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Craig Benedict said that this item was before the Board in a public hearing at the end of <br />last year as a follow up to some complaints in the community. After meeting with residents and <br />with the people that were creating the noise for sometimes-recreational purposes, the staff <br />researched what has happened in other counties. They worked with the Sheriff's Office and the <br />County Attorney's office to help with the revisions. He spoke about the three types of <br />enforcement provisions: <br />1. There will be specific prohibited noises. <br />2. Reasonable neighbor standard {warning that there has been a complaint). <br />3. Specific hours of operation of louder noises. <br />Craig Benedict explained the blue handout of Sheriff's Office Enforcement Procedures <br />for the County Noise Ordinance Violations and Penalties, which are incorporated by reference. <br />He said that the reasonable enforcement standard that the Sheriff will be working with allows <br />some latitude to interpret the ordinance. <br />PUBLIC COMMENT: <br />Gene Poveromo lives at 4639 Old Greensboro Road and said that he lodged a <br />complaint with the County two years ago about some noise issues. Things have decreased, bui <br />he expects them to possibly resume in the near future. He said that he would like the Board of <br />County Commissioners to be open to re-visiting this issue in 12 months to see how it works. He <br />appreciated Craig Benedict's explanation, which answered some of his questions. <br />Commissioner Gordon asked why there are criminal penalties for making noise. Geof <br />Gledhill said that violations of all County ordinances are misdemeanors. Someone would have <br />to accumulate a series of convictions before going to jail for violating the ordinance. <br />Commissioner Halkiotis asked about the decibel range for the chiller unit at the Whitted <br />Center. He wants to find out if the County is in violation of its awn ordinance. Geof Gledhill said <br />that this ordinance does not operate in the Town of Hillsborough. Commissioner Halkiotis said <br />that he is in support of this if the County is not in violation of it. John Link will follow up on this. <br />Commissioner Jacobs made reference to the definitions on page 8, sound level meter <br />and type 3 instrument, and suggested finding another term or defining these terms. <br />Commissioner Jacobs asked about specific prohibitions. He made reference to page 13 <br />and asked for clarification on discharging firearms at any time. Craig Benedict said that the <br />ordinance is written this way at this time. Discussion ensued about the legal hunting that goes <br />on from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. <br />Commissioner Jacobs would like a little more thinking to go into this issue. He is <br />concerned about people discharging firearms in a residential area. <br />Commissioner Jacobs said that the County despairs of ever enforcing some of the <br />zoning violations and he asked Geof Gledhill if this is enforceable, the way it is restructured. <br />Geof Gledhill said that they have not had experience with using this ordinance, but they have <br />had reasonably good success with similar penalties with the Animal Control Ordinance. <br />A motion was made by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Foushee to <br />adopt the amended noise control ordinance, with the stipulation that there be additional <br />investigation about discharge of firearms. <br />Geof Gledhill made reference to two technical corrections. Craig Benedict pointed out <br />these corrections. On page 9, subsection 3, the word "motor vehicles" was inserted as opposed <br />to "vehicles." On page 10 in the table, the word "applicable" was added to the title of the table, <br />"Orange County Applicable Zoning Ordinance." <br />Commissioner Halkiotis suggested tabling this item and bringing it back in a clean <br />fashion. <br />Commissioner Jacobs withdrew his motion. <br />