Denied: Split Bar Harbor Council Refuses Acoustic Amplification for Siam Orchid
BAR HARBOR—In a rare move, during its May 6 meeting, the Bar Harbor Town Council denied a special amusement permit for Siam Orchid on Rodick Street after multiple residents on Kennebec Street complained about potential noise if the permit was granted.
The permit would have allowed the restaurant to have acoustic instruments and a singer amplified.
“It’s the noise from amplified music and the thumping bass making the whole house shake that is problematic as a downtown resident,” Donna Gaines of Kennebec Street said. “It takes away from our tranquility.”
The street full of homes runs parallel to Rodick Street on the side farther away from the town’s parking lot. Siam Orchid is on the town parking lot’s side. So, is Lompoc Cafe, whose permit was renewed at the same meeting.
Eileen Doreika, also of Kennebec Street, said she has to run an air conditioner all summer to deal with the noise from music.
Doreika said Lompoc and Dog and Pony have both worked with the neighbors to make sure the music isn’t overwhelming them. She was, however, worried about a new restaurant on the same street also having music outside.
“It’s going to ruin the neighborhood. It’s just going to be just like living on Rodick Street,” she said of the Siam Orchid application. “I’m terribly opposed to this.”
Though a denial is rare; it has happened before. In 2023, the town denied a special amusement permit to Pat’s Pizza after first tabling the permit. According to state statute, if a permit is denied, an applicant cannot submit a new application for another 30 days.
Hatsana Phanthavong owns Siam Orchid and is also a part owner of Pat’s Pizza but does not own the property. Additionally, the building that houses the Lompoc Cafe is owned by Lompoc LLC. The physical and mailing address listed for Lompoc LLC is a property that is owned by Phanthavong.
At the same May 6 meeting, the council granted special amusement permits for C-Ray Lobster, which is out of town, Lompoc Cafe on the same street, and Bar Harbor Lobster Bakes (Hull’s Cove), but denied Siam Orchid’s.
Councilor Meg Kelly recused herself for the Lompoc permit because she is the co-owner. Siam Orchid is Lompoc’s neighboring property. Phanthavong did not attend the meeting and did not respond to our request for comment.
Adele Abolafia, the third Kennebec Street resident speaking at the public hearing, questioned why the restaurant needed amplification when the music would be played in such a small space outside.
Councilor Matthew Hochman said the special amusement permit is only for amplified acoustic instruments and said that they could request that the amplifications be facing the restaurant’s interior rather than out into the street.
Special amusement permits are given to establishments for music. There are different levels that work with amplification and number of musicians.
“What you are basically saying is that these people are going to have to call the cops 100 times; they're not going to get any sleep, they have to run an air conditioner when we know as adults and smart people that this probably is not a great fit for this area." said Councilor Earl Brechlin.
Though they are next to each other, Rodick Street and Kennebec Street are in different zones. Kennebec Street itself, though not very long, is in two different zones.
Hochman said that the noise ordinance has a set decibel level. If musicians go above that level, then the restaurant violates the the town’s noise ordinance and complaints can be made. If there are multiple substantiated violations, then the permit can be revoked.
“We have a process laid out. We have a process for complaints,” and a process for ordinance violations, Hochman said. He stressed that the town’s processes and rules needed to be followed.
The law is statutory, Hochman said. “If we start picking and choosing based on what we feel, we’re going to open ourself to legal issues.”
Council Chair Valerie Peacock said she didn’t want to break the law, but said that whenever there is a special amusement permit request, they hear from the neighbors on Kennebec Street.
She asked Hochman, “You’re hearing what they’re saying?”
He said he did and that he once lived across from Carmen Verandah, which was known for its music, but that this permit wouldn’t allow music until 11 p.m. It allows it until 9.
“It gets to be too much and that’s a really small corridor down there,” Councilor Joe Minutolo said.
Peacock said that Kennebec Street is mostly impacted because there is so much music on Rodick Street. She asked about sound abatement or possibly, outside the special amusement permit process, about sound in residential neighborhoods.
Kelly suggested expanding the application so that business owners can detail more information (siting, frequency).
In the end, it was Peacock, Brechlin, Vice Chair Maya Caines, Minutolo and Randell Sprague who voted to deny Siam Orchid’s application. Kelly and Hochman voted in favor of the application.
One of the three neighbors who was against the Siam Orchid permit was in favor of Lompoc’s, saying that Kelly’s business worked with neighbors to mitigate noise.
“The law is meant to apply equally to all,” Hochman said during the Lompoc review.
Minutolo said there is a difference, Lompoc’s music is inside and Siam Orchid’s was for outside.
“By our ordinance there is no difference,” Hochman said.
“Maybe we ought to consider changing our ordinance,” Minutolo said.
“We can’t do that tonight,” Hochman said.
“We hear you, Matt,” Peacock said.
“Apparently not,” Hochman replied.
During the portion of the meeting set aside for councilor’s comments, Hochman said his frustration with the ordinance isn’t about the councilors. He said when councilors are sworn in, they are sworn to uphold the ordinance.
“I get very frustrated when we take action like that,” he said and compared it to national politics.
Changing the ordinance would be the proper way to allow the council to have more authority, he said.
NOISE ORDINANCE
The town’s ordinance doesn’t allow noise levels over 71 dB for musical instruments, sound modification, and amplification devices.
TAXI LICENSES
The council approved the renewal of taxi licenses for Acadia National Park Tours and Oli’s Trolley.
The council returned RV parking to Main Street now that construction on its lower section by the town ball fields has mostly concluded. RV parking will no longer be allowed on West Street (Eden to Holland, south side).
Chris Wharff said this is in an effort to allow public works to stripe things in a way that complies with current MaineDOT standards and Safer Streets for all recommendations. This could potentially lose parking spaces and potentially impact parking revenue.
That needs to be taken into account, Smith said, and so does what the town is going to want to do to address those issues. The Safer Streets for All process will help the town look at these issues globally rather than piecemeal, Smith said.
COUNCILOR COMMENTS
Brechlin praised the new school building as did Hochman.
Caines mentioned the public hearing in Augusta about a bill LD1578’s public hearing in Augusta Wednesday.
“This is very relevant to a lot of people here,” she said.
Sprague said he’d miss Hochman, who is not running for reelection, saying that Hochman always brings something to the meeting.
MEET THE CANDIDATES
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Why would they need amps on that tiny deck?