MONTAGUE — After a handful of neighbors came forward complaining about downtown noise, the town Board of Health is now considering new regulations.
Appearing at the Monday night selectmen’s meeting, these neighbors complained about music from the restaurant Hubie’s that, they say, keeps their children awake at night and impacts the overall quality of their lives.
Aware of the concerns in the neighborhood, the Board of Health released a draft of a regulation putting new limits on noise in town. The draft can be found on the town’s website.
“If you can hear it inside someone’s home, audibly, that should be a violation,” Director of Public Health Gina McNeely said at the meeting.
Under the proposed regulation, noise will not be allowed to be audible from 200 feet from the origin. At the meeting, McNeely released a map showing a 200-foot radius around Hubie’s. There would be exceptions to the proposed regulation for emergency vehicles, parades and other town special events.
The owners of Hubie’s attended the meeting and said that they felt their establishment was being singled out. They said that residents who move to the downtown district should expect some noise at night.
“I would just ask that this not be about Hubie’s … I thought this was a townwide noise ordinance not just about Hubie’s,” said Lynne Hubert.
In early March, neighbors presented the Board of Selectmen with a petition from about 30 residents asking the board to enforce a noise ordinance already on the books that requires business owners to keep the volume down to 70 decibels or less. The board directed the concerns to the Board of Health to consider how to proceed.
“None of us want to go through another six months of worrying if we can sleep, wondering if we can have company over, trying to figure out where we can escape for the night,” said Erin MacLean, who lives in the apartment building next door, only separated from the tavern by an alley off Avenue A.
The restaurant has live music every Saturday night, which draws in customers to the downtown area from all over Franklin County, said business owner Shawn Hubert.