“I am disappointed because I thought it should have been down further,” said Belmont resident Shirley Shotwell, who lives across from Bel Rio restaurant, after Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously last week to lower the existing noise ordinance in Shotwell’s neighborhod. “I was hoping for the 55 [decibels], but I would have settled for the 60.”
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Neighborhood Commercial Corridor spots like Durty Nelly’s must keep amplified sound below 65dB after 11pm. |
The Council’s vote amends the city’s noise ordinance for the Neighborhood Commercial Corridors—Belmont and Fontaine. The new ordinance requires restaurants in these neighborhoods to restrict amplified sound to 65 decibels between 11pm and 6am. The Council also voted to hear reports about noise in three-month increments.
In February, an amendment presented to City Council called for a decrease in decibel level to 55. Councilor David Brown, however, proposed that 60 decibels be the new limit in both Belmont and Fontaine, and was seconded by Councilor Satyendra Huja. The original noise ordinance called for restaurants to limit noise to 75 decibels between 11pm and 6am, a level that some Belmont residents have called too loud.
For Bel Rio owner Jim Baldi, a 65-decibel limit does not solve the problem. “I know you are trying to reach a common ground, but to me it seems arbitrary,” he told Council last week. “And not truly based in any scientific or sound-level assessments.”
Many residents and musicians came out in support of the music culture the city has nurtured throughout the years. One resident presented Council with 500 signatures in opposition to the stricter ordinance; Baldi provided 200 more. Gary Canino, a UVA sophomore and musician, told Council that the ordinance “sets a dangerous precedent for the Charlottesville area and could easily destroy this wonderful built-in system.
“The music scene cannot thrive in a 55-decibel environment nor a 60-decibel one,” said Canino.
Councilor Brown agreed. “I think a very compelling case was made today by a lot of people about how important music is in Charlottesville,” Brown said. “I think we have to be careful to not take too quick a step in the wrong direction.”
In fact, Brown proposed to up the decibel limit to 65 because he felt “concern” that 60 decibels was too low a standard. “I’d rather err on the side…of having too high a standard, and then having to revisit it because it didn’t accomplish what we wanted, than to have too low a standard and result in restaurant closings, or the music scene being diminished.”
The noise debate in Belmont and at the meeting focused on music and bass reverberations coming from one establishment only: Bel Rio. Members of the Charlottesville Police Department presented Council with noise complaints filed by residents since January. Of the six reported, all came from Bel Rio. While regular police readings at Bel Rio average 63 decibels, police also reported that decibel levels registered as high as 82.
Mayor Dave Norris agreed with the newly proposed amendment. “To me, 65 sort of makes sense,” he told Council. “It’s allowing Bel Rio to be Bel Rio on a typical night.” However, some council members still felt uncomfortable.
Councilor Kristin Szakos said that “ordinances are not punishments,” but rather “are designed to give residents tools.” Szakos also said that a balance between businesses and residents must be struck, but she felt “that we’ve moved a little too far to one side on this one.
“Sixty was a compromise I was willing to live with,” said Szakos. “I am not sure I feel quite as strongly about 65.” Ultimately, while councilors voted unanimously in favor of lowering the existing noise limits, Szakos and Huja voted against setting the decibel ceiling at 65.
Shirley Shotwell found some relief in the decision to report on the effectiveness of the ordinance every three months. “The police will still be checking, monitoring, and we’ll do some of our own because my neighbor has got a meter,” she says. “We are going to start doing some readings of our own.”
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