May 2016
Oakland Metro Operahouse Is Raising Soundproofing Funds to Silence A Noisy Neighbor
As Bay Area housing developers look for ways to capitalize on the region’s sky-high rents, music venues are feeling the squeeze. Now, one of Oakland’s few dedicated spots for heavy metal and cabaret says a neighboring property owner — who has no building plans in the works — is doing all he can to make sure it doesn’t survive.
The Oakland Metro Operahouse, which moved from a spot on Third St. to the former Kimball’s space at 522 Second St. last year, is hustling to raise $20,000 by March 24 to build three sound-dampening walls inside the concert hall. That’s because W. Brad Paley, who owns the empty Parker Electric building next door, is fighting the Operahouse’s permit from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, says the venue’s Executive Director, Mia Dean.
“Our neighbor is neither [a] resident, nor does he run a business in Oakland,” Metro owners said in an announcement March 10. “He's the privileged absentee landlord of a derelict building who doesn't want us to operate, just in case he's able to put a tech company in someday.”
Founded 15 years ago, the Operahouse hosts a number of offbeat events, including regular heavy metal shows, cabaret, hip-hop, indie wrestling and, yes, opera. When it moved, the Operahouse inherited the Kimball’s permit, which allows for some noise outside the venue. But because of Paley’s efforts, the pending ABC license would require the Operahouse to essentially be silent from the outside, Dean says.
The Operahouse is in an industrial part of Oakland, where city codes allow for a reasonable amount of noise. ABC spokesman John Carr says he doesn’t know whether the ABC could impose more stringent noise restrictions on a venue than a city would.
Carr confirmed that the ABC has received four complaints about the Operahouse’s permit, including concerns about noise, disorderly persons, blocked driveways and the potential for an increase in crime. Aubrey Rose, who works in the city’s zoning department, said he also received a complaint last year from 221 Washington St., a building Paley owns.
Dean says the Operahouse staff has tried to resolve things with Paley, but he isn’t budging. Paley didn’t respond to requests for comment.
The Operahouse’s fundraiser is off to a good start, bringing in almost a quarter of what they need in the first days. Dean hopes they’ll be able to meet the requirements of the new license by late April, when the ABC is expected to hold a hearing.
“Right now we’d have a license if it weren’t for him,” she says. “We can’t exist without it.”
http://archives.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2016/03/15/oakland-metro-operahouse-is-raising-soundproofing-funds-to-silence-a-noisey-neighbor
