The third annual Crozet Music Festival slated for Oct. 2-4 will go on as planned after the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors issued a special use permit for the Misty Mountain Camp Resort venue at their meeting Sept 9. Supervisors even volunteered an overflow parking approval that will allow parking across Rt. 250 from the festival so long as a bus shuttles festival goers back and forth.
Misty Mountain owner Mike Leo said the authorization was not likely to be needed. The permit limits the event to selling 500 tickets per day and parking 224 cars. Leo said the parking area near the stage would accommodate that number, but he and festival organizer Bill Rossberg appreciated the gesture of support.
“Last year went off without a hitch, no complaints, no law enforcement issues,” Leo assured the board. “The gentleman from the ABC said it was very well run. It’s designed for the local community. Eighty percent of the bands are local and local breweries and wineries are participating. On any given weekend, we handle 400-600 people without incident.” He said parking five RVs at a time gives him more trouble than the festival traffic will.
County staffers required a permit for this year’s show, but not last year’s in the same location. The permit is for two years, 2009 and 2010 and confines the festival to an area north of Stockton Creek and along the resort’s west boundary. County zoning official Ron Higgins told the board, “The idea is to approve it for two years and then experiment to see how to manage it.”
Supervisors raised questions about noise. The permit requires the sound produced by the festival to be no louder than 65 decibels at any adjoining property line. Higgins said the county would take baseline measurements before the event and monitor the performances.
“We’d like to stay under the limit,” Rossberg said. “This is not a Woodstock or a Foxfield. We can adjust the sound somewhat.” The portable stage, a specially designed trailer, will sit near the west end of the field and sound will be directed east toward the camp sites. There are no residences within 1,000 feet of the location.
The permit attaches to the land itself and is not awarded to the owner of the property personally or to the Crozet Music Festival.
