Okatie brewery plans to expand to Bluffton, agrees to drop its plans for outdoor pavilion
A new brewery may be coming to May River Road in Bluffton, but developers first must address neighbors’ concerns that live music at the venue could be too loud.
Plans to build a separate pavilion on the site that would feature live bands have already been scrapped for this reason.
River Dog Brewing, 591 Browns Cove Road in Okatie, has plans for a 20,000-square-foot brewery on an L-shaped lot surrounding the Parker’s Kitchen at the corner of May River Road and Buck Island Road. The two-story building will feature the brewery, a restaurant, retail space and a beer garden, which was described as having a “natural park-like setting.”
The city Planning Commission approved a proposal to build the brewery. There currently is no expected completion date for the project, according to the Town of Bluffton’s permit finder.
James Atkins, a principal architect for Court Atkins, shared a sound map showing that noise would not reach the homes, but could reach their yards. The sound reaching the properties would be no louder than a “normal conversation,” according to Atkins and a sound map he shared, but the commissioners were still concerned about the impact the noise could have on homeowners.
“You’re saying the level of normal conversation in that person’s backyard, but would you like to hear people talking in your backyard all the time?” Commissioner Charlie Wetmore said.
Wetmore suggested that the brewery could be rotated so that the beer garden and music pavilion were facing Buck Island Road instead of May River Road, thinking that would limit the homes disturbed by music. Ultimately, Atkins was not very receptive to that idea and instead conceded to remove the pavilion altogether.
The brewery will still occasionally have live music despite the loss of the pavilion.
“Music will likely happen, but it’s not the main component,” said Atkins. “We can’t soundproof an outdoor venue, but we can do things to try to mitigate it.”
Some of the steps being taken to mitigate the spread of the sound are a brick fence surrounding the outdoor area, an increase of the site’s perimeter fence from 6 feet to 8 feet, and planting trees.
The Planning Commission approved the plan on multiple conditions: Two were the removal of the music pavilion and perimeter fence height increase. Others included more minor changes like roof pitches, materials used and size of signage.
The aesthetics of the building will be themed like an old boat warehouse using brick and earth tones for color. The site will also feature grain silos.
Plans for the site next will be reviewed again Nov. 30 by the Development Review Committee.
This story was originally published November 22, 2022 at 9:38 AM.