February 19, 2015
Red Rocks Amphitheater is an iconic outdoor music venue
located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles west of Denver in
Morrison, Colorado. The amphitheater is owned and operated by the City and
County of Denver. Public, organizational and private performances have been
held at Red Rocks for more than 100 years. In recent years, residents of
Morrison have complained of increasing noise levels during concerts at the
venue, with a particular distaste for reverberations caused by loud bass, or
deep, low-pitched sounds. The residents argue that electronic dance music (EDM)
concerts are the primary events producing loud bass, and that these shows,
among others, prevent the residence from fully enjoying their property near the
venue. In response to these concerns the
city of Denver, for the first time, implemented noise regulations for the 2014
concert season, and noise-monitoring systems were also installed at the venue.
At the onset of the 2014 concert season, the city of Denver
installed at Red Rocks a noise monitoring system at the Front-of-House, or on
stage, to measure the decibel level reached during performances. The 2014
regulations imposed a maximum noise level of 105 dB, measured at 1-minute
intervals. Five consecutive or non-consecutive minutes that exceeded this level
constituted a $10,000 violation.
However, these limits only applied after 12:00am on weeknights, and
after 1:00am on weekends, with concerts ending no later than 30 minutes after
these curfew times. The 2014 season had no violations of these regulations due
to the fact that the majority of the shows ended well before the 30-minute
curfew period where the noise limits applied.
Morrison residents were not satisfied with the 2014
regulations, arguing that noise levels remained obnoxiously high.
In December of 2014, the City of Morrison
sent
a letter to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and top Red Rocks officials
seeking the implementation of recommendations contained in a report made by
Geiler and Associates, LLC., consultants in acoustics and presentation
technologies hired by the City.
The
report (the “
Geiler
Report”) made a number of conclusions regarding the 2014 concert season,
data collected by Red Rocks and other sources during that year, and proposed
regulations for 2015.
The Geiler Report apparently persuaded the City of Denver,
as the new regulations for 2015 mirror the recommendations found in the Report.
Denver presented these new regulations to Morrison residents on January 7, 2015.
Two notable changes appear in the 2015 regulations: first, sound levels are now
applicable to the entire performance (prior to 11:15pm, sound pressure level
shall not exceed 108dB; after 11:15pm, sound level shall not exceed 105dB);
second, mandatory ending times have been moved 45 minutes earlier for weeknight
shows, and one hour earlier for weekend shows (11:45pm on weeknights; 12:30am
on Friday nights, Saturday nights and some holidays). In addition, three
violations of sound limits (instead of five as seen in 2014) warrant a $10,000
fine, a performer that incurs a violation will not be permitted to perform at
Red Rocks the following year, and these regulations now appear in each
performance contract executed between artists and the City of Denver.
The implementation of the 2015 noise regulations presents a
number of issues to be considered. For concert-goers, likely one of the first
questions asked is “how can Denver implement these regulations?” The answer to
this question is simple: the City and County of Denver owns and operates Red
Rocks, and, by way of private contracts with artists to rent the amphitheater,
Denver has complete authority to control the manner in which artists conduct
themselves while performing. Therefore, to the dismay of many Red Rocks fans,
the City of Denver is acting well within its authority by implementing these
regulations through private contracts with artists who perform at the venue. As
long as the artists consent to the regulations by signing the contract, the
regulations are in full force.
Another issue is the possibility that the city of Morrison
may seek to impose regulations on Red Rocks beyond those already in place.
Implementation of additional regulation would likely occur through city or
county ordinances. In its letter to
Denver’s Mayor and Red Rocks officials, the City of Morrison claimed that it
would “consider other enforcement options” if Denver failed to work with
Morrison in reaching a long-term solution. Currently, Red Rocks is exempt from the
Jefferson County (the county in which Morrison is located) noise abatement law,
resolution CC07-202. This resolution prohibits excessive sound levels, with an
exception that applies to the “use of property by this state… for the purpose
of promoting, producing, or holding cultural, entertainment, athletic, or
patriotic events, including, but not limited to, concerts, music festivals, and
fireworks displays.” Based on this exception applicable to Red Rocks, it
appears that Morrison may find it difficult to regulate noise levels by way of
city or county ordinance.
