To: Keith Leonard kleonard@tualatin.gov
To: Planning Department planning@tualatin.gov
Cc: City Council council@tualatin.gov
Cc: STR Outreach outreach@tualatinroad.org
Subject: Lam Noise Impacts
To: Planning Department planning@tualatin.gov
Cc: City Council council@tualatin.gov
Cc: STR Outreach outreach@tualatinroad.org
Subject: Lam Noise Impacts
Dear Tualatin Architectural Review Board,
Thank you for your dedication and service to the community, and for your work to protect our quality of life. While development and corporate activities are essential to the vitality of our city, residential land uses must also be protected, both from an economic standpoint (property values) and from a quality of life standpoint (mental and physical health). In keeping with this mission, we are asking for your help in resolving Lam's noise pollution problem.
Multiple noise signatures have been identified emanating from Lam's campus, including clear tones that pulse, two-toned harmonics, and a low rumble that sounds like an old bomber airplane. The most distinctive sound is the high-frequency hiss from Lam’s gas plant, clearly audible across Tualatin Road most nights.
We have brought this issue to the attention of the City Council, Police Department, Code Enforcement, Riverpark CIO, and Lam. Despite repeated requests for a solution, no meaningful changes have been made. When Tualatin's police officers have driven onto the Lam campus to investigate noise complaints, they have been chased down by Lam’s security guards and asked to leave.
The Tualatin Noise Ordinance (1361-13) sets a city-wide limit of 50dB at night for residential areas, and the Tualatin Development Code (62.100) places even stricter limits on Manufacturing Park (MP) zoning, stating that “Such permitted uses must not cause objectionable noise”. A noise study performed earlier this year at night by a licensed acoustical engineer measured noise levels of 52dB at a private residence across the street from Lam's gas plant. Therefore, Lam's offsite noise impacts are in violation of both the Tualatin Development Code and the Tualatin Municipal Code.
Lam's noise pollution problem is not caused by daytime construction, backup beepers, or truck horns, but rather, by permanently-installed equipment that is part of Lam's physical plant. This equipment runs 24/7 and generates sound continuously. The sounds are most noticeable at night when background noise is low, and the location of sound impacts can vary depending on atmospheric conditions, especially temperature and wind direction. During southerly winds, Lam's noise signature can be heard more than a mile away.
Manufacturing Park (MP) zoning serves as a buffer between heavy industry and residential areas. MP zoning calls for “limiting uses to those that are of a nature so as to not conflict with other industrial uses or surrounding residential areas.” (TDC 62.100) Please consider this letter as evidence that Lam's operations are, in fact, currently conflicting with surrounding residential areas.
In order to bring Lam's facility into compliance with the Tualatin Code, I request that Lam's off-site noise impacts be eliminated as part of the TUX project. It is absolutely critical to our quality of life that peace and quiet be restored to our neighborhoods. We ask the City of Tualatin to require Lam to prove their ability to eliminate offsite noise before approving the addition of any new noise sources on campus.
Thank you for your consideration.
Thank you for your dedication and service to the community, and for your work to protect our quality of life. While development and corporate activities are essential to the vitality of our city, residential land uses must also be protected, both from an economic standpoint (property values) and from a quality of life standpoint (mental and physical health). In keeping with this mission, we are asking for your help in resolving Lam's noise pollution problem.
Multiple noise signatures have been identified emanating from Lam's campus, including clear tones that pulse, two-toned harmonics, and a low rumble that sounds like an old bomber airplane. The most distinctive sound is the high-frequency hiss from Lam’s gas plant, clearly audible across Tualatin Road most nights.
We have brought this issue to the attention of the City Council, Police Department, Code Enforcement, Riverpark CIO, and Lam. Despite repeated requests for a solution, no meaningful changes have been made. When Tualatin's police officers have driven onto the Lam campus to investigate noise complaints, they have been chased down by Lam’s security guards and asked to leave.
The Tualatin Noise Ordinance (1361-13) sets a city-wide limit of 50dB at night for residential areas, and the Tualatin Development Code (62.100) places even stricter limits on Manufacturing Park (MP) zoning, stating that “Such permitted uses must not cause objectionable noise”. A noise study performed earlier this year at night by a licensed acoustical engineer measured noise levels of 52dB at a private residence across the street from Lam's gas plant. Therefore, Lam's offsite noise impacts are in violation of both the Tualatin Development Code and the Tualatin Municipal Code.
Lam's noise pollution problem is not caused by daytime construction, backup beepers, or truck horns, but rather, by permanently-installed equipment that is part of Lam's physical plant. This equipment runs 24/7 and generates sound continuously. The sounds are most noticeable at night when background noise is low, and the location of sound impacts can vary depending on atmospheric conditions, especially temperature and wind direction. During southerly winds, Lam's noise signature can be heard more than a mile away.
Manufacturing Park (MP) zoning serves as a buffer between heavy industry and residential areas. MP zoning calls for “limiting uses to those that are of a nature so as to not conflict with other industrial uses or surrounding residential areas.” (TDC 62.100) Please consider this letter as evidence that Lam's operations are, in fact, currently conflicting with surrounding residential areas.
In order to bring Lam's facility into compliance with the Tualatin Code, I request that Lam's off-site noise impacts be eliminated as part of the TUX project. It is absolutely critical to our quality of life that peace and quiet be restored to our neighborhoods. We ask the City of Tualatin to require Lam to prove their ability to eliminate offsite noise before approving the addition of any new noise sources on campus.
Thank you for your consideration.