(5/30) The Taneytown Town Council voted unanimously at their May meeting to move a proposed noise ordinance to their June meeting for consideration of implementation, following a more thorough discussion previously held during the May 6th workshop.
Mayor Bradley Wantz stated, during the May workshop, ?One of the chief complaints we get in Taneytown is noise, because we have a lot of people who like it loud, and a lot of people who don't think it's loud.?
The proposed ordinance states that a potential noise offense would occur if such noise seemed to be excessively loud, or over 50 feet from the source.
When asked if decibel meters could be used to measure the sound-level of a potential offense, Mayor Wantz stated that meters need to be calibrated, certified, and require training. He said he had discussed the issue with police Chief Jason Etzler, and that the chief would prefer not to use noise meters, and ?thinks it is not necessary.?
The mayor also said that, if enforcing noise restrictions when using the 50-foot rule did not work, then the city could opt to employ decibel meters. ?We need a starting point. We've gone how many years with no noise ordinance at all??
City Attorney Jay Gullo also stated that decibel meters are not normally taken to a party (type environment) to measure the noise and are generally used to regulate vehicular noise. Also, he stated that this type of regulation is usually complaint-driven, meaning? officers would not patrol the town, seeking offenses.
Gullo stated at the May workshop, ?This (proposed regulation) creates more of a tool that you can use to enforce noise and related disturbances, using the municipal infraction way. We are only allowed to do a few things as a town. You can either make something a misdemeanor, or you can make it a municipal infraction.?
If the city had elected to make an offense a misdemeanor, it would have made the offense somewhat more serious. Classifying the offense as a municipal infraction allows an officer to utilize more discretion in resolving the issue.
The current, proposed ordinance also sets fines for violations at $100 for a first offense, and then $250 for each additional offense.
Board members also pointed out that certain sources of excessive sound, like snowplowing or unloading delivery vehicles in the early hours, needs to be taken into further consideration when developing a final ordinance.
