September 17, 2024 • 9 mins
IT'S NOT ALL CONCERTS AND FUN IN THE SPRINGS RIGHT NOW As the new Ford Amphitheater has created quite the mess for neighbors who say their voices were ignored by the City while the permitting process for the new venue sailed through. I've got Jeremy, one of those neighbors, on today at 1:30 to talk about the negative impact the concert venue is having on his family and his home.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I can't wait to go to the Ford Amphitheater. I
love outdoor music, but it has not been all fun
and games for the people who live in the neighborhoods
around the new Ford Amphitheater, and joining me now is
one of those neighbors. Jeremy reached out. Gosh, it's been
a few weeks now, Jeremy since you first reached out
to talk about what the noise is actually really like
(00:21):
around the Ford Amphitheater. So let's start with that. First
of all, how far away do you live? And it's
like kind of as the crow flies, just give me
a rough estimate.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
As the crow flies, we're a mile out from the Amphitheater.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Okay, so that's a good amount. I mean, that's a
pretty good distance. What have you experienced at your home
a mile away from the Amphitheater.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So it's been quite the roller coaster. We've had concerts
that have been fairly quiet, and we've had concerts that
have been really loud. On my front porch, I can
sit there during a concert and I can get sixty five,
seventy five, even as high as eighty decibels from the
concert venue, and on a non concert night, I can
(01:07):
take my same decibel meter out front, and I can
sit there and I can get forty five decibels. So
it's it's quite a big shift in sound on the
front porch, and what that translates to inside isn't that
great either. So I can I can take my same
decibel meter and I can get you know, somewhere between
twenty five and thirty decibels when nothing's going on, and
(01:31):
during a concert, I can get you know, forty forty
five decibels, and that's inside your house, that really penetrating
acy sound that's coming through the house. So yeah, we've
had a few concerts that haven't haven't been great by
any means.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Just to get people some perspective, I pulled up a
decibel scale so because you know, when we talk about decibels,
people like I don't know what to to attach that to.
So according to this scale, eighty decibels is very loud,
and it's a very loud truck, whereas ninety deaths is
a hair dryer.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Now, when we're.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Dropping back down to forty decibels that you're getting in
your house, Wait, during the concert, how loud does it
get in your house?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I've been getting about forty forty five.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Okay, so you're still talking about rain or refrigerator running,
but you still hear it inside your home, and you're
not the only one to be complaining about this. Tell
me what's happened since the amphitheater opened.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, so what's happened since the amphitheater opened. There's been
a couple of city council meetings where a lot of
folks have spoken. The first city council meeting that occurred
since the amphitheater opened, we heard the voices from a
lot of concerned and angry neighbors. And then the second
city council meeting that occurred, we heard a lot of
(02:52):
voices from the owner of the amphitheater, JW. Rop, and
a lot of his supporters, and then a few additional
concerned neighbors trickling in with that as well. And a
lot of people are just trying to figure out what
they should be doing, both to kind of push back
against this amphitheater and as well as what to do
(03:15):
with their personal lives. So, you know, I talked to
a lot of neighbors. Some of them are are indifferent,
some of them kind of enjoy it. Some of them
are angry and want to move on to something else,
and anywhere anywhere in that scale where we're seeing our
neighbors reacting.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Well, you know, whenever I see a story where someone
moves next to an airport and then starts complaining about
the airport, I'm like, shut your pie hole. The airport
was there first, but the exact opposite has now occurred here.
So what happened during the process when the Ford amphitheater
was being approved, When the permitting was happening, were you
(03:53):
guys up to speed on this was your neighborhood said, look,
this could impact you. You may want to pay attention.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
What was that like? So there were two meetings that
I attended. There was an informational meeting that was hosted
by the company that owns the venue that was at
Barn Hall here in Colorado Springs, and same kind of
same kind of thing with that. First the city council
meeting that I mentioned, a lot of concerned neighbors coming
(04:22):
in and asking questions, trying to figure out what all
of this means. And then there was the city council
meeting where the project was approved, same kind of thing,
A lot of people bringing a lot of questions, a
lot of concerns. During that process, we were told that
the amphitheater was not going to pursue a noise hardship
(04:43):
permit because they didn't need it. Surprise, they got a
noise surprise, a noise hardship permit anyway, And I think
that is one of the pieces that has a lot
of people upset because if you look at the permit,
there is no upper limit for decibels in that permit.
