Broad St. Cafe faces one citizen's noise/parking complaints at City Council

Broad Street Café has provided coffee, drinks and entertainment to local neighborhoods for several years since its transformation from the old Ooh La Latte several years back, with entertainment taking on a larger role since the space’s renovation.

And while usually known for the performances that take place on its new stage, this Thursday it will find itself on a different stage: that of the public record, in the form of an citizen’s unusual request at tomorrow afternoon’s City Council work session.

On March 4, Durham resident and Walltown property owner Waldo Fenner petitioned to appear before the City Council to voice noise and parking complaints about the popular entertainment venue and restaurant/bar.

Fenner is the owner of both 1116 and 1119 Clarendon St. where he lives and leases space to two tenants.  In his petition (viewable as a PDF at the City web site), he alleges that his residences on Clarendon are affected by noise and parking violations by Café customers on Thursday through Saturday, at least three weekends per month, and that he has had difficulty finding and keeping residents, according to his calculations costing him approximately $250 per month.

In an email to BCR, Broad Street Café co-owner John Hite responded that he and his partners have no knowledge of any parking or noise violations since they took over the restaurant and concert venue in May 2008. 

He added that the owners were planning to be on site this week to measure and document noise levels outside of the Café and on the boundary of the two properties, stressing that the popular business “truly want[s] to be good neighbors to both the businesses and residents in the area.”

Hite – a new co-owner of the business along with chef Daphne Lagasse, local attorneys Paul Brock and Darin Meece – added that the business will "happily address any issues that anybody might have." He notes that the owners of the Café planned to personally reach out to Fenner before the City Council meeting to try and resolve all issues and concerns.  

Fenner’s petition comes after a March 3 call to the Durham Police Department when he says he found the driveway to his residence blocked by parked vehicles in the 7 o’clock hour, which Fenner alleges belonged to patrons of Broad Street Café.

Durham P.D. public information officer Kammie Michaels confirmed the department’s receipt of a call from 1119 Clarendon on that date, along with three previous 2008 calls related to parking violations. Michaels also noted previous noise violation calls placed from this address.

The café’s management suggested that traffic from a nearby funeral home could be the cause of some of the challenges; on March 3, a visitation for a deceased member of the Parkwood V.F.D. was taking place at Clement’s Funeral Home, an event that reportedly stressed local streets. 

They also note that the business closed at 10 p.m. that evening due to no scheduled musical acts.

But according to Fenner, his concerns began years before the evening of March 3rd. The property owner complains that the Durham Police have been slow to respond to his calls and have refused to ticket or tow violators. 

Fenner – no stranger to City Hall, as he appears to be the same individual who filed a lawsuit against the city’s mayor and current and former police staff last year – also expressed concerns about the noisy disposal of glass bottles and trash, and about cups and bottles strewn about his driveway and yard, allegedly by patrons of the establishment; he also questions whether Durham’s zoning department erred in informing the public and local government about the nature of the business, which used to be a Revco drugstore before its transformation into a cafe and entertainment space.

For his part, Hite has proposed that the two parties sit down over a pizza to discuss all concerns openly. He says that the venue is steadfastly committed to being a “good neighbor” to all.

And Fenner may not entirely disagree, noting in an interview with BCR that he does not want to see the Café closed – despite listing such an outcome in the “actions” section of his typed petition.

Fenner suggested that the business ought to provide his residence with a fence to avoid any interference between the neighboring properties, along with providing “No Parking” signs and enforcing violations and punishments more vigorously.

City Council will look to chew through the issue during Thursday’s City Council work session.

Comments

[Moe]

interesting... sounds like someone doesn't like gentrification..... Why stop people that want to make Durham a better place to live and work? Imagine A safer place, a nicer place.....what's wrong with that? Waldo just sounds like he is just lashing out at anyone who would listen. Maybe it's not the loud music next door that stopping him from renting out "A room" :
this news release: http://www.chapelhillnews.com/news/story/38802.html

"Andrew Raul Perez, 24, of 1119 Clarendon St. in Durham, was arrested Jan. 19 and charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering, resisting arrest and violating parole. According to a police report, Perez gave false information during a traffic stop and officers found warrants for his arrest"

Is this guy really trying to make that small house into a TRIPLEX?

I can see the ad on in the paper...

"Small room available in awesome Walltown within walking distance to the best small music venue in Durham. Rent is $250 and half utilities: have to share house with Parolee who steals your stuff and grumpy man who hates the police."

case closed.....

[TSQ75]

I was about to say $250 per month in lost rent? damn, missed out on the Slumlord special again!

