Chelsea Residents Speak on Recommended Noise Ordinance

Residents spoke out against the DDA’s recommended noise ordinance during public comment at Chelsea City Council’s June 14 meeting. Chelsea’s DDA recently passed a recommendation to increase the 

“Sound is measured in decibels, which tells you both the intensity of the sound and what your ear hears in terms of loudness,” local resident Bill Ruddock said. “Intensity tells you how far the sound will go, whereas the loudness is what you hear in your ear. So let’s look at a 71 dB noise compared to a 61 dB noise: the intensity is 10 times. It’s not just 10 more, it’s 10 times more than 61 dB and it sounds to the ears like two times more.”

Chelsea’s current noise ordinance limits commercial buildings to a 61 dB output. The DDA’s recommended update would raise the limit to 91 dB, a 1000x increase. Ruddock continued by emphasizing the importance of a noise ordinance in the first place, reading from the current language.

“It is hereby declared to be the policy of this city that the peace, health, safety and welfare of its citizens require protection from excessive, unnecessary, unreasonable noises from any and all sources in the community,” he said. “It is the intention of the city council to control the adverse effects of such noise sources to our citizens under any condition of use, especially those conditions that have the most severe impact on a person.”

According to the audiologist Megan Gerhart, extended exposure to 80 dB or higher can cause hearing loss in many people. 

“Such a revised ordinance will change the ambience of our community, as well as adversely affect residences within and close to the DDA boundaries, and potentially all residences,” Chelsea resident Dayle Wright said. “This proposed change does not serve the residents of this community well.”

At this time, the DDA’s recommendation has yet to come before Council for a final decision.