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Umatilla council approves behind-stage sound barrier and monitoring after Rock the Locks complaints
Summary
After months of neighborhood outreach and an acoustic review, Umatilla city council voted to implement a behind-stage sound barrier, continue in-event acoustic monitoring, and spend from an existing $225,000 mitigation line to reduce impacts from the Rock the Locks festival.
Umatilla’s city council voted to adopt staff and consultant recommendations to reduce noise impacts from the Rock the Locks festival, directing procurement of a behind-stage sound curtain and continued acoustic monitoring during the event.
The council’s decision follows a multi-month engagement process led by Jensen Strategies and a technical review by ABD (acoustic engineering), with facilitation and modeling from JB Engineers. Staff told the council the city set aside a $225,000 mitigation line in the adopted Rock the Locks budget to pay for materials and installation; one rental estimate for a behind-stage curtain plus delivery, installation and tear-down was described to council as about $120,000.
“Staff’s recommendation is to adopt the top preference and preference of the neighbors, which is the sound mitigation barrier immediately behind the stages,” City staff member Dave said during the presentation. Dave and the consultants told council the curtain would act at the source and that model results projected reductions of roughly 1–10 dB at affected houses, with some combinations of mitigation and operational changes possibly producing larger reductions.
Consultant Amelia Wallace of Jensen Strategies described the community engagement: the firm held listening sessions and neighbor meetings and prioritized options that residents judged most effective. "There was authentic engagement," Wallace said, and the neighbor cohort identified three top priorities: moving stages, setting maximum noise limits, and installing a backstage barrier.
Several neighbors told council last week that the 2023 festival had caused vibrations and disrupted sleep. "The nonstop vibration of walls, dishes was literally—" said public commenter Terry Morris, describing the experience in houses nearest the stage. Acoustical consultant materials shown to the council noted that perceived reductions are logarithmic: a 10 dB reduction is perceived roughly as half as loud.
Councilors discussed alternatives, including moving stage locations or pursuing a perimeter wall, and asked staff to test options incrementally so the city can measure which change produces the largest benefit. Staff emphasized the model is illustrative until calibrated with in-event measurements; ABD will take calibrated readings during the festival so staff can compare modeled to observed results.
A motion to accept the staff and consultant mitigation plan was moved and seconded by councilors; the motion carried by voice vote. Council directed staff to begin procurement and to return to council if further budget authority is required.
Next steps included procurement of a behind-stage curtain, operational changes to reduce continuous stage overlap during the festival, coordination between stage sound engineers (PSI) and ABD for mixes and measurements, and continued neighborhood engagement led by Jensen Strategies. Staff said they will report back with final vendor quotes and the precise deployment plan prior to the festival.
The council’s vote does not preclude further changes in 2025: staff and consultants said the city will consider additional measures—such as repositioning stages, additional perimeter mitigation or different speaker configurations—after the 2024 season’s calibrated data are analyzed.
