"I heard from the events team on Saturday about a completely different thing so it was strange on Sunday to not hear it from them but a security guard turned up. He said he had a number of complaints and I had to turn my speakers around and turn it down."
The security guard was "just doing his job", but Miller questioned whether he had the expertise to determine if the level of noise was reasonable or not. As a result, Miller questioned the validity of the abatement notice and had raised it with the council.
"I looked at it [the notice] and it said I should amend the noise to a reasonable level. I said 'what's a reasonable level?'. He [the security guard] couldn't answer that."
Miller was told the complaints were from residents living nearby but when he spoke with people at the event and businesses on Marine Parade, across the road, no one thought the noise was too loud.
"The complaints are unreasonable and if someone is being sent down there to detect whether it's excessive or not, they should be visiting the premise where the complaint came from," Miller said.
"Obviously the council is our partner and we are trying to work with them but, also, we want their process to be fair and reasonable."
It is not the first time a major beach volleyball event has been held at Mount Maunganui. The events draw plenty of spectators, which flow on to local business and boosts the local economy, Miller said.
It was the first time he had encountered any issue with noise levels disturbing people.
"We wouldn't want unreasonable noise there. We are not a music festival."
Miller said they had tried making the event more interactive with presenters, whose commentary could have triggered the complaints.
He was now concerned at what may happen during this weekend's final tournament, featuring national representatives Sam and Ben O'Dea before they leave New Zealand for Olympics training in the United States.
"It's just an unnecessary headache for the event. This week, if those people are wanting to make a point, they could start complaining on Saturday, not Sunday, and then if I got served again, it would massively affect the event."
Council general manager of regulatory and compliance Barbara Dempsey confirmed there had been five complaints but would not say who they came from.
An excessive noise direction notice was served, meaning the official warning effectively bans excessive noise for a maximum of 72 hours. If this was not adhered to, enforcement officers, potentially accompanied by police, could legally seize any speakers or equipment responsible for transmitting the noise.
Dempsey said the council did this and worked with people prior to penalising anyone "in the first instance".
"We try to work with the public in preventing excessive noise from occurring or recurring. An example of this occurred with this noise complaint, the noise control officer suggested to the event organiser an opportunity to make changes to their amplification system prior to re-visiting them and serving them with an excessive noise direction."
Noise limits that apply to temporary activities such as the beach volleyball tournament at the Mount Main Beach mean activity should not exceed 70dBA Leq and 75dBA Lmax.
As an example, 70-75dBA sounds similar to noise levels produced by radio, television audio or a vacuum cleaner.
The Resource Management Act also sets a subjective noise limit for excessive noise, which is what is assessed by the council's noise control service. It defines excessive noise as any noise that is under human control and of such a nature as to unreasonably interfere with the peace, comfort, and convenience of any person, other than a person at the place from which the noise is being emitted.
Miller has drawn support online, with people saying on Facebook they attended the event or cafes nearby and did not think it was too loud.
Alba De la Cerda said she owned cafe Three One One Six, at the base of the towers on Marine Parade and did not think the noise was loud, rather she "highly supported" the event.
"I really hope these events keep happening."
