Lawsuits Allege Noise Violations at Warehouse Concert Hall in Telluride

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A Telluride landlord sued the resort’s arts council this week, alleging the nonprofit hosts loud concerts and events in an open-topped former warehouse “10 feet from the window of (his ) bedroom”.

Thomas Archipley, a Michigan resident who bought a third-floor condominium near the intersection of San Juan Avenue and Fir Street in Telluride in 2019, alleged that the Council for the Arts and Humanities began to host events “so loud that he wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation or listen to the basketball game on his TV,” said one of his two lawsuits.

The events and concerts are held next to his condo building in the Telluride Transfer Warehouse, which has been open-air since the building’s roof collapsed in the late 1970s, according to the lawsuits.

Land-use documents detailing the repurposing of the warehouse “promised cultural events and ‘acoustic’ music in an ‘encase(d)’ structure,” one of the lawsuits said.

Archipley filed suit in Colorado state court and in U.S. District Court on Tuesday.

The Archipley State Lawsuit also names Telluride City Council, the Telluride Planning and Zoning Commission, and the City of Telluride as co-defendants alongside the Arts Council, also known as Telluride Arts.

The lawsuits claim that the city of Telluride had previously demanded that the warehouse be renovated and enclosed by a roof, but that the arts organization held concerts before any renovations. In March, Archipley alleges in its lawsuits, the city approved the venue for events and concerts without a new roof.

The Telluride Daily Planet reported that the Planning and Zoning Commission amendment allowed for a redesigned roof of the historic warehouse, which neighbors appealed to the city council. The city council denied the appeal, Archipley said in the lawsuit.

Archipley alleges that Telluride Arts has refused to comply with noise standards and that the city government has not enforced any noise ordinance against the venue.

The City of Telluride declined to comment on the lawsuit on Friday, although city attorney Kevin Geiger said Telluride had not yet been served.

Telluride Arts did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to the nonprofit organization’s website, Telluride Arts is in the process of raising $15 million for the transfer warehouse renovation.

“The modest expansion preserves the open-air courtyard while introducing new flexible event spaces, a functional basement, and includes a rooftop terrace with views of Telluride and the surrounding landscape,” the website says of plans for the warehouse.

Archipley’s federal lawsuit argues that the concerts were extremely detrimental to residents’ quality of life.

“A week after receiving his approval and hearing about the effects of his events on neighbors, Telluride Arts held another concert, recording at 93 decibels, about as loud as a lawn mower in the same room,” said the lawsuit.

Archipley is calling for a ban on amplified music, with sound levels not exceeding 60 decibels between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and 55 decibels between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. The federal lawsuit also asks Telluride Arts to install sound measurement devices and any additional relief the court decides.

In the state’s lawsuit, Archipley described demands that the court find that the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission and city council “abused their discretion and exceeded their jurisdiction,” quash the approval of the zoning of the place and award legal fees to the plaintiff. .

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