After nearly two hours of discussion Feb. 17, members of the Carmel City Council’s land use committee felt they didn’t have enough information to proceed with a vote on whether to recommend a zoning change for the site of The GOAT.
The tavern has been closed since April 2021 after Carmel’s board of zoning appeals denied a use variance for it to operate on a residentially zoned site. Since then, a judge ordered the BZA to take another look at the matter, but the petitioner decided to seek a rezone instead, which the Carmel Plan Commission approved in December along with a list of commitments drafted by hand during the meeting.
Still, several city councilors at the committee meeting said they were left with unanswered questions, such as how well the proposed architectural changes would reduce noise and how The GOAT’s proposed hours compare to other restaurants and bars in the area.
“I’m approaching this with eyes triple wide open this time, so I think the hoops you’re going to have to jump through and the challenges you’re going to have to overcome are twice as high as they were in the past, and that’s why I think we really have to dig into the details,” Councilor Jeff Worrell said. “I’m going to need every detail you can give me.”
The site at 220 2nd St. SW previously housed Bub’s Cafe, which was permitted to operate there through a use variance limiting its hours to between 7 a.m. and 2 p.m. City officials said they inadvertently overlooked the variance when they approved plans for the tavern, which opened in July 2020.
Soon after opening, the city began receiving complaints about noise late into the night and patrons trespassing on adjacent residential property to urinate and vomit. The GOAT’s owner worked with city officials to address the problems, and complaints sharply decreased before the BZA vote caused the tavern to cease operations.
Kevin Paul, owner of The GOAT, has worked with an architect in recent months to address many of the complaints by enclosing much of the open space and adding restrooms. He said he’s willing to discuss additional commitments and intends to continue measures put in place before the closure, such as banning patrons who trespass onto adjacent property.
“It’s a nature of a very transient, pedestrian greenway. It’s urban living, so there’s going to be a lot of people everywhere,” he said. “It’s an obligation and responsibility for every resident and every business owner to help police or manage these types of activities, for sure. I’ve certainly proven, tried, documented that we were willing to address these issues. What happened in 2020 was unacceptable, and we put things in place that will remain in place even beyond the commitments.”
The committee plans to continue discussing the matter at its next meeting before sending the matter to the full council for a vote. A date for the next committee meeting has not been set.
