Council’s public safety committee keeps petition to liquor board on downtown amplified-music exemption in committee for boundary review

The public safety committee discussed Resolution 20 of 2025, which would authorize submission of a petition to the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (LCB) to exempt a specified downtown area of Harrisburg from LCB regulations concerning amplified music heard off licensed premises and instead permit enforcement under the city’s noise-control ordinance (City Ordinance 3-343 as cited in the presentation).

Police presenters — Commissioner Thomas Carter and Captain Terry Wheeling of the Criminal Investigation Division — described the resolution and provided background on the ordinance’s history and enforcement data. The presenters said City Ordinance 3-343 was first adopted Nov. 9, 1999 (Ordinance 42 of 1999), amended in February 2007 (Ordinance 4 of 02/2007), and the most recent version referenced was passed Dec. 17, 2019; the presenters also said a version expired on Jan. 1 of the current year. The current proposal does not change the ordinance’s wording or the boundary as presented at the work session.

Committee discussion focused on the geographic boundary and on enforcement history. Captain Wheeling described the downtown boundary in detail for council members: west at Front Street from the railroad bridge north to Forrester Street; east at North Seventh Street from Forrester south to State Street, then south on Fifth Street to Market Street; north at Forrester Street; and south at the railroad tracks. Staff said the LCB requires a closed, contiguous boundary on the petition map.

Enforcement data presented to the committee showed that between February and October 2015 there were 455 citywide citations for the noise ordinance (covering houses, vehicles and establishments). Between November 2015 and October 2024 there were 109 citations, with four of those citations issued in the downtown area during that period. Staff explained that, for establishments, the ordinance’s language requires multiple occurrences (described as five separate occasions in the ordinance language) before citations for licensed premises are typically issued.

Council members raised concerns about boundary changes over time and whether new establishments should be included; presenters and staff said the map has changed several times historically and the city will collect a current list of liquor licensees within a recommended territory so council can review and make amendments if desired. The presenters also noted that when the city petitions the LCB, the board holds a public hearing (historically held in the same chamber), and neighbors and business owners have attended those hearings to speak for or against boundary changes.

The committee did not advance the resolution to the full council at the work session. Instead, members asked staff and the tax office liaison (identified in the presentation) to compile licensee data and a recommended contiguous boundary for a future committee meeting so the council can reconsider the petition with up-to-date information. The resolution will remain in the public safety committee pending those materials and staff follow-up.