Brian Van Lehn has attended every City Council meeting he could for two years, all in an effort to get a good night’s rest.
Van Lehn says that he and his wife _ as well as several neighbors _ are kept from slumber by a noisy neighbor. That neighbor is Leprino Foods, the cheese-making facility at 2401 N. MacArthur Drive, a business that employs dozens of local residents.
Even though city inspectors have checked more than 20 times and never found Leprino in violation of noise limits, Van Lehn has complained time and again that the cheese-maker has cost he and his wife more than 400 nights worth of sleep since they started keeping track in 2008.
Since then, he has petitioned the city to re-evaluate the noise coming from the industry’s nighttime operations, specifically the refrigerated railroad cars that go to and from the factory.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, the council decided on a 3-2 vote to spend up to $10,000in general fund money to hire a company to take several noise readings near Leprino Foods to determine if, indeed, the Van Lehn’s sleepless nights are due to violations of city code.
The outfit, Brown, Buntin and Associates, has extensive experience cataloging noise levels, according to city staff. Brown, Buntin and Associates will take readings at three different locations, including inside the Van Lehns’ house, to see if Leprino is breaking a city ordinance.
By law, Leprino cannot average a noise level above 67 decibels _ about the same noise level of a typical conversation _ for one hour, three times in the same 30-day period. And while the Van Lehns say that type of violation is a common occurrence, the city has never found the company in the wrong.
That point, as well as whether or not the city was overstepping its bounds by approving the spending, brought up serious discussion between council members before the vote.
Councilman Mike Maciel said that the city had done its due diligence responding to the matter already, and shouldn’t spend an extra $10,000 to do something the city attorney and city manager agreed that Tracy is neither legally nor morally obligated to do, especially given the city’s ongoing deficit.
“I’m sympathetic to the Van Lehns,” Maciel said. “(But) I’m concerned that we’re headed off to uncharted territory.”
Bob Elliott agreed with Maciel, and joined him in the dissenting vote.
Mayor Brent Ives and Councilmen Steve Abercrombie and Bob Rickman were the yes votes. Abercrombie and Ives said that while the city wasn’t obligated to do anything regarding the Van Lehns’ and their neighbors’ conflict with Leprino, the price was worth being responsive to residents’ needs.
“At least we’re trying to help our neighbors,” Abercrombie said.
“Part of the reason a city exists is to serve its citizens,” Ives added.
However, Rickman needed convincing before casting his vote. He asked city staff if a yes vote would set a precedent requiring the city to spend money fixing other such non-obligatory problems. He also sought reassurance from Van Lehn that, if the tests did find a violation, that the city wouldn’t be on the financial hook for any remedies.
Van Lehn assured, him, as did City Manager Leon Churchill, that the city wouldn’t be liable for a solution.
“We’re just asking for some extra help (finding what the problem is)” Van Lehn told the council. “We just want to be able to sleep.”
In the case of a violation, any final solution, he and city staff agreed, would have to be forged either via an agreement between neighbors and the company or through the courts.
“I ultimately do think the solution is a private solution,” said Churchill.
Van Lehn says that he and his wife _ as well as several neighbors _ are kept from slumber by a noisy neighbor. That neighbor is Leprino Foods, the cheese-making facility at 2401 N. MacArthur Drive, a business that employs dozens of local residents.
Even though city inspectors have checked more than 20 times and never found Leprino in violation of noise limits, Van Lehn has complained time and again that the cheese-maker has cost he and his wife more than 400 nights worth of sleep since they started keeping track in 2008.
Since then, he has petitioned the city to re-evaluate the noise coming from the industry’s nighttime operations, specifically the refrigerated railroad cars that go to and from the factory.
On Tuesday, Jan. 18, the council decided on a 3-2 vote to spend up to $10,000in general fund money to hire a company to take several noise readings near Leprino Foods to determine if, indeed, the Van Lehn’s sleepless nights are due to violations of city code.
The outfit, Brown, Buntin and Associates, has extensive experience cataloging noise levels, according to city staff. Brown, Buntin and Associates will take readings at three different locations, including inside the Van Lehns’ house, to see if Leprino is breaking a city ordinance.
By law, Leprino cannot average a noise level above 67 decibels _ about the same noise level of a typical conversation _ for one hour, three times in the same 30-day period. And while the Van Lehns say that type of violation is a common occurrence, the city has never found the company in the wrong.
That point, as well as whether or not the city was overstepping its bounds by approving the spending, brought up serious discussion between council members before the vote.
Councilman Mike Maciel said that the city had done its due diligence responding to the matter already, and shouldn’t spend an extra $10,000 to do something the city attorney and city manager agreed that Tracy is neither legally nor morally obligated to do, especially given the city’s ongoing deficit.
“I’m sympathetic to the Van Lehns,” Maciel said. “(But) I’m concerned that we’re headed off to uncharted territory.”
Bob Elliott agreed with Maciel, and joined him in the dissenting vote.
Mayor Brent Ives and Councilmen Steve Abercrombie and Bob Rickman were the yes votes. Abercrombie and Ives said that while the city wasn’t obligated to do anything regarding the Van Lehns’ and their neighbors’ conflict with Leprino, the price was worth being responsive to residents’ needs.
“At least we’re trying to help our neighbors,” Abercrombie said.
“Part of the reason a city exists is to serve its citizens,” Ives added.
However, Rickman needed convincing before casting his vote. He asked city staff if a yes vote would set a precedent requiring the city to spend money fixing other such non-obligatory problems. He also sought reassurance from Van Lehn that, if the tests did find a violation, that the city wouldn’t be on the financial hook for any remedies.
Van Lehn assured, him, as did City Manager Leon Churchill, that the city wouldn’t be liable for a solution.
“We’re just asking for some extra help (finding what the problem is)” Van Lehn told the council. “We just want to be able to sleep.”
In the case of a violation, any final solution, he and city staff agreed, would have to be forged either via an agreement between neighbors and the company or through the courts.
“I ultimately do think the solution is a private solution,” said Churchill.
