Residents sound off on proposed festival ordinance

By RICHARD JENKINS

rjenkins@yourdailyglobe.com

Hurley - The Iron County Comprehensive Planning/Land and Zoning Committee decided to look to Iron County's corporation counsel on how to handle outdoor events in Iron County following Tuesday's public hearing regarding a proposed ordinance on the issue.

Both supporters and detractors of proposed ordinance addressed the committee, despite indications early in the hearing that the committee realized the ordinance wasn't the best way to address the issue.

The proposed ordinance was drafted as a response to complaints from neighbors of an outdoor electronic music festival held in Iron Belt this summer.

The proposed ordinance would make outdoor music festivals a conditional use in several of the county's zoning districts, allowing the county and respective towns to place restrictions on events.

At the beginning of the public hearing, Zoning Administrator Thomas Bergman gave a brief overview of the ordinance and explained any existing events would be grandfathered into the ordinance.

"This ordinance language would not effect a current event that's been happening for like the last 10 years," Bergman said. "I imagine that's been kind of a concern for folks, but in this situation, it shouldn't be. This would be specifically for new events that come into the area."

Joe Pinardi said he wasn't pleased that the ordinance wouldn't address the music festival that prompted the committee's action.

"The only event that was causing a problem was the event in Iron Belt last year," Pinardi said.

Bergman argued that if the specific event was what the committee wanted to prevent, zoning ordinances weren't the right way to handle the issue.

"Then you're looking at what's already on the books as a non-zoning police power," Bergman said. "... (Changing the non-zoning ordinance) would not be the work of the zoning committee, because it's a non-zoning related item."

The committee agreed to urge the county board and corporation counsel to investigate an alternative solution to changes through the zoning ordinance.

At Tuesday's hearing, Nick Zuvich - one of those who originally brought the complaints against the music festival - expressed a specific concern about the levels of bass at the festival.

"They could hear and feel, the bass a mile-and-a-half away down at the town hall," Zuvich said. "When you're that close to it, the house is vibrating, the windows are vibrating, it's not a very good deal."

Several people spoke against the proposed ordinance, arguing the ordinance was an overreach and regulations should be left to the individual towns.

"I would think each community does indeed have its own municipal codes, and/or laws. In which case, (Sheriff Tony Furyk) is obligated as the contracting law-keeper to respond to those," said Bill Brundage. "Therefore why are we even putting these into (the zoning ordinance)? This is the kind of minutiae that doesn't belong here. It doesn't belong on the shoulders of the county."

The committee held two other public hearings Tuesday, one on the county's proposed non-metallic mining ordinance and another on changes to the ordinance regulating private sewage systems in the county.

The change to the private sewer ordinance gives the county the ability to impose a $100 fine on residents who fail to report the results of the inspections of their system. The fine would be in addition to any costs to repair, inspect, or dump the system, according to Bergman.

Both ordinances will now be forwarded to the full county board for approval.