MATT DRISCOLL: HOW MANY DECIBELS IS TOO MANY? >>>

Yesterday in Olympia, during the very convenient hours of 2 â€" 4 p.m., the Olympia City Council’s General Government Committee held an informal meeting to explain to residence, bar owners, musicians, and anyone else who cared to listen the ins and outs of Olympia’s proposed noise ordinance.

The meeting also served as an opportunity for residence to once again voice their concerns over the proposed noise ordinance. Of the estimated 30-40 people who attended, over 90% were against the proposal- which would place a noise limit on downtown establishments of 60 decibels at night and 65 during the day.

However, there’s a good chance the ordinance will be modified before it goes before a vote of the Olympia City Council. The General Government Committee is expected to deliberate and make a recommendation to the full council on Aug 19. There’s no date currently set for a full council vote on the noise ordinance.

Pit Kwiecinski, owner of the Brotherhood Lounge in Olympia, attended yesterday’s meeting and offered his thoughts to the Weekly Volcano.

“The meeting ran from 2pm to 4pm which basically excluded anyone who worked normal business hours. Of the 40 I would say 35 or so were opposed to the Noise Ordinance. This I know because they had a show of hands first for, and then against. It looked like there were 3 or 4 bar owners present, a number of musicians and some downtown residents,” says Kwiecinski.  There was a very clear explanation given of how the ordinance would be enforced. Basically, once a noise complaint was received, the noise from the nightclub would be measured from the property line of the complaining party. This measurement would not be done by the police but rather by an Olympia Code Enforcement officer.”

“Some suggestions were offered to the city: allow a higher decibel level on Friday and Saturday nights, change the 65db allowed time from 10pm to 11pm, create an entertainment district with no db limits. The city seemed receptive to the first two suggestions, not so much the third,” Kwiecinski continued.

“I came away from the meeting with a little better education on noise issues and an impression that perhaps the city would be somewhat flexible if and when they adopt the Downtown Noise Ordinance. There current proposal is more lenient than the state standard, the standard adopted by Seattle and Tacoma, or so we were told. I feel if they were to allow 65db on Friday and Saturdays after 10pm it would be a lot easier to work with. I'm not optimistic that the noise ordinance can be stopped, just hopeful that in its final draft it can be somewhat reasonable and fair to both downtown residents AND the nightclubs.”