City acts on noise fears

The approval means Ocean One Bar, located at 1 Manning Street, will expand into the adjoining restaurant tenancy, formerly Boa Brazilian Barbecue.

Liquor licensing provisions for small bars restrict patron numbers to 120 at any given time. However, Ocean One Bar was originally approved by the City of Stirling in 2008 on the condition that no more than 100 patrons were in the premises at any given time.

Public consultation over the plan to expand the bar resulted in 15 submissions, with 14 objecting strongly to the proposal.

All 14 submissions came from residents within 100 metres of the bar, but a petition with 178 signatures in favour of the proposal was also received.

At Tuesday night’s council meeting, two of the objectors, Geoff Cooke and Brian Roberts, both residents of the nearby Observation Rise Apartments, urged councillors to reject the proposal. They described the noise as almost unbearable.

City officers recommended approving the application, noting that any noise issues were essentially separate from a planning perspective.

Councillor Bill Stewart moved an amended motion to ensure noise was taken into account.

The applicant will be required to submit noise modelling from a qualified noise consultant on the control measures to be implemented to limit noise, and within three months of the business start-up, a noise report will be submitted to the City demonstrating the compliance of the onsite activities.

The council voted unanimously in favour of the amended motion.