CEDARBURG, Wis. — After City Hall signed off on a Cedarburg bar's plan to build an outdoor patio, nearby neighbors are taking their concerns about the precedent it sets to TMJ4.
Jacqueline Janz and her husband Mike Kashou have lived in a quiet neighborhood east of downtown Cedarburg for nearly two decades.
"It's really a beautiful place to live in," Janz said. "Our son grew up here, and we're looking forward to grandkids."
Their wooded property backs up directly to a bar on nearby Portland Road. For many years, the property was the home of Ernie's Wine Bar, but it became Sierzant since new owners took over last year.
Jacqueline is concerned about newly-approved plans for the bar to build an outdoor patio, complete with two bocce courts and speakers for playing music.
"People, when they get inebriated, their voices raise," Janz said, "It's like a party that's going to be in our back yard."
Watch: Cedarburg neighbors concerned after bocce courts, outdoor music approved at bar
Joe Nowak co-owns the bar and said they are working to turn it into an upscale community gathering place. The Cedarburg Planning Commission voted 4-2 earlier this month to grant Sierzant a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to build the patio and courts.
"Wineries and bocce go hand-in-hand," Nowak said. "What I really wanted to do is have a quiet, outdoor space where people can hang out... We're adding more fencing. We're adding trees to absorb any sound."
Nowak said they are currently working amid the patio's construction to alleviate those concerns.
He said he tested the noise levels himself, saying that even with the music playing louder than he prefers, it would still be quieter than passing road traffic and well under the allowed level.
But Janz still worries this CUP could set a bad precedent, allowing other neighborhoods in the city to be disrupted in a similar way.
"(It) will allow all B-2 zoned businesses to now have outdoor amplified music, lighting and gaming," he said. "It just doesn't have a place in a residential neighborhood."
TMJ4 reached out to City Administrator Mikko Hilvo, and he said that each permit will continue to be approved on a case-by-case basis.
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