Brewing Co., city need compromise

Why is it that people who choose to live next to an airport complain about jet noise? Did they happen to go to the open house on some magical day when all of the jets were idled by the weather or something?

These are, of course, obvious rhetorical questions. It similarly amazes us when we hear about neighbors rising up against a local tavern or restaurant griping that it’s too noisy or that patrons — surprise, surprise — stagger out of the pub. Well, of course they do. It’s a bar — where customers drink alcohol.

This isn’t meant to dismiss the problems that businesses that serve alcohol and offer live entertainment can produce. Certainly we as neighbors should not cavalierly shrug our shoulders and accept it. It’s quite reasonable to ask your law enforcement officers to collar that goofy drunk relieving himself on your lawn or stop the more dangerous ones from getting in their cars. And we have no quarrel with anyone telling the business owner to turn the amps down a few notches.

But we have to draw the line when our political leaders go too far to please their constituents and enact rules that effectively shut down the business. Remember, the business owner is our neighbor, too, and should have a reasonable expectation to make a profit.

It’s this intersection of neighbors’ complaints and a business’ profits where we find ourselves as Newport Beach Brewing Co. executives consider a lawsuit against the city for changing its operating conditions.

We appreciate that Cannery Village residents want the city to do something about the drunks urinating in the restaurant’s parking lot as well as the noise, but it’s unreasonable to shut off the company’s liquor sales at 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. It is reasonable, however, to require the pub to provide more security and to make regular reports on the progress they’re making to address the complaints.

But city officials should not put conditions on the Newport Beach Brewing Co. that will handicap its ability to make money.

We encourage city leaders to keep working with the restaurant’s owners and neighbors to resolve the issues. A lawsuit would be a waste of time and money for everyone involved.