August 14, 2019
Breaking! Licht Café Drops Entertainment Deck as ABRA License Moves to Settlement. Hanlon Hails News
Bowing to neighborhood show of strength, Licht Café an hour ago, about 2 pm, August 14, dropped its request for an entertainment deck as part of its business plan for tavern at 1520 U St., NW. At an otherwise pro forma roll call hearing Monday, Caroline Street residents showed in force at the roll call hearing of the Alcoholic Beverage Regulatory Administration (ABRA) to protest the proposed plan, including a summer garden and outdoor entertainment in the quiet residential neighborhood.
In an email from owner and applicant, Spencer Hurd writes, “[T]he major concern I heard from residents in the neighboring community deals with the proposed rear deck. Given the noise concerns expressed, and in the spirit of being a good neighbor and a responsible business, I have decided that I am willing to eliminate the exposed rear deck from my business plan. With that in mind, the "Summer Garden" and "Outdoor Entertainment" endorsements will be removed from the application, via a settlement agreement."
A measure of the intense and widespread opposition to the license, twenty residents showed representing a group of 67 neighbors, including residents north of U Street were joined by the well-established Dupont Circle Citizen’s Association (DCCA) and the new Dupont East Civic Action Association (DECAA). DECAA boundaries extend north and south of U Street.
“Banding together, working hard together, supporting each other as neighbors we, as a community, made a big difference,” said ANC2B Commissioner Ed Hanlon who represents the neighborhood. Hanlon congratulated residents for solidarity in their protest and called for plans for other neighborhood issues to address this Fall, like scooters on sidewalks and the dire need to restore parking spaces on 16th Street.
ABRA set dates for mediation on Aug. 26, for Status Hearing Sept. 11, and Protest Hearing on Oct. 9, a three-hour hearing to begin at 1:30 before the Board. ABRA then has 90 days to render a decision.
The licenses are for the second floor of 1520 U Street where plans would have included a summer garden, on a deck to be built at the rear of the building about 25 feet in the air, the height of nearby roofs. With live entertainment late into the night, neighbors on Caroline St. expressed concern for the noise that would result from people drinking and looking for a good time. The DECAA protest includes parking issues.
DECAA recently filed a lawsuit in DC Superior Court on the Masonic Temple development. Visit DECAA’s website and sign our petition. www.KeepDupontGreen.org Make a donation at www.GoFundMe.com/Keep-Dupont-Green