City Attorney Mac McCarley tells me the city staff is pulling the plug on a chunk of its proposal to change the city’s noise ordinance. A new version will be offered Monday at the 3 p.m. public hearing that, McCarley says, aims for a balance that won’t hurt performers and bars that aren’t causing problems for neighbors.
The ordinance change has made a lot of musicians, bar owners and nightlife denizens angry, and McCarley said, they’ve been heard. (Read some of the Observer’s coverage here — Mark Washburn – “New noise rule is music to our ears” ; “Pub owners decry new noise limits” ; “Debate over outdoor music in Charlotte”)
The proposed change to the ordinance would have barred “sound amplification equipment out of doors or directed out of doors” for live music or “other forms of entertainment” at a business if the amplifiers are less than 400 feet from residences. It would also bar amplified sound outdoors (note the outdoors, please. It doesn’t apply to indoor music) at a business that’s audible on residentially zoned property.
When I talked to McCarley about noon Friday, he said he and his staff were still working through exactly what they’d propose to the City Council but that it would be aimed at businesses that cause problems and try to protect those that don’t.