Mayor to review concert ‘loophole’
Mayor Sylvester Turner acknowledged Tuesday that the developers of the new White Oak Music Hall in the Near Northside appeared to have taken advantage of a “loophole” in city code, and he plans to look into the questions raised by neighbors about the permitting of the outdoor stage and complaints about excessive noise.
Turner told residents at a City Council meeting that he wanted to examine the concerns about the project at 2915 N. Main. He said he would visit the site and try to find a compromise for the issues surrounding the music hall complex, which will include several venues, a bar and outdoor music area on a 6-acre site when it is complete.
The portion of the complex in question is an outdoor area, dubbed The Lawn, that holds 3,000 people. The developers have erected a temporary stage, which can be used indefinitely while avoiding parking restrictions that apply to permanent structures. Several bigname acts have performed there at sold-out shows, and residents have expressed concerns about overflow parking on their
streets. They claim that a recent concert held outdoors violated the city’s sound ordinance.
The developers “have taken advantage of a loophole that is existing,” Turner said Tuesday. “We need to balance what the developer is doing and the concerns from the people in the neighborhood.”
The music hall developer, Will Garwood, said in an email Tuesday that he and his partners are pleased with a successful first event at the outdoor stage on April 9. A French electronic band M83 played to a sold-out crowd of 3,000.
Seeing people “arriving on the light rail, enjoying live outdoor music in the Northside, and celebrating a vibrant new cultural experience for Houstonians was an enormous thrill,” Garwood wrote in the email. “Parking, noise containment, and public and traffic safety all went extremely well. We are continuing to work with Super Neighborhood 51 to fine-tune our execution above and beyond the city’s requirements.”
The White Oak Music Call complex has been in the works for about two years. The developers have already opened a bar and music venue, the Raven Tower. A two-story indoor music venue is under construction, slated to open this summer. They plan to open a permanent outdoor stage and a volleyball bar in the future.
The developers and city officials have acknowledged a temporary stage will be used on the lawn of the complex for between 30 to 50 planned events a year. A permanent permit would require the developers to meet parking restrictions, among other development code regulations.
Since announcing the project, the developers have worked with the neighborhood around the music complex. The Super Neighborhood, a citizens advisory council, has acknowledged that the venue will help revitalize the area just north of downtown. A new light rail line on Main Street is nearby, and new developments have sprung up in the historically Hispanic workingclass neighborhood, where there are signs of gentrification.
But several residents complained to the council about sound levels and the Houston Police Department’s enforcement of city’s noise ordinance. HPD received more than a dozen calls the night of the first outdoor show.
“My windows rattled five blocks away,” Kerry Whitehead, a neighborhood resident, said during Tuesday’s meeting.
The opponents also asked for more oversight by the city to ensure the developers were following proper protocols to protect their neighborhood.
“We are not anti-development and not unreasonable people,” resident Marcus Greenspan said. “No one would be excited for a 3,000-person music venue in a quiet neighborhood, much less one not in compliance with city rules.”
Turner acknowledged that the city is in a difficult situation because the project has been underway for years and a change to the city code could not be applied retroactively to address the situation.
“I can’t go back two years and go forward,” Turner said. “I can only work to take into account the concerns of the homeowners and concerns of the developer and strike a balance. We need to coordinate better and assist in coordinating better to minimize the impact on the neighborhood.”
Fadi Alba, a local developer who is building 13 residential projects in the Near Northside, including his own home near the venue, said he initially was worried about the proposed venue but found that the developers want to improve the neighborhood.
“This is such a positive thing for the neighborhood,” Alba said. “They have been very respectful to the neighborhood. The noise they are making is people marking art and other people consuming it.”