COLORADO SPRINGS — Following the Ford Amphitheater's first concerts over the weekend, the City of Colorado Springs says it is not releasing noise level data captured during the shows to the public, despite concerns from nearby residents.
The city granted the developer of the Ford Amphitheater a special noise permit, allowing the venue to exceed normal city noise limits. The venue cannot exceed 110 decibels more than once during any five-minute period, which is measured about 100 feet from the stage.
During Friday night's opening concert, News5 spoke to nearby residents concerned about the noise in their neighborhoods. The city said it had employees gathering noise data at the venue over the weekend to determine if levels exceeded the limits. News5 reached out to the city for the noise data, but a city spokesperson said the data could not be released to the public.
"Based on the reports that the amphitheater voluntarily shared with us, the decibel levels throughout the opening weekend were below the allowable limit in the development plan, which was based on the environmental noise assessment. As an extra step, the City monitored decibel levels so that we can have our own data. The numbers we recorded were comparable to what we received from the amphitheater," said Vanessa Zink, a spokesperson for the City of Colorado Springs. "As for the specific measurements, since the investigation remains open, we will not release raw data."
When asked for further clarification about the "investigation," the city said it has an open inquiry into a potential zoning violation at the Ford Amphitheater because of noise levels. A spokesperson said right now there is no evidence that noise limits were exceeded, however, it is keeping the inquiry open so it can continue to track noise levels during concerts after opening weekend.
The spokesperson said the public will see the data on the amphitheater's noise levels in the venue's required annual report, which will likely be published next year. News5 has sent a Colorado Open Records Act request to the city asking for the noise level data.
News5 reached out to Venu, formerly Notes Live, which owns the amphitheater, to ask for its noise data. We did not receive a response.
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