The Dangers of Regulating Things That Annoy Some People

UPDATE: The Arlington County Board has approved a conditional live music permit for Westover Market Beer Garden

During the more than two hours of discussion on Saturday by the Arlington County Board over a live music permit for the Westover Market Beer Garden, there was a brief moment of clarity. County Board Member Chris Zimmerman pointed out that the Arlington County code on noise control (PDF) doesn't just provide decibel limits. It also prohibits any noise that "Annoys or disturbs a normal person of reasonable sensitivities." Zimmerman shook his head and said, "How is county staff supposed to enforce THAT?"

The hearing displayed the constraints of using the law to limit things that are impossible to measure. Much like trying to determine the height at which neighbors will cease to be annoyed by windmills or the number of stories at which a building fits a neighborhood's character, trying to write a law that will prevent everyone from being annoyed by all forms of noise in an urban area is a quixotic effort.

But that's not stopping the Arlington County Board from trying! At Saturday's meeting, the Board neither accepted the county staff's recommendation to deny the live music permit nor accepted the compromise plan endorsed by all four local civic associations and supported by a vast majority of local residents. Instead, at today's meeting the Board will apparently continue twisting itself into knots in attempts to placate the literal handful of neighbors still opposed to the compromise.

Barbara Favola complained the board could not better regulate the noise from a crowd that was singing along or clapping to the music. Walter Tejada lamented the board could not legislate the effect of wind on noise. And a recurring theme was that board members wished they could regulate people talking loudly as they walked home - as if that wasn't simply a part of living in an urban area, but a nuisance that could be legislated away.

The craziness might've peaked when an anti-live music neighbor claimed he could hear the music in his living room with the windows closed over his television ... 1/5th of a mile away. Keep in mind 65 decibels (the level proposed in the compromise plan) is barely above conversation level.

One civic association president who testified in favor of the live music permit at the Beer Garden pointed out that if there was no live music in Westover, there would still be plenty of the same noise we all accept in choosing to live in an urban area - cars, trucks, planes. It would just be much less pleasant.

What there would be less of is the unique sense of culture and community that live music offers. "There's just no substitute for live music," a Westover-area violin teacher told the board. And a speaker at Saturday's hearing pointed out that children just don't respond with the same joy to taped music as they do to live music.

Look, I'm a firm believer in the ability of the law to protect consumers and safeguard our health. But when you try to use the law to regulate people's happiness, you're going to wind up creating rules that are impossible to enforce and leave no one happy.

Ask The Arlington County Board To Support Live Music

There's a compromise on live music at the Westover Market Beer Garden that both the Beer Garden owners and the Westover Civic Association support. But will that be enough for the Arlington County Board to give its approval?

A fan of the Beer Garden writes with details of the compromise:

The basic compromise is that the Beer Garden would have live entertainment Fri and Sat nights (6-10) and some Wednesday open-mic nights (6-8), so long as the Market complied with the decibel limits set out by the county noise ordinance. It was decided not to focus on what type of noise is permissible (TVs or no TVs, drums or no drums, acoustic or amplified), but rather the decibel limit. Also it is the responsibility of the Westover Market to ensure that its entertainment comply with those limits or risk losing their permit.

The compromise was approved at a Westover Civic Association meeting with an astounding 90 out of 109 votes. Another 13 people supported live music with additional restrictions, and 6 people voted to oppose music under any circumstances.

With that kind of overwhelming community support, what is the county worried about? The fan of the Beer Garden gives his take on what a county liaison told the meeting:

Even though the Westover neighborhood is strongly in favor of the Beer Garden's music permit, the county is most concerned about setting precedent for the rest of the county by allowing live music at the Beer Garden. [...]

What was most frustrating is that the members of the community debated with each other at length to find a compromise that nearly everyone supports only to learn that the county is more concerned with the precedent than what the neighbors want.

