Downtown Noise Gets Hearing

By Mark McGuigan
Staff Writer

Sept. 8 -- Noise is the soundtrack of urban life, especially Downtown, where delivery trucks roll up alleyways at all hours, bottles from bars are dumped in garbage bins late at night and cleaning crews mop up after the crowds have gone home.

But just how loud is too loud? And at what time of the day does noise stop being a byproduct of business and just becomes a nuisance?

These are just two of the questions facing the City Council Tuesday night when it updates the City's draft Noise Ordinance, which was approved by the Planning Commission on July 16.

Under the commission's recommendations, Downtown -- which has long enjoyed a blanket exemption due to its designation as a “mixed-use” district -- would have to abide by the same “business support operations standards” as the rest of the City.

These standards “limit the hours during which support activities like deliveries, trash removal, and exterior cleaning activities can occur," according to a report to the council from City staff, which opposes the commission's recommendation to apply the citywide standards Downtown.

“I think the only reason to remove a blanket (exemption) is because one rule for all is simply not workable Downtown,” said Planning Commissioner Jay P. Johnson. “There could be a series of 20 different niche rules regarding the different kinds of activities to reduce noise.

"The way you manage it is to have a series of rules and regulations for all kinds of things," Johnson said. “It’ll be a whole series of things for Downtown dealing with all kinds of specific activities, from automobiles to garbage and delivery truck times, the restaurant factors with trash – so many aspects. There are so many issues of noise that it’s a separate puzzle onto itself.”

The commission's recommendations for Downtown are driven by the changing face of the area surrounding the Promenade, where more than 500 residential units have been built in the past five years.

Most residents living on or near the bustling commercial strip understand the implications of living in the heart of the city, Bayside District officials contend.

“We don’t get a large number of resident complaints on the Third Street Promenade,” said Kathleen Rawson, executive director of the Bayside District Corporation. “We get some, and those are largely from folks who have lived in the neighborhood for some time.

“People who move here already understand what kind of environment they’re moving into and are less likely to have concerns about what they know is a very busy commercial area,” she said.

Johnson is not persuaded by the argument. “If noise can be reduced, it should be reduced,” he said. “The fact that someone moved somewhere five or ten years ago and knew this and knew that is not the point. What’s the current practice and how can it be reduced?”

The importance of defining an effective ordinance that protects the interests of both residents and business owners while preserving the dynamic atmosphere of Downtown is a deft balancing act.

“In the case of our downtown neighborhood, we need to be doubly thoughtful and considerate of everyone’s concerns,” said Planning Commissioner Arlene Hopkins. “Certainly residents have a right to relax and rest in their own homes.

"Similarly, our local businesses have a right to the opportunity to conduct their businesses in a manner that provides for their economic well-being while they provide goods and services to our community,” she said.

But the unique atmosphere generated by Downtown is the very reason people choose to move there in the first place, Bayside officials said. The image of the Promenade as a vibrant city hub is often a selling point to anyone thinking of moving closer to the action.

“It’s like New York City,” said Bayside board member Ruth Elwell, who owns Ye Olde King's Head near the Promenade. “When you move to the Big Apple, you go there because you want that kind of action. You want the hustle and bustle of the city, and if you move to the Downtown area then you have to have it in your head that you’re going to be in a hustle-bustle place.”

The noise generated by the Promenade is simply a byproduct of its overwhelming success as a prime location both to live next to and visit, Rawson said.

“We want Downtown to be busy,” Rawson said. “We want it to be dynamic, we want it to be interesting, we want it to be a source of tax revenue for the community…. We need to have a center of activity, and that activity comes with its own noise.”