Hello to you, council members, city manager and city planner.
Sunday morning I found a one-page flyer under my front doormat. It urged me
to contact you in opposition to granting the permit that would allow 1929
Menalto Avenue (Café Zoë) to operate legally as an amplified outdoor concert
venue. This flyer contains several errors of fact, and I am therefore writing you
in support of granting that permit.
Some background: I've been a homeowner in the Willows since 1968. My
current address is 412 Chester Street. I live within walking distance of Marvin's
Farmers Market, a business that is mentioned in the flyer. The author of the
flyer is trying to frighten me with the possibility that Marvin's might suddenly
begin holding amplified outdoor concerts. This is absurd. Marvin's is truly
a farmer's market and offers deli items as well. It could never host concerts.
I have been a patron of Café Zoë for many years. I went there occasionally
when it was known as Café 1929, before Kathleen Daly bought the business
and renamed it in honor of her daughter Zoë. It was never an outdoor venue
of any kind until the pandemic hit. But before that, Kathleen had started hosting
live music, including once-a-month open mic nights, indoors. This obviously
helped her business and justified her investment in a small P.A. system to let
patrons in the back hear the music.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many clubs, restaurants and performance
venues to shut down. Some, like Café Zoë, survived with the aid of emergency
government assistance. In our recent limited re-opening, seniors like me and
others who take precautions don't feel safe among crowds of strangers indoors.
Currently, Café Zoë operates primarily on a take-out basis, with almost no inside
seating.
Here are some more counterfactual claims made in the flyer. First, "Those of us
who live across the street from this business have suffered noise levels of up to
80 decibels in our own homes." I was at the open mic last Friday evening, and
while I did not have a Db meter, the person operating the P.A. system did, and
did a sound check before each act. However, those patrons not seated directly
in front of the tiny stage had trouble hearing the music. They had no trouble
hearing the roaring unmuffled motorcycles that regularly cruised by, nor the diesel
trucks making deliveries to the large supermarket right next to the café. If the
resident of 1920 Menalto, across the street, got a legitimate 80 Db reading, I'm
sure it was from one of those sources, which persist regardless of what Café Zoë
is doing.
Second, the flyer makes the alarming claim that if the City grants this permit, "not only
would we continue to be subjected to deafening noise, we would also be mandated
to disclose this to all potential homebuyers as aa known neighborhood nuisance."
It goes on to assert that permit approval "will greatly reduce our property values and
our quality of life." One might just as well suggest that having a convenient place
in the neighborhood for low-key live entertainment increases property values and
enhances the quality of life.
It would be good to hear from some actual homeowners in the vicinity of 1929
Menalto and get their opinions on this. The author of the flyer is not a homeowner.
Her phrasing of the flyer deceptively implies that she is.
Regards,
Edward Syrett
syrett1@earthlink.net (mailto:syrett1@earthlink.net)
650-322-7643
