Westover Market has turned its neighboring patio into a beer garden, but it needs some work, according to Arlington County. (Photo: TBD Staff)

The Westover Beer Garden in Arlington has managed to keep the beer flowing for the past month, despite this summer’s noise complaints and the news that the market-turned-beer garden was actually in violation of county codes.

Westover appealed those violations, so it has stayed open while Arlington County investigated the appeal. In the meantime, the beer garden has remained a neighborhood destination for microbrews, as well as catching football and baseball games on outdoor TVs.

Westover is currently working with the county to determine how to obtain a permit for more seating in the outdoor beer garden, as well as for the TVs and live music. Drawings for improvements to the market should be submitted next week, according to manager and owner Devin Hicks.

Ideally, the proposal to operate the market as a restaurant with outdoor seating, as well as a live music permit, could go before the county board, says Barnes Lawson, an attorney for Westover Market.

Otherwise Lawson will have to make the case to the Board of Zoning Appeals. "We're trying to avoid the necessity of going to the BZA, by getting the county to accept the application, process it, and let us go to the county board," he says.

One major thing that the market has to do to gain approval for more seating on the patio is install new bathrooms, according to Hicks. It’s a solution that won’t come cheap. Hicks and his family are expecting to lay out between $25,000 and $50,000 for the new facilities, and are aiming to start the work in January.

Even with these changes, there’s still the matter of noise. “We still have this hurdle, with trying to get the live music,” Hicks says. Hosting cover bands this summer got the beer garden into a bit of trouble. Westover Market didn't have a live music permit, and, according to Zoning Administrator Melinda Artman, can't be considered for one until it can show that it operates as a restaurant.

Currently, the market is drawing up plans that would outline its conversion to a restaurant. It will have to meet building and zoning, as well as health codes. The kitchen currently affiliated with the market's deli would need to be upgraded, Artman says.

Having the TVs up to display sporting events or other programs would also be part of a "live entertainment" permit, according to Artman.

But Lawson says the county has gotten "creative" with its definition of live entertainment. "The definition is apparently microphones, and wide screen TVs," he says. "But I would think the BZA would be hard pressed to classify a TV as live entertainment, being that it’s not alive."

Even with all the back and forth (not to mention cash outlay), Hicks says things are looking up since earlier this summer. “All the community support has been great, and the county has really been working with us,” Hicks says.

The market gathered more than 2,000 signatures on a petition to keep its beer garden open, and Arlington County has since dedicated a special section to the market on its Communications website.

Wayne Heinrich, stopping into the market for a six pack and to chat with Hicks on his way home from work Tuesday, says that he offered to construct sound barriers or other mechanisms to keep the sound from bothering neighbors. “I think it’s fabulous, and I’d definitely try to help them in any way I can,” he says. “They’re trying to bring a community back together that was once thriving, and I think the beer garden solidifies that.”

Lawson, an Arlington attorney who focuses on land use and also lives in the neighborhood, says he's hoping for a good resolution. "I hope we can work this through, because this is something the community really likes," he says.