Constitutionality concerns delay Amherst County noise ordinance

Amherst County is examining a new proposed noise ordinance but officials are awaiting feedback on its language from law enforcement and planning department heads before taking necessary steps to adopt it.

The Board of Supervisors has been debating revisions to noise laws for the past year in response to citizen requests but it has held off on adopting a new ordinance. County Attorney J. Vaden Hunt recently informed the board that a change is necessary because the vagueness of the current ordinance could be considered unconstitutional if challenged in court.

Hunt presented the board with a first reading of a new proposed ordinance last week. He said it resembles every locality in Virginia that uses decibel readers to enforce noise violations and it is “cleaner and better drafted” than a previous revised version he presented to the board in 2008.

According to the ordinance the attorney is proposing, sound levels would be regulated to coincide with county zoning. For example, the decibels for residentially zoned areas would be 57 decibels from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 52 decibels from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

“These numbers are the exact numbers in every noise ordinance that has decibels in Virginia,” said Hunt, adding that the wording in the proposed ordinance could be “tweaked” if necessary.

The board is required to hold a public hearing before it could adopt the proposed noise ordinance.

Several county zoning matters hinge on new noise regulations.

For months supervisors have withheld action on amending zoning to allow motor tracks, defined as “off highway vehicle facilities”, in agricultural zones. Ken Beck, a resident, wants to build a motor track near the U.S. 29 Bypass but needs the zoning change to pass before he can proceed.

Supervisors have said the county should resolve its noise regulation issues before making a decision on allowing motor tracks because of the potential impact they could cause for neighbors.

Also last week, the Amherst County Planning Commission voted to postpone making a recommendation to the board on an ordinance allowing small wind turbines as a special exception use in certain districts. Since noise is mentioned in the wind ordinance, commission members agreed to wait until the county has firm noise regulations in place.

No one attended or spoke at a public hearing the commission held on the wind ordinance last week. The commission is likely to take the matter up again in August — it has 120 days from holding a hearing to make a recommendation.

In other news from last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting:

- After interviewing candidates, the board appointed members to a technical advisory committee to assist the newly formed Amherst County Broadband Authority. Committee members include Chris Adams — a supervisor who serves on the authority, Acting County Administrator David Proffitt, Public Safety Director Gary Roakes, Steve Preston, Jackie Viar, Kevin Cash, Allen Webber, Lee Horton, Allen Bumgarner, Don Hedrick, Greg Turner, a member to represent the Amherst County School Board and a member to represent the economic development authority.

- Supervisors voted to advertise a public hearing to allow a 96-foot wireless communication tower on land owned by the Pedlar Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad. A public hearing was recently held on an 80-foot tower on the same site on U.S. 60 west of Amherst but the board did not take action. The tower would receive and transmit electronic information for emergency medical service calls. County code places a 50-foot limit on towers but officials can grant exceptions.

- The board voted to approve the hiring of an administrative assistant to aid the county attorney and the building and planning departments. The starting annual salary in the county’s current pay scale for the position is $28,000.

- Supervisors voted last week to form a citizen advisory committee to assist in the search for a new county administrator. The board was set to go into closed session with the committee on Wednesday to discuss the applications. The board was also scheduled to discuss the status of the economic development director position in Wednesday’s closed session.