Middletown Public Safety Commission approves revised noise ordinance with set hours

The Middletown Public Safety Commission voted to accept a revised city noise ordinance after the Common Council returned the measure for clearer property listings and specific hours.

Chief Foster, who presented the revision, said the ordinance identifies affected parcels and ties concert end times to an existing state rule so that outdoor venues would generally end amplified sound by 11:00 p.m. He also said the revision sets city-conducted solid-waste pickup hours between 4:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. "11 o'clock's a good time," Chief Foster said during the discussion.

Commission members noted the revision came back to the commission after council staff raised questions that some properties near residential areas were not explicitly listed in the ordinance. The chair said the commission had previously approved the measure in concept but agreed to re-review the more precise property identifications. One commissioner noted that the council’s version had included later weekend hours; commissioners discussed whether Friday and Saturday should extend past 11:00 p.m., but the ordinance was framed to standardize hours and property references before returning to council.

A motion "to accept the ordinance as presented by the chief" was moved and seconded and the chair announced the matter passed. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally with numeric yes/no counts.

The ordinance cited by staff references a state-level rule used by other outdoor venues to set concert end times. The Common Council and the commission will retain responsibility for final adoption as the item proceeds through the city process.