10/20/16 — Commissioners pass ordinance with a little noise from public

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Commissioners pass ordinance with a little noise from public

By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 20, 2016 9:57 AM

What exactly is an unruly bird?

Is it a rooster crowing in the morning?

And if unruly birds are among noisy disturbances being singled out in Wayne County's new noise ordinance, then why aren't the loud pickup trucks that rumble through otherwise quiet neighborhoods?

Those questions raised by Ray Smith of Goldsboro during a Tuesday morning public hearing left Wayne County commissioners and the audience at the meeting laughing.

But later in the meeting commissioners unanimously approved the new ordinance that incorporated one of the issues raised by Smith.

The ordinance is available on the Wayne County website, www.waynegov under Municipal code/County Ordinances on the left side of the home page.

Attorney Bill Strickland raised free speech concerns during the public comments portion of the meeting held prior to the public hearing on the ordinance.

Strickland was speaking about a provision in the ordinance prohibiting any person from using "loud language to curse, swear, or make vulgar, or racial remarks in a violent or offensive manner while attending" at sporting events.

"I think it would be hard to enforce as written," he said. "Two, I think you run into problems regulating free speech.

"Everybody nowadays seems to be offended by everything. So let's not give them another reason to charge somebody with a crime because they are offended."

Also, there is already a state law on disorderly conduct, Strickland said.

Smith said there is no one in the county who likes to be quiet more than he does.

"But I don't see where you can enforce this, what do you call it? Ordinance?" he said. "It seems like you are working on few little things, but the ones that make the racket you don't.

"Take last night about 7 o'clock I was outside and I heard, a mile away, over a mile away the band at Eastern Wayne beating it up and making more racket than a bird or dog will make in six months. If we are going to go to a quiet county, let's do that. But to me it is just like your litter ordinance, repeal it or enforce it."

Before adopting the ordinance the board approved an amendment offered by Commissioner Ed Cromartie to exempt high schools band practice and performances.

Also prior to approval Wayne County Planner Chip Crumpler recommended two other changes related to animals.

The changes exempt the noise created by service animals and noise created by dogs while hunting, being lawfully trained by hunters, emergency services or law enforcement personnel.

Smith said loud pickup trucks come by his house sounding like they are rolling the road up behind them.

He asked if that was included as prohibited noise in the ordinance.

That is already covered under state law, Sheriff Larry Pierce said.

As for unruly birds, it would be one making a noise measured at the ordinance's 90-decibel threshold, Chairman Joe Daughtery said.

That would be an "extremely" loud bird, he said.

Commissioner Bill Pate added that the noise has to be 90 decibels or louder for at least one minute out of a 10-minute period.

"I don't believe a chicken can crow that long," Pate said.

Smith wanted to know how the level is measured.

It has to be measured by a sound meter, Daughtery said.

"A deputy will come and measure if there is a compliant," Daughtery said. "We are not in the business to go over here and patrol everything.

"We are not trying to, but if there is a complaint it is not a matter of what you think or I think. It is matter of what the measurement is from the sound instrument. It will record it."

Pate asked County Attorney Parker if he had any concerns about the free speech issues brought by Strickland.

"I think the sheriff would make a determination whether somebody should be charged as a violation of the ordinance or as a violation of criminal law (disorderly conduct)," Parker said.

Daughtery asked if the ordinance wording violated free speech.

"I don't think so," Parker said. "I think part of what you would have is that if it were so loud that it would come under the noise level you could do it just like free speech does not allow you to scream fire in a theater. There are some exceptions and loud speech would be one."

Daughtery said he also wanted to further address Smith's concerns.

"I think he is looking at it from the standpoint that we have got a number of items in this whether it is a bird or and individual or whatever making a noise," he said. "But it is based on a decibel level. Is that correct?"

Parker and Crumpler said that is correct.

"What we have currently is unenforceable," Daughtery said. "It is very ambiguous. It is based on an opinion. There is no way to measure it."

Parker said that judges will not enforce the existing ordinance because of the ambiguity.

Currently the county has no way of measuring noise levels. It is always the discretion of the deputy responding to the call, Pierce said.

"And we get a bunch of calls for noise," he said. "As we become more congested in our residential areas, we get more complaints -- even to the point of people complaining about their neighbors at birthday parties.

"We don't know how to handle it exactly because it is so ambiguous."

Daughtery said the ordinance empowers the deputies who will have devices to measure noise levels and is more enforceable than what the county now has and is complaint driven.