The dominant topic at the May 3 Hellertown Borough Council virtual meeting was perhaps a bit unexpected, as the proposed replacement of the current noise ordinance in the borough with one more specific and detailed was the subject of criticism from resident Richard Weddigen.

Council president Thomas Rieger Jr. said the revisions were initiated at the request of a local business owner who said the current ordinance was too vague and subjective. A similar ordinance recently adopted in Quakertown was the inspiration behind the unspecified business owner’s request, he added.

The new version, which had been discussed at prior meetings with little controversy, features specified noise levels during specific times of day and days of the week. Levels were determined by borough police chief Robert Shupp, who used a decibel meter to determine baseline numbers and then compared them to commonly-heard loud noises in the community, such as music, motor vehicles and outdoor tools such as lawnmowers. Councilman Mike McKenna said “...it’s not subjective, either you’re above the (decibel) limit or you’re not.”

Weddigen’s main concern was regarding decibel levels; he asked “if anyone’s doing yard work, or running a leaf blower, are there any provisions that you’re considering adding to permit that? If the lawnmower is over 75 decibels”- at which the ordinance caps noise at all times regardless of source - “and you’re mowing the lawn near your neighbor, that would essentially be in violation of the ordinance then, wouldn’t it?”

According to data published by the University of Michigan, 75 decibels is approximately the loudness of a vacuum cleaner or average radio.

Councilman James Hill echoed Weddigen’s concerns, saying, “There’s no time that you can do it... the average lawnmower is 85 decibels,” and adding that he would oppose the ordinance on those grounds. “Problem is, if you raise the decibel limit high enough so that things that aren’t reasonable aren’t violating it, it’s meaningless… a ‘reasonableness’ standard is kind of essential here.”

Rieger suggested removing the daytime provisions, and since alcohol-serving businesses and residential areas fall under different sections of the proposed ordinance, a revision to one but not all sections would be classified as ‘major’ and require publicly advertising the ordinance again before being subject to a vote, he said. The motion was tabled with intent to address it at a later date.

In other business, council authorized the payment of an initial invoice of $72,482.47 to Marino Corporation of Schewnksville for their work thus far as part of the ongoing Main Street Pedestrian Safety Initiative project. Workers could be found at multiple intersections along the borough’s most heavily-traveled throughway during the week. Engineer Bryan Smith indicated that although the invoiced amount only reflected the first 10 percent of the overall cost, the project has progressed far beyond that point.