By Andy Sevilla.
It’s not uncommon to hear drivers jamming out to some tunes while driving around Kyle. After all, the city is home to two high schools, a community college and a young population.
Hearing bits and pieces of Miley Cyrus’ hit-song “Wrecking Ball” or catching the end of Blake Shelton’s new chart-topper can be tolerable, possibly entertaining, for some people as cars drive by. But for others, it can be, well, annoying.
At the Feb. 5 meeting, Kyle council approved on final reading new boundaries outlying what could constitute as a noise violation. Drivers playing music too loudly could be subject to as much as a $500 fine.
“We are asking that the (noise) ordinance include a violation for loud music that can be heard or felt a distance of 30 feet from that vehicle to give our police officers a clear-cut rule that they can use to enforce loud music coming from the vehicles,” Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett told council members at the meeting.
“The existing language didn’t really address it very well and we’re asking that we make it very clear for our citizens – to understand what would constitute a noise violation – as well as for our officers to enforce,” he said.
Under the new rules, unanimously approved by council (members Ray Bryant and Chad Benninghoff were absent), music from cars audible in a public place or private property at a distance of 30 feet or more from the vehicle, or music from cars that causes vibration that can be felt at a distance from 30 feet or more, would be a violation of the city’s noise ordinance.
Barnett said his department suggested the 30-foot requirement because officers could enforce noise violations before the music nuisance could be heard from inside homes or businesses. He said the requirement would allow officers to enforce the restrictions when the sound can be heard from residence yards, so long as the vehicle is at least 30 feet from the property.
Council member David Wilson expressed concerns of discretionary enforcement, and understands that under the new guidelines, questions of “how loud is loud” and “is a police officer 30 feet away” could arise.
“We’ll have our officers document it very well, and they’ll be reasonable in their enforcement,” Barnett said in answer to Wilson’s apprehension. “A lot of times, as officers, we do ask people with loud music at any type of event to simply turn that down and obey the law. And other times it doesn’t seem to work.”
Kyle Mayor Lucy Johnson said she can stand behind the new rules and added that the restrictions are not anything new to her.
“I think that was my dad’s definition when I first started driving—if he can hear (music) with my windows rolled up (while) standing in front of my car, then it’s too loud, she said.
Before the addition of the 30-foot music restriction, the city’s existing noise ordinance already outlined 12 noise prohibitions, including playing loud music between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., the use of a loudspeaker or amplifier during those same hours, the keeping of any animal or fowl that causes noise disturbing neighbors and raucous shouting or crying of peddlers, hawkers or vendors that disturbs the peace and quiet of any neighborhood, among other mandates.
Barnett said there have been a few complaints of loud music emanating from cars, but not a big problem or a sudden rise in noise disturbances. He said the move addresses a “small issue that probably should have been included in the original ordinance.”
