Bellevue takes another shot at noise ordinance

&emsp;&emsp; Bellevue Council will take one more shot — at least — at adopting an ordinance aimed at removing noisy bars in the borough from the purview of the state's Liquor Control Board (LCB) enforcement bureau. Administrative errors with the initial ordinance were uncovered recently, leaving council with no new law in effect, council members looking for a change in how noise levels are determined, and officials still spreading misinformation about the impact of noise complaints on the bars' liquor licenses.&emsp;&emsp;Although there have been complaints about noise coming from bars that offer amplified entertainment pretty much since bars were first allowed in Bellevue a few years back, the issue crescendoed last summer when residents of Hallett Place and nearby streets were serenaded on a frequent basis from the patio built behind 202 Hometown Tacos. Bar owners say they have attempted to work with residents, but turned to Bellevue Council for help in the form of noise regulations being enforced by local police rather than the LCE, which is an arm of the Pennsylvania State Police created to enforce liquor laws. The owners and some Bellevue officials have maintained that the bars risk losing their liquor licenses — and therefore their businesses — over complaints filed with the LCE by unreasonable residents.&emsp;&emsp;In order to switch enforcement from the state to local police, Bellevue needs to adopt an appropriate ordinance regulating noise and present it to the LCB, which will hold a public hearing before deciding whether to cede its jurisdiction.&emsp;&emsp;To that end, Bellevue Council considered a new noise ordinance, amended and voted on it late last year. When solicitor Matt Racunas attempted to gather the necessary documents for the LCB petition, however, it was discovered that former director of administrative services Cindy Bahn had never legally advertised the proposed ordinance, so it never became effective.&emsp;&emsp;At Bellevue's pre-council meeting, new DAS Jim Kelly told council that it simply needed to re-vote to adopt the ordinance once he had placed the mandatory legal advertisements. Council members were provided with a copy of the ordinance, which unfortunately was the original proposed ordinance and not the legislation as amended by council. That set off a flurry of discussion that, if fruitful, could require council to start from scratch with the ordinance adoption procedure.&emsp;&emsp;Kelly and Racunas said that no one could find the version of the ordinance that was actually approved by council in December. The version officials received last week did not contain the amendment clarifying times when noise was strictly prohibited, adding a start and end time to the regulation.&emsp;&emsp;While they were on the subject, however, new council members who took office in January began questioning the fundamental method by which noise would be considered excessive and thereby in violation of the law.&emsp;&emsp;The LCE enforces a state law that is both simple and objective. If the music or other sounds can be heard from the bar's outer property line, the bar has violated the law. By comparison, Bellevue's proposed ordinance defines a violation as " "The playing of any radio, computer, loudspeaker, any noise projection device, or any musical instrument in such a manner or with such volume as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons in any office, hospital or any dwelling, hotel or other type of residence or of any persons in the vicinity thereof."&emsp;&emsp;Police Chief Matt Sentner said that his officers were just checking to see how loud the noise was and how far away it could be heard to determine whether it was a violation of an ordinance.&emsp;&emsp;The problem, of course, is that the loudness of sound can be subjectively perceived very differently by individuals. That is why most area municipalities — including the City of Pittsburgh and Ben Avon Borough — use an objective measurement of sound intensity, the weighted decibel level. New council member Russ Ellis argued at the pre-council meeting that Bellevue's ordinance should set acceptable decibel levels.&emsp;&emsp;The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides a list of the decibel levels of various noises and the levels at which hearing damage can occur. Ben Avon's new ordinance, adopted in December, calls for decibel levels to be measured at the property line of the home or business from which sound is broadcast. Relying on the CDC determination of when hearing damage can occur, Ben Avon has set the decibel levels at 60 for residential properties, 65 for commercial properties, and 75 for industrial properties.&emsp;&emsp;According to the CDC, the noise levels at entertainment venues such as nightclubs, bars and rock concerts measure at 105-110 dB, and are capable of causing hearing loss within 5 minutes.&emsp;&emsp;From the beginning, the issue of taking over bar noise enforcement has been framed as a way to prevent local bars from losing their businesses and/or their liquor licenses. At several public meeting officials have stated that the bars are in danger of having their liquor licenses revoked if noise complaints are filed with the LCE. At the pre-council meeting, Kelly said that the LCE does not even investigate noise complaints, but simply issues citations. He said that one local bar has one citation on record, and that if it gets two more it will lose its liquor license.&emsp;&emsp;According to Pennsylvania State Police, nothing could be further from the truth. Lt. Adam Reed said that the LCE primarily uses complaints as educational tools and an opportunity to bring the bar into compliance with the Liquor Code. Continued violations could result in revocation not of the bar's liquor license, but the amusement license a bar must have in order to offer entertainment. And absolutely none of this can happen, he said, without a lengthy procedure that involves investigation and hearings before an administrative law judge, and possibly even appeals to other state courts. &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;