Wednesday, June 20 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
NOISE: Tensions
between entertainment
and peace and quiet
Continued from page 1
Earlier this year, the Sisters
City Council directed City
staff to review the existing
noise ordinance, which has
several inadequacies, includ-
ing lack of quantifiable stan-
dards on what qualifies as an
unreasonably loud noise, and
lack of clear criteria by which
to grant noise permits.
Staff has worked with the
City attorney and City Council
to draft an updated ordinance,
after surveying noise ordi-
nances in 30 other towns. The
final draft ordinance reflects
comments received in four
different Council workshops
in March, April, and May of
this year.
As now proposed,
Ordinance No. 484 states that
it is “to protect, preserve, and
promote the health, safety,
welfare, peace and quiet of the
citizens of Sisters through the
reduction, control, and preven-
tion of loud and raucous noise,
or any noise that unreasonably
disturbs, injures, or endangers
the comfort, repose, health,
peace or safety, or that causes
public inconvenience, annoy-
ance, and/or alarm to reason-
able persons of ordinary sensi-
tivity; providing penalties for
the violation thereof…”
One of the issues identi-
fied in crafting the ordinance
includes the recognition
that “unreasonable noise” is
becoming a more pervasive
issue for inhabitants and visi-
tors as the city continues to
grow. That noise reduces the
desirability of Sisters as a
place to live, play, and work.
Macey contends that the
term “unreasonable noise” is
too nebulous and subjective.
When reviewing the cur-
rent noise ordinance, Council
determined that Chapter 8.16
of the Municipal Code is
outdated and difficult to effi-
ciently and effectively admin-
ister. The decision regarding
noise in the past was usually
left up to the city manager,
who made decisions on a
case-by-case basis.
The Council wants to
update the City’s noise regu-
lations to “protect, preserve,
and promote the health, safety,
welfare, peace and quiet of
Sisters citizens and to mini-
mize and control the harmful
and adverse effects of unrea-
sonable noise.”
Included in the amended
ordinance is the finding that
“permits to exceed noise stan-
dards and other short-term
easing of noise restrictions are
beneficial and necessary to
allow for (a) construction and
maintenance of structures and
infrastructure, (b) commu-
nity and social events, and (c)
other circumstances support-
ing the physical and commer-
cial vitality of the city.”
Recognizing the long-
standing history and economic
impact of the Sisters Rodeo
in June and the Sisters Folk
Festival in September, noise
permits issued during those
two time periods do not count
toward the maximum number
of permits per year.
Depending on the time and
duration as well as the geog-
raphy, zone, and residential
and/or noise-sensitive use
of any affected area, as well
as other factors, a maximum
number of noise permits may
be issued in a calendar year to
an applicant and/or property.
In residential zones the maxi-
mum per applicant is one. In
commercial and industrial
zones, as well as public facil-
ity and open-space districts,
and urban-area reserve dis-
tricts, the maximum number
of permits is two per year. The
maximum number of noise
permits that may be issued for
a private or public park is 12
per year.
Sound measurements are
not required for enforcement
of the revised ordinance, but
if they are made, they should
be done using the A-weighted
decibel scale on a device
meeting or exceeding indus-
try standards. There are dif-
ferent allowable maximum
noise limits depending on the
property zone location and
whether it is during daytime
or nighttime hours.
In surveying the 30 other
cities regarding their noise
ordinances, staff found that
many of them had times ear-
lier than 10 p.m. as the cut-off
for allowed noise permits on
weekends. Sisters is propos-
ing 10 p.m.
Macey contends that the
two-permit limit and the 10
p.m. cutoff will irreparably
harm Hardtails’ business.
Last summer they had nine
permitted shows in their out-
door venue, with music until
11 p.m. Macey indicated they
like to wait until 9 p.m. to start
because earlier than that the
sun is still too high in the sky
and hits the audience in the
eyes until it sets.
Macey said he has long felt
directly targeted by the City.
“I can’t do business in this
town that is making it difficult
for me,” Macey said. “We’re
done. We’ve been a black
sheep since we opened eight
years ago.”
Macey pointed to the
many contributions Hardtails
has made to the community,
including fundraisers to ben-
efit local residents and their
families and a GRO scholar-
ship for a high school senior.
He contends that his
patrons who ride motorcycles
(a “Hardtail” is a model of
Harley Davidson motorcycle)
have made Sisters a destina-
tion ride all summer long.
They come to town, buy gas,
stay in motel rooms and pur-
chase food.
“It’s all about favoritism
and the same old City poli-
tics,” Macey added. “I am
very disappointed they paid
no attention to the petition I
submitted with 200 signatures
in support of us.”
When Council was pre-
sented with the petition, there
were only signatures and no
addresses, which are required
for a valid petition. Council
wanted to be able to iden-
tify how many of the sign-
ers were actually residents of
Sisters, so they asked Macey
to provide the addresses. He
returned with a different peti-
tion containing about 33 sig-
natures and addresses.
Guitar builders...
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
Sisters High School’s Luthier Program showcased the hand-built guitars of Outlaws students.
This summer Macey has
scheduled six shows.
“We’ll just run them from
8 to 10 p.m. I don’t want the
hassle of applying for permits
and posting public notices,”
he said.
In the meantime, Hardtails
property and business is cur-
rently listed for sale.
Other venues don’t appear
to be particularly concerned.
Aaron Okura of Sisters
Saloon & Ranch Grill said,
“The amended noise ordi-
nance won’t impact us partic-
ularly. When we have music
on the patio, we’re usually
done by 10.”
Okura indicated that he had
attended some of the public
meetings at which the noise
ordinance was discussed.
“I chose not to comment
because I didn’t think it was
too unreasonable,” he said.
The two sides of this story
are but one illustration of the
tension facing Sisters Country
in the growth-versus-livabil-
ity arena and the challenge
for City staff and Council
in “splitting the baby” when
making decisions.
“I believe our recently
amended noise ordinance pro-
vides a good balance between
legitimate citizen concerns
over maintaining the livabil-
ity of our community and our
community’s entertainment
21
providers who are economic
drivers and bring vitality to
Sisters,” said City Councilor
Andrea Blum.
At last week’s Council
meeting, Blum, Mayor Chuck
Ryan, and Council President
Nancy Connolly indicated
support for the amended ordi-
nance, and Councilors David
Asson and Richard Esterman
did not.
Asson later told The
Nugget, “I believe the ‘closing
hour’ (10 p.m.) is redundant
and unnecessary. The decibel
level is the control factor but
the regulation is indecisive on
how noise is read or enforced.
In overview, the regulation
pacifies some, irritates others,
and has small merit in and of
itself.”
Because it was not a unani-
mous vote, there will be a sec-
ond reading of the ordinance
and another vote taken at the
June 27 Council meeting.
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