Sergeant Preston's

Sergeant Preston's bar in Seven Corners has new ownership, and they've received a class B liquor license from the Council. This was an expansion from the property's existing class C license, but conforms with other class B licenses in the area.

A nearby resident was very concerned about this expansion, given the poor track record of another liquor establishment, the Corner Bar. This bar is often noisier than either the state or Minneapolis noise codes allow, and has seen few consequences for this misbehavior.

Responding to these concerns, I helped negotiate a tough set of conditions (see here for a draft and here for the final) for the Sergeant Preston's liquor license with the new owners, including the capacity of the Licensing Department to reduce the number of nights they may have live music if they receive 3 or more noise citations. This adds teeth to the nuisance noise ordinance (which, like the nuisance odor ordinance, leaves something to be desired in terms of adequate enforcement - just ask neighbors of Morningstar Coffee in Seward), which I hope will help us better regulate the spillover effects of this establishment.

My office is also currently working with Environmental Health and the MPD First Precinct to better address the problems Corner Bar is generating for their neighbors. Working with a business that is unable or unwilling to change or improve distrubing practices, like exessive, wall-shaking noise and fowl, unhealthy fumes, is challenging for residents, city staff and elected officials alike. We are slowly finding better ways to bring legal consequences into play, but it is always more effective to have cooperative businesses, like most of them in Ward 2, who respect the rights of nearby residents.