Businesses with liquor licenses in Allegheny County are subject to stricter noise regulations than those in nearly every other county in Pennsylvania, a difference local officials and entertainment venue operators say puts added pressure on bars and restaurants.
Under state liquor laws, businesses in Allegheny County cannot increase noise levels above the normal background sound, also called a zero decibel range, when using amplified music or entertainment, while businesses in most other Pennsylvania counties are permitted to exceed that threshold up to a set limit.
Amplified sound includes noise projected through speakers or sound systems, such as live music or DJs, while decibels are the units used to measure sound volume.
This week, Pittsburgh City Council members met with business owners and state officials for early-stage discussions on whether the city could take over noise regulation enforcement for businesses with liquor licenses from the state, after local businesses said the state’s requirements have led to unnecessary citations.
Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, was the driving force behind Thursday’s meeting.
Strassburger told TribLive that several local alcohol-serving businesses had reached out regarding concerns over the state’s handling of noise complaints, saying the problem was so bad they risked possible closure or considered moving locations.
“It has caused an incredible amount of unnecessary conflict,” Strassburger said.
In 2022, state lawmakers passed Act 67, a measure designed to modernize Pennsylvania’s Liquor Code by standardizing noise rules, updating brewing regulations and giving license holders more flexibility in how they operate.
The law permits businesses with liquor licenses in most Pennsylvania counties — except Allegheny and Philadelphia — to play amplified music up to 75 decibels without facing state citations.
The National Hearing Conservation Association said 75 decibels is comparable to the volume of chamber music in a small auditorium.
While businesses serving alcohol in Allegheny County can host live entertainment, they run the risk of citation from the state if amplified sound increases above the existing background noise level.
“Zero is impossible,” said Allison Harnden with Pittsburgh’s Office of Nighttime Economy.
Lynn Benka-Davies, executive director of the Liquor Control Committee for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, said Allegheny and Philadelphia counties were excluded from Act 67 due to their dense populations.
Business owners say the result has led to tensions within the communities in which they operate.
Melissa Larrick, executive director of Pittsburgh Brewers Guild, said noise complaints made directly to the state put businesses at risk of losing their license.
“If we don’t have that license, we can’t operate,” Larrick said. “We just want to be included in the conversation.”
Larrick was among five people at the meeting who were representing restaurants, bars or entertainment establishments.
Chris Copen, owner of Bottlerocket Social Hall in the city’s Allentown neighborhood, said the current system leaves little room for discussion with residents before things escalate.
“The current system feels designed almost exclusively to embarrass and punish us with zero interest in having a dialogue or actually working to solve complaints. Even the most actively engaged or buttoned-up operations are given no realistic path to avoid this treatment, because there is no warning or record of complaints of where they come from,” Copen said.
Adam Dowd, marketing director for Drusky Entertainment, which oversees several venues across multiple neighborhoods such as the Benedum Center in Downtown, the Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland and Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall in Lawrenceville, said state police intervention leads to operation disruptions and punitive investigations on patrons, staff, artists and small businesses.
“What should be a straightforward quality of life issue around decibel levels, has instead become tied with reinforcement actions that can escalate,” Dowd said.
TribLive reached out to multiple community and neighborhood groups in an effort to hear from residents but received minimal response.
Kelly MacKay, who is the office manager at Northside Leadership Conference, said the office has not heard any noise complaints from residents.
Leadership Conference is made up of community members representing 15 of North Side’s 18 neighborhoods. The organization acts as a fiscal sponsor to an annual music festival held in July.
MacKay said alcohol is served on the Friday and Saturday of the event.
Other members of council who were present at Thursday’s meeting included: Bob Charland, D-South Side, Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, and Deb Gross, D-Highland Park.
State Rep. Lindsay Powell, D-Lawrenceville, also attended.
Powell said many restaurants and entertainment venues in her district operate on tight profit margins and rely on attractions such as live music to bring customers through the door.
Businesses in Pittsburgh that do not hold a liquor license are regulated by local law enforcement and are subject to the city’s noise ordinance, which generally allows amplified sound such as music up to 75 decibels.
Strassburger also noted that some surrounding municipalities have received waivers from the state allowing them to set their own noise regulations, so that complaints would fall under local municipal jurisdiction instead of state enforcement.
Discussion of the waiver also led to questions about whether the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police would be equipped to begin handling noise complaints from businesses with liquor licenses, given that the department is already understaffed.
Police Chief Jason Lando said it would put a strain on the department.
“For us, to take this on would be a significant lift, and a significant burden,” Lando said.
Strassburger said after Thursday’s meeting that further discussion between council and the mayor’s office is necessary to determine a course of action.