Since the Rose Garden bar quietly shut its doors last May, residents in the Lake City area say they haven't seen or heard the late-night brawls, shouting matches, and prostitution which, they say, had become commonplace in and around the bar. "The Rose Garden leaving has been a big improvement," says Lake City resident Aram Westergreen. "It was awful."

Eight months after the closure, the owners of a well-liked Lake City restaurant—Mr. Villa on 80th and Lake City—have applied to open a new restaurant/bar—the El Norte Lounge—in the Rose Garden's old digs, but the city is fighting to keep Little Beirut liquor-free in the interests of controlling crime in the area.

According to the city, the Rose Garden was a magnet for criminal activity in the area of Lake City referred to by some police officers as "Little Beirut." Last month, the city sent an objection letter to the Washington State Liquor Control Board opposing El Norte's application for a liquor license.

The city says the Rose Garden "experienced severe public safety problems," including at least 10 assaults, numerous liquor violations, and frequent drug dealing in and around the business. A bouncer at the bar was stabbed during a melee; and undercover officers were able to purchase crack cocaine on several occassions—at least once from an employee who told police that the bar was frequented by gang members involved in drug dealing. Ironically, the business was owned by a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

With all of those problems, you'd think the closure of the Rose Garden would've quieted things down in Lake City. However,  the city notes in its letter that "despite the closure of the Rose Garden, crime is increasing" in the area around the Rose Garden's former location. Without "significant changes" in the neighborhood, the city says, "the criminal element that is likely to plague [El Norte] will continue its negative impact on the community. [I]t is extremely unlikely [they] will be able to overcome the reputation of this establishment and adequately control the premise for criminal activity. Patronization by gang members, drug sellers and drug users were the norm at the Rose Garden."

It's not clear not clear whether El Norte would be for the 21-and-over crowd or a family-friendly business—Mr. Villa's owner, Kathrina Tugadi could not immediately be reached for comment about her plans for El Norte—but there is one at least one key difference between the two businesses:

While the Rose Garden only served hot wings, hot dogs, and TV dinners—not quite up to the state's food requirements for liquor establishments—El Norte has applied to be a full-service bar and restaurant, and would presumably have more substantial fare, potentially lending it a completely different atmosphere than the Rose Garden.

It makes sense that the city would want to do everything it could to keep another bar for becoming a magnet for crime in an already troubled area of Lake City. The city's objection letter emphatically states that allowing another bar to open at the Rose Garden's former location "will clearly have a continuing detrimental impact on te health, safety, and welfare of the surrounding community," but could the city's opposition to a new business in the neighborhood ultimately do more harm then good?

Lake City residents seem supportive of El Norte, at least according to a handful of comments on Lake City's neighborhood blog, which called on neighbors to write letters to the Washington State Liquor Control Board supporting the restaurant. The city's objection letter also notes that the Lake City Chamber of Commerce supports the new business, but did not send any letters to the WSLCB or the city.

According to Westergreen—who's been active in several community efforts to clean up Little Beirut—there aren't many gathering places in his neighborhood where community members can get together and feel safe. "That’s one big problem with the neighborhood," he says. "There’s a starbucks, but you don’t see neighborhood people…in the Starbucks."

Westergreen says he gets why the city would want to keep another bar—and the potential problems it could bring—out of the neighborhood. But, he says, "on the other hand, if there’s any chance of responsible owners coming [to the area] I’m all for it. From what I’ve seen of Mr. Villas, it seems to be a positive and good influence on the neighborhood. My first inclination is to say the folks who own Mr villa have done a good job and why not let ‘em give it a try."