It took close to 90 minutes for Pinehills residents and the management of the Rye Tavern to tell their story to the Board of Selectmen at last Tuesday night’s public hearing and about 10 seconds for Selectman Shelagh Joyce to sum it up.

PLYMOUTH – It took close to 90 minutes for Pinehills residents and the management of the Rye Tavern to tell their stories to the Board of Selectmen at last Tuesday night’s public hearing and about 10 seconds for Selectman Shelagh Joyce to sum it up.

“If it’s too loud, it’s too loud,” Joyce, who lives in The Pinehills, said.

Leading up to Joyce’s declaration, several residents, especially those living on Hitching Post Road, offered accounts of what they said was at least six years of noise, traffic complaints and indifference by the ownership and management of the nearby Rye Tavern, which operates on Old Sandwich Road at Old Tavern Trail, on Pinehills property.

Though the tavern’s permits allow them to have amplified guitar music with up to two musicians, 23 Hitching Post resident Ed Murphy offered a police report that suggested that on at least one night this year the entertainment at the popular restaurant caused his windows – at his home approximately 600 feet away – to vibrate and rattle.

“I would point out that there is an amplified music policy,” Murphy said, “that prohibits amplified music being played in a manner that disturbs the peace and quiet of the neighborhood. Residents of Hitching Post and other streets close to the tavern are being deprived of the use and enjoyment of our homes.”

The neighbors had other complaints as well, notably the appearance of a trash truck at the restaurant at 4:15 in the morning nearly every week during one period and overflow crowds at the restaurant parking illegally.

It was suggested that the restaurants’ success was tied to a dramatic increase in the number of patrons served outside, especially during functions such as weddings. The tavern’s management acknowledged that they had increased outdoor seating.

Residents also asserted that their complaints were dismissed by the restaurant’s management and that a letter written in response to their concerns from Tavern co-owner Nathan Withington had a decidedly sarcastic tone.

Withington said at the hearing that he was “incredulous” that while certain neighbors complained about the noise, the restaurant, to his knowledge, had never received a complaint from any of its patrons.

One of those patrons, Paul Churchill, suggested that it was funny that people who bought homes on a street called Hitching Post were surprised by the presence of a busy tavern.

Churchill also suggested that residents were using specious complaints about noise – especially the noise of early morning trash pickups – to mask their true intention: closing down the restaurant.

Tavern staff did acknowledge that though they had originally asserted that the complaints of residents about early trash pick-up were unfounded, that at least on some occasions a subcontractor for ABC-Disposal had made trash pickups between 4 and 5 a.m.

Pinehills President John Judge tried to find a middle way.

“I am disturbed that residents have to be here at all,” Judge said. “It was never the intent that the Rye Tavern could be anything but an asset.”

Hitching Post resident Dennis Duckett told the Board that the residents had agreed upon three elements of a solution: no amplified music outdoors, strict adherence to parking regulations and no trash pickups until 9 a.m.

“We want Rye Tavern to be successful,” Duckett added, “but we want it to succeed operating in a manner that does not interfere with our right to be undisturbed – our right to peace, quiet and comfort.”

Judge said there should be no difficulty in permanently resolving the trash pickup problem, or the parking issue, but asked the Board of Selectmen to give the parties a chance to reach agreement before they voted to modify or remove the restaurant’s entertainment permits.

After additional deliberation and comments from residents and Tavern staff – and with assurances that there is only one remaining outdoor event planned at the Rye this season, the board consented to reconvene the hearing in January.

Selectman Tony Provenzano reminded Judge and the tavern ownership and staff to be “mindful of the permit” and the board’s discretionary powers.

“As originally granted, the permit contemplated very limited outdoor experience,” Provenzano said. “No bass guitar, no electronic drums. If you can’t come to a resolution the board can take that permit away.”

Follow Frank Mand on Twitter @frankmandOCM.