1996 Flare Up Between Bound'ry and Residents Resulted in Uneasy Understanding

From spring 1996 until the beginning of the fall of the same year controversy over the Bound'ry restaurant's late-night amplification of music 100 feet past its boundaries grew. Records at a residence hall across the street from the loud eatery indicate that there were complaints about loud music keeping neighbors up all night, there were neighbors moving out because of the noise, there were Bound'ry valets running across private greenspace to retrieve patrons' cars, and there was litter and trash left laying around the block that did not get picked up by Bound'ry staff. One community leader wrote former Metro Council Member Julian Sloss, saying:

we are frequently forced to clean up empty beer bottles and drink glasses from our front sidewalk and yard area, left by patrons of the restaurants [Bound'ry and South Street].

He also contrasted the Bound'ry management's unwillingness to respect residents' requests with the previous restaurateurs' willingness to accommodate their neighbors.

While neighborhood representatives and a Bound'ry manager met that year to agree on a solution, one report said that the manager made no guarantee that things would get better for the neighborhood. Accordingly, he made it "very clear that open air patios and noise are a part of their 'concept.'" Residents reportedly made it clear that they would reserve the right to call the police if initial phone calls to the Bound'ry had no effect on noise violations, but the internal reports indicate that warnings about calling the police are empty threats when the police would not properly enforce the noise and amplification codes.

Twelve years later, the Bound'ry seems to still be imposing its concept on the Midtown neighborhood to the point where newer neighbors are taking their own turns at pushing back. And the newest neighbors recently moved into the high-rise Adelicia may have more resources to bring to bear on this situation. Consequently, have the police changed their tune about enforcing the codes? First indications look promising for sleepless Midtown residents, even if the police reply was less than enthusiastic.