David Michael Miller
After a proposal to change the regulation of amplified sound in public parks prompted significant public outcry last month, city officials are offering up a revised plan.
Board of Park Commissioners chairman David Wallner calls the new proposal an attempt to “reach a balance” between residents bothered by noise levels from neighborhood music festivals and the organizers and supporters of such events who say that new restrictions and fees will cause problems.
“We’re just trying to come up with some reasonable standards,” Wallner says. “Nobody on the commission wants to damage festivals.”
On Nov. 18, the commission voted to delay changing the fee structure and volume limitation after more than 70 residents turned out to oppose the changes. The commission will take the issue up again on Wednesday, Dec. 9, at 6:30 p.m. in the Warner Park Community Recreation Center.
Under current policy, all amplification permits for city parks are $100 regardless of event type or duration. The first version of the plan would have split amplified sound permitting into three levels: $50 for park and athletic field reservations up to six hours, $100 for a similar event with higher noise levels and $150 for larger, louder events for up to four hours with the option to add additional hours for $45.
The plan also limited the noise level to 85 decibels at the perimeter of the park. Music festival organizers said the restriction would be detrimental to the character and quality of events. Other critics questioned whether a sound reading taken at the perimeter of a park was an appropriate measure of an event’s decibel level, since Madison’s parks are different shapes and sizes.
The revised proposal does away with the three-level system, opting instead for a daily permit fee of $100 for a six-hour event held between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Additional hours within that time period can be purchased for $20, and two six-hour permits may be purchased on the same day. Events can be extended to 11 p.m. for $50 with approval from the park commission.
The new plan also raises the maximum sound level to 92 decibels at the sound board or 85 decibels 150 feet from the source.
Gary Kallas, executive director of the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center and an organizer of La Fête de Marquette music festival, says that the revised proposal is a “sincere and thoughtful step forward in the right direction.” But he’s still hoping that the commission will consider increasing the decibel limitation for some of the city’s larger festivals.
Kallas says that many of the artists who have played at La Fête have an “industry standard” volume level requirement of 100 decibels at the sound board written into their contracts. If the city imposed a limit of 92 decibels, Kallas says it would be impossible to book the same caliber of musicians.
“We believe the artists would pass,” Kallas says. “The event would be greatly diminished.”
Kallas emphasizes that “not all parks are created equal.” He feels that the 92-decibel limit is appropriate for smaller parks, such as Orton, which draws about 2,500 people to its annual festival, by his estimate. Central Park, however, can draw as many as 6,000 attendees to La Fête and other events, he says. He believes Olin, Warner and Olbrich parks could also handle higher volume limits.
Kallas also points to the city’s recent agreement with Big Top Baseball, the company behind the Madison Mallards franchise that was recently approved to manage Breese Stevens Field. The contract allows Big Top to hold a limited number of concerts starting in 2016 and imposes a sound limit of 100 decibels.
“We feel that it puts us at a disadvantage [if] we have to inform our proposed artist that they’re limited to 92 decibels while just blocks away the same artist would be limited to 100 decibels,” he says.
District 19 Ald. Mark Clear, who is a member of the parks commission, says he’s optimistic about the meeting on Wednesday and is confident that an agreement can be reached.
“I’m not sure if it will make everyone happy, but at least it’s something we can experiment with in 2016,” he says.
