub will offer all-day food service; alcohol tastings; games like corn hole, axe throwing, and billiards; and occasional live concerts. It's located at the site of a former outdoor furniture store on 1701 Monterey St.
After receiving Planning Commission approval in May, resident Hana Novak appealed The Hub to the City Council. Novak lives on San Luis Drive, a residential street that runs parallel to Monterey, but on the other side of a creek—which abuts The Hub and other businesses.
"San Luis Drive is a special neighborhood," Novak told SLO City Council members at a Sept. 20 meeting. "Unfortunately, the creek does not buffer noise, privacy impacts, light, and glare from cars. We can hear noises from Cal Poly's football games and other events happening over 2 miles away. We feel the proposed project uses are not compatible with the adjacent residential uses."
A special ordinance dating back to 1989 already exists for the upper Monterey corridor—it requires specific design standards for new projects on Monterey to ensure compatibility with the San Luis Drive neighborhood.
City officials said that The Hub meets those standards, and Peterson added that he and his partners are willing to take additional steps to try to ensure that The Hub's sounds and lights do not impact neighbors.
After asking a series of probing questions about possible noise and light mitigation measures, SLO City Council members voted unanimously to deny the appeal, while adding a condition that The Hub use some sort of "sound curtain" to contain noise from its indoor concerts.
"To the neighborhood, it's really going to affect the quality of life. It's not just the noise, it's the vibration," Councilmember Jan Marx said. "I have a general concern that the neighborhood needs more protection."
Councilmember Carlyn Christianson offered the most forceful defense of the project and the city's planning process, and cautioned the council against requiring too many changes.
"This is not a hotel. It's not 24/7. It's not a concert venue. It's not SLO Brew. It's very specific hours," Christianson said. "I'm a little concerned that every time we have something happen on Monterey in this neighborhood, we're going to hear about these fears. ... I just want to make sure we're not going too far down the path of basically conditioning projects on fears." Δ
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