Breaking Though the Noise Barrier

Community advocates citywide are worried about a budget item that could increase the problems with enforcement of Denver’s noise ordinance.

A budget allocation of $330,000 to set up an “Office of Special Events” with four fulltime employees contradicts commitments in public meetings earlier this year by the Special Events and Planning Process (SEAP) Task Force. City officials did not engage citizens and deliver a final report as they said they would.

 Setting up an Office of Special Events without neighborhood involvement “usurps the SEAP process and makes a mockery of the public meetings,” says Larry Ambrose, president of Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation, which is Denver’s consortium of Registered Neighborhood Organizations.

 “The annoyance factor of noise is spiking as we see more and bigger events,” says Nancy Francis of City Park West.

 Currently, says Francis, there is a lack of notification, no process for citizen involvement, and an inability of city officials to provide accurate information. In addition, some noise-producing events do not require permits or are classified differently while the impact is the same.

 The Portland Model

Through self-education and contact with government officials, Francis and Michele Fuerst of Stapleton have become “accidental specialists” on the lack of standards and coordinated enforcement of Denver’s noise ordinance.

 Fuerst points to Portland, Oregon as a city that has “some of the most restrictive and progressive noise codes in the country.”

“Its website says (city leaders) are working to make Portland a quieter and more livable city,” says Fuerst. “It seems (Portland) could serve as a model.”

 Denver Department of Environmental Health (DEH) Director Doug Linkhart acknowledges there is a problem.

“As for the effects of noise on nearby neighbors, my department is considering whether to recommend a change to the City’s noise ordinances to better address the sound that travels (into residential areas),” says Linkhart. “The Admission Based Events policy (for special events in parks) was adopted by City Council, so only they can change it. I don’t know if they (Council) plan to review it (the ABE policy).”

Says Francis, “Clearly the noise ordinance isn’t working if the response is always that (event) noise is within standards. City Council has an obligation to represent the city’s residents.”

 Noise and tranquility

Louis Plachowski, president of the newly formed City Park Friends and Neighbors association, says merely having a permit for an event does not adequately address the problem.

 “Conflict between noise and tranquility is inevitable. Noise is part of an urban environment,” notes Francis. “For some, noise-making outdoor entertainment is a good. Ensuring peace and quiet in neighborhoods is important for all city residents. The real problem is, how do we measure, control, and balance competing interests.”

 Francis also questions the intent of the allocation for a special events office, and raises questions whether the city’s intent is to promote the interests of event organizers over those of ordinary citizens.

 Former concert promoter Jesse Morreale made a similar comment after attending a SEAP meeting earlier this year. Morreale maintains that city officials should be asking residents what kind of events they want, rather than granting almost every request or actively marketing event venues.

According to the budget allocation, the Office of Special Events “will offer unparalleled customer experience and tangible department efficiencies by implementing and coordinating a comprehensive citywide event workflow as the City’s one stop shop for events.”

 Francis thinks the city budget needs closer scrutiny. She suggests that putting more funding into the Department of Environmental Health for enforcement might be money better spent. “DEH has the mission of protecting Denver citizens,” she says. DEH Director Linkhart has often cited lack of personnel for inability to strictly enforce the noise ordinance.

 “Perhaps the best solution would be to create a permanent festival park at an appropriate location,” says Francis. “A festival facility with permanent infrastructure would streamline promotion and be better for organizers, residents, and the environment. It might even be cheaper because the city could charge appropriately and organizers would have less set-up and tear-down costs.”

 Monitoring the sound

During the 2014 concert season, the city of Bangor, Maine took the kinds of steps Francis and Fuerst are suggesting. Trying to balance complaints about outdoor concert noise with the economic importance of concerts, Bangor city officials actively hired a professional sound monitoring company.

As detailed in the Oct. 1 Bangor Daily News, sound level monitoring sites transmitted data wirelessly from Waterfront Pavilion to computers operated by Acentech audio consultants.

 The study of concerts May through July showed that an all-day hard rock festival there prompted many complaints, and was indeed very loud. Another country music event also exceeded limits of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

 “Reasonable limits are the most effective, most reliable, and least costly means of controlling levels to the community, and many venues operate successfully with targeted sound limits in place,” the report concluded.

 Over 120 complaints

Denver had a similar experience when a recent event at Mile High Stadium prompted well over 120 complaints. However, enforcement and response to complaints poses a problem. Other recent events at City Park generated a multitude of reports to Denver’s 311 communications center.

 Denver Police are empowered by ordinance to respond to immediate situations, but have demonstrated a reluctance to do so. DEH lacks sufficient personnel. More park rangers have been on duty recently. But both DEH and park employees are not trained as certified law enforcement agents. By contrast, qualified national park rangers have full policing authority in their jurisdiction.

 Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation has adopted a resolution calling for a limit of 55 decibels for event sound infiltrating surrounding areas. Current standards allow an exemption for “festival” events for temporary maximum of 80 decibels.

 Even audio experts have differing interpretations of sound levels, when and where standards should be applied, and how sound should be measured. For example, Denver officials recently placed additional limits on bass sounds from events are Red Rocks Amphitheatre after residents of nearby Morrison complained of noise disruption.