??The consensus around a possible update to the Corrales noise ordinance is that the current rules aren’t working.
Village councilors on July 26 had a number of questions for residents and business owners as they work through the process of crafting new regulations.
Councilors identified enforceability and the application of objective standards as necessary components of a new ordinance.
Tessa Davidson of the Corrales Resident Noise Committee and Dan O’Brien, who owns Casa Vieja, were the main speakers at a work study session at which councilors gathered input, but took no action.
The noise ordinance has been debated at numerous times over the years, with the latest issues springing from live music played at restaurants and bars along Corrales Road, the village’s main drag.
Some residents want the council to clarify the ordinance and cite establishments that create excessive noise. Business owners call live music important to their livelihoods, and say the noise they produce isn’t unreasonable.
Davidson said the issue is complicated by two misperceptions: that the Corrales Road corridor is a special district zoned for commercial use, and that businesses in Corrales have long been allowed to play music outdoors for entertainment purposes.
“I heard multiple times there’s always been a lot of music in Corrales,” she said. “But there hasn’t been a lot of outdoor noise. So we were a partying town, but we partied indoors.”
The zoning issue, Davidson said, leads to misperceptions that those living near the businesses have chosen to do so.
“Those in favor of outdoor business sounds along Corrales Road have routinely argued that nearby residents somehow deserve to suffer noise because they’re in the business district or they’re in the commercial zone, and they should have known better before moving there or staying there once the business moved in next door,” she argued.
However, Davidson said, the village ordinances state all proposed development within the Corrales Road Commercial Area must be integrated with existing adjoining land uses and compatible with the existing character of the surrounding area.
She said the problem is exacerbated by new businesses moving into existing buildings under old site plans and making substantial changes, impacting nearby residents.
“Now it’s important to emphasize that from the residents’ perspective, the site plan process is about the only process available to affected residents to provide input and mitigate any potential negative impacts they may suffer from the new commercial use,” Davidson said.
She said the noise committee’s main goal remains unchanged: adopting an ordinance that protects residents’ enjoyment of the rural lifestyle from noise pollution, while permitting sounds common to an agricultural community, such as the noises of wildlife and livestock.
Davidson said research in other communities confirms that enforcement of standards based on decibel levels has resulted in reduced noise pollution.
“The feeling is that decibel levels are a deterrent to noise that you may have to enforce pretty strongly at the beginning, and people learn pretty quickly that they have to stay within those standards,” she said.
O’Brien disputed the assertion that the businesses are creating excessive noise. He said Casa Vieja hosts live bands for five hours a week on its patio.
He said excessive noise isn’t part of the bar/event center’s business strategy.
“Who are those people that are coming to Casa Vieja and filling up all those chairs?” O’Brien said. “They’re older people. “We cater to older people like myself, and … we have no incentive to play the music loud for these old folks, who don’t like loud music.”
He said his goal is to have people sitting at a table 10 feet from the bandstand be able to conduct a conversation.
“If those folks at that first table can’t talk, then it’s too loud,” O’Brien said.
He said it’s doubtful the sound can reach an unreasonable level given the work the establishment puts into reducing noise.
O’Brien expressed concern about how decibel levels would be measured. He said the ordinance should consider ambient noise levels and weigh how much the music adds to them.
“What is the baseline decibel for Corrales road with all that traffic?” he said. “It’s anywhere from 65 to 80. Sometimes it’s 100 — we’ve all heard the motorcycles.”
O’Brien stressed the need for objectivity to be embedded in the new rules.
“We’re not even opposed to another ordinance, but don’t make it like the last one,” he said, adding that his business was cited last year after a resident called police on him several days in a row. “It has to be an objective type ordinance that can’t be used by a disgruntled somebody that just doesn’t like any music. Because we’re never going to be able to stop our music from leaving our perimeter. If you want to adopt an ordinance like that, then we’re done.”
Joel Gregory, owner of Ex Novo Brewing Co., said an ordinance that bans amplified music could cast more of a net than intended, but permit performances by large ensembles that make more noise.
“We could talk about a solo guitarist on a very small amp, playing something that barely is audible across the patio, versus somebody with a double stack … or a DJ coming in for a wedding reception,” he said.
Gregory said Ex Novo has already taken steps to cut down on its noise, such as not allowing certain DJs who are too loud.
He said the notion of only allowing indoor music is tough for him, citing the beauty of the surroundings, the unique experience of enjoying live music on a patio and the challenge it presents to anyone without a very large indoor establishment.
Marty Haber, a former noise abatement officer for the City of Albuquerque, told councilors that a lot of ordinances weigh ambient noise when considering whether violations have occurred.
Haber also discussed some technical matters related to enforcement, namely the calibration of the equipment and when decibel readings should be taken.
“A noise ordinance can be enforceable if you have a person who is willing to enforce it,” she said. “The city of Albuquerque basically told me when I was hired, my job was from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday. It did not go into the evening hours. The sound is egregious between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., so on my own, I went out and I took meter readings on Friday night, Saturday night, even randomly during the week.”
Village Attorney Randy Autio said it might be wise to contract with an expert regarding some technical aspects of the ordinance.
“Us lawyers, we can tell you what the laws say, but we couldn’t tell you how to operate a decimal decibel meter,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you offhand which would be more enforceable and which would be a better way to accomplish a goal.”
Councilor Zachary Burkett said he sees objectivity and some way of accounting for ambient noise levels as critical.
“I think right now it’s very subjective, and it’s created a lot of problems,” he said. “Because if you have somebody who calls regularly and complains about things that you think you’re doing a good job (of) controlling, it becomes frustrating that despite your best efforts, people are still complaining.”
Burkett said addressing ambient noise is key to fairness.
“It is really difficult to tell a business that’s on a road where people are driving and it’s 75 decibels of road noise that they have to play their music at 65 decibels, and then nobody can hear it,” he said. “And anyone who says that the music is overpowering the road noise … if you’re listening between the cars, that’s maybe true, but it can’t be affecting your quality of life that much more than the trucks that are going by and the motorcycles that are going by.”
Councilors will continue to debate the matter, Mayor Jim Fahey said after the meeting.