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Residents press council on noise; one member proposes stricter indoor‑music rule
Summary
During extended public comment the council heard repeated complaints about amplified beachfront music and tented events; a council member said he asked staff to draft an ordinance to require music to move indoors after early evening, sparking debate about enforcement, decibel thresholds and residents' sleep rights.
Residents and council members engaged in an extended exchange over noise and the city’s noise ordinance during the Nov. 18 meeting.
Judy Moran told the council she had repeatedly raised noise concerns and asked members to review evidence and model ordinances from nearby municipalities to prevent summers of continuous amplified music (she referenced local amphitheater examples and said a stronger ordinance was needed). A council member (participant identified in the record as speaker who described following code procedures when requesting an ordinance) said he had sought to have a resolution written that would require businesses on the strip to move music indoors after early evening; he described working with staff and corporation counsel and proposed changing certain code timeframes and a possible indoor‑music requirement in some locations.
Council and staff discussed technical enforcement questions, including the current 65‑decibel threshold in the code, ambient noise deductions used in enforcement, and inconsistent references in the code to end times (11 p.m. versus midnight). Several residents proposed specific measures: limiting tented music to a limited number of times per year, shortening event hours, requiring sound barriers for outdoor venues, and restricting amplified music on weeknights to acoustic acts.
The exchange included disagreement about process: one council member argued he followed the code when asking staff to prepare a resolution and said staff refused to prepare it without clearer parameters; corporation counsel and staff said new language needs defined parameters to draft enforceable measures. Residents emphasized enforcement failures and urged clearer standards and better city response.
No final ordinance or vote was taken at the Nov. 18 meeting; council members said they were pursuing drafting changes and staff were asked to continue work on a refined proposal and parameters for a written ordinance.
