Noise ordinance may soon come up for vote

Outdoor amphitheaters such as the South Shore's IC Light Amphitheatre will have to turn down their amplifiers during some concerts under a proposed noise ordinance presented to City Council on Thursday.

'No doubt, some of the people making noise now will have to rethink their noise levels,' said Steve Roth, a sound consultant hired by council to study the noise issue. 'It's very possible they will have to reduce the noise levels.'

Noise levels have become a sensitive issue to neighbors of sometimes loud, rollicking locations, like the IC Light Amphitheatre and Heinz Field. Currently, noise levels are limited to 68 decibels in neighborhoods between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. But venues like Heinz Field and the IC Light Amphitheatre have been exempt because they host events like football games and concerts with the proper city permits.

City Council could consider this issue for a preliminary vote at its next regularly scheduled committee meeting Wednesday.

The proposal would limit unamplified noise in residential areas to 65 decibels during the day and 60 at night. Amplified noise would be restricted to 75 decibels day and night.

Noise emanating from the IC Light Amphitheatre during an August Beach Boys concert would not have violated the proposed ordinance, but a Warped Tour event there that same month would have, Roth said.

An August Steelers game at Heinz Field would not have broken the law.

Crowd noise would be exempted from the ordinance, but amplified noises have to remain within 'reasonable levels,' Roth said.

Acceptable game-day announcements, for instance, were often drowned out by planes and local car traffic during the tests.

Councilman Alan Hertzberg has been shepherding the noise ordinance through a series of sound tests and public hearings since 2000, when residents started complaining about sounds from outdoor concerts entering their homes. City Council hired Roth's firm to measure sound levels throughout the city, both at normal times and during sports and music events.

The proposed ordinance applies to sound heard in residential areas - not in any commercial or industrial areas.

It also was designed to protect against 'serious noise intrusions,' rather than moderate noises or ones that might offend someone with 'more sensitive' hearing.

The proposal also prohibits garbage collection in residential areas between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Car and motorcycle noise does not fall under the regulation, but music blaring from a vehicle violates the law if 'plainly audible to an officer' 75 feet away.

Officers would be trained in using sound measuring devices and would have to take into account normal background noises when checking for an offense.

Heidi Edwards, a Steelers representative, criticized the proposal for allowing too much subjectivity on the part of police officers measuring events.

To make the regulation easier to enforce, a single sound ordinance would apply to residential areas throughout the city. Councilman Jim Motznik had proposed that lower levels apply in neighborhoods with less background noise.

'We can get as detailed as we want on this ordinance, but that would require our police officers to become acoustical engineers,' Hertzberg responded.