Court Slates Amphitheater Speaker Test
Attorneys for Pacific Amphitheatre and Costa Mesa residents who sued for lower noise levels during concerts at the open-air bowl will meet there next month to test a new speaker system, a judge said Friday.
The two sides have been unable to reach an agreement in the case, which has been suspended from trial indefinitely while the owners explore ways to reduce the noise.
During a settlement conference with Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard J. Beacom on Friday in Santa Ana, attorneys for Concerned Citizens of Costa Mesa and Ned West Inc., the firm that operates the theater on a 40-year lease from the state, agreed to the demonstration of the speaker system on Sept. 19.
They will return to court on Sept. 23 for a mandatory settlement conference, the judge said.
Recording to Be Used
“They will evaluate and demonstrate new sound equipment at the amphitheater. They will use a (recording) to simulate a concert,” Beacom said.
The special speakers will be placed at ground level throughout the theater, closer to fans, according to Richard L. Spix, attorney for Concerned Citizens. Speakers currently are suspended in the air on towers and the volume is raised so that clear sound can be heard even at the back of the theater, he said.
The citizens group sued Ned West in 1984, claiming that the 18,500-seat bowl did not comply with state environmental laws and that concert volume made the facility a neighborhood nuisance.
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