A modest pilot program conceived as a way to address residents’ complaints about noisy bars and entertainment venues in their neighborhoods resulted in city grants going to some surprising recipients: a coffee shop that closes at 6 p.m., a Halal meat market and a property that hosts yoga classes.
These small businesses awarded noise mitigation grants by the City of San Antonio haven’t been the target of noise complaints and don’t offer amplified music.
The majority of the grants, which topped out at $7,500, went to businesses that have received noise complaints from residential neighbors or offer amplified music, including a half dozen bars and nightclubs on the St. Mary’s Strip, Bentley’s Beer Garden on North Alamo St. and Beethoven Maennerchor in the King William neighborhood.
The goals of the program go beyond helping businesses already struggling to coexist with their neighbors, city officials say, to include covering preventative measures.
The city awarded roughly $122,000 to 21 businesses.
San Antonio has been struggling with how to balance the needs of certain businesses and their residential neighbors for years now, with little to show for its efforts. A noise ordinance task force created in March 2021 by then-councilmen Roberto Treviño and Clayton Perry is now dormant after producing more division than consensus.
Similarly, a study conducted by the city’s Development Services Department that sent code enforcement officers to respond to noise complaints found that while the majority of complaints were about noisy residences, businesses were more likely to be the subject of repeated complaints. However, the study’s findings did not result in any changes to the ordinance or other policy recommendations.
Whether the noise mitigation grants will be effective in reducing noise complaints against businesses is an open question. Former District 1 Councilman Mario Bravo, who spearheaded efforts to help businesses pay for sound mitigation, said it appears the city “pivoted somehow” in the design of the program.
During last year’s budget process, he introduced an amendment that earmarked $150,000 in the 2023 budget. Bravo said his goal for the money was to focus on businesses that have received noise complaints to help reduce the suffering of their residential neighbors.
Targeting it in that way, he said, “would help make sure it’s a success.”
Acoustic foam and directional speakers
Instead, the public money is meant to “hopefully mitigate some potential future problems” regarding businesses in areas near residential properties, said Ana Bradshaw, assistant director of the city’s Economic Development Department.
In their applications, businesses had to describe how their intended purchases of gear like sound-absorbing panels, acoustic foam, bass traps and directional speakers would “work towards reducing nuisance noise for neighbors.” Applicants were encouraged to work with consultants on their mitigation plans.
Bradshaw said success of the pilot would be measured in at least two ways: the program will “track if there are violations going forward” and will “identify if they [grant recipients] indeed spent the money as they committed to.”
Results will be reported back to the council, she said, likely this fall.
A spokeswoman for Development Services told the San Antonio Report there would be “no movement” on updating the noise ordinance until the results of this effort are evaluated. It’s unclear whether the city is mulling the creation of any type of comprehensive sound or nightlife policy.
In a Feb. 28 presentation, the pilot program’s scope and goals were listed as: “assist small businesses with noise mitigation measures,” “assist food and beverage establishments that use amplified sound” and to “encourage good neighborhood stewardship and voluntary compliance by commercial establishments.”
To be eligible, applicants had to be in a location zoned for commercial use, be a food or beverage business with a permanent location for more than 12 months, have no more than $9 million in gross annual revenue and no outstanding code violations.
Being within a certain proximity to residences wasn’t a requirement, but businesses did earn more points for being closer. Bradshaw said the city “evaluated what was submitted to them” but did not conduct site visits.
Out of 26 applicants, the city has given grants to 21 and is awaiting final documentation to award two more. Four applications were denied and one was withdrawn.
Commonwealth Coffee, located in Hemisfair, received $6,413.79. It is across a walkway from the garage connected to The ’68 apartment complex. The cafe doesn’t stay open past 6 p.m. and doesn’t host live music. Calls and emails to Commonwealth went unreturned.
An employee with Man Overboard Brewing on Camden Street said will use its $7,500 grant to reduce noise on its patio with a plan to offer live music once that work is complete. The brewery is not in a residential area, but there are townhomes on the other side of Interstate 35.
Afghan Village Restaurant & Afghan Halal Market San Antonio, which received $7,500, also includes a restaurant. There are a cluster of apartment buildings behind the market. A person who answered the phone declined to speak to a reporter.
The tenants of an historic property on Buena Vista Street that received $5,538 have only been in the building for three months. Their landlord applied on their behalf, using his Austin-based LLC. Right now the tenants offer yoga classes and the occasional pop-up market, but with vinyl window coverings to dampen sound, they hope to host events that could include DJs. The area is zoned commercial but there are homes nearby.
“We want to be good neighbors,” said David Williams, who with his sister founded Bexar Collective.
A recording studio, Fringe Complex, located in a historic building that also appears to house a record store on West Woodlawn Avenue, received $7,044. A call to the founder and creative director went unanswered.
“We awarded the funding consistent with the criteria we set up,” Bradshaw said.
Prevention through policy
Don Pitts, a sound consultant who helped the City of Austin reduce noise complaints by 74% over several years of targeted work, was hired by the City of San Antonio to create sound policy recommendations that better balanced the needs of residents and businesses.
The city asked Pitts if his organization would implement the pilot but he declined, citing concerns that the city hadn’t made policy changes necessary to maximize the program’s chances of success.
He told the San Antonio Report the pilot could produce “some success” but not as much as if it had targeted existing sound challenges. Prevention should be addressed through policy, he said.
Pitts described visiting some residents’ homes in San Antonio during his work with the city that were “almost unlivable — and that’s who is getting lost” in the design of this program, he said.
Pitts said there was never an opportunity to discuss his recommendations with city leaders.
“Much like the task force, everything just stopped” after his organization, Sound Music Cities, issued its final report, an ending he called a shame.
“I think we were a lot closer than everyone realized to creating a comprehensive sound policy.”
This story has been updated to correctly refer to Afghan Village Restaurant & Afghan Halal Market San Antonio.