Given that Westover Market Beer Garden is bending over backwards to be a good citizen (there's talk of having a decibel meter on hand in the Garden at all times), I can't imagine the County Board rejecting this compromise. Especially given that over the last year Arlington County has been accused of being hostile to everything from businesses to music to fun, this vote will be a key bellwether of whether the County Board is backing up its conciliatory words with progressive deeds.

Please email the Arlington County Board right now to let board members know you support live music in the Westover Market Beer Garden. Then if you can, attend Saturday's Arlington County Board meeting and speak at 8:30am during the pre-meeting public comment session.

Photo via Flickr's ThunderCheese

Arlingtonians Want Hyper-Restrictive Zoning, Except When They Don't

According to Charlie Clark of the Falls Church News-Press, it looks like Arlington's zoning administrator is holding up yet another improvement in Arlington's Westover neighborhood, this time a proposed farmers market:

[John] Reeder's vision, which he says is backed by Westover merchants, would start with 20 farmer-vendors on McKinley St., on the grounds and parking lots of the Reed School/Westover Library. He and 25 fellow enthusiasts foresee the market as being open on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., supervised by a new nonprofit created with civic associations. The newly renovated Reed, he says, was designed with a front plaza and sidewalks with just such a use in mind.

This November, Reeder won verbal approval from the School Board, which has jurisdiction over the Reed property.

But there's a snag. "The county zoning staff has indicated they will not issue a use permit until after an elaborate change in the county ordinance pertaining to farmers markets," Reeder says. Officials asked for detailed plans that require the blessing of school board and superintendent. "The staff told us it will likely not be till September or later this year before we could get a use permit," Reeder says. "That means essentially there will be no Westover farmers market in 2011."

What, do you expect Arlington's zoning administrator to go rushing in blind to something as dangerous and controversial as (gasp!) a farmers market! Won't someone think of the children???

But Arlingtonians have asked for this type of hyper-restrictive regulation. At the same time Westover residents are shaking their heads at the regulatory maze to set up a simple farmers market, Lyon Village residents are asking for new ways to restrict parking on their streets. And while the project is finally moving forward, it took a concerted community effort to overcome citizen & County objections to the Westover Market Beer Garden.

Look at the East Falls Church redevelopment plan and the top citizen complaints about the area - "Lacks unifying identify or central focus," "Has underused land and prevalent surface parking," "Lacks neighborhood-serving retail." Historically, Arlingtonians haven't see those as bugs - they were features. In 1986, EFC residents had the county create zoning bans on business or multifamily homes to keep those loud young people out of their neighborhood. And now 25 years later they're wondering why their neighborhood is boring and isolated.

Photo via Arlington Green Party

From That Day On, If I Was Ever Needing Beer, I WAS RUNNING

I was in the beer aisle of Harris Teeter last night when a guy next to me in his 20s shook his head ruefully and said, "Man, I'd kill for some good, strong beer. Any chance you know anywhere like that around here?"

"Absolutely," I said. "Go to Westover Market up on Washington Boulevard. Three of the four walls are packed with beer."

His eyes lit up. "Is that far?"

"Nah, about two miles from here," I told him.

"Thanks!" he said, then spun around - and I am not making this up - and RAN DOWN THE BEER AISLE AND OUT OF THE STORE. Hey, when you need good beer, you need good beer.

I tell this story only as an excuse to link to this ArlNow.com story updating the progress of Westover Market Beer Garden in clearing Arlington's regulatory hurdles. So far, so good!

March 8: Community Meeting on Westover Market Beer Garden

Want to voice your opinion about Westover Market Beer Garden? Come to this Tara-Leeway Heights Civic Association meeting on Tuesday March 8th at 7pm at Westover Library:

Please plan to attend a community forum to discuss the Westover Beer Garden on March 8 at 7pm in the Westover Library. The Beer Garden is working with the county government to resolve the various issues associated with continuing this much-loved Westover institution. Once its plans are in place, it will go before the county board for final approval, probably in April or May. The idea of the forum is for all members of the community to come together to agree on common positions regarding the beer garden. One issue we have discussed is how the noise from the garden affects the immediate neighbors. The forum will seek to find compromise solutions to all issues so that hopefully the four civic associations surrounding it can present a united front of community support to the county board, based on consensus agreement, to keep the beer garden going while ensuring that it maintains good relations with its immediate neighbors.

