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Resident urges enforcement after years of noise, hauling at 131 Orchard Street
Summary
Kathy Durbin told the Swisher City Council she has endured persistent noise, metal cutting and material rotation at a neighbor's driveway since 2019 and asked the city to enforce zoning and nuisance rules; the council agreed to send counsel a notice and to review local noise rules before further action.
Kathy Durbin, a resident who filed a formal complaint, told the council that activity at 131 Orchard Street has disrupted her ability to live peacefully and that the problem has gone on "since I moved in since November 2019." She said the disturbance includes frequent loud cutting noises and the steady rotation of metal and other materials in the driveway, and she asked the city to act.
"I just want the noise to stop, and I want the junk and the clutter to stop," Durbin said during public comment. The property owner, who spoke during the same public comment period, denied operating a business from the home and said the work on his property is for personal use: "Everything that is in my possession at my property is personal use. Not business related, not anything."
Council members reviewed photographs Durbin had submitted and discussed whether the activity falls under Swisher's "home occupations" rules. The chair said the code permits home occupations that are fully enclosed in a building but that activity occurring outdoors could violate residential zoning. After discussion the council voted to have counsel send a letter to the property owner notifying them of the complaint and requiring remediation or clarification of the property's use.
Because the Swisher municipal code did not include explicit daytime or nighttime noise-hour windows, several council members also recommended staff review noise ordinances from nearby municipalities before taking broader enforcement steps. The council tabled further ordinance changes pending that review.
