Saundra McDavid

Rumor: The Eagle Rib Shack violated city ordinances and sued the city

Fact: There is no tent ordinance in the city of Eagle. (Do a search of the Eagle City Code using the term “tent.”) Finding it odd that the city had no tent ordinance, we asked permission from Mayor Nancy Merrill prior to renting a tent in the winter of 2005. She requested that we send a letter to the City stating that we were putting up a tent over our existing patio; which we did. (The patio seating had been approved by the city in our initial design review application which was submitted prior to opening the restaurant.) The tent was removed when the weather warmed up in the Spring of 2006. Note that this was also the time I began to speak out publicly against the zoning changes to higher density in the rural areas of Eagle. Over the summer we asked the landlord if it would enlarge the building and the landlord refused. When the weather turned cold in 2006 we again put up a tent, however this time we received a violation notice from the City, stating we had not submitted a design review application to put up a tent and that we must immediately remove the tent. City Officials claimed that the tent was now a “structure” that required a design review application. I attempted to submit a design review application but the Zoning Administrator refused to accept it because the landlord had not signed it. Zen Bento, the restaurant located next door to the Eagle Rib Shack, is the landlord, and Zen Bento refuses to sign the application.

Knowing other cities have specific tent applications, and trying to come up with a solution which would appease City Hall, I then submitted an application based upon Salt Lake City’s tent application. I asked that the Eagle Rib Shack be allowed to use a tent for two more winters, as the lease on that building expires in 2008. The Zoning Administrator refused to accept it, claiming it was not an “official” city form. During this time he was calling us at home and at work, threatening to have the Sheriff serve a criminal citation; a charge that could result in up to six months jail time. I appealed his decision not to accept the tent application to the City Council. Since criminal charges were threatened, we hired Dennis Charney, a local attorney, and former Deputy Attorney General, to represent the Eagle Rib Shack at the City Council hearing. Prior to the hearing we had over 1,800 people sign a petition that stated “Save the Tent.” However, the city council ignored the wishes of thousands of people and unanimously voted to not accept the tent application. They demanded that the tent be removed.

Mayor Merrill even stated her opinion on the record (a rare occurrence), that she did not want a big white tent on “Main” street. It’s interesting how another retailer a block away uses a tent for plants and garden supplies every summer and is not required to submit a design review application. I can’t tell the difference between the two tents, so I’m not sure why the big white tent on State street west side of Eagle Road is okay, but the Eagle Rib Shack tent is a violation of city ordinances. Mayor Merrill also stated that the tent was in violation of fire codes. I believe she even stated it was a “fire trap.” In fact we had a fire inspection which resulted in minor changes, like clearly marking the exit and removing an extension cord. The tent was not in violation of any fire code.

After the city council hearing, we signed an agreement with the city that we would take down the tent and not put it up again without first submitting a design review application. Zen Bento continues to refuse to sign the application.

During this time we also received a second notice from the City that one of our smokers was in violation of our design review application. The original design called for a double row of eight smaller smokers stacked against the back wall of the building. We replaced those smokers with a single larger smoker that sat outside the back door of the building, and that smoker had been in that same location for two years without any comment from the City. Upon receiving the notice from the City, we promptly removed the smoker even though it was our primary cooking source.

We opened the restaurant with the hopes that it would become a landmark in Eagle. We wanted the restaurant to be known throughout the valley as the best barbecue around, and we wanted people to drive to Eagle specifically to come to our restaurant. We wanted people to have their picture taken in front of the wagon and tell all of their friends that they had the best barbecue they have ever had in a little town called Eagle outside of Boise. The 1,800 people who signed the petition were from around the World. We are attracting national attention. We’ve had people on layovers at the Boise airport rent cars to drive to our restaurant because they heard about us and wanted to try our food. We have people who take regular trips to Boise and never fail to stop in at the restaurant while they are here, and now we have their friends doing the same thing. We have done what we set out to do. It’s unfortunate Eagle doesn’t see the benefit of what we bring to the city. It’s ironic that we have a city administration touting the importance of downtown revitalization when one of their main attractions to downtown so desperately needs their help. It’s even more ironic that abandoned run down buildings leftover from companies that are no longer in business are allowed to flourish downtown, yet the City chooses to attack a company that is actually beating the odds and doing well; one that is actually attracting people to that downtown. All because I spoke out against them.

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