Resident cites noise measurements as council weighs fair zoning change
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Summary
A Cannon Falls resident presented sound-measurement data from a Sept. 13 monster truck event and urged the council not to rewrite the fair zoning text amendment, suggesting a temporary zoning overlay for the Cannon Valley Fair instead. City staff said some measurements were shorter than the state standard period and wind may have affected results.
Erin McMahon, a Cannon Falls resident, told the City Council on Nov. 18 that Tim Schwartz of the PCA provided sound measurements from a Sept. 13 monster truck event that, she said, exceeded state statute noise thresholds during the evening showing.
McMahon relayed specific readings she said were taken by the PCA: an L10 reading she cited as 105.9 decibels for the matinee and 125 decibels for the evening event, and L50 figures she summarized as 97.5 dB (matinee) and 119.5 dB (evening). She urged the council that the proposed fair zoning text amendment does not require creating a new noise-classification category and suggested the city consider a temporary zoning overlay to allow fair events without rewriting the ordinance.
City staff and other council members discussed the data after the public comment. Staff noted they had received the sound study and a related IUP evaluation and said several readings were taken from two different locations during the evening show. Staff cautioned the study included measurements shorter than the one-hour period the state law requires for enforcement (the shortest measurement reported was 47 minutes) and that environmental factors such as wind speed could affect readings. Staff said the matinee measurements did not exceed state standards and that the Fair board had been given the results and indicated it likely would not request similar events going forward.
Why it matters: The council is considering a zoning text amendment related to fair events; the noise measurements and whether the city needs a new ordinance classification will influence whether the commission recommends changes or postpones action.
The council’s Planning and Zoning Commission met Nov. 10 and voted to postpone consideration of the proposed fair zoning text amendment to the December meeting, after receiving additional information and testimony.
A final determination on any ordinance change will depend on further review of the noise study, input from the MPCA where applicable, and the Planning and Zoning Commission’s December recommendation. No formal council action on the text amendment was taken at the Nov. 18 meeting.