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Review board OKs restaurant patio roof that’s already built

LAKE PLACID — The town-village Joint Review Board on July 7 approved a Main Street business owner’s request to build a roof above his dining area.

The owner of the Upstairs Grill Steak & Seafood restaurant, Skender “Kenny” Cecunjanin, submitted an application asking the review board to authorize the construction of a new roof above the restaurant’s existing patio area at 2490 Main St.

The roof has already been built. In the past, the review board had authorized Cecunjanin to build a covering over the patio. Review board Chairman Rick Thompson said when he was informed that’s “not quite what was built,” Cecunjanin was told he needed to submit an application again and that the review board needed to host a public hearing on the updated plan.

At the public hearing on July 7, a few neighbors spoke about the project. They primarily took issue with the potential for noise pollution.

Sarah Galvin, who co-owns the Bookstore Plus, expressed concern about noise. Another neighbor, John Huttlinger, asked that sound barriers be put in place to shield neighbors from the sound of music and conversation on the patio.

“For me to sit there on Saturday and listen to Frank Sinatra… I mean, I like Sinatra, but it gets a little bit overwhelming,” Huttlinger said. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t play it, but I shouldn’t have to hear it.”

Cecunjanin said the music is for the customers, and the music should be just loud enough that customers can hear it. He said the speakers at the restaurant were already on site when he moved in.

Lake Placid resident Ann O’Leary, who owns a building across the street, asked why the roof had already been built prior to the hearing. She said she thinks if this is allowed to happen it “sets a terrible precedent.”

The review board voted to approve Cecunjanin’s application with a few conditions: That there be no amplified or live music outside the establishment at any point in time, that no more speakers be installed beyond what’s already there, that the review board may retain jurisdiction over the noise and may specify the need for a sound barrier later on, and that service on the patio must end by 9 p.m. with the deck clear by 10 p.m.

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