The Board of Health met 02/08/2023. One of the information items they discussed was the Approved Noised Variances.
I’ve prepared a complete transcript of the discussion.
This item received public feedback from a couple downtown residents who had ongoing issues with the amount of noise being generated by Fox River House. This has been an ongoing issue for 14 years, and has been coming before committees and the Common Council since at least 2013.
The noise variance request and the noise issues surrounding live music at Fox River House hit the news back in 2018, but a brief search of the meeting records for the City of Appleton’s committee and Council meetings show that concerns were being raised by residents at least as far back as 2013.
Although the item was an information item, some members of the public came to the meeting in order to speak about it. Before allowing them to speak, board chairperson Cathy Spears addressed the process of noise variances and said that the Board of Health allowed Health Office Charles Sepers to approve noise variance requests so that they can be processed in a timelier manner. “Because if it’s brought before the Board of Health we don’t always meet. So that’s the history of this. This has been for probably about 10 years. […] we have given him the authority to approve or disapprove, and only if the person who had the noise variance had a problem with it would we be taking it up as an action item.”
Health Officer Sepers expanded, “The way the code is written currently, if a noise variance is denied by the health officer that’s at the point at which it would move to full board. So, we look at the points in the in the code, you know, and review each noise variance request and sort of understand what is being done to meet what is there.”
In the case of noise variances for live music specifically, he said, “what happens at times is taking sound checks based on a on a sound level that they sort of work through to ensure that noise doesn’t get too loud. In that case, sometimes there’s physical barriers, such as fencing and other and other things. So, provided that the city receives some understanding about what is done to limit the amount of noise. And some of it is a—it’s an ongoing process, right. So, if, in the event, where there’s capital that is being raised to apply to create maybe a maybe a taller fence or, you know, change the shape of the stage or something like that, in the event where there’s a physical structure, we take that into account as well.”
Before allowing the members of the public to speak, Chairperson Spears asked them to “to limit their comments to about one minute to two minutes at the maximum. And I will be timing them. And I will be asking at the end of two minutes that they please stop talking to us, because it is not an action item. But I believe that everyone needs to be heard.”
Elizabeth S. spoke first. She had not realized that the item was not an action item and indicated she would write a letter to the board further outlining her concerns. “But what I’m here to tell you is the process is not working. The variances are being granted are granted under a special event. So last summer, we met with Dr. Sepers. I reached out to the mayor and didn’t hear anything. I reached out to my alderperson who finally was very helpful. But um, we met with the bar owners; they’re not respecting us. They have no cause to lower the sound because there’s no incentive.”
She played recordings from her front porch, the front room inside her house, and the family room inside her house demonstrating the level of noise she was experiencing from Fox River House’s live outdoor music.
Elizabeth L. also addressed the board. “We know the music at the taverns is not going away and they will have outdoor music spring, summer, and fall, pretty much to nine months of the year; however, the Fox River House has promised sound barriers for their patio. And they have done nothing. This promise was made by three different owners. […] This is a mixed-use neighborhood and there should be a compromise. Every weekend, we are forced to monitor the music because there is no way to avoid it. This has been going on for 14 years. And we’re not moving. We know they’re not going away, but we would like compromise. We would like to work with us instead of having or being allowed to do as loud as they’d like, every weekend. So, we don’t we don’t have any recourse.”
Chairperson Spears responded to these statements from members of the public by saying, “Thank you very much. And thank you again for being brief. We appreciate it. Anyone else? Okay, thank you very much for your comments. And we look forward to having your letters sent.”
No other board members made any follow up comments or asked any questions.
[Look, this is just my opinion after first observing this situation 10 years into it, but I got the impression that the board was trying to politely blow these people off and was sick of hearing about the problem. I also can say that had I been one of those two members of the public, I would have found Chairperson Spears’ final statement to be incredibly patronizing and dismissive; though I don’t know that she intended it to come off that way.
The meeting did raise questions as to what options are available to the public to meaningfully oppose noise variance requests. It seems like kind of an odd situation in that variance requests to things like the city’s building code come before a committee such as the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Board of Building Inspection, or the Municipal Services Committee for a vote, and residents who live within a certain distance of the property seeking the variance are notified about the request and have the opportunity to come to the meeting and voice their concerns. Noise variances, however, seem to be handled administratively so there isn’t that same level of public recourse available to neighbors who would be affected by other sorts of variances.]
View full meeting details and video here: https://cityofappleton.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1070892&GUID=2FAC71A7-6F63-40F0-A9F9-5A1DE92DEF00
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