The Sandy Springs City Council has amended its noise ordinance to specify allowable sound levels in decibels and using sound meters to measure noise.
The changes “give us something we can enforce, that will hold up as we move through the legal process, if we have to,” Assistant City Manager Jim Tolbert told council members.
Where prior law prohibited annoying levels of “yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or singing on the public streets,” for instance, the amended ordinance sets maximum noise levels for residential and commercial areas in decibels or dB(A).
For example, noise in residential areas cannot exceed 65 dB(A) (equivalent to a normal conversation) or 10 dB(A) above the ambient level, whichever is more, between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m; or 55 dB(A) or 10 dB(A) above the ambient between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Exemptions are provided for such things as school events and religious or political gatherings. The measure takes effect July 1, giving the city time to buy sound meters and train police and code enforcement officers on their use, Tolbert said.
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