By RACHAEL LONG
Nolensville leaders will convene at Town Hall Thursday one hour earlier than normal for the second-ever Board of Mayor and Aldermen quarterly workshop. On the agenda for discussion are the proposed town budget and an amendment to the town’s noise ordinance.
The proposed town budget will face its second and final reading. If approved, the budget will be adopted and take effect July 1, 2019.
After being deferred from the May 2 agenda, Ordinance 19-09 will be considered at Thursday’s board meeting to amend the town’s current ordinance as it relates to noise emitted from radios, phonographs, etc.
The code, as it currently reads, prohibits any noises “in such a manner or with such volume particularly during the hours between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. as to annoy or disturb the quiet, comfort or repose of persons…within fifty (50) feet of the vicinity.”
Along with the agenda, the town of Nolensville posted a link to several documents listed as “background” for the proposed ordinance change. The background details several noise complaints made by resident of the Stonebrook neighborhood, Paulette Jackson.
In emails with town leaders, Jackson — who says she works out of a home office and has lived in Nolensville for six years — details the phone calls and visits she has had with police officers regarding her noise complaints. The complaints stem from functions at a nearby business, Wheeler’s Raid Distillery.
In a May 26 email to town leaders, Jackson explains that she has contacted the Nolensville Police Department 12 times with complaints about noise from the distillery. While officers have been responsive to her calls, Jackson says it’s not enough to deal with the disruptions.
“In my opinion, the reconciling presence of officers in the community may be more solidified with the implementation of ordinances that delineate cooperative community guidelines for the purpose of town welfare,” Jackson wrote.
The amendment on Thursday’s agenda changes previously held quiet hours from 11p.m. and 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., adds limitations to noise during the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., and includes specific limitations for noise volumes. Such limitations will be measured by decibel using “an A-weighted device,” according to the ordinance document.
The amendment also changes language in the ordinance from “within fifty (50) feet of the vicinity” to “within fifty (50) feet of the property line.”
Town leaders will discuss these items during the quarterly workshop at 6 p.m. Thursday before they are heard at the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at Nolensville Town Hall.
For more information on town ordinances, agendas and more, visit the town’s website here.