MONROE - Is Monroe becoming too noisy?
To answer that question, the city's Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee is seeking input from residents before considering the scope of a proposed noise ordinance next month.
"We want to see if there really is a problem we should address or if things are going smoothly," said Charles Koch, committee chairman.
Residents can submit their neighborhood noise complaints to the city clerk's office for committee review, Koch said.
The committee Wednesday directed City Attorney Rex Ewald to draft an ordinance limiting trash pickup to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. in the downtown central business district and in residential zones. Members of the committee will review the draft at its meeting in December.
The request to consider a noise ordinance came from the Public Safety Committee earlier this month, when downtown area residents complained about noise, particularly in the pre-dawn hours before 6 a.m., from a private trash pick-up contractor, Veolia Environmental Services. Veolia adjusted its pickup hours to after 6 a.m. in that area, but residents asked for a city ordinance to ensure the new hours would be kept.
The Business Improvement District (BID) board has passed a resolution asking the city to limit the hours of garbage collection downtown, a mixed area of residential and commercial, said BID Board President Robert Duxstad. BID recommended the hours of between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Duxstad said BID members saw limiting the hours as facilitating a "further trend of improvement of upper apartments" as part of the revitalization of the downtown area.
Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee members recognized the problem of noise from early morning trash pickups was not limited to just the downtown area. But while the draft ordinance they asked for next month is specific to trash pickup, they stopped short of including other potential problems, such as construction and pets, until they hear more from constituents.
Koch suggested 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.
But committee member Tyler Schultz was not in favor of a noise ordinance for trash pickup.
"I don't see a city ordinance obligation on this, but (for) the people hiring the contractors to see to it," he said. "It's a touchy situation."
Committee members stayed away from trying to institute a decibel ordinance, which would limit noises to a certain loudness level, after Police Chief Fred Kelley, Ewald and Duxstad explained the difficulties of measuring decibels.
Given the cost of equipment to measure decibels, such an ordinance would be "expensive and complicated for us to enforce," Kelley said.
Committee members also considered exemptions from the noiseless hours for snow removal and emergency vehicles.
To answer that question, the city's Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee is seeking input from residents before considering the scope of a proposed noise ordinance next month.
"We want to see if there really is a problem we should address or if things are going smoothly," said Charles Koch, committee chairman.
Residents can submit their neighborhood noise complaints to the city clerk's office for committee review, Koch said.
The committee Wednesday directed City Attorney Rex Ewald to draft an ordinance limiting trash pickup to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. in the downtown central business district and in residential zones. Members of the committee will review the draft at its meeting in December.
The request to consider a noise ordinance came from the Public Safety Committee earlier this month, when downtown area residents complained about noise, particularly in the pre-dawn hours before 6 a.m., from a private trash pick-up contractor, Veolia Environmental Services. Veolia adjusted its pickup hours to after 6 a.m. in that area, but residents asked for a city ordinance to ensure the new hours would be kept.
The Business Improvement District (BID) board has passed a resolution asking the city to limit the hours of garbage collection downtown, a mixed area of residential and commercial, said BID Board President Robert Duxstad. BID recommended the hours of between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Duxstad said BID members saw limiting the hours as facilitating a "further trend of improvement of upper apartments" as part of the revitalization of the downtown area.
Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee members recognized the problem of noise from early morning trash pickups was not limited to just the downtown area. But while the draft ordinance they asked for next month is specific to trash pickup, they stopped short of including other potential problems, such as construction and pets, until they hear more from constituents.
Koch suggested 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.
But committee member Tyler Schultz was not in favor of a noise ordinance for trash pickup.
"I don't see a city ordinance obligation on this, but (for) the people hiring the contractors to see to it," he said. "It's a touchy situation."
Committee members stayed away from trying to institute a decibel ordinance, which would limit noises to a certain loudness level, after Police Chief Fred Kelley, Ewald and Duxstad explained the difficulties of measuring decibels.
Given the cost of equipment to measure decibels, such an ordinance would be "expensive and complicated for us to enforce," Kelley said.
Committee members also considered exemptions from the noiseless hours for snow removal and emergency vehicles.