Topic: Noise ordinance

Turn down the volume; City Council passes tougher noise abatement laws

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 8, 2007 |

Two amendments to the city’s noise ordinances were passed last week with far less fanfare and controversy that the original proposals garnered; the amendments limit the volume of both exterior and interior sound levels through the city.

The first amendment prohibits the playing of any loudspeaker that can be heard 25 feet beyond a property line. Exemptions to this amendment include city, county and school events, sports events, and pages using public address systems.

The regulations exempt current businesses with public address systems if those systems are pointing downward and not directing sound outward from their place of business and only if those systems are used for the purpose of paging. Businesses that open after October 1, 2007, will not be exempt.

The amendment also places strict limits on interior noise by prohibiting playing audio sounds that can be heard beyond one foot of an interior wall. In other words, if it can be heard more than a foot into your neighbor’s apartment, it’s too loud and against the law.

The second amendment bans the use of all-terrain vehicles and go-carts within city limits if that use is deemed a nuisance by neighbors. «Read the rest of this article»

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