LOCAL

Does Taunton need a noise ordinance? Should loud partiers be fined?

Chris Helms
The Taunton Daily Gazette

TAUNTON — As summertime parties resume in backyards across the city, some residents are pushing for Taunton to establish a noise ordinance.

A recent blowout on Highland Street focused attention on the perennial issue. To date, Taunton Police have handled complaints case by case, according to Lt. Glen Jackson.

“Right now, it is whatever is reasonable,” Jackson said in an email. “Is it reasonable to mow your lawn at 3 a.m.? I would say no. It's a gray area.”

Jackson said the department’s 120-plus officers judge what’s reasonable given the time of day and level of noise.

Mayor Shaunna O’Connell said any push for a noise ordinance would need to start with the City Council’s Committee on Ordinances and Enrolled Bills. Any new rule, O’Connell wrote in a statement to the Gazette, should seek “a balance between quality of life and the rights of people to enjoy their property.”

Taunton Police patch

More:How loud is too loud for Taunton? Neighbors seek noise ordinance in wake of loud party

More than a dozen residents along and near Highland Street asked the City Council to consider a noise ordinance after what they say are loud parties several times per week.

"We are asking for a local ordinance that, after repeated calls, police have the authority and the ability to issue citations," the letter said.

Nearby cities and towns deal with noise complaints differently.

Raynham has on the books a provision for fines of no more than $100 for "unnecessary, excessive or unusual" noises between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. that are "plainly audible" from 150 feet away. 

Berkley Town Meeting shot down a proposed noise ordinance in 2009. It had been crafted mainly to limit quarry noise.

Earlier this year, Brockton adopted a new set of noise rules. The city now prohibits “unreasonable and excessive” noise over 60 decibels. Police measure the sound at least 50 feet away from the property line of the source of the noise. The rule applies between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday and Saturday. First offenders will get a warning, but it’s a $300 fine if they violate the ordinance a second time within a year.

Fall River prohibits noises that menace the health or interrupt or disturb sleep between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and between 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Sundays.

New Bedford's municipal code focuses on excessive car horns after 11 p.m. and before 7 a.m., and lays out rules for noise from commercial establishments.

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@tauntongazette.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Taunton Daily Gazette.