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Alabama Music Box attorney Barry Friedman said this morning that his client, David Mathews and downtown resident Jeff Jordan are working together and have begun organizing an effort to measure vibratory bass emanating from the music hall.
During two meetings last week it became apparent that very few downtown residents or bar owners wished for a noise ordinance. Only a handful of Mobilians who attended a Thursday residents meeting were in favor of an ordinance and none of the bar owners in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting supported the idea.
Alabama Music Box owner David Mathews will go before city council and defend his business license on April 14.
Attempts to measure the vibratory bass levels will be difficult, Friedman noted.
“We’re trying to work something out, but I’m not sure it will happen because of the nature of the problem (vibrations not sound waves),” Friedman said. “But we’ve been talking with Jeff and Irvin Grodsky, another neighbor who has complained about the noise problem, and we’ll give it a shot.”
Friedman said the two parties would try to measure the vibrations on a weekend night in order to gain an accurate understanding of the problem.
Friedman and his client are acting quickly because the Alabama Music Box’s business license is set to go before city council in a public hearing on April 14.
The ruling on Alabama Music Box’s license is expected to set a precedent as to how the city will enforce noise issues, according to William Carroll. The Dauphin Street entertainment district currently has no noise ordinance.
The possibility of a noise ordinance has other bar owners in LoDa worried about their future in downtown Mobile. A group of bar owners has formed on the social networking Web site, Facebook. “Mobilians Against Noise Ordinance in LODA –Make Some Noise!” was started late last week and has grown to just shy of 1,200 supporters in that time. The homepage encourages members and visitors to contact their city council representative and voice their opposition to a potential noise ordinance.
District 2 councilman William Carroll is currently researching noise ordinances in other cities and has spotted New Orleans as an acceptable model for enforcement. The ordinance in place for Decatur Street or Vieux Carre entertainment district 1 says that noise may not be plainly audible from one foot outside of a building.
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downtowndoll says:
April 22, 2009
02:15 PM
Meanwhile, who is going to stop the Alabama Music Box from putting paper notices( about bands playing) that end up becoming giant stickers I can't get off my windshield?!?!
downtowndoll says:
April 22, 2009
02:13 PM
I think there are definitely ethical problems with a "councilman contractor"! LOL! Especially a COUNCILMAN who is a CONTRACTOR , who also thinks the Architectural Review Board needs to be overhauled. Hmmmm!
kittenvicious says:
April 15, 2009
09:30 AM
When talking about Mr. Carrol and the condos that need filling downtown, I would like to quote the City of Mobile's website:
"Councilman Carroll is President of The CM Group LLC, a full-service contracting firm and is very involved in a variety of community activities."
Does anyone see a problem between a COUNCILMAN CONTRACTOR wanting downtown to be a place for people to purchase condos?
Most people that wouldn't mind living in the entertianment/business district, tend to NOT be the kind of people that can afford the price tags on those places.
johnseymouriii says:
April 15, 2009
09:09 AM
I have lived on Dauphin street for almost three years now. My car has had its windshield stomped in and my mirror has been broken off. Its just part of the charm (and price) of living downtown. I'm not going to blame any certain business for attracting an element of people. There are jerks and thugs everywhere.
If I didnt like this area that much, I would move. If you want a jaccuzi, dont jump into some ones pool and demand that they heat the water and create bubbles. Apparently everyone likes the pool the way it is.
GO FIND YOUR OWN JACCUZI!!
mobilian_for_progress says:
April 10, 2009
03:20 PM
You cannot have your cake and eat it too!
I'm really, really tired of this nonsense. To those that want piece and quite......SHUT UP or GET OUT!
I completely understand why someone would want to get a good nights rest. I also understand that the few, and i truly mean FEW, residents who are complaining have been residing downtown far longer than the bar district that we know today existed.
However i have heard the very same people say that the reason they moved down here was affordable housing that had potential to earn value as the downtown area is re gentrified. In essence they saw potential for a rejuvenated downtown and saw their property value rising. So the COMPLAINERS are enjoying hefty returns on their property investments, but are now biting the hand that fed them, by trying to take action against the very business that caused their property values to increase! IF anyone has been paying attention the businesses downtown that thrive are those in the restaurant and entertainment sectors. Without those businesses being down here the demand for property drops and the value of the residences also drop. You see aside from a few law offices and other small firms Dauphin st is mostly bars, restaurants and galleries. Other businesses do NOT work. Multiple antique shops, garden accessories, boutiques and other business have come and gone. A large part of the the tax dollars that pay for the downtown services and law enforcement come from the business that are now in question. It is without question, that over the last 10-12 years downtown has much more safe and desirable due to the businesses that are now in question.
