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Committee expands noise protections into mixed-density zones and adopts tiered fines
Summary
The Legislative Review Committee voted to apply existing time-based noise protections to mixed-density residential (RM) zones and to add a tiered fine schedule; the committee also directed staff to study implementation details and decibel-meter options.
The Legislative Review Committee voted to expand the city’s noise ordinance protections into mixed-density residential (RM) zones and to add a tiered penalty structure intended to strengthen enforcement for repeat noise offenders.
The action comes after resident Kevin O'Neil told the committee he called police “seven times between noon and 10 p.m.” during a recent weekend and said police issued multiple citations yet the music was never turned down. “I’m here to ask for your help to give our police department tools they need to address noise warnings,” O'Neil said.
An attorney for the city presented a redlined draft that moves time-based restrictions currently applied to single-family (RS) districts into RM zones and adds minimum fines modeled on the city’s litter ordinance. The draft notes the state law cap limits maximum fines to the statutory maximum (the draft references the code’s general-penalty provision and the committee discussed a $1,000 statutory cap). Committee members asked staff to fill in specific minimum amounts.
Members debated whether multiple citations in a single day should be treated as separate offenses or counted once per day; staff and attorneys confirmed the city’s general-penalty section allows multiple offenses to be charged for separate incidents but that court procedure and prosecutorial discretion matter in practice. The committee also discussed who should be cited when officers cannot locate the same individual on repeat calls; staff said event registrants frequently receive citations when events are registered.
After discussion, a motion to insert a three-tier minimum fine schedule for repeat offenses was made and seconded; committee members debated preserving judicial discretion for first offenders before approving the motion by voice vote. The committee then voted to add mixed-density (RM) districts to the ordinance so that the time-based protections apply in those areas.
The committee moved the approved portions of the ordinance package out of committee and directed staff to return with additional materials, including pilot testing and cost estimates for any new enforcement tools, in approximately one year. The committee set the implementation timeline and follow-up reporting as a next procedural step.
The meeting concluded after members set the committee’s next meeting dates and adjourned.
