Here comes summer — boro tunes noise rules

Over the objections of local business owners, the Sea Bright Borough Council adopted a controversial amendment to its noise ordinance that makes it illegal for local businesses to play loud music outside past 10 p.m.

Adopted by the council during its May 19 meeting, the ordinance had the support of four of the council's six members.

Councilman C. Read Murphy cast the sole dissenting vote against the ordinance. Councilman James LoBiondo abstained from voting on the matter.

Borough residents present during the May 19 meeting said the ordinance was needed in order to deter local bars and restaurants from playing loud music outdoors during the summer months, while business owners argue the ordinance will put them out of business.

"The people in this town deserve a quality of life," said resident Scott Arnette, a former councilman.

The council has been discussing the new noise ordinance since the borough's previous ordinance was dismissed in a court proceeding on the grounds that it was too vague.

Under the terms of the new ordinance, borough police may only issue a person or business a summons if they are found to be exceeding a certain decibel rating. That rating, the ordinance states, must be measured using a specialized decibel meter.

"We talked last time [the ordinance] was introduced, about having to shut your windows," Arnette said. "There's no reason for the people who live here, who have an investment here with their homes, who spend their lives here, who moved here, bought and invested their time in this community, why we would have to shut our windows when in fact it's the establishments that invite people to drink and party in this town that should shut their windows at 10 o'clock and keep their crowds inside and quiet, consistent with what the state requires under a noise ordinance."

Arnette, who also served as borough attorney, said he applauded the municipality's efforts in moving forward with the ordinance.

The majority of comments from the public focused on whether or not the 10 p.m. deadline established by the ordinance, which the borough based on the state regulations, was appropriate for local businesses.

"10 o'clock is a good move, and I, as I think a lot of people here are, am in favor of that and applaud you in making this move, because last weekend when some people perceived they have the right, and when I say people, I mean business establishments that are bars, perceived that they had the right to do whatever they wanted, they played wild loud music ... until after midnight," Arnette continued.

"We applaud you for doing this, for putting restraints in place that are reasonable, that the state has approved," he said.

Several residents on hand for the meeting echoed Arnette's comments, saying that the noise coming from local establishments is a nuisance.

At least a handful of residents also expressed their concern over the noise generated by local bars and restaurants on school nights, saying that their children have been unable to sleep due to the loud music.

However, Thomas Bonfiglio, owner of Ross's Dockside, said the new ordinance will put him out of business, and asked the council to help establish some kind of compromise between residents and local business owners.

"I do agree on a balance, but 10 o'clock … is not a balance," Bonfiglio said. "That is too early for any type of establishment to maintain a clientele.

"If the music is over by 10 o'clock, you are going to lose them," Bonfiglio explained. "They are going to go to a place where they can enjoy music until a little later time."

Bonfiglio went on to suggest that the council amend the ordinance in order to extend the 10 p.m. deadline to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

"Children don't have school on Saturday, children don't have school on Sunday," Bon- figlio said. "So, what I'm suggesting is we negotiate a reasonable time and reasonable days that this ordinance can be amended that serves both residents of the town and business establishments of this town.

"We have four months to make an entire year's worth of income in this town," Bonfiglio said. "This town clears out in the winter.

Compounding the noise ordinance issue, Bonfiglio said, is the fact that Sea Bright has begun to develop a bad reputation with summer renters and visitors who feel that the borough is no longer welcoming toward outsiders.

"This town was a good, fun Shore town. It's developed a bad reputation with the police, it's developed a bad reputation with the noise ordinance," Bonfiglio said, adding that the common perception of the borough is that "it's not a fun town to come to anymore. We are having a very hard time keeping people in our place.

"I agree on balance; I'm not looking to be unreasonable," Bonfiglio said. "There needs to be, on certain nights of the week an exception to that time."

Like Bonfiglio, borough resident Mike Walsh said he believes an exception should be made to the ordinance.

Walsh, who said he lives across the street from the Mad Hatter and Donovan's Reef, both located on Ocean Boulevard, said that the borough needed to change the ordinance to help local businesses stay viable in the current economic climate.

"I admit that sometimes if you live next to a bar, there are issues that can happen," Walsh said.

"But at the same time if you live next to a school, do you really get to complain in the morning that there are going to be traffic problems?" Walsh asked. "Or if you live next to a church that there is going to be traffic in the mornings on the weekends?

"Same thing with the people who live down the block here next to the sewage facility," Walsh said. "You can't complain if it stinks. You kind of knew that was going to happen at certain times," he continued.

"So as much as some people have problems with it, and I think we have to reasonably address them, I think we can also make compromises, because, frankly, the businesses in this town need our support as much as ever," Walsh said. "So allowing possibly a Friday exception or days before holidays … a reasonable exception makes a whole lot of sense.

"We are helping out our community here and at the same time they're being reasonable to us," Walsh added.

Despite the suggestions by Bonfiglio and Walsh, Mayor Maria Fernandes said that any amendments that the council made to the noise ordinance would have to be cleared with the state because the borough was using the state's model.

If the council decided to take such action, Fernandes explained, the borough would most likely not have a noise ordinance in place for the entire 2009 summer season.

"Just so everyone understands, this is an ordinance that was devised by the state; it was not devised by this governing body," Fernandes said. "And many of you, both businesses and residents, have asked me ... to get a decibel meter ordinance in place, and here it is. "And the state is the one that decided that 10 p.m. is a reasonable time," Fernandes said. "Now whether you agree or disagree, that's what the state has come down on.

"If this council would even consider extending that hour, if they consider it, we would have no noise ordinance for this summer," Fernandes explained.

"Because once you change it, it has to go back to the state and they have to revise it and we don't know how quickly they will get back to us," she said.

While the majority of the May 19 meeting centered around the establishment of the 10 p.m. noise curfew, Scott Kelly, the owner of the Mad Hatter, said that the council should consider revising the ordinance's decibel limitations

According to the ordinance, a person is in violation of the decibel limits if, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., they produce more than 65 decibels of noise or 50 decibels of noise between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

After researching the decibel ratings on his own, Kelly said he believes they may be too strict for even reasonable uses.

"I respect my neighbors," Kelly said adding that while the borough's previous ordinance called for businesses to limit outdoor noise past 10 p.m., he took it upon himself to begin limiting noise at 9 p.m.

"My biggest concern is necessarily the 10 o'clock time frame, which I'm fine with becausewe play music inside," Kelly said. "My concern is the decibel level during the time when it's permitted."

According to Kelly, a fully operational power motor has a decibel rating of 170.

"Does that mean if I'm mowing my lawn, or my kids are on the patio and they're screaming, because I've got a 2-year-old and she screams loud, if it goes over that decibel reading, does that mean I'm in violation?" Kelly asked. "That's my biggest concern.

" I'm trying to do the right thing," Kelly said. "I just want to make sure that it's fair for both business owners and the community."

Although the council adopted the noise ordinance, Borough Attorney Joseph Oxley said that the state was working on crafting a new noise ordinance to address some of the decibel issues Kelly had alluded to. However, the time frame on the revision to the ordinance has not yet been established.

Contact Daniel Howley at

dhowley@gmnews.com.