Story via ArlNow.com; photo via Flickr's Thundercheese

What Generation Y's Preferences Mean For Arlington's Future

One more thought on the research discussed here yesterday about Generation Y's living preferences. This is what I find so weird about attempts to kill the Westover Market Beer Garden or opposition to the East Falls Church redevelopment plan.

Current neighbors view them as shattering their quiet community. But according to this research, that's the equivalent of when those same neighbors' parents told them to knock off that darn rock & roll music.

Generation Y doesn't want single-family homes and a neighborhood that (even if it's lively during the day) demands they drive elsewhere for entertainment - any more than their parents wanted to listen to Bing Crosby. They want smart density, townhouses, a pub they can walk home from, and who knows, maybe 30 years from now some sort of transit option we haven't even considered yet - a streetcar down Washington Blvd. all the way to the Pentagon?

The Westover Market Beer Garden isn't an aberration - it's Rubber Soul, an evolutionary leap that signals a generational shift. Let's say neighbors block music at the Beer Garden - won't someone just see that untapped niche for live music & act accordingly? Maybe Samuel Beckett's would look there for a 2nd location?

This isn't about whether change is coming - it's about what will change look like. Neighborhoods like East Falls Church & Westover will never be Clarendon, but they'd be wise to learn from its history. You may not be able to stop change, but you can make sure it's doesn't look like Home Depot.

Exclusive Footage of Westover Market's Appeal to Arlington Zoning Officials

UPDATE: Yet another instance of Arlington threatening to shut down a business for an absurdly insignificant reason.

Former Arlingtonian Dan Ennis passes along this video of the Westover Market Beer Garden's plea to Arlington zoning officials to allow music:


In all seriousness, here's a comment from a member of the Save Westover Market Beer Garden Facebook group:

I live 3 blocks from the Westover Beer Garden. I can hear the Metro trains (another 3 blocks beyond the Beer Garden), but I have never heard noise from the Garden, even when I know it's in full swing. It's a cool neighborhood gathering place that attracts all kinds of musicians and patrons and adds to the vibrancy of the Westover neighborhood.

I say again: I understand there are zoning & permitting issues to be worked out. Westover Market is already in the process of addressing them. But what does it say about Arlington County's zoning & permitting process that a few complaints can completely silence the music that hundreds of people had been enjoying every week?

Silent All These Beers: Step Up To Save Westover Market Beer Garden

Want to know how insane the partying gets at the Westover Market Beer Garden? Check out this picture of a typical rowdy night from the Save Westover Market Beer Garden Facebook group:

Yes, that's what Westover's NIMBYs & Arlington County's Zoning Commissioner are spending so much time & energy on: A guy who looks like Pacey from Dawson's Creek playing adult contemporary. When neighbors complain about "noise," you have to wonder what standard they're using. Are they balancing what's easily-ignored with what's actually loud? Or are they saying, "It was completely silent before, now I can hear something, therefore I'm calling the authorities"?

The question remains, is fun public enemy #1 in Arlington? Got this response to my post from Maureen Dilg, writing on behalf of the Arlington County Office of Communications (reprinted here in its entirety):

Due to complaints from neighbors about excessive noise from the outdoor area..., Arlington County zoning inspectors are investigating zoning violations brought against Westover Market. Westover Market has appropriate approvals for seasonal outdoor seating for nine people. The purpose of this seating is outdoor dining.

