The Starlite Drive-In opened Thursday night with a showing of Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Tonight’s second showings of “Black Panther” can only be heard via radio to avoid a possible noise violation under the current ordinance. The same was done Friday.
Christiansburg leaders still made no decision on a new noise ordinance after a lengthy work session Wednesday night.
Town council listened to a sound expert from Virginia Tech who explained what decibel levels were for anything from a car radio and lawn mower to an outdoor theater like the Starlite Drive-In.
The local business has been at the center of ongoing discussions, which town staff said would help the Starlite continue to work with higher volume levels. The new ordinance would require the Starlite and other businesses that continue to be higher than the town’s maximum level to seek a special use permit.
The change would require the business to apply for the permit and then go through a public hearing process. But both owners of the Starlite and other businesses have expressed concerns that they would have to pay a filing fee of $750.
Council members said Wednesday that they would consider waiving the fee for a period of time, all while working with businesses in the short term.
A vote on the new ordinance is scheduled for Tuesday’s regularly scheduled council meeting. Initially a vote had been added to the end of Wednesday’s work session agenda, but it wasn’t taken.
The new ordinance would include a noise-prohibited section that separates daytime and nighttime sound allowance. The proposal would also measure the decibel levels at the complaint location and not at the source.
Starlite owners said they plan to apply for the special use permit as soon as the new ordinance is approved, but for now the business is operating under the old ordinance. The Starlite opened Thursday with a proactive approach to sound from the movie.
The sound for the second viewings of “Blacks Panther” last night and tonight was/is available through radio broadcast only. The business’ outdoor speakers will only be used during first showings. Radios will be available for rent.
Dr. John G. Casali from the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech took questions from council members during the work session on what sound levels are in the environment. He also defined what decibel levels are found in the environment.
For example: the dynamic range of 10 decibels is a ticking wristwatch at arm’s length. From there, the numbers point to a computer fan at an operator’s position being 50 decibels. A power mower when running typically can be registered at 90 decibels.
According to Casali, typical annoyances range between 45 and 120 decibels. At risk is listed at 70 and above, and over 100 is dangerous for individuals.
Christiansburg police have never taken an official testing of the sound from the Starlite, but the new ordnance would require that to happen.
The numbers under the new ordinance would be a 57-decibel limit during the day and 52 at night. In business-zoned areas, the number could reach 65.
Starlite officials do not believe their volume has reached that level, even in the instances where nearby residents have complained that the walls in their houses were shaking from the noise.
For now, the Starlite will wait for a decision by town council. So far, no member has expressed said whether they will vote to update the new ordinance or not.