Battle Over Noise Levels at East Greenwich Bars and Restaurants Heats Up

Battle Over Noise Levels at East Greenwich Bars and Restaurants Heats Up

An ordinance before the East Greenwich Town Council to address the noise level ats bars, restaurants, and clubs has drawn sharp rebuke from business owners — while supporters argue that the concerns of residents and abutters of live music need to be addressed.

On Monday, the Town Council will consider an ordinance "to amend the Code of the Town of East Greenwich... related to sound level decibels” — which would amend the allowable level of noise decibels at establishments in the town. And restaurants aren't happy. 

BLU On the Water took to Facebook over the weekend to post the following:

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As you may or may not have heard, there’s a movement taking place with the potential to drastically change the East Greenwich summers we’ve all come to know and love. Last Monday, March 4th, a town hall meeting took place in which a new ordinance was introduced - one that would essentially eliminate live outdoor entertainment as a whole, specifically targeting the East Greenwich Waterfront District.

You also may or may not have heard that there were no waterfront district representatives present at the town meeting. That’s embarrassing, but it’s true - because we weren’t notified. No one from BLU. No one from Finn’s. And no one from Nautika.

The new ordinance calls for a sound decibel limit of 60 - that’s about the norm for casual conversation (that’s a fact - Google it). We’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on sound engineers, sound system limiters, sound barriers and other sound proofing materials all in the name of being the best neighbor we possibly can be. Now, the town seeks to unjustly harm our business and your experience as a customer solely to appease the very vocal few - the very vocal few, mind you, who will not be satisfied until live outdoor entertainment is all but gone.

Jobs will be lost. Businesses will close their doors. Tax dollars will disappear, and East Greenwich will be a very, very different place. On behalf of BLU, Finn’s, and Nautika, we urge you to join us at town hall this Monday (March 11th) at 7pm. We all work hard. We all put our best foot forward. We’re all proud of the destination that East Greenwich has become - the one that we’ve helped create, and the one that it should continue to be.

Furthermore, if you love live music in the beautiful outdoor setting that East Greenwich offers, we highly encourage that you let your town council know!

Councilman on Ordinance

East Greenwich Councilman Mike Donegan discussed the proposed ordinance with GoLocal.

“This is nothing new. For many years, there has been an issue with how the waterfront bars and restaurants interact with the community,” said Donegan. 

“There was an ad hoc group that met with the police chief and restaurant managers and residents. One [restaurant] put up at barrier. [The group] agreed on police details to control traffic. It was handled informally,” said Donegan.  “According to residents, there were 15 years when it was fine.”

“The complaints have never stopped in the past few years. [A resident] sued the town for not enforcing the existing ordinance. At one point, the [previous] council raised the decibel levels,” said Donegan. “When you talk with the residents down there — it makes it difficult to live there.”

“The goal is to bring everyone together and find a solution for the businesses and residents,” said Donegan. “The draft [Monday] night mirrors that of Warwick’s.”

“There’s a lot of different issues that we hope that will be addressed informally — I was told that someone has made a representation that what we’ll do is prohibit live bands — it’s not that,” said Donegan. “This is the start of the conversation. We’re trying to strike a balance.”