STATE COLLEGE — Making too much noise in the borough soon may be a shorter-lasting offense, but may carry a larger range of fines.
Borough police have considered revisions to the ordinance for a couple of years because they don’t enforce it as-is, instead citing violators with disorderly conduct.
Borough Council will discuss, and potentially vote on, the proposed changes at today’s regular meeting, starting at 7:30 p.m. in the municipal building, 243 S. Allen St.
Disorderly conduct is defined in the state criminal code and includes making unreasonable noise, but also other offenses, like fighting. It also carries a $300 fine.
The borough noise ordinance includes use of decibel meters to determine the level of noise, but Police Chief Tom King said a meter’s reading wouldn’t be accurate downtown because of traffic and other background noise. He supports revising the ordinance to include the needs of the State College community, instead of continuing to use a state statute.
Plus, a borough ordinance violation won’t mark a person’s record.
“By using the noise ordinance, it holds people accountable, but doesn’t give you any long-lasting effects for jobs,” King said.
Instead of using decibel meters to measure the level of loud music or other excessive noise, police would use the current definition of whether noise is “plainly audible.” Such sound is defined, basically, as that which can be detected by the average person.
While King recognizes that’s still a judgment call, he plans to present council with a set of potential guidelines officers can use to determine whether they will enforce the ordinance, including time of day, location, and how far from the property they could hear it.
“If it’s out in the woods and it’s loud, so what,” King said. “If it’s downtown and businesses are closed, that’s not as critical as if it’s next to people’s homes.”
The other major proposed change to the ordinance is the fine structure. Instead of the $300 disorderly conduct fine, the new proposal calls for a $500 to $1,000 fine for the first offense, $750 to $1,000 for the second, and $1,000 for the third, in a six-month period.
Council discussed some of the proposed changes in September, generally supporting them, but expressing concerns about what “plainly audible” means and a proposed extension of construction hours to 9 p.m.
In the most recent version, King said hours allowed for construction and road work to remain the same, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Jessica VanderKolk can be reached at 235-3910.
