REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Informational Report on a Written Petition (Council Policy 030) Submitted by Anurag Aggrawal and Ajay Thadhlani and Other Residents of North Santa Clara Near Levi’s Stadium which Requested a Debrief of the Noise Levels Associated with the Coldplay Concert Held on Sunday, May 19, 2022.
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency
BACKGROUND
A written petition per Council Policy 030 (Attachment 1), was submitted by Anurag Aggrawal and Ajay Thadhlani and other residents of North Santa Clara near Levi’s Stadium. The petition requested six pieces of information related to concerts conducted at Levi’s Stadium. At the June 21, 2022 City Council meeting, the petitioners shared their experiences related to heightened noise at their residences during the Coldplay concert. The residents also commented on the especially loud nature of fireworks towards the end of the concert. In response to the petition, the Council voted unanimously to direct staff to place on a future Council agenda a debrief of the noise levels associated with the Coldplay Concert held on Sunday, May 19, 2022.
Allowable noise levels for the stadium and events at the stadium, including concerts, are established within the Stadium Permit issued by the City in 2010. The Stadium Permit provides the governing regulations for the stadium’s operations and takes the place of the City’s general noise standards for fixed sources that would be otherwise applicable. An Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared for the development of the stadium and certified by the City when the City issued the Stadium Permit. The EIR does not establish City policy, but it is referenced within the Stadium Permit and in some cases provides clarification of the City’s intended standards for the operation of the stadium.
The City has contracted with a consultant, Wilson, Ihrig & Associates, since 2018 to provide noise monitoring for events at the stadium, including the ongoing installation of four noise monitors within the residential neighborhoods to the south and east of the stadium, and for occasional in-person (attended) monitoring as needed by the City.
The submitted written petition also includes questions regarding the City’s process for granting curfew extensions as well as data received on complaints regarding noise. Responses to the questions are included in the Discussion section below.
DISCUSSION
The following discussion first addresses the Council request for information regarding the Coldplay concert and then provides a summary of the City’s response to other items included within the petition.
Noise Analysis
In preparation for the agenda item to discuss the written petition, staff engaged with city consultants, Wilson, Ihrig & Associates, to analyze noise data for the Coldplay concert utilizing data collected by the City’s noise monitoring stations located in the neighborhoods surrounding the Stadium. Staff also requested Wilson, Ihrig, & Associates perform attended noise monitoring during two subsequent concerts (The Weeknd and Elton John) to provide more information to the Council regarding Stadium concert noise. The attended noise monitoring for the Weeknd and Elton John concerts took place adjacent to resident addresses which were identified as experiencing heightened noise experiences in the written petition as well as adjacent to one of the noise monitoring stations (Cheeney and Lenox) in order to compare attended monitoring data with unattended monitoring data.
The attached report (Attachment 2) provides the analysis and conclusions of the noise monitoring data collected from the fixed noise monitors as well as the subsequent attended, in-person monitoring. The noise analysis reflects refinements to remove jet noise from the noise levels attributed to the concert noise. The data also accounts for the drop in noise levels that would occur between the portion of the stadium nearest to a residential use (e.g., a rear yard property line) and the location where noise monitoring took place.
Concert noise levels are benchmarked against ambient noise levels, the noise levels called for in the Stadium Permit conditions of approval, and the target noise levels predicted in the Stadium EIR.
The concert noise levels can be summarized as follows:
• Noise levels from the Coldplay concert on May 15, 2022 exceeded both the noise level called for in the Stadium Permit by up to 9 dBA and the concert-noise level target predicted for the EIR by up to 3 dBA at the Cheeney and Lenox monitoring station.
• Noise levels from The Weeknd concert on August 27, 2022 exceeded the noise level called for in the Stadium Permit by 3 dBA, but did not exceed the concert-noise level target predicted for the EIR at the Cheeney and Lenox monitoring station. Noise levels also exceeded the noise level called for in Development Permit at 2382 Avenida De Guadalupe (east of the Stadium) by 1 dBA.
• Noise levels from the Elton John concert on October 9, 2022 did not exceed either the Stadium Permit noise level or the concert-noise level target predicted for the EIR at any location.
The Stadium Development Permit and EIR use a decibel level for the 1-hour Leq (“average”) level applicable to the residences closest to the Stadium. This standard was established in the Community Noise Analysis report dated May 27, 2010 and referenced in the Stadium Development Permit.
Although the regulatory standards established regarding noise levels at the Stadium are based on an hourly average, residents often express concerns about single noise events. Residents who submitted the 030 Written Petition referenced the late fireworks at the Coldplay concert as being especially loud. Wilson, Irhig & Associates provided data regarding the maximum noise levels due solely to fireworks during the Coldplay concert, which were 77 to 87 dBA Lmax at the Cheeney and Lenox monitoring station.
No noise complaints were received by the City for the Weeknd and Elton John concerts.
Other Questions Raised in the Submitted Written Petition
The following questions were raised in the written petition with responses are provided.
Question: Request for reports of all noise complaints received by the Santa Clara Police Department either through Stadium Event non-emergency number or through the Santa Clara Police Department non-emergency number.
