Help Me Out Here

My neighbors want the restaurant next door to my house to abide by zoning restrictions that say it can only have so many seats and can only stay open until 6:30. The restaurant’s owner wants to extend the zoning to add more seats and stay open until 9:00. Several of my neighbors just don’t like the restaurant because they think it negatively affects property values and clogs up traffic on the street. Also, the dumpster is an issue. So they don’t want to give the place an inch. Personally I like the restaurant, and I think 6:30 would hinder them financially, plus I might actually want to eat there around 6:30. So far, patrons have been good about parking on the wider street of Woodlawn rather than the narrow Tyler that most of the neighbors live on, and I don’t smell anything from the dumpster.

My question to you is, do think having a restaurant in a residentially zoned neighborhood would affect property values negatively? Am I the only person that finds it charming and actually a plus? Would you be more or less likely to buy a house near a small restaurant? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

All you lurkers out there who don’t actually know me, chime in. I know you’re out there. Help a brother out.

6 thoughts on “Help Me Out Here”

  1. The neighborhoods I like tend to mix residences with light commercial ventures (like restaurants), and the loathsome suburbs tend to do just the opposite. That’s why I loved Hyde Park in Austin and the Nob Hill neighborhood here in Portland, and it’s also why I didn’t like living in Harrison and don’t live in Beaverton. If your neighbors want to live in the suburbs, they should move there and leave the city alone.

    That being said, if the restaurant is flagrantly violating the zoning laws by running their business on a lot that’s zoned residential, I doubt they’re likely to prevail.

  2. It would definitely be a plus to have a cute, privately-owned restaurant within walking distance of my house. I would love that! Having shops and restaurants near the houses is one of the things that makes me love Hillcrest so much.

  3. The problem with your neighbors is that the restaurant is really really bad…. I suspect the problem would go away if the food were better.

  4. That’s probably a factor. The refried beans taste of Robitussin. Sorry I missed the Boondogs show Saturday, I had to jet to Camden for a wedding. I need to add you to my blog list….

  5. OK..so Jessica ratted me out on the lurking… I live out in the country and the idea of a restaurant in the neighborhood is totally foreign to me. But, if I lived in a quaint hood like Hillcrest, I’d want lights out by a reasonable hour. I am afraid cheap tacos , refried beans and beer would attract the wrong crowd and it might get a little too noisy for my taste after nightfall.

Comments are closed.