Tiburon planning commissioners hear update on amplified-music dispute at Art and Garden Center

The Town of Tiburon Planning Commission on June 11 heard an interim update and public comment on the use of amplified music during special events at the Art and Garden Center, 841 Tiburon Boulevard. The session was discussion-only; the commission took no formal action and staff said the item is scheduled for a public hearing in November.

The matter matters to nearby residents and to the Belvedere Tiburon Landmarks Society, which operates the Art and Garden Center, because amplified music at on-site weddings and receptions has drawn repeated neighbor complaints about noise, parking and rodents. ‘‘We are simply requesting the town amend the conditional use permit to limit the number of amplified events and space them so we have some free weekends to enjoy our backyards,’’ said Cam Shadhan, an eastern neighbor who addressed the commission on behalf of a neighborhood collective.

Why this matters: the council previously heard an appeal of the permit amendment and directed independent sound monitoring. Commissioners said they want independent, repeatable measurements and more context from staff and the parties before deciding whether to recommend permit changes in November.

What the Landmarks Society told the commission

Mark Freyberg, representing the Belvedere Tiburon Landmarks Society, described noise monitoring that Landmarks has been doing at weddings this spring and said the group and the neighborhood collective have resumed meetings. Freyberg said Landmarks initially recorded data at four events out of roughly 20 bookings (three had canceled) and that he used an A-weighted handheld sound meter at fence-line locations during traffic breaks to try to isolate wedding sound from Tiburon Boulevard traffic.

Freyberg described typical measured ranges at fence lines during…