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Council replaces noise ordinance to comply with state law, agrees to revisit weekend morning landscaping hours
Summary
Council repealed and replaced the city’s noise ordinance per state‑mandated changes and approved the replacement 8‑0. Council members asked staff to return with an analysis on moving weekend morning allowable landscaping hours later.
Plano — The City Council on Monday repealed and replaced Article 5 (Noise) of Chapter 14 of the Plano Code of Ordinances to conform with recent state legislative changes and to clarify provisions for entertainment venues and food service establishments.
Council member Kerr removed the item from the consent agenda for discussion before the vote, asking whether the new ordinance also addressed residential landscaping hours. Rachel Patterson, director of environmental health and sustainability, said enforcement and notification costs of changing hours would be "minimal." She said the changes before council that night were necessary to comply with state law and had to be adopted before Sept. 1 to remain in compliance.
Patterson and Mark (staff) said the ordinance presented implements legislatively required updates; however council members said they wanted to explore adjusting the daytime start time for weekend landscaping (currently 7 a.m.). "Often things start up very early on the weekends," Council member Kerr said, asking whether the ordinance could move the start time later. Staff said those changes would require additional impact analysis and that any adjustment could be brought back for a separate discussion.
Council approved the replacement ordinance and also asked staff to place a preliminary discussion item on a future meeting to examine whether daytime landscaping hours should be changed.
Action taken: motion to adopt replacement noise ordinance as presented, and to place an item on a future agenda to discuss landscaping/daytime hour adjustments; motion seconded and passed 8‑0.
Key points in the new ordinance as presented: it removes entertainment‑venue provisions from applying to food service establishments, adds new defenses for restaurants/food service establishments under certain circumstances, and contains standard repealer, severability, savings and penalty clauses. Staff emphasized any future changes to daytime hours would require additional study and legal counsel review.
