Cedar Park, Law Enforcement
by David Flash

89 noise complaints: Haute Spot takes top spot for complaints in Cedar Park

According to Cedar Park Police Department, Haute Spot, an event venue located at 1501 East New Hope Drive has been the subject of 89 noise complaints in the past year, the period from November 9, 2019 through November 8, 2020. When asked if any other businesses have precipitated more complaints than Haute Spot, Cedar Park Police public information officer Alicia Inns confirmed “it is accurate to say it had the most noise complaints over the last year.”

In recent months, two weekend events at the The Haute Spot in Cedar Park resulted in 36 noise complaint calls to the Cedar Park Police Department. While Tom Spano, Haute Spot’s CEO, issued a statement disavowing responsibility for the events and minimizing the extent of the complaints to “a few neighbors” negatively impacted, more than a few neighbors are bothered by the booming bass pervading their homes.

Many of the noise complaints received by Cedar Park Police stem from Haute Spot’s use of a large, unimproved field. The stage is pointed northwest, toward residential areas in Cedar Park’s extra-territorial jurisdiction rather than toward the commercial properties south of the “festival field.”

In addition to dozens of calls to police, many neighbors take to social media platforms like Nextdoor and Facebook to voice their concerns. In the words of one neighbor to the venue, Nextdoor “lights up” whenever they have an event. This comment on Facebook, in response to a story cataloging several social media complaints a recent Haute Spot event drew is exemplary of neighbors’ concerns:

“Some people don’t understand how loud it truly is. I love music and I 100% want people to have jobs during this time… The bass literally shakes our whole house. Our windows and doors were shaking last night. I could hear it word for word inside with my child’s sound machine on. So trying to put kids to sleep is a nightmare. They honestly just need to turn it down a tad. We shouldn’t have to hear it inside our houses.”

While Haute Spot’s CEO Tom Spano has disavowed involvement with the recent events precipitating complaints, event organizer Trey Edwards uses the pronoun “we” when promoting the venue to organizers of events other than his own who may be looking for a venue: “We are one of the premiere live music venues in the region.”
Trey Edwards, who has posted on Facebook promoting Haute Spot using the pronoun “we,” as in “we have a scalable 500-5000 capacity indoor/outdoor event venue in Cedar Park,” is listed as the applicant on the permit for the recent series of events held at the venue. The recent events organized by Edwards have resulted in at least 36 noise complaints.