With about 2,500 residents, Yardley is not the sleepy town it was even 25 years ago. Eclectic shops and restaurants open all the time on Main Street, which is lined with American flags. A wine-and-beer festival was held last weekend near the river.

The owners of the Vault will face opposition from the borough when it goes before the zoning hearing board later this month seeking a variance to turn its Taproom on West College Avenue into a full fledged restaurant.

In a 4 to 3 vote, Yardley Borough Council voted to send its solicitor to oppose the zoning relief at the May 24 zoning board meeting. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. inside the Yardley Community Centre.

The Vault Taproom opened its doors in 2019 at the Tannery, a former industrial site converted into office use on West College Avenue, after securing approval to operate a brewery and a 40 seat tasting room as an accessory use.

The use allows the Taproom to produce and bottle beer and to offer public tastings at the site, which is zoned light industrial. It also allows food to be brought in from other locations, but does not allow it to be made on site.

The Vault is now seeking a variance to install a full kitchen and to turn the Taproom into a fully-functioning restaurant.

At the heart of the issue is the Taproom’s location, which is not zoned for restaurant use and is bordered by residential neighborhoods along South Main Street, West College Avenue and Van Horn. The Taproom has also been generating an increasing number of complaints from neighbors over loud music emanating from the site and an increase in crowd size.

The variance request has stirred up opposition from the residential neighborhoods that border the Tannery property. Even before the variance request, residents have been pushing back against the Taproom, calling borough hall and their council leaders to register their complaints over loud music emanating from the site.

“It’s far from a tasting room. It’s a bar with food and I don’t think that’s appropriate,” said Louisa Flaningam, of the 100 block of South Main. “We were up there recently and it was filled with people. There was a band there playing really loud out in the parking lot in the middle of a community. I just don’t think that’s appropriate.

South Main Street resident Gail Posey added her opposition to the variance request.

“It’s zoned light industrial, which does not include restaurants of any kind,” she said. “I don’t understand why we have ordinances if we are not going to enforce them. Numerous people have talked about the things that are happening up there. The police have been called, but they continue to do this. I’m for business, but not in a residential area. Please stop the commercial part from coming up into the residential areas.”