Costa Mesa : Bill Limiting Sound Level at Amphitheater Backed

A bill sponsored by state Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) that would police the volume of concerts at Pacific Amphitheatre was narrowly approved by a Senate committee in Sacramento Tuesday.

Seymour’s bill, which passed the Senate Agriculture Committee with the minimum six votes needed, would in effect add the force of law to a 1980 agreement between the city and the 32nd Agricultural District, which owns the county fairgrounds where the 18,000-seat facility is located.

That agreement, based on noise standards in an Orange County ordinance, is less restrictive than a local ordinance that the City of Costa Mesa has unsuccessfully tried to enforce.

But representatives of Ned West Inc., which operates the amphitheater, and other county fairs around the state, were still opposed.

Since the amphitheater opened in 1983, nearby residents have complained about concert noise wafting through their neighborhoods. In response to complaints, Ned West has moved up concert starting times.

To see if those earlier concerts are helping to appease the situation, the Costa Mesa City Council Monday appointed a committee to formulate a questionnaire for residents.

The committee, which would consist of council members Dave Wheeler, Mary Hornbuckle and Assistant City Manager Alan Roeder, will not be working to meet any specific timetable when it formulates the survey, which could reach about 1,800 households in the two neighborhoods closest to the amphitheater.