Bars, restaurants, clubs and other businesses in Downtown Fullerton could soon have to keep noise down to certain decibel levels after city council members narrowly moved forward on a noise restriction ordinance for the historic area.
It’s an issue that city officials have been grappling with for years – one that some downtown residents have also long raised concerns about.
On Tuesday, Fullerton City Council members voted 3-2 to initiate the downtown noise ordinance largely restricting sound levels to 80 decibels at business property lines.
[Read: How Loud Should it Get in Downtown Fullerton?]
That sound level is the equivalent of the sound of a freight train from 100 feet away, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Some residents raised concerns that the ordinance could impact downtown businesses, especially establishments that feature live music, while others said certain bars get too noisy – with one local resident saying the sound sometimes rattles his windows.
“I think this is very fair,” Councilman Nick Dunlap said during Tuesday’s meting. “If we adopt this policy and we see that there’s changes that need to be made … then that’s certainly something we can review.”
Mayor Fred Jung said he went to measure sound levels with staff multiple times, adding that “not a single venue at 80 decibels.”
He was also critical of some statements of residents during public comment.
“So a lot of this is hyperbole, a lot of this is fear mongering,” Jung said. “I’m a little bit concerned that this level of misinformation drives our public because that’s not the actual, factual case.”
Councilmembers Shana Charles and Ahmad Zahra dissented, saying the current iteration of the ordinance isn’t fair and could impact small businesses.
“I hear that we need something, I know that we’ve been working on this a long time, but I do think we need to go farther,” Charles said, adding that other businesses outside of bars and restaurants needed to be considered.
Council members introduced the ordinance on Tuesday night and still need to adopt it on a second vote at a future meeting. The ordinance then goes into effect 30 days after that second vote.
How Loud Can You Get?
Under the incoming ordinance, downtown sound can not exceed 75 decibels for five minutes within an hour between 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Businesses can’t get louder than 80 decibels for one minute within an hour during the same period in a day, according to the ordinance.
From 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays, the restriction reduces noise to 65 decibels for 5 minutes and 70 decibels for 1 minute – both within an hour timeframe.
According to OSHA, a conversation with someone three feet away is 60 decibels and classroom chatter is 70 decibels.
The levels are higher for Friday and Saturday nights – 75 decibels for five minutes and 80 decibels for 1 minute, 10 p.m. to Midnight.
Those higher thresholds also apply midnight to 1:30 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Businesses who violate the ordinance could face $100 fines for the first offense, $200 for the second and $500 for subsequent violations, according to the staff report.
The ordinance also allows outdoor music from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily, limiting the noise levels to 80 decibels at the property line.
The staff report also states if a business gets three violations within a year, the owner could have to meet with the police chief and other city staff to come up with a plan or their permits could be revoked.
Are the Noise Restrictions Fair?
The ordinance exempts special activities like public dances, sports games and various community events from the noise restrictions – as long as the event has a special permit.
“I think it’s a little bit unfair that we’re exempting all of our fun events,” Charles said.
Sunyana Thomas, director of community and economic development, said those events haven’t exceeded 80 decibels since staff started measuring sound levels.
“The assumption there is they’re one-off events, when those events do happen, they pull a special permit,” Thomas said. “We already have mitigation measures in place.”
Councilwoman Jamie Valencia said the ordinance is balanced.
“I just feel like this is a very fair noise capacity for our city to adopt,” Valencia said.
Zahra said he’s not against noise regulations, but added the ordinance is too strict.
“We can’t claim that we are pro-business if we are overregulating, especially some of our downtown businesses that are our main attraction,” he said.
The councilman also lambasted how the idea came about, claiming it stems from one downtown property owner.
“We’re creating something new based on one property owner’s input without consulting anyone else downtown,” Zahra said. “This is not good governance and this is not best practices.”
Answering Jung’s questions, Thomas said city staff conducted multiple community meetings and various public outreach efforts over the past couple of years.
““I wonder, are you pro-resident?” Jung said to Zahra. “Because if you live downtown, you have various concerns as well.”
Spencer Custodio is the civic editor. You can reach him at scustodio@voiceofoc.org. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerCustodio.