CAMDEN, Maine — Local residents will get to decide in November whether they want to institute a town-wide ordinance that regulates noise.
The Select Board voted 4-1 Tuesday night to send the proposed noise ordinance to voters at the Nov. 8 election.
Camden Planning Board Chair Lowrie Sargent said Wednesday that a subcommittee of the planning board began working on the issue in early 2015. The panel researched the matter because the town ordinance does not include a specific standard for what is excessive noise and the local law only covers the downtown.
Camden Police Chief Randy Gagne said the department will get complaints throughout the town over noise. He said often it is from night spots with music or functions being held at other locations in town.
The chief said the typical response by the department is to speak to the party and ask for whatever is causing the noise to be turned down.
“Rarely do we have a second complaint,” the chief said, pointing out that the overwhelming number of people are cooperative.
The proposed new noise ordinance would define excessive noise as anything exceeding 65 decibels that lasts for five minutes or longer from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. The sound is to be measured from the property line of the source of the noise.
“This is a reasonable way to go,” Sargent said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the sound of 65 decibels was likened to a vacuum cleaner 5 feet away.
Dennis McGuirk, who serves on the subcommittee that crafted the proposed noise ordinance, said at 45 decibels, a person’s sleep can be disturbed. He said it was important to have objective standards in the ordinance. He also said that people can check the noise level themselves through free applications on their phones.
Select Board Chair John French Jr. voted against the proposed ordinance. He had suggested the town put the ordinance on a trial basis for a year to see how it would work. Town Manager Patricia Finnigan said the town could not enforce the ordinance in court unless it was approved by voters. She said, however, the police chief had a good track record of getting citizens to comply after noise complaints are received.
“Are you going to tell me I can’t run my air gun at 11 [p.m.]?” French, who operates a commercial garage, said. “Not that I would do that.”
French questioned the need to impose the ordinance for the November election, saying it could wait until June and see how it went on a trial basis.
The ordinance would exempt activities such as lawn mowing, snow blowing and motor vehicles from the noise limit.
McGuirk said there was no question, the proposed Camden ordinance would work, noting that neighboring Rockport, where Gagne also serves as interim police chief, has four zones with different decibel levels ranging from 60 in an industrial zone and 45 in residential zone.
“If anything, it is too lenient,” McGuirk said of the Camden proposal.