City Council delays vote on noise ordinance amendment
The amendment would create new standards for downtown.
Published Feb. 16, 2010
After commemorating the new addition to City Hall, the City Council chose to delay a vote on an amendment to the city's noise ordinance.
Members moved into their new council chambers Monday after holding a ceremony to decommission the old chambers. Mayor Darwin Hindman said he remembered the first days when meetings were held in the Daniel Boone Building. He said it would be seen for years to come as a historical landmark and used as office space.
"Every decision we have made or not made in these chambers is history and has built the road and foundation that Columbia is built on," Hindman said.
Once the council switched to the new chambers, it began its normal meeting where members decided to table the amendment to the noise ordinance until April. This amendment would expand the amount of noise allowed for the downtown area.
The issue was brought to the council's attention after Shiloh Bar & Grill owner Tom Atkinson placed a bare plywood wall in front his establishment after receiving complaints about the noise. According to city documents, if the amendment is passed, the wall will likely disappear.
"On any given night in the downtown area, any establishment could be violating the current ordinance just by having its front door open," Atkinson said.
Before tabling the amendment, the council came to a general consensus that more research needed to be done. Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala said a group of affected parties should be made to find out what people think of the amendment and look into other options.
"We ought to look at what is going on in other places," Skala said. "We haven't had much in the way of comparisons."
Bob Gerding, who lives 320 feet from Shiloh Bar & Grill, said the council has not done the type of research necessary to make the amendment thorough enough and suggested it be left alone until a better solution is found.
Members of the Special Business District said they wanted to be included in the process more than they have been.
"The SBD was presented with an ordinance fully formed and asked to comment on it, but we weren't there for the beginning of it," SBD Director Carrie Gartner said. "I think we can come to a better conclusion that the bars and the residents will be happy with but it hasn't been done yet."
If passed, the new ordinance would extend noise violation distances in the downtown area to 300 feet on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., 300 feet on weekends from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., 150 feet on weekdays from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. and 50 feet every day from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m.
The council will vote on the amendment at its April 19 meeting.