East Deer is seeking an exemption from the state’s Liquor Control Board rules on noise, as a concert venue is in the works at Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
In June, the township commissioners approved a noise ordinance that was prompted, in part, by Pittsburgh Brewing Co. in the township’s Creighton neighborhood and its development project that includes construction of a large outdoor amphitheater to host live concerts. An opening date for the amphitheater has not been announced.
East Deer’s ordinance regulates noise throughout the township, solicitor Craig Alexander said. The state Liquor Control Board also has its own ordinance regarding noise.
“Local municipalities that have their own noise ordinance can seek an exemption from the Liquor Control Board to be allowed to police their community using their noise ordinance. That’s what we’re in the process of doing, and that’s what this resolution allows us to do,” Alexander said.
Alexander said the LCB will set up a hearing in East Deer “some time down the road.”
If approved by the Liquor Control Board, the township would enforce its own noise ordinance and not the one set by the board.
East Deer’s ordinance, officials said, is designed to provide better clarity and specificity and sets decibel levels. Construction is permitted between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m., and residential work, such as leaf blowers and lawn mowers, are permitted from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
It makes an exception for outdoor events only if organizers give notice at least a week in advance and if the event ends before midnight. Violators will be subject to fines.
When that ordinance was passed, officials said they believed it would help the brewery’s operations. Pittsburgh Brewing officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Alexander said his understanding is the Liquor Control Board routinely grants such requests, unless there are other factors, such as if a community has a number of “nuisance bars” or if people in the municipality are against the request.
“Other communities in our area and across the state have a similar noise ordinance and a similar exemption,” Commissioners Chairman Tony Taliani said. “The City of Pittsburgh, Star Lake. … It’s pretty routine in that business. It’s not like we’re inventing the wheel.”
Taliani said the brewery has tested the decibel level around its facility — even across the Allegheny River to New Kensington and Arnold — and “the levels that we heard there will be lower than what the ordinance allows for.”
