There’s at least one downside to the rapid rate at which Downtown Raleigh has been adding bars, restaurants and other nightlife attractions: the noise. 

Some Raleigh residents complain that the loud sounds coming from bars and clubs are keeping them from going to sleep. Currently, the Raleigh City Council is reviewing a process to obtain noise permits because the current process is cumbersome. According to The News & Observer, each permit requires a city council hearing, and the bar hearings took about two hours at last month’s council meeting. 

Jeff Murison, executive director of the Hillsborough Street Community Services Corporation, said this type of problem is common for growing cities. 

“There is a natural opportunity for these types of issues to come up when a city experiences success,” Murison said. “It happens regularly in many cities, from New York to D.C.” 

To help create a new process for noise permits, Raleigh officials have asked the Downtown Raleigh Alliance for advice. 

“DRA was asked by the Law and Public Safety Committee of city council to convene a task force of stakeholders to identify the main issues and to identify areas of consensus,” said David Diaz, president of DRA. “Our goal is to be is to be a facilitator and bring expertise on how other downtown organizations have handled this in other cities, but not to take a specific position on any one issue.”

Diaz said this doesn’t mean he and other members of DRA lack any bias. It only means the organization will admit to the bias in front of the group when presenting an opinion, versus trying to get everyone in the group to compromise, he said. 

“The main lesson from other cities is that this is a normal progression in most downtowns,” Diaz said. “Downtowns have been revitalized by growth in residents and clubs, but both need to co-exist with clear expectations for living in a mixed-use environment are.”

Diaz said he has invited several residents to join his commission, including bar owners, Raleigh residents who live on Glenwood Avenue, and representatives from “key” city departments such as the city manager’s office, the police department, the city planning-zoning office and the city attorney’s office. 

“We are going to ask everyone to list their most prescient issues during our task force first meeting in December,” Diaz said. “Then we will meet again to find areas of consensus in January. All the while each stakeholder is to get input to bring back to the task force.”

Diaz said he plans to take a summary memo to the City Council in February. 

Murison said he and HSCSC are “once removed from this situation.” 

“We’re watching and participating, but the focus of this discussion is on downtown right now,” Murison said.

Murison said he does have to deal with noise issues on Hillsborough Street, but he works with the neighbors so that everyone can have a good experience. 

“For example, there was a bar about five or 10 years ago that had a history of late night noise that disturbed the neighborhood,” Murison said. “We worked with the owners, and we’ve worked with the new owners who have done a better job at managing it.” 

Types of noise complaints depend on the event or issue, Mursion said.

“I can conceivably see N.C. State complaining about a loud concert at 2 p.m. across the street from the library during exam week,” Mursion said. “I’m pretty sure we’d have a complaint.”

Things will change with the continuing development, Murison said. The new N.C. State-owned hotel, which will be built across the street from the Bell Tower, will service a different type of clientele than Sadlack’s. 

“The vibrancy of downtown will probably continue to migrate west to Hillsborough Street over time,” Murison said. “We are becoming more and more a destination for hospitality. We’re a natural link, from N.C. State to the fairgrounds.”

Murison said he has high hopes for the situation downtown. 

“This is a natural part of the evolution of a community,” Murison said. “There are always tensions, but by looking out for our neighbors, we can figure out ways to solve them. I think this will happen in downtown.”

Diaz said if anyone from the community wants to weigh in about the noise permit system, they are welcomed to do so. They can send their comments to info@downtownraleigh.org subject line: amplified entertainment permits and related noise issues.