By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer
PITTSBORO – The management of The City Tap in Pittsboro will ask the Town of Pittsboro Board of Commissioners to reconsider the town’s noise ordinance to allow the bar to present live music at what it considers to be a reasonable decibel level. The board may begin consideration of revising the ordinance as soon as its next meeting, this Monday.
The City Tap, which also serves sandwiches and other light fare, is located downtown, just a block from the courthouse, and has been presenting live bands on its back patio during warm-weather months. Recently, though, co-owner and general manager Steve Cote said the bar has been receiving complaints about the noise from a neighbor who lives two blocks away.
The board of commissioners heard from several neighbors at a recent meeting complaining of the noise level and requesting that no more permits be issued. Police Chief David Collins reported, though, that he has received no written complaints.
Cote said that initially he was unaware he needed a permit to present live music, but that upon being notified he had begun paying $5 to receive one. The permit allows bands to play till midnight. “But to be good neighbors,†Cote said, “we knock off at 10.â€
But, he said, “The permit only allows us to go up to 70 decibels, which effectively means we can’t have live music – acoustic maybe, but that would be it.â€
So the bar’s management is asking that the permissible decibel level be raised to 80 decibels and, more critically, Cote said, that the noise level be measured at the source of the complaint.
“We’ve been asking for 80 [decibels],†Cote said. “That’s all we feel we need. But the real kicker is where they measure. We think they should measure where the complaints are coming from.â€
The buildings most immediately surrounding The City Tap are businesses, and, Cote said, by his own measurements, 95 decibels at the bar dissipates to 70 a block away and into the 50s two blocks away.
A petition in support of amending the ordinance has been circulated throughout the community, having gathered some 500 signatures, according to City Tap co-owner Steve Carr.
Pittsboro Mayor Randy Voller said he believes the issue will be discussed at this Monday’s town board meeting and that he anticipates public input.
“I think there’s definitely room for crafting a policy that will be amenable to everyone,†Voller said.