Stampede noise limits frustrate festival operators, threaten summer jobs

The City of Calgary is clamping down on noise levels produced by festival tents during the Stampede, and venue operators say the restrictions will cripple their summer operations.

A June 15 letter from the city to festival venue operators states that event noise must not exceed 65 A-weighted decibels after midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. On weeknights, noise levels must not exceed 50 A-weighted decibels between midnight and 12:30 a.m., with speakers turned off by 12:30 a.m.

The new limits were put in place after the city received more than 200 noise complaints about concerts during last year's Stampede. The Cowboys Music Festival, held for the first time at its new home on the west end of downtown, was responsible for 125 of those complaints.

Paul Vickers, president of Penny Lane Entertainment, which operates the Cowboys Dance Hall and Casino, said the noise levels music festivals will need to comply with are roughly as loud as a busy office party — making it nearly impossible for venues to offer loud music after midnight.

"This bylaw is going to hurt a lot of young people who tell me they work at Cowboys to pay their tuition to go to school," Vickers said. With reduced revenues, festival tents may need to lay off potentially hundreds of concert workers, most of whom are young students seeking part-time employment for the summer.

Vickers argued the city is contradicting its stated goal of attracting more cultural events to Calgary, noting other popular music festivals around the world are permitted to generate nearly double the decibels the city will allow.

Permit conditions will be in place starting July 2. Failure to comply will result in enforcement action, including a review of the event that may lead to the denial of future permit applications, signed by Ryan Pleckaitis, the city's Chief bylaw officer.