A noise ordinance agreement between a Student Senate group and the Athens Police Department is making its way around town.
Athens City Council heard about the compromise from Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle at its April 25 meeting. It received a “lukewarm” response, said University Life Commissioner John Calhoun. Calhoun spoke about the compromise at Monday’s meeting and said its reception was slightly warmer.
Calhoun is the executive director of the Know Noise Task Force, a group Student Senate formed to make the city noise ordinance fairer for students. The task force has written an amended version of the ordinance and is collecting signatures to put it on the ballot for November elections.
If city council approves the compromise, which tempers some of the task force’s demands, the task force will not submit the ballot initiative
“There’s no guarantee that this compromise will work out,” Calhoun said.
Pyle said he thinks the compromise strikes a good balance between the different sides of the issue. If passed, the compromise will lessen penalties for violators and shorten the time officers can cite violators without first receiving citizen complaints.
However, the new ordinance is not as drastic as the task force’s version, Pyle said.
“This compromise tries to address student concerns as members of the community … enforcement concerns from the police department and then also concerns from members of the community who aren’t students who want some peace and quiet,” he said.
Senate members asked whether permanent residents are on board with the compromise. Pyle said he has heard some support but also resistance to changing the time for on-view complaints to 12 a.m. every day rather than 10 p.m. on weekdays.
“I’ve heard from a certain number of people who like the idea of the compromise,” he said. “… There is (also) a section of the community that is adamantly opposed to changing (the on-view complaint time). In fact, they want to make it earlier rather than later.”
State and Federal Affairs Commissioner Chris Wimsatt said he was worried that city council would stall the ordinance. The council indefinitely tabled a previous compromise last year.
“How do we know city council’s going to move it?” he said. “I’m scared to death that we’re going to have the same thing happen this time that happened last time.”
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