Austin committee hears residents, police on proposed vehicle-noise ordinance; council date set for March 26

The Austin City Council Public Safety Committee on Feb. 2 heard residents and police discuss a proposed amendment to City Code Chapter 12-1 that would create an offense for "unreasonable" vehicle engine noise and give officers greater authority to stop and cite noisy vehicles without relying on decibel meters.

Residents from neighborhoods near Highway 2222 urged the committee to pass the ordinance, saying repeated motorcycle revving and high-speed passes have caused safety concerns, sleep disruption and stress. "This is different. It's repetitive, and it's high pitched," said Lauren Erseman, who told the committee the noise had driven her to spend time away from her Austin home. Lisa Capps said a petition she started has gathered more than 800 signatures from neighbors asking for a practical, enforceable solution.

Chiefs from APD described a concentrated enforcement effort on the 2222 corridor that included directed patrols, partnerships with TxDOT and other agencies, and overtime work. Commander Craig Smith said, through September 2025, APD and partners issued 223 hazardous (moving) citations, 69 nonhazardous citations and multiple motorcycle contacts in the corridor, and that about 175 overtime hours had been devoted to the effort. "It will allow an officer to cite motors for an unreasonable noise," Smith said, describing the proposed standard.

Under the draft amendment, staff said, officers would be able to cite for "unreasonable" engine noise without a decibel reading; the proposal calls for class C citations, similar in enforcement level to speeding or registration violations. Staff said the city would follow a public-education period before active citation issuance. Commander Smith and Chief Davis said the goal is to bring the ordinance to the full council on March 26 and to return to the committee in March for a recommendation.

Several council members urged caution on drafting. Council Member Segal raised a legal concern about differences between the state penal code — which includes an 85-decibel per se standard and requires intent for a misdemeanor offense — and the city's draft, and asked whether the ordinance should include an intent element or objective criteria to avoid criminalizing inadvertent behavior. "To be guilty of a misdemeanor offense, you must intentionally or knowingly commit this noise offense," Segal said, urging staff to consult city legal counsel. Committee members asked staff to loop in Chris Coppola from the law department for review before the ordinance returns.

The committee's discussion framed the ordinance as one tool in a multi-pronged approach that includes traffic engineering (signal timing, rumble strips), targeted enforcement zones and rebuilding a motors unit as academy classes graduate. Staff emphasized that the ordinance is intended to focus on egregious, recurring behavior such as deliberate racing and excessive acceleration rather than incidental noise.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the ordinance at the Feb. 2 meeting. The next procedural steps are for staff to incorporate legal feedback and community-engagement plans, return to the Public Safety Committee in March for a recommendation, and then present the ordinance to the City Council on the target March 26 date.