LUDLOW, Vt. – Fifteen petitioners prompted the Ludlow Selectboard, at its Monday, Aug. 3 meeting, to restrict the hours during which Off the Rails, the popular local bar and restaurant, is allowed to provide live music to before 10 p.m.
According to some petitioners, the music volume coming from Off the Rails’ outdoor music space, known as “the Shed,” on Friday and Saturday nights has been so loud that it has caused difficulty sleeping or enjoying their outdoor spaces, sometimes going until as late as 11 p.m.
In response to the petition, Town Manager Penny Wu asked that Off the Rails file an entertainment permit request with the selectboard in accordance with Ludlow’s entertainment ordinance, which requires all “dancehalls” – defined in the ordinance as establishments where “dancing is conducted or permitted therein” – to obtain a permit and selectboard approval before providing live or recorded music. While the ordinance does include language prohibiting “nuisances,” it only applies to those businesses which already hold entertainment permits, which, at the time, Off the Rails did not.
Wu and to Four Square Hospitality Chief Operating Officer Ray Payne, who was present at the meeting, said the request for the permit was filed the same day Wu made the request.
Payne expressed his willingness to work with the town and its residents to limit the disruption caused by the music, though he voiced some frustration with the lack of specificity in Ludlow’s ordinance. Citing Burlington as an example, Payne said that other municipalities’ ordinances are more specific in terms of allowable decibel levels at a certain distance, while Ludlow’s is subjective and provides little practical guidance.
“[We] as business owners are trying to satisfy the board, the town, and the residents of the town, but we don’t have any real guidance,” Payne told the board.
While most of the board expressed sympathy toward the petitioners, board member Noah Schmidt said he felt that the permitting process was being applied unevenly. “I have a hard time looking at this ordinance and application and saying they’re doing anything wrong,” Schmidt said, questioning whether any other businesses in town which provide live or recorded music have pulled permits to do so. Shchmidt said he felt the board should update its ordinance, which has not seen significant revision since 1982, to be more specific in terms of its allowable decibel level and enforceability, as well as potentially varying the volume allowances depending on whether a business is located in the village or in a less densely populated area.
Board Vice Chair Justin Hyjek responded to Schmidt by noting that none of the other businesses in town have had a large number of petitioners complain to the selectboard.
Ultimately, the board voted to approve the entertainment permit, with the additional restriction that live music at Off the Rails end at 10 p.m.
Wu also commended the town’s emergency management team’s performance during the recent flood watch on July 28. “I feel like the emergency management team performed exactly the way that you all would want them to,” Wu said.
In response to a “rumor” she said was circulating in town, Wu explained that the search and rescue team which was deployed to Ludlow during the flood watch did not cost Ludlow taxpayers any money. The team, Wu said, is deployed around the state in the event of potential emergencies in order to rapidly respond to any search and rescue or recover operations which may arise in the area.
Wu also wanted Ludlow residents to know that activity at the former Sam’s Steakhouse is related to the FEMA buyout of the property, as she had received concerned calls regarding trucks and personnel at the property.
The Ludlow Selectboard will not holds its next meeting on the usual first Monday of the month, and will instead meet on Monday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m., in the Ludlow Town Hall auditorium, due to the Labor Day holiday.