MONROE - Noisy garbage trucks and 40 winks just don't mix. As a result, trash collectors are now prohibited from picking up garbage downtown and in residential areas during the overnight hours.
The City of Monroe Common Council Tuesday passed an ordinance restricting the collection of solid waste to specific hours in residential zones. The new ordinance prohibits trash collectors from picking up solid waste between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. in all residential zones and the downtown business district, and any location within 400 feet of those zones.
The ordinance contains one exception - in the event of civil emergencies, the city administrator may lift the restrictions - which Council President Charles Koch said shows the law is "not cast in iron."
The ordinance passed by 9-1, with Tyler Schultz voting against it. A member of the Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee, Schultz held that restrictions on trash collectors should come from "the people hiring the contractors" rather than the city.
Alderman Thurston Hanson made a similar statement at council, saying the issue should not have gotten to the level of an ordinance.
"I don't like government making more rules and laws," he said.
Hanson said he was voting in favor of the ordinance only at the request of his constituents.
Downtown resident Sherrill Kelley spoke at the council meeting, identifying herself as the citizen who first brought the issue to the Public Safety Committee in October.
That committee reviewed several ordinances from other communities and investigated the possibility of creating an ordinance on the subject of noise during night and early morning hours, even though the solid waste contractor had already agreed to curtail its operations in the downtown area to after 6 a.m. It finally referred the regulation of hours of operation for private contractor trash pick-up to the Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee in November.
The Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee recognized the problem of noise from early morning trash pickups was not limited to just the downtown area, and sought input from other city residents before considering the scope of a proposed noise ordinance in December.
Robert Duxstad, Business Improvement District (BID) board president, also spoke to council members Tuesday. BID had passed a resolution asking the city to limit the hours of garbage collection downtown, recommending the hours of between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. BID covers the central business district, a mix of commercial and residential properties.
Duxstad said BID members viewed limiting the hours of solid waste collection as facilitating the economic development of downtown. He made comparisons to other communities around the state, which have trash collection and noise ordinances in place.
He called the restrictions within the ordinance "do-able," noting collectors had already been able to adjust hours of operation to accommodate residents, without undue burden, and asked council members to pass the resolution.
The final ordinance is specific to trash pickup and does not include other potential noise problems, such as construction and pets. Koch suggested in December a "complete noise ordinance for the city" that would address all noise problems, and "give law enforcement a solid ordinance to go on" when complaints arise.
The City of Monroe Common Council Tuesday passed an ordinance restricting the collection of solid waste to specific hours in residential zones. The new ordinance prohibits trash collectors from picking up solid waste between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. in all residential zones and the downtown business district, and any location within 400 feet of those zones.
The ordinance contains one exception - in the event of civil emergencies, the city administrator may lift the restrictions - which Council President Charles Koch said shows the law is "not cast in iron."
The ordinance passed by 9-1, with Tyler Schultz voting against it. A member of the Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee, Schultz held that restrictions on trash collectors should come from "the people hiring the contractors" rather than the city.
Alderman Thurston Hanson made a similar statement at council, saying the issue should not have gotten to the level of an ordinance.
"I don't like government making more rules and laws," he said.
Hanson said he was voting in favor of the ordinance only at the request of his constituents.
Downtown resident Sherrill Kelley spoke at the council meeting, identifying herself as the citizen who first brought the issue to the Public Safety Committee in October.
That committee reviewed several ordinances from other communities and investigated the possibility of creating an ordinance on the subject of noise during night and early morning hours, even though the solid waste contractor had already agreed to curtail its operations in the downtown area to after 6 a.m. It finally referred the regulation of hours of operation for private contractor trash pick-up to the Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee in November.
The Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee recognized the problem of noise from early morning trash pickups was not limited to just the downtown area, and sought input from other city residents before considering the scope of a proposed noise ordinance in December.
Robert Duxstad, Business Improvement District (BID) board president, also spoke to council members Tuesday. BID had passed a resolution asking the city to limit the hours of garbage collection downtown, recommending the hours of between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. BID covers the central business district, a mix of commercial and residential properties.
Duxstad said BID members viewed limiting the hours of solid waste collection as facilitating the economic development of downtown. He made comparisons to other communities around the state, which have trash collection and noise ordinances in place.
He called the restrictions within the ordinance "do-able," noting collectors had already been able to adjust hours of operation to accommodate residents, without undue burden, and asked council members to pass the resolution.
The final ordinance is specific to trash pickup and does not include other potential noise problems, such as construction and pets. Koch suggested in December a "complete noise ordinance for the city" that would address all noise problems, and "give law enforcement a solid ordinance to go on" when complaints arise.