Friday, Jul. 10, 2009

Belleville's Mascoutah Avenue cafe proposal may be revived

Mascoutah Avenue building is at issue

BELLEVILLE -- An embattled cafe proposal may not be dead.

Michael Lieb and Angela Prosser, a couple who were rejected twice in their bid to turn the old tavern at 400 Mascoutah Ave. into a cafe, have separated.

But Lieb said that if he gets possession of the building -- something that's currently up in the air -- he'll likely go back to the city with the cafe proposal.

"The space is still best served as some kind of retail space or business," Lieb said, adding that, historically, it always was a business. He doesn't understand why city leaders and residents opposed it so strongly.

Prosser declined to comment Thursday.

Prosser and Lieb, who were purchasing the building through a bond for deed, needed permission from the city's Zoning Board of Appeals and City Council to open a business there because the land is zoned for residential use; the old tavern sat empty for more than a year, so the property reverted to that area's default residential zoning. The council rejected the plan twice -- once in September and once in October.

Prosser and Lieb originally had proposed a cyber cafe, but they said that residents then feared an Internet stop would become a late-night spot for rowdy teenagers or cyber perverts. So, they changed their proposal to a cafe only. They renovated a second-floor apartment, and until recently, Lieb said, Prosser and her daughter lived there.

Neighbors last year were split on what should be done with the building. The fight escalated over several months.

Lieb and Elizabeth Yarber, the owner of Brick Street Bar, which is across the street from the cafe site, filed a defamation lawsuit against a critic, Maureen Morris, and her nonprofit group, Citizens Reviving Historic Belleville. Lieb and Yarber in the complaint said Morris spread false rumors about them, including that their businesses were fronts for criminal activity. Morris has denied the allegations. The lawsuit is pending.

Opposed residents voice concerns including lack of parking, increased traffic and noise, and damage to property values. Some said No Where Saloon, which once occupied the building, disrupted the neighborhood, and they didn't want a new business there.

"I know in my heart it's going to be back into a tavern," said Mary Jo Behrman, who lives three doors down from the site. "The cafe is just a front. I am most definitely opposed to it. ... It is listed as a single-family residence, and that's what it's got to stay. It would make a beautiful home to somebody."

Several of those in favor of the cafe said they worried that if it isn't allowed to locate there, the vacant building will deteriorate. Some worried about the crime they felt would result.

"I'm assuming it's still a small cafe, with sandwiches and ice cream, and I don't see a problem with that," said Valerie Hawkins, who lives nearby on Abend Street.