{UPDATED} The Red Barn Restaurant Noise Waiver Request Denied

The Red Barn in Augusta had it's request denied by the Augusta Planning Board last night by a 5 to 1 vote. The Red Barn was looking for a request to exceed the city's 60-decible noise limit during a weekly summer series of outdoor concerts.Last summer, Code Enforcement Officer Robert Overton, took property line decibel meter readings at some of the concerts and they exceeded the 60 decibel limit and he ordered the concerts to stop.

Planners voted 5 to 1 to dismiss the Red Barn's request because, some board members thought that the restaurant hadn't tried to reduce the impact of the noise on it's neighbors.

Alicia Barnes, the Red Barn business manager argued that ambient noise from traffic on Riverside Drive registers higher than 60 decibels on her cell phone decibel meter.

City planners told representatives of the Red Barn that they can resubmit their request if they can show they've tried to address neighbors' concerns by limiting noise from the hour-long concerts.