So what we hear a lot from the city is,
(05:06):
you know, we put in these noise complaints, and what
we hear a lot from the city is, well, they're
in in compliance. They're incompliance, they're incompliance. Well, yeah, the
bar is really both to be in compliance if there's
no limit on the permit. So now that's that's why
a lot of neighbors are upset. And then as far
as the process goes forgetting that permit, it's there's there
(05:29):
are some things that are definitely questionable. For one thing,
that the permit is supposed to be temporary, and there
was an open records request that was submitted and the
North Gates or the North Side neighbors association excuse me,
discovered that this permit was kind of in perpetuity, So
(05:52):
there's a permit for all of twenty twenty four and
there will be a permit for all of twenty twenty five,
which is not the way that these temp rarey noise
hardship permits are supposed to work. They're supposed to be
very temporary in cases where a facility needs additional time
to come up to compliance with the city's noise limitations,
(06:13):
or if it's a temporary type venue and they can't
possibly comply with the noise limitations like those are the
types of things that these permits were designed to do.
So now what's essentially happened is the city legislated an
exception to this noise ordnance specifically for this one venue
without any sort of legal or democratic process, and we
(06:35):
were the public. There were no public hearings, the residents
around the venue weren't notified of the noise permit. There's
been no revised ordinance or anything like that. Have you
had the.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Opportunity to speak with the ownership of the ford Amphitheater
about potential solutions that could be installed or put up.
There's lots of options for sound dampening panels and things
like this. I used to work at a restaurant. We
started having bands and we had to put in a
lot of these noise mitigation things. And the company that
(07:07):
we worked with, and this was thirty five years ago,
they had all kinds of outdoor sound mitigation things that
we utilized in addition to some on the inside. Are
they open to any of that kind of stuff?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Sure, and right now they have a fifty foot sound
wall and they have some electronic noise mitigation things in place.
They haven't really hard committed to anything. They've committed to
look at different studies to look at different potential solutions,
but haven't firmly committed on anything yet. I know the
(07:43):
next phase of the Amphitheater is the build out of
the steakhouse, which will increase the thickness of the sound wall.
Right now it's two feet thick. That will increase the
thickness of it to fifty feet. I don't know how
much the thickness of the sound wall is really going
to matter when you're talking about our homes that are
(08:04):
elevated above the sound wall. There has been some talk
about raising the height of the sound wall. But again,
I don't think anything has been been hard committed to
at this point. What would you like to.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
See happen here, Jeremy.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
So, I think I'm with the majority of people in
that I want to see some solution in the middle.
I know there are fringe voices that say the amphatheater
needs to go, or on the other side, the residents
just need to deal with it, you know. I don't
subscribe to those fringe voices. I think we're going to
land somewhere in the middle, and unfortunately, I think there's
(08:42):
going to be a bit of a fight to get there.
But that's where I hope to be someday.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Well, Jeremy, I have a lot of compassion for you
and your neighbors and everybody else who's disturbed by this.
But on the other side, the music lover in me
is excited about having another venue. So I feel I
feel very conflicted. I feel conflicted here. So I do
hope that there can be some kind of resolution that
will continue to create a better atmosphere around the venue
(09:09):
for you guys, and keep us posting on what happens.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Absolutely I will do, and as a music lover, it
is your job to support those bands as they come
through the different venues that we have around. So you
should come down and you should enjoy that show, and
you shouldn't have to feel bad about it. For me,
my job as a resident that's impacted by the noise
is to push back a little bit. So we'll continue
to do that, all right, Thanks so much, Jeremy, Yes,
(09:36):
thank you.
