Persons wishing to add their voices to the chorus of opinions about the proposed city noise ordinance will have their chance on June 24 at 5 p.m.
City council decided at its June 10 meeting to hold the hearing before any final decision is made regarding the ordinance, a draft of which has been changed three times in as many meetings. Because most of the complaints about loud music occur during the summer months, councilors said they are anxious to resolve the problem once and for all and get something on the books soon — or the issue will linger on into next year. Music complaints have been voiced in the past, but previous councils opted to take no action, saying the problem wasn’t severe or persistent enough to merit an ordinance revision.
The latest version of the proposed ordinance does not contain a new section with licensing provisions, as the earlier draft did, but offers a simpler solution by adding one sentence to the section of the City Code describing noise as a nuisance. The sentence, which reads, “This section shall not apply to live musical performances between the hours of 9 o’clock a.m. and 12 midnight,” allows amplified sound as part of live music during the specified hours. The existing clause defines a violation as “[sound] which carries to points of habitation or adjacent properties, and is audible above the level of conversational speech at a distance of 50 feet or more from the point of origin of the amplified sound.”
Mayor Sue Hakes asked if the rest of the noise nuisance ordinance is working, and City Attorney Don Davison said it seems to be adequate. “It’s a complaint-driven enforcement with loud mufflers and stereos, and it’s not a recurring problem,” he said. He said there have been no citations or court actions in at least a couple years, and
” City Administrator Mike Roth said he didn’t believe there have been any enforcement actions using the ordinance since its adoption in 2004.
Some councilors said they thought there should be something in the revision to address sound levels. Previously, council had agreed to keep the ordinance simple and avoid enforcement if possible, and not get involved with measuring decibel levels.
Hakes said she has received comments from both sides — those who wish to base enforcement on volume level, and those who like the new draft as written. There has also been some disagreement about the hours when outdoor music should be permitted, and whether weekdays should be treated differently than weekends — Hakes said she has also received comments in support of both options.
There was a difference of opinion among councilors as well.
Bill Lenz said he thought the latest version of the ordinance was too lenient. He pointed out that people have to get up early and go to work during the week, and advocated that an earlier cutoff time be set for weekdays. Lenz said he has gotten two calls from residents who didn’t like the hours because they were too late; Hakes said she got a call from someone who wanted the cutoff time pushed back the other way — from midnight to 1 a.m.
The mayor said there seems to be no easy solution. “Everybody’s not going to be happy, and everybody has to give a little — everybody!” she said.
Councilor Tim Kennedy said there should be time limits in place, so people bothered by the music will at least know when it’s going to stop, and he said businesses that host and promote outdoor music need to recognize that Grand Marais “is a community, not just individual businesses.”
Kennedy suggested that perhaps the creation of an ordinance should be dropped, at least temporarily. But, he said, businesses should be put on notice to be mindful of how loud their music is. “If they abuse the liberty, we will come out with an ordinance. Then, it’s in their best interest to cooperate,” he said.
Jan Sivertson also wondered if the ordinance was necessary, after all. She acknowledged that the process has been “way more complicated than I thought,” and asked if council was working too hard on it. Sivertson suggested that rather than enacting an ordinance, council should agree to and establish a set of “guiding principles and a value statement.” And if that doesn’t work, she said, “it will come back to us if it’s troublesome.”
As a result of the discussion, the hours in the draft ordinance were changed, allowing outdoor music from noon until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and noon until midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays preceding a Monday holiday. In the case of special events, such as Fisherman’s Picnic, exceptions would be discussed when the sponsoring organization applies to council for its permit. No councilors said they were opposed to later hours for music during such events, especially since most of them take place on the weekends, anyway.
Hakes encouraged residents to attend the public hearing and make their preferences known. After all, she said, council needs to know what people are thinking before a final decision is made.
Grand Marais Noise Ordinance Public Hearing Grand Marais City Hall · June 24 · 5:00 p.m.
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