Borough helps break sound barrier

We’ll toot a horn for the Mat-Su Borough and its decision to change its regulations regarding acceptable noise levels. We just won’t toot too loudly.

This week’s decision to enact a more specific noise ordinance is an example of the Borough staff and assembly addressing one of the many small issues that, while on their own may seem insignificant, pay large quality-of-life dividends. Recognizing the previous standard of gauging when noise is too loud was too subjective and allowed for vast ranges of interpretation for equitable enforcement (basically, if one could sense vibration through the ground), the Borough came up with a good solution to use a decibel meter.

Now, if a neighbor’s stereo is too loud or the ATVs along the road are bothersome, the Borough’s code enforcement officers have some real ammunition to know whether an activity is genuinely too loud or if a particular complainant is overly sensitive.

As the new code reads, amplified sounds louder than 50 decibels can be cited between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. weeknights, 60 decibels all other times. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Distorders reports normal conversation, laughter and a general office atmosphere falls in this 50- to 65-decibel range. This means if outside noise rises above a normal conversation range inside another’s home, it’s too loud. By comparison, regular city traffic is 80 decibels and a washing machine about 78. Any prolonged exposure to noises 85 decibels and louder could cause permanent hearing damage, the NIDOC reports.

The ordinance was welcomed by Palmer resident Jerry Baker, who said the model airplane airfield near her home makes it like “living next do a huge commune of chainsaws.”

The Borough obviously put some thought into this new ordinance, as the 50- and 60-decibel benchmarks are not too low to prohibit the reasonable enjoyment of the motorized and noisy toys we love so much here in Alaska. That said, we are a growing community and have more neighbors than before, and it’s only right we enjoy ourselves while disturbing those neighbors as little as possible.

Of course, there’s also one other method of trying to control bothersome noise that should always take precedence before calling in code enforcement officers and their decibel meters. A polite knock on the door or call out to the nearby motorized vehicle operator can often provide the desired results. More often than not, the neighbor will not have realized his or her activity was bothering others and will tone it down. If that doesn’t happen, then report the infraction.

In the end, the Borough’s new ordinance is really about common courtesy. Being mindful of those around us, as well as being tolerant of others who aren’t harming us, is always the best policy in an area where the elbow room continues to shrink.

So three cheers (not too loud) for the Borough. It’s refreshing to see the earth doesn’t have to move to fairly improve our quality of life.