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Let’s keep it down, new Peachtree City noise ordinance orders cart path boom-box blasters, loud house partiers and forever barking dogs.
The City Council on April 7 adopted the city’s first-ever set of excessive noise rules that will result in police officers using a sound meter for 10 minutes at property lines to determine whether to issue loudness tickets.
The new rules, the city says, will “address stationary sources such as excessive dog barking, parked cars and golf carts blasting music, and party houses.”
What likely remains beyond police reach: bass-booming moving carts and vehicles. By the time cops get there, the offending noise-makers have moved on down the road or cart path.
The noise limits are measured over a 10-minute period at the receiving property line.
One deletion from final rules is a maximum sound level of more than 15 decibels above the set limits:
• 65 db daytime and 60 db nighttime in single-family residential areas, noise-sensitive areas (like medical facilities) and public parks
• 60 db day and night in apartments and multi-family areas
• 70 db in commercial areas
• 75 db in industrial areas
For enforcement purposes, daytime is defined as 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays and national holidays. The result of a noise ticket: the offender must show up in City Court to face a judge who can impose fines in the hundreds of dollars.
Decibels are measured logarithmically. Every increase of 10 db is equal to an increase in sound of 10 times. Near silence is 0 db, a whisper is 10 db, a busy office or restaurant and loud conversation is 60 db, freeway traffic at 50 feet is 70 db, a lawnmower or motorcycle at 25 feet is 90 db and chainsaw is 120 db. Hearing damage can occur at 90 db after lengthy exposure, according to Decibel Pro, makers of db meters.
The city’s charts shown below detail specifics of the new noise nuisance rules:
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