[Pollyanna'sCracker]

I had a different reaction to the guy's complaint. I thought he was being reasonable, following the system rules and not exaggerating his loss of income. I also thought the cafe owners were being courteous and respectful, and that, all together, this was a pretty good example of doing what you are supposed to do under the circumstances instead of conducting your own personal neighborhood wart.

I have to say the guy does have a point, it can get pretty noisy and congested there on weekends, though certainly not just because of the Broad Street Cafe.

[TSQ75]

agreed, I have to say though, if both parties are willing to work to resolve the issue on their own, why still take it to council?

[KeepDurhamDifferent!]

I am appalled by the racist comments on this issue. So what if one of his tenants got busted? He still doesn't deserve to have his driveway blocked.

BSC doesn't allow smoking indoors, so I confess it has caused me to take my drink outside to the church pew at times, and it can get a bit noisy.

[moe]

keepdurhamdifferent: Racist comments? please elaborate. Nothing was mentioned of race; please do not inject race into the argument.

[TSQ75]

I agree with Moe. the tenant that was arrested happened to be a minority, what's the difference?

[KeepDurhamDifferent!]

Race, class, whatever -- when you start throwing around ad hominems like "slumlord" you have showed your stripes.

If you don't think race has been injected into every argument in these parts, then you obviously haven't been to many council meetings.

It's actually one of the things I love most about Durham.

[TSQ75]

The term Slumlord implies race? and racism? Slumlord implies a deplorable practice whereby landlords take advantage of lower paying renters by giving them the least possible space and necessities and somehow think its justified to charge rent for a family to live in a closet

its disgusting. how on gods green earth does it imply racism?

my stripes? dont even presume to know me because you misconstrue my words

dont worry BCR, I'm done. I'll end my part of the convo here

[crc32]

Getting back to the issue at hand...

I'd like to point out an error - Fenner owns 1113 and 1119, not 1116... I know because I used to live in 1111.

While I lived there, I can say that I never experienced noise from BSC. Parking may have been an issue, but Fenner does have several prominent "no parking" signs along his property line, so it shouldn't be an issue.

Fenner's damages of $250 a month are more likely related to the fact that there are many better properties in Walltown - as anyone can drive down Clarendon and see.

[emily]

Mr. Fenner is also apparently suing Bill Bell and the city officials for $5 Million over an alleged "civil rights issue" (can't pull up the actual case, but here it is from the docket):

FENNER v. BELL

Plaintiff: WALDO FENNER
Defendant: BILL BELL, PATRICK BAKER, STEVEN W. CHALMERS, RONALD HODGE, LEE RUSS, STEPHEN MIHAICH, BEVERLY COUNCIL, JEFF LAMB, R. H. SHEPHERD, B. D. REITZ, TIMOTHY STANHOPE, M. K. BOND and LAWRENCE CAMPBELL

Case Number: 1:2008cv00367
Filed: June 3, 2008

Court: North Carolina Middle District Court
Office: Civil Rights: Other Office
County: Durham
Presiding Judge: UNASSIGNED
Referring Judge: MAG/JUDGE RUSSELL A. ELIASON

Nature of Suit: Civil Rights - Other Civil Rights
Cause: Federal Question
Jurisdiction: Federal Question
Jury Demanded By: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act
Amount Demanded: $5,000,000.00

[JeffS]

This is clearly not a racial issue, despite one person's desire to turn it into one.

I'm guessing your (KeepDurhamDifferent!) race card is looking pretty tattered from overuse at this point.

[KeepDurhamDifferent!]

Shucks, I'm just getting started. Unless you know the races of Messrs. Fenner, Hite, and Perez I'm not sure how you can make this claim. This is Durham politics -- Bring the Crazy!

[Mrs. Johnson]

Mr. Fenner should have told people who makes these comments to kiss his ass. All the comments must not be from homeowners. As a homeowner like my self people should understand that no one buys a home behind a nightclub. The real issue is that we have a city gov. willingly to commit illegal acts and look the other way. How about we ask our city council members why did they allow this mess to happen in the first place. Race should never come before an important issue like homeowner rights. This city promotes homeowner ship but only when white people are buying and in white neighborhoods. Mr. Fenner never put race in his arguement the people of this great city did. Also Mr. Fenner is not a slumlord so be careful of your statements because you may find your words in a lawsuit.

[AlissaSAMPSON32]

Every body understands that today's life seems to be very expensive, however we require cash for various things and not every one gets big sums cash. So to get some home loans or term loan will be a correct solution.