Bellevue moves forward with bar noise plan

&emsp;&emsp;Bellevue Council voted last week to advertise a new noise ordinance officials hope will pass muster with the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board so that the borough can take on the problem of bars making noise. Residents living in the area around one such bar, however, told council that the borough has already proved itself ineffective in controlling noise, and that they see the LCB as the only resource available to them after a summer of outdoor amplified music.&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;At the same time, council unanimously approved a resolution to petition the LCB for an exemption from the state law regulating noise at bars.&emsp;&emsp;Borough solicitor Matt Racunas advised council earlier this year that in order to receive that exemption, Bellevue would need to update its old noise ordinance. Although the language is new and more inclusive of potential noise sources such as bars, it intentionally, according to Racunas, remains vague when it comes to defining how much noise is too much. The new ordinance leaves that determination up to whatever police officer responds to a complaint.&emsp;&emsp;Council agreed last week to set a time limit for enforcement of regulations regarding amplified music from bars that is similar to those related to other types of noise, such as garbage trucks or construction. In terms of time, the ordinance prohibits unreasonable noise between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.&emsp;&emsp;While council members saw the change as providing notice to bars that the music needed to die by 10 p.m., residents living near 202 Hometown Tacos said that the clause is just as likely to be interpreted as permission for bars to turn the amps up as high as they want before 10 p.m.&emsp;&emsp;The regulation of noise from establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages currently falls to the LCB's enforcement arm, which is a unit of the PA State Police. Bars that want to provide entertainment such as bands or even karaoke need to obtain an amusement permit from the LCB, which is held in addition to the bar's actual liquor license. The regulation is objective and fairly simple — if music or other noise can be heard beyond the property lines of the establishment, it constitutes a violation of the state liquor code.&emsp;&emsp;Contrary to the impression being given by Bellevue bar owners — and stated outright by council member Amanda Sloane at last week's meeting — violation of the noise law does not immediately result in revocation of a bar's liquor license. In last week's meeting, Sloane told a resident of Hallett Place that it was better for Bellevue's police department to enforce noise rules than "the LCB getting one complaint and shutting down an entire restaurant." Instead, even a bar that continually refuses to comply with the noise regulations could find — after multiple opportunities for hearings and appeals — that its amusement permit is temporarily suspended.&emsp;&emsp;The noise ordinance being considered by Bellevue Council will have to be adopted before the borough's application for exemption is submitted, at which point the LCB will conduct a public hearing on whether to grant the exemption. &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;