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Pender County tightens noise rules after public hearing; deputies to enforce revisions
Summary
The Pender County Board of Commissioners adopted revisions to the county's noise ordinance to clarify definitions, set enforcement hours and penalties, and add protections for schools and public buildings; enforcement will be handled by sheriff's deputies, officials said.
Pender County commissioners on Tuesday approved a revised noise ordinance that narrows vague language in the county code, establishes specific hours for enforcement and creates civil and criminal penalties.
The new language, presented by Daniel Adams, the county's planning and community development director, replaces subjective terms such as "unreasonably loud" and "disturbing" with defined terms including "affected person," "noise" and "plainly audible." The draft keeps exemptions for animals and emergency operations and expands exemptions for agricultural operations and school functions. The revision also sets 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. as the primary hours for certain types of violations and provides for daily civil penalties that escalate for repeated occurrences; a class 3 misdemeanor remains an available criminal sanction.
Adams told the board the changes are intended to make enforcement "consistent" for deputies responding to complaints and to protect "significant places such as schools, places of worship, and public buildings." Sheriff's deputies, not a separate code enforcement officer, will generally respond to noise complaints, Adams said; the sheriff's office reviewed the revisions with staff in advance.
During the public hearing Wade Danner of Hampstead and Gary Helm of Carl Mix Road said they worried the edits could limit daytime enforcement for amplified music and raised examples of an unpermitted motocross track that neighbors say is causing sustained disruption. Helm said he and other nearby residents had submitted a petition of roughly 50 names and asked the board to act to stop what he called "loud, unreasonable" commercial operations in unzoned areas.
Commissioners acknowledged two enforcement challenges: repeated, transient incidents that subside when deputies arrive, and limitations on deputies' other duties during storms and other emergencies. Commissioners also discussed whether the ordinance fully addresses both nighttime and daytime problems; one commissioner said the amendments would help primarily with nighttime issues.
After discussion, a commissioner moved to adopt the ordinance amendments. The board voted in favor; no roll-call tallies were recorded in the public minutes.
The board packet includes the revised ordinance language and an environmental/administrative summary. Adams told commissioners the revised ordinance has civil penalties that accrue daily and can escalate and that enforcement guidance had been reviewed with the sheriff's office.
What happens next: the ordinance will be enforced by deputies when complaints are received; residents who raised concerns during public comment may also pursue civil remedies, the county said in the presentation materials.
