Emotions boiled over as residents shouted at council members, cursed at the law director and walked out of the meeting during a work session discussion of Plain City’s noise ordinance.
“The rhetoric here is unbelievable,” said Council member Michael Terry.
Terry at some points urged Police Chief Dale McKee to remove disruptive residents from council chambers, and publicly said he feels the behavior of audience members at recent meetings has been “appalling.”
Contention was once again spurred by debate surrounding the village’s noise regulations, which depend on the “reasonable person standard.”
Noise that is “plainly audible and likely to cause inconvenience or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities after 9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends” is currently prohibited.
Plain City Police Department officers who respond to possible violations must determine whether sound levels violate the parameters outlined by the ordinance.
Over the past several years, council members have considered whether to add specific decibel restrictions to the ordinance but have not done so.
Madison County Prosecutor Nick Adkins, who was invited to the work session to contribute to the noise ordinance discussion, said including decibel levels would likely increase citations, but officers would lose their discretion.
“Either we have discretion or we have ambiguity,” Council member John Rucker said.
McKee has previously said relying on the reasonable person standard places the burden on the officers who are called to investigate violations.
On Wednesday, he said it isn’t that officers are “uncomfortable” making a judgement call, it’s that they “see both sides of the argument” in empathizing with residents, but knowing that music is allowed in the Uptown.
Plain City Law Director Paul La Fayette emphasized that both the Ohio Supreme Court and Madison County Municipal Court have upheld the language in the village’s ordinance.
“It’s a valid law, absolutely,” Adkins added.
However, he said two recent citations were not prosecuted.
He noted that the first was dismissed by the prosecutor’s office because the alleged violation occurred outside of the hours during which Plain City’s ordinance restricts noise.
Adkins explained that the second citation was declined for prosecution because the officer’s narrative of the event indicated that he thought the noise level was reasonable. Plain City’s ordinance, though, allows a resident to sign a complaint, which is then forwarded to the prosecutor’s office.
Adkins told council members that the prosecutor’s office “will enforce any ordinance you have in place,” but must use “prosecutorial discretion.” Just like any other criminal case, he said prosecutors have to decide if there is enough evidence to prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
He noted that violations of the noise ordinance are criminal cases and result in jail time after the first citation. If someone is going to be prosecuted, Adkins said it needs to be clear to him that a crime was committed.
If decibel levels are added to the ordinance, Adkins said the process would work similarly to the use of breathalyzers.
Officers would need to be properly trained to use meters and would have to be able to prove they are calibrated properly.
McKee said he borrowed a decibel meter from the Hilliard Police Department during previous discussions of the noise ordinance.
While their ordinance uses decibel levels, McKee said HPD officers said they have never used the meter and didn’t even know where to find it at first.
Council members would need to be mindful of the actual measurements included in the ordinance, as McKee said walking down Uptown streets during non-event hours registered levels of 50-60 dB.
“I was kind of shocked,” he said.
Council member Frank Reed said he feels the noise ordinance needs to simply state that any time noise can be heard 50 feet away from the source of the sound, it is a violation.
“You’d get cited for mowing your lawn,” Rucker responded.
McKee said it is also important to remember that the noise ordinance would apply to the entire village, even though much of the conversation revolved around music in the Uptown.
He said distance restrictions could mean a resident’s neighbors are in violation of the ordinance, just for daily activities.
La Fayette agreed.
“If you get into distance, there are so many exceptions,” he said.
Still, Reed repeatedly characterized the current ordinance as “failing” and pushed for the simple 50-feet violation, noting that he feels “businesses do not have rights that supersede resident rights.”
Terry said he feels a 50-foot violation would cause too many complications to be approved.
“You’re saying (the noise ordinance) fails if everyone doesn’t like it and that’s a gross overstatement,” Terry told Reed.
Terry’s comments prompted an outburst from audience members, one of whom stood up at her seat and shouted at council.
“Does the resident’s quality of life matter to you? This is absurd!” she said.
Other residents also interjected during council discussion, at some points swearing at La Fayette for not allowing them time to speak during a work session.
McKee ultimately settled the crowd, noting there was a “town hall” meeting to discuss the noise ordinance and a public hearing – during both of which residents had an opportunity to speak on the record.
In seeking a solution, Mayor Jody Carney said she feels it could be appropriate to limit music to acoustic performances. In that case, she said businesses would be allowed to apply for a certain number of permits per season to play “amplified” music.
Rucker agreed with her recommendation, adding he feels revisions of the ordinance should include language surrounding “artificial amplification.”
Terry said he would “probably be OK with adding decibel” levels to the ordinance but feels council needs to consider the ramifications of any actions before altering their laws.
As council continues to consider potential changes, Council President James Sintz encouraged residents to email him with research they have done regarding noise regulations in other communities.