Nolse Ordinance Violation Complaint Form Asheville Police Department Administrative Services Division PO Box 7148, Asheville, NC 28802 Name of the Alleged Defendant Name: Mission Hospital (Owner/Operator) Address: 509 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville NC (Where noise violation Is occurring or address of alleged violator) Vehicle Information (if applicable): N/A, (Year, make, model, license plate, applicable) Have you contacted alleged violator and attempted to resolve problem (| so, when)? ‘Yes, plaase seo attached letter and history of violations. Is this the first time you have registered a complaint against this individual (if the answer is no, please list the other times you complained)? Date of Violation: Atl $0, 2017 ‘Time of Violation: Describe the noise violation (use additional paper if necessary): SC TACGHEDS. Form ata ‘Apt 2018| verity that the information given on page 1 is the true and correct to the best of my knowledge. rome trolly 218 Complainant #1 (Signature) hie - thee Print Name: 4, PM aA Leche, Wl A823 Phone Number: 9AG-AID-LSL Complainant #2 (Signature) Print Name: iG E. raaess: 3 SHeERwood Ry. KYL 28803 oronarameer An - 4H A— FNS “This complaint form must be completed by two or more individuals who we at two separate AMgreseee. A hearing of this complain shall occur within 15 days of receipt but may be extended by order of the Board. You willbe notified of the date, time and location fo the hearing of tis cumplaint. You must appear before the board to present your side. It's your responsiolity fo ‘contact any witnesses that are wiling to speak on your behalf. Original: Noise Ordinance File Copy two: Complainant Form a4 oa 2015,| verify that the information given on page 1 is the true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Thisthe____day of Complainant #1 (Signature) ~ y N” Cugatlia Stiphens- aaa Ciadye Styokeus eg. Shewood kd Apap lle NC 28803 Pronetmbe 9 337-264 Complainant #2 ede Vouk LxKrnren Pantame: Sareh Bennet Address: Aa Kesenav Loo feperilie, WC_ 29322 Pronetumbers oe 2-88 38 This complaint form must be completed by two or more individuals who live at two separate addresses. A hearing of this complaint shall acour within 15 days of receipt but may be extended by order of the Board. You will be notified of the date, time and location for the hearing of this complaint. You must appear before the board to present your side. It's your responsiblity to contact any witnesses that are willng to speak on your behalf Original: Noise Ordinance File Copy two: Complainant Form 18 ‘pi 2015| verify that the information given on page 1 is the true and correct to the best of my knowledge. This the day of Complainant #1 (Signature) | » its: Argh Print Name: ienanetesyet ere cet a Snadec o Lo Arden Reb. eur’ Ue ce OF. Phone Number: (GSR) 236-PHF Complainant #2 stone) 9 AY PN erie Hie fle Address: (Rennie be) AL ye re > Phone Numbers ae This complaint form must be completed by two or more individuals who live at two separate ‘addresses. A hearing of this complaint shall occur within 15 days of receipt but may be extended by order of the Board. You will be notified ofthe date, time and location for the heating ofthis complaint. You must appear before the board to present your side. It is your responsibilty to Contact any witnesses that are willing to speak on your behalt Original: Noise Ordinance File Copy two: Complainant Form Ata pa 2015Background Information Attached please find background information on the well-documented human health effects of noise pollution, Also attached is a brief summary of a nearly two-year sustained effort by Kenilworth neighborhood representatives to negotiate noise reduction levels with Mission Hospital, including through a joint neighborhood-hospital committee established to determine abatement strategies. Health Impact of Noise Pollution Although noise pollution is invisible, its negative impact is very real. In the U.S.. the public health impact of noise pollution was identified as early as the 1960°s, and the federal government enacted legislation in the 1970"s (Noise Control Act of 1972 and the 1978 Quiet Communities Act) to call attention to the importance of noise reduction, There is sufficient s idence from much research that there are risks to health from noise exposure including: heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, hearing, loss, tinnitus, and poor sleep with associated mood disturbance the following day. The World Health Organization (WHO), the Occupational safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Nursing along with many other professional organizations have issued official statements and lengthy reports highlighting how noise pollution detracts from our overall health and quality of life. The WHO and OSHA have set precise decibel limits on acceptable levels of noise emissions. Mission and Kenilworth A long-established neighborhood of Asheville, many of the homes in Kenilworth date to the carly the 20" century when there were no proximate sources of noise pollution from industrial and commercial sources. In recent decades, Mission Healthcare has constructed numerous facilities bordering on Kenilworth, some within less than seventy feet of Kenilworth homes. Noise emissions currently generated by Mission’s facilities and its mechanical plants are creating, ‘an unhealthy environment and are the source of multiple complaints and years of acrimony between Kenilworth residents and the hospital. Moreover, because noise pollution from Mission facilities is unevenly distributed across our neighborhood landscape, those living closer to noise sources are more highly affected, also making Mission’s noise emissions an issue of environmental justice. In late summer 2016, construct n began on the new Mission Hospital Tower, subjecting Kenilworth residents to an additional, albeit temporary over the period of construction, source of noise em Further alarmed by the prospect of even higher levels of continuous mechanical noise after completion of the Mission Tower, Kenilworth residents were compelled, on an urgent basis, to seek relief