Dan Getman first appeared before the Rochester Planning Board, represented by Caleb Carr, on Feb. 2, with his plan to construct an education and conference center for a Biodanza school and other ritual dance gatherings. The center, which would be operated by New World Dance and called The Spirit Circle, initially faced concerns regarding historical preservation.

Its proposed location on Towpath Road is near areas of historical significance. At the Nov. 9 Planning Board meeting, however, the project faced new hurdles regarding parking, traffic and noise from potential outdoor events.

The center would be located near Deep Hole, an area with high pedestrian traffic and narrow roads. The parking lot would also need to be moved about 150 feet to meet zoning distance requirements, a change that is still being coordinated with the architect. Dave Church, the town planner, said he believed “the sight distance and visibility of the signage of the new drive from the road” was an issue.

Rick Jones, chair of the Planning Board, suggested recommending that the Highway Department install signs warning motorists about pedestrians walking along the road, especially during the summer months when Deep Hole is popular. Halina Duda, a board member, said painting a crosswalk “makes sense to me.”

Regarding the noise study, drumming may be part of the center’s activities, with a proposed limit of 10 p.m. Representatives said they had 12 drummers play while sound was measured at various distances. The overall sound pressure and power were then calculated. However, several board members wanted further clarification about the noise study and the potential for drumming events.

“If there’s no intention to do any drumming, then we’ll put in a decision: no drumming,” Jones said. “If you insist on there being drumming, then you got to prove that there’s no difference between one drum and 12 drums, and/or the drumming has to stop, the constant ‘boom, boom, boom’ of hitting the drum, there’s got to be a time limit to that kind of noise.”

Board member Jennifer Farmwald said she would “love to see us prohibit outdoor drumming,” instead limiting it to inside the center. According to Farmwald, “even if [the drumming] doesn’t exceed any decibel level, you can hear it everywhere.”

Duda and Farmwald both criticized the noise study as difficult to follow, saying it mixed sound pressure levels with sound power levels without clearly distinguishing between them.

Getman spoke during the meeting to clarify his intentions for the project.

“I do want you guys to understand that this is not a music venue, a rock venue, but this is central to my modality of being in the world,” Getman said. “What this is about is creating a place in the natural world where humans can come together, dance and be in music and connection with each other. And I know it's not everybody's sense of importance in the world. It is what I live for.”

Several Planning Board members, however, emphasized that the board must consider potential future owners of the property and the “worst-case scenario” for noise to protect the community, regardless of Getman’s intentions.

“I think it's important for you to realize that this is beyond you. This may be your dream, your modality, but in 10 years it could be somebody else who's there and we're stuck with it,” board member Peter Nelson said.

The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Dec. 14. The Spirit Circle will have to revise its project narrative to describe planned activities and how often they will occur, respond to traffic review comments, update the site plan to show the required parking lot relocation, revise the noise submission, and clarify plans for outdoor sound and drumming.