Amphitheater Anti-Noise Faction Hails Court Ruling

Both sides in the dispute over noise levels at Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa disagree about the impact of a U.S. Supreme Court decision this week that allows New York City to have its own sound engineer at outdoor rock concerts to keep the volume down.

The court ruled 6-3 that the city could insist on having one of its technicians at the Naumberg Acoustic Bandshell in Central Park in order to make certain that the park’s nearby, 13-acre Sheep Meadow remains a “quiet zone,” as decreed by Mayor Ed Koch in 1985. The decision overturned a federal appeals court decision.

A long-running legal battle pitting the group Concerned Citizens of Costa Mesa against Ned West Inc.--the firm which operates the Pacific--over noise generated by rock concerts, has involved the state the county and the city, and is now in Orange County Superior Court. The state became embroiled in the dispute because it owns the land. Another hearing on the dispute is scheduled July 14.

“I think the court’s decision will be of considerable assistance to our attorney in pleading our cause,” said Russ Millar, a founder of Concerned Citizens. “It seems evident on the face of it that this decision will be a guideline for the court here.”

Neil Papiano, an attorney with the Nederlander Organization, the parent of Ned West, said he is familiar with the New York case, but insisted that “there are a lot of reasons (the ruling) doesn’t have any application” to the Pacific Amphitheatre litigation.

“We have never contested the right of a governmental authority to establish a standard for sound,” Papiano said. “We are within the regulations that have been made.”

Millar said he believes the decision would “be helpful in our attempt to acquire justice for the homeowners. The community is against the outrageous noise that comes from the amphitheater.”

Papiano, referring to Millar, said that at this point “one person is making most of the noise.”

Earlier this year, the amphitheater used a rented, digital sound system designed to beam the sound in a way that would keep it inside the auditorium area. The results of the new system are still being assessed.