BEAUMONT, Texas — The swings, picnic tables and yard games may be staying at Little Woodrow's after all.
After a somewhat contentious permit battle, the Beaumont City Council has voted unanimously to reverse a previous ruling to allow Little Woodrow's to apply for a specific use permit with the Beaumont Planning Commission.
Little Woodrow's first applied for a restaurant permit with no exterior seating instead of a bar permit with the planning commission when they came to town.
The difference in permit is a significant difference in occupancy. A bar permit allows 750 people in an establishment while a restaurant permit allows only 400 people.
After complaints from nearby businesses about overcrowding and parking issues at the self-proclaimed watering hole, Little Woodrow's management agreed with the city to self-limit the bar's occupancy.
RELATED: Beaumont's Little Woodrow's may lose its outdoor area if permit issue with city isn't resolved
"It was overwhelming, the parking lot was causing crowd control issues and it was starting to become a problem," Beaumont Councilman Mike Getz said in November.
That meant that Little Woodrow's could have been forced to remove its popular patio area with swings and games to meet the 400 occupancy limit.
In November a vote to allow Little Woodrow's to apply for a special use permit failed. The council needed six votes to pass it, but with councilwoman Robin Mouton voting no and councilman Taylor Neild absent, Little Woodrow's didn't have the votes it needed to get the permit.
But on Wednesday, after pressure from the community and an online petition that garnered nearly four thousand signatures, the council re-voted and unanimously approved moving forward with the special permit.
It will require an additional plumbing structure and other accommodations, but the vote is a big win for the bar and its outdoor seating.
