Increasing the acoustic insulation requirements for new inner city dwellings were among proposed changes to the city’s 2nd generation district plan that were released by the Dunedin City Council for public consultation last month.
It proposed amending the required acoustic insulation performance of bedrooms in new residential dwellings in the CBD, warehouse precinct and harbourside edge zones from a standard of 30dB to 35dB.
Save Dunedin Live Music (SDLM) spokesman David Bennett said the group welcomed the proposed change.
It was a "step in the correct direction" towards ensuring competing uses for the inner city could exist in harmony.
The change, if approved, would give the music community "a more robust protection system" and a better footing to mediate any potential issues that arose.
"It’s giving us a chance with new builds happening in the city to protect what we’ve got, but also to kind of carve out the ability for venues to open up in new areas, because the performance standards there are higher.
"We don’t just need to protect the venues we’ve got, we need to get more venues back in the city."
Increasing the performance standard in sleeping areas minimised the potential for people in inner city residential areas to be disturbed by live music, he said.
"Any increase in protection gives music venues a better chance of being able to perform their commercial activities without fear of noise control and shutdowns and other interference by the council."
In its submission, SDLM asked the council to consider requiring acoustic insulation to meet a design standard of 40dB in bedrooms, particularly in the harbourside edge zone, and suggested the requirements cover all habitable rooms.
Mr Bennett said 35dB brought Dunedin in line with most cities in the country and would put the city’s live music "on more even footing".
"Obviously, we’d love to see even more protection through that, but we understand that change was probably the most achievable at the current time."
A targeted approach in which some areas of the city would be raised to 40dB, coinciding with other changes such as the establishment of entertainment precincts, was something the group would love to see in the future.
Written submissions on the proposed changes closed this week.
