COA Contact Us - City of Alexandria

City Council Hearing, May 15,2010
Statement on behalf of the Del Ray Business Association
Regarding: SUP Application #2010-0011, Hog Thaid, LLC
Dear Mayor and City Council Members,
Regarding SUP Application #2010-0011 (Hog Thaid, LLC), the position of the Del Ray
Business Association is simple: we support a business's right to operate within the law
and as the market dictates. We are hopeful that Council will approve this application as
the Planning Commission recommends.
The City has come a long way with regard to making our community more business-
friendly; but one need only look at how this application has proceeded to see that the
current process is not working well for businesses or citizens. To be specific, we will
address each of the following: 1) Emissions concerns; 2) Hours of operation; 3) Delivery
route limitations.
1. Emissions Concerns: The Alexandria departments of Health, Code Administration, and
T&ES control the safety and environmental impact of various establishments throughout
-
the Citv. Regulations within that realm should lie solelv in their hands and should be
universally applied. Food preparation and emissions are already well regulated. This
should be a question of enforcement of existing policies rather than a permitting
roadblock to-a new business that has not yet opened.
2. Hours of Operation: DRBA supports Hog Thaid in its request to stay open late. The
countless hours lost by business owners and the community as a whole debating the new
restaurants' hours underlines the need for a consistently applied policy that is realistic
and responsive to market demands.
3. Delivery Route Limitations: This new restaurant will undoubtedly bring in a goodly
amount of tax revenues to our City. Businesses in this community generate tens of
thousands of dollars that help to provide all the amenities that we all like to have,
including streets and sidewalks that we need to use. The applicant and the neighbors
have come to an agreement on deliveries, but DRBA is concerned that a limiting
precedent will be set for other businesses on the Avenue. The majority of the SUPS for
restaurants necessitate a debate over parking and deliveries. We need a standard that is
realistic, and is applied across the board.
Businesses, especially in a small community like ours, must be good neighbors. They will
limit the negative impacts of their operations because that pleases the community. A
happy community means happy customers. As the process currently stands, it is creating
conflict between residents and business owners.. . this despite the fact that the majority of
our business owners are also themselves residents.
If too many permit-specific regulations are placed on this establishment, what's to stop
other situational limitations from being included in every permit going forward?