Cornelius reviews noise ordinance after complaints against bar

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Not much was around when Bobbie and Lonnie Karriker moved to their home more than 40 years ago on Westmoreland Road.

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Since then, Cornelius has exploded with growth.

Last year, BoatYard Eats opened in an old boat storage building. BoatYard Eats is a popular restaurant and bar that frequently features live music. The Karriker family lives roughly 400 feet away.

"We both are a little hard of hearing and even with being hard of hearing we still have to turn our TV up well over 90," Lonnie Karriker said. "That bass does the continual bang, bang, bang and after it goes on for two, three hours, continuously, it drives you up the wall."

Since the restaurant opened, the Karrikers and other residents have made numerous noise complaints to the town of Cornelius. The town of Cornelius previously had a subjective noise ordinance that allowed police officers to determine whether an establishment was in violation. The town's current noise ordinance has a maximum sound level outside of venues of 100 decibels from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and until 11 p.m. on weekends.

"We want it to succeed. We've never wanted it to go out of business," Bonnie Karriker said. "All we are asking is please turn the music down."

The owner for BoatYard Eats was unavailable for an interview Tuesday evening. Monday on the restaurant's Facebook page, a post called for supporters to show up at a land development code advisory board meeting to tell commissioners they support live outdoor music.

At the meeting, leaders decided to leave the decibel limit where it is for now.

Mike Miltich said the town is studying what other cities like Asheville do.

"As a commissioner, it is very hard because you want your citizens privacy or their needs or rights to be protected but you also want venues like this where people enjoy coming to Cornelius," Miltich said.

Adding to the problem, Miltich said the town measured the ambient noise level to be 90 decibels. He said the town is monitoring this situation closely, aware that any action they take will impact all of Cornelius.

"We consider this a work in progress, nothing is set in stone," he said.

When a noise complaint is called into 911, a police officer responds to measure the decibel level from the property line. A police officer can also cite a restaurant if the sound is causing items in homes to vibrate or shake, according to Miltich.

The Karriker family hopes a solution can be reached that allows the restaurant to be successful but also provides them and other neighbors with peace.

Cox Media Group