Club opens without city permits
03.05.2008 03:01
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- Source: JS Online
Oconomowoc - Frustrated by two years of delays, the owner of a swanky new restaurant on Silver Lake has opened the Club Porticello in violation of city ordinances, and he now faces fines of up to $700 a day. "They have opened without the appropriate permits and variances in place, so from the city's standpoint, they opened illegally," City Administrator Diane Gard said. "We have legal counsel preparing the citations, and we will take this to court." Asked if he thought he had opened for business in violation of city ordinances, owner Tony Pipito said, "Probably." The cocktail lounge, with large windows offering sweeping views of the lake and a long curving bar in the lower level of Club Porticello, opened Monday. It has been open daily starting at 4 p.m. since then, Pipito said. The small shoreline restaurant/bar building, just 17 feet from the water, underwent a $1 million renovation that transformed it from a dilapidated long-abandoned beach house to a mini-Italian-style villa. Above the bar at street level, the restaurant, which has not yet opened for business, has 19 dining tables and similar large windows facing Silver Lake. "So far the people I've met are happy we're open," Pipito said. "We've had so many positive comments." But some of Pipito's neighbors have strongly objected to his business since it was proposed. The restaurant is the subject of a lawsuit filed by some Silver Lake property owners and state Department of Natural Resources officials. They argue that opening the business so close to the water would damage the lake and set a statewide precedent for allowing environmentally harmful lake developments. The state sued the city's Board of Zoning Appeals for granting Pipito some of the necessary variances. Last year, a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge ruled against the city and nullified those variances. Judge Paul Reilly invalidated those area variances, saying a restaurant is expressly prohibited on the small sliver of land, squeezed between the lake shoreline and Waukesha County Highway B, under the city's restrictive lakeshore zoning ordinance. The board appealed that decision but last month withdrew its appeal. That action resulted in opponents of the restaurant filing an open meeting law complaint against the city, alleging that the Common Council met illegally behind closed doors to give direction to the board. District Attorney Brad Schimel said his office received the complaint on Wednesday, but he had not yet reviewed it. Gard declined to comment on the open meeting law allegation, saying she had not seen the complaint. Last month, Pipito applied a third time for the needed area variances after the Board of Zoning Appeals in March granted him another key zoning variance he needs to open. His latest variance request is expected to be considered by the board this month. Pipito also has not received an occupancy permit from the city. In urging members of the Board of Zoning Appeals to grant him the zoning variances he needs, Pipito said in March that every day his business is not open he loses thousands of dollars. "They've been wanting to open, but we had no idea they would just go ahead and open," Gard said. "If they get the area variances, they could get the occupancy permit and open legally." But, she acknowledged, if the Board of Zoning Appeals grants Pipito's new request for area variances, another lawsuit likely will be filed by the state. Meanwhile, Pipito vowed to continue unlocking the doors of Club Porticello's cocktail lounge and welcoming customers. "We're open," he said. "We open at 4 o'clock and we're going to be open."
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