12.02- Bring the Noise!

[January 6, 2009 update: Click here for photo & coverage of noise ordinance discussion at Jan. 6 Town Board]

Oriental Mayor Bill Sage's gavel rests (for the moment) on the table at the Oriental Town Board of Commissioners meeting

Tonight's agenda for the Oriental Town Board of Commissioners meeting included discussion of possible revisions to the Town's "Noise Ordinance."

This is a contentious issue at the moment, and I will have to tread carefully in my description... Mayor Bill Sage pointed out that he had never brought a gavel to a Town Board meeting before, but had dug it out for this one.

The existing noise ordinance has been in place for decades, perhaps a hundred years (I will have to check), and relies on squishy subjective language that prohibits noises that are "annoying" to a "reasonable person" in the circumstances.

The meeting is is the culmination of an increasing number of complaints to Town police about the volume of live music at the "Tiki Bar," an outdoor deck with bar at the Oriental Marina & Inn on Raccoon Creek, and at a couple of other locations in town.

Many, but not all, of the complaints about Tiki Bar bands have come from a couple who live full time near the Tiki Bar, Keith Smith and Melinda Penkava, seen in the lower left hand corner of the below photo (front row, seated with papers and computer, dressed in black) ... In the same photo, Oriental resident Capt. Larry Walker (standing, in white) speaks to the board in defense of live music at the Tiki and elsewhere in Oriental:

Smith and Penkava explained that their home (located in the heart of the "old village" near a multi-use zone that includes two fish-houses, a number of retail businesses, restaurants and, about 150 yards across water from their home, the Tiki Bar) is invaded by an un-ignorable volume of music eminating from the Tiki Bar deck from 7:00 or 8:00 PM until 11:00 or later on one or two nights of many weekends.

Smith stressed that he and his wife had no desire to eliminate live music from Oriental, as they have been characterized, but only wanted to be able to peaceably enjoy their own home. Smith asserted that while live music on the property where the Tiki Bar is located (Oriental Marina & Inn) does pre-date the couple's home purchase, the number of bands has increased, and that the music has become louder at their home at least in part due to the construction of a building on the property that bounces the music towards their home (the "amphitheater effect.")

A few other speakers also indicated that they had been bothered in their homes by outdoor music in the past, or at least that the bands could be heard in their homes.

The vast majority of the letter-writers, crowd and speakers (many, if not most of whom do not live in Oriental) were in the "pro-music" camp, which feels that live music is a tradition in Oriental, is important to Oriental's visitor industries, and that individuals like Smith-Penkava who choose to move into the area of the village near places that regularly play live music have little basis for complaint (the "Airport" argument.)

Many letters to the Board and several speakers complained that because of the frequent and repeated complaints of a handful/couple of residents, bands have been forced to stop playing early, causing crowds to leave the bar and restaurant early, and that nothing less than the very future of live music in Oriental (and indeed Oriental's marketability as a visitor destination, and by implication its' very existence) is at stake.

Commissioner Kathy Kellum presented a model ordinance to begin a discussion of possibly adopting a more modern noise ordinance that would use decibel level limits to reduce ambiguity as to what is and is not "too loud."

Ms. Kellum (far right in below photo, holding coffee cup) and the mayor (in center, wearing red sweater) explained several times that the model ordinance is not now a proposed ordinance to be considered for adoption, but only a conglomeration of provisions picked from other city and town noise ordinances as a basic example and starting point.

There was lively discussion of decibel levels... The Tiki Bar owners (who also own the Toucan Bar & Fresh Grill on the same property) had purchased a hand-held decibel meter, and pointed to noise levels they had measured (air conditioning units, idling cars and shrimpboats, music, etc.) at different distances in arguing that the decibel levels in the model ordinance would essentially eliminate live music (and a host of other activities).

Cathy McIlhenny, one of the Tiki Bar owners, measured the noise level of the applauding crowd at the meeting as a demonstration:

It was a lively and well-attended meeting... Because of the expected crowd, the Board moved their meeting from Town Hall to a meeting room in the Baptist Church across Broad Street:

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