Borough assembly marches toward a quieter drum beat

Frontiersman editorial board

Some Mat-Su Borough homeowners slept a little easier on Tuesday night, but a local business owner said, "Not for long." The borough assembly passed a noise ordinance that will regulate the levels of amplified sound, such as music, television or radio, between 4 p.m. and 10 or 11 p.m.

The ordinance was specifically in response to a dispute over thumping bass sounds emanating from North Bowl and disrupting the lives of people who live on the bluff overlooking the business. Owner Bob Stevens has said he's made every concession to reduce the noise levels, but he also contends that he's spent more than a million dollars in the business, and that loud music is necessary to make dance club inside the bowling alley successful. He's willing to go to court to protect his business, and he's so confident of a win, he's even predicted the case will cost the borough $150,000 and, he says, the borough will lose. He's fought and won those battles in Anchorage, he said.

It's the most recent example of the need for better regulations and a more thoughtful approach to zoning in our community. People were living on the bluff before Stevens installed Fishheads bar in the bowling alley. Now he says he's done everything he can to reduce the noise, and there's nothing left but to buy the homeowners out. If you think responsible growth means uprooting families so dance clubs can operate however they please, please submit a letter to the editor or a Spectrum to the Frontiersman.

Of course the borough should support and encourage businesses to open and grow in our community. Those businesses should be protected from developers who build subdivisions nearby, threatening normal business operations. But homeowners should be protected in kind. That's what zoning does, and it doesn't have to be noxious, and it doesn't have to discourage business from your community. The purpose is actually to encourage responsible businesses and homeowners to act responsibly.

Stevens says he'll take the borough to task, and he'll win -- at the expense of those homeowners. Maybe he's right. If you're opposed to zoning and regulation, it may be worth noting that Stevens' stubbornness is likely to hurt your cause more than help it.

At some point homeowners are going to tire of losing these battles, and homeowners are the folks who elect lawmakers. Hats off to the assembly for tackling a tough issue. To Mr. Stevens we can only say, this isn't Anchorage.