Noise Pollution Becoming a Problem Downtown

At the last council meeting, council members said they have received complaints from adjacent neighborhood residents about noise from bands playing at downtown clubs. Councilman Stankoski asked: "Are we (going to be) a family oriented town or a watering hole?" General Administrator Gregg Mims said "the current 200 ft noise ordinance on the books affects every business in town" and "its not an easy thing to get our hands around." City attorney Tut Wynne added that--according to the city ordinance-- any business selling alcohol within 200 feet of a residential area must close at midnight. "We have to enforce the zoning ordinance on the books or repeal it." Council President Quinn said she had received an e-mail requesting revoking of an ABC (liquor) license-- and suggested that revising building codes to require more soundproofing could help. Former Police Chief Sanders agreed additional soundproofing could help--but added the City currently has no sound (decibel) meter to measure it. No one could readily answer Councilman Ford's question about if city sponsored/approved events (fireworks, weddings, etc.) were exempt from the current noise law. Mims, Sherry Sullivan, and the Police Chief were appointed to look further into the matter-- and possibly come up with a new noise ordinance.

Comments

Anonymous said…
i vote for watering hole
Anonymous said…
the main man complaining knew the night spots were there when he made the decision to reside there. Now all area pubs must pay . . .