Scottsdale City Council sounds off on noise problems

Feb. 3—Assistant City Manager Brent Stockwell gave Scottsdale City Council sound advice, both literally and figuratively.

During a Jan. 23 presentation on the city's noise ordinance, Stockwell shared the stage with Jeromie O'Meara of the Scottsdale Police Department in sharing statistics and strategies on enforcement of the city's sound laws.

As the current ordinance exempts the "mixed-use" areas where most of the noise complaints originate, some would argue the ordinance is less than sound.

And that is why City Council may change the noise ordinance in the coming months.

The Stockwell-O'Meara "work study session" did not lead directly to a vote, but instead was a step in the change process, following several community workshops on noise in November.

Yet change seems to be as much in the wind as the thumping bass floating through the Entertainment District weekend nights.

In what he dubbed a "problem statement," Stockwell summarized the situation.

"There is a concern among some residents and businesses that current sound levels are too loud at times from outdoor amplification from some bars, restaurants, live entertainment venues and special events," he said.

He noted current local laws addressing noise "are different, depending on the location of the issue and do not account for all types of disruptive sound. This conundrum adds to the confusion for some residents and businesses."

Digging into the "challenges" of the current noise ordinance, Stockwell highlighted three areas:

—The vagueness of wording, with the key word being "unreasonable."

—The ordinance does not apply within commercial and mixed-use districts, including Old Town neighborhoods.

—The ordinance does not address sound from bass frequencies — the low-frequency sound that is like nails on a chalkboard to many.

Stockwell shared an email from the general manager of Envy Residences, an Old Town "luxury condo community," who complained of "unbearable" noise from the restaurant/bar Hot Chick, "causing great discomfort."

Roberta Echeumuna said numerous complaints have fallen on deaf ears, so to speak.

Stockwell provided a generalized goal, anchored by "possible ordinance changes and other mitigation methods that would provide a mechanism for setting reasonable sound standards" for managing the sound cranked out by bars, restaurants and music venues.

After the presentation, which featured some wide-ranging suggested changes, several elected officials gritted their teeth about the work to be done.

"This is going to be hard," sighed Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield, who participated virtually.

The issue of sound management, Councilwoman Tammy Caputi agreed, is "very subjective," with "tricky" steps to be made.

But she looked at it with her usual optimism.

"It's so Scottsdale to be looking at this," Caputi said of the challenge to strike a balance between businesses and residents.

As he often does, Mayor David Ortega tied in his pet peeve: The Airbnb/VRBO crowd.

"Short term rentals are businesses," Ortega stated. "We need to look at that as far as policing."

Rarely one to bypass a pun opportunity, Councilman Barry Graham summed up the workshop.

"I think we've made a lot of noise about this ordinance," he said with a grin.

Seriously, he added, "I like what we heard."