Track 29 owner Adam Kinsey said he will rehire an acoustical engineer to decide on fixes for that building behind the Chattanooga Choo Choo.OTHER COUNCIL BUSINESSIn other business, the council:• Unanimously appointed Thomas Rumph, Alan Lebovitz, Jimmy Rodgers and Ray Adkins to the city's Industrial Development Board.• Affirmed Mayor Andy Berke's reappointments to the Chattanooga Public Library Board of Tom Griscom, Herb Cohn, Mai Bell Hurley and Karen McMahon. Councilwoman Carol Berz abstained from voting.
Chattanooga City Council plan to allow higher noise limits in certain parts of downtown.
Downtown Chattanooga bars and music venues that want to bring in loud concerts or crank up their music outside will have to pay at least $1,750 to apply for a city sound permit.
But city officials said they don't plan to make a profit on the application process. The fee will cover the cost to hire an acoustical engineer to review applicants' soundproofing plans and other expenses incurred.
On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved an application process for businesses in the new downtown music district. The area is bounded generally by Main and Seventh streets to the north and south and Market and Broad streets on the east and west. Within those borders, businesses can get permits to play music as loud as 85 decibels until midnight.
City officials created the music district this summer after numerous Southside residents complained for nearly a year about the loud bass during Track 29 concerts. The ordinance allows venues to be much louder than previously allowed in city code, but officials say it also creates better enforcement to regulate those businesses.
One of the accountability pieces requires the city to contract with an acoustical engineer to decide whether each venue's soundproofing plan is sufficient before the city's Land Development office decides whether to issue the permit.
When a business owner applies for a permit, the officials will send out notices to residents who live within 300 feet of the property, said Gary Hilbert, director of the land development office. Residents then have 14 days to register concerns or complaints with the city.
But officials couldn't say how much weight would be given to resident complaints in the decision-making process.
"This is going to be trial and error for the first couple of permits," Hilbert said.
If the Land Development office denies a permit, the business owner has the option to appeal to a three-member board during a public hearing.
Southside residents who have complained about Track 29 say they hope the process works as intended to ensure businesses properly soundproof their buildings and to protect downtown residents.
Track 29 owner Adam Kinsey said he will rehire an acoustical engineer to decide on fixes for that building behind the Chattanooga Choo Choo. The owners hired an engineer in January, but Kinsey said they waited to make adjustments to the building until the city decided what to do.
Kinsey said he thinks his business will be able to meet the new standards because most of the citations his venue received for noise violations were below the city's new 85-decibel regulations.
Contact staff writer Joy Lukachick Smith at jsmith@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.