Noise becomes issue in Molly Pitcher hearing
Consultant: Expansion will have adverse effect on quality of life

RED BANK — No one disputes that noise at a certain level can disrupt sleep and affect quality of life. Whether the proposed seven-story Molly Pitcher Inn addition will increase noise levels in the area to that point is the latest issue for the borough’s Planning Board.

At Monday’s meeting, the board heard testimony from a noise consultant and college professor who said that the Riverside Avenue hotel’s planned addition, which includes an approximately 400-space parking garage, will adversely affect those living in the apartment complex just north of the site.

Eric Zwerling, president of The Noise Consultancy, LLC, Somerset, told the board that the added traffic and the proximity of the proposed garage to the Colony House apartment complex will increase noise for the apartment dwellers.

According to state statute, the noise limit permitted during the day is 65 decibels measured from the property line; in the evening, the acceptable level drops to 50 decibels, Zwerling said.

When noise levels rise above 65 decibels, Zwerling explained, it affects a person’s ability to hear speech at a normal level. Noise over 35 decibels will interfere with sleep. The state statute raises the acceptable night level to 50 because buildings generally will reduce sound by approximately 15 decibels, according to Zwerling.

Zwerling also noted that there are adverse health effects with extended exposure to elevated noise levels.

To illustrate his point, Zwerling set up a sound system in the meeting room and played recordings of vehicle noises that he said accurately represented what residents of the Colony House would hear in their apartments, if the parking garage is built.

He played sounds of a United Parcel Service delivery truck, a tractor trailer, a Mack dump truck, a Ford van, Ford and Toyota pickup trucks, and the sound of a car alarm going off and what it would sound like if it were 30 feet away.

Measuring the sounds with a decibel meter placed in front of the board, the sounds registered between 70 and 79 decibels.

"When you hear this, think, could you be sitting on a lawn chair in your back yard and hold a conversation?"

Martin A McGann Jr., the attorney representing the Molly Pitcher in these proceedings, objected to Zwerling’s testimony and the introduction of the recordings as evidence.

McGann said Zwerling is not a medical doctor and shouldn’t be testifying as to medical effects.

In addition to his consulting firm, Zwerling said he is an adjunct professor of environmental science and associated with the Rutgers Noise Technical Assistance Center, New Brunswick. And even though he was testifying for the Colony House in his capacity as a private consultant, the medical effects are well documented, he said.

"Obviously we’re not talking about hearing loss at these levels," Zwerling said, "but levels can contribute to heart disease, hypertension, colitis."

"We don’t offer him as a medical expert but to support the academic literature," said James E. Berube, an attorney representing the owners of the Colony House in their opposition to the addition.

McGann further objected to Zwerling’s testimony as prejudicial to the board and of very little probative value.

Under McGann’s cross-examination, Zwerling said the sound samples were not recorded at the site, or for that matter, even in Red Bank. However, Zwerling insisted, they were accurate depictions of what would be experienced.

"These are reasonable representations of what could be expected on the site," Zwerling said.

The recordings were made by Zwerling’s assistant, Ray Berthelson.

Berthelson said later the recordings were made in New Brunswick. He did not elaborate further.

Because he was retained by the Colony House in its battle over the hotel’s plans, Zwerling said he felt the Molly Pitcher would not appreciate his being on the hotel property.

Zwerling also noted that the sounds he played represented what the residents would hear when the windows were open.

"Clearly certain levels of noise interfere with speech. Sounds at certain levels will awaken people," Zwerling said. "These are not controversial issues."

Some board members expressed some skepticism over his testimony.

"What is it we’re hearing?" asked board member Stanley Sickels.

"We’re going to hear sound," responded Board Attorney Michael Leckstein.

"I’m not comfortable with that," Sickels said. "It’s not factual."

"The professor used rational assumptions of what the sound would be like," Berube said in defense of his witness. "This is the best science available."

McGann also noted that the Planning Board meeting was being held in the borough’s municipal building, with the property line much closer to a state highway — Route 35, which incidentally, runs in front of both the Colony House and the Molly Pitcher — than what would be between the hotel and the apartments.

McGann asked Zwerling if he was bothered by the traffic noise outside of the building.

Zwerling said he was not.

Berube said he has two additional expert witnesses to present. And a number of Colony House residents have expressed an interest in testifying against the proposed addition, he noted.

The Molly Pitcher Inn has applied to the board to be allowed to build a 70,200-square-foot seven-story addition.

The addition would consist of 70 additional guest rooms, banquet facilities, conference rooms and a three-story parking garage, that would have one story below grade.

If built, the addition would double the inn’s square footage.

The application has been opposed by the owners and residents of the Colony House, a 64-unit apartment complex, located on the northern adjacent property.

The Planning Board will continuing hearing this application on Jan. 29.