Lake Jackson council sends draft amplified-sound ordinance to downtown businesses ahead of March reading

The Lake Jackson City Council on Feb. 17 reviewed a draft ordinance that would restrict amplified sound at night and set daytime decibel limits measured at property lines, and directed staff to send the draft to downtown businesses for comment ahead of a first reading in March.

City staff attorney Miss Russell described the draft’s definitions and measurement approach, saying the ordinance is written to align with state law and to measure sound at the property perimeter while attempting to exclude background noise such as traffic. The draft proposes a nightly cutoff beginning at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with daytime decibel limits tied to the measurement location in the ordinance.

Council members raised enforcement and technical concerns, including how the ordinance would address bass and vibration as well as whether the affected businesses had been consulted. One council member said residents reported numerous complaints after an earlier voluntary effort to self-regulate; another asked whether the police department had been contacted and noted staff had mailed a copy of the draft but had not yet received responses. Miss Russell said the draft is not final and the council has two more meetings to consider changes before first reading.

Mayor (speaker 1) and staff agreed to distribute the draft to all downtown businesses that conduct outdoor music, including four or five named venues discussed in the meeting, and to invite them to the March 2 meeting for comment. Council emphasized that the city’s organized outdoor concerts, which typically end by 10–11 p.m., were excluded from the commercial-establishment provisions in the draft.

Next steps: staff will send the ordinance draft to downtown businesses and include the item for the council’s first reading in early March.