Costa Mesa : City Will Send Letter on Amphitheater Noise

Residents of the two neighborhoods closest to the Pacific Amphitheatre soon will receive a letter describing the city’s progress in its efforts to reduce noise from the outdoor auditorium.

In a 4-1 vote, the City Council this week decided to go forward with a plan to send the newsletter to neighbors of the amphitheater in the next couple of weeks and invite them to write the city with comments and suggestions.

The plan approved Monday was but a shadow of the original proposal for a questionnaire to be mailed to some 1,800 residents. That survey would have included a cover letter explaining recent changes in concert schedules and asking whether the changes have cut down on noise complaints that the 1,800-seat theater has generated since its opening in 1983.

The council scrapped the survey but decided to send the letter, which City Manager Alan Roeder said will include a history of the theater and an outline of legal and legislative efforts to cut noise.

Part of the letter, he said, would be devoted to explaining that city noise laws cannot be applied on state-owned property at the Orange County Fairgrounds.