Faizy’s Fun House on Main Street, Lake Placid, is seen here on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. (Enterprise photo — Sydney Emerson)

LAKE PLACID — The North Elba-Lake Placid Planning Review Board approved a self-serve bar slated for the space above Faizy’s Fun House following a public hearing on Wednesday.

Lake Placid residents present at the public hearing voiced concerns about the proximity of the bar to both St. Eustace Episcopal Church and the arcade — which is mostly geared toward children — downstairs.

Dan Reilly and Rachel Zendran applied to the board in September despite having yet to obtain a liquor license. The board agreed to “put (the application) through its paces” so Reilly and Zendran may begin renovations. Even with conditional use granted, the business will not be allowed to operate until it has a license.

The proposed bar would be operated through a system called Pour My Beer. It would have self-serve taps, which have gained popularity in recent years. After providing ID and a credit card to keep on file, customers would receive a personal radio-frequency identification card or wristband compatible with the self-pour machines — similar to a hotel key card or a smart wristband at an amusement park. They could then use this RFID to unlock the taps and pour their own drinks. The RFID will track how much they have spent at the taps as well as how much alcohol they have poured. The taps and RFIDs can also be programmed to stop after a certain amount of money or alcohol. According to Reilly and Zendran, this system will make it easier to track how much patrons have consumed, as well as when to cut them off.

The only major renovation in the space will be the addition of restrooms. The bar will be able to be accessed from inside the ground-floor arcade space and also from an outside door. It will open an hour after the bar opens. According to the review board application, the bar will create six jobs.

On Wednesday, Reilly and Zendran said that there are no changes to their plan since their last appearance in front of the review board, other than the fact that they have decided to pursue a license for serving beer and wine only rather than a license that would also include liquor. They had previously suggested that the bar feature self-serve beer, wine and occasional cocktails.

“We’re planning on getting a beer and wine liquor (license) for the time being,” Reilly said. “It’ll be a quicker process because we’re paying rent right now and would like to be open as timely as possible.”

Carol Nevulis, a parishioner at St. Eustace, said that she was “skeptical” of the planned bar and the liquor license they plan to apply for.

“You’re absolutely not allowed to have liquor within 200 feet of the church,” she said. “For me, this just seems a little backwards, the way this is all happening. … And, you know what, we’re not opposing this, but we also don’t want something to get approved that’s not supposed to get approved just because someone’s trying to circumvent the law.”

The “200-foot rule” is a provision in the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, which states that a business that is on the same street and within 200 feet of a building exclusively hosting a house of worship or school cannot be issued certain types of liquor licenses. A license to sell and serve beer and wine only is allowed; a license that includes selling and serving liquor is prohibited. There are other exceptions to the law, though none of them apply to Reilly and Zendran’s proposed bar.

Board member Laura Yerkovich questioned how the self-serve bar would allocate its staffing and prevent underage drinking. Reilly said that, by design, a self-serve bar makes underage drinking harder to accomplish.

“It’s going to be people monitoring and IDing. If somebody’s going to have a drink in their hand, it’s a multiple-step process,” he said. “Instead of just a typical bar where they’re going up and getting a drink, maybe getting IDed there, they have to get IDed, then have a wristband and then be able to access alcohol.”

Zendran said there will be a check-in station at the top of the stairs where a dedicated employee will ID customers, give out wristbands and make sure children do not enter the bar. That employee would also help children locate their parents in the bar, if necessary.

The RFID wristbands would also be programmed to lock after a certain amount of ounces poured in order to monitor the customers’ consumption.

Customers would have to check in again to unlock more ounces. Reilly also clarified that drinks purchased at the bar upstairs would have to be consumed upstairs; customers would not be allowed to bring drinks downstairs into the arcade.

The board approved the conditional use unanimously, with the understanding that the bar would not be able to operate until Reilly and Zendran obtained a liquor license.