Latest news with #noiseordinance
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How early can I run noisy lawn equipment in Delaware? Here's what local ordinances allow
It's summer, which means it gets hot early. And that might mean your neighbor runs their lawn equipment at the crack of dawn. Perhaps you've lucked out and their mower is electric, but they kick on their unnaturally loud leaf blower to clean up the clippings and wake you from precious (and sometimes hard to come by) slumber. Depending on what time they − or maybe you! − begin lawn work, noisy tools may actually violate local ordinances. So what are the rules in Delaware about loud noise, early or late in the day? Both Kent and New Castle counties place restrictions on when power equipment, including "garden equipment," can be used. In New Castle County, loud equipment cannot be used between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Kent gives you a little more time. Tools that "create a noise disturbance" may not be used between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Sussex County doesn't have a countywide noise ordinance. Just because Sussex County doesn't have a countywide ordinance doesn't mean that just anything goes. Lewes, for example, sets specific rules for "any noise that would annoy or disturb a reasonable person of normal sensitivities." Thus, annoying noises can't be made between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Lewes officials also apparently find "gasoline-powered landscaping equipment" so annoying, no matter the time of day, that they've banned them completely beginning Jan. 1, 2026. This includes gas leaf blowers, weed eaters or trimmers and chain saws. Gas-powered lawnmowers are exempt from the ban. In New Castle County, some cities have ordinances that are stricter than county requirements. In those cases, city ordinance supersedes the county rules. In Wilmington, for example, power saws, sanders, drills, grinders, garden equipment or "other construction tools of a similar nature" that "create a noise disturbance" are prohibited between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. It's best to check your city or town's code for exact regulations. Those in unincorporated areas should defer to county code. Penalties and fines also vary by county and municipality. In New Castle County, a first offense violation between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. will result in a minimum fine of $100 and a maximum of $500. Technically, you may also be thrown in jail for no more than six months. Each subsequent offense ranges from $250 to $1,000 or imprisonment for no more than a year − or you could be both fined and imprisoned. Lewes, on the other hand, imposes fines of $25 to $200 "and/or imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 days nor more than 30 days" for a first offense. Subsequent fines range from $50 to $500, with possible prison time between 20 and 60 days. Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@ For all things breaking news, follow her on X at @izzihughes_ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: When can I run lawn equipment in Delaware?
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Common sense adjustment': Portland leaders unanimously approve noise code impacting musicians
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Just as summer concert season ramps up, a to make Portland's noise ordinance more fair and concise has been approved. Portland City Council approved an emergency ordinance to consolidate local noise enforcement on Wednesday. The city previously had two noise-related codes. Portland native, former UO student joins cast of 'Love Island USA' While Title 18 based enforcement on factors like sound levels, location and time of day, Title 14A.30.010 simply establishes that it is illegal to 'make any excessive, unreasonable, or unusually loud sound which disturbs the peace and quiet of any neighborhood or which injures or endangers the comfort, repose, health, peace, or safety of any person.' Local music advocates have argued that the latter code should be repealed due to its failure to include more objective guidance. When District 1 Councilor Jamie Dunphy in April, the Community and Public Safety Committee unanimously voted to refer it to city council with a recommendation to approve it. At Wednesday's meeting, Dunphy asserted the proposal is a 'common sense adjustment' on regulations that have disproportionately impacted some members of the community. 'A clearer, more direct system will increase community belief in our noise control's ability to do a good job,' Evan Hoffer, a music and arts policy advisor to Dunphy, added. 'We started this five years ago, trying to figure out what was causing Black-owned music businesses to close — and we found evidence that this was part of why.' Portland's Noise Review Board has also discussed the proposal over the past five years, according to Chair Mary Sipe. She said the group has unanimously voted to support the amended code as well. Oswego Lake closing for Fourth of July weekend after legal battle for public access MusicPortland Executive Director Meara McLaughlin told councilors that the Rose City's music scene is one of its 'greatest cultural and economic assets,' but it has been stifled by conflicting enforcement and permitting systems. 'Portland has the talent,' McLaughlin said. 'We have the venue, we have the legacy. What we need now is leadership — leadership that sees music not as a problem to contain, but as an asset to grow.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
30-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
Bonding Over Politics and ‘Tiger King'
In fall 2018, Justin Joseph Papp was reporting for The Hour, a daily newspaper in Norwalk, Conn., typing notes on his laptop as he covered a Norwalk City Council noise ordinance committee meeting, which was being chaired by Eloisa Maria Melendez. Both were in their 20s. 'I was usually the youngest person in the room and would notice younger people, journalists or speakers,' Ms. Melendez said. Five years earlier, at 19, Ms. Melendez, who grew up in Norwalk, won a council seat in District A, making her the youngest woman to serve on the 15-member council (the first councilman her age won a seat in 1977). 'She was sinking her teeth into decibel levels at local restaurants, and had knowledgeable things to say,' said Mr. Papp, now 34, duly impressed. He grew up in New Milford, Conn., and graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Connecticut. Ms. Melendez, now 31, was then also the council's only Latina and fluent Spanish-speaker — her mother is originally from Medellín, Colombia, and her father, who died in 2022, was 'Nuyorican,' she said. 'There is nothing I love more than my city,' said Ms. Melendez, who wears a gold-plated necklace of the State of Connecticut, and graduated with an associate degree in general studies from Norwalk Community College, now CT State Community College Norwalk, while in office. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
