Two Barclay Heights residents with noise complaints demanded action again from the Town Board on a town-wide noise ordinance.
“Last time you said you thought it was taken care of,” said Cherry Ln. resident Warren Ferine.
Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel said he had hoped the situation would resolve itself without a law, but unfortunately it has not.
Helsmoortel said the board would arrange outdoor workshops using decibel meters to demonstrate to citizens the volumes that would be acceptable under the proposed ordinance at various distances. Decibel levels in the draft ordinance were 72 dB from 7 a.m.–10 p.m. and 66 dB at night.
Later that week, the first such workshop was announced for 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 1 at the large pavilion at Cantine Field.
The village has its own noise ordinance, though it is seldom invoked.
The Town Board has had a noise ordinance in the works for much of 2014, but has been unable to come to an agreement. Because neighborhoods vary from dense [in the area of the noise complaint] to rural layouts, a decibel level that is appropriate when homes are far apart may not be appropriate when homes are next to each other. Town officials say it is not possible to vary noise limits by neighborhood or zoning.
“If we went with what we had right now, it would very possibly get voted ‘no,’” Helsmoortel said in response to a question posed by Arlene Canonico, also a Cherry Ln. resident.
Ferine seemed skeptical about the board’s intentions.
“What happened to the signatures we turned in? The 156 signatures?” he asked, adding that about 70 percent of the people he polled were for a noise ordinance.
Helsmoortel said the town had the signatures and would produce them at the next meeting to prove it.
After the outdoor workshops, the board will make any adjustments to the ordinance and schedule two public hearings before voting. As for whether Helsmoortel thinks the board will come up with an ordinance that would carry a majority of votes, “I wouldn’t say it’s 100 percent.”
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