The owners of Tre Amici and Lamar Lounge were researching the City of Oxford land ordinances when they discovered a loophole in one of the laws – a loophole that would permit rooftop venues.
The discovery led to a battle between the Board of Aldermen and several restaurant owners. Restaurants began filling out permits for rooftop venues and delivering them to Oxford City Hall.
The Board of Aldermen discovered last spring they accidentally left out a land ordinance that restricted commercial use of rooftops more than 50 years old. Earlier this fall, the Board of Aldermen unanimously readopted this rooftop restriction, to the dismay of businesses Tre Amici and Lamar Lounge.
“Not many buildings were planning on doing rooftops because most of them have balconies and it is a lot of expense to do a rooftop,” said Randy Barber, city of Oxford building manager since 2005. “There is a lot more to it then just opening up your roof.”
The adopted restrictions apply to older buildings and to newer buildings. While older buildings are banned from having rooftop venues, newer buildings with rooftops need six-foot walls around the borders of the building. Barber said two new hotels will have rooftop venues and currently the only other building with a rooftop would be the Oxford University Club. He believes there is an increasing number of rooftop venues with all the new construction and buildings coming to Oxford.
Lamar Lounge, located on 309 N Lamar Blvd., has already constructed a rooftop dinning area, that will open to the public later this fall.
According to Taariq David, general manager at Lamar Lounge, what will become of the rooftop is still uncertain.
“We are just now getting seating up there, so the next step is to go over what it will be used for with the owners,” David said.
Barber was not aware Lamar Lounge had a rooftop bar, but acknowledged it was built within the last three or four years and could possibly have a rooftop venue.
Tre Amici, located at 1107 Jackson Ave., has been drawing up plans, speaking with contractors and communicating with the Oxford Historic Preservation Commission to attempt to overrule the restriction on older buildings.
“It’s doable. They and other buildings would have to meet all the building codes such as exits, stairs and structural elements,” Barber said. “Tre Amici already put in an application, and now they have to meet the criteria and get a sprinkler.”
The Board of Aldermen agrees this type of reconstruction would cause these establishments to retrofit their entire buildings. Most buildings on the Square have common walls, so this would also cause other buildings to undergo renovations and construction.
Bo Petro, owner of Tre Amici, said he met with the Oxford city planner, historic preservations and building planner to go over options for his 1-year-old restaurant.
“The Downtown Preservation Committee said if we could frame out the rooftop deck a certain way, then the building could hold the weight of the people up there and it wouldn’t be a hazard to anybody,” Petro said.
Petro’s application in mid-August was denied by the city. After the rooftop restriction was reestablished, he met with the city planner and the building inspector to ask the officials what they would allow him to do. He was told that as long as everything is up to code, he can build two walls that go down the side of the building and one at the end of the building, which would look like the dining room downstairs.
“Really it is a continuation of my second story,” Petro said. “There would be no roof, but windows that would open up on the sides, which would make it feel like a patio.”
Petro plans to build staircases out the front door and the back door, so the restaurant could be up to code. Now he must go back before the Historic Preservation Committee and present his new ideas and construction thoughts.
“We are going to do it,” Petro said. “I am going to get the drawings for construction done in December and start construction in January, then open up in the spring of next year.”
