Savannah is not the only city having a public debate about its sound ordinance.
Just last week, the Bluffton Town Council tabled a proposed noise ordinance with some pretty strict limits that would have hit some Old Town businesses hard.
“Outdoor noise” is currently allowed in Bluffton until 10 p.m. on weekdays and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. The revised ordinance would have cut those times to 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
Another feature of the revised ordinance, according to The Island Packet, would have banned any music that is “plainly audible from an adjacent property or street.”
One part of Savannah’s unenforceable ordinance says sound cannot be heard across a property line, which is simply not possible in an urban area like ours. Bluffton officials were wise to take a breather before putting something like that in place.
Just last week, the city council in New Orleans backed off on a proposed new sound ordinance that almost certainly would have invited a whole mess of trouble for the city’s famed music culture.
According to The Times-Picayune, the new ordinance would have dramatically lowered the maximum allowable decibel level and would have dictated that measurements be taken “at the property line of the source” rather than at the residences of those filing complaints.
Simply put, both Bluffton and New Orleans were on the verge of tightening their sound ordinances in ways that have not worked in Savannah.
With so much else going on, I don’t know when or if Savannah public officials will try to revise our sound ordinance, but it won’t be hard to find models from other cities of what works and what doesn’t.
The Whole Foods effect, continued
We’re about to see major investment in the Victory Drive commercial strip directly across the street from Whole Foods Market.
That might have happened without Whole Foods’ presence, but clearly the upscale grocer has changed the way many folks view that previously rundown section of Victory.
Last Thursday evening, I joined 19 other guests for a special event at Whole Foods. Southbound Brewing Co. offered a sampling of five of its locally crafted beers, including the excellent new Moonlight Drive, which is made with coffee from PERC Coffee Roasters.
Our $20 tickets also got us a five-course tasting menu prepared by the talented staff at Whole Foods.
It sure would be nice to see other major chains doing similar events and promotions in conjunction with small, locally owned businesses such as PERC and Southbound.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.