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Staff reports noise‑ordinance review ongoing; planning commission urged clearer standards for applicants and neighbors
Summary
Planning Department staff updated the commission on a year‑long review of Scottsdale’s noise regulations and said the review is led by the city manager’s office and code enforcement; commissioners pressed for measurable standards and quicker work to translate public workshops into an updated ordinance.
City planning staff told the Scottsdale Planning Commission that work on updating the city’s noise regulations is ongoing but is being managed through the city manager’s office and code enforcement rather than the zoning code process.
Tim Curtis of the Planning Department gave the update and traced the code’s history. He said Scottsdale’s special noise regulations were adopted in 2010 and that the existing ordinance measures some noise with an A‑weighted decibel metric and a 68 dB threshold for certain activities. Curtis said the city held workshops in late 2023 with more than 100 stakeholders and that city council later asked staff to pursue additional analysis, including additional metrics such as C‑weighting for low‑frequency sound. “A little bit of background … in 02/2010, the city adopted a special noise ordinance … there was regulations to measure based off of the decibel level a band weight level, and they adopted a 68 decibels as the as the measuring stick,” Curtis said.
Curtis said the update has proceeded more slowly than anticipated because of leadership changes at City Hall and competing priorities; he said the city manager’s office expects further internal discussions in the coming weeks and that staff will keep the commission informed. “Although currently there's no time frame for completion of these efforts, I am aware that the city manager's office is looking at the noise ordinance conversation with the city council,” Curtis said.
Commissioners urged clear, measurable standards. Commissioner Joyner noted repeated public and board engagement—citing past lengthy hearings over pickleball and entertainment‑district noise—and called for a decibel standard that residents and businesses can understand and apply. Commissioner Higgs asked whether updated enforcement metrics could be used in conditional‑use permit reviews and whether a stronger city noise standard could reduce ad hoc requirements in land‑use approvals; Curtis said a robust, updated ordinance could become another tool to ensure compatibility and inform permit conditions.
The update was for information; no formal action was taken. Commissioners asked staff to continue coordinating with the city manager’s office, police and code enforcement to produce measurable standards (including consideration of low‑frequency bass) and to return to the commission with progress.
