SnowGlobe addresses many issues; NoGlobe Alliance remains concerned with sound

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - SnowGlobe 2018 is in the books, and according to law enforcement and other safety personnel as well as festival organizers, it was the most successful one yet.

There were fewer arrests and citations, fewer medical issues and an increase in community collaboration to help the event be both successful and less of a burden to the neighboring residents who have expressed concern over noise from the bass-centric sounds of the electronic music performers on the outdoor stages.

This year, Chad Donnelly, CEO of SnowGlobe Music Festival, brought in sound experts to help address the noise complaints by keeping the noise at the venue as much as possible.

"We are reviewing the data collected by our sound mitigation team and will continue to listen and work with the community to improve spillover noise as we go forward," said Donnelly. "We are committed to being good neighbors and community members of South Lake Tahoe and want to do the best we can for the beautiful city we've called home for the past eight years."

The NoGlobe Alliance is a local group formed on social media after the last SnowGlobe. Their motto is to "relocate, modify or eliminate SnowGlobe." Their representatives Scott Ramirez, John Spinola, Kristen Schwartz and Rich Fischer met with Donnelly's team both on the phone and in person over the past several months to come up with a noise-reducing plan in 2018.

"We think the noise was improved for many residents," said the Alliance. "People further from the event reported less bass and less overall noise. People closer to the venue continue to have deep bass rumblings and are reporting vibrations in their walls and floors."

The new South Lake Tahoe City Manager Frank Rush and their new Communications Manager Chris Fiore monitored sounds all three nights as well as the community complaint line set up for those bothered by the festival noise. They stopped by people's homes as well as called them back to discuss possible issues.

"We feel the City responded actively to many reports with Frank Rush being especially attentive," said the Alliance.

Also on board with a team to address noise concerns was Donnelly's new sound mitigation expert, Marcus Ross of Crestfactor.

"We do want to say that Marcus and his team were very responsive," said the Alliance. "SnowGlobe has worked actively and responsibly to act to reduce sound and should be applauded for their efforts."

Ross set up a sound monitoring station at Spinola's residence in the neighborhood off of Al Tahoe Blvd. John took screenshots for three nights as decibels changed.

The current contract for SnowGlobe will need to be renewed should it remain in South Lake Tahoe in 2019 and beyond. Donnelly signed a long term agreement this fall with MTV/VIacom and he will remain at the forefront of managing SnowGlobe. Viacom staff were in South Lake Tahoe this week to watch the popular festival. Donnelly said he isn't looking to expand the capacity of the SLT event though there is a possibility of more SnowGlobes around the globe being added on New Year's Eve.

When asked what their next steps will be the Alliance said, "We are waiting to hear if a new contract or contract extension will be sought. We believe this event should be relocated to another location, ideally further away from town and that the City should actively pursue options to continue the event in a more practical location. The current location isolates an entire neighborhood and is already at its maximum capacity."

Also an issue with the Alliance are sound levels determined through the community plans in South Lake Tahoe. The City of South Lake Tahoe has a formal agreement with the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency that allows the City to issue permits for projects and activities, both South Lake Tahoe permits and permits on behalf of TRPA. With that agreement in place, South Lake Tahoe has permitted SnowGlobe as a temporary activity for the past eight years.

This year, South Lake Tahoe and Snow Globe took steps to try to reduce and better understand the event’s impact on the community – reduced concert hours compared to past years, adjustments to speaker positions and volume levels, a community hotline for complaints, and extensive noise monitoring of the event.

According to the City, the recorded decibel readings from SnowGlobe were in the 70 – 85 decibel range, which are within stipulated permit requirements. The City received 103 complaints from 34 different people via the City’s telephone hotline and online complaint form over the three days of the festival. 91 of those complaints were due to spillover noise from the musical performances.

"TRPA staff have not yet seen that noise monitoring data, but the agency is looking forward to reviewing the data with the city and SnowGlobe to better understand the event, its noise levels, and its compliance with city and TRPA regulations for noise limits," said Thomas Lotshaw of TRPA.

"We know this is a big community concern but we’re also optimistic that the City, SnowGlobe and TRPA can all work together and with the community to find solutions to those concerns and better manage this event going forward," added Lotshaw. "If the noise monitoring data show that SnowGlobe did exceed noise limits this year, then there may need to be additional adjustments to the event, or something like an area plan or a community plan amendment to better accommodate the event."

"We would like to thank Frank Rush and the City staff for working to improve and monitor the event," said the Alliance in closing. "Everyone worked very hard to try and mitigate some intractable issues. Frank personally followed up with many residents in person or on the phone and is showing a great example of what a good City Manager can be. Lauren Thomaselli has continued to be professional and responsive. The Snowglobe organization and Chad Donnelly have been proactive in pursuing solutions while having no contractual reason to do so and at great expense to their own organization. Snowglobe is exactly the kind of partner one would want given their local outreach, donations and proactive approach."