Think Raleigh’s too raucous? City adopts rules, fines for noise violations.
For years, some Raleigh residents have complained about increased noise and a lack of teeth in the city’s rules to address the quality-of-life issue.
Now, the City Council has approved a new noise ordinance with stiffer penalties for those who break the rules.
What happened Tuesday?
The Raleigh City Council voted to approve the city’s new noise ordinance. The vote was 6-2 with Council members Mary Black and Christina Jones voting against.
What does the Raleigh noise ordinance say?
It has three general prohibitions. A person may not make:
- Plainly audible “unreasonable loud or raucous noise”
- Plainly audible noise that unreasonably disturbs the health, peace and safety of a reasonable person.
- Plainly audible noise that is “so harsh, prolonged, unnatural or unusual” in time or place that it causes unreasonable discomfort to any reasonable person.
Consideration will be given to whether a sound is “unreasonable loud or raucous” by its proximity to sleeping people, the time of day or night the sound occurs, its duration and whether the sound is constant or intermittent.
What is a reasonable person?
The ordinance drops a decibel reading and instead moves to a “reasonable person” standard.
The problem with decibel readers was that it was difficult to pinpoint where the noise came from.
“It wasn’t easy for our police to enforce,” Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin told The News & Observer. “So we got a lot of complaints. If you brought that noise calculator out there, just street noise would be in violation. So we had to create some specifics and look at best practices.”
The decibel standard also required special equipment and training, and sometimes the offending noise ended before law enforcement arrived.
A “reasonable person” is a legal term defined in the city’s code. Essentially, it means a regular person who is within the area of where a loud noise is occurring and is disrupting a conversation, sleep, work or other similar activities.
What about bars and nightclubs?
The ordinance specifically prohibits any unreasonable noise from a commercial establishment from 11 p.m to 7 a.m. that can be heard 150 feet from the property line or 300 feet during the daytime.
Are there exceptions to the noise ordinance?
Yes. They include emergency warnings, parades, outdoor events and festivals, outdoor school and playground activities, construction equipment during daytime hours and lawn-care equipment during daytime hours.
What are the noise ordinance penalties?
Violators will have to pay $250 for the initial violation. Each subsequent violation in a 12-month period from the last violation will carry a civil penalty of $500.
Are there First Amendment concerns?
The noise ordinance is considered content-neutral, meaning it doesn’t focus on a type of speech.
But Black asked how the rules would affect local groups and activists protesting, especially in the downtown area.
“I’ve had some direct experience with taking the megaphone outside of Wells Fargo to boycott their investments into the climate crisis,” she said. “And the police were called on me. Technically it wasn’t illegal because I was on the sidewalk. But if I were to do something like that again, or somebody else, what could potentially be the impact on demonstrations?”
The ordinance specifically says “unreasonable loud or raucous” noise in public places or city rights-of-ways with a bullhorn or loud speaker is prohibited at night if it can be heard from 50 feet from a reasonable person or 300 feet away during the daytime by a reasonable person.
“This deals with the proximity, the loudness of the volume, and you can actually do damage to people’s hearing in close proximity with a bullhorn,” said Dottie Kibler, deputy city attorney. “So this is again, recognizing those First Amendment rights and also recognizing the rights of the unwilling listener.”
When do the rules go into effect?
Feb. 3.
Where can I read the full report?
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 5:47 PM.
