Businesses are slapped with noise complaints from a small group of residents.

In the Pacific Grove General Plan—the blueprint and guiding document for growth in the city—Chapter 10.14 states: “Protect Pacific Grove residents from the harmful effects of excessive noise.” By law, every jurisdiction in California needs to have a growth plan and every plan needs to address noise. P.G.’s goal and the policies to meet that goal were adopted in 1994—32 years ago.

Sloan Campi here, ready to date myself: I was 5 years old in 1994, so I think it’s safe to say that things have changed. 

One of those changes was the Mission Linen Service Plant closing in 2018. Yet, the plant is called out in the 1994 plan as one of the main culprits of noise in Pacific Grove.

More than three decades later, several new establishments have opened in downtown Pacific Grove, and many are sources of noise. Walk down Lighthouse Avenue on a First Friday evening, and you’re bound to hear music at the Monarch Pub, the sound of libations happening on the patio of Hops and Fog Brewing Co, which has joined other downtown businesses like Wild Fish in a call to City Council to raise the decibel level in the noise ordinance. Music also spills out of the door from the former Juice and Java many evenings during the week, which was rebranded as the P.G. Meetinghouse with a full bar. 

Pacific Grove is different than it was in 1994 and so are some of the main sources of noise.

When noise gets to be too much, neighbors call the police to quiet things down. This is an issue that owner of popular vinyl music store and bar Pop & Hiss Michaela Kuenster knows all too well. She recently received a citation from P.G. Police for keeping a “disorderly house” which comes after several noise complaints have been made to PGPD, even though her city-issued conditional use permit allows her to operate until midnight. 

Only a few complainers have a lot of power when it comes to enforcing noise in the city, and Pacific Grove is not alone.

With the renaissance happening at the Dunes Promenade in Marina, new noise-making businesses are attracting plenty of customers, but also a few haters. The Brass Tap ultimately had to stop all music and make sure no noise happens after 10pm—also when meaningful cash flow stops for the bar. 

Like P.G., Marina officials are operating off of dated noise policies—Marina’s hasn’t been updated since 2001, according to the General Plan.

How can businesses and residents co-exist in denser developments? Forcing them to mitigate noise complaints through ad hoc measures based on a few complaints isn’t good for either city’s economy. 

Updating the General Plans won’t solve all of these problems, but it could help these communities move development forward in a way that gets all residents—opponents and supporters—involved to understand how to shape their communities. The future still comes regardless, so having an up-to-date guide helps.