Locating a new outdoor performance venue amidst public concern and the resulting sound level impacts at the remote amphitheater site.

Abstract

An existing small amphitheater was to be enlarged from its 7000 audience size to hold up to 22 000 people. A threatened law suit by the City of Sacramento forced the developer, Bill Graham Presents, to find another site. Several sites were reviewed and a location on the edge of Folsom was first selected then abandoned when many people showed up to protest. The final site selection for the amphitheater was in a remote, rural area where the land was zoned for agricultural use. The surrounding land is used for growing rice and for pasture land for cattle operations. The County has jurisdiction over the land and has very poor noise regulations and a tendency to not enforce what they have. One rancher living north of the amphitheater filed a law suit against the operation of the facility because of deleterious impacts on both her well being and her cows. Sound measurements were made during a single concert representing a hard rock band to quantify the sound levels and the tonal content of the sound during normal operations. This paper provides the history of this process and the results from the sound tests done at the site.