Date: Fri 30-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

noise-ordinance-Meeks

Full Text:

Resident Asks For A Local Noise Ordinance

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

Penny Meek of Butterfield Road has requested the town create an ordinance to

control the level of noise in town.

She said she's fed up with all the noise coming from the Butterfield Woods

development project. The Newtown resident has made numerous complaints to

police and has even been known to stare down construction crews at the

construction site.

Mrs Meek finally decided to do something about it on Mother's Day, when the

peace and quiet of her neighborhood was leveled by a fleet of passing trucks,

steam rollers and a bulldozer.

"I thought about it for a long time. There's no recourse for residents. The

only noise ordinance in town is for amplification. There's nothing to prevent

someone from, say, using a chain saw at 5 am. There are no ground rules," she

said.

Mrs Meek said the noise problem is not just from construction, pointing to

dirt bikes and lawn mowers, as well.

Selectman Gary Fetzer said he often receives complaints from residents over

motorcycle noise. He said an ordinance would give police the ability to deal

with the problem.

According to Lt David Lydem of the Newtown Police Department, there is no real

specific guideline to follow when it comes to noise. There are state statutes

that do govern noise, but in order to enforce them, an officer must measure

the noise level using a decibel meter. Lt Lydem said police usually try to

take a more persuasive approach.

"We always go by the reasonableness of the hour and we attempt to negotiate

rather than use the law," he explained.

The police ran into a problem when Tom Sawyer's restaurant/bar was in

operation a few years ago. Some residents complained about the music and noise

coming from the restaurant.

"We had to use a meter to measure the noise," he said.

Lt Lydem said an ordinance would make it easier to enforce noise levels, but

would not guarantee that any action taken by the police would hold up in a

court of law.

Mrs Meek said the town has to have some sort of regulation, especially as it

continues to grow. She's requested a regulation that would regulate

neighborhood construction hours and prohibit work on Sundays.

"I feel this is needed for the whole town. There needs to be some rhyme or

reason as far as density to a neighborhood. As we get into a denser existence

we've got to have some recourse. We need a guideline to live by," she said.

Ordinance Committee Chairman Bill Brimmer said he plans to sit down with Mrs

Meek to further discuss her concerns before any ordinance work is started. He

also plans to find out what is actually going on at these construction sites

to create all the noise.

Mr Brimmer said the ordinance committee will study noise reduction ordinances

from other towns to help in its direction.