Eagle’s Dare owner Joe Apkarian had his shipping container for several years before the city sent him violations for it. The zoning department was trying to apply city code to the shipping container – used as a secondary bar – as if it was a primary structure. Rather than remove the container, Apkarian sought a code amendment.
Read More: Eagle's Dare is fighting to change city code to protect its cargo container
The amendment applies to the central business district, and only for existing buildings. It’s aimed at adaptive reuse: allowing semi-permanent structures to be put in without meeting typical code requirements. Staff showed possible uses at other downtown bars like Palate and Flytrap to give examples of how it could apply elsewhere.
Apkarian said he’d be happy to get the amendment that works for him, but he thinks it should go further. "I think there is a larger conversation to be had about the adaptive reuse of shipping containers and how that could be affected in our community, not only for retail and commercial use, but also in other other avenues," he said.
He noted the extraneous requirements on the cargo district as an example.
Council voted unanimously to support the amendment.
