Decibel levels, punishments unchanged in noise ordinance revision
Kiersten Hoffman |
Last Updated:11/28/09 Section: News
Williamsburg City Council passed corrective amendments to the noise control ordinance during their meeting on November 12th, 2009. There were two major corrections to the noise ordinance. The phrase "Plainly Audible" had previously been defined as "Any sound, other than unamplified human conversation taking place between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m." The amendment changed this definition by removing the hours of applicability. Further changes included adding the time restriction of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. for large party nuisances. Each prohibition specified in the noise ordinance now has a time of applicability where appropriate. However, the definition of "Plainly Audible" no longer has any time restrictions. Council member Judith Knudson commented "I think it is much more reasonable and I'm glad somebody noticed no times had been specified."
City Council has been working on this noise control ordinance since the Virginia Supreme Court overturned a law in Virginia Beach stating that excessive noise be defined as noise that would offend a "reasonable person". The term was found too ambiguous and therefore unconstitutional. Vice Mayor and College professor Clyde Haulman said, "This [noise ordinance] is in reaction to the previous law being overturned. I believe this new ordinance makes things fair."
No further changes were made to the noise control ordinance, and the sound decibel limits and punishments have remained the same. Off-campus student Taylor Harveycutter ('11) said, "I think that the problem is that we have completely different schedules with other Williamsburg residents. I feel that it's ridiculous that they have set the decibel limit at 10 decibels over a normal conversation. We can't even have music playing from within our house if it's louder than the decibel limit a step off our property."
The City Council also passed a new amendment to Williamsburg's zoning ordinance. The amendment revised the hotel/motel definition to exempt hotels in the museum support district from the 90-day stay restriction on their guests. This would allow the College to lease rooms to provide more student housing. This action would be beneficial for transfer students who join the housing process late and would provide students with a flexible option if they only require housing for a single semester. The City Council also passed a motion to look into expanding this exemption to hotels and motels outside of the museum support district.
City Council has been working on this noise control ordinance since the Virginia Supreme Court overturned a law in Virginia Beach stating that excessive noise be defined as noise that would offend a "reasonable person". The term was found too ambiguous and therefore unconstitutional. Vice Mayor and College professor Clyde Haulman said, "This [noise ordinance] is in reaction to the previous law being overturned. I believe this new ordinance makes things fair."
No further changes were made to the noise control ordinance, and the sound decibel limits and punishments have remained the same. Off-campus student Taylor Harveycutter ('11) said, "I think that the problem is that we have completely different schedules with other Williamsburg residents. I feel that it's ridiculous that they have set the decibel limit at 10 decibels over a normal conversation. We can't even have music playing from within our house if it's louder than the decibel limit a step off our property."
The City Council also passed a new amendment to Williamsburg's zoning ordinance. The amendment revised the hotel/motel definition to exempt hotels in the museum support district from the 90-day stay restriction on their guests. This would allow the College to lease rooms to provide more student housing. This action would be beneficial for transfer students who join the housing process late and would provide students with a flexible option if they only require housing for a single semester. The City Council also passed a motion to look into expanding this exemption to hotels and motels outside of the museum support district.
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