Plain City officials plan to tweak the village’s noise ordinance, but aren’t sure new legislation is the best way to solve the problem.
Council dedicated its most recent work session to an open house-style discussion with residents surrounding excessive noise in the village.
“We’re not here to argue, we’re not here to debate, we’re here to look for solutions,” said Council President John Rucker.
In previous discussions, council members have considered adding decibel levels to the ordinance in an attempt to make the legislation easier to enforce.
Plain City Police Department Chief Dale McKee said that may not be the answer, though.
He provided council with data collected by PCPD officers using decibel meters, which indicates the decibel levels at certain areas before and after a band began playing at the outdoor stage at The Grainery.
He said the areas where sound was measured were based on places PCPD has received complaints from in the past. They include several North Chillicothe Street and West Main Street addresses.
However, he said the decibel levels generally did not vary significantly before and after music began.
“Basically, without the music and with the music, I mean, they’re pretty close,” McKee said, adding that the ‘before’ measurements accounted for “everyday noise” like traffic and construction.
He also noted that the decibel meter was borrowed from the Hilliard Police Department. Hilliard is one of the only nearby communities that incorporates decibel levels into its noise ordinance.
Still, he said HPD officers use the meter so infrequently that they had to look for it before loaning it to McKee.
“They said since they put the decibel meter ordinance in, they haven’t even used the decibel meter,” he noted.
Council members, residents and business owners each agreed with McKee against adding decibel levels to the ordinance.
Tim Dawson, owner of The Grainery, said he does not feel “a decibel meter is the answer.” He said he has contacted several acoustics companies and is working to find a way to implement possible solutions.
“It’s not something I’m ignoring,” Dawson said. “I want everyone to be happy. I want it to be a win-win situation.”
Resident Andy Leer gave Dawson credit for his efforts. He emphasized his belief that “it’s an acoustics problem” that decibel meters may not pick up on.
“I think we work with what we’ve got” and make smaller modifications to the ordinance while working with business owners, Leer suggested.
Council member Michael Terry echoed his sentiments.
He said most complaints he has heard surround the bass reverberations, not necessarily the volume of music – which decibel meters measure.
“To me, if you add decibel readings, it doesn’t even solve the problem of what the people are actually experiencing,” Terry said.
Though no official vote was taken, council members were unanimously against adding decibel levels to the ordinance.
Solicitor Paul Lafayette said the alternate option is to leave the current language, which relies on the “reasonable person standard.”
The current noise ordinance prohibits noise that is “plainly audible and likely to cause inconvenience or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities” after 9 p.m. on weekdays and after 11 p.m. on weekends.
He said he would like to slightly change the language, as he does not feel the time limits are necessary. Instead, Lafayette said he would prefer wording that indicates “time, place and manner” will be taken into consideration.
“’Reasonable’ changes a little bit (based) on the circumstances, we’re trying to emphasize that,” he said.
He also suggested adding some type of stipulation to the planning and zoning commission regulations include a sound study of some sort, so that new businesses can address potential noise violations “before it happens.”
“I’m a big proponent of that,” Terry responded, adding that he would prefer “fixing it on the front end.”
Council member Shannon Pine worried, though, that doing so may be easier in concept than in actuality.
“How do you do an audio impact study on something that isn’t even in existence?” Pine asked.
Lafayette said he can do more research, but felt as though there may be companies with sound expertise that can create acoustics simulations.
Terry agreed. He said council should consider more research before implementing any requirements at the planning and zoning phase.
For now, Lafayette said he will provide council with several new versions of the ordinance to consider, though all will abide by the “reasonable person standard” rather than decibel levels.