Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Ordinance Update topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dune City council begins detailed rewrite of nuisance ordinance, debates measurable noise standards
Summary
Councilors spent the bulk of the Jan. 8 meeting reviewing proposed revisions to Chapter 91 (nuisance ordinance), raising concerns about vague definitions ("attractive to children") and enforcement. Multiple members pushed for measurable noise standards—examples cited included 65 dB daytime and 55 dB at night at the property line—while others favored hours-of-operation limits.
Councilors devoted extensive time to a line-by-line review of the proposed revisions to Chapter 91, the city's nuisance code. The conversation focused on ambiguous language that would be difficult to enforce and on whether the city should adopt measurable noise thresholds.
The chair opened the discussion by noting many existing provisions lack precise definitions, including phrases like "attractive to children." One councilor said, "The example I found was that 65 during the day, at property line and 55 at night," advocating a specific decibel standard. Other members responded that lot sizes in Dune City vary widely and that a property-line decibel standard could disproportionally affect smaller lots; several suggested stronger emphasis on enforceable hours-of-operation (for example, construction permitted 7 a.m.–6 p.m., quiet hours 10 p.m.–7 a.m.).
Members also debated a proposed prohibition on placing food or bait that attracts deer, bears or other wildlife and whether the language should be broadened to "wild animals." Participants noted state agencies sometimes lack capacity to act and that the city previously adopted local restrictions to address persistent feeding problems. Legal counsel's prior advice was discussed: the city may face significant procedural steps to abate private-property nuisances (entry for corrections often requires court action unless a public-safety issue exists). Councilors concluded the item requires additional drafting and agreed to return with marked-up edits at a follow-up work session.
