Three bars and a restaurant were granted special use permits for live entertainment Monday under the village of East Dundee’s revamped noise ordinance.
Village Board trustees amended the ordinance earlier this year after finding what the rules did not include a definition for live performances, officials said.
Changes made established what live entertainment consists of and sets conditions, including that an applicant can’t have more than three noise citations within a 12-month period and must conform to fire and building codes and standards, to obtain and keep a permit.
Live entertainment is defined as live music, dancing and/or singing performances, floor shows, DJ shows and other amplified entertainment performances, according to the ordinance. Karaoke, background music, piano players, harpists or guitarists aren’t considered live performances unless there’s an admission charge, the amended code says.
A special use permit was always required under the noise ordinance but “no one enforced it,” Trustee Sarah Brittin said.
Now, the village is working to get bars, taverns and restaurants into compliance, officials said.
Diamond Jim’s, 325 Meier Ave., The Distance Social, 314 N. River St., DC Cobb’s, 311 Barrington Ave., and La Mariskera Kitchen and Bar, 501-503 Dundee Ave., were all given special use permits at Monday night’s board meeting.
The only objection voiced was in reference to La Mariskera’s application.
Barb Streicher, of Royal Gaming Café, said she is concerned about the noise generated by live performances affecting her business. She already hears sounds, like dishes clattering, through the walls, and wasn’t in favor of the village granting the permit.
But Sonia D. Carranza, who applied for the permit for La Mariskera, said live entertainment is key to their remaining successful.
“We do need the permit to sustain our business,” Carranza said.
East Dundee Planning and Zoning commissioners recommended board approval of La Mariskera’s permit request because Streicher’s concern stemmed from a “civil issue” between a landlord and a tenant, said Franco Bottalico, assistant to the village administrator.
The commission also recommended the two tenants meet with the landlord to discuss the issue.
However, if there are more than three noise complaints, the village will review the permit, officials said.
Under the noise ordinance, no loud music or noise is allowed after 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday or after midnight on Friday and Saturday.
There will be more permits coming through for approval in the future, officials said. Trustees are hearing the application requests in batches until all establishments wanting live performance authorization have been heard.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
