The Irish Rover Fights to Have Live Music After 10
August 23rd, 2007 by Cooper Levey-Baker in Arts, Music, News
At 7:30 p.m. last night, Bobby Vesey’s onstage at The Irish Rover and just about to hit the chorus of a kids’ song about Noah’s Ark. “Can’t seem to find any unicorns,†he belts. Dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt with an Irish flag over the heart, Vesey strums the jaunty folk tune on his black acoustic guitar, while a man next to him — bearing a T-shirt that reads “Sinn Féin†— gently bangs on a bodhran, a wide, flat and handheld Irish drum.
The audience early on a Wednesday evening is slight, about 14 people in all, mostly families. Parents sip pints of ale and punctuate the songs with chants, while one young, bright-blond girl tries to keep up with the rhythm on her own bodhran.
It’s tough to imagine anyone bothering the cops about the noise in this roomy Gulf Gate bar, but a couple months back, someone did.
“We had complaints regarding the Gulf Gate area in general,†says Sarasota County Code Enforcement Officer Joseph P. Foster, “and the complainant specified a couple places that were sure to be in violation.†After his sweep of the neighborhood, during which he looked in on 16 to 20 places, Foster cited the Rover on May 21 for having “entertainment, in the form of live music†after 10 p.m. The Rover was one of two spots cited that night, and was the only place caught a second time, when Foster checked up on the neighborhood again on July 7.
The citations came as a shock to Vesey — who opened the pub in November 2005 with co-owner Paul Duffy. “We’ve been open a year and a half and nobody said a word,†he says, sitting in a barstool during a break in his performance. The Rover’s troubles have nothing to do with the much-maligned “noise ordinance†in Sarasota County; rather, the problems stem from specific wording in the venue’s zoning restrictions.
According to the Sarasota County Code of Ordinances, “entertainment†is not allowed in any venue between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. unless the property has acquired a special exception. And the code defines “entertainment†rather broadly: “Entertainment shall include live vocalists, musicians, disc jockeys (whether speaking or not), comedians, karaoke, performers (paid or otherwise, including contestants).”
“It could be a mime!†Vesey exclaims.
But the Rover is sticking with vocalized entertainment, and is willing to do what it takes. Vesey appeared at a hearing before the Code Enforcement Special Magistrate on August 17 to prove the Rover has been in compliance since the second citation and is beginning the application process to receive a special exception. The Rover hopes to become only the second venue in Gulf Gate to have one — Pastimes Pub is the other.
The application process is daunting: Vesey estimates it could take six to 12 months and having a lawyer handle the fine print could run in the thousands. If the Rover is caught with a performance after 10 p.m. again, the fine would be $1,000, plus $325 in court fees.
Although determined to walk the line, Vesey still doesn’t understand why he should even need a special exception to sing his heart out until last call. “We walk outside, we don’t even hear it,†he laments.
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August 26th, 2007 at 9:46 am
This oridinance is absolutely ridiculous! It has nothing to do with noise at all, as it is a “live performance ordinance”.
Just as the article states, if a freaking MIME was on stage after 10pm it would lead to an infraction and fines. But in contrast, they are allowed to blare a juke box as loud as they possibly can which would be bothersome to any residential neighbors. The oridinance only prohibits actions that do not bother or affect anyone. I mean it would make sense to limit the amount of noise someone could create after 10pm, but to simply limit live performances (even if not loud at all), is simply moronic! I so hope these guys win their battle against Sarasota county.
August 27th, 2007 at 11:48 am
I agree that the zoning restrictions seem pretty absurd, particularly considering the Rover’s very non-residential surroundings. Another option for the bar, which I didn’t mention, is to try to organize all of Gulf Gate as a special exception to the restrictions. While that solution would obviously be ideal for the neighborhood, Vesey told me that such a move could take up to two years.
August 27th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
the ordinance is another reason this town sucks. it’s tough enough for any business in this town to make it (i recently read that 7 out of 10 start-ups in sarasota county go belly up within a year). especially with the drastic swings of ’season’-there’s only so much business to be had out there…putting an ordinance into effect on a district such as gulf gate makes absolutely zero sense. again-as stated above..it;s really got nothing to do with noise, but performance…and i thought this was supposed to be an ‘artistic-friendly’ community?!?! i’d rather see/listen to the talent and culture of traditional irish music, than see/listen to creed blaring from a jukebox.
September 4th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
After reading about this situation, I contacted my County Commissioner - Jon Thaxton. I was hoping that he could interject his feelings and perhaps assist the Rover in getting some entertainment for the “adult patrons” of Sarasota. Since he is our Commissioner, we contacted him. He is what he wrote back to me…..
“This is actually not the County Commission’s decisions. Its the property owners. The Commission makes the rules, this one was made 15 years ago, long before I was on the Board and longer than there has been live entertainment at this pub.
My understanding is that the Pub may have had entertainment after 10:00. In some zoning districts, entertainment after 10:00 is permitted, in other districts it requires a special exception and yet in other districts it is prohibited. The thought is that business owners either by a property that is in a zoning district that allows the uses they wish to have, or they attempt to get the property rezoned or obtain a special exception when they purchase property in a zoning district that prohibits the use they wish to have. I am assuming that the Pub is in a district that does not permit entertainment after 10:00 without a special exception. They could have purchased property that allows entertainment by right and would never have to ask permission to do anything.
The County can not regulate zoning districts on a site by site or owner by owner basis, by law it’s one size fits all. The code is intended to protect homes in close proximity to commercial properties from certain potentially incompatible uses. While the Irish Rover Pub may be responsible and responsive to the needs of its neighbors, some bar owners are not, and thus the code.
The Board of County Commission’s role is very limited in this issue. We can either change the zoning code to permit all bars in the county to operate entertainment later into the night or morning, or we could grant a special exception to the Pub. Both options are required by law to have public hearings. The Board does not have a role in code enforcement hearings.
The Casey Key Fish House is one of my personal favorite places, I especially liked to hang out at the Tiki Bar. It was closed, not by the County Commission, but ultimately by an administrative hearing officer that determined that the Tiki Bar was in violation of a state conservation district law. This violation was brought to the County code enforcement’s division by citizens (again, not the County) and county staff was forced into bringing it into compliance with state law. We are trying to negotiate a settlement on this now.
I hope these explanations are helpful.
Thank you again for your involvement and support for this establishment. I can tell by the emails that I am getting that they are very popular.
Jon Thaxton”
It appears that we have a Commissioner here that is not interested in getting involved in this issue. I believe he serves the district where most Irish Rover patrons come from.
September 4th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Thanks so much for posting your findings, HC. I’m glad to read that Thaxton is hearing from Rover supporters on the issue. What would definitely make the most sense for Gulf Gate would be the creation of a special zoning district which would allow live entertainment after 10. Unfortunately, to make that happen would require a lot of neighborhood coordination and a lot of cutting through the red tape. Like I posed above, Vesey was told it would probably take two years.