DeKalb committee defers proposed noise ordinance and companion electric landscape rebate program for further review

The Parks, Environment & Community Services Committee on a unanimous voice vote deferred for 60 days a proposed amendment to Chapter 16 of the Code of DeKalb County that would establish daytime and nighttime sound standards and new restrictions on certain landscaping devices, and separately deferred a companion electric landscape-maintenance device rebate program.

Committee members and county attorneys said the draft ordinance would set a daytime decibel standard (65 dB) and use a “plainly audible” standard at night (sound plainly audible at 100 feet). The draft also calls out landscape maintenance devices, proposing to prohibit use of certain devices within 100 feet of a residence between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., with more restrictive rules for commercial landscapers and additional limits on holidays. Assistant County Attorney Michael Petty told commissioners the draft was rewritten to address practical enforcement problems in the current code and to avoid state preemption issues; the draft includes an implementation lead time of 180 days if adopted.

The companion rebate resolution would create an “electric landscape maintenance device rebate program” administered by the Department of Planning & Sustainability to encourage residents and smaller landscaping businesses to switch from gas-powered to electric equipment. Under the draft rebate framework discussed, businesses would be eligible for rebates up to $500 (capped at $100 per device or 50% of cost, up to five devices) and households would receive a $75 prepaid gift card (one per household). Committee members said the program would need annual budget authority; a staff suggestion for an initial fiscal-year pilot level was discussed (a $100,000 starting allocation was mentioned as an example), but no funding was adopted at the meeting.

Why it matters: commissioners said they wanted more time to digest the full ordinance text, confirm exemptions for emergency and public-safety equipment, and ensure the county does not create unfunded mandates for residents or small businesses. Several commissioners and staff requested model language, sample enforcement protocols, and comparisons with neighboring jurisdictions before returning the item for a future vote.

Next steps: the committee voted to defer both the draft noise ordinance and the companion rebate resolution for 60 days to allow the law department and Planning & Sustainability to incorporate requested clarifications and to produce a practical implementation plan.