How we got here
The city's planning and zoning commission approved a conditional use permit, or CUP, on Sept. 24 to allow on-premise consumption of mixed beverages but limit all outdoor music to no more than 60 decibels at Tantra.
According to the International Noise Awareness Day website, 60 decibels equates to the sound volume of a normal conversation.
During the Sept. 24 planning and zoning meeting, San Marcos resident Lisa Marie Coppoletta spoke out about the "profanities and obscenities" that come from the music at Tantra.
"The level of the noise is unreasonable," Coppoletta added.
Although the CUP was granted, the applicant, owner Jeff Colasurd, wanted to appeal the condition limiting their music due to "unnecessarily restrictive decibel limits," according to agenda documents.
Offering input
Page Michel, who attended the Nov. 19 City Council meeting representing the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce and also spoke on behalf of The Downtown Association of San Marcos, urged the council to restore Tantra's permit to its prior noise levels.
"Remove this crippling rule that would kill this downtown business that is the exact type of business we want in San Marcos. It's called for in the Downtown Master Plan, it's what the economic development and downtown redevelopment teams are all working for," Michel said.
Samantha Evans, a San Marcos resident, said she has loved taking her children to Tantra and has not heard any profanity.
Notable quote
Colasurd said he was happy and people showed up to support Tantra and that council came out with the correct decision.
"We're just gonna keep doing what we've been doing before and that's watching our decibel levels, making sure we're a good neighbor, as we were doing before," Colasurd told Community Impact.
One more thing
Because the planning and zoning commission's decision was appealed, Tantra will continue to limit its outdoor amplified music between the hours of 10 a.m.-10:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and 2 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. on weekdays, but won't be restricted to a specific decibel level.