Response: The City received three noise complaints regarding the Coldplay concert. The callers reported concerns regarding the volume and duration of the concert and two of the callers identified where they were experiencing the noise. One caller was located in the Rivermark area and the other caller was located in the Don Callejon area.
Question: Request for a copy of the amendment that changed the curfew agreed to in November 2010 that was a condition of approval for the stadium to be built.
Response: The existing Stadium Permit Condition P22(c) allows the City Manager to approve curfew exemptions for night outdoor Non-NFL events. For reference P22(c) reads as follows:
Night outdoor non-NFL events shall be scheduled to end not later than 10:00 PM Sunday through Thursday and 11:00 PM Friday and Saturday, unless otherwise approved by the City Manager or their designee.
1. Stadium event field lighting (not including emergency lighting, normal operations lighting, or lighting necessary for post-event cleanup, maintenance, or equipment load-out) shall be doused not later than one hour following the conclusion of the event.
2. Speaker sound system shall be operated not more than one-half hour following conclusion of a non-NFL event.
Additionally, on November 16, 2021, the City Council took the following actions:
1. Directed the City Manager to provide exemptions under Conditions of Approval P22(c) for up to five weeknight concerts per year, including pyrotechnics, that are scheduled to end no later than 11:00 PM Sunday through Thursday,
2. Directed the City Manager to provide those exemptions within 48 hours of the request by the Stadium Manager, and
3. If there are additional requests for an exemption beyond those five exemptions, direct the City Manager to bring the requests to Council for consideration where the Council will weigh the pros and cons.
Question: Provide report and data showing what outreach was conducted to get input from the residents regarding the change from the curfew being 10PM on Sunday to 11PM.
Response: No specific outreach was conducted regarding the curfew prior to the Council’s November 16, 2021 action.
Question: What happened to the community survey done in 2018 that gave residents input regarding weekday concerts?
Response: As part of a City Council study session on June 21, 2018, the consultants, The Lew Edwards Group with EMC Research and Public Dialogue Consortium, presented the final results of the Stadium Authority Board Community Outreach and Engagement Project. The consultants’ summary and presentation shared at the June 21, 2018 study session are attached (Attachments 3 & 4). Through their engagement efforts, the consultants found that residents were dissatisfied with the level of traffic, parking, and “disruptive behavior” following stadium events. In general, stadium-related issues were not “top-of-mind” concerns in relation to other issues, such as generalized traffic concerns and the high cost-of-living. However, it was noted in the summary and final report that stadium-related issues did become more important and higher intensity among the near neighbor population.
As part of a May 2018 solutions survey that was conducted, the consultants found support for specific solutions to community concerns, particularly related to parking, neighborhood security, and stadium-related issues. In general, residents strongly supported services that would mitigate event related issues following stadium events. Specifically, residents seek solutions to: (1) Stadium-related traffic, (2) Stadium-related parking, (3) Disruptive behavior pre/post Stadium events (particularly loitering, security/enforcement and noise control), and (4) Improving city-constituent communication. Residents were satisfied with the existing curfew system but were open to changes and additional community engagement on that issue.
Several Council directions have resulted in City and Stadium Authority staff implementing various efforts to address Stadium-related traffic, parking, disruptive behaviors pre and post Stadium events, and increasing communication to residents about Stadium events. These efforts include setting up a complaint line for stadium events, hiring a noise monitoring consultant, providing neighborhood protections, and increasing communications about event impacts. Both the City and Stadium Authority continue to engage the Stadium Manager to assist with mitigating these issues.
Next Steps
Based upon the information provided in the noise analysis, noise levels generated by the Coldplay concert exceeded the City’s standards, while The Weeknd concert was in substantial conformance and the Elton John concert remained within the City’s standards. This suggests that noise levels vary from concert to concert and can be influenced by the way in which the concert is conducted. Staff will follow-up with stadium management to discuss these conclusions and work with them so that future events at the stadium conform with City requirements.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project" within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5) in that it is an administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment.
FISCAL IMPACT
Wilson, Ihrig & Associates, the City’s noise consultant, as part of their contract, which was extended through Amendment No. 5 by the City Council through March 31, 2023, conducted noise monitoring and performed analysis of noise data. Funding for these contractual services were included in the annual operating budget.
COORDINATION
This report was coordinated with the City Manager’s Office and City Attorney’s Office.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Note and File the Informational Report
Staff
Reviewed by: Andrew Crabtree, Director, Community Development
Approved by: Rajeev Batra, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Written Petition submitted by Anurag Aggrawal Ajay Thadhlani and other North Santa Clara residents near Levi's Stadium
2. Wilson, Ihrig & Associates Memorandum on Stadium Noise Level Monitoring Project 2022 Concert Level Noise
3. Lew Edwards, Group EMC Research, and Public Dialogue Consortium summary of the Stadium Authority Board community outreach and engagement project, June 19, 2018
4. Presentation provided at June 21, 2018 Study Session on community engagement report for Levi’s Stadium