TOWN OF NIAGARA — Things should be getting quieter in the Town of Niagara soon.
The town board this week unanimously repealed its former noise ordinance and replaced it with one that will cut allowable sound levels roughly in half.
“We are now lowering the decibel levels,” Town Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso said. “And police officers will be equipped with sound level meters that can be used to measure those noise levels.”
The town board had determined that “the creation of excessive and unreasonable noise within the town limits … is a detriment to the comfort, convenience, safety, health and welfare of the citizens.”
“It hasn’t been a major issue,” Virtuoso said. “But we’ve had some complaints and it’s something we needed to address.”
The new noise ordinance sets limits for maximum sound levels during the day (7 a.m. to 9 p.m. except Friday and Saturday when the hours are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.) and evenings (9 p.m. to 7 a.m. except Friday and Saturday when the hours are 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.).
The maximum decibel levels under the new ordinance are set at 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels in the evening. Virtuoso said those levels are roughly 50% lower than in the old noise ordinance
The new law exempts loud noise from “public performances” that are conducted under special permits granted by the town. It also restricts construction work to the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the week.
The construction noise limits can to expanded if a contractor obtains a special permit from the town.
The same provisions also apply to residents doing yard work or keeping animals or birds that exceed the noise level restructions.
Violations of the new noise ordinance are punishable by fines of up to $1,500 or 15 days in jail.
“Hopefully, it will make people happy,” Virtuoso said. “And keep things quiet.”