Neighbors' fight could spell end to longtime Sussex concerts

As Christian Hudson stood with his brother Jamin Wednesday in a field where tens of thousands of people have enjoyed concerts and special events over the years, all he could do was shake his head.

The third-generation Hudson cannot believe that newcomers might be able to dictate the kinds and number of events he says his family has been holding at their Hudson Fields since the 1950s.

That's the Hudson family's take on a debate that has been raging in Sussex County the past couple of months over proposed changes to a special events ordinance.

A concert series promoted by Alex Pires and Highway One and held at Hudson Fields this summer had neighbors across Route 1 and other developments concerned about the noise, prompting county officials to revisit the ordinance. 

Neighbors who have spoken up said they were surprised by how loud this summer's concerts have been and how many there were.

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This Friday's Christian Music Festival featuring For King and Country and Matt Maher scheduled for Friday night was canceled due to poor ticket sales.

Hudson said the proposed ordinance change means a lot of uncertainty for Hudson Fields and what kind of events can be held there in the future.

"At this point, it would be a miracle if we can put the concerts on for 2018," he said.

The first act for the 2017 concert series was Nashville-based country rockers Old Dominion, the reigning Academy of Country Music Awards New Group of the Year.

The venue hosted country artist Cole Swindell on June 22. A few days later on June 25, a double shot of reggae took the stage with Dirty Heads teaming up with SOJA, the Grammy-winning eight-piece featuring Seaford native Trevor Young as lead guitarist.

Fitz and the Tantrums brought a taste of Firefly a little farther south than its Dover home on July 20.

Hudson said about 4,000 people attended each of the three concerts without incident. He wondered if you can't hold concerts on land like Hudson Fields, where can you do it?

"It’s kind of absurd to me that people would complain about noise and traffic," he said. "We’ve done a noise study in the past and the airport has way more decibels than the concerts. The highway has a little fewer decibels than the concerts, but the highway is a constant. I don’t understand why the concerts fit in between them and it is suddenly a problem."

Howard Jones and Ronald Tipton live in the 57-home Covington Chase development across the Coastal Highway from Hudson Fields and they say the later concerts got louder and went longer than the first, with the noise being "unbearable" at times.

"We knew about the upcoming concerts, but when it started, it was like a shock," Jones said. "They didn’t really notify us about what was going on. It was like we are over here doing this and we don’t care what you say. Somebody should have told us they were going to have a concert and do sound checks and we’re going to find out how it affects the community."

Jones said one concert was OK, but the second one got louder and the third concert was the loudest. He said the concerts were advertised to end at 10 p.m., but that never was the case as the "traveling" music at the end of the show lasted 20 to 30 minutes and was sometimes just as loud as the concert itself.

While Tipton said he is a music lover, his beef with the Hudsons has to do with what he calls their sense of entitlement.

"Hasn’t Mr. Hudson looked around to see the number of communities that have grown here the past 20 years?" he said. "We have a right to have peace and quiet in our home. I wanted to move to a quiet neighborhood. That’s why I didn’t move to Dewey Beach."

Hudson said he recognizes that the area is growing, but doesn't understand how the property rights of nearby homeowners supersede his own just because they complain.

"I don’t think it’s fair for people to just move here and start dictating to us that we have to stop our businesses and we have to shut down," he said. "I feel like we have the right to continue to operate and they have the right to move in or not move in." 

Gail Elliott lives in nearby Overbrook Shores, which she says is about a mile from Hudson Fields as the crow flies. She couldn't believe how far the music carried.

She said she found out the concerts were going to happen a couple of weeks before the Old Dominion show, but she wasn't prepared for the noise. When she heard it, she called the police, Janelle Cornwell from Sussex County planning and zoning, DNREC and anybody who would listen. 

"It sounded like the concert was the next block over," she said. "With the air conditioner and the TV on, I felt the vibration and heard the noise. It's a retirement area and I don't think it is fair to have that level of noise." 

The ordinance

A key revision of the special events ordinance might lead to the Hudsons, or anyone, having no more than five special events on one parcel per year, according to Sussex County Administrator Todd Lawson.

The current code states that events not exceeding three days are not subject to the conditional use process.

Lawson said a key discussion would be about when a special event's size and frequency would require promoters to apply for a conditional-use application.

According to Sussex County planning and zoning, concert organizers followed the procedure to receive a special-events permit for each of the concerts.

Lawson said there will be two public hearings on the ordinance change in the coming months, but nothing has been added to the council agenda yet.

"We're still working on a recommendation for the council to consider," Lawson said. "We meet on the 19th and the 26th this month and I can hopefully get that on one of the agendas. If I can't push it along, it will be in October. We don't want this to linger."

In the meantime, the Hudsons will continue to book the popular Foodie Fests and other special events, as well as provide a venue for lacrosse and soccer for people throughout Sussex County while hoping for a favorable resolution by the county that would allow more than the five concerts to take place at Hudson Fields.

Hudson said allowing a maximum of five events would not be financially feasible for Hudson Fields over the long term and he and Jamin hope that in the future Hudson Fields can host 10 to 15 a year. 

"The naysayers are really forcing our hand," Hudson said. "If they force us to go through a rezoning, we'll be forced to ask for a lot more. It’s about $200,000 to apply for rezoning or a conditional use process. You have to have a whole lot of concerts to pay for $200,000 worth of legal bills and architectural and engineering fees."

In the end, Hudson said his family will continue to fight to hold the concerts so the promoters won't be forced to hold the shows outside the county, which would mean the loss of annual economic contributions to the state of $1.6 million for the concert venue, and a $170,000 annual economic impact for the athletic facilities and other on-site events, according to an economic impact study completed by the University of Delaware's Center for Applied Business & Economic Research

"We stand to lose a lot, but so does Sussex County," Hudson said. "I think it is really unfortunate that a handful of people are going to completely ruin this, and for completely selfish reasons."

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.