New Noise-Related Nuisance Ordinance Introduced

While the vast majority of noise-related nuisance complaints to the Bernards Township Police each year are resolved amicably, a small handful are challenged and need to be resolved in court, according to testimony given at the Tuesday, June 29 by Bernards Police Captain Edward Byrnes.

An outdated ordinance dealing with noise issues is currently preventing the township from handling the complaints in court, however, prompting a reexamination of the local law.

"The current noise ordinance is not in compliance with NJ DEP," Brynes said. "They gave us a model ordinance that we can adopt, but it comes with a pretty substantial training and equipment costs."

The model ordinance calls for the use of expensive noise-level detection equipment, which the Police Department must learn how to use and train officers to operate. Byrnes said the average call out would cost the township around $400 if the new system were adopted.

"In an effort to avoid those costs, we asked the Township Attorney to put together a nuisance ordinance that is in line with state standards," Byrnes said.

The ordinance that the Township Committee voted to introduce on Tuesday is modeled after an ordinance in Millstone Township, which was heavily scrutinized in a Superior Court, Appellate Division case Clarksburg Inn vs. State of New Jersey. In that case, according to Township Attorney John Belardo, residents complained about persistent, loud music emanating from an establishment in Millstone, and after the inn refused to lower the music, local police cited the offenders.

The decision was challenged in court, eventually coming to the Appellate Division where a panel of three judges ruled that the ordinance provided sufficient guidelines for police to determine if a violation existed. Belardo said he modeled the Bernards ordinance very closely after the Millstone ordinance so that if it was ever challenged, the township could point to court precedent in favor of supporting the ordinance.

"This is a more common sense approach. It certainly does have more of a subjective level, but on the other hand the ordinance that the state insists that municipalities enact is a rather lengthy ordinance, requiring training and certain calibrations of equipment," Belardo said. "A decision was made that the model ordinance was too cumbersome (and costly)."

The way the new ordinance will function will not dramatically change the way police handle noise complaints presently. According to Byrnes, the Township receives about 140 noise complaints a year, only two or three of which require more than a request from the police to control the noise levels.

"A lot of the time when we get noise complaints, by the time the police get there the noise is over," Byrnes said. The new ordinance allows police officers to go to the seen and use their judgment, with some written noise guidelines, to determine if the problem is citation-worthy. "The last thing the police want to do is to go out and issue a summons to residents for having a party," Byrnes said. "The officers will use their discretion and get guidance from the administration."

The Township Committee voted unanimously to introduce the ordinance, which will be presented for a public hearing at the July 27 Township Committee meeting.