SOUTH DEERFIELD — As Tree House Brewing Co.’s concert season comes to a close next week, the town is preparing to work with the company to plan for 2025 as noise complaints to Town Hall have seen an increase.

Several residents appeared before the Deerfield Selectboard Wednesday evening to share their experience with concert noise emanating from the brewery, as they requested Deerfield look into mitigation strategies for next year’s lineup at the popular venue, which is permitted to host crowds of up to 1,500 people.

“I love Tree House, I want to go on the record saying it, but we’ve got to have a balance. … The noise is crazy,” said Captain Lathrop Drive resident Monique Gagnon. “I’m here to see what the town is doing and I’m just interested to see if there’s going to be any changes.”

The brewery began hosting outdoor concerts in 2023 and saw few, if any, official complaints that season, although some residents took to Deerfield Now, the community’s unofficial Facebook group, to voice concerns over noise. Social media complaints picked up at the end of August and in September, as weeknight concerts began to overlap with school nights.

When Tree House received special permit approval to host concerts in 2021, the Zoning Board of Appeals required all concerts cease operation by 10:30 p.m., although Selectboard Chair Tim Hilchey said there seems to be confusion when it comes to permits and town officials’ understanding of the brewery’s limits.

“I was always under the understanding it was 10 p.m., but there’s a ZBA special permit that has 10:30. These things all need to be clarified for the Selectboard, so we know what our legal footing is,” Hilchey said. “The intent is to come up with an action plan and then work with Tree House management to address when they schedule the concerts and what volumes are they actually allowed [to have].”

He said the town will reach out to town counsel to get clarity on permits and bylaws before taking further action.

Hilchey also mentioned getting data regarding decibel levels around town when concerts are happening. When the company received its permit, attorney Mark Borenstein said the maximum decibel level was 90 decibels. In December 2023, Tree House Regulatory Specialist Allison Masley emphasized the brewery “never exceeded” the 90-decibel limit in response to a resident’s concern about noise.

Tree House has worked closely with Deerfield over the last several years in regard to obtaining permits and recent efforts to expand its capacity to 5,000 patrons, as well as hosting its annual half-marathon. The brewery is currently working with public safety officials to create an emergency action plan to handle larger crowds.

Increased capacity, Masley said previously, does not equal increased noise, but, she added, it could mean increased economic impact to the community and region.

Fellow Selectboard member Blake Gilmore noted he and other town officials have traveled around town on several evenings when concerts were held and sometimes couldn’t hear a thing, but other nights found it was quite loud.

“The nights we could, you could hear it plain as day,” Gilmore said. “When we started looking into it, there’s different bylaws and other parts of the equation that are conflicting. I think we need to get through those and straighten them out before we make a decision on this.”

Additionally, Gilmore and Hilchey said the Selectboard is likely going to host a public hearing later this fall, probably in November, to invite community members to share ideas and concerns.

In the meantime, two concerts remain on Tree House’s schedule, with Cat Power performing on Sept. 10, and Band of Horses and City and Colour to take the stage on Sept. 12.

“We have some good options, but we just need to be methodical about the approach,” Hilchey said. “I’m sorry it’s not going to immediately solve the problem for the next [two] concerts. … I know everyone will be sleeping better on the 13th.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.