Woodstock town supervisor Bill McKenna will appoint a task force to review and recommend changes to zoning and noise regulations that try to strike a balance between allowing outdoor music venues and respecting homeowners’ rights to enjoy peace and quiet.
“I am going to call for four individuals from each side of the discussion,” McKenna said at the April 11 meeting of the town board where a group of venue owners, musicians and sound engineers called for clarity in town law under a movement called “Keep Music Alive Outside.”
McKenna asked the group to come up with four names of town residents, and he will find another four with other viewpoints. “I’m going to reach out to a number of folks who have taken a different position and see if we can start to like next meet at the town offices here, spend a month or so, and then present something at a public meeting.”
Woodstock does have noise limits. The 2018 law does not prohibit outdoor amplified music, but says that it can’t be unreasonable. “And what’s reasonable at four o’clock in the afternoon in the middle of town, it may not be reasonable at ten o’clock in the middle of town or even eight o’clock up in Shady or Willow. So, you know, it’s a little vague, but we did that, to give law enforcement flexibility,” said McKenna.
The 2018 law had been primarily intended to curb short-term rentals that had become noisy party houses. Curtailing all outdoor music was never the intention, though few establishments had offered it.
Covid changed everything. Venues looked toward outdoor stages as a way to stay in business. The town temporarily waived site-plan review requirements and allowed places like the Colony to build an outdoor beer garden with a stage, Station Bar & Curio to expand its outdoor seating, and Bearsville Theater to host concerts on its lawn.
But the complaints soon began, and in some cases, when businesses sought permission to make their arrangements permanent, the planning board expressed concern about the increased likelihood of zoning violations. Venues scaled back or paused their plans last summer for fear of getting shut down for running afoul of interpretations of the law.
Colony had conducted a demonstration via Zoom last year of a highly directional speaker system custom-designed by a Boston firm to keep sound confined to a property. Amid the uncertainty, Colony paused plans to seek permission to install the system.
Petition seeks clarification
Later that year, a group began a petition drive to try to get greater clarity and consistency in the law.
“Last summer, a group of local residents asked if they could create a petition to ask the town board to review the existing noise ordinance that was last updated in 2018 to reflect the support of the local community, to find a common set of standards that reflect the diverse perspectives and interests of people across the community with respect to outdoor music, particularly in light of developments during the pandemic,” said Colony co-owner Alexia Howard. “The aim would be to provide clarity around what is still in place, and eliminate language from previous statutes that have been superseded to equitably accommodate the views of all interested parties, as well as creating a set of measurable and enforceable standards that will help us all move forward.”
The group presented a petition with more than 850 signature of Woodstock residents and 2000 from out-of-town visitors.
“We have many suggestions for how the new standards might look both for everyday activities, and also for the process for obtaining one off permits for special events, which we as business owners need in order to plan our summers,” Howard said. “However, tonight is not the forum for prescribing outcomes. Instead, we’d like to enter these petitions into the public record to reflect the support of the community for some form of outside music, and to urge the town board to take the necessary next steps to figure out a path forward for amending or updating the existing ordinance.”
Input from sound experts
Musician, recording engineer, music producer and 23-year Woodstock resident Julie Last came to speak on behalf of the many musicians in the area.
“We stand together in support of indoor and outdoor music performances that are not only a vital and vibrant part of Woodstock’s identity and economy, but are also an important source of income for incredible local musicians,’ Last said. “We recognize that there are residents living near venues offering music, who are negatively impacted by the sound, and we hope to find solutions that will respect the residents, the club owners, the music community, and the visitors who come to enjoy all that Woodstock has to offer.”
Last called for review of the noise ordinance. “We seek a solution that will be fair and equitable, and will also be in harmony with the comprehensive plan, which recognizes the critical importance of arts and cultural events in this town,” she said.
Chris Andersen, sound engineer and owner of Nevessa Production, stressed the importance of clear ground rules when dealing with outdoor music.
“Part of my job as a touring sound engineer was to make sure that my productions, which were often loud rock-and-roll bands, complied with a local sound ordinance that was in effect at each venue, especially the ones we call the sheds, which are the open-back amphitheaters like Saratoga and Tanglewood, which had proximity to residential neighborhoods.
“Noncompliance at these shows meant severe financial consequences for the artists at the nightly settlement. So this was something we took very seriously,” said Andersen, who consulted with Woodstock Animal Sanctuary in 2015 to make sure its outdoors music events complied with town law, which at the time specified sound levels.
“However, the current Woodstock law, Chapter 139,… offers no useful definition of this type. It is vague, very subjective, and has no practical use. I feel it is responsible for much of the misunderstanding that we’re currently experiencing around this issue. Chapter 139 is rooted in the terms ‘disturbing, excessive,’ and my favorite, ‘a reasonable person of normal sensitivities,” Andersen said, to much laughter. “While these terms might be able to be defined by a mental-health professional, they clearly are not useful in this context. Now it’s not my intention to advocate one way or the other for regarding the advisability of outdoor music in our community. However, I do strongly suggest that a technical framework be codified so any sonic circumstance can be quantified.”
A new document would enable the venues to evaluate the viability of their businesses and construction plans, Andersen concluded. “The musicians can plan their sets, and the residents will know clearly what to expect.”
We want ground rules
“From someone who’s put on a lot of loud music outside for the last seven years, it’s been a privilege. As much as I love loud outdoor music and just music in general and productions — because I feel like it helps keep a lot of kids off the streets — I also really appreciate having happy neighbors,” said Station Bar & Curio owner Ben Rollins.
Pearl Moon co-owner Betsy Mitchell said most of their shows were indoors. They would like the option of having music on the patio. Mitchell said she understood that contributing to everyone’s success was beneficial for all.
“The success of Colony is also our success, and so on and so on. We all benefit from each other. In addition, as a resident of Woodstock, who lives in close proximity to Colony and the Station, and can hear their shows from my house, I understand other residents who may want to know what to expect regarding live music,” she said.
But don’t take too long
“There could be a technical fix to this. We have tried that at Bearsville,” said Bearsville Center owner Lizzie Vann. “We have tried having microphones in the woods on our borders and trying to keep to a decibel level. So I agree absolutely with Chris [Andersen) ] that if we can set decibel levels or set quality of sound levels, that would help enormously, because then it’s defined,” Vann said.
“The other thing that is really important to all of us on the venue side is not to take too long of this, not to take a year, not to take two years, because we will conform with whatever regulations you put up, but at the moment we’re all on the side of caution, and it’s affecting our businesses. So please when we make a plan to do this. We need a dead-stop date, that means that we can get going after that.”
McKenna hoped the as-yet unappointed task force would get to work soon. Nevessa’s Andersen will serve as its technical advisor. Since he lives just over the town line in Saugerties, he’s disqualified from being a full member.
Voice for the other side
Glasco Turnpike resident Claire Keith wants to make sure her concerns and those of residents are heard in the process.
“I am a member of the group of residents who had to organize 18 months ago because of what had happened to our homes and those of our neighbors,” Keith said. “We made the planning board aware of the severe sonic impact in our public comments on the new type of very loud outdoor concerts that had been allowed exceptionally under Covid exemption. We advocated with them proactively of the importance of helping all of our businesses expand outdoors in this post-Covid time, but in a controlled manner, without discarding the longstanding provisions in our zoning laws that have kept our musical town humming in good harmony for decades.”
McKenna told Keith he hoped she would consider joining the task force.
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