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.