Loudness as a psychological correlate of physical strength (amplitude) is also affected by parameters other than sound pressure, including frequency, bandwidth, spectral composition, information content, time structure, and the duration of exposure to the sound signal…
— from ‘Sound (music) and Noise (bang)’ on http://www.sengpielaudio.com
In the same way beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, music is in the ears of the listener. But our government leaders don’t quite know how to deal with that fact.
Back in the late 1990s, when I started playing in rock bands here in Pagosa Springs, we would typically fire up our amplifiers at about 9pm and play (progressively louder) music until about 1pm. On many occasions, the bar or restaurant would still be packed with patrons at 1pm, and there were times when the band would continue playing until maybe 1:30pm, just for the fun of it. Maybe even 2pm.
That was 20 years ago, when we — the band members, and the music lovers in the bar — were typically in our 40s and still young enough to have fun. We were the Baby Boomer Generation, out to have a good time. We weren’t yet old enough to be running the government, and making the laws.
Our generation had pretty much invented loud music. Led Zeppelin. Jimi Hendrix. AC/DC. Kiss. Aerosmith. Black Sabbath. The Who. Even the purveyors of County Music started using electric guitars and turning up their amplifiers in the 1970s.
But times change. Local bands, playing music in local venues, now typically start playing a 7pm and quit by 10pm. Typically, the bar is pretty much empty by 10am. It’s 20 years later, and the Baby Boomers are too old to have fun. But not too old to sit on government boards and make questionable regulations about how loud the music can be.
On May 23, the Pagosa Springs Town Council met in executive session — behind closed doors — and talked with their attorney, Bob Cole, about a lawsuit.
VII. EXECUTIVE SESSION
Pursuant to C.R.S. Section 24-6-402(4)(b) Conference with an attorney for the public entity for the purpose of receiving legal advice regarding Christopher S. Blas and Gone Country Ventures, LLC d/b/a Shooters & Shenanigans v. Town of Pagosa Springs.
Last year, Mr. Blas had been issued citations by the Pagosa Springs Police Department, based upon the opinion of certain police officers that the rock bands playing at Shooters & Shenanigans were creating ‘noise’ in violation of Chapter 13. After receiving those citations, Mr. Blas applied to the Town of Pagosa Springs for a Noise Abatement Variance Permit Request, as allowed in Chapter 13.
The request:
To mitigate future noise complaints and provide a clear and definable standard for us to adhere to, we would like to request the following noise variance permit to allow for the following:
1. Mon-Thurs music will terminate at 10:30 pm.
2. Fri-Sat music will terminate at 12:30 pm.
Mr. Blas received a rejection letter from Police Chief William Rockensock:
I believe the request for this variance is inconsistent with the intent of Section 13.5.1 and the applicant has not provided any documentation the denial would create any “undue hardship” for the applicant if denied. Two prior incidents of alleged violations of this ordinance, which have yet to be adjudicated in the Municipal Court of the Town of Pagosa Springs, is prima facie evidence that the noise level of the live music has created an adverse effect on the community or the surrounding neighborhood.
Mr. Blas subsequently appealed the Chief’s decision to Town Manager Andrea Phillips through the process allowed in Chapter 13, and was again denied the requested noise variance.
Unlike the anti-noise laws adopted by the State of Colorado and by Archuleta County, however, the Town’s noise ordinance did not specify any ‘scientific measurement’ to define exactly what constituted ‘noise’ and what didn’t constitute ‘noise.’ The Town’s regulations in Chapter 13 left it up to the subjective judgement of the police officer to decide if a rock band was too loud — or just loud enough.
To better understand this complex issue, I looked up the Colorado noise law. From Colorado Revised Statutes, Title 25, Article 12:
The general assembly finds and declares that noise is a major source of environmental pollution which represents a threat to the serenity and quality of life in the state of Colorado. Excess noise often has an adverse physiological and psychological effect on human beings, thus contributing to an economic loss to the community. Accordingly, it is the policy of the general assembly to establish statewide standards for noise level limits for various time periods and areas. Noise in excess of the limits provided in this article constitutes a public nuisance.
The Colorado law sets limits based on a rather simple measurement concept, the decibel meter. Decibel meters measure sound pressure levels. A decibel meter doesn’t care of the sound pressure is coming from a lawnmower, or an electric guitar, or a coffee grinder, or a crying baby. 50 decibels is simply 50 decibels, to a decibel meter.
I happen to have a decibel meter installed on my iPhone, and on May 23 when the Town Council was discussing the changes to Chapter 13 proposed in Ordinance 912, Mayor Don Volger allowed members of the public to offer testimony in support of, and in opposition to, the Emergency Ordinance. I switched on my decibel meter and noticed that the comments from the audience, as delivered through the Town Council’s microphone system, ranged from 65 decibels to 95 decibels.
I didn’t sense that anyone in the room thought the public was creating unpleasant noise.
But here are the decibel levels allowed under the State of Colorado Noise Abatement Law:
25-12-103. Maximum permissible noise levels.
(1) Every activity to which this article is applicable shall be conducted in a manner so that any noise produced is not objectionable due to intermittence, beat frequency, or shrillness. Sound levels of noise radiating from a property line at a distance of twenty-five feet or more therefrom in excess of the db(A) established for the following time periods and zones shall constitute prima facie evidence that such noise is a public nuisance:
According to my research, a family sitting in their living room, watching TV, is exposed to average decibel levels of about 60 db(A).
But an entertainment venue, in Colorado, appears to be limited to 55 db(A) on a fun-filled Friday night.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.