Crime & Safety
City Moves To Study Festival Of Arts Sound Police For Irvine Bowl
Officials voted to further study the policy in an effort to allow the city to host concerts while mitigating impacts on residents.
LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Laguna Beach City councilmembers voted unanimously to look deeper into the Festival of Arts sound policy for the Irvine Bowl and surrounding area.
The move was made during a Laguna Beach City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
According to city staff, the item includes temporarily suspending the policy for three days — Oct. 23 through Oct. 25 — to allow the city's sound consultant to measure and analyze sound from a real-life concert with directional speakers.
Find out what's happening in Laguna Beachfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The study will help city staff determine whether or not changes to the current policy are needed.
The item has an approved cost not to exceed $12,386.
Find out what's happening in Laguna Beachfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to city staff, the effort to gain more information about the current sound policy is needed to create a win-win solution, in which the city can hold concerts at the Irvine Bowl and mitigate the impact on surrounding residents.
The item also included installing a $5 entry fee for attendees of non-festival programmed and ticketed events. According to staff, the revenue is meant to be reinvested into the Irvine Bowl.
According to the staff report, the current policy requires that sound levels not exceed 70 decibels at the "neighborhood sound boundary."
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
