The Fishers City Council on Dec. 16 advanced proposed amendments to Chapter 98 of the City of Fishers Code of Ordinances that would tighten limits on amplified sound and simplify enforcement.

Assistant Police Chief Mike Taylor said the ordinance — unchanged in more than a decade — seeks to address noise complaints that arise where multifamily housing and residential areas sit near restaurants, bars and other businesses that use live or amplified music. The main changes proposed are lowering the maximum device-based threshold from 90 decibels to 80 decibels during typical daytime/evening hours and increasing the measurement distance to 50 feet from the property line. From 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. the device threshold would drop to 70 decibels, or be enforced using a plainly audible standard in close-quarter residential settings, Taylor said.

Taylor acknowledged vehicle-related noise remains governed by state statute and is not changed in this ordinance. When councilors raised complaints about overnight trash pickup and early-morning disturbances, Taylor advised residents to report active incidents so officers can be dispatched in real time: “We would always want them to call us,” he said, meaning either the nonemergency number or 911 so dispatchers can send officers to on‑scene incidents.

Councilor Bill (last name provided in the transcript) said he supports the 80-decibel threshold for first reading while planning staff pursue a companion zoning/permitting approach to address loud commercial vans and other use-specific issues. Ross Hillary, director of planning and zoning, and police staff are working on zoning-side solutions, Taylor said.

The council took the item on first reading; no final adoption vote was held.