La Conner residents urge council to preserve Sunday music as officials weigh changes to noise rules

Dozens of residents urged the La Conner Town Council to preserve the town’s Sunday afternoon live-music series, saying the concerts draw visitors and support downtown businesses while offering a social outlet for residents.

“People are coming to La Conner specifically for live music as well as arts, great restaurants, and boutique shops,” said Mike Ducey, a member of the town’s Parks Advisory Commission, who described a technical fix that would let a band’s amplifier be turned down remotely if a noise complaint arises. “If noise is the issue, we could very, very simply turn it down right from the street.”

The pushback came after staff materials and council discussion highlighted an apparent local decibel threshold of 55 dB for outdoor sound. Several commenters called that level unrealistic for outdoor performance. “I feel like the whole 55-decibel thing was maybe just a quick pull-down,” said Kristen Schumann, who works at a local retirement home and argued the music is important to residents there. “It’s a ridiculous number for music outside.”

Chamber and business owners described measurable economic benefits. “On Sunday we get live music from 1 to 4. Most people that come to town are typically leaving in the morning,” said Marie White Busey, who runs a local spa. She added that the concerts encourage visitors to stay longer, eat and shop downtown.

Speakers and musicians proposed several options the council could pursue: allow formally sanctioned public-event exceptions, adopt temporary event permits or variances, move some events to alternative venues such as the port, or hire a professional sound engineer to manage levels and settings. Several speakers and a technical speaker said better sound-system tuning and an experienced engineer would reduce off-frequency energy and crowd complaints while preserving musical volume for attendees.

Councilmembers and staff signaled support for finding a compromise. Staff said a memo in the meeting packet outlined multiple options and asked for direction; council members asked staff to draft a resolution for consideration at a future meeting. Council discussion referenced the possibility of using hotel–motel tax funds to support a paid sound engineer, with figures discussed in the meeting materials and public comments in the range of several thousand dollars (participants referenced $5,000–7,000 as available this year).

Councilmembers also raised practical concerns: whether moving events to the port would reduce accessibility for seniors who rely on seating in the downtown square, and how shifting times or permitting rules would affect bands that hold recurring slots. Several speakers said bands have postponed or been at risk of losing slots because of uncertainty.

The council did not adopt a new ordinance at the meeting. Instead, members asked staff to draft a formal resolution and return with proposed language and details to be voted on at a subsequent meeting.

The meeting closed with the council moving on to other agenda items and scheduling further consideration of the live-music options.