Ogden considers updates to noise ordinance

Stephanie Veale

OGDEN — A proposed noise ordinance in Ogden has raised questions about the role towns should play in neighborhood disputes.

The Town Board has decided to update its noise ordinance after receiving frequent complaints over a three-year period, Town Supervisor Gay Lenhard said. The board held multiple public hearings and is now drafting a noise ordinance that includes a decibel threshold for allowable noise. Lenhard expects a vote on the law next month.

Other towns, most notably Chili, have dealt with noise issues among neighbors in recent years. But Ogden has a different character than many towns surrounding Rochester. It has a rural aspect and contains a broad range of properties, from subdivisions to rambling, wide open lots.

Two main epicenters of the noise-related strife in Ogden are on Chambers Street and Carolotta Drive. Neighbors say at least two families — one on each street — are abusing the privilege of using all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes. The families do not believe they are being unreasonable.

"We're really trying to make an effort here," said Jacquie Shortino of Chambers Street, whose four children ride bikes and ATVs. "It's not about the dirt bikes, and it's not about the noise. It's about people getting along."

Police have visited Shortino's house 14 times this year, according to police records.

"The noise and disruption to my life has become unbearable," next-door neighbor Dave Erbland said at the May27 public hearing on the proposed noise ordinance. "I now pray for rain, thinking it might provide some relief. I find myself stopping at places on the way home from work in order to delay the inevitable."

Erbland, reached by e-mail, did not comment on whether the situation has improved since that hearing.

At the heart of the debate is a single question: Why do people move to Ogden in the first place? There seem to be two main reasons, Lenhard said, and they're not always compatible.

"One is so they can do whatever they want on their property," she said. "The second is for peace and quiet."

Police called

Melanie Cammilleri has three children who enjoy riding on their seven-acre private lot on Carolotta Drive. She says her neighbors are using the police department to harass her family. The last time her kids revved up the machines, on July 3, they rode for 15 minutes and the police were called twice, she says. So far in 2009, police have been called to the Cammilleris' home nine times, according to the department. Unrelated disagreements with one particular neighbor began three or four years ago, Cammilleri said. The noise issue cropped up after that and has now expanded to other neighbors and become personal, she said. She believes her neighbors are using the noise as an excuse to call the police on her kids. She worries the town will come down hard on anyone who uses ATVs and dirt bikes by creating too low a decibel threshold or by prohibiting the machines altogether. A whole new noise ordinance seems like overkill, she said.

"These are isolated issues that should be handled on a case-by-case basis," Cammilleri said.

While the first draft of the new ordinance included a 500-foot restriction — meaning residents wouldn't be able to ride ATVs or dirt bikes within 500 feet of their property line — that provision has since been deleted from the proposed ordinance. Dozens of people criticized the 500-foot restriction at a Town Board meeting May27.

Lenhard says the Town Board has no intention of prohibiting the use of the machines.

Playing referee

The Ogden Police Department tried to alleviate the problems on Carolotta Drive through a neighborhood meeting, but Chief Doug Nordquist said the effort was unsuccessful. No compromise was reached, and Cammilleri said the mediation devolved into shouting and profanity on the part of at least one individual.

Nordquist is determined not to take sides in the noise debate. He says the role of the police department is to respond to all 911 calls and enforce whatever ordinance the town ultimately passes. Responding to noise complaints is part of the job of a police officer, he said.

"Everybody has a right — as a business owner, a resident, a taxpayer — if they feel they have the need, they have every right in the world to contact 911," Nordquist said. "911 isn't just an emergency number."

Neighbor disputes happen in every community. For Chili Town Supervisor David Dunning, the biggest dispute in recent memory is the decade-long battle over a backyard ATV track, which was finally resolved earlier this year. That battle led to changes in the town code along the way.

The Austin family's case made it all the way to Monroe County Supreme Court in April; a judge ordered the Austins to stop using their track. The construction of the track had violated the town zoning code, according to the judge.

Dunning says the Austin case is an example of what happens when neighbor problems spin out of control, ensnaring the town in the process.

"That whole situation got blown out of proportion early on," Dunning said. "Once ill feelings are there, it's done. It's over with. Now you've got a fight, and no matter what, somebody has to win. There's no middle ground at that point ... I always think it's better if neighbors can work things out among themselves before they get the town involved."

Working on specifics

Other towns report more sporadic problems with noise. Webster hasn't had many noise complaints recently, although there was an issue two years ago involving a man who would invite friends over to ride ATVs or dirt bikes for four or five hours at a time, Town Supervisor Ronald Nesbitt said.

Webster's noise ordinance is complex, with different maximum decibel levels allowed depending on the type of property, time of day and day of the week. Maximum levels range from 50 to 75 decibels, and the level is supposed to be measured from the property line of the parties involved. More stringent limits are placed on steady tones such as whines, screeches and hums; repetitive noises such as hammering; and music.

When Dunning was first elected supervisor in Chili in 2007, the Town Board was considering adding decibel restrictions to the town's noise ordinance. Even in light of the Austin court fight, Dunning persuaded members not to specify decibel levels because he didn't want an unenforceable law on the books.

Ogden may have an easier time enforcing decibel levels because it has its own police force, Dunning said. Right now, the Ogden Town Board is evaluating the merits and drawbacks a 90- to 94-decibel maximum, but the specifics of the new law have not yet been worked out.

Shortino favors decibel maximums, as long as the levels are reasonable.

"We'd like the officers to have something to stand on," said Shortino. "If the kids are just out there having fun and riding around, that's not a criminal offense."

Neighbor Ken Geil also favors reasonable decibel restrictions. He owns "every kind of motorized vehicle there is" but says he's never gotten a neighbor complaint in 15 years of using the machines. While he says he hasn't noticed excessive noise since the May public hearing, he still wants a new ordinance so the noise doesn't return.

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Source: http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908170326

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