Volume turned down on noise complaints at Etna venue

• Following issues in July, Etna no longer is receiving complaints regarding music venue
• Trustee attributes change to neighborly compromise between promoters, township

ETNA – Two months have passed since a large number of township residents complained about concert noise at Frontier Ranch Music Center.

During that time, the popular outdoor music venue has hosted a wedding and a rock music festival, among other events, with nary an issue.

Etna Township Trustee John Carlisle said that is a sign the venue’s property managers, in addition to its individual event promoters, are taking the complaints seriously.

“They’ve had some events since July 4th, and I’ve not received one phone call,” Carlisle said.

That was not the case over the long Fourth of July weekend.

Carlisle received multiple calls that weekend from residents upset by the noise emanating from a electronic music festival at Frontier Ranch. Some said they could see their windows and walls shaking, even well after midnight.

In the immediate aftermath of the festival, more than a dozen residents attended a township meeting to complain about the noise. Some flooded social media, a few even calling for the trustees to block the venue from hosting future music events.

They quickly discovered, through research and feedback from Carlisle and his fellow trustees, that the township cannot apply a noise resolution to the venue because it stands on property long zoned for agricultural purposes.

Under state law, the ground must be zoned for residential uses for a noise resolution to apply. In essence, Frontier Ranch is “grandfathered in,” thanks to its decades-old history as a music venue.

That history did not stop Carlisle from dropping not-so-veiled threats to work with local law enforcement to set up local sobriety checkpoints leading into and out of the York Road venue.

“We said if you guys don’t want to comply with this we’ll hire the (Licking County) Sheriff’s Office, we’ll get the (Ohio) State Highway Patrol involved,” Carlisle said.

Those threats never came to pass because Carlisle said the property owners agreed to do the neighborly thing and work with the township.

“The Frontier Ranch people have been very good to work with,” Carlisle said. “They understand where we are at, and all of those people and coming in and sitting down with (Township Administrator) Rob (Platte) and me. We have a checklist we want to ensure they abide by (for each event).”

The venue is set to host a handful of events in September, including the semi-annual Hookahville music festival over Labor Day weekend.

Carlise said he and Platte met with the event’s promoter and laid out the checklist, which includes turning down the music at a reasonable hour, restricting fireworks and trying to block attendees from loitering in nearby neighborhoods, among other items.

“They ensured us there would be no issues,” Carlisle said. “That is the kind of response we wanted from the event promoters at Frontier Ranch.”

Carlisle added he is aware of Frontier Ranch’s long and historic history as an outdoor music venue, and the township always wanted to find a compromise between the venue and upset residents.

“If you think about it, bars close down at 2:30 (a.m.) and aren’t playing music until 5 (a.m.),” he said. “(We just wanted them) to turn the music down and be good neighbors. That’s all the people are asking for.”