Hanover noise ordinance faces overhaul

Holly Prestidge

High school public-announcement systems. Barking dogs. Dirt bikes. Motorcycles.

Some or all of these have generated complaints from Hanover County residents about excessive noise.

As a result, the Board of Supervisors will have a public hearing next month on proposed changes to its noise ordinance.

Here's what's happening and why. What prompted the county to revisit its noise ordinance?

The Supreme Court of Virginia issued a decision this year that said the language in a Virginia Beach noise ordinance -- which prohibited unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise -- was too vague. At that point, Hanover officials realized that the county's current noise ordinance includes similar language, County Attorney Sterling E. Rives III told the Board of Supervisors last week. And because it's vague, he said, much of the ordinance is unenforceable. How many complaints has the county received over the past year about noise?

Rives said barking dogs, followed by noisy motorcycles, dirt bikes and other ATVs, cause the most noise complaints.

Hanover Sheriff's Office Capt. Mike Trice said the county received more than 1,000 calls last year about excessive noises, ranging from loud garbage trucks and noisy arguments to teen parties and booming car stereos. What's new in the ordinance?

Here are some of the additions and changes to the current ordinance:

• Racetracks that require a conditional-use permit or special exemption are exempted from the ordinance. This is a new exemption. There are currently no racetracks within the county, but this would apply to any that come from now on.

• Violations of the noise ordinance would be classified as a Class 3 misdemeanor, which includes a fine of up to $500. Rives said the current ordinance does not provide a misdemeanor classification, only that penalties cannot exceed $1,000.

• All motor vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles, must meet the state's standards for mufflers and exhaust systems, whether they're used on private property or public roadways.

• Loudspeakers and other sound-producing devices that are installed or operated on the outside of a store, shop, business, warehouse or commercial building cannot be loud enough to be heard on a public sidewalk, road or street, or on residential property, unless the purpose is for announcing or paging someone; or alerting an individual to a ringing phone, smoke or fire; or announcing the beginning or ending of work or school.

• Animals cannot howl, bark, whine, meow, squawk or make other noises repeatedly or continuously for 15 minutes between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., or 10 minutes between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.; this applies to noise that can be heard across property lines, and through common walls that connect two residences.

"Barking dogs are the most frequent source of noise complaints," Rives told the board. He added that the Sheriff's Office will likely face challenges when trying to enforce the rules about noisy animals, but "we wrote it the best way we knew how."

• Yelling, singing, whistling and screaming would be prohibited between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. if it's loud enough to be heard more than 100 feet away.

• Creating audible noise at a property line in residential areas for the purpose of construction or building maintenance, lawn care, leaf removal, gardening, landscaping and timbering activities would be prohibited between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

When and where is the public hearing?

The public hearing will be Nov. 10 at the 7 p.m. meeting of the Board of Supervisors at the county's administration building, 7515 County Complex Road.

The board could vote that night on the proposed changes or defer action until a later meeting. 

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Source: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/local/article/NOIS18_20091017-220406/300039/

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