The Belmont-Carlton Neighborhood Association (BCNA) finally got to speak its mind on what many consider the severe noise problem in Belmont’s commercial zone during a special City Council session last Thursday.
“From the sheer amount of e-mail traffic we’ve gotten, it seems the noise issue is what you have the most concern about,” Jim Tolbert, Director of Neighborhood Development Services, told a packed crowd at City Space. “We want you to know, we hear you tonight.”
Tolbert told Belmont residents that council will seek to redefine “dance hall”—the classification that allows music in restaurants—citywide. According to Tolbert, the classification should apply to any venue with over 1/8 of the area being used for dancing and amplified sound, and sells tickets or charges a cover. He added that the new definition “would not affect Bel Rio,” the Belmont bar and restaurant that received the most heat throughout the noise ordinance dialogue and which opened in November 2008.
As for a drop in decibels? “The noise ordinance will go to City Council when we feel like we have something sufficient to take,” insisted Tolbert. He emphatically called for the ordinance to lower the decibel level from 75dB to 55dB for businesses after 11pm, but added that, due to a Virginia Supreme Court decision, “it’s got to be measurable and objective before it can be legal.”
Tolbert got technical and explained that the city was “only equipped to take dBA measurements, not dBC, which measures bass.” He told the crowd that police readings for Saturdays after 11pm averaged 63dBA.
“We need to be measuring the bass,” insisted resident Kim Dates. City Councilor David Brown agreed that “the bass is the most annoying element.” In fact, C-VILLE’s independent on a recent Thursday night when a rock band was playing inside Bel Rio strongly suggested that reverberating bass is constant, even when noise levels averaged 59dB.
Bel Rio owner Jim Baldi got a chance to respond. “I’ve lived in Belmont since 1986,” he told the crowd. “I think there is a danger in making this an us-versus-them mentality. We want Belmont to be inclusive.”
“Just because someone wanted to start a commercial business,” countered Tomas Rahal of Mas, “doesn’t mean we should ask people to change their lives. I’ve been here since 2002, and I made a pledge to never put amplified music in my restaurant.”
The next step for Tolbert and the BCNA will be to draft an ordinance proposal condensing all of the most pressing issues, which they can then present to City Council sometime after February.
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