This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
08/12/2024 08:24 AMNeighbors living in the vicinity of Stony Creek Brewery (SCB) brought noise ordinance concerns to Branford’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) on Aug. 7, following a large concert at the brewery which they felt did not comply with a legal agreement reached earlier this year between the neighbors and the business.
The brewery is located at 5 Indian Neck Avenue.
As part of the Aug. 7 BOS meetin agenda, resident Patricia Dugan read her letter outlining concerns raised by the Thursday night Steel Pulse concert at SCB on Aug. 1. Dugan is also a member of the neighborhood group, Turn It Down!, which is the neighbors’ recognized party of the legal agreement.
As previously reported, on May 1, both SCB owner Ed Crowley Sr. and Turn It Down! confirmed a legal agreement had been reached, including provisions regarding abiding by state and local noise regulations, that would enable SCB to hold its annual concert series with a maximum of four large concerts per year.
In discussion following Dugan’s reading of the letter, First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove clarified that the Town of Branford is not party to the legal agreement, which is a private matter between Turn It Down! and SCB.
In her letter, Dugan reviewed past instances prior to the legal agreement when she and other neighbors had sought assistance from the selectmen.
“I don’t think we are disregarding your concerns,” Cosgrove said, speaking on behalf of the BOS. Cosgrove also emphasized the BOS does not prioritize one individual over another.
“We don’t do that as a board and we should never do that as a board. But we have to act within our legal authority,” Cosgrove said. “We have to stay within what is under our legal purview.”
Cosgrove also noted that, in hope of facilitating dialogue, he had participated in some past meetings with neighbors and the property owner which helped lead to addressing some issues, such as mitigating excessive noise during trivia events at the brewery.
“This is not something related to one business or even one location in town,” Cosgrove added. “We have zoning regulations. Zoning regulations allow use of property. So as much as people want to question why isn’t Town Hall, why aren’t officials stopping certain business [activities] taking place, it operates within the regulations that were approved by the Town that are legally binding.”
The BOS also heard from area resident Steven Carlson, who reinforced the information in Dugan’s letter. Carlson confirmed personally experiencing the questionable noise levels and noting the belated ending of the Aug. 1 concert.
Regarding the BOS and its legal purview, Carlson said, “What you’re relying on, I gather, is an opinion of town counsel that said it’s an ancillary activity. We would sue you for that, frankly, but it’s very expensive and it would be very difficult. We think that neither the zoning commission nor a court of law would agree that it’s an ancillary activity to have concerts.”
Carlson said the legal agreement between Turn It Down! and SCB involves abiding by noise ordinances including the town’s ordinance. As Dugan had also noted, Carlson questioned the involvement of the police department with regard to enforcing the town’s noise ordinance.
In response to Carlson’s stated assumption that a directive to police not to enforce the noise ordinance came from the BOS, both Cosgrove and selectman Ray Dunbar spoke to correct the assumption.
“The board never took a position on that,” said Cosgrove.
Dunbar, a retired Branford Police Department captain who served with the department for 34 years, said he also wanted to “... make it clear this board never told someone not to do their job, because that’s not what we do.”
Dunbar said he looks at all ordinances the same way.
“They should all be enforced equally. If they’re not being enforced, it’s not by this board,” Dunbar said.
Dunbar noted the Board of Police Commissioners provides oversight to the police department. Carlson said the neighbors met with the commissioners in September of 2023 but did not receive support.
“What can we do?” asked Carlson.
“That’s a legitimate question,” Dunbar replied. “I think you should go back to the police commission. I’d be happy to sit in on that meeting to see what they said. There may be a lot of other aspects that are in there that I’m unaware of. I haven’t been there in five years. I do know that we used to enforce the noise ordinance. I’ve told the town attorney that.”
Dunbar also noted the legal agreement between Turn It Down! and SCB is a civil matter, not a criminal matter. Dunbar said he received an email on the afternoon of Aug. 7 including some neighbors’ commentary which raised concerns for him as to whether there is confusion regarding the differences between civil and criminal.
“I hope that they’re not confusing a criminal statute or an ordinance with a civil agreement. There may be some confusion on that, too,” said Dunbar. “I would hope that would be something the police commission would look at, to make sure there is no confusion on that.”
“But I sympathize with what you’re saying, I do,” Dunbar said to the neighbors. “Because there was more going on that night than what you’re just saying, because the police department and fire department had to spend a large amount of time there for medicals or whatever they were. So there were other things that were also going on.”
Dunbar suggested the neighbors should return to the police commission with their concerns.
“Go back to the police commission. They govern the police department...and then you have to go from there,” Dunbar said. “You should know that I don’t think anyone’s ignoring you [but] once it gets past here and we appoint commissioners and so forth, it’s really out of our hands, and you have to hope that the rest of the boards, commissions, and employees are doing what they need to do. You’re saying they’re not. They may have something else to say. To argue it out at this meeting’s a little unfair, because you don’t have their input, I don’t have their input.”
The final member of Turn It Down! to speak to the BOS on Aug. 7 was resident John Hartwell, who is also a member of the Representative Town Meeting as a representative of District 5. Hartman read into the record a portion of section 9.1 of the Branford noise ordinance authorizing the BOS or designated representatives to make inspections of noise sources.
“From your position as the leader of the town, we would like you to be more involved and help us get this fixed. All we want is for them to turn it down,” Hartwell said. “That’s all we’ve asked from the very beginning. That’s what we need now. We have no animus toward the businesses as a business. We simply want to be able to enjoy our properties the way they were before this all began.”
For the record, Dunbar noted the only enforcement that can be legally taken has been designated to the police department.
“They’re the only ones that can give anything punitive out. The board cannot. That’s why it goes to them. That’s why it’s been there,” said Dunbar.
Hartwell replied that, in terms of measurement, the police department has utilized professional noise meters for several past SCB concerts.
“So there has been an effort to measure. There’s just been no effort to enforce,” said Hartwell.
In July of 2023, Zip06/The Sound reported on police involvement in measuring decibel levels at a large SCB concert in the story, “Brewery, Police, Discuss Neighbors’ Concert Decibel-Level Concerns.”
The Aug. 7 Board of Selectmen’s meeting was live streamed by BCTV and can be viewed on BCTV at Facebook or YouTube.