City should consider noise levels for downtown residents before approving: apartment owner.

Nightclub decks are spoiling the quiet enjoyment of living in downtown St. John’s and are threatening residential investment in the commercial strip, a businessman says

Phonse Miller, the owner of Gallery Shoes on Water Shoes, which has apartments on the upper floors, said the city has to recognize that a balance is needed in order for downtown residents and retail establishments to co-exist. Miller said he understands some bars have operated downtown for years, but when the city approves outside decks at those establishments, “people are going to be out there until the bar is closed.” “There’ll be music going, there’ll be people shouting and whatever else,” he said.

“Some people do go to sleep at a reasonable hour, and they have to go to work the next day. Yes, I understand that there’s going to be different noises downtown as opposed to living in Cowan Heights or wherever, but it should be taken into consideration when somebody is requesting something new for that area.”

Miller said the city should consider how commercial applications, particularly nightclub decks, will affect residents living in the commercial area. And, he said, just because a former commercial operation had an outside deck doesn’t mean the city should approve a new application for a deck at the same property.

Miller, a former chairman of the Downtown Development Commission (DDC), said he’s hardly anti-business – it’s just he believes the city should strive to encourage harmony between businesses and residents living in a commercial zone. “Where’s the value for me, renovating an apartment, if I know that somewhere down the line that big five-storey building (next door) could be turned into a liquor dome?” he said. “I wouldn’t do it. It would be a waste of my money.”

Miller pointed out that one of the aims of the Downtown Revitalization and Heritage Preservation Study, a report about two years ago, was to promote the development of second-storey residential units above ground-level retail stores.

Bill Mahoney, chairman of the DDC and a property owner/manager agrees there must be a balance between downtown residents and nightclubs and other businesses. Mahoney’s own company Regal Realty owns and manages O’Dwyer manor on the south side of Water Street, west of the former Bank of Nova Scotia building, which features 13 apartments above ground-level shops. He said the residents who live there deserve to be protected from the noise of nightclub decks.

“It’s incumbent upon council to recognize and respect the rights of the downtown residents when they issue permits concerning lounges and decks,” he said. “That balance needs to be maintained ad part of the mandate of the DDC is to strike that balance between commercial enterprise in the downtown and residents. Council needs to be ever-mindful that it’s becoming more and more of an issue as more people are moving toward the downtown to live…”

Mahoney said nightclubs have added to the character and culture of downtown, but people who live in the area should know what they can expect.

Councilor Shannie Duff, who chairs the city’s planning and housing committee, said Miller and Mahoney make good points. “But it’s hard to find that balance when you’ve got an area that’s really a mixed residential/commercial zone,” she said pointing out that the city decided some time ago to encourage residential living above ground level retail outlets. “So I don’t know what the answer is, but I would be quite happy, as (chair) of the planning and housing committee, as well as a person very interested in the future of the downtown, to try and take it up and even try to get some of the interested parties together to see if there’s something we can do within our regulations to capture that balance,” Duff said.

Council is expected to deal with an application from The Ship Pub, 265 Duckworth Street (Solomon’s Lane) for a discretionary-use outdoor lounge area at tonight’s council meeting.

The Telegram. Craig Jackson