(Credit: Luke Mosseau, 2023)
The Sans Souci has been using outdoor space for dining during the pandemic. The 5-2 vote at the Queensbury Planning Board will extend that special use for three more years.
The Sans Souci, the restaurant and tavern in the residential neighborhood on Lake George’s Cleverdale, won approval for outdoor seating from the Queensbury Planning Board despite protests from some neighbors. The board approved the plan Feb. 14.
The restaurant was awarded a renewable special-use permit to allow for outdoor seating over a three-year period running from May 1, 2023 to May 1, 2026. When the permit expires, there will be a reevaluation to see how well the restaurant performed with the rest of the Cleverdale neighborhood in terms of conduct and noise disturbance.
The outdoor arrangement allows for three tables with four chairs each. Plantings will also be installed in the outdoor area, as well as a 4-foot high fence to shield the area from the neighborhood. Lighting will be aimed down.
The special-use permit also includes:
- No outdoor music.
- Eight plastic garbage totes to be placed near Cleverdale Road.
- Hours of operation for outdoor seating will not exceed 10 p.m. on weekends or 9pm. on weeknights.
- Indoor seating will not exceed 1 a.m. from Memorial Day to Columbus Day, and not to exceed 12 a.m. on all other days.
- Garbage to be emptied at a minimum of once per week, more frequently if needed.
- Exterior doors to be closed at all times.
Outdoor seating has been the main gripe of the residents on Mason Road, who live directly across from the Sans Souci. The restaurant has been allowed to extend seating during the pandemic. The nearby residents believe it fundamentally changes the neighborhood’s identity and could potentially decrease the property value of their homes.
[Read our earlier coverage here.]
“We remain opposed to the special-use permit for the Sans Souci. Their current proposal is still in violation of zoning regulations. The planning board must consider the safety, health, and general welfare of the community,” said Bill Kimmons of 87 Mason Rd.
“The property is overbuilt,” Kimmons added. “We the people that live with it day in and day out are strongly opposed to outdoor dining.”
Residents on Mason Road are concerned that this will just be used by the Sans to “get their foot in the door,” and that they will eventually expand their outdoor dining in future years.
The current Sans Souci ownership group wrongfully modified the special-use permit to include outdoor dining, and are not entitled to the outdoor dining privilege, according to residents. The residents say that when the restaurant was purchased, it was limited to indoor dining only.
“Every time, the board and the owners engage in a let’s make a deal discussion to come to a compromise with the residents,” said Caitlin Miller of 91 and 93 Mason Road.
“The plans are smoke and mirrors,” Miller continued. “Three generations of my family have watched various owners of this property wriggle their way through regulations, and the current owners have done the same and then some.”
However, the Sans Souci also had its share of supporters.
“I was highly offended, as were a lot of my neighbors, by the characterization that the Sans is a bad neighbor,” said Anne Campbell, who lives on Cleverdale and has worked at the Sans for 25-plus years.
Campbell described the Sans as a “caring neighbor and a well-established part of the lives of the people that make their home here.” She went on to describe a series of goodwill gestures such as donations to local fire departments and rescue squads, and hosting annual potlucks.
Campbell then submitted a list of 70 names and signatures of locals in favor of the Sans Souci.
She also stated that any grievances with the restaurant are isolated to those on Mason Road.
“The Sans has been here for about 70 years,” said Attorney Jon Lapper, representing the Sans Souci ownership group. “It was bought a few years ago by local families because they wanted to make sure it stayed as a tavern for the neighborhood.”