Let’s continue the noise ordinance discussion

I fancy myself to be a man who loves to read all sorts of things. Reading city ordinances have never been in my wheelhouse — until I found myself attempting to track down some information about the sound ordinance for downtown Macon.

The back story: Several weeks ago, two musicians (James Lengel and Matt Moncrief) were playing on the patio of Parish on Cherry Street. Just minutes after 9 p.m., a resident — who has been covered in the media already and whom I don’t feel the need to name — of a loft across the street took it upon himself to call the police and report a violation of the noise ordinance.

What does this mean for Macon? What does it mean for live music in Macon?

Does this mean the ordinance should be updated? I certainly think so. What does that update look like? I think that emerges from a conversation between government officials, law enforcement, residents, downtown business owners and musicians. I’m talking about an actual conversation — not a shouting match.

While this particular issue centers around amplified music being played on an outdoor patio at a restaurant, the noise ordinance technically doesn’t discriminate, stating, “Noise of such character, intensity or duration as to be detrimental to the life or health of any individual, or in disturbance of the public peace and welfare is prohibited.”

The fact of the matter is that the “detrimental” aspect of the ordinance is not clearly defined, and should be. Who decides if the “noise” is actually “noise?” Is this “noise” limited to music from the streets or can it be any “noise” residents can hear in their residences? How loud is too loud? Should this be a case-by-case basis, or should there be a decibel threshold? Again, I don’t know, but all of these issues — and more — need to be examined and discussed.

Downtown needs residents. Period. End of story. These residents move downtown with the idea that they will be closer to the businesses that exist downtown, thereby spending money at these businesses. That being said, a downtown resident should expect a certain level of “city noise.”

The key here is finding a balance between the residents and the nightlife that downtown Macon is trying to grow, clearly defining what level of noise is acceptable, and updating the time constraints appropriately.

Like many things in life, the solution lies somewhere in the middle. The truth of the matter is that the current ordinance backs up the resident’s complaint. Moving forward, we as a community need to join the conversation with city leaders and law enforcement to clearly define how this ordinance can be updated in a manner that makes all those involved happy with the outcome.

This story was originally published December 7, 2016 at 7:07 AM with the headline "Let’s continue the noise ordinance discussion."