A decade-long partnership between the city of San Luis Obispo and the local Libertine Brewing Company is on the rocks after alleged noise violation complaints put the bar’s late-night live music permit on the chopping block.
“We’ve attempted to talk with not only our neighbor, but we’ve attempted to talk with the city multiple times,” Libertine Event and Marketing Manager John Pranjic said. “The city was nice enough to sit down and have a conversation with us, but even in that conversation, they weren’t very forthcoming about … the complaint.”
Libertine’s 1234 Broad St. location is a cornerstone for nightlife in SLO enjoyed by residents, college students, and visitors. The brewery also provides a platform for up-and-coming artists to showcase their talent, making up the bulk of Libertine’s revenue.
But several complaints about noise—coming from what Pranjic believes is a single household—has caught the eye of the city. On Feb. 23, the city Planning Commission will hold an administrative hearing at City Hall at 2:30 p.m. to review Libertine’s minor use permit.
The city’s Community Development Department modified the venue’s permit in September 2025 to extend operating and event hours. It allows live entertainment at Libertine to run until 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and until 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, as long as the venue’s events comply with the “city’s definition of ambient entertainment.”
According to the city’s municipal code, “ambient noise level” is the combined noise from all sources near and far that make up the usual volume at a given location.
“We’ve never gone until 1 a.m., I can tell you that right now,” Pranjic said. “The latest that we would normally go is 11:30 [p.m.] and sometimes we go until midnight. But we don’t push it beyond that because we do want to be good neighbors.”
Community Development Director Timothea Tway told New Times that the city received multiple noise complaints about Libertine, prompting a code enforcement investigation. Code enforcement officers found violations of “several permit conditions,” she said, and issued a notice of violation on Jan. 8.
‘The city was nice enough to sit down and have
a conversation with us, but even in that conversation, they weren’t very forthcoming about … the complaint.’
—John Pranjic, Libertine Brewing Company
Tway didn’t say what the violations were or where the complaints came from. She added that those details would be available in the Planning Commission staff report for the upcoming meeting, which was published after New Times went to press.
“We recognize that this situation has generated strong feelings in our community, including among neighbors, the business and its patrons, and members of the cultural arts community,” Tway said. “It’s important for the community to know that no decision has been made. … Each perspective matters, and the city zoning hearing officer will consider comments from all parties affected before deciding whether to change, revoke, or keep the permit as is.”
The city didn’t respond to New Times’ other questions.
The staff report will be posted on the city’s administrative hearing website at slocity.org/government/department-directory/community-development/administrative-hearings on Feb. 18. Submit public comments for Planning Commission consideration by Feb. 22 via email to Community Development Assistant Planner Mallory Patino at mpatino@slocity.org.
Code Enforcement isn’t the only department that has reprimanded Libertine. On Jan. 29, the SLO Police Department slapped it with a noise violation citation and $350 fine.
The SLOPD records department told New Times that law enforcement went to the bar to respond to the complaint at 10:32 p.m.—around two and a half hours before its permit prohibits live shows—but couldn’t release any additional information. SLOPD spokesperson Christine Wallace said that Libertine didn’t receive any noise citations in 2025.
SLOPD also arrived at Libertine on Feb. 12 at 10:20 p.m. in response to a noise complaint, according to event manager Pranjic, even though live music ended at 10 p.m. that night. The bar didn’t receive a citation.
“When you go downtown, you should expect to hear things like music, you should expect to hear things like people talking and laughing and enjoying themselves. You should expect to hear things like traffic, … late-night eateries,” he said. “What you shouldn’t expect is for a downtown to be quiet after 10 p.m. and be treated like a residential neighborhood.”
Libertine is situated in SLO’s downtown commercial zone, meant to accommodate a variety of retail stores and entertainment businesses—and up to 36 housing units.
Pranjic told New Times that a couple in one household has allegedly filed the noise complaints with the city. He declined to name them.
“They have continued to lodge complaints not only against us but against other activity that’s happened around them including construction, and I believe they’ve been in arguments about parking,” Pranjic said. “They’ve complained so much that they city felt like they had to do something. What the city has decided to do is kind of make us the guinea pig of how they’re now interpreting some of their noise ordinances and their municipal codes.”
Many of Libertine’s neighbors and patrons, and local musicians, are banding together to back the bar.
A Change.org petition organized by local musician Vince Cimo urges people to appeal to the city in Libertine’s favor. The petition had 1,576 signatures as of Feb. 18.
Others have written to the city to voice their support.
“As a recent Cal Poly graduate navigating life after college, Libertine has been one of the few consistent spaces in San Luis Obispo where young adults can gather in a way that is social, creative, inclusive, and safe,” Libertine line dancing instructor Kiley Wilson wrote in a letter shared by Pranjic. “Addressing isolated concerns through reasonable mitigation and collaboration, rather than restricting or eliminating community-serving programming, helps preserve the balance that makes downtown San Luis Obispo thrive.”
Pranjic, too, wants the city to work with Libertine to address specific noise concerns—whether it’s by putting up signs and noise barricades, or using other tools to alleviate the tension.
“It’s hard for us to make any changes to our business without knowing what the city is going to allow or not allow us to do,” he said. “If this happens to us, it can happen to any business in downtown San Luis Obispo. … We would prefer to work with the city to come up with commonsense protections for these businesses that have been the backbone of downtown San Luis Obispo for decades.” ∆
Reach Staff Writer Bulbul Rajagopal at brajagopal@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Feb 19-26, 2026.