That brings me to my next point, "Downtown Living."
There is a reason that there is a distinction between Urban and Suburban living. BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFERENT! Those that live in suburban areas often enjoy very reasonable home prices that often include a nice yard on a quiet court. Downtown living is about the noise and the bustle of living DOWNTOWN! There is a reason you don't have a yard, there is a reason that people live right on top of one another. Everything is a shared space and your yard is your neighborhood and your playground is downtown. That is the appeal of most when they move downtown. They want to be close to the action. They moved down here to enjoy the noise. They want to walk their dogs and get a beer at 3am. There is also a reason that the recent boom in residences that have been built downtown are lofts and condos that are modern and sleek and not in a country cottage decor. They are designed and marketed for a younger affluent demo who DESIRE to live downtown. They are not marketing these condos to old retire couples who want peace and quite.
LETS PLEASE keep perspective on the area in which we are talking. I feel that downtown is being treated like a residential neighborhood in west mobile.
bus·tle 1 (bsl)
intr. & tr.v. bus·tled, bus·tling, bus·tles
To move or cause to move energetically and busily.
n.
Excited and often noisy activity; a stir.
Bustling is often a word associate with a "Downtown" concept. AS you see...not only is Bustling ass0ciaite with noise....but its a term of endearment and progress.
A bustling downtown is a thriving downtown.
You cant have high property demand and value, fun and safe environment, things to do, great downtown services and have it quiet past 10pm.
Mr Carroll, your noise ordinance research is off base.
Please do not compare Mobile to the part of the french quarter with the highest number of residence to business ratios. Though i do not consider our Dauphin street to be anything close to Bourbon.....in terms of its current purpose it is much closer to Bourbon than Decatur. The Sanford, FL comparison is way WAY off the mark. Sanford is a small quiet town of 50,000 that is a refuge and a safe haven of the busting Orlando. Their purpose is to be quiet. If anything we need to protect this area by establishing a law to protect the business of LoDa form facing further stress over the possibility of killing our downtown culture.
Also may i point out that the gentleman who lives next to the Music Box owns a Mardi Gras business by selling shirts, beads and other items to tourists. Has he considered the impact of his accusations on his own business? What would this noise ordinance do to Mardi Gras? What if this noise ordinance makes mobile less desirable to tourists during the non-Mardi Gras season (cause that's what tourists like, fun places to visit!), who would you sell too then.
In terms of a benefit for the city, the city needs the business in questions far more the residents who are complaining. The tax dollars generated are essential to the city. The ancillary benefits of having a fun downtown area also effects the cities income. Why is it that New Orleans attracts soo many conferences that attract thousands at a time to stay at hotels and eat at restaurants and by things and rent cars and SPEND MONEY IN MOBILE. They choose New Orleans because its a fun place to visit. We have a Convention Center and a Civic Center that sit empty and we hotels that struggle....we need have the qualities that will attract more events to the city.
This issue is not new. The noise problems downtown have been stirred up by the same 3-5 individuals for the last few years. I work and live downtown. I have attended most of these meetings on this issue over the last few years. To me, i feel like this situation can be some up best.
There are a small handful of people that would like thousands upon thousands of others to change their lifestyles so that those few may sleep a little better on Friday and Saturday nights!
I can tell you what......if you take away my fun. I hope you have nightmares that disturb your sleep for the rest of your lives.
Downtown is a place for noise. The remaining 99.9% of the rest of the city is for quiet.
MY Downtown is not for wimps!
Thanks :)
fishanderson says:
April 10, 2009
03:00 PM
So.. I believe there have been many music venues on the same property under many names--Southside, Soul Kitchen, etc. It was a great venue under both names before AL Music Box. I used to work there. So who in the hell are the idiots who moved closed to a viable music venue?
Frankly, the downtown entertainment scene is only a beacon to bring more people into the area aside from the industry.
