Council refers Park Place ice-rink noise complaint to planning and legal for LDO exception review

Councilmember Mary Larson asked the governing body to refer a resident complaint about noise from the Park Place ice-skating rink chiller to the Planning and Legal departments for consideration of a Land Development Ordinance (LDO) exception.

Larson and other councilmembers said staff had met on-site with Park Place management and measured decibel levels with city equipment. According to the meeting record, a recent reading at the property line measured 70 to 71 decibels and about 67 decibels at the curb of the Park Place residences; when measured behind the building's glass doors the reading was below 60 decibels. Larson noted that the complainant had renewed their lease and did not seek relocation but that the complaint could reflect a short-term window of higher noise, possibly related to recent construction near the chiller.

Larson asked planning and legal staff to consider whether an LDO exception could be crafted for the rink with specific conditions such as limiting the exception to situations when interior decibel levels exceed a set threshold, requiring property-management cooperation to mitigate noise, or other measures. Councilmember Sherry Gayed seconded the referral; the council voted unanimously to forward the matter to planning and legal. Staff said if the departments craft an LDO exception it would go first to the Planning Commission and then return to the council for final action.

Park Place management told the council they were investigating insulated blankets and less expensive box covers for the chiller; staff said an insulated blanket approach could cost about $30,000 and might not guarantee meeting a 60-decibel threshold. The council did not adopt any immediate code changes; the matter will proceed through the planning/legal review process.