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Belmont noise study strikes the wrong chord
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Notre Dame de Namur University neighbors are upset about noise from Koret Field.
Belmont, Calif. (Map, News) - Concerns about the results of a third-party noise study on Notre Dame de Namur University’s Koret Field may force the city to pay for a second look at the sound coming from the school’s new athletic field.
Community Development Director Carlos de Melo said the city is looking into paying for another noise study to be done to address their concerns before mid-January, when the Planning Commission is set to meet and discuss a possible revocation of the school’s conditional use permit for the field.
On Nov. 27, Shen Milson & Wilke Inc. turned in its acoustic report for Koret Field, having recorded sound levels during soccer games on Aug. 25 and Sept. 22.
According to the report, the highest recorded noise during the study was from traffic, which hit a high of 81 decibels, 16 points higher than the Belmont noise ordinance allows. Referee whistles that many residents have shared concerns about hit between 50 decibels and 59 decibels, lower than the general traffic’s 68-76 decibels.
Ralston Avenue resident Risa Horowitz — who has been vocal with her concerns about the field — said the acoustic study failed. De Melo said the city shared some of those concerns. Although pleased that an acoustic study was completed, city officials say there are still questions that need answering.
“The study was not very in-depth, which is the main basis for our concern,” he said. “They were not specific as to where measurements were taken.”
Although residents along Ralston Avenue were the most vocal with their concerns about the field, the report says it is difficult to tell if there is even sound emanating from the field near Ralston Avenue because of noise created by passing traffic.
The only other locations explicitly identified were “the intersection of Chula Vista [Drive] and Escondido [Way] [and in general around the neighborhood] directly across from the sport field.”
Comments from Examiner Readers
2:09 AM MST on Wed., Mar. 12, 2008 re: "Oblak resigns amid NDNU noise dispute"
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Examiner Reader said:
While the student senate sent in a vote of no confidence, many students did not agree with this decision. Also, there were only a few faculty members who wished for Oblak to resign. The majority of the school supported him as the school's president, and many of us miss him as our school president. Many of the reasons for his requested resignation were not based on solid evidence, and the student senate was misled in their final decision. They were misinformed. This is an extremely biased report (oh, what's new...). I am a student at NDNU, and I know from first-hand experience that the majority of the school did not wish for his resignation and many of us miss his presence at the school. The mayor or Belmont will dislike anybody who supports cheering on the lacrosse field, which is ridiculous, considering it is a college campus and it is natural to have cheering at games... that is what school spirit is. Oblak was only supporting the students' wishes- he was a great president.
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