The Bloomington City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an amendment to city code extending the definition of “loud and raucous noise” to apply to public property.
Previously, the ordinance restricted enforcement to sounds above 70 decibels originating from properties owned or controlled by the person operating the noise, but did not address situations where noise occurs in public areas that are outside of private ownership or control.
The changes by the council do not alter the decibel threshold or change existing exemptions — parades and outdoor gatherings with permits, public playgrounds, and sporting activities, for example.
The council met Tuesday because of the Veterans Day holiday on Monday.
The Normal Town Council tabled a proposed noise ordinance until December after objections were raised by the public. That ordinance was drafted in response to numerous disruptions, including chaotic pop-up parties occurring over Illinois State University's recent homecoming weekend.
The Bloomington ordinance passed quickly after only few minutes of discussion.
“This has more to do with those isolated incidents of where maybe somebody is engaging in activity that could be disruptive to a neighborhood or disruptive to an event,” said City Manager Jeff Jeff Jurgens. “And we made sure the council was aware that this was related to those situations, and not to trying to address pop-up parties.”
Rather, Jurgens said, the amendment was in response to complaints from various downtown businesses and private residents.
Aquifer resolution
In another matter, council members approved a resolution in support of protecting the Mahomet Aquifer from potential contamination associated with CO2 injections or storage underground. The McLean County Board passed a resolution in support of the protection in October.
The Mahomet Aquifer provides water to nearly one million residents across Central Illinois. It does not provide water to Bloomington, but does serve Normal and exists under much of southwestern McLean County. Bloomington gets its water from Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake.
“The best way to sequester CO2 is to plant trees or grass instead of covering our neighborhoods with concrete,” said council member Donna Boelen, referring to alternative ways to retrieve carbon. “If we reduced or eliminated mandated parking requirements, we could plant more trees. We should incentivize developers to plant more trees.”
The council also approved a measure splitting the city’s Economic and Community Development Department into two separate entities.
The Department of Community Impact and Enhancement will be focused on grants, community development projects, code enforcement and downtown. The Development Services Department will be tasked with overseeing economic development, planning, zoning, permitting and inspections.
