Not all questions apply to your business. Answer all that are relevant both indoor and outdoor.
Speakers
- Describe the position of speakers to deflect or absorb excessive noise.
- Tell us how you will minimize low-frequency music beats.
- Tell us when you will turn down the music and what time you turn off the speakers.
Closing time
- Tell us when you will stop serving alcohol, turn up lights, and when you will be turning down the music.
- Tell us what time you will seat your last customers, how you will tell customers of closing time, and what time you will ask customers to leave.
- Describe how you will manage noisy customers.
- Tell us how you will remind customers to lower their voices to respect residents. This includes customers who park on residential streets.
Outdoor capacity
- List the capacity of your outdoor area.
- Describe how you will manage the area to prevent over occupancy.
- Describe how the seating design will minimize or deflect excessive sound.
Equipment
- Describe your sound metering equipment and/or music systems with self-regulators, and how you plan to use them.
Staff
- Describe sound management training for managers, supervisors, bartenders, hosts, servers, and security staff. Include a list of their duties, including the frequency of rounds.
- Describe how you will remind, relocate, and/or remove noisy customers.
- Describe your community outreach. This can include neighborhood association meetings or downtown LINC meetings, for example.
Special events
- Describe your plans for special events in the city.
Complaints
- Describe how you will address sound complaints? This can include a telephone number other than your business number for residents to call for sound concerns.
Architectural design or enhancements
- Describe the use of sound blocking walls, fences, and/or landscape.
- How you plan to direct sound away from occupied buildings.
Additional resources
Contact Environmental Services Information for more resources and solutions.
Here are common concerns.
- Plans to use an outdoor area.
- Seating capacity over 200 people.
- Amplified sound.
- Located in a residential area.
- All customers leaving at closing time.
- Customers parking in residential areas.
- Mechanical equipment located within 100 feet of a residential area.
- Routine maintenance schedule for mechanical equipment.
- Complaints received about sound.
- Interest in learning more about sound management plans and products to measure and regulate sound. This includes sound engineers, sound meters, for example.