By Matt Brabb
Mogollon Connection Editor
The Payson Town Council took the first step toward instituting uniform guidelines regarding noise regulations on Thursday.
In the past, the town created regulations only after complaints surfaced about various sources of noise pollution. As a result, the laws regarding them are scattered throughout the town’s legal code.
“It’s time to come up with a comprehensive approach,” said Counselor Fred Carpenter.
New Town Attorney Tim Wright asked the council for direction on the matter, and they eventually voted unanimously in favor of “a subjective ordinance that is supplemented by per se violations.”
This type of model is used in Arizona cities including Phoenix and Yuma.
Initially, Counselor Ed Blair spoke in favor of a more objective standard for interpreting what are and what are not acceptable volume levels.
He argued for a standard utilizing decibel levels.
Wright pointed out that the problem with using that method was that by the time the police show up at the source of a noise, it could very well be turned off, making a measurement impossible.
Later it was noted that along with decibel levels, the frequency of a sound had to be considered. Certain frequencies can rattle windows without reaching high decibel levels.
Mayor Kenny Evans pointed out another flaw to a purely objective means of judging.
“A transformer box to me is like a thousand fingernails on a chalkboard,” he said. “The real problem is how much the noise irritates a person.”
Counselor Michael Hughes agreed.
“Noise is like ‘beauty in the eye of the beholder,’ no one size fits all,” he said.
Carpenter echoed that sentiment.
“Rock music doesn’t bother me, but dogs do. We need some subjectivity in it.”
Counselor Rick Croy asked whether the new code would call for civil or criminal violations. Wright said that there was very little difference between the two, and that he couldn’t recall anyone having gone to jail for violating a town code. He explained that the big difference was proving the case. In a civil case only a preponderance of evidence is needed, while in a criminal case the evidence has to be beyond a reasonable doubt.
Blair still appeared hesitant. He advocated adding to the ordinance the person who would make the decision when one individual thinks something is too loud, and another does not.
“Ultimately, that is the judge's job,” responded Wright, adding that the police would have to make an initial judgment call.
“But there has to be a reasonableness to the subjectivity,” he assured Blair. “The mayor would not actually call the police about transformer noise.”
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