Faculty Club Too Noisy, Neighbors Say

The Harvard Faculty Club is keeping the Hubers up at night with its excessive noise.

Horst W. and Louise G. Fitzgerald Huber of 20 Prescott St. told the Cambridge License Commission last night that they "can't think straight" during the day and said they have to sleep with earplugs during the night because of the club's excessive rooftop noise.

The rooftop machinery atop the club, which is located at 20 Quincy St., includes air conditioning, exhaust fans and ventilation units that directly face the Hubers' five-and-a-half story building.

The machines have exceeded 50 decibels after 6 p.m. on two occasions, violating the city's noise ordinance, a License Commission investigator found.

In addition, the Hubers complain of loud noises from the garbage-disposal unit, delivery trucks to the Faculty Club before 7 a.m., loud music from evening functions and an unpleasant smell emanating from the vent discharge system.

Noise from these activities disrupts the couple's daily life, Mrs. Huber told the commission.

Sounds from the rooftop machines permeate their bedroom 24 hours a day, while noise from Faculty Club evening functions render their living room unusable, she added.

Furthermore, Mrs. Huber said that clouds of smoke frequently billow down the block.

She described an incident when two residents on her street thought the Faculty Club was on fire because the smoke emanating from the building was so thick.

Mrs. Huber said the smoke affects her eyes even indoors and prevents her from being able to open her windows at any time.

The disturbances have occurred on and off since 1993, and no satisfactory solutions have ever been reached, she said.

"Mr. Lutjens has greeted it all with great consideration, but there has been no improvement whatsoever," she said, referring to her dealings with Faculty Club general manager Heinrich A. Lutjens.

A Quincy Street couple describes a battle between 'David and Goliath.'

The acts not only bother nearby residents, they also violate city ordinances, License Commission investigator Henderson T. Headley wrote in a Jan. 31 statement.

Cambridge law prohibits deliveries before 7 a.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. on weekends. Party noises beyond 50 feet from their origin after 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends also are forbidden.

Tanya Iatridis, director of project approvals for Harvard Planning and Real Estate, presented a point-by-point rebuttal of the Hubers' charges at the meeting.

Iatridis said the University has hired acoustical engineer Robert S. Berens of Acentech Inc. to investigate the rooftop complaints.

Berens recommended redirecting the ventilation exhaust in a vertical direction, replacing the kitchen and dishwasher exhaust fans with quieter models and building one-foot-high barriers to surround and muffle fan noise.

These changes should be completed within the next few weeks, he said last night.

Lutjens said that turning the fans off completely at night after a certain time, as the Hubers had requested, is impossible, because the club's pastry staff needs to work all hours of the night to complete the club's many orders.

Events involving music have also been moved from the club's North and East dining rooms to rooms not directly facing the Huber's residence, Lutjens said.

Iatridis said that all employees and vendors had been informed of proper hours for garbage disposal operation and Faculty Club deliveries and were aware of the consequences for violation.

However, Iatridis insisted that none of the club's staff has been able to detect the unpleasant aroma cited by the Hubers.

The University promises to reroute exhaust, replace fans and erect sound mufflers.

Mrs. Huber had styled her battle as one between "David and Goliath."

Benjamin C. Barnes, chair of the License Commission, told her that David had won.

The commission will hold a follow-up hearing on April 24.

Barnes instructed both sides to meet informally before that time to iron out remaining issues

The disturbances have occurred on and off since 1993, and no satisfactory solutions have ever been reached, she said.

"Mr. Lutjens has greeted it all with great consideration, but there has been no improvement whatsoever," she said, referring to her dealings with Faculty Club general manager Heinrich A. Lutjens.

A Quincy Street couple describes a battle between 'David and Goliath.'

The acts not only bother nearby residents, they also violate city ordinances, License Commission investigator Henderson T. Headley wrote in a Jan. 31 statement.

Cambridge law prohibits deliveries before 7 a.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. on weekends. Party noises beyond 50 feet from their origin after 11 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends also are forbidden.

Tanya Iatridis, director of project approvals for Harvard Planning and Real Estate, presented a point-by-point rebuttal of the Hubers' charges at the meeting.

Iatridis said the University has hired acoustical engineer Robert S. Berens of Acentech Inc. to investigate the rooftop complaints.

Berens recommended redirecting the ventilation exhaust in a vertical direction, replacing the kitchen and dishwasher exhaust fans with quieter models and building one-foot-high barriers to surround and muffle fan noise.

These changes should be completed within the next few weeks, he said last night.

Lutjens said that turning the fans off completely at night after a certain time, as the Hubers had requested, is impossible, because the club's pastry staff needs to work all hours of the night to complete the club's many orders.

Events involving music have also been moved from the club's North and East dining rooms to rooms not directly facing the Huber's residence, Lutjens said.

Iatridis said that all employees and vendors had been informed of proper hours for garbage disposal operation and Faculty Club deliveries and were aware of the consequences for violation.

However, Iatridis insisted that none of the club's staff has been able to detect the unpleasant aroma cited by the Hubers.

The University promises to reroute exhaust, replace fans and erect sound mufflers.

Mrs. Huber had styled her battle as one between "David and Goliath."

Benjamin C. Barnes, chair of the License Commission, told her that David had won.

The commission will hold a follow-up hearing on April 24.

Barnes instructed both sides to meet informally before that time to iron out remaining issues