Tarpon Turtle May Shut Down

If you have interest in this subject, your only chance to have your say is May 5 at Tarpon Springs City Hall.  In order to have your opinion heard, you must attend and you must get up and speak.

It all depends on approval or denial of an application for a permit for additional parking which will allow 250 seats.  Although the restaurant has had 250 seats since opening in 2006 (and was approved by state officials and the Tarpon Springs Fire Marshall for 250 seats), it was recently discovered that the original construction site plan shows 150 seats.  The Tarpon Turtle has been paying a $250/day fine for exceeding 150 seats which is now over $44,000.

On April 27, the Tarpon Springs Zoning and Planning Board formally recommended to the City Commission to grant 181 seats and ban outdoor sound systems and live entertainment. 

The case for limiting seating to 150, effectively closing the Tarpon Turtle (deny the permit)

• Numerous noise complaints (257 alleged, 5 spoke of noise at April 27 meeting)

• Smell of grease (one complaint)

The case for allowing 250 seats and keeping the Tarpon Turtle Open (approve the permit)

• Complying with the original 150 seat plan is not enough to pay for the $32,000/month mortgage.  The Turtle must close if forced to 150 seats.

• Noise from the lake is far greater than noise from the restaurant

• "Buyer Beware" - know what is around you before buying.  Don't buy next to an airport and complain about noise.  The Tarpon Turtle in one form or another was there before nearby homes.

• A "surround" sound system has been installed that places speakers near the tables and eliminates the need for a large broadcast amplifier setup.  It is much quieter now.

• The vast majority of noise complaints are from 4 or 5 people.  Several hundred live nearby.

• One local resident allegedly had "No Parking" signs made and installed without city knowledge, then called Tarpon Springs police who wrote many tickets.  The signs have now been removed.

• Many local jobs will be lost

• Tax revenue will be lost

• There will be noise from whatever replaces the Turtle (park, homes, vagrants, etc.)

• The 150 seat limit does not limit outdoor seating.  Noise will still be there.

• There is less noise now:

• The boat ramp, a source of noise, has been eliminated when old Tarpon Turtle was torn down.

• The new Tarpon Turtle replaced the old wooden fence on the South side with a taller concrete block wall

• About 40 spoke in support at April 27 meeting

4/29/2009 St. Pete times article:

BY DEMORRIS A. LEE Times Staff Writer

TARPON SPRINGS — Jack Willie’s Tarpon Turtle Grill and Marina’s deck is the scorn of some and a savior to others.

That was evident Monday night when nearly 100 people attended a Tarpon Springs Planning and Zoning Board meeting to voice their support or opposition to the restaurant’s outdoor seating capacity.

The restaurant has been locked in a battle with neighbors for months over the deck that extends onto the city’s Lake Tarpon.

Some local residents said the outdoor atmosphere is too loud and, more importantly, was never approved by the city. But supporters, who appeared to outnumber the opposition, said that single parents would lose their jobs if the city denied a request to allow the Tarpon Turtle to increase its seating at 1513 Lake Tarpon Avenue from 150 to 213. The site plan application would also allow outdoor dining.

One resident had on a T-shirt that said: “Save the Turtle.”

“Are you going to uphold the self interest of a few or what’s better for Tarpon Springs,” asked Don Adams, a city resident and Tarpon Turtle patron. “It’s a drawing attraction for Tarpon Springs business.”

But Joseph Novak, who lives at the neighboring Lake Tarpon Sail and Tennis Club, said that they were pleased to see a family restaurant until “it escalated into a large bar with all kinds of entertainment and activities going on.”

“It changed our lives,” Novak said. “We used to have our windows open. We can’t anymore.”

The Planning and Zoning Board, which debated the issue for more than four hours, recommended that the Tarpon Turtle be allowed to have 181 indoor and outdoor seats but no outdoor amplified sounds.

The ultimate decision will rest with Tarpon’s City Commission, which will tackle the matter at its regular meeting next Tuesday.

Ed Armstrong, an attorney who represented some of the residents opposing the Tarpon Turtle’s request, said the board was in a “real tough spot.”

They listened to four hours of passionate testimony on both sides, he said.

“It’s a very tough situation for those folks.” The City Commission approved the Tarpon Turtle’s initial site plan that called for 150 seats and no outdoor seating. The restaurant opened in May 2006 but with 240 seats and some outdoor seating.

Owner Don Alvino said there was no way he could keep the restaurant open with just 150 seats. He said the fire department gave him an occupancy certificate for 240 seats and so he thought he was working well within his boundary.

“We have to close the doors,” Alvino said. “We need a minimum of 215, 213 seats. It was ignorance on my part and I realize it’s not an excuse but I was with the belief that we had 240 seats.”

With only 150 seats, Alvino said: “I might as well take the keys and throw them in the middle of the Tarpon.” S

ome neighbors began to complain about the noise, the trash and the packed parking lots and streets. From May 2006 to November 2008, there have been 257 complaints filed with the Tarpon Springs police.

Alvino said all those complaints are from the same four or five people.

The city’s code enforcement did find that the Tarpon Turtle was in violation of its site plan and that it didn’t have the proper grease trap for the restaurant. Alvino has been fined $250 a day since November for being out of compliance. The bill is now $44,000.

“All we want them to do is live within the limits of the approval he has received,” said Ed Mazur, who hired Armstrong and lives near the Tarpon Turtle. “We checked all the proceedings and he never received approved approval from the city for anything more than 150 seats and he has been generally well above that.”

end of article

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