There’s been a good amount of conversation about late night noise generated from bars and restaurants in downtown Bethesda, but the stats show formal complaints are uncommon.
The Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection, which enforces the county’s noise ordinances, has just 44 formal complaints related to “amplified music” at Bethesda businesses since 2000.
Some (including us) have written about concerns that an extra hour of selling alcohol for Montgomery County bars and restaurants would mean loud late night disruptions. Blogger Robert Dyer reported that the issue came up at a public meeting for a proposed apartment building next to popular bar Tommy Joe’s (4714 Montgomery Lane):
A representative of Tommy Joe’s, a popular restaurant and nightspot located behind the proposed building, was concerned about potential noise complaints from new neighbors. Tommy Joe’s sister business, Roof, has already had 20 complaints before the rooftop portion has even opened, he said. Those complaints came from residents of Triangle Towers on Cordell Avenue.
According to Montgomery County, the Department of Environmental Protection hasn’t received any complaints about Roof in Bethesda. The restaurant opened its rooftop bar and dining area last week.
The county did get a few complaints from residents of the Triangle Towers (4853 Cordell Ave.) on Friday regarding some late night construction noise.
The county hasn’t received any formal, music-related noise complaints about Bethesda businesses since last August, when it got a complaint about noise coming from the Vapiano restaurant at 4900 Hampden Lane. The only other complaint in 2013 was about the now shuttered Kraze Burgers across the street at 4733 Elm St.
Past complaints include ones about the Bethesda Central Farm Market, which occurs during the day, and Barnes & Noble at 4801 Bethesda Ave. See the PDF below for the full list.
The state legislature has passed a bill that will allow restaurants to sell alcohol to 3 a.m. on weekend nights (instead of 2 a.m.) and to 2 a.m. on most Sunday weekday nights (instead of 1 a.m.).
The bill also changes the county’s allowed alcohol-to-food sold ratio. Until now, the law required all Montgomery County restaurants to abide by a 50-50 ratio requirement for food and alcohol sold.
Now, restaurants must prove sales of at least as much food as alcohol.
The bill changes that requirement to 40 percent of sales for food, with the remaining 60 percent allowed for alcohol, but only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. That will mean no ratio requirements after 9 p.m. until closing.
Changes to the law were one of many recommendations from the county’s Nighttime Economy Task Force geared at improving the county’s nightlife.
PDF: Bethesda Noise Complaints Since 2000
