Some Colorado Springs council members on Tuesday implored developers of the new outdoor Ford Amphitheater to take additional measures to mitigate noise after hearing from more than two dozen residents who said excessive sound levels emanating from the venue have interrupted their daily lives. Developers with VENU, the company formerly known as Notes Live that built the amphitheater, would not commit to specific additional noise reduction controls Tuesday, but said they are "committed to being a good neighbor." Since the 8,000-seat outdoor venue opened on the city's north side three weeks ago, neighbors living up to 3 miles away have been subjected to unwanted noise that has affected their quality of life and their mental health, they testified over nearly three hours of discussion during the City Council's regular meeting.
Neighbors voiced their concerns during a portion of the meeting where the public may comment on items not scheduled on the regular agenda. Several people said they don't object to the venue itself, but have been negatively affected by the loud noise that can come from it. During some concerts, area residents can hear music while inside their houses, even though their doors and windows are shut, they said.
Many struggle to have conversations with others in their homes and have difficulty sleeping because of the noise. Their children must try to study through constant interruptions at the end of the week, neighbors said. "I want to experience the quiet enjoyment of sitting in my yard, or inside my house and not hear the music.
We'd all like to get a good night's sleep before we have to go to work or school. ..
. This simply isn't a tolerable situation," said Karen Myers, who lives 2 miles north of the amphitheater. Developers "need to be accountable and fix it.
Basically, put a lid on the noise," she added. Others said they or their loved ones struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, and their symptoms are exacerbated on nights when the amphitheater hosts concerts. Bruce Beauvais lives 11⁄2 miles away from the venue in unincorporated El Paso County with his 32-year-old son, a disabled veteran who suffers from PTSD and a traumatic brain injury that causes severe migraines.
On concert nights, Beauvais' son must confine himself to a specific room in the home to avoid the noise coming from the theater that could trigger his disorder or migraine symptoms. "That is the only room in the home that we are not hearing these concerts," Beauvais said. VENU President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Mudd said Tuesday developers want to be good neighbors.
To that end, they have engaged and will continue to engage with residents to solicit their feedback, positive and negative, about the venue. VENU also agreed to "substantial" requirements for parking, security and noise mitigation measures ahead of the Ford's Aug. 9 opening, including installing a sound barrier on the east side of seating areas and noise-detection devices outside the facility — at Spectrum Loop and Voyager Parkway and near Bass Pro Drive and North Gate Boulevard — to measure and adjust sound levels.
The city granted a noise-hardship permit allowing the outdoor amphitheater to exceed city noise limits of 50 decibels in residential areas between 7 p.m. and 7 a.
m. Mudd repeated Tuesday that noise levels measured inside the facility haven't exceeded a city-imposed limit of 110 decibels once every five minutes. Developers were not required to measure noise levels at the neighborhood level, but have; those measurements have not been different from the immediate area's ambient noise from traveling vehicles, for instance, they said.
"It may be legal for the venue to exceed sound laws, but it sure doesn't make it morally right," Northgate Estates resident Kathy Greenberg said. Residents requested VENU build additional sound barriers on the northern and southern sides of seating areas to further limit noise pollution. They asked the city to rescind the noise-hardship permit in place through mid-October.
Councilwoman Nancy Henjum, who in January 2023 voted to approve the amphitheater, apologized to residents for not doing "a more vigorous job of really understanding" how noise could impact surrounding neighborhoods. "Trust has really been broken here, with this City Council, with the city administration previous and current. We have to start looking at how do we repair that trust," she said.
Henjum requested VENU acknowledge the harm the excessive noise has done to residents and that they reduce the noise levels inside the amphitheater. Councilman Dave Donelson, who originally voted against approving the venue's development, agreed with Henjum that developers also should install sound monitors outside of the amphitheater that the city can access to monitor decibel levels. Mudd would not commit Tuesday to implementing the requested mitigation measures.
Developers and the city must meet with experts before enforcing additional noise reduction efforts, he said. Mayor Yemi Mobolade's chief of staff, Jamie Fabos, said city staff will meet with VENU representatives Wednesday to review comments from the council meeting and some roughly 650 complaints residents have filed in recent weeks about excessive amphitheater noise. At that meeting, developers and the city will review possible additional noise-mitigation options, she said.
"It's very early. The venue has been open for three weeks. There is a lot of space to come to solutions," Fabos said in an interview after the public discussion.
In recent days, area residents have been encouraging their neighbors on social media and via signs posted throughout the vicinity of the amphitheater to voice their complaints through an online website, fordhurtsfamilies.org . It is unclear who developed or controls the website, which appeared not to be working early Tuesday evening.
Fabos encouraged residents to continue submitting their complaints through the city's GoCOS app..
