Greensboro Citizens Against Noise Ordinance says that "Normal ambient noise [downtown] on a Monday night when no clubs are open is 53dB," while the number under discussion for a new regulation is 45dB after 11pm. 

If the chart at left is correct, they'll have to outlaw rain.

Anyone got one of these?

Comments

[sean coon]

nope, but i guess the GPD will have them strapped to their backs while patrolling downtown on their segways.

dorks.

[Kim]

Outlaw conversation too.

[Eric Robert]

The increasing sense of entitlement is alarming!

[Dan]

No farting!

[Billy Jones]

Might as well try to speed up the earth.

[SAL LEONE]

Hi
Thats a good one Dan, lol. I guess big brother is in control. I enforce noise ordinances myself and they sometimes can be to strict. We had one guy always call as soon as the club door opens and music comes out. The city has to work with these clubs, people should not buy or live near people if they expect or want to hear no noise. I lived near and I mean near LGA airport from 1977 to 2000 and can count on my hand the noise issues I had, you have to tune things out.

The real issue is who owns the property and stands to make money by noise going away.

I say work together and compromise with a fair solution.

[Eric Robert]

Unfortunately, I do not believe they want a fair solution...they want it gone...period. It is not simply the decibel level, it is the type of music, and the associated crowd...remember...the curfew was never about safety. The recent tent nonsense was never about the tents.

[Ron]

I always thought the curfew was racially motivated. There were too many young black teens walking around for some people.

All I have to say, is if you don't like noise, don't move downtown.

[Brian]

I do think there is room for compromise here...it will be interesting to see how much each side is willing to bend. I see a couple of issues that need to be addressed. 1) A noise ordinance needs to necessarily distinguish between Downtown and the rest of the city - two different animals. 2) There is a need to distinguish the application of the ordinance for everyday nightclubs and for special events that occur less frequently and no loopholes for a business to apply for a "special event" permit for an activity that regularly occurs on property they principally use for their business. 3) Consider an ordinance that does not create all nights the same - give the clubs three nights - Thurs-Sat or Fri-Sun where noise is allowed until, say 1am. Other nights, make the cutoff 11pm. And, lastly, distinguish between noise generated by the establishment itself and noise created by people talking and gathering outside the facility.

[Billy Jones]

I find it interesting that I predicted these very problems on this very blog a few years ago.

That said, I would like to see a better noise ordinance enforced here in East Greensboro but it will probably take a Political Action Committee to get it done.

[michele]

I've looked at a number of charts like the one you posted. A whisper is 20 dB, a quiet residence is 30dB, a soft stereo in a residence is 40 dB, normal speech range is 50-70 dB, a quiet residential street is 60dB. And the noise ordinance calls for a maximum of 45dB after 11pm? Basically, they're saying that a still active downtown has to be quieter than a quiet residential street? So quiet that people couldn't even have a conversation outside? That's silly to the point of absurd.

[Brian]

Michele - more to the point is that the proposed ordinance is for the entire city, not just downtown. I'm not even sure 45db in Guilford Hills is enforceable, let alone downtown.

[Billy Jones]

The police radios are over the proposed limit.

[TL]

I live a good half-mile from Dormition of the Theotokos Greek Orthodox Church, and when they dance into the night at festival time, I get to hear every lively note. I'm opposed to the ordinance and its decibel threshold, as I've grown fond of Greek music heard at a distance.

[Collards]

All this reminds me of this quote.

"Let me adjust my hearing aid. It could not accommodate the decibels of the Senator from Massachusetts. I can't match him in decibels or Jezebels."

-- After Ted Kennedy made an emotional speech to let foreigners with HIV become US citizens, 1993.

[Iris]

Here's a better chart which includes noise levels of instruments. Guess they'll have to call off Fourth of July fireworks and bands, too. http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html Too bad people have lost all perception of common courtesy and respect. Maybe the clubs should offer instruction on etiquette and manners as patrons hit the streets.

[Billy Jones]

Iris, "...Too bad people have lost all perception of common courtesy and respect. Maybe the clubs should offer instruction on etiquette and manners as patrons hit the streets."

Drunks have never perceived common courtesy and respect. These problems were predicted on this very blog when the "downtown renovation" first began. If you move near an airport you hear airplanes, if you move near a highway it's traffic, near a railroad track-- trains, if you move near a bar it's loud music and drunks. And the bars were there first.

Let Roy Carroll install soundproofing and make sure he pays for it out of his own pocket. Residents of Centerpoint should be filing a class action suit against Carroll for building condos that didn't measure up to the soundproofing requirements we knew would be necessary when placing housing next door to bars. The proof is on the pages of this blog-- I put it here myself.

And a little tip to morons home buyers: Spend a few nights in the neighborhood in which you plan to buy before you sign the contracts.

Like I said elsewhere, land grab, a new version of arson without the matches.