The city of Keene is in the process of changing its quiet hours from 11 p.m. – 7 a.m to 10 p.m – 7 a.m.
Keene will be pushing quiet hours up one hour because recent noise complaints from surrounding neighborhoods near the Keene State College campus.
The proposed noise ordinance prohibits noise created by loading, unloading, opening, closing or otherwise handling items such as boxes, crates, containers, building materials, etc. from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The operation of construction vehicles and equipment, including bulldozers, graders, dump trucks, hammers, staple guns, tractors, balers, etc., and audio equipment, such as sound amplifiers, from 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. is also prohibited.
Only residential areas near the KSC campus will adopt the new change, while some areas in downtown Keene will stay with the previous quiet hours.
The Municipal Services and Infrastructure Committee (MSIF) voted 3-0 to recommend that staff members draft a noise ordinance that would amend the time restrictions to 10 p.m. in some areas of the city and 11 p.m. in others.
The new noise ordinance was not proposed by the Keene Police Department, but by city councilor Randy Filiault who rode with a KPD officer and witnessed an incident.
Chief of Police Brian Costa explained the reasoning for this change.
“What happened was a city counselor rode with one of our officers, probably the first week the
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college opened back up. Typically, our officers get sent to a high number of party complaints, loud noise, people trying to sleep. While the city counselor was riding with them, he observed that officers were enforcing the noise ordinance as it was written, which was 11 p.m. at the time. According to this city counselor, he was getting many calls from residents, family type residents who live year round and typically don’t stay up partying until 11 p.m., they want to get up and get ready for work. He felt the need to bring it forward to city counsel and he did that and it passed,” Costa said.
In a letter to city council for the proposed noise ordinance, Randy Filiault stated, “Recently, while on riding on patrol with the Keene Police Department and responding to a noise complaint, it was brought to my attention that the Noise Ordinance was changed in 2011 from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.; to 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Whereas, many of our constituents live in areas where noise complaints are frequent and repetitive, I am requesting we readjust the Ordinance time back to 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.”
City council also received a noise complaint from local Keene residents Debbie and Dwight Bowie about the loud timber removal on Hurricane Road. “It was happening very early in the morning and throughout the night. The trucks were roaring up and down the street at a pretty high rate of speed, loud enough to wake them up in the middle of the night, so they were concerned about that. They hoped that there would be changes to the noise ordinance to address that issue,” Dow said.
According to Dow, the change in noise ordinance has been going back and forth from 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. since it was incorporated in the early 90s.
“There were 74 noise ordinance summonses written in 2011, in 2012 there were 92 noise ordinance summonses written, 56 in 2013, and 53 in 2014. When there was a change, there was a spike in summons and it plateaued in the last two years. Statistics show that it won’t make a big difference. There will probably be an immediate adjustment and eventually, people will behave differently as a result of it,” Dow said. Some KPD officers think that this will be another tool to improve the relationship between the community and campus.
“There is no part of the police department that is seeking to get more tickets out. It’s about co-existing with the community and finding that balance between year-round residents and college residents,” Costa said.
Some students disagree with the proposed change in the Keene noise ordinance.
KSC senior Josh Hobbs said that he does not agree with the ordinance.
“I think it’s rather ridiculous that the bars can be open until 1 a.m. I live across the street from Penuche’s and I hear them all throughout the night. Yet, one time it was just my roommate and I and we weren’t even being loud and the cops came slamming on our door and were telling us that we were having a $150 fine for being too loud. I couldn’t even hear it at the door and he was just picking on us. I don’t see what that one hour difference really does.”
Hobbs continued, “I think this will just cause more irritation with the police and frustration because they tell you how to have small gatherings, but as soon as you have more than three people, they’re banging on the door telling you to quiet down. It’s a lose-lose situation.”
The new noise ordinance is being contemplated by the MSIF committe.
The final drafted ordinance will have two opportunities for citizens to speak against it or for it.
While citizens cannot speak during city council meetings, citizens are welcome and encouraged to speak their minds at MSIF meetings every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in City Hall.
Jacob can be contacted at jknehr@kscequinox.com
