Will Bang the Drum be evicted? Fate of popular SLO brewery may be decided Monday
The future of beloved San Luis Obispo brewery Bang the Drum has been up the air for nearly two months — but that could finally change, one way or the other, on Monday.
Bang the Drum and other tenants of 1150 Laurel Lane were told in early March they would have 30 days to vacate the warehouse building they call home after the city declared the property was unsafe and unfit for occupation.
The announcement was met with immediate backlash from the business’s devoted fans.
“This is kind of a blindsiding thing that’s happened for them, and I know the community is concerned,” resident Russell Peters said at a packed City Council meeting on April 1 in which dozens showed up to voice support for the business.
“They are a part of the fabric of our community,” Peters told the council. “I think it’s important that we prioritize things like this currently in our country, and it would be really really exceptional to see some sort of way forward with them.”
Now, the city’s Construction Board of Appeals is expected to review an appeal from property owners, Laurel Creek LP.
Its decision will determine whether Bang the Drum — which has already overstayed the 30-day order to vacate — can continue operations in the space, even if only temporarily, or if it will be forced to closed in the coming days.
“I will say that every day that has passed without concrete information on the stability and longevity of our occupancy has made it increasingly difficult to keep the business in a position to pivot and continue operating after our May 9th deadline,” Bang the Drum owner Noelle Dubois told The Tribune in an email Monday morning.
“As the writing forms on the walls, we have been appreciating each other and what this space has provided,” she continued. “It is bittersweet to hear all of the comments of love and encouragement.”
Why was SLO warehouse property declared unsafe?
In its March 10 notice to tenants, the city said the property was “unsafe, unlawful, unfit for human occupancy and declared dangerous” because required construction had not been completed and conditions at the site had deteriorated.
This included “building and fire code violations that leave the tenants vulnerable to unnecessary fire risks,” city spokesperson Whitney Szentesi told The Tribune at the time.
Szentesi said over the past 18 months, the city ramped up its efforts to bring the property into compliance, meeting with the property owner “multiple times,” visiting the site for inspections, providing lists of needed improvements and continuing to urge the owner to complete the work.
In the meantime, temporary certificates of occupancy for several of the units at the building — including the one for Bang the Drum that the business was unknowingly operating under — expired and permanent ones cannot be issued unless the previously permitted work is completed.
During the City Council meeting April 1, city manager Whitney McDonald elaborated on some of the city’s concerns, saying the building was left “open to the elements” and some it its safety features “were no longer there.”
She said the city was working closely with the property owner and tenants to ease the transition as they prepared to potentially vacate the building.
“We recognize this is really heartbreaking,” McDonald said during the meeting, “and we are here to maintain safety and understanding at the same time.”
Property owners spent $1 million on recent work at Laurel Lane building, appeal says
Developer Patrick Smith, writing on behalf of Laurel Creek LP, submitted an appeal of the eviction order on March 19, claiming the city’s concerns about the safety of the property were generally unfounded.
In the appeal, Smith said the property’s own structural engineer found that the building at Laurel Lane was not structurally compromised as the city said, asserting that the removal of portions of its exterior facade did not expose the building to damage.
Smith additionally said the city’s fire safety concerns were in the process of being addressed, characterizing it as “a minimal amount of work that (was) scheduled for completion within the next 60 days.”
“We acknowledge that this work still needs to be completed but believe that there must be a more reasonable approach to ensuring safety of the tenants in the meantime besides forcing the tenants to vacate the building,” he wrote.
In light of this, Smith asked the city for assistance in moving forward without having to evict the building’s tenants, which also include SLO City Church, Cal Fire and coworking space Office Hours.
“While we recognize the importance of addressing life safety issues, we respectfully request that the city allow for a more reasonable path forward that mitigates hardship to tenants while still addressing any legitimate safety concerns raised,” he wrote.
City staff say safety continues to be top concern at Laurel Lane building
In a lengthy report issued Friday ahead of Monday’s hearing, city staff recommended the Construction Board of Appeals reject the appeal and uphold the order for tenants to vacate 1150 Laurel Lane.
The Board of Appeals hears appeals of “orders, decisions or determinations” made by the city’s chief building official and fire marshal.
The report also further detailed some of the conditions that prompted the city’s building official to issue the eviction notice.
Chief among those was the property’s incomplete fire suppression and safety work.
According to the report, the work on required “fire walls” — essentially fire-resistant barriers meant to prevent the spread of flames — was never completed, and inspectors confirmed “dozens of missing or capped sprinkler heads throughout the building’s fire suppression system,” but particularly in the portion of the building that houses Bang the Drum and several offices.
The building’s water system was also using a temporary fire pump after its original infrastructure suffered multiple breaks, the report said.
The report also claimed the property was in a state of “advanced disrepair” with portions of the building exposed to the elements, short-term additions to the outside walls that have deteriorated and an “accumulation of junk and debris.”
Furthermore, the property has an extensive history of expired work permits, with nearly 18 permits having lapsed since the project began in 2020, the report said.
“The volume and nature of these expired permits materially demonstrates project abandonment,” the report said.
In light of these findings, city staff found that there was not sufficient evidence to support the appeal and recommended the Board of Appeals deny the appeal on Monday.
What happens next?
The Construction Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing Monday at 1 p.m. in Council Chambers, located at 990 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.
Those who wish to send in public comment in advance of the meeting can do so by emailing advisorybodies@slocity.org or leaving a voicemail at 805-781-7164.
In the meantime, Dubois said she is preparing for the worst case scenario: eviction.
“Whatever happens next will take some time,” she said. “We want to make sure we do it right. And that also means finding a place or a concept that lights us up so we not only have the energy to build it but we do it thoughtfully.”
She concluded: “For now, we will celebrate the moments we have left at Laurel Lane, amongst the redwoods and perpetual construction, and plan little ways we can connect with our community.”
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