The Baldwin County Planning Commission is expected to consider today whether to revoke the permit for Bella Sera Gardens, an event venue outside of Loxley.
The venue, which lies in a residential area and has operated for around nine years, has drawn the ire of its neighbors. Since 2018, planning and zoning staff have received numerous complaints from residents about the event venue, primarily relating to noise.
In April, the planning commission held a public hearing during its monthly meeting to determine whether or not the venue’s conditional use permit, which allows it to operate in a residential area, should be modified or revoked. The property is zoned Residential Single Family-Estate, which is the lowest density zoning for single family homes.
There is no noise ordinance in unincorporated areas of Baldwin County, but the venue’s conditional use permit currently states that hours of operation must end at 9 p.m. and with no sound audible from the property lines. Matthew Brown, director of the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Department, initially proposed striking the latter requirement, arguing that it was not enforceable.
But Bella Sera owner Robin Gregorius says that the venue has a good reason for the noise: Hulu filmed scenes for the new television series “Love in Fairhope” at the venue. Filming went late, and the band continued playing after 9 p.m. Hulu will come back, she says, but the production team has agreed to comply with the rules laid out in the venue’s permit.
“I have a decibel reader. If we’re going to be scrutinized, I can easily hire a sound professional,” Gregorius said during the meeting. “I can go to each member of the community here tonight and get their physical address. You want sound readings? I can do that.”
She also said that she’s been harassed by one of the complaining neighbors.
Brown said filming for the series happened after the venue was notified about the planning department’s intentions to review the permit, so the noise violations were not solely related to filming.
Residents say that Gregorius has made promises before, but nothing has changed. They also argue that the venue does not fit with the residential nature of the area, and that what started as a wedding chapel has become a commercial entertainment venue.
“We’re not talking about a subdivision here. We’re talking about large tracts of land where people have invested to live out in the country so that they don’t have to have this stuff next to them,” Narissa Nelson, an attorney for one of the neighbors said during the meeting. “The decibel levels are frightening out there.”
Planning and zoning staff have proposed several changes to the venue’s permit, including restricting the use of the venue to weddings only and only allowing amplified music in an enclosed area with the doors closed.
However, some members of the commission expressed concern about the county’s ability to enforce the requirements of the permit.
The planning commission will meet at 4 p.m. at the Baldwin County Central Annex in Robertsdale.
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