Sunday, May 27, 2007
Editorial: Let the bands, and the people, play
Franklin County's noise ordinance needs limits that are reasonable for both residents and bands.
From the RoundTable blog
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Somewhere between the decibel levels of a whisper and a jackhammer is a level that a rock band and Smith Mountain Lake residents can live with, peaceably.
A decibel level that won't send residents running to their cellphones, fingers punching 9-1-1 with every screaming guitar riff or bass thump. A level that won't discourage bands from setting foot in a club for fear the noise patrol might swoop in with a summons.
As it is, the outcome Wednesday of a case against the co-owner of Mango's Bar and Grill, charged with noise violations, is a clear signal that Franklin County's year-old noise ordinance falls short in the policing of amplified noise.
Franklin County General District Judge George Jones ruled that law enforcement charged the wrong perpetrator -- co-owner Tim Reith instead of the band or its sound technician.
"Who is making the noise is the one you're supposed to go after," Jones said, directing his words at law enforcement officials before finding Reith not guilty.
The ruling is bound to discourage bands from coming to lake nightspots to play. What gig is worth a court appearance?
And in the process, that is bound to hurt businesses. Who comes to a nightspot to hear live music played at a decibel level barely above that of normal conversation?
Surely driving away business was not the ordinance's intent. Residents' intent, perhaps.
Co-existing in a place where nightspots and homes collide takes some civil and legal finesse. An ordinance borne of a neighborhood campaign that had a specific target in its sights is an ordinance sure to invite enforcement dilemmas and unintended consequence.
The Mango's case was the ordinance's first test. On that, it gets a failing grade.
The county board of supervisors ought to return to the drawing table, and craft an ordinance that is reasonable for people who seek the quiet respite of lake living as well as people who enjoy listening to, and performing, a few hours of late-night music.
