Cape Girardeau City Council looks at proposed outdoor music permit

A new class of permit being considered by the Cape Girardeau City Council would put the onus on applicants to keep the volume of outdoor music down. If they don't, the proposal calls for the outdoor music venue permit to be pulled after five violations.

The council reviewed a draft of the permit during its study session Monday night, asking staff to prepare an ordinance that would put the permit into effect by mid-May.

"We put the emphasis on them in the application process," city manager Scott Meyer said of the applicants.

The permit is the result of complaints from some neighbors last summer about outdoor bands at Bel Air Grill at 24 S. Spanish St. The residents said then that the music was too loud and disruptive well into the evening hours on weekend nights. The council initially considered revising its noise ordinance, but the permit idea surfaced last month as another option.

The application, as proposed, asks a business owner to identify which days of the week and times that the outdoor music would be playing, as well as for descriptions of the use of stages, lighting, music, loudspeakers and whether it will be a live band or a sound system.

The application also asks business owners to describe how they plan to monitor and control the volume of the "noise" at the venue and how they plan to reduce the noise later at night, especially on weekends.

"We ask them how they are going to do that," Meyer said. "... We ask them what's their plan and how they would reduce the noise at those times."

Meyer said business owners could use decibel meters as well as change the orientation of the stage or put up some sound absorbing materials. They would agree to do that at the beginning of the permit process.

First a warning

The first violation of the terms of the permit would result in a warning, the second with a nine-day suspension, the third with an 18-day suspension, the fourth a 30-day suspension and the fifth with a revocation for the remainder of the season. If it was pulled, the business would then operate under the city's existing noise ordinance, which allows for complaints to police and court-imposed fines.

"I don't know if that's too tough or not tough enough," Meyer said. "But it's a place to start."

The permit process would be handled by city staff, but council member Mark Lanzotti suggested that an appeals process be added to the process with the council having authority to rule over appeals.

"Every time you implement a process like this, you have to have a safeguard for abuse," Lanzotti said.

Bel Air owner Misty Thrower was at the study session. She said normally she has already hired bands by now that would begin playing the first weekend in May.

"I'm just waiting," she said. "I get phone calls, emails, every day, nonstop. ... I would love it if it were done in three days, or even if I just had the opportunity to sit down with someone to see what the guidelines were going to be."

Meyer said that after the seasonal permit expires, the city's staff and the business owner could review the past season to see where adjustments need to be made. Lanzotti said he was concerned about hurting her business.

"I don't want her hamstrung by our desire to get this perfect," he said.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, MO