- The problem is jurisdictional.
(Maureen Cooke/for the Observer)
For nearly three years, residents of Sky View Acres, an unincorporated area of Bernalillo County, south of Corrales, have been trying to find a way of permanently reducing the noise coming from Salt Yard West, which markets itself as “an adult playground of beer, cocktails, tacos, burgers and so much more.”
Over the weekends, Salt Yard West frequently has live DJs and musical acts performing in its outdoor courtyard past midnight, and those acts tend to include a lot of bass, which can prevent residents from sleeping.
Sky View Acres resident Maggie Lightle said the bass is so loud, “you can feel [it].”
Other residents have complained that the bass actually shakes their windows.
However, it’s not only the inhabitants of Sky View Acres who are affected by the noise, so are Corrales residents living in the south end of the village, including Councilor Stuart Murray who has said the bass is so loud, “it will override the TV.”
Although Murray, along with Lightle and other Sky View Acres residents, have been trying to fix the problem for the past three years, success has been a bit out of reach.
The problem is jurisdictional.
Salt Yard West is in Albuquerque and subject to that city’s noise ordinances, while Sky View Acres is unincorporated Bernalillo County, and Corrales is an incorporated village, subject to its own noise ordinances.
As a result, even though Lightle and others have filed complaints with Albuquerque’s Environmental Health Department (EHD), and the agency has investigated the complaints and spoken with Salt Yard West owner Carri Phillis about them, there still has been no acceptable resolution.
Residents are frustrated, and they are concerned about Phillis’s possible plans to expand Salt Yard West, fearing the expansion will only increase the noise.
However, it is possible an expansion may address the noise issue as call reports between EHD and Phillis indicate the expansion would increase interior space in order to bring the DJs and musical acts indoors.
Phillis could not be reached for comment regarding the possible expansion.
