Neighbors make ruckus about noise

“It’s torture…”

It’s not the noise produced by a Crested Butte bar that has neighbors upset, but the amount of noise escaping the building. Neighbors of The Pub of Crested Butte came to the Town Council Monday to ask that the town review its noise ordinance that the neighbors contend is too lenient. The council agreed to look over the year-old ordinance and consider revisions.

“This is one of the most permissive noise ordinances in the state,” Crested Butte resident Jeff Hermanson told the council. “It creates an unlivable situation.”
Hermanson recently redeveloped the Penelope’s restaurant space and included a residence on the top floor. “I know I built a residence in a business zone and people can look at that as not compatible,” he said. “But it can be compatible. People should be able to sleep in their residence, not just eat and shower there. This is not about The Pub. The Pub should be able to play louder music if they want, but it should only be heard inside the building.”
Hermanson said one of the spaces in the Penelope’s development is meant to be a restaurant. He said if the restaurant wanted to provide acoustic music there, it wouldn’t be able to when The Pub had a band. “We all have to work at being good neighbors,” he said. “I respectfully ask that you reconsider some of the flaws in your noise ordinance.”
Councilmen Billy Rankin and Skip Berkshire agreed with the request. Rankin asked the staff to compile data on how the ordinance has been working. Berkshire said the council should be keeping ahead of the curve in such situations and any new liquor license applications that come before the council should disclose the possibility of amplified music as part of the business plan.
Neighbor Cricket Farrington told the council it was a very serious situation. She lives behind The Pub. “It starts at 11 o’clock and goes until 1:30 or 2 in the morning,” she explained. “I can’t sleep at night. It happened three times last week and three times the week before. The police have been good but the decibel readings that are allowed are too high.”
Farrington said the bass coming through the walls causes water to vibrate in a glass. “Severe and aggressive sound is a form of torture and it’s what I’ve been going through,” she said. “I can’t even use my house.”
Farrington said when the police measure 60 decibels coming from the music, she has no chance of sleeping. Even at 50 or 55 decibels, sleeping is a struggle. The town ordinance calls for a violation at 60 decibels.
Crested Butte Chief Marshal Tom Martin says 60 decibels is the limit allowed in town between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.; the limit is 70 decibels the rest of the time. He says state guidelines suggest a 55-decibel limit after 7 p.m. in a commercial district.
“Crested Butte allows 60 decibels after 10 p.m. in a commercial district. We have been getting numerous complaints since The Pub began doing music,” Martin said. “We always respond and check the levels from several places on the recipient’s property. We have not written any violations. We see consistent readings of 52 to 58 decibels, with occasional spikes of 60 decibels or more. The Pub has tried to mitigate the sound but they operate at or near capacity on nights they have music.”
Frank Coffey lives a half a block away from The Pub. “There are two big buildings buffering my house from the bar,” he said. Nonetheless, “It woke me up, and I can sleep through just about anything.”
Andris Zobs has an office across the creek from The Pub. “It’s not good,” he said. “They have made an attempt to mitigate the sound with some tarps or something but I’m not sure what it does.”
Mayor Alan Bernholtz said it was appropriate to take another look at the noise ordinance. “This sounds like a quality of life issue,” he said. “We’ll look into the situation.”
The town staff was instructed to do some investigating and the issue will be placed on a Crested Butte council agenda in the near future.