Statehouse proposal would allow cities to issue noise permits for properties like the Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs

A bill introduced in the Colorado legislature would change state noise regulations by giving more authority to cities and counties to offer exemptions. Disgruntled neighbors of the Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs call it an “end-run” around their lawsuit against the venue regarding violations of the state rules.

Colorado’s Noise Abatement Act currently lists statewide noise limits for residential areas, with exemptions provided in limited circumstances. Senate Bill 98 was introduced earlier this month by Sen. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, Sen. Matt Ball, D-Denver and Rep. Gretchen Rydin, D-Littleton. It expands the exemptions allowed under the law, specifically adding a provision that would allow local governments to issue permits to properties regarding sound levels.

Those local permits “may be more or less restrictive” than the state’s standard noise rules, according to the proposed legislation. The change would put authority for regulating noise more squarely to cities and counties than current regulations. 

“If enacted, this bill would give Big Entertainment what they want: locally granted blank checks for noise pollution — with no statewide protection to stop it,” said a release from Ford Hurts Families, a local watchdog group opposed to the amphitheater.

A hearing on the bill in the Senate Local Government and Housing Committee is scheduled for March 12.

The proposal comes after a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court last September. The court found the city of Salida had improperly issued a permit exempting a local bar from noise limits. 

In January, a group of residents living near the Ford Amphitheater sued the owners of the venue, using the Salida case to assert a noise hardship permit issued by Colorado Springs for the 2025 concert season at Ford to be invalid. The lawsuit further alleges neighborhoods near the amphitheater have regularly suffered noise pollution well in excess of state regulations since it opened in the summer of 2024. 

Conflict between neighbors and the amphitheater started before its first show. A lawsuit from residents over noise concerns was dismissed in January 2024. Headlines about the noise then dogged the amphitheater’s first season, and a town hall meeting in December 2024 packed with angry residents eventually led to a signed agreement to spend $3 million on additional sound mitigation measures. 

Along the way, VENU, the company behind the amphitheater, has touted the facility as a major economic driver for the region, as well as a template for bringing similar venues to mid-sized cities around the country. Earlier this month, Ford Amphitheater was named one of Billboard Magazine’s top music venues for 2026, ranked as the “Top West Coast Amphitheater.”

Colorado Springs officials said the city does not “have a statement on the legislation at this time.” The city has not yet issued a noise hardship permit to the amphitheater for its 2026 concert season.