After Months Of Public Debate, Noise Ordinance Adopted By Council

After six months of public debate and countless hours-long meetings, the Vienna Town Council voted 5-2 to pass several changes to its noise ordinance last Monday.

Despite drawing criticism for failing to address the issue of "noise is noise" as it continued to develop, the ordinance drew no speakers to the June 6 meeting. It will take effect June 20.

Under the ordinance, , work in residential areas will not be permitted on Saturdays until 9 a.m., instead of 7 a.m. as the current code states. It will continue to ban contractor work on Sundays, along with lawn mowing, excavation, demolition and other construction activities, and will also specifically ban this work on six federal holidays: Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.

Any of these activities that are done for pay will be prohibited on Sundays, according to the proposed code. Residents will be permitted to do this type of work on their own home on Sundays after 9 a.m.

The ordinance exempts contractors working at recreational facilities from the Sunday ban, a change introduced after became a vocal opponent to the plan , they said. But the change will also help organizations like the Vienna Little League, Town Attorney Steve Briglia said, which contracts out its lawn mowing and will often need to maintain the fields on Sundays. 

It will also introduce a civil penalty to noise violations: $250 for the first offense, and $500 for each offense thereafter.

Most of the discussion since the first public hearing in December has revolved around continuing a distinction between homeowners and contractors.  The would have restricted work that contractors could perform during "quiet" hours, but allow homeowners to do the same type of work on their own home. The second hearing, , got rid of the distinction between homeowners and contractors. The would have given contractors the ability to work on buildings between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Sundays and federal holidays if approved for adoption, but residents told the council they wanted that distinction back.

Since then, the version of the ordinance has included separate hours for homeowners and contractors on Sundays. Several residents told the council over the course of the subsequent months that the ordinance still did not address the issue that "noise is noise" -- it simply restricts who can make it. In May, Council members and Seeman filed into record e-mails from a few groups to ask for an ordinance that was not so severe, including an 85-signature petition from Northwest Vienna residents, who say it would prohibit them from

They received others from residents who favored a stricter ordinance than the one that just passed, requesting a "day of quiet" for everyone.

At the June 6 vote, Council members Edythe Kelleher and Howard Springsteen voted against the ordinance, continuing to cite their disagreement with the clause that prohibits for-pay work on Sundays. They said it would preclude them from hiring their own sons, or neighborhood teenagers, from doing work in their yards.