Natchez aldermen approve new noise regulations

NATCHEZ, Miss. – City aldermen approved new regulations Tuesday to curb loud noise.

The new ordinance is aimed at limiting “unreasonably loud or disturbing noises or sounds.” Natchez police officers will be equipped with decibel-reading meters to determine if sounds exceed the levels specified in the ordinance.

Revising the city’s noise ordinance is aimed at new controls on blaring music, loud cars and other disruptive sounds. The noise limits would vary for the city’s residential and commercial areas with specified decibel levels that can’t be exceeded.

The board approved the new ordinance after holding a public hearing Tuesday to summarize the restrictions, answer questions and allow people to express their views. The new regulations take effect early next year after the public is given a chance to get familiarized with the requirements before they’re enforced. 

“And even then, we’re going to ask our police to do all they can to work with our residences and businesses,” said Mayor Dan Gibson. “Warnings can be written at first to allow people to come into compliance.”

Violators could be fined up to $1,000 for each offense.  

While Natchez police officers responding to noise complaints will have meters to gauge sound intensity, they’ll need to be trained on how to use them.

“You’re going to have to be a rocket scientist to be able to read the decibel meters,” said Alderman Billie Joe Frazier, a retired Natchez police officer. “It’s a tricky thing dealing with this noise ordinance.” 

A 1 a.m. shutdown of loud music is being imposed on venues in the city’s downtown area where allowable high-decibel tunes could be played, according to the ordinance. In residential neighborhoods, noise that’s “plainly audible” outside would  be prohibited after 10 p.m.

The restrictions would not apply to certain public gatherings – such as parades, ball games and various city-sanctioned events – and the operation of power tools or yard machines during daylight hours.

Commercial violators of the noise ordinance could be ordered by police officers to close for the day if they refuse to comply with a warning to reduce the sound. They could be fined up to $1,000 per offense as adjudicated in Municipal Court.

 

Tuesday’s public hearing mainly drew bar owners, including Truth Lounge co-owner David Haywood. His Franklin Street nightclub has been the subject of disturbing-the-peace complaints that prompted the city to order it be temporarily closed in October – an edict that wound up being challenged in court to be nullified.

Another nightclub owner – Floyd Newman – said the noise regulations are excessive. “We need to kinda tone it down,” he told the mayor and aldermen. 

The measures have been in the works since earlier this year as Gibson and aldermen have gotten input from bar owners and others impacted.