| The Palo Alto History Project |
| Those Noisy Neighbors 321 S. California Avenue |
| 2006 |
| Antonio's Nut House and Palo Alto's Noise Controversies All local politicians probably spend more time than they would wish listening to noise complaints. When looking back at the history of a city like Palo Alto, it’s hard to overestimate the amount of government time devoted to discussing noise-related issues. And of course, city lawmakers can never win --- because bar owners, elderly homeowners, leaf-blower users, and mothers of sleeping babies all have very different ideas of what is loud. As Palo Alto has moved headlong into the 21st Century, there have been increasing disagreements over noise. Some residents who still remember Palo Alto’s days as a sleepy town surrounded by farms and apricot groves have been slow to accept the realities of urban noise. For some old-schoolers, newfangled inventions like jet airliners and rock n’ roll music seem to be at the heart of the debate. Other proponents of noise reduction seem to have more reasonable claims. Behind all this noisy complaining about noise, the question remains, what type of city does Palo Alto want to be? Leaf blowers have been in the headlines since 1972. For years, many Palo Altans wanted them banned altogether, complaining that the high-decibel leaf blowers were a constant neighborhood headache. The issue has been charged with more than just noise pollution, however. Some felt that racism against the users of the blowers --- mostly Latino yard-workers --- was a hidden component in the debate. Many workers, with little ones in tow, have frequented City Council meetings to say that their jobs and thereby, families, would be threatened by a ban. In 2005, the Council played Solomon, banning all gas-powered leaf blowers, but shying away from amendments to ban electric ones as well. Other Palo Alto noise complaints seemed unlikely to lead to any actual changes in behavior or laws. For instance, Palo Alto representatives were rejected by an airport round table of nearby cities that met to discuss the noise jet airliners made on their final descent into SFO. One Palo Alto woman wrote to the Weekly that SFO jets woke her up 46 separate times one day when she was sick in bed. But other cities have basically rolled their eyes at such complaints. Similarly, Palo Alto has proved largely powerless in a continual campaign to quiet down the rock bands playing Saturday nights at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre. Since 1985 when Shoreline was built, there have been so many complaints from South Palo Alto residents that the City Council was pushed to officially purchased noise monitoring equipment. The issue has not exactly helped to Palo Alto-Mountain View relations. When Palo Alto asked Mountain View to pass an ordinance fining Shoreline whenever concert noise exceeds 98 decibels, the Mountain View City Council voted 7-0 to reject it. Undeterred, the Palo Alto Police Department set up a special website for their residents to register noise complaints online. These cyber-complaints are then passed on to the Mountain View City Council to…er...be taken under consideration. As to how much time Mountain View sets aside for such consideration, is anybody’s guess. And then there have been the continual battles over bars and clubs, especially near California Avenue --- the host for such late-night bars as Antonio’s Nut House, as well as residential dwellings like the Birch Court condominiums. These not so chummy neighbors have had a decade-long dispute regarding the staggering bar revelers exiting the Nut House circa two in the morning and the condo sleepers disturbed in the middle of their REM. The Council has tried to mediate --- requiring the Nut House to post signs warning exiting customers about the noise, setting up a complaint line for nearby residents, even considering limiting Nut House hours. Still Antonio’s, a distinctive and popular bar, is a Palo Alto icon of sorts and the Council has been hesitant to restrict their business in any meaningful way. In 1998, the PAPD even earmarked nearly $38,000 to pay for a noise consultant to deal with noise issues that ranged from the infamous leaf blower to train whistles, loud vehicles, church bells and generators. But perhaps there is no balance to be had on this issue. Palo Alto has a thriving nightlife scene, is home to a university, and maintains a young, urban, white-collar population. It is also a quiet residential town that could be described as “sleepy,” just two decades ago. All of these folks are jumbled close together in a city with tiny backyards and mixed zoning. It seems probable that City Council members will be hearing noise complaints for some years to come. -Matt Bowling |
| The parking lot of Antonio's Nut House with the oft-irritated Birch Court condos behind it |
| A sampling of some of the bands that disturb Palo Altans' sleep |
| Antonio's distinctive inside look |
| Antonio's has its own pet gorilla. Perhaps he's responsible for all that noise? |
| The mural on the side wall of Antonio's. The owner put up half the money to pay for it, the city out up the other half |
| The map below shows the California Avenue shopping district |
| The ill-regarded leaf blower |
| Mountain View's noisy outside concert venue |
| The Shoreline Ampitheatre can be heard and seen from far away |
| Jets landing at SFO, another source of Palo Alto complaints |
| The Nut House entrance with its warning to beware of "pickpockets and loose women" |
| Palo Alto: Then & Now |
| 2007 |
1946 |
| 321 California Avenue in 1946 when it was still a Safeway grocery store. 1940s-era cars are parked out front and in the side parking lot. |
| The scene has changed a great deal in sixty plus years. The Safeway building has come down and is now the site of Antonio's Nut House. A decorative mural adorns the side of the building and "Jungle Jane," a 9 foot tall piece of artwork by Santa Cruz artist Fred Hunnicutt sits on the median strip. |
| Sources: Palo Alto Historical Association, Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Times |