MONROE - Music can return to the Monroe downtown Square, with a new amplified sound permit for Main Street Monroe approved Monday by the city's Public Safety Committee.
When the music will be turned on again is unknown; no one from Main Street Monroe attended the committee meeting.
The organization to promote the downtown and its businesses applied May 29 for a $100 monthly permit, to carry it through the month of June, and a $400 annual permit good though June 30, 2015.
The new permit is required whenever amplified sound is intended to be heard outside a building within a defined area, but holders are exempt from "maximum permissible sound levels."
The geographic area Main Street Monroe defined for its music originating from the historic Green County courthouse is between 9th and 12th streets and 15th and 18th avenues, which encompass most of the city's historic district.
City Carol Stamm noted that the permits will cover all Main Street's special events, including the Concerts on the Square and parades, not just the music playing from the courthouse.
Amplified sound permits do not shield the holders from nuisance sound regulations, and Police Chief Fred Kelley explained that the permit will not bar any person from making an official complaint.
Complaints will go through the police department first. Kelley said if his officers' attempts to resolve the complaints do not work, complaints could still come to the Public Safety Committee for further review. If the sound is determined to be a nuisance, under city code, citations can be issued.
City Attorney Rex Ewald said a complaint or several complaints do not justify the city pulling or canceling a holder's permit; proper investigations and hearings must determine a city code violation.
The city stopped the music broadcast from the Green County courthouse in April, after complaints to city hall denounced the music as a disturbance that violated city code.
City officials found the code wording to be vague and subjective in some respects and restrictive without basis in others. The volume was not to be "a nuisance, annoyance, or intrusion upon the public or public peace," and "under no circumstances" was it to be "audible at a distance of 50 feet from the speaker."
New ordinances were written to define background music and amplified sound and to distinguish nuisance noise and permissible sound levels. A new fee schedule was also implemented.
When the music will be turned on again is unknown; no one from Main Street Monroe attended the committee meeting.
The organization to promote the downtown and its businesses applied May 29 for a $100 monthly permit, to carry it through the month of June, and a $400 annual permit good though June 30, 2015.
The new permit is required whenever amplified sound is intended to be heard outside a building within a defined area, but holders are exempt from "maximum permissible sound levels."
The geographic area Main Street Monroe defined for its music originating from the historic Green County courthouse is between 9th and 12th streets and 15th and 18th avenues, which encompass most of the city's historic district.
City Carol Stamm noted that the permits will cover all Main Street's special events, including the Concerts on the Square and parades, not just the music playing from the courthouse.
Amplified sound permits do not shield the holders from nuisance sound regulations, and Police Chief Fred Kelley explained that the permit will not bar any person from making an official complaint.
Complaints will go through the police department first. Kelley said if his officers' attempts to resolve the complaints do not work, complaints could still come to the Public Safety Committee for further review. If the sound is determined to be a nuisance, under city code, citations can be issued.
City Attorney Rex Ewald said a complaint or several complaints do not justify the city pulling or canceling a holder's permit; proper investigations and hearings must determine a city code violation.
The city stopped the music broadcast from the Green County courthouse in April, after complaints to city hall denounced the music as a disturbance that violated city code.
City officials found the code wording to be vague and subjective in some respects and restrictive without basis in others. The volume was not to be "a nuisance, annoyance, or intrusion upon the public or public peace," and "under no circumstances" was it to be "audible at a distance of 50 feet from the speaker."
New ordinances were written to define background music and amplified sound and to distinguish nuisance noise and permissible sound levels. A new fee schedule was also implemented.