As reported yesterday in The Capital, the county Circuit Court overturned a ruling that would have allowed Jerry's Seafood to open a new location at 4 Dock St. with rooftop dining.
In case you haven't visited the Jerry's Seafood location in Seabrook, MD, let me just tell you: it is the absolute greatest seafood restaurant in the history of the world. I can say with absolute certainty that you can't even find a better seafood joint in the Lost City of Atlantis.
The thing that makes AP's blood boil is that the lawsuit to stop Jerry's Seafood was organized by Bryan Miller, the former President of the Ward 1 Resident's Association. As you learned by my post yesterday, this is typical behavior for the many of the Ward 1 isolationists.
Current W.1R.A. President Doug Smith had this to say:
We think it's the right move and we applaud the decision....It certainly helps preserve the ward.
So, you're saying that the vacant property that currently exists is better than a restaurant with rooftop dining that blocks the view of....nobody? What harm is there in rooftop dining? Don't people come to the city to enjoy the views? Oh, I forgot, they come to see the houses that you have remodeled.
The court decision to block rooftop dining is the result of a strict interpretation of the law that prohibits outside dining. Banning dining outside on sidewalks at least makes sense, as pedestrians need room to get by. But, numerous exceptions have been allowed to this rule (including O'Briens, Mangia, Dock St., Armadillos, City Dock Coffee, Castle Bay...the list goes on and on). Given the willingness to allow this sidewalk dining, AP is baffled as to why rooftop dining should not be allowed. Can anyone email me a good reason?
Furthermore, this restriction applies only to the Historic Conservation District, which is basically Ward 1 with some exceptions. Other places in the city are already allowed to have rooftop dining. In fact, Metropolitan--which is only 65 one-hundredths of a mile away from Doug Smith's house and .o2 miles farther away than Jerry's Seafood would be--already operates with rooftop dining.
Take a deep breath, refill your glass of sauvignon blanc, and read that above paragraph again. Go ahead, I'll wait..............................................Ok, now ask yourself, does that many any sense? I submit to you that it does not.
