LA VISTA, Neb. (KMTV) – Adam Geisen didn't think he would be moving out of his La Vista home so soon, but after noise from the The Astro concert venue disrupted his everyday life he decided it was time to leave
- Adam Geisen bought his home before the Astro Theater was built
- Now, he's moving after he says the noise from the concerts impacted his everyday life
- The city says it has received other complaints due to noise and a noise study will be done at the next outdoor concert
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
When the new Astro Theater concert venue was built, La Vista city leaders believed it was going to be a reason neighbors came to this community but in some cases it forced neighbors out.
KMTV investigated the impact of this venue not only on the people that live in its backyard but across the area.
Adam Geisen didn't think he would be moving out of his La Vista home so soon.
"Our kids grew up here and this was my first house I owned so a lot of emotions there," he said.
As he packed a moving truck, he thought of what used to be here. A few years ago the city turned a quiet park behind his back gate into a concert venue, aimed almost directly at his house.
"I work from home and I’ve been told to put my computer on mute because my music is too loud but I’m not playing anything,” Geisen said.
Geisen said sometimes sound checks for the concerts start at 10 a.m. and the music sometimes lasts until 10:30 p.m., making it hard for his family, including two young children, to sleep.
" You can hear it clearly inside her room all the way until 10 at night so you can't really put her to sleep easily," he said.
He bought a decibel meter and measured 90 decibels one night.
According to the National Institute on Deafness, prolonged exposure to that amount of noise can cause hearing damage.
This is when Geisen took his concerns to the city.
"I felt like they would say they're listening, they would say they're doing something, but nothing would happen,” he said.
Left without options, Geisen decided to leave La Vista, listing his house for sale.
"I think the final straw for me was I was putting in a lot of time and effort in getting my point across and no one was listening."
He reached out to KMTV, and his concerns were taken to city hall.
When asked if the city knew this would happen when it approved The Astro, the Spokesperson for the City of La Vista Mitch Beaumont said this:
"We anticipated some complaints for sure. An outdoor venue at all in an established neighborhood, it's a change for everybody."
The city also revealed to KMTV it has received complaints from over 20 different locations during the 19 outdoor shows this season.
"It's nice to know I’m not alone," Geisen said.
KMTV discovered that La Vista noise ordinances here aren't measured by decibel levels and are instead limited by time of day. Concerts must end by 10 p.m. on weeknights and 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights.
But the limits weren’t enough to stop this family from leaving.
“I don’t want to be negative about the city because I like this city, I like this spot,” Geisen said.
Now he hopes something will change.
"I’m not going to be here for the fix but I wanted to help my neighbors and others in the neighborhood and hopefully have something come of this," he said.
Beaumont says the city will conduct a noise study during the season's last outdoor concert on Oct. 18 to measure sound levels and then take measures to mitigate the sound in neighborhoods like Geisen’s.
