Posted June 7, 2019
At a recent meeting with City staff and representatives from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), representatives from REBIC, NAIOP Charlotte and AGC Carolinas raised objections to the Noise Ordinance revisions being proposed by the City of Charlotte.
Among other things, the amendments would allow CMPD to designate specific construction sites as ‘chronic noise producers’ and require the creation of a formal plan to mitigate noise impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
Our three main concerns with the ordinance are:
- The ambiguity of proposed language that could lead to the citation of construction activity occurring during permitted hours within 200 feet of schools, hospitals and religious buildings.
- Proposed language stating “A business or construction site may be a chronic noise producer without having violated this article”. REBIC believes being labeled as a chronic noise producer should be based on multiple violations to the ordinance (not complaints), compounded with a lack of initiative to alleviate the noise problems.
- Include additional activity exemptions for construction work that must happen at night, such as concrete pours and certain material deliveries.
REBIC will continue to meet with City staff and elected officials over the next couple of weeks to discuss our concerns. The amendments will be discussed at a June 3rd Council workshop, and a vote is scheduled for June 24th.
The proposed Noise Ordinance changes are available here.