Verizon Shed’s New Neighbor

The fate of the Verizon Amphitheater in Irvine, Calif., could hinge on a local commission’s decision regarding a real estate developer’s plan to construct a 1,750-apartment complex next door to the shed.

Irvine Co., which also owns the land beneath the venue, recently submitted a plan to the Irvine Planning Commission that said the Los Olivos apartments could face potential “noise challenges” from the venue, according to the Orange County Register.

The company hired a firm to measure noise at the shed during different concerts, the paper said, and an Iron Maiden performance hit 67 decibels on the CNEL scale 1,000 feet from the stage – right where new apartment dwellers could soon call home.

To that end, the developer wrote that “buildings shall be sound attenuated so that interior noise levels adequately protect the residents from concert noise.” But Irvine Co. also appears to think loud concerts won’t be much of a problem for long.

The company’s plan adds that the amphitheater’s lease ends in 2017 and there will be no renewal, the Register reported, and with many units at Los Olivos unavailable until 2016, Irvine Co. sees the noise issues as “temporary.”

The Irvine Planning Commission was scheduled to meet to discuss the development plans at press time.