Mother: Sunset Amphitheater will be anything but a good neighbor, particularly for children

“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor… Won’t you be my neighbor?” — Mister Rogers

The 12,000-seat Sunset Amphitheater planned by Colorado company Notes Live will be anything but a good neighbor, particularly for children.

The proposed landsite, owned by Sam Coury and Carol Hefner, near SW 15 and Sara Road, has multiple neighborhoods in the 1-mile bubble around it. Good neighbors do not make plans to get an increased sound decibel level over the city code or extend noise timeframes to 10:30 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends. Notes Live asked for both at the Oklahoma City Planning Commission meeting on Jan. 11. Even an OKC planning commissioner remarked, “It’s not great for the neighbors!”

More: West OKC residents worry $100 million amphitheater will ruin their neighborhoods

A quick search on Google on amphitheater complaints garners staggering results. Noise pollution is at the top of the list — specifically, the bass frequencies. We all know that annoyance (cue the booming music of a lowrider truck). But an amphitheater with 12,000 spectators and numerous loudspeakers will be more than just a nuisance. The former U.S. Surgeon General William H. Stewart said, “Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience. Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people everywhere.”

If amphitheaters in other states have earned noise complaints from residents a half-mile to 15 miles away, like Brushy Creek Amphitheater in Hutto, Texas, what hazards will a massive, outdoor amphitheater have on children nearby?

The first hazard is lack of sleep. From over 3 miles away, a homeowner near Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend, Oregon, reported she could “…feel and hear a low-frequency vibrating bass that permeates the entire house.” Another resident over a mile from Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado, complained, “The windows are rattling, the walls shake, you put covers over your head, and it doesn’t do anything.” In Round Rock, Texas, a homeowner 4 miles away from the Round Rock Amphitheater said the vibrations were so strong, his child could not sleep.

Most kids are not getting enough sleep as it is. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34.9% of children ages 4 months to 17 years lack appropriate amounts. Sixty percent of middle schoolers and 70% of high schoolers don’t get enough. Add a vibrating bass until 10:30 or 11 p.m. and it will be nearly impossible for kids to get adequate sleep.

Kids get up early and are expected to engage well in school and with people. Disruptive noise during sleep impedes their physical development and success in academics. Students who lack sleep exhibit lower grades and higher behavioral issues, according to Anne G. Wheaton in a National Institutes of Health article.

The next hazard: schoolwork. Notes Live has promised to delay daytime sound checks until 2 p.m. on school days, though school is not even done at that time. What about kids in the afternoon and evening needing to complete homework?

The website “Sound Is Fun” reports that “background noise can affect children’s ability to learn … it’s hard for them to separate sounds they want to listen to from those they don’t want to focus on.” Researchers found that noise pollution can affect reading skills. In Queens, New York, a resident living near Forest Hills Stadium ended up moving because her son was unable to study at home with frequent concert noise.

Lastly, children are likely to be harmed by the repercussions noise pollution will have on parents and caregivers. When parents’ mental well-being is affected, children suffer. Wise caregivers know the importance of recoup time. If parents are continually tending to children unable to sleep because of noise, they are not getting the rest they need. These precious moments in the evening help replenish sanity.

What’s more, the physical health of parents is at risk. Peter James, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health stated, “Loud noises can signal to the auditory system that something is wrong, triggering a fight-or-flight-response, which floods the body with stress hormones that cause inflammation and can lead to disease.” Harvard found that effects of noise pollution include insomnia, heart disease, cognitive impairment, depression and anxiety, among other things. With all these things stacked up against parents, their ability to parent well will suffer.

Sleep. Academics. Loving parents. These are crucial to a child’s well-being.

I have not heard any Oklahoma politician, lawyer, investor or spokesperson bring up the impact this amphitheater will have on children. It seems gaining money is very important. So important that our kids’ well-being is in danger for it.

As a homeschooling mama of seven kids who lives in Ward 3, I become a mama bear over my kids’ sleep, ability to learn and need of receiving care from parents that are not sleep-deprived or abnormally stressed. It concerns me that some, like the OKC Council members, Mayor David Holt or landowners Sam Coury and Carol Hefner, do not care about the thousands of kids that will be adversely impacted by this development. The Sunset Amphitheater needs to be located several miles away from residential housing, so no one’s well-being is put in jeopardy for money. Not my family, not your family. Share this with your council member.

I’ll be singing Mr. Roger’s famed song a little differently, “…Please, don’t be my neighbor!”

Kristen Bruce is a wife and homeschooling mom of seven kids who loves Oklahoma sunsets, family board games and knitting.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Noise pollution from planned amphitheater not seen as neighborly