FENWICK ISLAND – Officials in Fenwick Island continue to explore new noise ordinance parameters.
Last Thursday, Mayor Natalie Magdeburger presented members of the Fenwick Island Charter and Ordinance Committee with an update on the town’s noise ordinance. With a directive from the town council to review existing regulations, she said City Solicitor Luke Mette continues to explore a more enforceable approach to noise violations.
“We’re at the really early stages now,” she told the committee. “We do have an existing noise ordinance, and it’s enforceable. But we’ve been asked to make it tighter, where it’s less ambiguous.”
In March, the town council voted to have the charter and ordinance committee review the town’s noise ordinance after Councilwoman Janice Bortner brought forth a motion to remove time constraints.
During that discussion, Bortner said that while the town code stated an enforcement time of midnight to 8 a.m., members of the town’s residential concerns committee wanted to see it removed.
“I don’t think it would hurt to look at the noise ordinance, but the main focus is the time constraints of enforcement,” she said in March. “In there, it says the enforcement is from midnight to 8 a.m., and we’re saying we don’t feel that’s necessary … It should be all the time.”
Several council members, however, took issue with Bortner’s motion. To that end, the town council made a motion to simply have the charter and ordinance committee review the town’s noise ordinance.
“I don’t want to get into a situation where we are weaponizing our noise ordinance,” Magdeburger said at the time. “I think that’s a dangerous place for anyone in Fenwick to be because it is a community that prides itself on outdoor activities, and outdoor activities engender noise … I think the way it’s written now can probably be tightened up, so that there’s more clarity for our officers in terms of enforcement.”
Back on the agenda for discussion last week, Magdeburger told charter and ordinance committee members that Mette would be providing comments on the town’s noise ordinance in the coming weeks. She said he had been tasked with reviewing noise ordinances from municipalities both near and far.
“The more modern approach appears to be using decibels …,” she said. “I’m having him take a look at the modern approach, as well as what’s around in the surrounding communities.”
Magdeburger noted that while the existing noise ordinance includes a time period from midnight to 8 a.m., the committee was exploring a time period of 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.
“That seems to be a quiet time people respect,” she said.
Committee member Dave Reifschneider questioned how noise would be measured. For example, he noted that while mechanical noise maintained a consistent decibel level, party noise could rise and fall.
“Do you measure the peak, or take the average?” he asked.
Magdeburger said it was one of the issues Mette would explore.
“That’s why I’m asking him to look at a modern approach to that,” she replied. “Is it measured at the peak? At the property line? … That’s why I’m having him do a broader survey of what’s out there.”
When asked if the town had received any noise complaints in the last year, Magdeburger said it had, although those complaints were isolated to certain residences. She said the police department’s desire for more explicit noise regulations also prompted the town’s review of the noise ordinance.
“It gives a more unambiguous measuring rod,” she said.
Magdeburger noted that while Mette has been tasked with researching noise ordinances in surrounding communities, the committee would be responsible for drafting any changes.
“I’m hoping to get some comments from him in October,” she said. “If so, we will start to tackle that … We’re going to need to work at that a little bit.”
