Dear Editor:
The DDA (Downtown Development Authority), on June 26, approved a noise ordinance proposal, and has asked the city council to approve this proposal. This revision DOUBLES the upper allowed decibel level, from 61 to 71, in any residential area from 7 am to 11 pm almost 1/3 of the year, and until 10 pm the rest of the year.
The proposal QUADRUPLES the allowed decibel level from 71 to 91 areas zoned commercial and mixed use (a new category in the ordinance) almost 1/3 of the year. There are residential homes in the mixed use areas!
The intent of this noise change is to allow downtown businesses to increase the volume of noise they emit, to emit these increased levels until a later hour, and to expand the area of our town included in these changes. Such a revised ordinance will change the ambience of our community, as well as adversely affect residences close to the DDA boundaries.
The current noise ordinance was adopted in 1982 and can be found on the city’s website. The specifications of it are commonly found throughout noise ordinances in the United States. The ordinance is confusing, and it is indeed time to examine it for needed revisions to make it easier to understand, to ensure the continuance of its intent, and to see how to best accommodate the wishes of the DDA.
The proposed changes will result in areas zoned residential, some as little as ~200 feet away from noise-emitting businesses, to have to listen to these loud levels of noise and penetrating bass sound waves on almost 43% of summer evenings. This is not even allowed in Ann Arbor! Perhaps, the saddest impact of this “ask” by the DDA is that some moderately priced homes in Chelsea will no longer be nice houses in which to raise children.
Crafting a noise ordinance that pleases the DDA has been a difficult and time-consuming task for our city employees. For legal reasons, the city is not required, and has not yet chosen, to gather public input on this proposed ordinance change, as it is required to do and has done for zoning changes that affect the residents of the city.
I am one of the residents that will be negatively impacted by this proposed change. I ask myself: “When I am in my own yard or home, why should I have to listen to loud bass music coming out of a building 211 feet away? Why cannot the owner/manager of that business/building do something to contain the sound within the building?”
I urge the community to ask the city council to hold public hearings to listen to community members’ views on this requested change, to get community feedback on the coherence of the proposed ordinance change, to see if the proposed changes and wording of the proposed ordinance reflect community needs, and are fair to residents who will be negatively impacted by a doubling of allowed noise levels to a later hour 3 nights weekly. I urge you to share your opinions on this change during Public Input in City Council and DDA board meetings, or via email to City Council and DDA members.
Dayle Wright
Chelsea
