Lake Geneva approves revised noise ordinance (copy) (2024)

Lake Geneva police officers may now officially enforce the city's noise ordinance 24 hours a day.

Members of the Lake Geneva City Council approved revisions to the city's noise ordinance, Sept. 23, by a 7-1 vote with Alderwoman Mary Jo Fesenmaier voting "no."

One of the main revisions to the ordinance includes when police may enforce "loud and unnecessary" noise violations.

The ordinance previously stated, "It shall be unlawful for any person to make, continue or cause to be made or continued any loud and unnecessary noise between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. on weekends."

Those hours have been removed from the revised ordinance.

Examples of "loud and unnecessary" noises in the city ordinance include constant sounds coming from horns or signaling devices on automobiles and motorcycles; constant loud music coming from radios, speakers, amplifiers and other types of similar devices; and constant noises coming from construction or repair equipment.

City Attorney Dan Draper said the previously-listed hours indicated to police officers that they could not enforce the noise ordinance outside of those hours, which caused confusion when they received a noise complaint during the day.

He said the revised ordinance allows police officers to officially handle noise complaints throughout the day.

"The police called me and said, 'Can you interpret this section of the ordinance for me?' So I interpreted it for them, and they said, 'That's what we thought because an issue came up during the day where there was excessive noise. A complaint came in, and we couldn't enforce anything because we had this restriction of it being from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.,'" Draper said.

Fesenmaier proposed an amendment to the revised ordinance to insert the "quiet hours" back into the ordinance and place the word "especially" in front of them to indicate that noise violations will be enforced throughout the day but especially between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. during the weekdays and between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. during the weekends.

"So we don't lose the idea that we really believe in quiet hours and the police can hand out tickets during the day," Fesenmaier said. "But I think people agree that it's not as annoying during the day as it is during those quiet hours and we want to focus on those quiet hours."

Alderwoman Peg Esposito said she agrees with reinserting the hours into the ordinance because it would inform people who are conducting an event during the morning that they cannot produce any loud noises before a certain time.

She said when representatives from a church previously submitted a permit to host an event that was going to include noises coming from a speaker, the City Council members were able to remind them that they could not use the speakers before a certain time because of the hours that were placed in the ordinance.

"Without those hours we wouldn't be able to tell them, 'Don't turn on your loud speakers until after 8 o'clock on a Sunday morning,'" Esposito said. "They could now turn it on at 6 o'clock because there's no time limit. At least if we had these hours, there's a guidance for the permits that we give."

Alderwoman Cindy Yager said placing the "quiet hours" back into the ordinance would confuse the police officers on when they could enforce it.

"I think leaving the hours in is confusing and I think if you remove the hours you're giving the police 24 hours a day, seven days a week the ability to take care of unnecessary noises," Yager said. "If you put in 'especially' before the hours then they're going to have trouble interpreting that. So if you take those hours out and say, 'all day, every day,' if there's unnecessary noise, the police have the right to enforce the issue."

Alderman Joel Hoiland agrees that removing the hours makes it easier for police officers to enforce the ordinance.

"This does clear up the enforcement prosecution piece of it. It also makes it very clear that the police have the ability to enforce and they will do so," Hoiland said. "I appreciate Alderman Fesenmaier for wanting to keep clarity in there but I think most everybody, whether they're residents or visitors, they know at night you shouldn't be making loud noises, and I don't think anybody is going to be confused that after 9 or 10 'clock at night on a weekend that loud noises are unnecessary."

After some discussion, Fesenmaier's proposed amendment failed by a 6-2 vote with her and Esposito voting in favor.

Conducting work during an emergency

The noise ordinance also has been revised to allow city crews to conduct maintenance, construction or repair work during the late evening or early morning hours only if there is an emergency.

The ordinance previously stated that the public works director and building and zoning director may receive a special permit which allows their departments to conduct work between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. during the weekends and between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. during the weekends.

However, the ordinance has been revised to state that the public works director, building and zoning director, and utility director may only receive a permit to conduct work during those hours if there is an emergency.

Examples of an emergency include a break to a utility line or a tree that has fallen on a roadway.

Fesenmaier proposed an amendment to the revised ordinance which states that a permit is granted after it has been determined by city staff that the situation is an emergency.

"So wood chipping in front of my house is not an emergency circumstance or some of the other things that are happening that people are calling about," Fesenmaier said. "I think that fine tunes it, so yes we want to leave staff the ability to take care of emergencies or unusual circumstances that might happen, but it shouldn't be routine."

Draper said he has no issue with adding such language to the revised ordinance.

After some discussion, Fesenmaier's amendment was approved by a unanimous vote.

Overnight highway work

Yager said the ordinance should address highway repair work that is conducted during overnight hours and whether such work could be considered an emergency.

"I think we're going to run into several circumstances where it may not be an emergency but a necessity and I don't know how to define that," Yager said.

Interim City Administrator David De Angelis said a provision could be added to the ordinance which allows highway or necessary work to be conducted during overnight or early morning hours if it is approved by the City Council.

He said that is an issue city officials may want to consider for when the Wisconsin Department of Transportation works on the Highway 50/Main Street road reconstruction project in 2027 and 2028.

"When you have the Highway 50 project, you may want them to work off hours for less disruption and for being able to get done quicker," De Angelis said. "You could add a provision in there that allows the City Council to waive the hours of construction for public purposes. So you set yourself up for the future that if it ever comes up, it takes the action of the council. It's not a staff member that's deciding, it's the City Council deciding if it's for the public good."

Mayor Todd Krause said officials from the Department of Transportation have already indicated that they may want to work during the overnight hours when they conduct the Highway 50/Main Street project.

"We may be addressing that problem because as I've been working with the DOT, we've been talking about nighttime construction, which would be a violation," Krause said. "We might have to, either now or in the future, consider the administrator's recommendation."

After some discussion, Yager proposed an amendment to the ordinance that overnight or early morning necessary construction work would have to be approved by the City Council.

Yager's amendment was approved by an unanimous vote.