A crowd concerned about the future of outdoor live music on Woodstock filled the Mescal Hornbeck Community Center May 14 to discuss the effect of a proposed new noise ordinance would have on venues and musicians. All but two of the 29 people who spoke worried that the ordinance would severely curtail musicians’ ability to perform. Music was what attracted tourists to the town, they argued.
It was a civilized meeting. Most folks stuck to their allotted two minutes, in sharp contrast to when town supervisor Bill McKenna ended an April 23 meeting in the over-capacity town hall after several interruptions.
The community center offered sufficient capacity for the audience, and people could be heard through the sound system. Two police officers greeted people entering the community center and asked them to sign up if they wished to speak. The officers and chief Clayton Keefe monitored the crowd.
Town clerk Jackie Earley called up five signed-up speakers at a time so no time was spent waiting. McKenna reminded everyone the board was not voting on the ordinance that night. The hearing, recessed after everyone spoke, will be reopened on June 11.
Serving the greater good
Deputy supervisor Laurie Osmond began the discussion by reminding the gathering that the ordinance had to be adopted in accordance with the comprehensive plan, which stresses the importance of the arts.
“Any changes to zoning that are not in accordance with our comprehensive plan are actually not lawful,” Osmond said. “As elected representatives of all of our town’s residents, the board members should ask themselves what serves the greater good here. If any proposed zoning changes don’t follow the comprehensive plan, then the board needs to have the backbone to reject them.”
The proposal, the product of a year’s work by a task force, was in response to a clash between outdoor venues’ desire to continue post-Covid and those residents complaining that their peace and quiet was being disturbed.
“I’ve often heard it said that Woodstock is not like other towns. In the case of live outdoor music, this rings truer to many of us,” said musician Conor Wenk. “Limiting the number of outdoor performances discriminates against the live performance industry as a profession and an activity. Conforming to the decibel threshold should be treated equitably across all professions and activities.” A law that targeted a specific segment of the working population in this manner, Wenk argued, was akin to spot zoning — and therefore illegal. Similar noise ordinances across the country allowed later music.
Starving for song
A potpourri of constitutional, moral and practical arguments were presented by those who wanted a less restrictive ordinance than the one proposed by the town board. Many of the speakers found music integral to the town’s unique identity.
Urana Kinlen helped organize the Keep Music Alive Outside petition drive in 2022, whose purpose was to urge the town to form an inclusive committee to create a science-based proposal, It didn’t happen that way, she said.
Kinlen advocated higher limits.
“We believe the research was severely limited, and input from all was not included. Moreover, a standard presented by the town board in front of the public never happened, which led to confusion and mistrust,” she said.
Michael Platsky disagreed with the notion outdoor music in the town didn’t exist before Covid. He argued the 70-decibel limit was low and arbitrary. Readings needed to be taken at the point of complaint, he said, not the property line.
Platsky felt a 9 p.m. curfew was ridiculous. “The sun is still up at 9 p.m.,” he said. “The current noise ordinance is seven days a week at 11 p.m. Music under the stars is healthy for a community to share that experience. It’s a bonding experience.”
Musician Jax Denise argued that the 14th Amendment afforded everyone the right to pursue a lawful profession and that the proposed ordinance interfered with that right.
“We must be treated equally when it comes to employment,” Denise said. “Musicians will not be subjected to oppression but for the essence of their craft. We have the constitutional right to operate in normal working business hours as any other sound making field and industry in residential and business zones.”
Journey Blue Heaven said she spoke for a younger generation.
“As a musician that plays out on the street as much as possible and brings kids in together, I speak for the children because they’re starving for music,” she said. “They’re starving to hear songs and songs. I have the privilege of growing up in this town when twelve o’clock happened at the Joyous Lake, and that’s when the band started.”
She also wanted to know what happened to the idea of calling the venue when the bass was too loud.
Chris O’Driscoll suggested complete removal of fines from the proposal because the town only “stands to profit from the misfortune of musicians and the music venues.”
He also asked for the removal of verbiage that defines music as noise. “I would like to propose we provide community sponsored earplugs for noise complainers,” he said.
A special environment
Musician Charlie Thurman said it has been the smaller venues which the proposed ordinance would limit that have supported musicians who don’t have big-money backing.
“I fell head-first into it, but I keep running up against this wall. My band Bluestone Quarry has a gig this Friday,” Thurman said. “We’re going to have to shut the music off at nine o’clock. And it’s a bummer, because the majority of money that there is to be made for music happens between the hours of nine and who knows when,” Thurman said. “Why would we do something to curtail the environment that those people can thrive in? The next Levon Helm or Bob Dylan could be somebody with a guitar in his basement. And he’s just looking for a place to play. He’s looking for an audience. And that audience exists from the hours of nine to midnight.”
Musician and bartender Harmony Limoggio said she grew up on the back stage of every venue in town and wasn’t bothered by the music.
“I’m really concerned about the impact this has on not just our economy, but our culture,” she said. “I have customers that come in and I’m telling them about our town so passionately. And they’re like, Where is the music? And I’m like, Oh, yeah, the band got shut down two hours ago. If this current proposal goes through without any changes, I really would like to see Colony of the Arts taken off every sign in Woodstock because it just wouldn’t be true anymore.”
Wrenn Marie, who hosts an open mic with Wenk at Pearl Moon, said Woodstock needed to be a community that encourages young artists.
“I’m thankful to say that I know so many young rising artists, and I knew them from when they first picked up a guitar and played songs around a fire to playing venues and having fans who aren’t just one of the ten people in our friend group that month,” she said. “We have a really special environment that supports young people, that inspires young people, and it’s only possible because of the live music.”
Sitting in the parking lot
Two people at the discussion just want some peace and quiet, or to be able to play their own music. They tried to explain how the valley geography made sound travel differently.
“I live on the other side of Ohayo Mountain. When Colony gets cranking, I could hear it like I’m sitting in the parking lot. I go down to the bottom of the hill, I can’t hear them. The trees are in the way,” said Steve Grenadir.
Claire Keith said she was speaking on behalf of a number of people who are affected by outdoor music venues. “For the first time in 50 years, I can no longer play or choose my own precious music in my own home for hours on end, or enjoy any normal summer life as I had for the past 50 years,” Keith said.
What’s in the proposed Woodstock sound ordinance
The proposed ordinance limits live amplified music to Fridays and Saturdays for three hours each between noon and 9 p.m. Sundays are allowed on holiday weekends. The sound cannot exceed 70 decibels at the property line.
In addition, up to five special events may be allowed five times per year for a maximum of five hours each, with a maximum 75 decibels at the property line. Special events must be approved by an events committee formed by the town board.
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