The space is being used for more than nine people and live bands are entertaining clientele. Having live, musical entertainment requires a public hearing before the Arlington County Board. Should Westover Market choose to apply for a Live Entertainment Use Permit, the County Board will weigh measures that will minimize the adverse impacts of its use on its neighbors.

All Arlington County residents and businesses are expected to comply with the requirements of local ordinances.

I appreciate Ms. Dilg's response, but according to TBD.com, she's not telling the whole story here. Westover Market did apply for a permit to seat up to 24, but the county denied it on the grounds that the bathroom was insufficient. So, to review:

• Cite business for seating more than 9 people
• When said business applies to seat more, deny it
• When people complain about you harassing a business for doing well, say they don't have the right permit, which you denied
• Repeat

But as I said in my first post, I understand the zoning regulations & don't dispute Westover Market needs to meet them. The question is, do you work with the business that's clearly tapped a niche in the community (the Facebook group is approaching 300 members at this writing) to keep a good thing going? Or do you shut down the live music effective immediately & force them through a regulatory steeplechase? 

Arlington County has clearly chosen the latter. Nine people on the patio sitting quietly? Fine. Ten people on the patio with toddlers dancing to Jack Johnson covers? HAVE SOME COUNTY BOOT ON THE BACK OF YOUR NECK, HIPPIES.

As TBD reported, there's a question of community character at stake:

Daniel Weir, another patron of the garden, wrote to us to say that the garden is part of the reason he’s considering settling down in Westover. “[The beer garden] is a piece of what makes Westover magic — the combination of a truly residential neighborhood that has a spice of urban vitality. Without it and the atmosphere that it helps create, Westover would be like a slightly older, less wealthy McLean,” he says.

According to the Facebook group, fans of the Westover Market Beer Garden are asking supporters to email Arlington County Zoning Commisioner Melinda Artman at Martman@arlingtonva.us, letting her know that you want Arlington to work with Westover Market to keep the Beer Garden thriving.

Public Enemy #1 in Arlington: Fun

ARLnow.com has been documenting Arlington County's bizarre war on up & coming businesses. First the Arlington County Board denied patio seating for American Flatbread. Then a county employee took sidewalk signs from both Screwtop Wine Bar & Bakeshop and threw them in a Dumpster.

Now I hear Arlington County has been harassing Westover Market over its wildly popular Bier Garden. The Powers That Be are apparently upset about the live music and the Market's makeshift bathroom setup. I am not making this up: Apparently actual police officers have been seen responding to reports of a man playing Jack Johnson cover songs while children danced.

Look, no one believes in the power of government to fight for the common good more than The Green Miles. And I don't profess to know the intricacies of county code. But it's hard to know what Arlington is thinking these days. At a time when the economy continues to struggle & Arlington's cultural identity seems increasingly dominated by generic places like Cheesecake Factory & Spider Kelly's (aka Adams Morgan West), these businesses are trying to breathe new life into places off the beaten path. And what do they get for their troubles? Harassment from county bureaucrats & Jason Mraz-hating NIMBYs.

There needs to be a thoughtful balance in a community between bustling business & restful residential areas. But when government bureaucrats are swiping signs & silencing acoustic guitars, you have to wonder if anyone's thinking at all.

Scene from the Sidewalk: Green Home in Westover

While I was walking through Westover asking voters for their support in my race for House of Delegates, I noticed an open house at this green home for sale. The house was packed and the realtors told me they expected hundreds of visitors that day. Definitely not in my price range though, listed at $1,295,000. You can learn more about Arlington's green home choice program here.

Scene from the Sidewalk: Sunset Over Westover

With a hat tip to Andrew Sullivan's The View from Your Window, I'll be posting some photos from around Arlington as I canvass neighborhoods during my campaign for House of Delegates. We'll call it Scene from the Sidewalk. (Get it? Scene/seen? It's the best I could do on short notice.)

Here's the view from Kensington & 11th, with Westover Baptist Church in the background: