NORMAN — The show will go on.
To the delight of patrons, and disappointment of neighbors, the city council approved a measure Wednesday that will allow live outdoor music to continue at Toby-Keith-owned Hollywood Corners, a revitalized historic hangout in northeast Norman.
The property has a lot of history. It was built in the 1920s, annexed into the city in 1961 and bought by Toby Keith in 2014.
Keith pursued a new vision for the former sandwich and bait shop, which had once played host to famous musicians like Bob Wills and possibly even the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. In 2016, a large outdoor stage was added, and Keith ushered in a renewed focus on live entertainment.
That’s when the complaints started.
Multiple neighbors said they don’t oppose the venue's existence, but take issue with being able to hear the music in their rural living rooms and the effect the noise has had on their quality of life.
Hollywood Corners supporters, who showed up en masse with matching screen-printed shirts bearing the slogan “I support live music at Hollywood Corners,” repeatedly touted the venue's unique qualities, importance to the community and economic impact.
General manager Rodney Carothers said there’s nothing like Hollywood Corners in Norman and he has done everything he can to meet the neighbors on the issue and hates that it has gotten to this point.
“My message to neighbors would be come back to Hollywood Corners,” he said. “I want to do things for our community … I don’t want it to be negative for anybody. But it’s also my back yard and my livelihood and my history of Norman and Toby’s history of Norman and everyone sitting here behind me.”
The council wrestled with the details of the plan and the familiar but unresolved issue of outdoor live music in Norman.
After hours of debate on decibels and statutes, as well as countless testimonials from the overflowing gallery at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, Ward 3 council member Robert Castleberry strongly suggested that attorneys representing Hollywood Corners and concerned neighbors go behind closed doors with City Attorney Jeff Bryant to work out an amendment to the venue's proposal in hopes that an agreement could be reached.
“Go in this conference room and work something out,” he said. “Come up with an amendment to the SPUD that you guys can live with or don’t come up with an amendment and go forward with it. Are you guys willing to do that? Everybody says you’re willing to work together.”
About half an hour later, well after midnight, attorney Sean Rieger proposed an amendment on behalf of the popular venue.
“We’ve done this before on a few occasions,” Rieger said. “We are pleased to offer an amendment to the SPUD … Outdoor amplified live entertainment events shall be limited to the months of April to November. They shall be limited to Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 10 p.m., on Fridays from 7 to 11:30 p.m., Saturdays from noon to 11:30 p.m. and then twice a month on Sundays from noon to 9 p.m.”
The amendment also dictated that the Special Planned Use Development (SPUD) is subject to revocation or amendment if more than three noise level violations occur within a year, adding to the original proposal which binds the venue to the city’s commercial sound ordinance levels.
Attorney Jared Boyer, speaking on behalf of a group of opposing neighbors, said it doesn’t do enough to protect residents, all of whom purchased their nearby homes in a rural, agriculturally-zoned area before Hollywood Corners underwent its live music transformation.
It was good enough for the council, however. In an 8-1 vote, the council approved the SPUD, authorizing Norman’s first permanent outdoor live music venue.
Applause rose from the crowd of Hollywood Corners supporters still in attendance while neighbors reacted with stunned silence at the decision.
Carothers said he has made alterations, including sound-deadening materials, to the stage and sound equipment in attempt to meet neighbors’ demands and has worked in good faith toward a resolution. He said he has tested decibel levels and has no issue remaining within commercially-mandated limits.
How those decibels are measured can produce different readings, especially in the case of low-end bass frequencies, which neighbors maintain are pervasive.
Ultimately, Hollywood Corners won the day, but neighbors still feel they have a case to make and expressed disappointment that the burden of enforcement seems to fall on them.
“I think that I would say that I’m disappointed,” neighbor Miranda Kitchen said. “I thought the noise ordinances were set out to protect the people who live in Norman. I’m surprised and a little disappointed that the city is not protecting its citizens.”
Another neighbor, Al Austin, who lives about half a mile away to the northwest — the direction the stage points away from — said he moved to the area in the 90s and never dreamt that his rural home would be inundated with noise so loud that he can hear it with his TV on.
He said he spoke with other neighbors about the issue. Some came forward with him. Others didn’t see a point.
“Four out of seven gave a very similar reason for not putting up any kind of a protest,” he said. “And that reason was it’s Toby Keith’s place. He can do what he wants, he’s got the city wrapped around his finger.”
Others complained about their children not being able to get to sleep at a reasonable hour on school nights, and numerous issues were raised about the process that allowed Hollywood Corners to create a live music venue without city permission and then ask forgiveness.
“You don’t get to do it until city council says you can do it,” Boyer said.
Ward 6 council member Breea Clark, who represents the area, was the sole dissenting vote, but three council members voted against calling the question initially, feeling the issue was not resolved and ready for a vote.
Clark said she didn’t vote against the SPUD because she was opposed to the venue, which received hefty support in the form of petitions and communications with council members, but because there was a bigger issue at stake regarding establishing thoughtful precedent for live outdoor music venues and she felt the neighbors deserved fair treatment.
“I voted no, because we have an incredibly outdated noise ordinance yet we were considering allowing outdoor live entertainment for the first time ever,” Clark wrote on social media early Wednesday morning following the vote. “That and for some reason my colleagues felt it was permissible to interrupt public comment to force attorneys to meet, sit in on these attorney meetings, vote for amendments that the neighbors' counsel did not agree to, and then even took away my ability to speak on the issue before a vote.
“Tonight Ward 6 residents did not receive the same respect and due diligence that residents in other wards have been afforded. I simply cannot support that.”
For now, at least, Hollywood Corners fans can breathe a sigh of relief. But to Clark’s point, Hollywood Corners could still face legal challenges in the future. Assistant Attorney Rick Knighton earlier noted that the city’s noise ordinance isn’t just limited to decibel readings, but also includes a more subjective component: disturbing the peace, which police can issue tickets for even if decibel limits are not exceeded.
Boyer said decibels can’t be the end of the story, and Wednesday’s vote won’t be either.
“I’m very surprised,” Boyer said. “I think it’s a very troublesome vote. I think the unfortunate part of this is that there are still unanswered questions. Our folks were hoping they would get some closure tonight and I don’t think that’s what this result means.”
• City budget vote postponed: Though it was one of the most well attended council meetings in recent history, and certainly the longest running, the pressing issue of the budget had yet to come up as the clock struck 1 a.m.
With fatigue mounting, the council voted to recess until 4 p.m. today when it will continue the meeting at city hall, and, vote to adopt or reject the Fiscal Year 2019 budget.
Finance Director Anthony Francisco said a budget must be submitted to the state 10 days before the start of the fiscal year — July 1. He said city staff will need at least two days to make any changes to the document.
“That’s really cutting it close,” he said.