from the harmful, increasingly intolerable noise pollution to which we are continually subjected by Mission facilities. A year of informal ions with Mission representatives did not lead to Mission's undertaking of any serious noise abatement measures. Although we were aware that the City of Asheville’s noise ordinance is woefully outdated and iously inadequate to address noise pollution from commercial and industrial sources, filing a legal noise complaint was our only recourse. After filing a complaint in September 2017, Mission informed us that informal discussions were no longer possible. In November 2017, wedropped the legal noise complaint after accepting an overture from Mission's leadership for a formal joint committee to develop strategies for noise reduction through Mission's process improvement program The joint committee has met every two weeks from January through April 2018. We note that Mission commissioned a local consultant to measure hospital noise emissions and has refused to share the results of the study with us. Although Mission has repaired two noise-emitting deferred maintenance items and increased insulation at an existing sound wall, the net effect has not altered the intensity of noise in the neighborhood. Moreover, in May, Mission postponed our joint committee meetings before accomplishing mutually set goals by July 1, 2018. We are frustrated by Mission’s resistance to commit to a permanent solution to this problem and perplexed, given the technical simplicity of installing noise abatement measures to block noise at the source, We have credible reason to believe that, rather than undertake serious efforts to reduce its noise emissions, Mission is running out the clock, waiting for the sale to be finalized and for HCA to inherit the problem.Kenilworth Residents Association Mission Hospital Committee on Noise July 4, 2018 ‘The Honorable Josh Stein Attorney General for the State of North Carolina Department of Justice 9001 Mail Service Ci Raleigh, NC 27699 ter Re: Regulatory Issue for HCA acq sion Healtheare in Asheville NC Dear Attorney General Stein: We are writing on behalf of Kenilworth Neighborhood residents requesting that the State of North Carolina’s regulatory approval for the proposed sale of Mission Healthcare to HCA be contingent on a commitment from Mission to reduce the high levels of noise pollution currently emitting from its mechanical plants and facilities. Noise pollution from Mission Healthcare facilities is causing harm to Kenilworth residents and poses an existential threat to the neighborhood's wellbeing. As an identified US EPA environmental toxin subject to abatement, Mission’s noise is damaging our present and long- term health, prohibiting us from enjoying our outdoor spaces, and depressing the value of our residential properties. Over one hundred Kenilworth residents have signed a petition asking for the abatement of noise from hospital mechanical systems, and the neighborhood has attempted for over a year and a half to negotiate in good faith with Mission for relief. Neighborhood representatives initially alerted Mission in fall of 2016 to the threat of increased noise with the new 12-story hospital tower and, because of Mission’s lack of response, filed a Iegal complaint for current noise levels in early fall 2017. In late fall 2017, Mission invited neighborhood representatives to join in formal negotiations to determine noise reduction targets and strategies. Mission insisted that we first dismiss our noise complaint as a condition of negotiation. During seven months of bi-monthly meetings, the negotiations have yielded litte in the way of hospital action or noise abatement, and we believe by design. We have eredible reason to believe Mission Hospital has engaged the neighborhood in a disingenuous process to offer relief, while buying time to avoid negative media coverage, negotiate with HCA and sell the hospital before committing to noise abatement. As part of this delay strategy, they have withheld information vital to the committee’s work. Afler our legal noise complaint was filed, Mission commissioned a professional sound study of its faci ns that they have repeatedly cited in refuting responsibility for noise emissions while refusing to share findings with us that would allow a level playing field for equal evaluation of the problem. What we have learned of the report through Mission's presentations exposes a deeply flawed study with respect to public health methodologies for determining threatening neighborhood noise levelsPage 2, continued. Our neighborhood wishes Mission and/or HCA success in improving health care for Western North Carolinians. However, we believe Mission hospital has a fundamental responsibility to safeguard the health and wellbeing of neighbors who live and work in proximity to its facilities. ‘We also believe Mission Hospital does not own the right to indiscriminately pollute our neighborhood and walk away from the problem, having henefited from contributions from the public and exemption from taxation, Mission has created a public health problem and has an obligation to physically address the problem before selling, We are struck by the irony that the sale of Mission Healthcare to HCA will create a charitable foundation that might deliver $50-$100 million per year for health and wellness initiatives in ‘Western North Carolina, We are dismayed that Mission Hospital will not allocate the relatively small amount of funds required to abate pollution from their facilities that is, causing harm to our neighborhood. It is unjust and unfair. We trust that the State of North Carolina will give due and thorough consideration to our urgent and very serious concerns within the regulatory review and approval process for the proposed sale, Respectfully submitted, Sarah Anne Bennett, Reb Haizlip, Mark Mickey, Claudia Ni onthia Stephens Martha Salyers, Julie Snyder and Mission Hospital Committee on Noise, Kenilworth Residents Association Ce: City of Asheville Mayor and City Council Attachments: (1) Background Information on Health Impact of Noise Pollution, Kenilworth and Mi