Fairhope Council Adopts New Noise Ordinance After Months of Debate

Fairhope city leaders convened a work session Monday afternoon to hash out a proposed noise ordinance that has pitted downtown business owners against residents living near the city’s entertainment spots.

The council work session began at 4:45 p.m., ahead of a scheduled vote, giving both sides a formal chance to weigh in before any changes take effect.

Business Owners Say Live Music Drives Traffic

Trichia Niemeyer, who has owned The Fly Creek Cafe at Fly Creek Marina for two years, told the council that live music is a meaningful part of her business. Since opening in November 2008, Niemeyer said the cafe has fielded numerous noise complaints from neighbors and been the subject of three separate criminal indictments tied to the disputes. She argued a stricter ordinance would only deepen the conflict between venues like hers and nearby residents.

Residents Push Back on Noise

Not everyone in Fairhope sees it that way. Resident Clay Havard told the council he wants the right to enjoy quiet time at home. “I should be able to go out on my deck, in my yard, have my friends over and not have to hear that loud trashy music,” Havard said.

Council Prepares for a Dec. 13 Vote

The Fairhope City Council tabled the proposed ordinance last month after dozens of residents raised objections at a public hearing — some arguing the sound limits were set too low, others too high, and still others saying the measure was unclear about whether bars and restaurants could exceed normal limits during special events and holidays. Councilwoman Debbie Quinn asked the council to revise the ordinance and bring it back Dec. 13, and the rest of the council agreed at the time.

But Councilman Rick Kingrea, who has led the rewrite of the city’s noise rules, said no revisions are likely to be ready before that vote. “It’s probably going to irritate everybody, but I think we’re going to wind up proposing the original ordinance without any changes,” Kingrea said. “We really need to get something in there that we feel is enforceable” to give police a clear standard for mediating between residents and venues offering live music, he said.

Residents near Fly Creek Marina say the problem has intensified in recent years. “The noise from Fairhope Yacht Club, the marina and Eastern Shore Marine is nothing. They hammer, paint, do sandblasting,” said Sarah Kennedy, a Volanta Avenue resident. “We’ve lived here for nearly 30 years, and we’ve never faced the level of noise we endure now so many nights of the week.” Kennedy and several of her neighbors, including Fairhope environmental committee Chairman Jim Horner, were among the residents who pushed the council to rewrite the ordinance in the first place. The Fly Creek Marina sits in a low-lying area ringed by the Eastern Shore’s bluffs, which area residents say amplifies live music from Fly Creek Cafe much like an amphitheater.

What the New Ordinance Would Change

The proposed ordinance, modeled on Mobile’s noise regulations, addresses two gaps Kingrea says exist in Fairhope’s current rules. Current law does not set an objective decibel limit, and it requires police to enter a resident’s home to confirm a complaint is valid.

Under the new ordinance, the daytime noise limit — from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. — would be set at 85 decibels, dropping to 50 decibels overnight from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., Kingrea said. Sound would be measured from the complainant’s property line rather than from inside a home. Noise from boom boxes and car stereos would face the same limits, measured from 25 feet away.

Each business would be allowed two special events a year during which it could exceed the 50-decibel nighttime limit, but only after obtaining permission from two-thirds of nearby property owners. “It won’t be easy to get a permit,” Kingrea said.

Some Volanta Avenue residents have raised a technical concern: many decibel meters don’t effectively capture low, or “bass,” frequencies. Kingrea said he wants to pass the ordinance as written Dec. 13 and address issues like that through later amendments. Council President Lonnie Mixon and some residents have said they would prefer the daytime maximum be lowered from 85 decibels to 75 or even 60, but Kingrea said the levels won’t be changed before the vote.

Violators would receive a warning for a first offense. A second violation within 30 days would bring a $200 fine, and subsequent violations could mean a $500 fine and up to six months in jail, according to the ordinance.

Update: Council Approves Ordinance, Effective Jan. 1

The Fairhope City Council formally approved the noise ordinance in a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Mike Ford dissenting. The law took effect Jan. 1, 2011.

Council President Lonnie Mixon said the central change from the old law is the use of a decibel meter to measure violations, rather than requiring an officer to listen from inside a complainant’s residence. The adopted ordinance sets maximum noise levels at 85 decibels during the day and 50 decibels after 10 p.m., matching the levels debated in earlier hearings.

Councilman Rick Kingrea, who sponsored the ordinance, acknowledged the divide among residents over where the final vote landed. “Fifty percent think this ordinance goes too far and another 50 percent think it doesn’t go far enough,” Kingrea said. “The one mutual agreement that they have is that 100 percent believe that if we don’t do what they want us to do it’s going to be the ruination of Fairhope. I have to tell you I don’t think that’s true.”

Three residents spoke against the ordinance ahead of the vote, asking the council to adopt lower daytime limits of 65 decibels, which they said mirrors ordinances in Destin and Orange Beach without harming businesses there. Attorney Sam Crosby, who represents Fly Creek Cafe, was not permitted to address the council because he had not signed up to speak by the noon deadline that day, Mixon said, noting the council had already heard from Crosby at prior hearings on the ordinance. In written comments submitted before the meeting, Crosby endorsed several provisions of the final version, saying it “has objective standards that are clearer and fairer to Fairhope businesses and citizens” and no longer carries the void-for-vagueness concerns of the previous law.

Patricia Havard, a resident who lives near Fly Creek Cafe, provided the council with summaries of noise ordinances from other cities in support of lower decibel limits. After the vote, she said she remained unsatisfied with the outcome. “I’m very disappointed,” Havard said. “The noise coming from the business is extremely disruptive.”

How Decibel Limits Work

Decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, so the gaps in the council debate are larger than the numbers suggest: every 10-decibel increase represents a tenfold increase in sound intensity and is generally perceived as roughly twice as loud. By that rule of thumb, the adopted 85-decibel daytime limit is perceived as about twice as loud as the 75 decibels some residents sought and roughly four times as loud as 65 decibels.