Livonia council moves church festival noise waiver to March meeting with 11 p.m. noise limit and bass restriction

The Livonia City Council on Feb. 23 moved a request from Saint Ravka Maronite Catholic Church to waive the city noise ordinance for an August cultural festival to its March 9 regular meeting, after extensive public comment and a substantive council discussion on noise controls.

Clerk's materials named Reverend Dr. Roderick Constantine as the petitioner seeking permission for music and live bands in the church parking lot on Aug. 7–9, 2026. A petitioner at the podium said the event would mirror prior years and would be held in the church parking lot.

Neighbors and acoustics experts urged strict limits. "Are we targeting the dominant reflective surface, and do we have a projected RT60," asked public commenter Steve King, referring to reverberation time for speech intelligibility. Resident Susan Daven said, "My windows vibrated till 11:00 at night," urging the council to require an earlier cutoff.

Council members proposed and refined conditions intended to balance neighborhood concerns and the event's viability. Councilwoman Tashnik asked whether decibel meters could be used; the petitioner agreed to employ monitoring. Councilman McCullough moved to place the waiver on the regular agenda with the stipulation that the event use the same decibel limits applied to the Saint Mary's festival, that music be turned off by 11 p.m., and that police assist with monitoring. Council members additionally discussed a technical mitigation — instructing DJs to reduce bass output (described in the meeting as setting bass to zero on mixers after 11 p.m.) — to address low-frequency vibration complaints.

The motion to send the item to the March 9 regular meeting carried as a placement decision; council did not vote on the waiver itself at the study session. The petitioner and public speakers welcomed the compromise of allowing the festival to continue while imposing stricter, enforceable noise controls.

The council's action sets up a formal vote on March 9, when the council will consider the waiver language and any explicit enforcement measures. If approved, staff and police will have a role enforcing any decibel or equipment-based conditions the council adopts.