After I left Mobile years ago, I moved to many larger cities than Mobile (Hoboken, NYC, and Basel), and I lived close or even into the to the main drags/entertainment districts in those cities. So--you have to expect to deal with some noise. GET OVER IT OR MOVE OUT!
The entertainment district has only been a benefit to the city. If people in condos downtown don't like it--they can move out west.. plenty of opportunities there.
floaty06 says:
April 10, 2009
10:06 AM
Jelly67: although I've never been to the Alabama Music Box, a lot of people do go there. From what I read and hear, they do a great job in attracting more obscure bands that are worth hearing. But I agree, most of what you hear about the bar is the noise issue!
Bars have always been downtown and that strip of downtown would die without them. Residents and bar woners are going to have to learn to work together. It's possible. While I feel residential develpment is essential to the growth of downtown (as well as entertainment), these people have chosen to live next to a bar. The bar was the old Soul Kitchen long before Music Box opened. I don't know the whole story, who's to blame, but it sounds like this particular resident has a vendetta against the bar owners. Still, for future growth some type of ordinance will need to be agreed upon. Just think about the area as a whole, and hopefully both sides will work it out.
bradlepik says:
April 09, 2009
01:35 PM
Monkeyfish to me you make great sense, but it seemed as though councilman Carroll was a little too quick in judgement to propose an ordinance. At the meeting I got the feeling that it was not really what the two parties involved wanted. I am not saying that Carroll is bad or anything. He seems like a good guy. But long term decisions like this need much more work, and thought, than a rushing an ordinance through in a couple of weeks.
monkeyfish says:
April 09, 2009
01:03 PM
There's no reason why the two uses (business and residential) can't work out a resolution and peacefully live together. It just takes a little humility and some thoughtful negotiation. People have been living in cities' downtown areas as long as cities have been around--there is no reason to get into a big scuffle about it. Work together, people!
bradlepik says:
April 09, 2009
11:47 AM
So, there is a long history of people choosing to live above a business in the business district? Does this change the fact that it is the Central Business District? More likely, this proves the point that it has been a primarily a business district, with a few unconventional persons choosing to call it home. It is not that I dislike the residents. It is that they know where they chose to live, and that is in a business district.
I live across the street from Old Shell Road School, and they are about to close it down. I can tell you what will happen next. Mobile Infirmary will buy the property. Next they will build a giant parking lot with bright lights that shine in my windows., at night And during all of these remodeling and construction, I will have to put up with the noise,dirt and traffic. But I know that is what is going to happen. Do you think the city council is going to let me stop Mobile Infirmary? It will take them years to stop laughing.
mobilegirl says:
April 09, 2009
09:05 AM
People have been living in downtown Mobile continually
for 300 years. I live in a building in downtown that was built
over 100 years ago for 2 families to live in (2 apartments). A
lot of people used to live above the place they worked downtown.
bradlepik says:
April 08, 2009
06:11 PM
My Websters dictionary defines downtown, as the central business district of a town. So, where these residents living there before it was downtown, or otherwise the central business district of Mobile? To answer or address the second post. Jelly67 don't you think the developers and real estate investors should take a more careful look into the environment and land use of an area, before investing money, making sure to construct condos suitable for the area? Much like an investor in Gulf Shores might take into consideration of possible hurricanes when building beach front property. Shouldn't noise have been a consideration in the building process. About other club owners being mad at Matthews; Some are facing the same situation. Drummond group constructed high price condos across the street from two long established nightclubs, The Garage and Bicycle Shop. I hope the noise from the two bars across the street was taken into consideration during the construction process.
jelly67 says:
April 08, 2009
04:12 PM
I agree, BillyBob. I am not sure how realtors plan to fill all the expensive condos that I see downtown for sale when every other night on the news there is another story about how residents are being harassed by this one club. Does anyone even go to the Alabama Music Box? I never hear about it unless it's about the noise! Other bar owners should be angry at Matthews for letting it go so far that now ALL of them may be subject to a noise ordinance.
billybob says:
April 08, 2009
02:15 PM
Good. William Carroll is listening after 3 years of residents complaining. Hope Willie dosen't have to "escort someone out". Those people lived their long before the club was there. i'm not against the club, bt measures need to be in plce to make sure this doesn't happen again.