For 40 minutes, the public spoke during a hearing at last week’s Oxford Township Board meeting on the possibility of allowing televisions and music on the outdoor patio connected to the restaurant/bar inside Legacy 925, formerly known as the Legacy Center.

Many of those present were opposed to the idea. The opposition came from residents of the nearby Stony Lake Village condos who don’t want it because they fear the potential increase in noise could negatively impact their quality of life and property values

Herman Walker, who lives at 120 Stony Lake Dr., told the board, “I bought (a condo) there for a quiet retirement, not to listen to music every night.”

“There’s a reason why most communities do not allow outdoor music,” he said.

Suzanne Fodor, a resident of 861 Stony Lake Dr. and a Realtor for 28 years, said she, too, moved there for “peace and quiet,” and “it is a known fact that if there’s loud music . . . it deteriorates the values of those properties (near it).”

Fodor, along with others, was especially concerned about how easily sound travels across water, given there’s a lake between Legacy 925 and the Stony Lake Village development.

“I lived on Lake Orion for 40 years and when a boat would go by my house, I could hear, in the evening, every word they were saying on that boat. So, sound does travel,” she said.

“Many of the residents of Stony Lake (Village) chose to live here long before the Legacy Center and its expansion started. Most of our residents who bought homes and moved to our community did so because they enjoy peace and quiet and nature, not because they want to experience the potential for a party in their backyard at any given moment,” wrote Les Pratt in a letter that was sent to the board and read into the record during the hearing.

Pratt asked officials to consider how they would feel if when they retire, they “choose to live in a peaceful location similar to Stony Lake (Village),” but then their local government allows “drastic changes to the quiet, peaceful surroundings.”

Some folks supported the idea of allowing outdoor televisions and music, or at least giving Legacy’s owner, Lake Orion resident Christian Mills, the opportunity to demonstrate that noise won’t be a problem.

Joseph Gasiewski, who lives at 119 Stony Lake Dr., said, “Whoever is against this should move to the cemetery” if they want quiet.

Jose Lopez, who lives on Pondview Lane in Waterstone, said he goes to Legacy’s restaurant/bar “pretty much every Thursday,” has “a great time” and “it’s never loud.” He asked the board to “give (Mills) a shot . . . and go from there.”

Bill Fedorinchik, a resident at 369 Stony Lake Dr., agreed.

“I think we ought to give (Mills) a chance,” he said.

That was the opinion of Emily Lopez, a Pondview Lane resident, as well.

“I do think that a trial run would be fair,” she said. “And then, I do agree with the Stony Lake (condo) residents that if it is too loud and their windows are rattling at 11 o’clock (at night), then it shouldn’t be an option to have music on the patio.”

At its June 12 regular meeting, the township board voted 4-2 to give Mills temporary permission to use the outdoor patio on the west side of his 208,000-square-foot building until Sept. 30. Customers are allowed to eat and drink there each day until 11 p.m., but Legacy is not allowed to have any televisions or music on the patio area.

As part of that approval, the township was to conduct a public hearing on the issue.

“Ultimately, we’re asking to operate our patio with dinner background music and the ability for our guests to watch TV,” Mills told the board. “We’re not asking for bands or live music.”

He assured the music would be played at a level that’s “appropriate” for dining, “not blasting in your ear, not pounding.”

“People like to watch a game and people like to listen to music while they dine. It’s background music. It’s not nightclub (levels),” Mills said.

Mills believes not being able to have music and televisions on his patio puts his restaurant/bar “at a critical competitive disadvantage” compared to other local establishments such as the 24th Street Sports Tavern and Oxford Tap in downtown Oxford as well as Lockhart’s BBQ and Buffalo Wild Wings in Orion.

“Some of the most successful restaurants have music and TVs on their patio. It’s what people want . . . There are very few restaurants that don’t have TV or music and there’s a reason for that,” he said.

Cindy Kainz, who lives at 843 Stony Lake Ct., disagreed. She pointed out “there are many successful places” that don’t have outdoor televisions or music, including Sullivan’s Public House, Red Knapp’s American Grill and Ox Bar and Grill, all in Oxford, and Kruse and Muer, Rio on Main and Forest Mexican Cantina, all in Orion.

“I don’t believe that you have to have outside TVs and music to be successful and to make money,” Kainz said.

Mills said he understands the “general fear and concern” some residents have when it comes to this issue, but he pointed out they’re “concerned about something that hasn’t happened.”

“It’s a fear-based conversation without a lot of fact,” he said. In order to gather some facts, Mills proposed conducting a sound test on the patio (see related story “Twp. officials tell Legacy owner finish site work, then they’ll consider sound test request.”).

Mills noted he’s been operating his restaurant/bar, along with the event center inside Legacy, since last fall and “we haven’t had any complaints” about noise. He said the reality is “you really can’t hear music much past the parking lot and you certainly can’t hear music past the (property’s) borderline.”

But a number of Stony Lake Village condo residents indicated they already hear noises emanating from Legacy 925 and fear outdoor televisions and music will only add to it.

“Presently, I can hear music coming from the gym,” Fodor said. “I can hear the people doing their exercises outside and they don’t even have a microphone or an amplifier.”

“I can attest that I hear noise from the Legacy Center at about 11 o’clock at night. So, it’s not a what-if, it’s a reality,” said Marilyn Grant, a resident at 154 Stony Lake Dr. “I hear cars leaving. I can hear car doors shutting, a lot of talk going on as they are leaving. I know that the music and the TVs (on the patio) are going to be heard.

Elaine Suveges, who moved to 123 Stony Lake Dr. in April, said, “as long as it’s not raining,” she’s on her deck “every morning and every evening,” and she “can hear” people exercising, talking and shutting their car doors.

That being said, Suveges noted she likes Legacy 925.

“My grandkids go there,” she said. “I think it’s a wonderful addition to the community.”

Cindy Kainz said “it’s fact” that she hears music coming from a gym inside Legacy in the early morning hours.

But, not everyone said they can currently hear sounds produced at Legacy 925.

“I very seldom hear anything, any noise, that’s coming from there,” Gasiewski said.

Gasiewski noted he’s “fed up” with people saying they hear too much noise from Legacy 925.

“These people don’t even come out of their condo to hear the noise,” he said.

“I live right behind there. I don’t hear any noise . . . but I don’t see anybody sitting outside, either. So, I don’t know how they’re hearing that,” Fedorinchik said.

Suveges noted she lives next to Gasiewski and “he’s never outside.”

Tommy Ehardt, who lives at 140 Stony Lake Dr., indicated “a little bit of TV noise (and) background music (on the patio) would not be offensive” to him. His main concern was the possibility of live music being allowed on Legacy’s patio.

Ehardt noted that prior to Oxford, he lived in Sterling Heights near Freedom Hill County Park. He said “one of the motivating factors” behind his moving from there to here 14 years ago was the music he started hearing after an amphitheater was built at Freedom Hill.

Mills stressed there would be no live music outside, only inside.

“This is a very small patio. I think we seat probably less than 60 people,” he said.

Mills noted that Legacy 925 has been a “respectful neighbor” since opening.

“Hopefully, we can come together as neighbors and demonstrate that we’re not impacting their life the way they think that it might be impacted,” he said.

Cindy Kainz pointed out that if Mills wants to be neighborly, “then why fight us on this?”