Neighbors press county to act on persistent loud music from 7 Brew, cite enforcement gaps

Neighbors of a commercial business told commissioners they are losing use of their yards and cannot sleep because of repeated loud music and urged the county to improve enforcement of the noise ordinance.

Frederick Schmidt of Shadow Oak Drive said loud music from the business commonly reaches inside neighbors’ homes and suggested adopting a plainly audible standard to allow enforcement without specialized equipment. “Adopting a plainly audible standard seems to be the shortest path to resolution,” Schmidt said.

Linda Fouts of Pine Grove described multiple complaints to store management and corporate, played part of a seven-minute recording at the meeting and asked commissioners to view the video evidence. During the recorded exchange she played for the board, a store employee acknowledged the noise: “It's too loud,” according to the recording. Corinne Lawson Schmidt said officers and equipment sometimes arrive after the music has been turned off and raised concerns about decibel-meter calibration and weekend enforcement, saying, “If the equipment is not gonna be consistently ready or properly maintained, calibrated, then how are readings supposed to be considered for reliable representation…?”

County staff and Commissioner Burkett told the board they had sought meetings with the regional manager for the business and would coordinate with the sheriff’s office on equipment and training. Staff said that under the current code, if an incident does not meet the technical definition of a violation, a citation cannot be written, so the next steps include meetings with management and exploring whether code changes or training are needed. No ordinance change was adopted at the meeting.

Residents and commissioners agreed to pursue meetings with higher-level management and coordinate enforcement efforts, but the board took no immediate legislative action at the session.