By Paul Thompson
Northeast News
May 18, 2016

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Trash collection trucks, motorcyclists, and drivers with loud, modified cars could soon start receiving noise violations under a strengthened KCMO ordinance, especially if owners operate their vehicles late at night or early in the morning.

The City Council is currently considering methods to improve its ‘Noise Control’ ordinance. The Neighborhoods and Public Safety & Housing joint committee passed on a strengthened noise control ordinance on Wednesday, May 11 that would address loud motorists operating between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.

The new legislation would apply to motorists on both public and private property, although it does create distinctions between the two. At public right-of-ways, the ordinance would utilize a ‘plainly audible standard’ – meaning a noise that can be heard unaided from a distance of at least 300 feet – to decide whether a motor vehicle’s volume results in a violation during nighttime hours (10:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m.). Unlike the current ordinance, the plainly audible standard would not require that a measurement be registered on a decibel meter.

“The current ordinance allows us to regulate motor vehicles, but mandates an actual sound reading to cite a violation,” said Joe Williamson, operations program manager for the KCMO health department. “This can be especially challenging when attempting to obtain a two-minute A-weighted reading on a moving object. That’s really a near-impossible feat for us.”

Violations occurring on private property would still need to be registered for two minutes on a sound meter under the revised ordinance. Vehicle noise would be required to remain under 90 decibels at a neighbor’s property line from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., and under 55 decibels from 10:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. According to documents provided by the city, a running lawn mower registers at roughly 90 decibels, while normal conversation registers at around 55 decibels.

“If I’ve got adjoining private property, then I can deal with that at all hours,” explained 1st District Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Scott Wagner of the proposed ordinance changes. “When I have an issue on the public right-of-way, then that’s where you have the difference between the daytime and nighttime pieces.”

The revised ordinance would also hold trash and recycling companies responsible for the noise made by its drivers at inappropriate times. As the noise control ordinance currently stands, drivers are held responsible instead of the companies that set the pick-up schedules. Kansas City residents called in 108 noise complaints between January and March of 2016, marking a 56% increase over the same time period in 2015. The majority of the bump can be attributed to noise caused by trash and recycling removal or loud music.

“These noise complaints are a nuisance to the entire community, and complaints received regarding these refuse trucks have increased significantly over the past few years,” said Williamson.

One member of the public provided testimony stating that the proposed ordinance changes wouldn’t solve the problem of loud motorcycles revving their engines in her neighborhood during daytime hours. Still, the joint committee felt it was most important to provide police officers and codes enforcement staff with a system for issuing noise citations without the use of a sound meter.

“What’s the point of laws and ordinances? It’s to signal individual’s behavior, and to let them know the outer confines of basically how they can behave,” said 3rd District Councilman Quinton Lucas. “And it’s also to give some break to our police officers who have to enforce these rules.”

“I kind of look at this as one of those classic cases where perfect is the enemy of good,” added Wagner. “I think we’ve got some very good things that we’ve placed in here.”

While the committee agreed to look into possible tweaks to the ordinance in the future, all members still voted to advance it through committee. Whether the changes to the ordinance become law is now a decision for the full City Council.