Renovation was nearly complete when the city ordered it halted this spring because some expansion was not authorized
After operators secured the right for customers to use the parking lot of a clothing store across the street, plans for an upscale restaurant on Magazine Street won tentative approval Thursday from the New Orleans City Council. This was the third time in six years that the council has given approval for the restaurant that Johnny Vodanovich, owner of the Monkey Hill bar and a former general manager at Clancy's restaurant a few blocks away, wants to open at 6104-08 Magazine, next to Monkey Hill.
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View full sizeJohnny Vodanovich has permission to continue work on a restaurant next to the Monkey Hill bar on Magazine Street, pictured here. The 98-seat restaurant will be called Johnny V's.
The latest approval became necessary when a contractor renovating the building eliminated two previously required on-site parking spaces and expanded the structure's floor space by 900 square feet beyond what was authorized by the city.
The work began last year and was nearly complete when the city ordered it halted this spring after inspectors discovered some of it had not been authorized. Vodanovich's attorney, Justin Schmidt, said the contractor did most of the unauthorized work on his own, and the issue is now in court.
Councilwoman Susan Guidry, whose district includes the site, said it is not clear to her how the illegal work happened, and that it will be up to a judge to decide.
In the meantime, she said, the extensive set of provisos the council approved Thursday will ensure that the restaurant has more off-street parking than was previously required and that the unauthorized new space, primarily a second floor, cannot be used to expand the restaurant.
Although the project has created considerable controversy in the neighborhood, Guidry said messages sent to her office were overwhelmingly in favor of allowing the restaurant to open.
Nevertheless, she said, she will not introduce an ordinance giving legal force to the zoning docket approved Thursday until several more documents spelling out limitations on the restaurant's operation are completed and signed.
The project has attracted support from many residents, who say they would welcome another first-class restaurant in the neighborhood, but it has stirred up determined opposition from some neighbors, primarily over the issue of parking.
Opponents said it already is hard for them to park near their homes at night. Those on the other side said the benefit of having another quality restaurant close to their homes is an acceptable trade-off for any parking problems they must deal with.
At Guidry's behest, the council voted 5-0, with Jackie Clarkson and Jon Johnson absent, to approve Vodanovich's request to amend his earlier conditional-use permit to rewrite the requirements for off-street parking.
In 2005, when Jay Batt was the council member for the district Guidry now represents, the council required that the restaurant provide four on-site parking spaces and secure 16 spaces in nearby lots. In 2009, when Shelley Midura was in office, the requirement was changed to seven on-site spaces and none off-site.
The new set of provisos requires five on-site spaces for use by customers of Monkey Hill and Johnny V's. In addition, during the evening, the bar and restaurant must lease six spaces at 6042 Magazine, 12 spaces in a Shell gas station's lot at 6001 Magazine and 16 spaces in the lot at the Perlis clothing store at 6070 Magazine, across Webster Street from the bar.
For years, Perlis has left its lot open at night, allowing Monkey Hill customers to use it, but without ever signing a formal agreement. The store's owners said some bar patrons have abused the arrangement, littering and urinating in the lot and leaving cars overnight.
The store and Vodanovich have now agreed to a lease for use of the lot when the store is not open, although they have yet to sign off on insurance provisions.
The restaurant will be allowed to operate Monday through Thursday from 5 to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. It may serve brunch on Sunday but not lunch on other days. It will be closed most of the time that nearby businesses, such as Perlis, are open.
The bar must close by 3 a.m., with no orders taken after 2:30 a.m.
The illegally constructed second floor in the restaurant area must be walled off, and no food or drinks can be served there.
Two neighbors spoke against the project Thursday, but most opposition appeared to have been dissipated by the restrictions Guidry imposed and the requirement that the restaurant and building owners sign "good neighbor agreements," spelling out similar provisions, with both the Audubon Riverside Neighborhood Association and the Upper Hurstville Residents Association.
Bruce Eggler can be reached at beggler@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3320.