Victoria to Look at Noise Ordinance Changes

VICTORIA – Issues regarding noise violations and being able to have these violations held up in court have led Victoria officials to examine the current noise ordinance for the town and to look at changes to the wording of the document.

Police officers in Victoria recently noted that complaints and observations regarding noise issues in the town have run into problems once they are actually taken to court because the ordinance does not specify decibel levels or distance from which noises may be heard.

Officer Jeff Paul briefly discussed these concerns and noted that this had been an issue recently on several occassions.  Interim Town Manager Jay Dayton said that there could be specific wording added to the ordinance in order to indicate an exact decibel level that exceeds reasonable noise. He also noted that there are some distance specifications that can be upheld in court. Dayton would go on to say that without any specific information or ordinance settings during noise disputes, what is loud to one person may not be loud to another. This is where there is an issue in the court.

Dayton has dealt with some of these issues in the past as the former Chief of Police in Victoria and indicated that he would look at options to help solidify the wording of the ordinance and help officers be able to give more exact details when issuing citations for noise issues.