I can't wait to go to the Ford Amphitheater. I
love outdoor music, but it has not been all fun
and games for the people who live in the neighborhoods
around the new Ford Amphitheater, and joining me now is
one of those neighbors. Jeremy reached out. Gosh, it's been
a few weeks now, Jeremy since you first reached out
to talk about what the noise is actually really like
(00:21):
around the Ford Amphitheater. So let's start with that. First
of all, how far away do you live? And it's
like kind of as the crow flies, just give me
a rough estimate.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
As the crow flies, we're a mile out from the Amphitheater.
Speaker 1 (00:36):
Okay, so that's a good amount. I mean, that's a
pretty good distance. What have you experienced at your home
a mile away from the Amphitheater.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
So it's been quite the roller coaster. We've had concerts
that have been fairly quiet, and we've had concerts that
have been really loud. On my front porch, I can
sit there during a concert and I can get sixty five,
seventy five, even as high as eighty decibels from the
concert venue, and on a non concert night, I can
(01:07):
take my same decibel meter out front, and I can
sit there and I can get forty five decibels. So
it's it's quite a big shift in sound on the
front porch, and what that translates to inside isn't that
great either. So I can I can take my same
decibel meter and I can get you know, somewhere between
twenty five and thirty decibels when nothing's going on, and
(01:31):
during a concert, I can get you know, forty forty
five decibels, and that's inside your house, that really penetrating
acy sound that's coming through the house. So yeah, we've
had a few concerts that haven't haven't been great by
any means.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Just to get people some perspective, I pulled up a
decibel scale so because you know, when we talk about decibels,
people like I don't know what to to attach that to.
So according to this scale, eighty decibels is very loud,
and it's a very loud truck, whereas ninety deaths is
a hair dryer.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Now, when we're.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
Dropping back down to forty decibels that you're getting in
your house, Wait, during the concert, how loud does it
get in your house?
Speaker 2 (02:12):
I've been getting about forty forty five.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
Okay, so you're still talking about rain or refrigerator running,
but you still hear it inside your home, and you're
not the only one to be complaining about this. Tell
me what's happened since the amphitheater opened.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Yeah, so what's happened since the amphitheater opened. There's been
a couple of city council meetings where a lot of
folks have spoken. The first city council meeting that occurred
since the amphitheater opened, we heard the voices from a
lot of concerned and angry neighbors. And then the second
city council meeting that occurred, we heard a lot of
(02:52):
voices from the owner of the amphitheater, JW. Rop, and
a lot of his supporters, and then a few additional
concerned neighbors trickling in with that as well. And a
lot of people are just trying to figure out what
they should be doing, both to kind of push back
against this amphitheater and as well as what to do
(03:15):
with their personal lives. So, you know, I talked to
a lot of neighbors. Some of them are are indifferent,
some of them kind of enjoy it. Some of them
are angry and want to move on to something else,
and anywhere anywhere in that scale where we're seeing our
neighbors reacting.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Well, you know, whenever I see a story where someone
moves next to an airport and then starts complaining about
the airport, I'm like, shut your pie hole. The airport
was there first, but the exact opposite has now occurred here.
So what happened during the process when the Ford amphitheater
was being approved, When the permitting was happening, were you
(03:53):
guys up to speed on this was your neighborhood said, look,
this could impact you. You may want to pay attention.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
What was that like? So there were two meetings that
I attended. There was an informational meeting that was hosted
by the company that owns the venue that was at
Barn Hall here in Colorado Springs, and same kind of
same kind of thing with that. First the city council
meeting that I mentioned, a lot of concerned neighbors coming
(04:22):
in and asking questions, trying to figure out what all
of this means. And then there was the city council
meeting where the project was approved, same kind of thing,
A lot of people bringing a lot of questions, a
lot of concerns. During that process, we were told that
the amphitheater was not going to pursue a noise hardship
(04:43):
permit because they didn't need it. Surprise, they got a
noise surprise, a noise hardship permit anyway, And I think
that is one of the pieces that has a lot
of people upset because if you look at the permit,
there is no upper limit for decibels in that permit.
