Bethlehem residents asked the town, Can you hear me now? as they listened to plans for a townwide noise ordinance and overwhelmingly spoke in favor of its implementation.
In a Town Hall meeting Thursday, May 29, led by a task force of residents, town officials, and police and code-enforcement officers, dozens of people listened and gave feedback on the details of a possible town ordinance. Only two residents who attended the meeting said they were opposed to the town adopting a new noise law.
The Town Board created the task force Sept. 9 to complete an overview of the community’s needs, to research the different aspects of a possible noise ordinance, and then, after public review, provide the Town Board with a proposed draft noise ordinance.
Councilman Sam Messina was the town board’s liaison for the task, which also included community representatives Jennifer DeFranco and Robert Jasinski; Bethlehem Deputy Police Chief Tim Beebe; and town code enforcer, Gil Boucher.
Messina said that the town’s supervisor and board members have received numerous noise complaints and suggestions to create a noise ordinance over the years, and he pointed out that Bethlehem was one of the last remaining communities in the county not to have an ordinance in place.
`Of the 20 most populous communities around us in the Capital Region, 18 have noise ordinances. Bethlehem and one other community does not,` Messina said at the meeting. `That doesn’t mean that a noise ordnance is right for us, but it’s a fact to consider in terms of why did they think it was. It is certainly reasonable to assess that.`
Beebe said that the task force looked at the Guilderland sound ordinance as a comprehensive model because it is relatively new. However, the task force stressed that Bethlehem would be creating its own noise law to fit its own needs.
`We really looked at Guilderland’s because of the way Guilderland is pretty much like our town. It has pretty much the same areas of commercial and also residential. So its kind of set up like our town,` said Beebe. `They kind of looked at the current issues going on.`
Many issues were discussed at the meeting, ranging from enforcement and the cost of enforcement equipment, such a decibel readers, and man hours that would have to be implemented in the plan and what exemptions would be included.
Resident Steve DeFranco told the board of the evening when he described how his neighbor was using loud music `as a weapon.`
`It started with them just playing loud music when they were outside, and many of the neighbors asked them very nicely to please to lower the volume, and that went on for about a summer,` DeFranco said. `Then the next summer it happened again. They obviously made the decision to start using it as a weapon and they would start turning it up, and it got to the point that it is now that whenever anyone goes outside to enjoy their property, even when they’re (the neighbors playing loud music) not outside.`
DeFranco cited examples of the offensive noise, such as last summer when his neighbors on the other side of the house had a backyard birthday party full or 5 and 6 year olds when the `the most vulgar of rap music was blaring at this group of kids so they could clearly hear every word. If I were asked to repeat the words I would be escorted out but there was nothing that could be done.`
DeFranco shared several other similar stories and claimed the noisy resident even told police, `This is the town of Bethlehem, there is no noise ordinance.`
Many other residents told stories of varying degrees of noise problem and all said they wanted a town law to able to take action.
There were some dissenting comments, however, saying the town should air on the side of caution and to make sure people’s rights were protected.
Messina told residents that sound equipment would be used and that police and code enforcement officers were already responding to noise calls but had no way to quantitatively measure the offensive noises.
Linda Jasinski, who lives in more rural southern Bethlehem, said she was against the noise law, or at the very least it should be tied to zoning where there is a more dense population density.
`I don’t think we need a noise ordinance where we are, but I won’t speak for the town,` Jasinski said, pointing out that most of those in favor were from Delmar, Slingerlands and Glenmont. `We live differently. We live a rural lifestyle.`
She said, for example, someone who works long hours and had to start working on his or her roof early in the morning before the rain started shouldn’t be punished or fined.
`You know, the birds at 4 o’clock in the morning bothers me,` Jasinski said. `But I can’t stop that.`
Task force members told residents that clear exemptions to the sound ordinance would be included as the policy takes shape.“
