THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 31, 1995 TAG: 9503300165
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Put Metallica onstage at the Virginia Beach amphitheater and let the wind blow straight toward Salem Lakes: Will every homeowner in that neighborhood nearest the stage have to holler to the next room, and howl to city officials?
No, city officials insist: On Tuesday night City Council approved a conditional-use permit for the amphitheater that incorporates an agreement to keep the sound down. To be sure, it includes for monitoring the decibel level, for contacting city authorities when it exceeds the restrictions and for adjusting the sound system and/or the design of the facility if and as necessary.
Consultants for the city also project that concertgoers on the main roads, and roaming residential streets, won't be the problems residents fear. Accelerating the building of extension and access roads (which will serve more than the amphitheater) and extra policing will help ensure it.
What worries Salem Lakes would have worried residents near any amphitheater site. So the city and its potential private partner, Cellar Door, share the blame for not having allayed early on predictable concerns about noise, traffic and security.
But the neighborhoods share the blame, too. Active civic leagues, and a Council of Civic Organizations that more widely reflects its member leagues, can keep surprises down by keeping contacts up between City Hall and citizens. It helps to keep eyes, ears - and minds - open. It also helps to remember the noise, traffic and property-value impact of the extensive residential and commercial development originally planned on this site.
Is an amphitheater cheap? No. Will it pay? Yes, by conservative estimates, it will repay the city's investment in the facility in five to seven years. It will pay for many more years by drawing entertainers, tourists, locals, families, grown-ups, new businesses, new jobs, new revenues and new attention to the Beach.
The sooner it's built, the sooner it will start paying off both ways. The city has moved on the amphitheater with unusual speed. But construction and seasonal schedules dictate that. And for every citizen alarmed that the city is acting fast, another is reassured that it can. by CNB