The New Shoreham Board of License Commissioners closed out a show cause hearing over outdoor entertainment at a local restaurant on July 29, approving a negotiated settlement that includes a fine, a stipulation that the establishment's outdoor entertainment permit has expired, and an agreement not to use outdoor speakers for the rest of the season.
A show cause hearing is a proceeding in which a license holder must explain why a license should not be suspended, revoked, or otherwise penalized. In this case, the board sits as the Board of License Commissioners rather than as the town council, a distinction the board's attorney confirmed on the record when a member asked which body the stipulation actually binds.
The allegations
According to the stipulated facts read into the record, the town alleged that outdoor entertainment or amplified sound continued past 9 p.m. on multiple dates in early July, including July 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10 and 11. The dates were read aloud quickly and portions of the audio are difficult to make out, so the precise count of alleged incidents is not fully clear from the recording.
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An attorney appearing for the business owner told the board that his client, identified in the proceeding as Martucci, believed he was operating in conformance with the town's indoor entertainment ordinance, which does not require a permit, as distinct from outdoor entertainment, which does. He argued that the outdoor permit expired on July 15 by its own terms, and that as a result there was no active license for the board to suspend or revoke.
The attorney also flagged what he called procedural oddities, noting that several of the alleged violations appeared to fall after the permit had already lapsed. He said the establishment is publicly on the market, and that his client wanted to avoid prejudicing a future owner. He added that no entertainment had been held the prior weekend and none was scheduled for the coming weekend.
The settlement
After a 15-minute recess for the parties to negotiate, the board's counsel read a framework agreement into the record. It stipulates that the outdoor entertainment permit expired on July 15 and is no longer in effect; that it will not be reapplied for or reissued for the remainder of the season; and that no outdoor speakers will be used for the rest of the year. The agreement includes a per-incident fine. The total figure stated on the record was $400, though the per-incident amount as read is garbled in the audio.
Two provisions matter for anyone reading the outcome as precedent. The agreement does not preclude the business or any successor owner from applying for an outdoor entertainment license in the future. And the stipulated facts expressly do not include any allegation of a decibel-level violation under the town's noise ordinance, nor does the stipulation apply to enforcement under that ordinance.
The dinner music exception
The one substantive amendment came from the board itself. A member asked whether the outdoor speaker prohibition would bar all sound, and the owner's attorney requested an exception for low-volume ambient dinner music — not a band or a DJ — within the town's noise limits. The board discussed when that music would have to stop, with the establishment's dinner service described as ending around 9 p.m., or 9:30 on weekends. Both sides agreed to fold the exception into the stipulation.
The chair thanked both parties for what he described as good-faith work, and the board approved the stipulation by voice vote. The board then adjourned the hearing by voice vote.
What happens next
The agreement governs only the remainder of this season. Any future outdoor entertainment at the property, under this owner or a new one, would require a fresh application to the Board of License Commissioners. Residents who want the full terms should request the written stipulation from the town clerk's office, since the version read aloud contains figures and dates that are hard to verify from the audio alone.