Fellow condominium owners, a matter of great urgency was addressed at the St. Elmo Condominium Association Annual Meeting on 22 June 2018. My letter could not wait for inclusion in the minutes of that meeting, which will follow in a few days.
The Annual Meeting was an occasion for a lively and concerned discussion on the changing character of our neighborhood. A restaurant across the street at 2 Ames has been in operation since the 2017 season. This has created an increased level of pedestrian traffic and noise in the area, some of it continuing into late hours of the evening. The consensus of those present at the Annual Meeting is that noise has crossed a tolerable threshold.
Our plan is to address the issue at various levels in the Chautauqua Institution administration. The first action relates to a notification from the Chautauqua Architectural Review Board (ARB) that they will address granting additional operating variances to the restaurant at 2 Ames. The letter is attached to this email. I urge you to study it. If you have concerns, and particularly if you have already made complaints, it is urgent that you take action by emailing your statement
to the ARB before the 4 July deadline. The St. Elmo Condominium Association plans to take action as a whole and submit its concerns to the ARB. It is essential that you provide individual emails to the ARB stating your individual complaints. Specificity is important. Specific times, dates, and actions taken are important. SECA action will not be
completely effective unless each of you also express your individual concerns. Specific details related to any disturbances will be most powerful.
Send your emails directly to David Williams, Architect, Administrator of Architectural & Land Use Regulations: dwilliams@chq.org. Be sure to note that you are a St. Elmo Condominium owner. Please copy me at chazker@gmail.com. I plan to attend the ARB meeting on 5 July to represent SECA as your President.
Chaz Kerschner, President
St. Elmo Condominium Association