East Hampton Noise Ordinance Fails

After spending years debating the pros and cons of creating a town-wide noise ordinance, the East Hampton Town Council finally laid the issue to rest on Tuesday night.

Perhaps surprisingly to some, it was the noise ordinance that got buried.

With a renewed focus the past several months, it appeared the council was on the verge of adopting an ordinance at its March 8 meeting.

It was then that council member Thom Cordeiro encouraged adoption of an ordinance that closely mirrored State of Connecticut Regulation 22a-69-1.

“In the essence of providing what we hope will be closure at this time with regards to the noise ordinance and to give the community some basis, and our police officers some basis, of which to work,” Cordeiro said at the time,  “Sue [Weintraub] and I recommend that we adopt the State of Connecticut Regulation 22a-69-1, which is the control of noise as stated by the State of Connecticut, and we adopt that as our ordinance.”

Presented with a draft of what the final ordinance could like like, Cordeiro did an about-face on Tuesday.

“There just isn’t the support for a town-wide ordinance that will affect much more than a single location within the community,” he said, citing discussions he has had with residents.

That single location is Angelico’s Lake House Restaurant, the target of the ordinance since the beginning.

Prompted by complaints about the volume of music emanating from Angelico’s and the potential for future issues with noise, the town council had been investigating and debating the issue for so long, no one quite remembers how long. The challenge? Search for a solution that placates affected homeowners near Angelico’s while setting good precedent for the future.

Cordeiro, and most of the council, finally concluded, among other things, the ordinance would burden the police department, and that police already had the authority to deal with noise complaints.

“We’ve heard from the police chief who says they have the ability to issue infractions for sound if it’s a level that is too loud,” Cordeiro said. “My sole reason for wanting to arrive at an ordinance was to give our police department ... to empower them to have the leverage and enforcement necessary to protect residents who have been affected.

“I think it will become a negative draw on all of the reigning areas of the community. I think it puts our officers in an undue situation that will force them to race all over town providing support when they’re already taxed much more than they have to be.”

Cordeiro also said the ordinance, as drafted by Weintraub, went too far.

“There is so much language in here, that this isn’t what I was after in an easy-to-frame guideline for our officers,” Cordeiro said. “I implore Mr. Angelico and his restaurant to do all they can to consider the residents in that community and understand the limits and the powers invested in our officers to enforce a noise standard or a breach of peace. Outside that area, I can’t support this document.”

Other council members were lockstep in agreement.

“I cannot support this or for that matter a noise ordinance. I think the police need to be directed to do their job. At one of the meetings [police chief Matt Reimondo] seemed fully ready to do that. He stood up and said he knew he had that ability and that he would,” council member Barbara Moore said.

While some members praised Weintraub for her effort and thoroughness with the ordinance draft, Moore had a problem with how it might portray the town.

“To me, it sounds like we live in an awful, crazy, wild community. I think we’re painting our town right now to be something it’s not. Our town is great and I think that a noise ordinance would definitely not be right for most people that live here.

Said council member Chatham Carillo: “I don’t think this provides [the police] any more authority than they already have. I can’t support it.”

Similar sentiments were made by Chris Goff, who had made that point at previous meetings.

Council chairwoman Melissa Engel pointed out that owner Paul Angelico has attempted to address the noise concerns, with some being more successful than others. However, she too believed a town-wide ordinance wasn’t necessary and one targeting a specific business, a bad precedent, if not bad policy.

“The bottom line of this noise ordinance for the town of East Hampton is that’s it’s all about Angelico’s Restaurant,” Engel said. “I would never in a million years be in favor of a law that is designed and targeted, either at one business or one type of business. I don’t think there is a need for another layer of bureaucracy in this community for this problem. Having said that, I also don’t want to hear from another resident that when they do call the police department, they’re told that this is a problem for the town council, they don’t have a noise ordinance. There are things on the books that [the police] can use for excessive noise and disturbance of everyone’s quality of life. I think that needs to be put back where it belongs, on the police department.

“I’m here to remind us all that is their job, and I truly believe this will not help that.”

Weintraub reminded the council why so much time had been devoted to a creation of a noise ordinance, but probably realizing it had no chance to pass, she chose not to motion for a vote.

“This is about the quality of life for the residents,” Weintraub said. “I hear about the motorcycle noise, the car noise … the DEP gives us an opportunity to adopt this. We can’t enforce this part of it without it. You have a breach of peace and other things. It is not defined, it’s subjective. The consequences have more teeth.

“What I like about the noise ordinance, it is fairly black and white. There are guidelines about what is excessive noise based on business location, industrial location or residential location. It sets parameters for what the consequences are and for the enforcement. I just don’t know why we wouldn’t want to have something on the books, we’ve got a growing community, to have a tool in place for the future.”

Despite six years of arguments for and against, Cordeiro might have summed up the demise of the ordinance best.

“If something is just not easy and you just can’t get there as we’ve been having these numerous discussions,” he said, “then maybe it just shouldn’t be.”