More details emerged Tuesday regarding the agreement between the Westin Austin Downtown hotel and The Nook Amphitheater to settle the $1 million loud music lawsuit filed by the hotel against the nightclub last year. Following Community Impact Newspaper's Monday report on the settlement, Colin Laitner of Laitner & Associates—The Nook's attorney—sent out a news release stating the hotel, located at 310 E. Fifth St., Austin, will purchase and pay for the installation of state-of-the-art sound mitigation technology inside the nightclub, located at 309 E. Sixth St. The sides have been in litigation since December 2016. The Westin will pay $125,000 for the purchase and installation of the technology and up to $20,000 for its maintenance. The Nook will also bear responsibility, however. The hotel and the nightclub have each installed sound measuring devices near the Westin, and noise from the club is not to exceed sound limits of 85 and 90 decibels as measured by the two devices. "Failure to abide by these limits will result in a series of monetary penalties and, if frequent enough, the revocation of The Nook's outdoor music permit," the release states. "On behalf of The Nook, [its owners] would like to thank all of those who supported The Nook and music in Austin, including working with the city of Austin Music Office, and look forward to working together with the Westin on this project and on a going-forward basis to keep music a priority in Austin and Keep Austin Weird," the release states. Attempts to reach Eric Taube, attorney for the Westin, were not immediately successful.

The technology 

The JBN Sound Ceiling was developed in Sweden in the 1980s. It is a speaker system installed on a ceiling that send sound waves straight down and allow for minimal noise bleed.[/caption]

The Nook will be outfitted with a 96-panel JBN Sound Ceiling, a modular-based speaker system that will be hung overhead and designed to push sound directly out, allowing for minimal sound bleed. Each panel will have eight individual speakers of varying sizes, for a total of 768 speakers. According to the press release, the system to be installed inside The Nook "is the first of its kind to be permanently installed in the U.S." The technology was tested in March at an event at Brazos Hall. On the dance floor directly under the speakers, the sound was pumping at a measured 100 decibels. But 65 feet back the sound level was cut by 20 decibels, and 275 feet away the decibel level was cut in half.

Agent of Change Principle

The solution aligns with the Agent of Change Principle, outlined in Mayor Steve Adler’s Music and Creative Ecosystem Omnibus Resolution. The resolution sought recommendations and policy solutions to questions raised by Austin’s creative community on how it will fit into the city’s rapidly growing landscape. Although the City Council has yet to vote on its implementation, the Agent of Change Principle states that the burden of sound mitigation is placed on the party that arrives in a location second or later. If a hotel or home is slated to be built next to a live music venue and loud music poses a problem, that hotel or homeowner is deemed responsible for providing sound mitigation. On the other hand, if a live music venue wants to set up shop in a neighborhood where neighbors may take issue with live music, the venue needs to provide the sound mitigation. In this case, The Nook was in operation first, thus the burden of sound mitigation is placed on the Westin, according to the principle. But The Nook will have to stay within the limits of the agreed-upon sound measurements.