So what we hear a lot from the city is,
(05:06):
you know, we put in these noise complaints, and what
we hear a lot from the city is, well, they're
in in compliance. They're incompliance, they're incompliance. Well, yeah, the
bar is really both to be in compliance if there's
no limit on the permit. So now that's that's why
a lot of neighbors are upset. And then as far
as the process goes forgetting that permit, it's there's there
(05:29):
are some things that are definitely questionable. For one thing,
that the permit is supposed to be temporary, and there
was an open records request that was submitted and the
North Gates or the North Side neighbors association excuse me,
discovered that this permit was kind of in perpetuity, So
(05:52):
there's a permit for all of twenty twenty four and
there will be a permit for all of twenty twenty five,
which is not the way that these temp rarey noise
hardship permits are supposed to work. They're supposed to be
very temporary in cases where a facility needs additional time
to come up to compliance with the city's noise limitations,
(06:13):
or if it's a temporary type venue and they can't
possibly comply with the noise limitations like those are the
types of things that these permits were designed to do.
So now what's essentially happened is the city legislated an
exception to this noise ordnance specifically for this one venue
without any sort of legal or democratic process, and we
(06:35):
were the public. There were no public hearings, the residents
around the venue weren't notified of the noise permit. There's
been no revised ordinance or anything like that. Have you
had the.
Speaker 1 (06:47):
Opportunity to speak with the ownership of the ford Amphitheater
about potential solutions that could be installed or put up.
There's lots of options for sound dampening panels and things
like this. I used to work at a restaurant. We
started having bands and we had to put in a
lot of these noise mitigation things. And the company that
(07:07):
we worked with, and this was thirty five years ago,
they had all kinds of outdoor sound mitigation things that
we utilized in addition to some on the inside. Are
they open to any of that kind of stuff?
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Sure, and right now they have a fifty foot sound
wall and they have some electronic noise mitigation things in place.
They haven't really hard committed to anything. They've committed to
look at different studies to look at different potential solutions,
but haven't firmly committed on anything yet. I know the
(07:43):
next phase of the Amphitheater is the build out of
the steakhouse, which will increase the thickness of the sound wall.
Right now it's two feet thick. That will increase the
thickness of it to fifty feet. I don't know how
much the thickness of the sound wall is really going
to matter when you're talking about our homes that are
(08:04):
elevated above the sound wall. There has been some talk
about raising the height of the sound wall. But again,
I don't think anything has been been hard committed to
at this point. What would you like to.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
See happen here, Jeremy.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
So, I think I'm with the majority of people in
that I want to see some solution in the middle.
I know there are fringe voices that say the amphatheater
needs to go, or on the other side, the residents
just need to deal with it, you know. I don't
subscribe to those fringe voices. I think we're going to
land somewhere in the middle, and unfortunately, I think there's
(08:42):
going to be a bit of a fight to get there.
But that's where I hope to be someday.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Well, Jeremy, I have a lot of compassion for you
and your neighbors and everybody else who's disturbed by this.
But on the other side, the music lover in me
is excited about having another venue. So I feel I
feel very conflicted. I feel conflicted here. So I do
hope that there can be some kind of resolution that
will continue to create a better atmosphere around the venue
(09:09):
for you guys, and keep us posting on what happens.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
Absolutely I will do, and as a music lover, it
is your job to support those bands as they come
through the different venues that we have around. So you
should come down and you should enjoy that show, and
you shouldn't have to feel bad about it. For me,
my job as a resident that's impacted by the noise
is to push back a little bit. So we'll continue
to do that, all right, Thanks so much, Jeremy, Yes,
(09:36):
thank you.
The Mandy Connell Podcast News
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