ROCKLAND, Maine — The City Council will consider next week whether to grant entertainment and liquor licenses for a downtown pub that has been the subject of complaints from its next door neighbor over noise and disturbances.
Rock Harbor Pub and Brewery owner Dan Pease spoke to councilors Monday night and asked them to grant the licenses, saying he has been working with the neighbor to deal with the concerns.
City Manager James Chaousis told councilors that the two parties were very close to an agreement.
Councilor Valli Geiger, however, argued that the issue was not one between the two neighbors but was rather a policy issue to be decided by the council.
Councilors voted 4-1 on May 12 to reject the entertainment license for the business, which has since expired. The council took no action on the pub’s liquor license, which runs through June 8.
Pease appealed to councilors to approve both licenses.
The owner said he has worked hard since he opened the pub in 2011 to make it a comfortable place for all customers. He started a brewery in the restaurant two years ago. Pease said he plans on creating a full production brewery within the next two years and he would like it to happen in Rockland.
Pease said the pub was not the noisy, rowdy place it was portrayed last month. Pease did not attend last month’s meeting, saying he did not expect such action to be taken.
The council took its vote after Beth Bowley, who owns the neighboring building, said disruptions from the pub have caused her to lose rental revenue from the apartments she owns. Bowley lives on the top floor of the adjacent three-story brick building and rents two other apartments as well as space for businesses on the street level.
Bowley said the noise from live bands is so loud that it makes the floor shake. She also maintained that patrons congregate outside the establishment and create disturbances.
Bowley could not be reached for comment.
Councilors said last month they were concerned about the issue because they want the downtown to be a mix of residences and businesses and that for this to occur, the parties must adhere to city ordinances and be good neighbors.