The Alki Community Council says Alki restaurants that turn into bars at night should have to address negative impacts they impose on the neighborhood and Seattle officials have stepped in to try to get one neighborhood restaurant to quiet down.

Joleen and Gareth Hughes, owners of The Celtic Swell and Alki residents, were recently issued a notice of violation from Seattle's Department of Planning and Development saying they are in violation of city zoning laws because they don't have a land-use permit to operate as a drinking establishment. The business operates under a restaurant permit but has started to produce noise impacts more related to bar than a restaurant, said Alan Justad, a spokesman for the department of planning and development.

It's part of a growing trend in the city where places that are predominately restaurants become bars at night. The city hasn't been requiring restaurants to deal with the noise related impacts of that transformation until recently, said Justad.

The Celtic Swell brands itself an "authentic Irish pub where the whole family is welcome." A full menu is served until 10 p.m. and beer, wine and specialty drinks are served until 2 a.m. every night when it's 21-and-over. The pub often has live acoustic music.

In the past, the city required businesses to get only one permit, either for a bar or a restaurant. But during the last few months, the city has been evaluating businesses based on community complaints to determine whether it should have a conditional use permit to operate as a drinking establishment if it morphs into one at night. To get the additional permit, the restaurant would have to be evaluated on a number of factors like parking impacts and the effects of noise on neighbors.

"Generally, we are responding to complaints about noise and sometimes rowdy behavior," he said. "Almost always, the complaints come from the community. One complaint is enough if we feel it is a violation of the code."

If the restaurant doesn't comply with the permit process they could incur fines at $75 a day. The Celtic Swell owners were instructed to comply by June 19, but Joleen Hughes said she shouldn't have to grant the city's request because the food served - not the booze - is the highlight of her business.

"We are 100 percent a restaurant," said Joleen Hughes. "We serve food overwhelming more than we serve alcohol. People bring their families here and we promote our food heavily. But we can't stop someone from coming in and ordering only drinks."

The Hughes, who are members of the Alki Community Council, said they believe the neighborhood complaints stem from a few people on the council. They suspect members are singling out the businesses in the area that serve alcohol as the source of some community problems, such as public drunkenness and vandalism.

"The suspicion is that there are a few members that are acting as if they speak for the masses when they only represent a small portion of the community," said Joleen Hughes. "It's our belief that that majority of the residents support us. I would be shocked if the residents would want the restaurants shut down."

But council president, Jackie Ramels, said shutting down Alki restaurants is not on the council's agenda.

"I'm sorry that some business owners feel beleaguered, but it's not an intention of the council to shut down all the businesses," said Ramels. "It's not true that the council doesn't like the businesses - it's absolutely not true. As an organization we support the businesses. We like to have economic vitality down here."

What the council does want, said Ramels, is for current zoning laws to be followed. The council board supports the neighborhood commercial-1 zoning parameters along Alki Avenue Southwest, which identifies drinking establishments as conditional uses.

"Because drinking establishments impose a greater burden on the surrounding residential community, it's appropriate for those establishments to be subjected to a higher level of scrutiny," said Ramels. "This is particularly true in a neighborhood like ours, where businesses and residents exist literally side-by-side, in a very confined space."

The Celtic Swell is just yards away from residences and Lt. Paulsen said the tenant that lives in an apartment above it has complained about noise coming from the pub late at night. According to the Washington State Liquor Control Board there have been three complaints filed against The Celtic Swell - but no official violations - since it opened in July 2004. Gareth Hughes said he's looking into soundproofing the place.

"It's worth it to keep the peace-and that's my goal," he said.

Part of the problem is that the businesses want to attract more customers by staying open later, but some residents feel Alki is crowded enough already, said Ramels.

"Residents fear the community will change in ways they didn't anticipate when they moved here," said Ramels. "Almost all of us bought (our homes) before "restaurant row" came. Somehow something happened in the last three years and it's become this destination-drinking place. Capacity is the issue. We have to grow together."

Peter Stekel, secretary of the Alki Community Council, said some residents have a problem with the late night noise that escalates at 2 a.m. when some of the restaurants close.

"I just adds to the mix when you put more people on the street late at night in a residential neighborhood," said Stekel. He said a good example of a neighborhood commercial-1 area is where the businesses close by 10 p.m.

"I can understand how some businesses could feel they are being picked on, but I feel they aren't looking beyond themselves," said Stekel. "The council is more concerned about the entire community. We all patronize our local businesses; we don't want them to go away. Being considerate of your neighbors is the easiest thing to do."

Paulsen said he's told the community council on a number of occasions that the businesses are not the source of the problems in the Alki community. Most of the problems happen during the summer when people bring alcohol to the beach and sometimes cause trouble, he said.

"If we had a problem business, we'd be all over it," said Paulsen.

Though Ramels said there are no problem businesses on Alki, the situation has escalated enough to prompt the council to request a community meeting so business owners and residents can express their concerns.

"I don't think any (of the business owners) have bad intentions," said Ramels. "Some of their concerns are just not always in line with the residents next door."

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached at wseditor@robinsonnews.com