Supervisors set public hearing to consider changing county noise hours

The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors voted Aug. 25 to set a public hearing on proposed amendments to the county noise ordinance after members said they had received citizen complaints about excessive noise in certain areas.

Why the story matters: changing the hours in the county’s noise ordinance would alter when noise is prohibited across the county and could affect residents and businesses, including special-event permits.

Staff presented that current noise-hour restrictions are Sunday through Thursday until 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday through midnight (11:59 p.m.) with an 8 a.m. start time each day; the packet included a draft ordinance for the board to consider. Several supervisors said the weekday and weekend distinction is inconsistent and cited complaints and requests for clearer rules. One supervisor proposed earlier weekday hours while keeping midnight for weekends; another suggested 9 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends as a starting point for public discussion.

Because Virginia code requires publishing notice with a draft ordinance, staff asked the board for guidance on which hours to include for the notice. The board instructed staff to advertise a public hearing to consider amendments to the noise ordinance and indicated the board’s preliminary preference for Sunday through Thursday prohibitions to begin at 9 p.m., with Friday and Saturday remaining at midnight; the board agreed to publish the draft and receive public comment at the scheduled hearing.

The public hearing will allow residents to comment on proposed hour changes; supervisors said the hearing will cover the entire county aside from activities explicitly exempted in the ordinance text. No final ordinance change was adopted at the Aug. 25 meeting; the board only authorized the public notice and set the hearing process in motion.