What happened
League City City Council voted 6-1 at its Oct. 14 meeting to approve the first reading of an ordinance that would generally prohibit unreasonable noise—with some exceptions—and create a special event sound permit process.
Council member Tommy Cones voted against changing the ordinance.
Earlier in the meeting, City Council voted to amend the motion to remove a section of the ordinance on animal noises, such as dogs barking. However, the motion failed 2-5 with council members Tom Crews and Tommy Cones voting for the amendment.
The details
In determining whether noise is unreasonable, consideration may be given to the frequency, duration and recurrence of the sound in addition to its volume and location, according to city documents.
The city will presume amplified sound generated during nighttime hours, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., in residential areas to be unreasonable, according to city documents.
The city will permit amplified sound that would otherwise be prohibited if the noise is part of an event that organizers have secured a special event sound permit for, according to city documents.
According to the ordinance, unreasonable noise also includes noise made by animals, which Crews objected to and asked to be removed from the ordinance.
“This is so vague and so open to interpretation it’s almost impossible to enforce,” Crews said.
What else?
Council member Chad Tressler brought up a post League City Police Department made to educate residents about changes in the city’s policies for acquiring a sound permit.
Tressler said resident feedback to the post described the changes as “overly broad and vague.”
“It turned into an online dissection of our noise ordiannce,” Tressler said. “It didn’t matter that the noise ordinance wasn’t what was changing.”
Tressler said some staff at the city’s animal shelter pointed out to him that the clause pertaining to animals was added for animals' protection.
“The first thing a dog does if it’s not being treated well is to look for somebody to help by verbalizing that it needs help,” Tressler said.
Looking ahead
Any person who violates the noise ordinance could be guilty of a misdemeanor, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense, according to city documents.
City Council will hear the second and final reading at its Oct. 28 meeting.
