Chelsea DDA Discusses Noise Ordinance Response

The Chelsea DDA recently proposed a change to the city’s noise ordinance, which was unanimously voted against at Chelsea City Council’s Aug. 4 meeting. The proposed change would raise the maximum output allowed by businesses from 61dB to 91dB, and several community members spoke at public comment regarding concerns about potential hearing damage, which can occur very quickly at 91dB.

At the DDA’s monthly meeting on Aug. 21, members discussed the possibility of proposing an altered recommendation that would still raise the permitted noise levels in downtown while respecting citizen concerns. While all DDA meetings are open to the public, several commenters at the City Council’s Aug. 4 meeting expressed a desire for the DDA to have more active community engagement in discussions.

“I think we have an opportunity to perhaps do a little bit deeper dive,” councilmember and DDA member George Merkel said. “I know we’ve been working on this for quite some time, but I feel like it was kind of fits and starts, and perhaps the sentiment from some of the community members is that we didn’t do enough to engage other folks to get some input.”

Council recommended the DDA return with an alternative suggestion, with Mayor Jane Pacheco stating she would want further research done into ordinance amendments. Also a member of the DDA, Pacheco agreed with the public and emphasized a need for more direct education and discussion.

“I think one of the things that the takeaway was that there was a lot of misinformation, and there was some miscommunication, and there everyone wasn’t at the table, right?” she said. “So from the community’s perspective, they felt like they weren’t invited into the conversation specifically. And I think from the DDA and the city’s perspective, we didn’t do a very good job educating about what actually economic development is.”

Several DDA members expanded on the importance of community awareness regarding the importance of local economic development, including Merkel and Serendipity Books owner Michelle Tuplin. Merkel referenced a previous discussion had with Jets’ Pizza owner Jason Povlich about the effect live music had on his sales.

“If we’re having a more robust conversation about what economic development looks like and what the actual benefits are, we can get that information from you, Jason, and show how these things actually affect the downtown,” Merkel said.

The DDA ultimately decided to keep the noise ordinance amendment on their list of unfinished business, planning to return to it consistently as they seek community feedback.