At the heart of this controversy lie those Morrison
residents who have complained about the excessive noise produced by concerts at
Red Rocks. If these residents remain unsatisfied, one of their few options is
to pursue a claim of public or private nuisance against Red Rocks and the City
of Denver. Unfortunately for those residents, it is likely that both claims
will fail.
Because of the century-long existence of Red Rocks, private
nuisance claims (i.e. a single claim brought by an individual seeking relief
for an alleged nuisance) against Red Rocks (or the City of Denver) will likely
fail because the vast majority of residence who might bring this claim chose to
buy property near the venue, thereby drastically reducing the likelihood that a
court would rule in their favor. Ken Kubik, the creator of a
petition
advocating the removal of sound restrictions at Red Rocks, commented on
this issue in a January 2015 interview, stating that “all [of the homes] have
been built after the construction of the Amphitheater, and thus the homeowners
should not be able to complain about the volume of the concerts as they
willingly purchased property near a well known and active musical venue.”
A public nuisance claim alleging that the residents of
Morrison, as a whole, are unjustifiably subjected to the annoyance of Red Rocks
will likely also fail when considering how many more members of the public
benefit and enjoy Red Rocks, in comparison to the relatively few Morrison
residents who do not. The utility of the amphitheater as a venue for
performances far outweighs the gravity of harm felt by Morrison citizens as a
result of those performances, thus resulting in an unsuccessful public nuisance
claim.
Many avid live music fans and supporters of Red Rocks feel
as if the concert-going experience will be diminished as a result of these
noise regulations. EMD fans feel as if they’re musical genre, favorite artists,
and Red Rocks experiences are under attack. “This is an important issue as the
noise restrictions placed on Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater are detrimental to
the music experience of any event patron at the venue,” Kubik suggests. He
continued, arguing that the “noise restrictions also unfairly target Electronic
Dance Music Events, as these events tend to have large amounts of low frequency
bass sounds that travel further than higher frequency sounds, thus being more
present in the homes near the venue.”
Luckily for EDM fans, Brian Kitts from Denver Arts &
Venues is on their side. In a January 8, 2015 interview, Kitts said that Denver
will continue to work with Morrison residents regarding noise issues, but that
the City has no intention of restricting the genre of music performed at Red
Rocks.
"We want the artists to
be cognizant that this is not an indoor venue," Kitts
said. "But we are not considering banning EDM or other shows. They
are an important part of American pop culture right now."
There is another, more important perk that concertgoers
should keep in mind. It is likely that the majority of fans attending shows at
Red Rocks will not even notice the difference in sound as a result of the new
regulations. “There is a misconception that… the sound levels are going to be
50% of what they were last year, and that’s just not the case,” Kitts said in a
February 2015 interview.
“What
you’re doing is shaving off certain high points of the show, to the point that
you aren’t going to notice.” Kitts went on, “my gut tells me that 99% of the fans
aren’t going to notice.”
Although the concerns of Morrison residents and Red Rocks
fans are important, the overriding interest for Denver, Red Rocks, and
performers is making money. Skeptics of the new regulations argued that they
would inhibit the venue’s ability to attract artists, especially EDM
performers. However, this has not been the case for the 2015 concert season.
“This will be the heaviest season for EDM music that Red Rocks has ever had,”
says Kitts. “So clearly, the regulations aren't restricting them, they believe
they can put on an effective show.”
The upcoming 2015 concert season will shed light on the extent
to which these new regulations affect concert experiences at Red Rocks, and the
level of satisfaction felt by Morrison residents. However, 2015 is only one
step in the process of finding a long-term, satisfactory compromise.
Considering the contentious nature of this issue, it’s fair to say that noise
regulation at Red Rocks will be a debated issue for years to come.
Max Montag, Staff Editor
